What can people tell me about this game, other than that its Polish?

RPGPundit

Basically its Victorian Steampunk with the full range of D&D races.

Quote from: RPGPundit;661832What can people tell me about this game, other than that its Polish?

RPGPundit

Personally, i wonder what a nordic myth/saga has to do with Victorian Steampunk ...
Well, this won't answer it but it will possibly answer your questions on it:
Wolsung main rules for testplay

http://www.steampulpfantasy.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/WolsungTestDrive.pdf

I'm certain you, CRK, and ... some others (i'm bad at names) will define it as a Storygame.
... I might do it too, because of the "Stakes" part.

(Discussing before a fight what the Stakes might be?! .... Shesh, that ain't my kind of roleplay, i agree with Traveller, this is more Wargame ... or even boardgame/cardgame mechanics.
... Sorry for flaunting my Opinions.)

Well, since I obviously played it, I'll post my thoughts in a bit. But yes, it's about as traditional as 4e is D&D.

Is it based off the FATE system?

Quote from: Rincewind1;661849Well, since I obviously played it, I'll post my thoughts in a bit. But yes, it's about as traditional as 4e is D&D.

I see. Pity. I had somehow gotten the impression that it might have been the Polish take on WFRP.

They have also launched a tabletop miniature game.
At RPC (Role Play Convention, two weeks ago in Cologne, Germany) they did demos and sold the rule book as well as their pretty awesome modular terrain.

These are made from pressed wood:



Detail of connection:


The combo story game and tactical miniature game is a bit strange, though.
(IF the RPG is indeed a story game, which I don't know.)

Wowsers. I bet that terrain costs a small fortune.

Quote from: Dirk Remmecke;661940They have also launched a tabletop miniature game.
At RPC (Role Play Convention, two weeks ago in Cologne, Germany) they did demos and sold the rule book as well as their pretty awesome modular terrain.

These are made from pressed wood:

The combo story game and tactical miniature game is a bit strange, though.
(IF the RPG is indeed a story game, which I don't know.)

Amazing!

.........
Technically, it is a StoryGame-Rpg-Hybrid(similar to AW & DW, but different combination of rules), but seeing as at least Pundit and CRK classify any game which must adress the Player and not the PC during play, as StoryGames, it will probably be addressed as a StoryGame, due to the mechanism of Stakes, and a few other ones in the game.

Had it been a Full StoryGame, and not a Hybrid, then the cross with a tactical miniature game might have been a bit odd, but as this really is a hybrid, like an rpg that frequently uses a third person-view, then the possible cross with a tactical miniature game is really quite natural.

Quote from: Catelf;661946Had it been a Full StoryGame, and not a Hybrid, then the cross with a tactical miniature game might have been a bit odd, but as this really is a hybrid, like an rpg that frequently uses a third person-view, then the possible cross with a tactical miniature game is really quite natural.

Heh, I actually agree with this, shared narrative games are more suited to miniatures use than RPGs if you think about it.

Wolfsung is a game translated from the Polish.

The setting has a handle of Victorian Steampunk, with significant fantasy aspects.  It is better thought of as a Fantasy world that followed a history path similar (but definitely not the same) as Europe and has achieve a Victorian-esk steampunk with magic setting.  It is better thought of as steampulp, as all the sharp edges and dark places have been rolled back.

(This also eliminates a lot of racism, as all the species seem to co-exist in near perfect harmony.  While there are areas that are species homelands, they are not bound to just those places.  So you have "dwarves" everywhere, not just in some Dwarven Homelands. )

The countries here are all Mock-European (and related period world), idealized and steampulped for your convenience. Stereotypes abound as general rule.  Each region has its own set of self contained story arcs and "the way things are."  Is it simplistic, yes.  Is there lurking complexity there?  Only if you want to put it in.  

There are a lot of options here and many ways to frame a campaign.

The setting material is fairly well laid out and easy to follow.  Between it and character creation, you don't have much question as to what the world is and what you can do in it.  There is a lot of material here. The book is really thick and very compressed.

Mechanically, it is really crunch, with a lot of flavorful bit. Character Creation can get pretty detailed if you wade through it all, or if you grab familiar and go with it... significally less.  The system seems to work, I have not played it... but I have read it through a couple of times.  Subsystems (for building things or doing special stuff) all follow the same basic set of mechanics.  Nothing seem out of place.

For general mechanics...
Grabbing from an outside source: Wolsung uses D10s, cards and tokens.

Beginning characters roll 2D10 and keep the highest value. (More advanced roll more d10)  Each Test 'explodes' on a specific number or higher based on a related Attribute. Exploding counts as a 10 and you get to roll another D10 and add its result to the 10. 'Raises' like Savage Worlds for every 5 you beat a TN by.

Tokens function pretty similarly to SW bennies. Each player begins with six and can gain more through significant victories and such.

Uses a standard deck of cards for Initiative. Players get three cards at the beginning of a session. These can be used to replace a card you have drawn for Initiative. They can also be used to alter the game's narrative.

The health system is called Challenge Rating. Each conflict has its own Challenge Rating type; Combat=Brawn, Chase=Agility, Argument=Composure. Each character has a specific Challenge Rating (think Hp) based on that Attribute + 2 (usually resulting in 2, 3 or 4). Every successful offensive action reduces a character's Challenge Rating by 1. Once they are down to 0, the next shot defeats them. Folks can perform Finishers which are inaccurate offensive maneuvers designed to defeat an opponent in one shot regardless of Challenge Rating.

Yes, I own it.  Yes, it is cool.  Is it a great awsome I must play this game?  No, not for me.  It might be someone's perfect cup of tea, but for me it is just another cuppa.

Quote from: MoonHunter;662124(This also eliminates a lot of racism, as all the species seem to co-exist in near perfect harmony.  While there are areas that are species homelands, they are not bound to just those places.  So you have "dwarves" everywhere, not just in some Dwarven Homelands. )

Interesting, since I seem to recall that the usual suspects at Tangency.net had accused Wolsung of racism...

Quote from: RPGPundit;662511Interesting, since I seem to recall that the usual suspects at Tangency.net had accused Wolsung of racism...

Racial/Cultural Stereotypes, not racism.  If they called it racism, they were just showing their lack of English skills.   But strong ethnic/cultural enthnic stereotypes... to the point of simplicity?  Yah. In spades.

The game specificially says it works with stereotypes to make things generally easier to follow. It also has a section that says, these are generalizations and that individuals will be different.  I guess people miss that part.

From what I heard the game isn't exactly a hallmark of polish nationalism or anything.. though of course, its a touch of polish nationalism just to have a poland-equivalent even exist in a 19th century setting!

The Usual Suspects were throwing a shitty fit about races and stereotypes, because orcs are Asians (including Turks & Arabs), and there is a quote that this stereotype combines "classical view of fantasy orc with 19th century Yellow Peril/tales about cunning Chinese and Turks". There are also ogres who are victims of racial prejudices, and they are strong, big and usually not very smart, so you can tell which real life race Usual Suspects ascribed to them.

For the note, Orcs are fully playable and there is also a mention of black elves tribes who live in the jungles.

Wolsung certainly isn't written in "Political Correct" way. But it's also not some racist paradise extravaganza. Not to mention that there is a good amount of modern sensibility into the writing/setting as well (racism is an optional rule of the setting, genders are fully inclusive, colonialism isn't depicted as a glorious thing).