This is a site for discussing roleplaying games. Have fun doing so, but there is one major rule: do not discuss political issues that aren't directly and uniquely related to the subject of the thread and about gaming. While this site is dedicated to free speech, the following will not be tolerated: devolving a thread into unrelated political discussion, sockpuppeting (using multiple and/or bogus accounts), disrupting topics without contributing to them, and posting images that could get someone fired in the workplace (an external link is OK, but clearly mark it as Not Safe For Work, or NSFW). If you receive a warning, please take it seriously and either move on to another topic or steer the discussion back to its original RPG-related theme.
The RPGPundit's Own Forum Rules
This part of the site is controlled by the RPGPundit. This is where he discusses topics that he finds interesting. You may post here, but understand that there are limits. The RPGPundit can shut down any thread, topic of discussion, or user in a thread at his pleasure. This part of the site is essentially his house, so keep that in mind. Note that this is the only part of the site where political discussion is permitted, but is regulated by the RPGPundit.

Author Topic: Dark Albion: the Origin Thread  (Read 99114 times)

danskmacabre

  • In retro gamer phase
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1542
Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
« Reply #315 on: June 11, 2015, 01:49:38 AM »
This is the first time I bothered to take a look at the Dark Albion setting, as it didn't sound like my sort of thing. I asssumed it was a non fantasy historical rpg.
I love history, but wouldn't want to play a strictly historical rpg.

But seeing as this is a very fantasy take on British history, I think it sounds quite interesting.
Especially as I'm quite a history buff, especially British history and over various periods.
I used to do Historical re-enactment in the UK over various periods covering, Celtic Pre-Roman, Roman/Celtic, Dark ages from roughly 800AD to 1200AD, so Saxon, viking etc...
Then onto Medieval and finally English civil war.  

So this setting would be a fun read for me, even if I don't use it.
I like that it's system agnostic, as I can plug in what I want then.

I'll probably get it in a printed format if it's not very expensive to get in Australia, where I currently live.
« Last Edit: June 11, 2015, 02:10:17 AM by danskmacabre »

RPGPundit

  • Administrator - The Final Boss of Internet Shitlords
  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 48855
    • http://therpgpundit.blogspot.com
Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
« Reply #316 on: June 11, 2015, 03:52:19 AM »
Quote from: danskmacabre;836046
This is the first time I bothered to take a look at the Dark Albion setting, as it didn't sound like my sort of thing. I asssumed it was a non fantasy historical rpg.
I love history, but wouldn't want to play a strictly historical rpg.

But seeing as this is a very fantasy take on British history, I think it sounds quite interesting.
Especially as I'm quite a history buff, especially British history and over various periods.
I used to do Historical re-enactment in the UK over various periods covering, Celtic Pre-Roman, Roman/Celtic, Dark ages from roughly 800AD to 1200AD, so Saxon, viking etc...
Then onto Medieval and finally English civil war.  

So this setting would be a fun read for me, even if I don't use it.
I like that it's system agnostic, as I can plug in what I want then.

I'll probably get it in a printed format if it's not very expensive to get in Australia, where I currently live.


Glad to hear it!
LION & DRAGON: Medieval-Authentic OSR Roleplaying is available now! You only THINK you've played 'medieval fantasy' until you play L&D.


My Blog:  http://therpgpundit.blogspot.com/
The most famous uruguayan gaming blog on the planet!

NEW!
Check out my short OSR supplements series; The RPGPundit Presents!


Dark Albion: The Rose War! The OSR fantasy setting of the history that inspired Shakespeare and Martin alike.
Also available in Variant Cover form!
Also, now with the CULTS OF CHAOS cult-generation sourcebook

ARROWS OF INDRA
Arrows of Indra: The Old-School Epic Indian RPG!
NOW AVAILABLE: AoI in print form

LORDS OF OLYMPUS
The new Diceless RPG of multiversal power, adventure and intrigue, now available.

Matt

  • Fan of sexy sci fi
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 880
Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
« Reply #317 on: June 21, 2015, 07:57:53 PM »
Didn't realize you'd been working on this for 4+ years...!

RPGPundit

  • Administrator - The Final Boss of Internet Shitlords
  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 48855
    • http://therpgpundit.blogspot.com
Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
« Reply #318 on: June 22, 2015, 12:37:54 AM »
Quote from: Matt;837579
Didn't realize you'd been working on this for 4+ years...!


Yes, it's been a long-term process!
LION & DRAGON: Medieval-Authentic OSR Roleplaying is available now! You only THINK you've played 'medieval fantasy' until you play L&D.


My Blog:  http://therpgpundit.blogspot.com/
The most famous uruguayan gaming blog on the planet!

NEW!
Check out my short OSR supplements series; The RPGPundit Presents!


