So I've been pondering about a OSR/D&D-ish setting which is centered on Mediterranean cultures rather than English/Nordic/Germanic fantasy. D&D has always included some monsters from Mediterranean cultures (and way beyond), but the core elements of dwarves and elves and orcs - and heavy armor and adventurers hiking around are really centered on Tolkien and English/Nordic/Germanic.
I'm thinking more of a broad-strokes fantasy setting that evokes more like Ray Harryhausen Sinbad the Sailor movies - with wild creatures and magic without being too historical.
That said, it isn't just Arabian - it's also Greek and Italian and Spanish and Egyptian and others. I've looked at but not played Al Qadim, but that seems narrowly about the Arabian peninsula, and it gets into a lot of historical nitty-gritty, like Faris and Mamluks.
Are there any OSR or other games that do something like this?
Greetings!
The Mediterranean World provides an excellent tapestry for running a game campaign. Very historical, or just fantasy and heavily inspired. Season and spice to taste!
Game-wise, I have always enjoyed GURPS: ROME, and GURPS: GREECE. In addition, old green TSR D&D books, Ancient Rome and Ancient Greece are also full of strong inspiration and many much-needed details on culture, lifestyle, arms and equipment, food, clothing, and more.
For Historical Sources, I recommend the following:
The works cited I have selected for not just scholarly reliability and skill, but also with an eye towards illustration and visual elements, especially vivid and useful when thinking about developing a game campaign.
Ancient Rome: A Definitive Visual History By DK
Ancient Egypt: A Definitive Visual History By DK
Africa: A Definitive Visual History of a Continent By DK
An Illustrated Encyclopedia of The Uniforms of the Roman World By Kevin F. Riley
Ancient Greece: An Illustrated History By Nigel Rodgers
Ancient Rome: An Illustrated History By Nigel Rodgers
Ancient Rome: From Romulus to Justinian By Thomas R. Martin
Ancient Greece: From Prehistoric to Hellenistic Times By Thomas R. Martin
Carthage Must Be Destroyed: The Rise and Fall of an Ancient Civilization By Richard Miles
A large collection of books written by Dr. Adrian Goldsworthy; Likewise, books written by Dr. Michael Wood. Michael Wood teaches at the university of Manchester. Dr. Goldsworthy is I think at Oxford or Cambridge. Michael Wood also produces and hosts several different video series about historical topics--especially relevant would be his series on Alexander The Great. Just for additional edification, his video series on "The Story of India" and "The Story of China" provide insights into ancient and medieval periods in other parts of the world beyond the Mediterranean.
Follow my advice, and you shall be well-equipped for developing a game campaign set within the Mediterranean World of ancient times, and also be able to organize and run such a Mediterranean themed campaign with fun, confidence, and an excellent foundation of scholarly knowledge and insight.
Semper Fidelis,
SHARK
Mazes & Minotaurs is the go-to answer here, isn't it? Not precisely OSR but certainly hanging on tightly at the border.
The Glory of Rome and the Age of Heroes historical campaigns for AD&D 2e are probably worth a look.
Into the Odyssey maybe. Not a fan of Into the Odd myself but who knows.
Outside of those you have the various incarnations of Atlantis: the Second Age, and you could probably cherrypick some of Palladium Fantasy Adventures on the High Seas.
If you're just looking for era appropriate campaign direction there is no shortage of Greek settings. GURPS, Rolemaster, and Savage Worlds are all still out there.
I started building a low-fantasy ~200 BC setting but given the slavery & misogyny in the cultures at the time I'm not sure my players would be up for it. If you want overlapping cultures, Corsica has so much potential in the Western Med (Phoenecians, Greeks, Carthaginians, Etruscans, and the previous inhabitants), and Cyprus was perhaps similar in the Eastern Med earlier but I've had less luck finding sources.
There have been several pseudo-greek 5e settings, although they're more high-fantasy: Arkadia, Mystic Odysseys of Theros, Odyssey of the Dragonlords. "A Fantasy Guide to Classical Greece" is a lot more grounded.
Zenobia from Zozer Games isn't D&D-mechanics OSR but is of a similar mindset.
