There are a couple of Boardgames out there that straddle the fence between being a boardgame and being a full-fledged RPG. I'm talking about games like: WHEN DARKNESS FALLS by Twilight Creations, TANNHAUSER by Fantasy Flight Games, LAST NIGHT ON EARTH - those kinds of boardgames.
All three of those have some sort of character stat cards and miniatures included that match up with player's characters in the game.
Have any of you folks played those as straight RPGs and ignored the more boardgame-oriented aspects of them?
Are there any other board games that with a little help could be converted easily into an RPG?
...OR Board games that have parts that are very easily borrowed into use with a Role Playing Game.
- Ed C.
I think Settlers of Catan and the spin-off games would make a good role-playing game. There's one which is 'rpg-like', where you control a single character. The implied setting has lots of the sorts of things which go well with rpg's - barbarian raiders, knights, lands which are mostly wilderness, bandits etc. There's no mention of magic, but there's a herbalist in one of the games who makes things like healing potions (the way you get the potions would actually work well in an rpg I think - the herbalist will make the potion for you for free, but you have to go into the wilderness and get the ingredients).
There are also spin-offs which don't have the same setting.
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/wiki/page/Catan_series
I didn't know that.
And Hell My store SELLS most of the Catan variations.
Do you remember the specific title or what color the box is ?
(There are like 9 variations of Catan, its almost becoming a brand name)
- Ed C.
Well I used Car Wars for a postapoc roleplaying campaign. The gaming/roleplaying aspect was powered by Savage Worlds but for the tactical road carnage stuff we used CW.
Regards,
David R
Quote from: David R;243595Well I used Car Wars for a postapoc roleplaying campaign. The gaming/roleplaying aspect was powered by Savage Worlds but for the tactical road carnage stuff we used CW.
My friend Colin used Car Wars + Aftermath many years ago. I've used
Dragon Pass (AKA
White Bear & Red Moon) in RQ, but of course that relationship is already there, ie I didn't have to do any conversion to speak of.
[EDIT: Actually, scratch that last part. I expended a lot of brain juice trying to get relationships between the DP and RQ mechanics happening.]
What about Succession, Intrigue in the Royal Court?
http://www.yourmovegames.com/succession_index.html (http://www.yourmovegames.com/succession_index.html)
A great source of adventures with a purpose.
=
Quote from: Greentongue;243603What about Succession, Intrigue in the Royal Court?
http://www.yourmovegames.com/succession_index.html (http://www.yourmovegames.com/succession_index.html)
A great source of adventures with a purpose.
=
Not quite what I was thinking of. Thats more of an idea generator for maybe a campaign story. Not really an easy board-to-RPG convert.
Plus, I played a demo of that 2 years ago at GenCon - that was one of the worst demos I ever saw or played in.
- Ed C.
Car Wars is a wonderful setting for that, one of the better ones (although I think it counts a bit closer to a wargame with cars than a board game myself.
The dueling wizards game "Shapeshifters", is pretty solid, I mean really its a mini RPG. The entire theme of Talisman could be ported over to an RPG. "Go on quest to get this.." is pretty standard RPG plot. Unfortunately I'm not big on board games so that is about it for me.
I think the last boardgame that I totally loved was Gammarauders, although I think Heroscape is pretty neat. (again wargame "ish")
CAR WARS I did run as an RPG once or twice . You guys just remided of that. Specifically that scenario that ADQ did of a truck journey through parts of Kentucky. Cincinnati being right smack dab next to Kentucky - many of us had actually driven or ridden through parts of that adventure map.
Bought my first copy of GURPS because I wanted to run an RPG version of CAR WARS that was about to come out that was called GURPS: AUTODUEL.
- Ed C.
Quote from: Koltar;243594I didn't know that.
And Hell My store SELLS most of the Catan variations.
Do you remember the specific title or what color the box is ?
(There are like 9 variations of Catan, its almost becoming a brand name)
- Ed C.
The rpg-like one is called 'Candamir: the First Settlers', and looks like this:
(http://alphaspel.se/catalog/images/Ho-10662.jpg)
I've only played the original game though.
