There's a couple out that spring to mind...
Urban War (http://www.urbanwarthegame.com/news.php) seems pretty interesting - resource seeking factions fighting on a distant planet.
and Infinity (http://www.infinitythegame.com/infinity/en) also looks pretty cool.
Cadwallon is interesting...providing you can get through the poor translation. Otherwise, it is extremely compelling!
Warmachine/hordes is cool for RPing (as it started as an RPG it makes sense) if the new game is somewhat disappointing.
Dark Age
http://www.dark-age.com
Cadwallon is already an RPG, but I agree... I love the wider setting of Aarklash for the Confrontation games. It has a unique flavor to it. Kinda like Warhammer mixed with Disney... meaning brighter colored and cleaner, less historical-ish... but just as weird and creepy in the shadows. I've borrowed loads of ideas from it for my homebrew games.
Leviathan/Chronopia are darker fantasy settings I'd like to run some games in. Ongoing wars with HUGE warmachines and no identifiable 'good guys'.
Kryomek is an older scifi game that I think has a lot of RPG potential. It's kind of like an expansion of Aliens... with more robots.
1999 and Dark Age would make for fun/weird post apocalypse settings... they're share a genetic heritage and could easily see 1999's setting of man-made angels and demons being the precursor of Dark Age's weird mutant gangs.
Well...back in the day there were quite a few board wargames that had really compelling backgrounds/world-building. I don't know how easy it would to find them these days.
Albion: Land of Faerie posited a time when the British Isles (Albion) was mostly ruled by the Sidhe, sort of badass Silmarillion-type elves, and fought a war against troll-like Fomorians, with barbaric humans as rather pathetic spoilers (who, "historically," picked up the pieces). It basically transmogrifies Celtic myth and has all kinds of cool relationships between individuals, places, and magic items. An article was later published in Ares magazine with stats in Dragonquest terms.
Divine Right has a fantastic early-D&D feel, slightly gonzo S&S with some high fantasy elements, and many articles appeared in the Dragon to flesh out the setting. Strangely, I don't think was ever an official RPG tie-in, although I think I came across some fan-made rules somewhere on the net.
Magic Realm sort of aimed at capturing the essence of bog-standard kitchen-sink fantasy, but it failed to conform because it was brilliant. Many of the elements are generic/archetypal, but the way all the pieces fit together, particularly the NPC factions and how they relate to each other and the players, gives it real depth, along with a lot of neat magic items and a theme of using "enchantment" to modify sections of the board.
Let me throw in a slightly wonky favorite; Mutant Chronicles.
It makes me sad that I'm appearantly the only person in the entire universe who wants to play it.
Quote from: Elliot Wilen;622754Divine Right has a fantastic early-D&D feel, slightly gonzo S&S with some high fantasy elements, and many articles appeared in the Dragon to flesh out the setting. Strangely, I don't think was ever an official RPG tie-in, although I think I came across some fan-made rules somewhere on the net.
Yes. I only recently discovered that game but its map (http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bxRMSMYSL04/Thnk0aHVR5I/AAAAAAAAAOU/CzRCV_hVeA4/s1600/minaria.jpg) immediately sent all sorts of retro-gamey ideas dancing through my head.
Mutant Chronicles! I've run Savage Worlds games with MC as the setting and using my buddy's huge MC minis collection.
If you like Egyptian Fantasy, definitely check out by Age of Aegyptus from Crocodile Games. The background is superb and I wish they would make an RPG from their IP. http://www.crocodilegames.com/
AT-43 was a great scifi setting. They had cool prepainted plastic minis and great rules, but the company went to shit. My buddy collected a bunch and ran several RPG/minis hybrid sessions that worked quite well.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AT-43
Suggesting Mordheim is probably cheating, but if you want a great setting for a short WFRP 1e/2e campaign, I highly suggest Mordheim for its awesome built in campaign concepts. AKA, lots of reasons to go into the ruins and the need to escape them before night falls.
Squad Leader was the first game I roleplayed with its campaign system and experience point system for playing your own leader.
Tannhäuser (http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/edge_minisite_sec.asp?eidm=28&esem=1)
Dust Warfare (http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/edge_minisite_sec.asp?eidm=173&esem=1)
A Very British Civil War (http://solwaycraftsandminiatures.webs.com/books.htm)
Squad Leader as mentioned earlier. And also Kingmaker, which we did use years ago as the framework sort of for a D&D campaign.
Quote from: mhensley;622775Squad Leader was the first game I roleplayed with its campaign system and experience point system for playing your own leader.