Dark Albion: The Rose War! The OSR fantasy setting of the history that inspired Shakespeare and Martin alike.
Also available in Variant Cover form!
Also, now with the CULTS OF CHAOS cult-generation sourcebook

ARROWS OF INDRA
Arrows of Indra: The Old-School Epic Indian RPG!
NOW AVAILABLE: AoI in print form

LORDS OF OLYMPUS
The new Diceless RPG of multiversal power, adventure and intrigue, now available.

southpaw

  • Newbie
  • *
  • s
  • Posts: 13
Great Work!
« Reply #319 on: October 02, 2015, 08:29:13 PM »
I just had to come in here and say how pleased I am with Dark Albion. I've not had any real tabletop RPG action in years because of being busy and stuff but after reading the reviews and picking up a copy of your book I'm hooked all over again. The writing is wonderful and the setting details are exactly the sort of thing I look for in a game world.

I also picked up a copy of Fantastic Heroes and Witchery to use with it.

Thank you!

RPGPundit

  • Administrator - The Final Boss of Internet Shitlords
  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 48855
    • http://therpgpundit.blogspot.com
Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
« Reply #320 on: October 04, 2015, 06:30:20 AM »
Quote from: southpaw;858730
I just had to come in here and say how pleased I am with Dark Albion. I've not had any real tabletop RPG action in years because of being busy and stuff but after reading the reviews and picking up a copy of your book I'm hooked all over again. The writing is wonderful and the setting details are exactly the sort of thing I look for in a game world.

I also picked up a copy of Fantastic Heroes and Witchery to use with it.

Thank you!


That's great to hear! Thank you very much.
LION & DRAGON: Medieval-Authentic OSR Roleplaying is available now! You only THINK you've played 'medieval fantasy' until you play L&D.


My Blog:  http://therpgpundit.blogspot.com/
The most famous uruguayan gaming blog on the planet!

NEW!
Check out my short OSR supplements series; The RPGPundit Presents!


Dark Albion: The Rose War! The OSR fantasy setting of the history that inspired Shakespeare and Martin alike.
Also available in Variant Cover form!
Also, now with the CULTS OF CHAOS cult-generation sourcebook

ARROWS OF INDRA
Arrows of Indra: The Old-School Epic Indian RPG!
NOW AVAILABLE: AoI in print form

LORDS OF OLYMPUS
The new Diceless RPG of multiversal power, adventure and intrigue, now available.

Stephen Tannhauser

  • Curmudgeonly Refugee
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • S
  • Posts: 1205
Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
« Reply #321 on: December 08, 2015, 05:10:04 PM »
Just got Dark Albion in the mail, and am finding it wonderfully interesting, but I did find myself differing from its basic assumptions in a couple of ways and thought I might ask what your thoughts are on some tweaks I would most likely implement, if I ran this game for my friends.

1)  I would go back to the historical religions, rather than the Unconquered Sun, and simply tweak them so magic was something theologically acceptable for good PCs as was.

2)  I am a definite Ricardian, and would want a much more heroic Richard III and House of York, who could be exonerated of the deaths of the Tower princes.  (I have been spoiled by reading and greatly enjoying Sharon Kay Penman's The Sunne in Splendour.)

3)  I would probably go with vampires ruling France under an arcane twilight that allowed them to travel during the day, rather than the Frogmen, mostly because I like Dracula better than Cthulhu.

As the person who knows this setting best, does anything immediately suggest itself as a 'landmine' effect of these changes, something that will radically screw things up in a way I might not foresee?
Better to keep silent and be thought a fool, than to speak and remove all doubt. -- Mark Twain

STR 8 DEX 10 CON 10 INT 11 WIS 6 CHA 3

RPGPundit

  • Administrator - The Final Boss of Internet Shitlords
  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 48855
    • http://therpgpundit.blogspot.com
Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
« Reply #322 on: December 09, 2015, 11:35:44 PM »
Quote from: Stephen Tannhauser;867983
Just got Dark Albion in the mail, and am finding it wonderfully interesting, but I did find myself differing from its basic assumptions in a couple of ways and thought I might ask what your thoughts are on some tweaks I would most likely implement, if I ran this game for my friends.

1)  I would go back to the historical religions, rather than the Unconquered Sun, and simply tweak them so magic was something theologically acceptable for good PCs as was.


That's fine.  Magic WAS theologically acceptable, for the educated classes; though it was often suspect.

Quote

2)  I am a definite Ricardian, and would want a much more heroic Richard III and House of York, who could be exonerated of the deaths of the Tower princes.  (I have been spoiled by reading and greatly enjoying Sharon Kay Penman's The Sunne in Splendour.)


From a historical perspective, this is dubious. But from a gaming perspective, there's no problem with that. Of course, I'd advise you to then have a really credible idea of just what happened to the princes.

Quote
3)  I would probably go with vampires ruling France under an arcane twilight that allowed them to travel during the day, rather than the Frogmen, mostly because I like Dracula better than Cthulhu.