By the way this is the cover to another expansion. It reminded me of some older rpg artwork, where the party is just about to turn a corner and run into trouble.
(http://images.boardgamegeek.com/images/pic353394.jpg)
There was an actual roleplaying game book for Twilight Imperium if that counts.
I haven't played it, but doesn't Descent fit this description?
Also, didn't Savage Worlds come about via rules-tweaking Deadlands: Great Rail Wars, or something similar? (RPG by way of boardgame, by way of RPG type thing)
Yes, DESCENT does fit into this category.
It also costs an arm & leg even with my store discount. The other games I mentioned are somewhat affordable.
But yeah you're right.
I was aiming for within financial reach of most people.
- Ed C.
Quote from: Koltar;243646Yes, DESCENT does fit into this category.
It also costs an arm & leg even with my store discount. The other games I mentioned are somewhat affordable.
- Ed C.
That's certainly true (and also why I have never played it). It, and others similar, like the Warcraft boardgame, do look really cool though. :)
Memoir '44 also tends to encourage a fair amount of fictionalizing. Something about the Normandy beaches, and masses of infantry being mowed down by gun emplacements, that comes across as much more than just moving tokens.
I'd be pretty stoked to see an M44 game create the context for a GURPs D-Day scenario ... 'cept I think my group has played so many GURPs D-Day scenarios that we may be tired of it :(
Id like to suggest the old boardgame, Down with the King.
The basis of the boardgame would make for a fantastic political thriller of a pseudo-fantasy campaign.
I only ever played it twice, but I think it was Avalon Hill from 1981.
Using "face" cards you built up a hierarchy of "next in succession line" for a royal family, and attempted to usurp the King and replace him with a distant cousin or somesuch.
This should probably go without saying, but there was also the old TSR Dungeon boardgame...
Quote from: Age of Fable;243634By the way this is the cover to another expansion. It reminded me of some older rpg artwork, where the party is just about to turn a corner and run into trouble.
That's funny, I complete that sentence as
ambush a passing caravan because they're low on cash.Koltar, this probably won't help if you're looking for something you can just pick up in the store, but
Magic Realm is, in itself, an RPG-like boardgame. (In fact, it was in a sense a boardgame company's clueless response to the RPG phenomenon. Yet it's a great game.)
Anyway,
Magic Realm has a wealth of characters, monsters, NPCs, factions, magic items, "random events", and so forth...even an implicit web of relationships between them. I think the whole thing could be used as a framework for a fantasy campaign.
Key to the Kingdom is a fantasy boardgame. It's little more sophisiticated than candy land, but it's good for a laugh. The board/map is really freaking neat and would make for a great campaign map for an rpg.
I could also see running a pulp rpg session on Fireball Island.
Quote from: droog;243599[EDIT: Actually, scratch that last part. I expended a lot of brain juice trying to get relationships between the DP and RQ mechanics happening.]
I kinda of just switched between the systems. It did get a little tricky in the midst of car battles when characters were jumping on top of moving trailers and hanging on to speeding cars etc....but I just sort of fumbled through it. I suppose I should have given the whole thing a little extra thought.
Regards,
David R
What also might overlap partially into this topic is boardgame parts that could be used or mske more sense in a role playing game.
FOR EXAMPLE "When Darkness Falls" has 6 pewter miniatures inside ir close to 25mm scale - they just need painting. These would work great for modern-day Horror campaign or a "Buffy:TVS" style game. (One fig could be painted to look like Giles easily, another is very close to Faith in looks)
The other might be things like this little boardgamne called Through The Desert. It has a nice hexagon-covered board map of typical desert terrain - very easy to use for an encounter in an RPG.
- Ed C.
This list on boardgamegeek.com might be relevant:
Pseudo RPG's in which you control and advance a character (http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/911)
Quote from: Koltar;243589All three of those have some sort of character stat cards and miniatures included that match up with player's characters in the game.
Have any of you folks played those as straight RPGs and ignored the more boardgame-oriented aspects of them?
Are there any other board games that with a little help could be converted easily into an RPG?
...OR Board games that have parts that are very easily borrowed into use with a Role Playing Game.