The Mythras standard setting, Shores of Korantia.
Greek-flavoured OSR:
* Skirmisher Publishing has Swords of Kos, which is mostly system-free but has some publications with 5e or their house rules.
* Mazes & Minotaurs.
If you are looking for medieval and not Ancient era there is Brancalonia
You might want to look at the various (and there are several) Bronze Age sword and sorcery rpgs out there as several are described as OSR or adjacent. Blood and Bronze comes to mind though I don't recall if it was OSR.
Quote from: Ruprecht on April 23, 2025, 09:59:28 AMIf you are looking for medieval and not Ancient era there is Brancalonia
That's the one I couldn't remember based on medieval Italian states. Thank you.
Quote from: jhkim on April 23, 2025, 01:57:58 AMSo I've been pondering about a OSR/D&D-ish setting which is centered on Mediterranean cultures rather than English/Nordic/Germanic fantasy. D&D has always included some monsters from Mediterranean cultures (and way beyond), but the core elements of dwarves and elves and orcs - and heavy armor and adventurers hiking around are really centered on Tolkien and English/Nordic/Germanic.
I'm thinking more of a broad-strokes fantasy setting that evokes more like Ray Harryhausen Sinbad the Sailor movies - with wild creatures and magic without being too historical.
That said, it isn't just Arabian - it's also Greek and Italian and Spanish and Egyptian and others. I've looked at but not played Al Qadim, but that seems narrowly about the Arabian peninsula, and it gets into a lot of historical nitty-gritty, like Faris and Mamluks.
Are there any OSR or other games that do something like this?
It isn't pure Mediterranean, but there is a lot of Mediterranean in the setting we did for Sertorius (I was always more interested in that region's history than Europe). I should say though, it isn't OSR. And another one we did, Servants of Gaius, is set in the Roman Empire during the reign of Caligula (so that is alt. history Mediterranean)
Quote from: HappyDaze on April 23, 2025, 11:13:08 AMQuote from: Ruprecht on April 23, 2025, 09:59:28 AMIf you are looking for medieval and not Ancient era there is Brancalonia
That's the one I couldn't remember based on medieval Italian states. Thank you.
Thanks, I hadn't heard of Brancalonia. And yeah, I am looking for
medieval fantasy - not Bronze Age or ancient. I'm not looking to be historically accurate, but even in broad strokes there's a big difference between ancient and medieval as far as human culture. Some of the mythology and monsters stay the same, but it's distinct. i.e. Roman Empire fantasy is different than Brancalonia's spaghetti fantasy.
At first glance, Brancalonia looks specifically about the Italian peninsula in the same way that Al Qadim is specifically about Arabia.
(https://cdn2.inkarnate.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1800,height=1400/https://inkarnate-api-as-production.s3.amazonaws.com/j5ew1u8azb93y3ficc67k92fqc6a)
So it might be useful source material, but also not quite what I'm looking for.
I feel the point of Mediterranean fantasy like the Sinbad stories is the amazing voyages to different lands, which encapsulates how the Mediterranean has been such an amazing center. So the RPG would assume traveling around a lot, not staying on the Italian peninsula or Arabian peninsula.
Is Mediterranean a good descriptor here though? I think Sinbad encountered a mixture of monsters, including some from India(?) Maybe it's more of a certain style/aesthetic you're aiming for?
Anyway, this thread also reminds me of a board game I like: Tales of the Arabian Nights, which is all about traveling the world and encountering people and monsters etc.
Odyssey of the Dragonlords for 5e, you could run it in OSR (especially 1e/2e clones) easily enough.
Quote from: Trond on April 23, 2025, 07:05:03 PMIs Mediterranean a good descriptor here though? I think Sinbad encountered a mixture of monsters, including some from India(?) Maybe it's more of a certain style/aesthetic you're aiming for?
Anyway, this thread also reminds me of a board game I like: Tales of the Arabian Nights, which is all about traveling the world and encountering people and monsters etc.
There's an element of style/aesthetic, sure, but I feel like that style/aesthetic is tied to the Mediterranean look and feel.
