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Author Topic: Best Medieval Knight RPG that isn't D&D?  (Read 6824 times)

aztecman

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Re: Best Medieval Knight RPG that isn't D&D?
« Reply #15 on: December 05, 2021, 10:58:06 PM »
Hey Folks -

Thanks for all the great suggestions. I will be sure to check them out and see what works best for him. Does anyone know if Pundit has any actual adventures for Lion & Dragon or is it just the rulebook?

Thanks!

HappyDaze

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Re: Best Medieval Knight RPG that isn't D&D?
« Reply #16 on: December 05, 2021, 11:13:53 PM »
Hey Folks -

Thanks for all the great suggestions. I will be sure to check them out and see what works best for him. Does anyone know if Pundit has any actual adventures for Lion & Dragon or is it just the rulebook?

Thanks!
He has several adventures out in pdf--and, IIRC, soon to be bundled into a book--that are 'medieval authentic' but I don't think they are specific to Lion & Dragon

Jason Coplen

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Re: Best Medieval Knight RPG that isn't D&D?
« Reply #17 on: December 05, 2021, 11:37:26 PM »
Hey Folks -

Thanks for all the great suggestions. I will be sure to check them out and see what works best for him. Does anyone know if Pundit has any actual adventures for Lion & Dragon or is it just the rulebook?

Thanks!

As far as I know it's just a rulebook, BUT he has put out a lot of his The Pundit presents series and he may very well have modules within. He'd know much better than I would. Lion & Dragon is a lot of fun!
Running: HarnMaster, Barbaric 2E!, and EABA.

Sanson

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Re: Best Medieval Knight RPG that isn't D&D?
« Reply #18 on: December 07, 2021, 04:47:20 AM »
Honestly... i've been revisiting the setting of late, and having recently dug up some old RPG's... I'd say Hidden Kingdom from New Rules Inc (formerly)
is one of my personal favorites, and worth a mention though admittedly it's not as playable as, say, Pendragon (which is also a good recommendation
and, for your needs, perhaps the better one).

Not sure how the reprint/rerelease on Drivethrurpg is, i've still got the 1983 rulebook, but i did get the pdf of the old maps that came with the game
originally, featuring the British Isles and the various kingdoms from Cornwall to Lothian and Orkney so i can play around with it again.  Has stats for
literally 100's of charachters and extensive sections on heraldry and it just oozes flavor... hopefully that's still the case with the re-release.  But it may be worth looking into.

Always wanted to try Chivalry and Sorcery, alas... never could afford that with my meager funds in the halcyon days of the 1980's.
« Last Edit: December 07, 2021, 04:49:00 AM by Sanson »
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Manic Modron

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Re: Best Medieval Knight RPG that isn't D&D?
« Reply #19 on: December 07, 2021, 11:06:47 PM »
Also Wolves of God, by Sine Nomine, set in 710 AD England.

Ruprecht

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Re: Best Medieval Knight RPG that isn't D&D?
« Reply #20 on: December 08, 2021, 12:55:16 PM »
There was an rpg called Lion Heart that was about the middle ages, I think it was by Columbia Games, like Harn, but medieval.
Lionheart was a Robin Hood Setting, no rules.

Harnmaster can provide a knight setting for that same era. It can be used on Harn or elsewhere but it is one of the crunchiest games. I think they had a d20 version though.
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estar

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Re: Best Medieval Knight RPG that isn't D&D?
« Reply #21 on: December 09, 2021, 12:54:39 PM »
I recommend Harnmaster + Harnmanor. As for crunch it is far less that than Chivalry and Sorcery and a whole lot easier to use. I have an extensive overview of it here.
https://batintheattic.blogspot.com/2020/04/a-walk-through-harnmaster-introduction.html

All the posts are cross-linked to make reading the whole series easier.

But really it more about the adventures. My Scourge of the Demon Wolf adventure/sourcebook works well as an adventure for a medieval knight.
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/106705/Scourge-of-the-Demon-Wolf

It has a complete description of the village as an appendix which can be used as the character's fief if things work out in the adventure.
« Last Edit: December 09, 2021, 12:57:19 PM by estar »

