A few more thoughts:

The detailed metaplot that has been developed for 30 years, and the detailed and rich (often cliché) world that comes with it is kind of the whole point of the setting - and the system!
Time passes in Aventuria like it passes in the real world (it passed quicker in early years, 2 ingame years per real year), and there's also been a printed ingame newspaper for 30 years (over 40 ingame years) now, telling the playerbase what happened on the continent. So yeah, metaplot is important for this game.

This, and that you play "heroes" instead of "characters", is why the game lends itself to railroading. This doesn't neccesarily mean the characters can't be the one's who kill the great evil sorceror, it's just that if they don't (and instead say ally with him), then you can't present them with the ingame sources saying the great evil dude has been "killed by the heroes of yada yada"! And in subsequent adventure-modules, you may have to rewrite all of it, because the decisions of the players have now changed the whole setting, away from the official metaplot.

Now the ingame sources (the herold, the regional source books, etc.) don't name the characters in the circumstances where they can make a difference, they'll just say "a group of heroes did this and that". Still, the heroes CAN sometimes do this and that, and don't always have to just spectate while an important and cool NPC does it.

In the end, it al depends on the group and the GM. If you don't have a problem bending the metaplot, then go ahead. In fact earlier versions of the game always explicitely stated, in every publication, that you should change everything you don't like - that it's your game to do with as you please.

Quote from: Dirk Remmecke;902015In 30 years I never found one GM that ran TDE in a world of his own design. Not even when I operated a game store and saw many, many Meisters, and discussed with quite a few of them.
The closest would be probably the bunch that developed Aventuria beyond the (natural) Eastern border, an invincible mountain range. Or the groups that sent their heroes to the mythical Western continent (that turned out to be radically different when it was eventually published officially). So "new" settings were still well within the Aventurian context.

All of which hindered a DIY spirit like the one that surrounded (A)D&D (pre-FR, that is).

(Warhammer FRP and The Empire are similarly intertwined as TDE and Aventuria.)

interesting though it wouldnt be the 1st time iv consiterd doing some thing like this

Quote from: MES;902039The Dark Eye is the most played system in Germany and it's definately a German kind of game as in it's very detailed.


As some have already mentioned there are sessions (as I have experienced) with little to no encounters or progress storywise. The system features a lot of skills and spells which got no purpose other than creating a certain atmosphere. For instance: There is a spell which cleans a player and his clothes for the cost of a phew mana points. I can hardly imagine a situation in which you might be in need of such a spell storywise – but it might be nice to have and creates a certain atmosphere at the table if you want. The system also allows you to play characters who suck at combat and still can play a broad variety of campaigns due to the variety of skills the system offers. It really depends on the group the way you play the game. You don't have to play without combat and/or encounters, but the system offers the option.

Then there is the so called "metaplot". When a TDE player refers to so called "metagaming" he most likely means knowledge of something NSCs do or did. Again: You don't have to like this kind of thing, but it creates this TDE kind of atmosphere.
At the moment I am flipping through "The One Ring" rulebook in the evening and I asked myself if its rules could be adopted to another setting. Well... yeah... they could but they seem to be made for the world of middle earth and the same goes for TDE - I think.

I'll give you some example campaings for the uniqueness of the system which you might like or not.

One is "Bloody Sea" the other is "The Assasins".

Bloody Sea as I mentioned in another post  is a very open sand box-like scenario, which can be played both as a "good/lawful" group and as more "morally flexible" or "neutral" oriented characters. In both cases the players are on a ship: Either on  the "Sea hawk of Beilunk" or the "Tide Spider" (a demonic possessed ship – which also possesses the players more and more). The players are absolutely free to do whatever they want as long as they want until the final encounter which ends the campaign. What I liked about the setting the most is that players really struggle with being on the "Tide Spider". It's somewhat like being in possession of the "One Ring to rule them all". You could do some much good with this ship, use it as a weapon and strike the evil demon forces back, right? The "ship's" power (actually the ship is not so much a ship but rather a demon itself) really puts players into a tough spot. The constant conflict might corrupt them. Our group for instance sacrificed some prisoners of a sacked city to the ship in order to gain some benefits from it in the hour of need. That was not an easy thing to do and led to a lot of controversy at the table - but it worked in terms winning a fight. After all the end justifies the means, right?
So the scenario constantly puts you in a spot, in which you have to decide if you really want to fight fire with fire, as in summoning demons in order to fight other demons. All in all: Great campaign – I loved it.
This campaign stands for the uniqueness of the systems as is provides a variety of events which defintately require TDE rules and guidebooks. For instance: It's better if you know how to deal with black magic and the game mechanis behind it. Knowing how to cut a deal with demons might also come in handy. That does not mean that the whole scenario could not be adopted and used in a different setting (like a D&D world). Things can be fixed like that.