I'm reluctant to call it "Arabian Nights" or "Sinbad" because there's a broader aesthetic of medieval sailing to weird lands and islands, and trusty crewmates, which is different than the English/German/Nordic fantasy of adventurers hiking around - but not specific to Arabia or Sinbad. From what I've read, much of the "spaghetti fantasy" of Brancalonia seemed like a good fit as well.
Quote from: S'mon on April 24, 2025, 12:26:37 AMOdyssey of the Dragonlords for 5e, you could run it in OSR (especially 1e/2e clones) easily enough.
I've heard plenty of good things about it, and I'm open to trying it some time. As a question: it seems like its setting is specifically based on ancient Greece - plus it's trying to be compatible with mainstream D&D and its English/Germanic/Nordic archetypes.
I feel like a Sinbad / medieval Mediterranean game or campaign is distinct.
If you don't mind going for non-Earth reskins of Mediterranean nations, Warhammer Fantasy has Tilea (Italy) and Estalia (Spain) along with some other nations that exist largely south of the Empire.
Great question! I really think of Sinbad as a more swords-and-sandals, Ancient theme.
Orlando Furioso probably has more in common with the French/English stylings than you're looking for, but it's what comes to mind for Medieval - although written in the early sixteenth century - and https://www.reddit.com/r/osr/comments/nfb5co/italian_osr_appendix_n/ might be a relevant Reddit thread, suggesting https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/307020/lo-scrigno-d-avorio.
I'm not super-keen on Historica Arcanum products, but https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/metismediarpg/historica-arcanum-era-of-the-crusades-5e does Cairo & Jerusalem. Off the top of my head their other projects are later-period?
Quote from: jhkim on April 24, 2025, 02:21:20 AMI've heard plenty of good things about it, and I'm open to trying it some time. As a question: it seems like its setting is specifically based on ancient Greece - plus it's trying to be compatible with mainstream D&D and its English/Germanic/Nordic archetypes.
I feel like a Sinbad / medieval Mediterranean game or campaign is distinct.
It's based on ancient Greece especially the Aegean Sea & the myth of Odyseus. It allows D&D races by default but has full rules for Greek Myth themed PC races like Centaurs, you could easily discard the standard D&D races except humans & maybe dwarves - one of the gods is a dwarf. It's distinct from Medieval Mediterranean as it's Ancient Mediterranean. Pretty sure Sinbad was mostly in the Indian Ocean not the Mediterranean BTW. :D
Quote from: Naburimannu on April 24, 2025, 03:36:39 AMGreat question! I really think of Sinbad as a more swords-and-sandals, Ancient theme.
Orlando Furioso probably has more in common with the French/English stylings than you're looking for, but it's what comes to mind for Medieval - although written in the early sixteenth century - and https://www.reddit.com/r/osr/comments/nfb5co/italian_osr_appendix_n/ might be a relevant Reddit thread, suggesting https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/307020/lo-scrigno-d-avorio.
I'm not super-keen on Historica Arcanum products, but https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/metismediarpg/historica-arcanum-era-of-the-crusades-5e does Cairo & Jerusalem. Off the top of my head their other projects are later-period?
The Sinbad stories are set in the 9th century, inspired by naval exploration of that time. That's early medieval - two hundred years before the First Crusade. In the Ray Harryhausen Sinbad movies, he is clearly Islamic with occasional invoking of Allah. And yeah, to S'mon's point - he's mostly sailing around the Arabia and the Indian Ocean, not in the Mediterranean. Fair point.
---
Mainstream D&D is centered on England and Tolkien - but pulls in lots of English, Irish, Germanic, and Nordic mythology with a smattering of others. Oriental Adventures mixes together Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and a bit of others.
I'm imagining something that's similarly broad and eclectic but centered in the Mediterranean and Arabia. There was a ton of travel and trade - and exchange of stories - around this region, so I feel like there's a lot of potential for a broad fantasy setting like mainstream D&D or Oriental Adventures, rather than historical or semi-historical in a specific country.
