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Admittedly, I'm reading Daniel Defoe's lesser-known Memoirs of a Cavalier, which is about a young English gentleman who fights first in the Thirty Years War (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thirty_Years%27_War), then is embroiled in the civil wars (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_Civil_War) back home.

It would seem, to me, to be a ripe time for the usual sort of adventuring type behaviours, not least because there were mercenary companies around and about which make an idea PC organisation. There were also lots of local associations organised to fight and irregular warfare away from the standing armies too. The PCs as a troop of dragoons (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragoon) seems a pretty viable means of them getting involved in lots of things and having mobility too.

Anyone done something like this? Are there any games (besides pastiche like WFRP) that are set in this era?

Quote from: Kiero;818086Anyone done something like this? Are there any games (besides pastiche like WFRP) that are set in this era?

Clockwork & Chivalry might be worth a look. (http://clockworkandchivalry.co.uk/games/renaissance-2/clockwork-chivalry/) It's a historical-fantasy take on the English Civil Wars.

Honor+Intrigue covers that period. The old Flashing Blades system was set in that period and was designed to include characters as soldiers in companies and regiments in battle.

I'm running Honor+Intrigue set in 1620s Europe. Last year the PCs were instrumental in defeating the Spanish at the Siege of Bergen-op-Zoom (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Bergen-op-Zoom_(1622)).

I've always thought that the D&D 2e supplement A Mighty Fortress (http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/16916/HR4-A-Mighty-Fortress-Campaign-Sourcebook-2e?manufacturers_id=44&it=1) was one of the best of the "green book" historical series.  I've seriously considered using it to do a historical-ish 5e campaign set in England during the Civil War - in fact it was one of two ideas I pitched for my current campaign.

-TGA

Quote from: misterguignol;818108Clockwork & Chivalry might be worth a look. (http://clockworkandchivalry.co.uk/games/renaissance-2/clockwork-chivalry/) It's a historical-fantasy take on the English Civil Wars.

Or check out their generic black powder era /age of sail game Renaissance:

Renaissance Deluxe (http://www.therpgsite.com/rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/103994/Renaissance-Deluxe)
Renaissance - D100 black powder SRD (http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/97426/Renaissance--D100-black-powder-SRD)

Back in the day, I greatly enjoyed GDW's En Garde and FGU's more comprehensive Flashing Blades.

GURPS Swashbucklers and ICE's Pirates book are both nice. Privateers & Gentlemen had fine naval combat rules, but the role-playing rules set seemed half baked.

I'd like to do a 17th-18th c. North American campaign someday, but players with that interest seem uncommon.

Thirty Years War certainly presents a lot of opportunities, but for me it's too unpleasant a situation for extended role-playing; YMMV of course.

I never got around to playing the fantasy game (featuring magic and centaurs) Lace & Steel, but the cardplay mechanics looked interesing.

Not yet, but Flashing Blades campaign is definitely on my bucket list.

Quote from: Phillip;818154Thirty Years War certainly presents a lot of opportunities, but for me it's too unpleasant a situation for extended role-playing; YMMV of course.

That is a comprehensible opinion. But at the same time, with the Simplicissimus as a primary source, you have the opportunity to run the whole war as a very black comedy.

Quote from: Phillip;818151I'd like to do a 17th-18th c. North American campaign someday, but players with that interest seem uncommon.

Fans of Sleepy Hollow might be interested.

I have played several campaigns set in the period, in England and North America, as well as the Caribbean.

-clash

Quote from: Kiero;818086Anyone done something like this? Are there any games (besides pastiche like WFRP) that are set in this era?

Well, I suppose 7th Sea counts as a pastiche. However, there is All-for-one Regime Diabolique (2010), Bloode Island (1999), Buccaneer (1979), Capitan Alatriste (2002), Crimson Cutlass (1979), En Garde (1975), Flashing Blades (1984),  Gloire (2006), Honor+Intrigue (2005), Lace and Steel (1989), Pirates & Plunder (1982), Run Out the Guns (1998), Skull & Bones (2003), Skull and Crossbones (1980), Swashbuckler (1998), Taste My Steel (1982), and Witch Hunter: the Invisible World (2007) - plus notable supplements like A Mighty Fortress for AD&D (2nd ed) and GURPS Swashbucklers.

Of these, I've only played Lace and Steel as a one-shot, but I've also played a short campaign of 17th century superheroes and GMed Call of Cthluhu set in the English Civil War, along with various other one-shots.

I think taking part in ongoing wars is tough for a typical RPG campaign, but there are a lot of scenarios and campaigns that can happen with war as the backdrop.

Don't forget the Rolemaster At Rapiers Point c. 1993 by Iron Crown Enterprises, Inc.