Quote from: SionEwig;622782Squad Leader as mentioned earlier. And also Kingmaker, which we did use years ago as the framework sort of for a D&D campaign.
I thought I would have been the only one that would mention the role-play aspects of squad leader. So, ya this is the one that came first to my mind.
mage knight (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mage_Knight#Factions)'s world sounded appealing. fantasy with some guns & mechanicals & tanks, neat crossover stuff.
Did Savage Worlds ever come out with a Mage Knight RPG book?
The Omega War. SPI/TSR late Ares design. Post-apoc with rebel agents trying to free North America from the control of, basically, a corrupt, entrenched UN which moved in after WWIII wrecked most of the first world. Orbital space lasers, bubble cities, great plains tribes riding giant mutant razorback hogs, mutant soldiers driving hovercraft, and a Tim Truman comic in the magazine.
Quote from: Elliot Wilen;622828The Omega War. SPI/TSR late Ares design. Post-apoc with rebel agents trying to free North America from the control of, basically, a corrupt, entrenched UN which moved in after WWIII wrecked most of the first world. Orbital space lasers, bubble cities, great plains tribes riding giant mutant razorback hogs, mutant soldiers driving hovercraft, and a Tim Truman comic in the magazine.
sounds sweet--and so 80s. will have to track that down, love truman's work (hells, it sold me on rifts wormwood). wish i still had my old scout (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scout_%28comics%29) comics :(
Quote from: baragei;622757Let me throw in a slightly wonky favorite; Mutant Chronicles.
It makes me sad that I'm appearantly the only person in the entire universe who wants to play it.
You're not alone!
I bought the RPG at a used book store just so I could look through it. The different weapons, the corporations, the much-cooler-than-Warhammer-take-on-chaos enemy, the dreary feel to it all. I loved the fluff. The rules.... I didn't even really look at.
I would love to experience this game at its best.
Chainmail.
With its fantasy supplement, someone could graft something of an RPG to it and perhaps go dungeon-delving.
chronopia.
Flames of War.
BTW, the new Iron Kingdoms RPG is awesome, don't listen to the detractors.
I like Mutant Chronicles. I'd like to see a reboot with a better system and a more Noir feel like the early rpg stuff had.
Leviathan certainly would make a great post apocalypic setting. It needs re-done with better rules and miniatures.
Quote from: Blackhand;622897BTW, the new Iron Kingdoms RPG is awesome, don't listen to the detractors.
Very much this. IT is so much better now that it isnt a d20 system.
I was waiting for the GURPS Space Knights book to appear... but since Hot Lead never released... I have all these Space Knight miniatures I'll never get to use...
DAMN YOU STEVE JACKSON!no... not bitter at all...
I would love to see an RPG for Dystopian Wars/Legions
As well as one for Firestorm Armada
Quote from: David Johansen;622911Leviathan certainly would make a great post apocalypic setting. It needs re-done with better rules and miniatures.
Leviathans with the airships from last year, or
Leviathan by FASA?
The original Kingmaker, along with Columbia Games' really excellent Richard III wargame, were direct inspirations for my Dark Albion setting.
RPGPundit
Quote from: ICFTI;622880chronopia.
It exists.
The fifth edition of the Swedish RPG
Drakar och Demoner was set in the
Chronopia setting.
http://rpggeek.com/rpgfamily/1921/drakar-och-demoner
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drakar_och_Demoner
Bladestorm (http://www.ironcrown.com/ICEforums/index.php?topic=1281.0) was fairly enjoyable, a really great setting in the Bladelands with lots of details, even if the rules were impenetrable. They kept mass battles to a minimum by dint of magical "bladestorms" which erupted around large areas of fighting, basically sandstorms except with hammer, knives, axes, sword, maces etc. instead of dust. Skirmishes all the way.
GDW has been doing this from way back when. Imperium, Mayday, Snapshot, Azhanti High Lightning, Fifth Frontier War, Invasion: Earth, Dark Nebula, and the Striker Miniatures Rules are all compatible with Classic Traveller (in fact, conversion rules are in each game).
Traveller-TNE had Striker II, Brilliant Lances, and Battle Riders as boardgame/wargames.
More recently, Mongoose Publishing is using their Noble Armada miniatures engine to power Star Fleet Battles and using their Traveller license to power a version of Prime Directive.
Quote from: jeff37923;623221GDW has been doing this from way back when. Imperium, Mayday, Snapshot, Azhanti High Lightning, Fifth Frontier War, Invasion: Earth, Dark Nebula, and the Striker Miniatures Rules are all compatible with Classic Traveller (in fact, conversion rules are in each game).