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Re: Best Medieval Knight RPG that isn't D&D?
« Reply #22 on: December 09, 2021, 01:16:02 PM »
Looking through the Deryni Adventure Game again since I last posted about it has reminded me of a few things. For one thing, the game, like the novels it's based on, uses real-world medieval European religion - meaning Christianity - as the dominant religion. Judaism, Islam and Paganism are briefly  mentioned as well, but they are not the focus of either the novels or the game. It has a pretty good depiction of the various social classes and roles within its society, and lots of background on day-to-day life, from food, to justice, to the arts. It's pretty damn comprehensive, without overwhelming amounts of lore (though, make no mistake, there is lore). It would be very easy to use TDAG to run a more historical game (ignore the psychic/magical Deryni and change the country names back to their obvious inspirations  boom done). Or, if you're looking for a low-magic medieval setting, you can just run it as-is. In-game, only the Deryni have psychic/magical abilities, but there is nothing mechanically stopping you from extending that to all humans, or some, as desired. TDAG uses the FUDGE system, though there are some brief notes for converting it to D20.Bottom line: TDAG is a strongly medieval European flavored RPG that closely adheres to the novels it sprang from.

Thondor

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Re: Best Medieval Knight RPG that isn't D&D?
« Reply #23 on: December 10, 2021, 10:36:31 AM »
I'm assuming folks are talking about Paladin: Warriors of Charlemagne by . . . Chaosium? https://rpggeek.com/rpgitem/232647/paladin-warriors-charlemagne


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Re: Best Medieval Knight RPG that isn't D&D?
« Reply #24 on: December 10, 2021, 03:26:55 PM »
Hey Folks -

Thanks for all the great suggestions. I will be sure to check them out and see what works best for him. Does anyone know if Pundit has any actual adventures for Lion & Dragon or is it just the rulebook?

Thanks!

Hi! Sorry I didn't notice this thread earlier.

Yes, L&D is good for running a knights game (though I'll certainly agree that Pendragon is also good, and it sort of depends if you want a more "heroic" style or a more historical style with L&D). 

There have been about 25 or so adventures for Lion & Dragon, all available as part of the RPGPundit Presents series from Spectre Press, and very soon (in a a couple of months at most I think) there will be a new Old School Companion 2: Medieval Authentic Adventures, which will compile all those adventures into one print book.

LION & DRAGON: Medieval-Authentic OSR Roleplaying is available now! You only THINK you've played 'medieval fantasy' until you play L&D.


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Philotomy Jurament

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Re: Best Medieval Knight RPG that isn't D&D?
« Reply #25 on: December 12, 2021, 11:40:25 AM »
Pendragon.

(Although "medieval knight" covers as awful lot of ground, and the system I would choose might vary depending on the medieval period and "feel" I have in mind.)
« Last Edit: December 12, 2021, 11:43:12 AM by Philotomy Jurament »
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RandyB

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Re: Best Medieval Knight RPG that isn't D&D?
« Reply #26 on: December 12, 2021, 03:22:20 PM »
I'll ask a "narrowing" question: which game gives the best Hundred Years' War feel? Lion & Dragon is post-HYW; Wolves of God is about 5-600 years early.

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Re: Best Medieval Knight RPG that isn't D&D?
« Reply #27 on: December 12, 2021, 04:20:34 PM »
I'll ask a "narrowing" question: which game gives the best Hundred Years' War feel? Lion & Dragon is post-HYW; Wolves of God is about 5-600 years early.

The Deryni Adventure Game is early as well. Its setting is meant to mimic 10th - 12th century England, Scotland & Wales.
« Last Edit: December 14, 2021, 01:22:19 PM by Tubesock Army »

Iron_Rain

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Re: Best Medieval Knight RPG that isn't D&D?
« Reply #28 on: December 13, 2021, 11:56:59 AM »
Another system to consider, at least for support materials, is Ars Magica. I would not necessarily recommend it for a Knight focused game, however, several books could make for good reference materials:

1. The Church
2. Lords of Men
3. City & Guild
4. Various Tribunal/Area books contain info about the region and some supernatural history.
5. Covenants - the first chapter has neat ideas for hooks & boons associated with a certain location of your homebase.

aztecman

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Re: Best Medieval Knight RPG that isn't D&D?
« Reply #29 on: December 13, 2021, 04:03:56 PM »
@Iron_Rain - I had considered Ars Magica for this option as well. I don't think he'd be interested in their 4th/5th editions of the game, but I can easily pick up 2nd/3rd versions of Ars Magica online. My nephew likes older games, so I think the 2nd edition version might be best for this. Someplace, I've got a copy myself, I'll have to go hunting for it. I recall that AM was primarily Magic centric. Not sure if that component can be stripped out to just leave the Knightly aspect, but it might be worth a try. I'll have to check their back catalog and see what's available. I did already see some things on Amazon for pretty cheap.