For less historical and more fantastical there is Colonial Gothic ca. 2007, MIB 1625 (GURPS Musketeers in Black), Mousquetaires de l Ombre, and of course the Savage Worlds of Solomon Kane.

Play a bit of tabletop minis skirmish gaming - the English Civil War is particularly good because most of the action is set at a local level.  Village against village,neighbour against neighbour, father against son.  There are relatively few massive battles.

As a bonus, since you're in England, there is usually a wealth of local Civil War history to build the game on.  Several key minor battles occurred within a 20-mile radius of where I live: a desperate blocking action against the Northern Royalist army at Gainsborough; Winceby, where Cromwell and Fairfax fought together for the first time, and several battles at Newark to control the main north road.

But documents exist at an even more local level - which local landowners declared for Parliament or the King, allegiance marks carved in the doors of local churches, local events.  Read the letters of the besieged Brilliana Harley, controlling the defence of her home while her husband was away fighting, to get a feel for how personal these events were.

And witchfinders...

God's Fury, England's Fire by Michael Braddick and The English Civil War: A People's History by Diane Purkiss both do a decent job of describing the period beyond simple descriptions of battles.

Quote from: Phillip;818151I'd like to do a 17th-18th c. North American campaign someday, but players with that interest seem uncommon.

I would totally dig that. I've toyed with on and off the idea of a colonial monster hunter game. Using Sabres and Witchery.

Quote from: 3rik;818134Or check out their generic black powder era /age of sail game Renaissance:

Renaissance Deluxe (http://www.therpgsite.com/rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/103994/Renaissance-Deluxe)
Renaissance - D100 black powder SRD (http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/97426/Renaissance--D100-black-powder-SRD)

Renaissance has two scenarios set in the 18th Century, so they are a bit late The Depths of Winter (http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/115357/The-Depths-of-Winter?affiliate_id=66807) and The Breaking of Spring (http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/145205/The-Breaking-of-Spring?affiliate_id=66807).

They should be easy enough to move a century back.

Other than the ones mentioned already, there's also the spanish RPG Capitan Alatriste.  But then, the language barrier might not work for you.

There's also the fact that even though the main book doesn't strictly speaking involve much of it, most of LotFP's adventures are set in a fantasy-version of the 17th century (england, usually, but not always).

Quote from: The Good Assyrian;818121I've always thought that the D&D 2e supplement A Mighty Fortress (http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/16916/HR4-A-Mighty-Fortress-Campaign-Sourcebook-2e?manufacturers_id=44&it=1) was one of the best of the "green book" historical series.  ...

Seconding this. A friend gave me his copy and it's a great read, both as a quick history lesson and as a gaming supplement.

Has anyone created a game like Solomon Kane, or Three Musketeers or Count of Monte Cristo?

There is Solomon Kane for Savage Worlds.

Quote from: RPGPundit;818610There's also the fact that even though the main book doesn't strictly speaking involve much of it, most of LotFP's adventures are set in a fantasy-version of the 17th century (england, usually, but not always).

Yep. I just started an online campaign with some friends set in the period. We've only gone through character creation and short bit of urban spelunking so far.
I've been reading up on the history and discovering plenty of dark stuff to draw on for what's coming... any dungeon seems the least of the horrors available.

Quote from: Phillip;818154Thirty Years War certainly presents a lot of opportunities, but for me it's too unpleasant a situation for extended role-playing; YMMV of course.

True, it's most definitely not a nice place to be in that period. I wonder if a spin on that to make the PCs, at least, more sympathetic, is to make them partisans. Essentially a self-defense band trying to protect their homes and community from the roving bands of brigands and soldiers. So make it less about the war (since they're not soldiers serving in any of the armies) and more about the impact of it and how the ordinary people can fight back.

Quote from: Kiero;819046True, it's most definitely not a nice place to be in that period.

One problem is that there isn't a clearly defined place for conflict in the Thirty Years War. Some locations are essentially untouched by war throughout the entire period. Most places are safe for part of the period, but are scenes of conflict or depredations at other times. Anything historically accurate is going to include some unheroic conflict even if you are the home defense force since part of your duty would entail keeping needy refugees out of your territory because you can't afford to house and feed them, because you are afraid they may be plague carriers, or just because they aren't the same religion or sect as you. Something a little less historical where the PCs are part of some more idealized principality and just ignoring some historical issues would be necessary to nicen up the setting.

The 17th century would be ideal for a Cthulhu game...Puritans might have to get out of their comfort zone and contact the Indians for some clues about what is hiding in the woods...

Quote from: The_Shadow;819203The 17th century would be ideal for a Cthulhu game...Puritans might have to get out of their comfort zone and contact the Indians for some clues about what is hiding in the woods...