Funny, I've been on a board game rush lately and it has satisfied my gaming urge. I think most of the games that function in a similar manner to RPGs are called Adventure Games. Popular examples include Runebound, Talisman and Prophecy. An obvious semi-RPG I have bought and played lately is
Arkham Horror.
(http://gameslore.com/acatalog/Images//FFGVA09SM.jpg)
Coming from a heavy RPG background, it is a little crude and a streamlined experience for me but on the other hand, it's been a nice compromise to gather folks at the table. Plus, it can even be played solo, which I've found cool enough.
But without a doubt, one that has fascinated me and is less well-known is
Shadows Over Camelot.(http://www.pevans.co.uk/Reviews/SoC-boxshot.gif)
I hesitate to open this Pandora's Box but some of the trappings reminded me a little of a Story Game Done Right. Where Arkham's characters and rules care a little more about the simulation aspect, Camelot seems more focused on theme. Camelot also has a nifty twist in a "traitor" rule. That is, at the beginning of play, every player (who each control a character) will randomly determine if he is loyal to the Round Table ideals or if he is corrupted. There's only one traitor possibility so chances are, there's no traitor but doubts sometimes creep in and a sort of wonderful in-character/out of character paranoia ensues.
A game I've bought but haven't had the chance to try yet is
Fury of Dracula. In it, one person plays Dracula and 1 to 4 other players are hunters, gathering clues and chasing after the vampire. Looks pretty fun and perhaps RPG-ish.
I'm having lots of fun and moving some of the players to Story Engine and D&D for roleplay but with some work, you could use new optional "roleplaying rules" and ideas/scenarios with those games, or you could use Arham Horror elements in straight CoC game, for instance.
Quote from: David R;243595Well I used Car Wars for a postapoc roleplaying campaign.
I've also used
Car Wars for role-playing.
A really good quasi-RPG board game (that could be run as an adventure for a space game) is GDW's Series 120 game Asteroid (http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/1772).
The side of the box blurb read "
Only the courage and determination of a few gifted individuals stand between the computer and worldwide disaster. Select your team from The Professor and his beautiful daughter, Nicholle, Muscles and Lucky McGee, Scoop Phillips the ace reporter, and more. Then venture into the asteroid base and try to unplug the computer before it destroys you and your world." Basically, there are a bunch of characters that you choose form that have different combat and movement abilities as well as special abilities (e.g., the dog can climb through air ducts at full speed, the jewel thief can move between cover without being spotted, etc.) and they fight through robots on a randomizable map. The combat chart with all of the characters can be found here (http://www.boardgamegeek.com/image/308992).
Hmmmm. I wonder if this qualifies as a swine game. ;)
You guys have mentioned a lot of good stuff here....more please?
John - I don't think that the ASTEROID game would qualify as "swiney". GDW just wasn't that kind of company. That sounds like maybe the prototype idea for the Belters career in TRAVELLLER -OR- they were trying to do a more light-hearted game, but still just a game at the heart of it.
- Ed C.
Quote from: John Morrow;243962Hmmmm. I wonder if this qualifies as a swine game. ;)
That really depends on how vocal some here are about the hate they feel towards the game.
Regards,
David R
Quote from: Koltar;243973John - I don't think that the ASTEROID game would qualify as "swiney".
It was a joke, based on the fact that the game was designed to play a specific adventure (stop the computer from crashing the asteroid into the earth) and even though the team and map might change, it's always that scenario, sort of like some of the story games.
It's definitely a light-hearted game. Maybe it was one of the old GDW catalogs where they jokingly called it a realistic hard science fiction game when it clearly recycles almost every cheesy 50s and 60s science fiction cliche they could think of.
Crimson Skies started out as a board game from FASA in 1998.
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/3855
and by Wizkids in 2003.
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/6551
it's been Savaged twice, one very in depth with alternate air combat rules, bases, and resource management.
both are on Savage Heroes.
Aliens, the board game from Leading Edge. I've actually run (way back in high school ) an Aliens rpg using it as the basis for the rules.
Though I suppose that Leading Edges' own Aliens Adventure Game already counts as a proper conversion.