The medieval period was very much centered on the Mediterranean. You don't have Europe without the Mediterranean and that includes Northern Africa and the Western part of the Middle East.
Even Tolkien had the Numenoreans. Maybe they were supposed to be Phoenicians, but they seemed somewhat Arab like to me, especially the Black ones.
Arabian Sea, yeah, that was different.
There is a very good OSR Arabian-ish book, The Thousand Year Sandglass. It's a self contained setting, literally in a sandglass, and very well done.
Quote from: JeremyR on April 24, 2025, 09:43:29 PMThe medieval period was very much centered on the Mediterranean. You don't have Europe without the Mediterranean and that includes Northern Africa and the Western part of the Middle East.
Even Tolkien had the Numenoreans. Maybe they were supposed to be Phoenicians, but they seemed somewhat Arab like to me, especially the Black ones.
Arabian Sea, yeah, that was different.
There is a very good OSR Arabian-ish book, The Thousand Year Sandglass. It's a self contained setting, literally in a sandglass, and very well done.
The way you talk about Numenoreans makes me think that you have played MERP? Numenor was really Tolkien's "Atlantis", but there were many MERP modules set in the Harad region where the Black Numenoreans were a sort of colonizing force.
Quote from: jhkim on April 24, 2025, 06:50:03 PMQuote from: Naburimannu on April 24, 2025, 03:36:39 AMGreat question! I really think of Sinbad as a more swords-and-sandals, Ancient theme.
Orlando Furioso probably has more in common with the French/English stylings than you're looking for, but it's what comes to mind for Medieval - although written in the early sixteenth century - and https://www.reddit.com/r/osr/comments/nfb5co/italian_osr_appendix_n/ might be a relevant Reddit thread, suggesting https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/307020/lo-scrigno-d-avorio.
I'm not super-keen on Historica Arcanum products, but https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/metismediarpg/historica-arcanum-era-of-the-crusades-5e does Cairo & Jerusalem. Off the top of my head their other projects are later-period?
The Sinbad stories are set in the 9th century, inspired by naval exploration of that time. That's early medieval - two hundred years before the First Crusade. In the Ray Harryhausen Sinbad movies, he is clearly Islamic with occasional invoking of Allah. And yeah, to S'mon's point - he's mostly sailing around the Arabia and the Indian Ocean, not in the Mediterranean. Fair point.
---
Mainstream D&D is centered on England and Tolkien - but pulls in lots of English, Irish, Germanic, and Nordic mythology with a smattering of others. Oriental Adventures mixes together Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and a bit of others.
I'm imagining something that's similarly broad and eclectic but centered in the Mediterranean and Arabia. There was a ton of travel and trade - and exchange of stories - around this region, so I feel like there's a lot of potential for a broad fantasy setting like mainstream D&D or Oriental Adventures, rather than historical or semi-historical in a specific country.
Could be a fun concept. I would just call it "Golden Voyages" or something without much emphasis on specific region, and base it around the Sinbad films, Odysseus, and even a bit Ibn Batutta or other Muslim travelers. Perhaps the Sandokan stories by Emilio Salgari could also be a source? I've been planning to read those.
Interesting topic. But if one were to create player characters races to replace the Germanic dwarves, elves, and halflings, where would one turn? Would we see different cultures used instead like Lankhmar's Nehwon races?
Quote from: JasperAK on April 25, 2025, 02:09:23 PMInteresting topic. But if one were to create player characters races to replace the Germanic dwarves, elves, and halflings, where would one turn? Would we see different cultures used instead like Lankhmar's Nehwon races?
Great question. I just bought "The Thousand Year Sandglass" that JeremyR recommended. So looking over races of some products recommended:
Odyssey of the Dragonlords (Ancient Greek)
Centaurs / Medusae / Minotaurs / Nymphs / Satyr / Sirens
Brancalonia (Italian "spaghetti fantasy")
Gifted(magical human) / Morgant(demi-giants) / Sylvan(satyr-blooded) / Marionettes / Malebranche(mortal devils)
Al Qadim (AD&D Arabian)
standard D&D races
The Thousand Year Sandglass (OSR Arabian)
Jann(djinn-blooded) / Kedai(leopard-folk) / Largomani(lizard-folk)
---
Imitation of Tolkien set the idea of an adventuring party being a mix of human, halfling, elf, dwarf, etc. However, I don't see that as a norm in something like Sinbad and similar stories. With due respect to the above products, in Greek myth, you wouldn't have a party of mixed humans, minotaurs, satyrs, etc. However, there were heroes like Zetes and Calaïs who had wings because of their descent from the winds.