Sixtystone Press has a fully developed Colonial Lovecraft Country line in the works for Call of Cthulhu.

Quote from: Rincewind1;818981

Quote from: BillDowns;818979Has anyone created a game like Solomon Kane, or Three Musketeers or Count of Monte Cristo?

There is Solomon Kane for Savage Worlds.

Yeah, and I ran it for a short while, only I set my game in the mid-16th Century and threw in other Howardian characters like Siegfried von kalmbach and "Red" Sonja of Rogatino (very little relation to Marvel's She-Devil With A Sword).

Quote from: Kiero;819046True, it's most definitely not a nice place to be in that period. I wonder if a spin on that to make the PCs, at least, more sympathetic, is to make them partisans. Essentially a self-defense band trying to protect their homes and community from the roving bands of brigands and soldiers. So make it less about the war (since they're not soldiers serving in any of the armies) and more about the impact of it and how the ordinary people can fight back.

Like I said, the time frame is a bit off but it doesn't sound terribly unlike my Solomon Kane game, minus supernatural bits. PCs were a band of free lances fresh off the Schmalkaldic League war. There were brigands and looters and douchebag knights and corrupt guildmasters, and there were vampires and werewolves and necromancers and Devil worshippers, and some antagonists would tick off both columns.

Nowadays I'd run it as more of a sandbox, with more research, and less making-it-up-as-I-go-along, but it was a fun, unpretentious little game.

Quote from: RPGPundit;818610Other than the ones mentioned already, there's also the spanish RPG Capitan Alatriste.  But then, the language barrier might not work for you.

If you can read Spanish, though, it's an amazing game. Though obviously centered on the setting of the novels, i.e. Siglo de Oro Spain.

Quote from: Bren;818160Fans of Sleepy Hollow might be interested.

I wanted to like Sleepy Hollow almost as much as I wanted to like Fringe, because John Noble is in it and he rocks, but fuck it if the man can't seem to land a role with a halfway decent series. Well, Fringe was halfway decent, at least until the Season 3 finale. Still, I catch the odd episode and revel at the immortal, sin-eating, hammy villainy of Mr. Parrish, who reminds me of many a oWoD antagonist.

Quote from: The Butcher;819239If you can read Spanish, though, it's an amazing game. Though obviously centered on the setting of the novels, i.e. Siglo de Oro Spain.

It certainly is!

Quote from: Bren;819053One problem is that there isn't a clearly defined place for conflict in the Thirty Years War. Some locations are essentially untouched by war throughout the entire period. Most places are safe for part of the period, but are scenes of conflict or depredations at other times. Anything historically accurate is going to include some unheroic conflict even if you are the home defense force since part of your duty would entail keeping needy refugees out of your territory because you can't afford to house and feed them, because you are afraid they may be plague carriers, or just because they aren't the same religion or sect as you. Something a little less historical where the PCs are part of some more idealized principality and just ignoring some historical issues would be necessary to nicen up the setting.

Hmmm, good point. I'd rather not nicen it up, but that could make it a harder sell for some players. Tough enough getting people on board for a historical game without adding necessary nastiness.

What about the Dutch Revolt (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_Revolt)? Obviously it's a big span of time with all sorts of dynamics, but broadly it's at least got an Evil Empire against a Plucky Underdog narrative.

Quote from: Kiero;823135What about the Dutch Revolt (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_Revolt)? Obviously it's a big span of time with all sorts of dynamics, but broadly it's at least got an Evil Empire against a Plucky Underdog narrative.

Well you probably don't want to look up how the House of Orange and their fanatical Calvinist allies arranged the murders of their opponents. It's real history. Real history is messy.

But not every game has to include all the nastiness. Just pick the part you want to focus on and simplify or hand wave some of the nastiness to get a game to taste. As an example, the BBC Three Musketeers uses some actual history (some surprising bits actually), but they choose what to focus on and what to ignore so the protagonists remain enjoyable to watch.

One thing may help is to play the world from the point of view of the protagonist PCs. So if they are on the side of the Dutch Republic you might  include the historical nastiness of Hapsburg and Spanish overlords and gloss over the bickering and infighting of the Dutch and their allies (Protestant and Catholic). I do that to some extent. Since in our Honor+Intrigue game the Protagonists are French, the Hapsburgs are their natural enemies (along with those damn roast beefs on their uncultured little island), so I include or play up cruel, fanatic Spanish inquisitors and iron handed officers of the Tercios. Since several of the PCs are devout Catholics, I include some fanatical Calvinists and I include some sympathetic clergy. Its not a total white wash because the venality of offices in France, including church offices, is important to the social status side of the game that I want to include.