Traveller-TNE had Striker II, Brilliant Lances, and Battle Riders as boardgame/wargames.
More recently, Mongoose Publishing is using their Noble Armada miniatures engine to power Star Fleet Battles and using their Traveller license to power a version of Prime Directive.
That's not precisely where I was aiming; more at "what miniature gaming universes are neat and you'd like to put an RPG in them."
However, with that said, GDW did also release a squad-level wargame parallel to Twilight:2000 called
The Last Battle. Whether you work it into a T2k game or simply use it by itself it is a skirmish-scale WarPac v. NATO wargame. Never played it.
Dystopian Wars/Legions (i can't be arsed to link).
Sliiiightly cheating, but the 40k focused subgames - Necromunda, GorkaMorka - could work for this. They dodge a lot of the setting's baggage, and being set in one small georgraphic are gives you more potential to flesh that out.
You could also expand the concept to other locations - an Eldar Craftworld would work great, for example. And there's maybe even a decent RPG possible in the Blood Bowl world...
Quote from: Dirk Remmecke;623195It exists.
The fifth edition of the Swedish RPG Drakar och Demoner was set in the Chronopia setting.
http://rpggeek.com/rpgfamily/1921/drakar-och-demoner
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drakar_och_Demoner
cool! i knew there was a reason i needed to learn swedish!
Quote from: Ghost Whistler;623249Dystopian Wars/Legions (i can't be arsed to link).
I will, and with love
Dystopian Wars (http://www.spartangames.co.uk/games/dystopian-wars)
Dystopian Legions (http://www.spartangames.co.uk/games/dystopian-legions)
And I'll add Firestorm Armada (http://www.spartangames.co.uk/games/firestorm-armada) (rules are now free (http://www.spartangames.co.uk/firestorm-armada-rulebook-download))
Firestorm Invasion (http://www.studiosparta.co.uk/Articles.asp?ID=250) is their ground based game set in the Firestorm Armada universe
Dystopian Wars and Legions are my two favorite minis games at the moment. Of course, I think I've said that once already in this thread lol
Quote from: ICFTI;623252cool! i knew there was a reason i needed to learn swedish!
Drakar och Demoner is "just" a Swedish
BRP clone, so system-wise there would be no need to look into it.
DoD had three settings. Editions 1-4 were set in Ereb Altor (map (http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/5528043/images/1250812002786.jpg)), edition 5 was set in the world of Chronopia, and with the latest edition they left "generic fantasy" behind and created a new setting based on Scandinavian myths and fairy tales: Trudvang (awesome covers of rule book (http://www.riotminds.se/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/RollspeletDummy1.jpg) and setting book (http://www.riotminds.se/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/TrudvangDummy.jpg)).
But it seems they changed the system as well as the new character sheet looks nothing like a BRP sheet (http://www.riotminds.se/drakar-och-demoner/dod_rollformular-2/).
Wow, I just saw that there is a movie in the making (http://drakarochdemoner.se/tronlandaren/start/). Look at the characters (link "Karaktärer").
Quote from: Blackhand;622897Flames of War.
BTW, the new Iron Kingdoms RPG is awesome, don't listen to the detractors.
My only real problem was I felt the book was much less interesting to read. Far fewer nifty and useful tidbits scattered about.
The rules themselves are much better but the book just doesn't fire the imagination like the d20 game.
YMMV.
Quote from: Piestrio;623465My only real problem was I felt the book was much less interesting to read. Far fewer nifty and useful tidbits scattered about.
The rules themselves are much better but the book just doesn't fire the imagination like the d20 game.
YMMV.
There is less fiction in the new IKRPG book definitely. But I'm guessing this had to be sacrificed somewhat to make room for all the rules and setting info. The new system is definitely better, and fits with the WarmaHordes mechanics a lot better. It also doesnt carry any of the d20 baggage...
Remember, this is a new launch of the brand. As more books come out, I think we'll see more of the old character that the d20 books had. I am really excited for this.
They also announced their line of novels as well. Should be interesting to see how those turn out.
In fact, just about any of Columbia Games' recent line of wargames would be totally inspiring for historical or quasi-historical RPGs. Crusader Rex, for instance...
RPGPundit
Quote from: Spinachcat;622772AT-43 was a great scifi setting. They had cool prepainted plastic minis and great rules, but the company went to shit.
Yeah, AT-43 was great while it lasted. I've got a Therian and a UNA army in my closet that I break out every blue moon and play with friends. Great pre-painted minis, evocative setting.