I'd lean towards toss out the notion of "race" as a standard character choice, with all characters being nominally human - and instead have different sorts of traits to add, including some special inborn traits like gifted, satyr blooded, djinn blooded, wind blooded, etc.
Greetings!
It is always nice to find some actual products that feature some particular world region or era in history. Generally, for myself, aside from the more popular Western/Northern European focus, that I would otherwise be waiting in vain. Thus, I just create my own for whatever world region or time setting that I want.
A very long time ago, I waited and searched and waited on companies. There was nothing, or very little. I got tired of waiting and typically being hugely disappointed with any scraps I finally did find, whether it was for the Mediterranean, Africa, Ancient China, Ancient India, or whatever. I always encourage other gamers and fellow DM's to read for themselves. Build up and expand their personal libraries, and jump into whatever topical region that interests you. Chances are good that your sources are at least as good as anything any game company is likely to ever be using--and there's a good chance that you can build a far stronger library of resources and expertise.
Semper Fidelis,
SHARK
Quote from: SHARK on April 25, 2025, 03:37:01 PMIt is always nice to find some actual products that feature some particular world region or era in history. Generally, for myself, aside from the more popular Western/Northern European focus, that I would otherwise be waiting in vain. Thus, I just create my own for whatever world region or time setting that I want.
A very long time ago, I waited and searched and waited on companies. There was nothing, or very little.
I get that. I had no expectation of RPG material for my Incan-inspired fantasy campaign, for example. But medieval Mediterranean is so frickin close to the default medieval Western/Northern European that I am surprised at how little it seems there is - with the closest being a big cluster of material in ancient Greece.
I'm not sure how soon I'd run something like this, but I might make a page assembling some of the sources that I have and some notes/thoughts.
I agree Jhkim; I never liked those settings that add all these monstrous races for the reason you state. But I find a trait or blooded system doesn't quite work for me either. Tolkien's different races seem just alien enough to NOT be human-from-a-different-culture analogs.
So going on a slight tangent then, let us all assume we want to create this medieval not-Western European setting that maybe goes from a fantastic Byzantine Empire to the lands of the Indian Subcontinent. Travel would be either by sea or a Silk Road analogue. How would one go about creating player races from various source material like Tolkien did? Tolkien's dwarves and elves don't really match any single one source material--or do they? How could what he created and inspired Gygax and Arneson to create be duplicated? How could something like 1,001 Arabian Nights or the Mahabharata be D&Dified? What other source material might be applicable?
I guess what I am really asking is how would one go about making the creatures in various lore less monstrous and more demi-human?
Quote from: jhkim on April 25, 2025, 04:09:29 PMBut medieval Mediterranean is so frickin close to the default medieval Western/Northern European that I am surprised at how little it seems there is
There isn't even much for Earthsea type settings.
Oh, I nearly said before - the d20 Wilderlands of High Fantasy box set from 2005 has hundreds and hundreds of islands each with a paragraph of description. It's D&D-whimsy with a default medieval-esque setting so should be worth a look at least. Wilderlands is really about giving you ground level detail and you build the superstructure, the opposite of most settings. City States like Tarantis Rallu & Tula could be used as analogues of early medieval equivalents.
Quote from: jhkim on April 25, 2025, 04:09:29 PMQuote from: SHARK on April 25, 2025, 03:37:01 PMIt is always nice to find some actual products that feature some particular world region or era in history. Generally, for myself, aside from the more popular Western/Northern European focus, that I would otherwise be waiting in vain. Thus, I just create my own for whatever world region or time setting that I want.
A very long time ago, I waited and searched and waited on companies. There was nothing, or very little.