How about the old "Dungeon Quest" game from Games Workshop?
Quote from: Koltar;243973You guys have mentioned a lot of good stuff here....more please?
If you insist :P
I cannot
recommend this one because it's not out yet, but based on the author, company and reports I've read, Red November (http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/red-november/) looks really nifty. It's a cooperative game where Gnomish adventurers are trapped in their deteriorating submarine, trying to survive while waiting for help. Inspired by Shadows over Camelot, there's a sort of traitor mechanic. In this case, a gnome wandering in the submarine can find ways to abandon his ship and mates, leaving them to their doom. So once again you have cooperation with a bit of paranoia.
It's on my short "must buy" list.
The cooperative, immersive nature of the games I mentioned earlier (Arkham and Camelot) has been an excellent way for me to bridge between traditional board games and the abstract nature of rolepaying for newbies. I'm hoping this one will do likewise.
Red November by FFG huh?
I'll have to look forward to that at the store.
That company usually does pretty good stuff. At least THREE of the games mentioned so far in the thread are made by them.
Some of the FANTASY FLIGHT GAMES stuff for D20 and regular roleplaying games is pretty good too.
- Ed C.
Quote from: Koltar;244078Red November by FFG huh?
I'll have to look forward to that at the store.
That company usually does pretty good stuff. At least THREE of the games mentioned so far in the thread are made by them.
Yeah, they are creating/licensing an obscene number of games, many of which are at least very good. Many of them have very little to do with RPGs but are great nonetheless.
They're one of three companies that never disappoint me with boardgames. Also: excellent customer service after the sale, IME.
En Garde, if you could find it, is a non-roleplaying, roleplaying game. There are a couple of mechanics for you to measure social standing and events that help create a "framework" in which your duels might take place.
Quote from: Elliot Wilen;243655Magic Realm is, in itself, an RPG-like boardgame. (In fact, it was in a sense a boardgame company's clueless response to the RPG phenomenon. Yet it's a great game.)
Anyway, Magic Realm has a wealth of characters, monsters, NPCs, factions, magic items, "random events", and so forth...even an implicit web of relationships between them. I think the whole thing could be used as a framework for a fantasy campaign.
Magic Realm is the closest thing to a RPG on a board I've ever played.
Downsides: out of print, expensive when you find it, and very complex.
However, you can download a full set of re-written rules (blessed by Richard Hamblen, the game's original designer) and spiffy components from boardgamegeek.
But the setting is wonderfully evocative...I've often thought of using elements for a campaign, myself.
Quote from: MoonHunter;245834En Garde, if you could find it, is a non-roleplaying, roleplaying game. There are a couple of mechanics for you to measure social standing and events that help create a "framework" in which your duels might take place.
It's been reprinted by a company that has licensed it and you can get it on Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0955162300) in the US. The UK Publisher's site is here (http://www.engarde.co.uk/).
A regular customer at our store has started weekly Boardgame Nights. This past Monday night I could actually attend. The original plan was to trey and play my copy of TANNHAUSER....
Then I waded through the rules book.
My God, that puppy has got a thick rulesbook!!
The problem is we wanted lighthearted games or ones we could in less than 3 hours or so, plus the NEW season of HGEROES was starting this past Monday night - so 3 or 4 of us we're going to cut out early before the Mall closed to catch it from the beginning.
TANNHAUSER, if we played it according to the rules would've been too involved to get out of there in time.
Instead I looked in the back of the store and found our demo copy of ZOMBIES!!. That worked fine and we had a LOT of fun. (Thats another one that could easily convert to an RPG - maybe)
The more I vread TANNHAUSER - the more I think I want to use the same premise and character names but re-work it to use either the GURPS or the SAVAGE WORLDS rules to actually play in that world.
- Ed C.
Not REALLY the same thing, but I got to play the Battlestar Galactica board game at GenCon 08 and it REALLY felt like a RPG. At one point we were all laughing around the table screaming "No, YOU'RE the frakkin' Cylon" at each other.
There is a BG RPG now (Margaret Weiss Prod.) so that makes it moot for this topic.