Rackham released a pseudo-RPG supplement for AT-43 called Tactics (http://rpggeek.com/rpgitem/49766/at-43-tactics) - which was a poor approximation of an RPG. More a skirmish-level wargame with each player taking on the role of a single model. The "game leader" would present missions to the players, and success would bring experience (and perks) to a player's model.
Quote from: K Peterson;623882Yeah, AT-43 was great while it lasted. I've got a Therian and a UNA army in my closet that I break out every blue moon and play with friends. Great pre-painted minis, evocative setting.
Rackham released a pseudo-RPG supplement for AT-43 called Tactics (http://rpggeek.com/rpgitem/49766/at-43-tactics) - which was a poor approximation of an RPG. More a skirmish-level wargame with each player taking on the role of a single model. The "game leader" would present missions to the players, and success would bring experience (and perks) to a player's model.
So kind of a sort of WH40k meets Descent: Journeys in the Dark + Campaign supplement?
Perhaps. I've never played Descent so I can't really comment.
Quote from: thedungeondelver;623894So kind of a sort of WH40k meets Descent: Journeys in the Dark + Campaign supplement?
Probably close to that, though I've never played that game. Warhammer Quest or Necromunda popped into my mind when I tried Tactics. Compared to their minis game, Tactics wasnt very good...
Which was a real shame... Now that I think about it, AT-43 really deserved a good RPG. It also deserved not dying the death it received either...
Quote from: RPGPundit;623845In fact, just about any of Columbia Games' recent line of wargames would be totally inspiring for historical or quasi-historical RPGs. Crusader Rex, for instance...
RPGPundit
Really? I've played CG's older games (Rommel in the Desert, War of 1812, Napoleon) and although I can see how the system would translate fantastically to medieval conflicts, I don't find them particularly inspirational for RPG-play. What hints at RPG-ness for me is either
a. Unique background, that you couldn't just find anywhere. Thus SJG Ogre kinda inspires GURPS: Ogre, but World in Flames doesn't inspire GURPS WWII. WWII inspires GURPS WWII.
b. Human-level elements. Thus game elements focusing on agents, leaders, magic items, etc.
Another example: Star Trader, another Ares game. This time, players of the board game are merchant corporations (or, sometimes, factions such as the crew of warship that have mutinied and turned pirate). But the game has several kinds of skulduggery: colorful random events that are placed on the turn track
before they occur, so that players can learn about them in advance if they have the right connections; also, players can acquire "agents" who help them do things. "Agents" invites thinking about "PCs". It helps of course that ST is already explicitly in the same setting as SPI's Universe, the game has suggestions on using the game as a large-scale background generator for the RPG, and the magazine has another Tim Truman comic.
BTW, White Bear/Red Moon was the first Glorantha game. It was a wargame, but again with personal elements where e.g. individual counters were even defined as being "best friends" with other counters! So, alluding to a colorful background, and having individual-level detail instead of just faceless armies. But a couple RPGs have already been done off of that one.
I'd suggest Rezolution, its a fun little game, with tons of potential for an RPG.
Quote from: Elliot Wilen;624002Really? I've played CG's older games (Rommel in the Desert, War of 1812, Napoleon) and although I can see how the system would translate fantastically to medieval conflicts, I don't find them particularly inspirational for RPG-play. What hints at RPG-ness for me is either
a. Unique background, that you couldn't just find anywhere. Thus SJG Ogre kinda inspires GURPS: Ogre, but World in Flames doesn't inspire GURPS WWII. WWII inspires GURPS WWII.
b. Human-level elements. Thus game elements focusing on agents, leaders, magic items, etc.
Another example: Star Trader, another Ares game. This time, players of the board game are merchant corporations (or, sometimes, factions such as the crew of warship that have mutinied and turned pirate). But the game has several kinds of skulduggery: colorful random events that are placed on the turn track before they occur, so that players can learn about them in advance if they have the right connections; also, players can acquire "agents" who help them do things. "Agents" invites thinking about "PCs". It helps of course that ST is already explicitly in the same setting as SPI's Universe, the game has suggestions on using the game as a large-scale background generator for the RPG, and the magazine has another Tim Truman comic.
BTW, White Bear/Red Moon was the first Glorantha game. It was a wargame, but again with personal elements where e.g. individual counters were even defined as being "best friends" with other counters! So, alluding to a colorful background, and having individual-level detail instead of just faceless armies. But a couple RPGs have already been done off of that one.
I don't know; it could be just me, because they excite the historian in me. But what I can say is that way back when, the very earliest seed of my Albion campaign came about because I got Richard III. And if I ever run a "Crusades" campaign, it will be because of Crusader Rex.
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