I get that. I had no expectation of RPG material for my Incan-inspired fantasy campaign, for example. But medieval Mediterranean is so frickin close to the default medieval Western/Northern European that I am surprised at how little it seems there is - with the closest being a big cluster of material in ancient Greece.
I'm not sure how soon I'd run something like this, but I might make a page assembling some of the sources that I have and some notes/thoughts.
I can't recall the name (I want to say it was in fact Night Battles, but when I look it up, I can't seem to find it: my google skills might just be weak tonight). But I remember there being a game inspired by Ginzburg's
The Night Battles: Witchcraft and Agrarian Cults in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries about the Benandanti, in the Fruili region of Italy. Not sure if this is too late for what you are looking for as it is more early modern.
Quote from: JasperAK on April 26, 2025, 08:46:13 AMI agree Jhkim; I never liked those settings that add all these monstrous races for the reason you state. But I find a trait or blooded system doesn't quite work for me either. Tolkien's different races seem just alien enough to NOT be human-from-a-different-culture analogs.
So going on a slight tangent then, let us all assume we want to create this medieval not-Western European setting that maybe goes from a fantastic Byzantine Empire to the lands of the Indian Subcontinent. Travel would be either by sea or a Silk Road analogue. How would one go about creating player races from various source material like Tolkien did? Tolkien's dwarves and elves don't really match any single one source material--or do they? How could what he created and inspired Gygax and Arneson to create be duplicated? How could something like 1,001 Arabian Nights or the Mahabharata be D&Dified? What other source material might be applicable?
I guess what I am really asking is how would one go about making the creatures in various lore less monstrous and more demi-human?
I'm cautious of
duplicating Tolkien, because I think it might miss what makes the setting different. England is an island that had somewhat distinct waves of migration, so they're likely to distinguish between Irish, Welsh, and Scots, say.
My thinking was that the Mediterranean and Middle East are far more blended -- with (1) a much longer history; and (2) much more trade and migration among all the peoples. Greek, Romans, Egyptians, and many others have all blended since ancient times.
If anyone has suggestions for demi-human races, I'd be interested. But most of the ones that I listed didn't really ring with me. Especially, I'm having a hard time picturing a "go-to" repeated demi-human the way that elf and dwarf are. I can picture a Sinbad-like fantasy with an exotic strange member of the crew or two - but I'd expect those to be more one-offs rather than "go-tos".
It's a bit like race in Star Wars or Star Trek, which don't have "go-tos" like D&D. Instead, there is predominantly human, and each new crew keeps adding new types of alien to the mix. Later Star Trek series added Soong-type android, shapeshifter, trill symbiont, Talaxian, etc. Star Wars is similar, with new aliens regularly being introduced.
---
Maybe it would help to talk about inspirations. The primary inspiration is the Ray Harryhausen Sinbad movies. Secondary would be pseudo-ancient-era fantasy including Greek myth, Hercules, Xena, etc. -- and on the other end there'd be some closer to Renaissance-ish fantasy, especially The Princess Bride.
Quote from: jhkim on April 26, 2025, 08:51:54 PMIf anyone has suggestions for demi-human races, I'd be interested. But most of the ones that I listed didn't really ring with me. Especially, I'm having a hard time picturing a "go-to" repeated demi-human the way that elf and dwarf are. I can picture a Sinbad-like fantasy with an exotic strange member of the crew or two - but I'd expect those to be more one-offs rather than "go-tos".
I think something like Brancalonia's Sylvans make a lot of sense if you want to go for a Byzantine, post-Roman-Empire vibe. Something connected to fauns/satyrs/nereids/nymphs is the logical step for anything connected to antiquity. I like Brancalonia's races in general. Something related to Djinni is obvious, too. Personally, I'd probably just make Djinns a playable race, possibly borrowing the idea from Brancalonia's Malebranche of having them cut off in some way from their full otherworldly power.