The other scenario "The Assassins" is railroading and metaplot at its finest – but I liked it, too.
At the start of the campaign a spell is put on the players which forces them to kill the emperor of the realm. So they stop whatever they were about to do and go for the emperor, who according to the metaplot mysteriously disappears at the end of the campaign. Officially he never returned from a hunting trip, but only the players are among a few who know what actually happened.
The campaign is obviously railroaded and is all about the metaplot, still it was a thrilling thing to play as I was really excited to find out what happens at the end. Plus it was really fun to figure out a plan when and where to make a hit on the emperor. Plus, in this scenario you really don't have use combat at all, to succeed in the campaign. You can "roleplay" through the whole thing (which does not imply that a different style of playing cannot be considered "roleplay"),as in you can succeed in this campaign without fighting.

So... yes there are railroaded adventures (the early ones in particular, I'll give you that), but it does not mean that all of them are and it's just wrong to say that TDE automatically comes with railroaded metaplot scenarios.
Something that TDE definately not stands for, however is dungeoncrawling hack & slay adventures.

What I personally don't like about the syystem is the amounts of rules and extra rules and exceptions from extra rules... When our group plays TDE I always need 4 sheeds for one character (1 Attribute Sheet, 2 Skill Sheets, 1 Combat Sheet). The system is definately flawed in that point, but it sill allows a great variety of playing options and does not stick to one setting or way of playing. There are "Conan the Barbarian"-like areas, swashbuckling pirate areas, Cthulu-Frankenstein-horror settings and so forth - all in the same world of Aventuria. It's definately not my favourite system, but in my opinion it's a flexible system, thus a lot of people play it, because it offers something for everyone. It's a mixed bag so to speak and it is up to you what what to make of it.

sounds like the worldis a lot like if you took all the published dnd setings and put them in different parts of the same setting

Quote from: kosmos1214;902182sounds like the worldis a lot like if you took all the published dnd setings and put them in different parts of the same setting

Aventuria is one of those typical kitchen sink settings such as Forgotten Realms, Golarion, Midgard/Magira, Shadow World, or Legend that we see in many mainstream games.
The tech level (more Renaissance than middle ages) and the "flair" is quite unique, though, and probably the most interesting aspect for foreign gamers.

Quote from: Dirk Remmecke;902302Aventuria is one of those typical kitchen sink settings such as Forgotten Realms, Golarion, Midgard/Magira, Shadow World, or Legend that we see in many mainstream games.
The tech level (more Renaissance than middle ages) and the "flair" is quite unique, though, and probably the most interesting aspect for foreign gamers.

interesting thanks

Quote from: Settembrini;901918Hard to say, I am a bit out of the loop myself. But everytime I meet a TDE afficcionado, they fail to suprise me.

Speaking as a guy who is both 'in the loop' and not a fan of the traditional DSA school of play. In the last 5 or so years there has been an ongoing struggle between the Wanderfogel types and the normal* players over how to play DSA. The most public face of this is the forum/youtube channel Orkenspalter. The 2 faces of Orkenspalter are Prof. Dr. Dr. Dr. Heinz Featherly, a plush owl who is portrayed as what therpgpundit would be like if he was a Wanderfogel afficionado and real human spokeswoman Mháire Stritter, who could not be less of a Wanderfogel afficionado, plush owl, or therpgpundit if she tried.


*For lack of a better word.

Quote from: Dirk Remmecke;902302Aventuria is one of those typical kitchen sink settings such as Forgotten Realms, Golarion, Midgard/Magira, Shadow World, or Legend that we see in many mainstream games.
The tech level (more Renaissance than middle ages) and the "flair" is quite unique, though, and probably the most interesting aspect for foreign gamers.

If i had to sell the setting for a living. I would say that it has a nice combination of being both deep and accessible. You want to play a viking* and read only 1 page of background? Easy. You want to play a viking and read 100 pages of background? Also Easy.
It also stresses a certain sanitized realism that evokes the sort of history lessons you probably had in elementary school. This makes suspension of disbelieve very easy for a lot of people.


*Or a pirate, or a knight, or a faery tale witch, or a Gandalf like wizard etc.