Similarly, you could use a setting of a semi-independent state of the Holy Roman Empire (a landgrave or something) located in a mountain valley that has mostly been missed by the war and the PCs could be keeping the valley safe. Limit the number of refugees, assume the valley is prosperous and is ruled by an enlightened and tolerant ruler and the PCs are now the good guys/gals working for the good guy/gal ruler.

My Lady Rotha (http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/38985): A Romance by Stanley John Weyman basically uses this as the starting point of the novel.

Quote from: Bren;823150Well you probably don't want to look up how the House of Orange and their fanatical Calvinist allies arranged the murders of their opponents. It's real history. Real history is messy.

But not every game has to include all the nastiness. Just pick the part you want to focus on and simplify or hand wave some of the nastiness to get a game to taste. As an example, the BBC Three Musketeers uses some actual history (some surprising bits actually), but they choose what to focus on and what to ignore so the protagonists remain enjoyable to watch.

One thing may help is to play the world from the point of view of the protagonist PCs. So if they are on the side of the Dutch Republic you might  include the historical nastiness of Hapsburg and Spanish overlords and gloss over the bickering and infighting of the Dutch and their allies (Protestant and Catholic). I do that to some extent. Since in our Honor+Intrigue game the Protagonists are French, the Hapsburgs are their natural enemies (along with those damn roast beefs on their uncultured little island), so I include or play up cruel, fanatic Spanish inquisitors and iron handed officers of the Tercios. Since several of the PCs are devout Catholics, I include some fanatical Calvinists and I include some sympathetic clergy. Its not a total white wash because the venality of offices in France, including church offices, is important to the social status side of the game that I want to include.

Similarly, you could use a setting of a semi-independent state of the Holy Roman Empire (a landgrave or something) located in a mountain valley that has mostly been missed by the war and the PCs could be keeping the valley safe. Limit the number of refugees, assume the valley is prosperous and is ruled by an enlightened and tolerant ruler and the PCs are now the good guys/gals working for the good guy/gal ruler.

My Lady Rotha (http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/38985): A Romance by Stanley John Weyman basically uses this as the starting point of the novel.

Actually, that would work fine. The people I play with wouldn't have an issue with infighting and unreliable allies (sounds just like our WFRP2e game...). What would be more problematic is if the Dutch Republic were matching atrocity with counter-atrocity, which seems to be a lot of the story of the various armies in the Germany at the time. The PCs don't have to be whiter-than-white working for the unvarnished good side; just not some bizarrely principled people who are inexplicably supporting one side where neither side is any meaningfully more justified than the other.

What were commonly worn armours, by infantry and cavalry (and I guess artillerymen) in the early 17th century? By which I mean 1600-1650 or thereabouts, primarily in the European theatres of conflict.

Ones I'm aware of:

• Buff coat - actually something that was supposed to be worn under armour (like a jerkin or gambeson), but could be worn on its own as lighter armour/protective clothing
• Cuirass - standard armour of the day, usually worn over a buff coat and comprising back and breast plates. More common for cavalry (being richer and not having to walk wearing it).
• Mail - a holdover from an earlier period, but still around (happy to be corrected if not the case).
• Plate - gradually reducing in this period, I think full leg armour went first, but still about for those who could afford it.

Helmets were still common, but shields have mostly disappeared, right?

Is there anything else?

Caveat: I'm not a historian or an expert in military science.

Buffcoat, cuirass, plate, and helmets...check.

• I haven't seen mail in depictions in Western Europe though it still seems common at this time in the East, e.g. Poland, Hungary, Russia, and the Ottomans.
• Shields mostly disappeared for war in Western Europe, though they were still used in Scotland for another hundred years or so. Sword and buckler still existed, but were probably considered old fashioned. The Dutch were big proponents of a more linear tactic emphasizing fire (musket) over steel (pike and sword) so I wouldn't expect to see shields much in their armies.
• Side note: The Dutch armies were mostly mercenaries from other countries. One implication of this is that companies of Eastern cavalry might see service in the Germanies and else where during this time.
• Cavalry mostly switched from the lance to pistol and sword during the time period of the French Wars of Religion in the latter half of the 16th century. Thus cavalry dropped heavy metal gauntlets (at least on the right hand) to make it easier to fire and reload their pistols. Take a look at the caracole for a unique aspect of warfare around this time.

There are a lot of good pictures of armor available on the internet and Osprey has some great books including ones on the Thirty Years War and (I think) the Eighty Years Wars (Spanish/Dutch conflict). Highly recommended to get a feel for the look.

There are a lot of period paintings available on the internet. This is a fantastic resource for personalizing NPCs (historical or otherwise). Be aware that many paintings, especially of nobles and Dutch guild members, depict men wearing a cuirass as what seems to be a trope of martial display rather than as a depiction of normal attire.