The closest thing in Middle Eastern folklore to elves is the Persian Pari (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Par%C4%AB), albeit that they're more similar to old Norse Elves than they are to Tolkien's. They're semi-angelic beings, but they do interact directly with humans in old stories. Equally, the Persian equivalent of an orc or ogre would probably be the Div/Dev (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Div_(mythology)). They'd be iffy as a player race, though. Same with the Indian Rakshasa (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rakshasa), though they get analogized more with a demon or a vampire.
Another potential player race would be the Cynocephalus (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cynocephaly), a dog-headed race that was believed to live in several places, but most commonly the Hindu Kush. I suspect they might be a distant origin point of the D&D Gnoll, but in medieval legend they're more commonly portrayed as good-natured.
I know it was mentioned briefly earlier in the thread, but Swords of Kos from Skirmisher Publishing might be worth a look. It's definitely on the lighter side of setting material, so if you're looking for tomes of perfectly researched mediterranean lore this might not be up your alley. But as a good framework for a setting centered around the region with a nice price point it's probably worth a look.
Quote from: rkhigdon on April 28, 2025, 08:32:18 AMI know it was mentioned briefly earlier in the thread, but Swords of Kos from Skirmisher Publishing might be worth a look. It's definitely on the lighter side of setting material, so if you're looking for tomes of perfectly researched mediterranean lore this might not be up your alley. But as a good framework for a setting centered around the region with a nice price point it's probably worth a look.
OK, at $35 for the PDF, this is more than my impulse purchase amount, and I'm not yet sold on this one. It's described as sword-and-sorcery "inspired by the works of Fritz Leiber, Robert E. Howard, and Jack Vance".
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/193686/swords-of-kos-fantasy-campaign-setting
The premise is that "It is set a century after a Great Cataclysm destroyed the old world, plunged it into chaos, and reawakened magic and all form of ancient races and monsters. Now, the agents of Gods and Titans struggle against each other on behalf of their masters, nations strive to survive or dominate one another, and adventurers descend into the ruins in search of wealth and lost technology."
There are 17 species including Antaeans, Arachneans, Bull Centaurs, Cynocephalians, and Myrmidons (along with more familiar Humans, Centaurs, Dwarves, Elves, Gnolls, Gnomes, Goblinoids, Half-Elves, Halflings, Lizardfolk, Merfolk, and Orcs).
My initial impression is that it's sword-and-sorcery that is set in a place geographically like the Mediterranean, but I'm not sure on the flavor of fantasy fit. I'll make a more general post on that shortly.
Thinking about it, I think there's a big part of attitude that's key to what I'm thinking of.
In Harryhausen's Sinbad movies, there's a spirit of seafaring adventure - the laughter and camaraderie of the crew, and appreciation of the wonders that they find. There are codes of hospitality and respect. This reflects some of the differences between the Mediterranean cultures and the Northern European cultures. Northern European fantasy tends to be cold and dour and fatalistic.
It's not just being more light-hearted. There can be conflict and violence and death, but there is hope and getting over that in living life to its fullest while there is still life.
---
I'm not sure how this attitude should be reflected in aspects like how races/heritage works.
But I'm wary about duplicating too much from Tolkien, because I wouldn't want to have Tolkien but with Jann instead of elves. There need to be some core differences that come right across.
Quote from: jhkim on April 28, 2025, 11:05:41 PMThinking about it, I think there's a big part of attitude that's key to what I'm thinking of.
In Harryhausen's Sinbad movies, there's a spirit of seafaring adventure - the laughter and camaraderie of the crew, and appreciation of the wonders that they find.
It's not just being more light-hearted. There can be conflict and violence and death, but there is hope and getting over that in living life to its fullest while there is still life.
Not _exactly_ Ryuutama, judging from https://kotohi.com/ryuutama/unique-elements/, but it sounds like you could pull some ideas from cozy travel games?
For attitude: do something to bring OSR carousing rules more front-and-center. :)
Oh, also not what you're looking for but possibly related, the Silk Road Guide to Seafaring. Set in 54 AD, and spanning much of Eurasia, but definitely "sail all over the world, see astounding things; probably get involved with important patrons, or perhaps just be port-of-the-week picaresque".
There are Castles & Crusades books for classical Greece and ancient Egypt.