You could go that way, but it will really diminish the impact of Vlad Tepes if you plan for the timeline to go that far ahead in a campaign.
In my own original Dark Albion campaign, there were creatures called 'vampires' before Dracula; but they were wimpy blood-drinking undeads more like ghouls.  When one of the greatest heroes of the Unconquered Sun, who had apparently died so tragically betrayed, came back as an ultra-powerful Undead lord that threatened the entire continent, it had my players crapping their pants in fear (knowing that sooner or later, they'd be the ones sent to try to kill him).  
If France is already full of vampires, that's likely to be diminished.
LION & DRAGON: Medieval-Authentic OSR Roleplaying is available now! You only THINK you've played 'medieval fantasy' until you play L&D.


My Blog:  http://therpgpundit.blogspot.com/
The most famous uruguayan gaming blog on the planet!

NEW!
Check out my short OSR supplements series; The RPGPundit Presents!


Dark Albion: The Rose War! The OSR fantasy setting of the history that inspired Shakespeare and Martin alike.
Also available in Variant Cover form!
Also, now with the CULTS OF CHAOS cult-generation sourcebook

ARROWS OF INDRA
Arrows of Indra: The Old-School Epic Indian RPG!
NOW AVAILABLE: AoI in print form

LORDS OF OLYMPUS
The new Diceless RPG of multiversal power, adventure and intrigue, now available.

Stephen Tannhauser

  • Curmudgeonly Refugee
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • S
  • Posts: 1205
Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
« Reply #323 on: December 10, 2015, 02:36:14 PM »
Quote from: RPGPundit;868184
From a historical perspective, this is dubious.


Well, the only thing I really want to clear Richard of is actual conspiracy to murder his nephews; as per Penman, it strikes me as perfectly plausible that one of Richard's more ruthless supporters (Penman accuses Buckingham) might have jumped that gun on his behalf.  In the Albionverse, a Chaos magician loyal to the Tudors might even have done it by magic so as to undermine Richard's claim to legitimacy.

Quote
You could go that way, but it will really diminish the impact of Vlad Tepes if you plan for the timeline to go that far ahead in a campaign. ...When one of the greatest heroes of the Unconquered Sun, who had apparently died so tragically betrayed, came back as an ultra-powerful Undead lord that threatened the entire continent, it had my players crapping their pants in fear (knowing that sooner or later, they'd be the ones sent to try to kill him).  If France is already full of vampires, that's likely to be diminished.


Hm.  A good point.

I have to admit that part of my problem with the Frogmen is that other than being, you know, frogs, they seem to act and behave (as far as I can tell from the book so far) almost exactly like another faction of human beings, with nobles and diplomacy and trade deals and all that.  It's hard to buy a France ruled by creatures not even mammalian that still plays mostly the same geopolitical role in European history.  So maybe I'll go with Chaos-magelords rather than vampires.

Many thanks for your advice!
Better to keep silent and be thought a fool, than to speak and remove all doubt. -- Mark Twain

STR 8 DEX 10 CON 10 INT 11 WIS 6 CHA 3

RPGPundit

  • Administrator - The Final Boss of Internet Shitlords
  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 48855
    • http://therpgpundit.blogspot.com
Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
« Reply #324 on: December 10, 2015, 03:33:05 PM »
Quote from: Stephen Tannhauser;868318
Well, the only thing I really want to clear Richard of is actual conspiracy to murder his nephews; as per Penman, it strikes me as perfectly plausible that one of Richard's more ruthless supporters (Penman accuses Buckingham) might have jumped that gun on his behalf.  In the Albionverse, a Chaos magician loyal to the Tudors might even have done it by magic so as to undermine Richard's claim to legitimacy.


The questionable part of that theory is why Richard wouldn't have denounced him for that, after the break with Buckingham? It would have served his purposes.

But I suppose one possibility is that Richard had some scuzzy servants (he did), and they might have acted without his explicit approval.  Not a high noble like Buckingham, but someone like Tyrell. It wouldn't have served Richard to denounce one of his own known men after the deed was done, because he'd gain nothing from it; no one would believe they didn't act on his orders.

Quote

Hm.  A good point.

I have to admit that part of my problem with the Frogmen is that other than being, you know, frogs, they seem to act and behave (as far as I can tell from the book so far) almost exactly like another faction of human beings, with nobles and diplomacy and trade deals and all that.  It's hard to buy a France ruled by creatures not even mammalian that still plays mostly the same geopolitical role in European history.  So maybe I'll go with Chaos-magelords rather than vampires.

Many thanks for your advice!


They don't quite do that. They make a pact with Burgundy at one point, because Philip of Burgundy is himself a little dubious as established in the setting, even then it doesn't last long. Otherwise they make peace treaties to save their asses when things get too tough. But they don't engage in trade deals with any other kingdoms (there may of course be smuggling rings and the likes that get them stuff from outside their borders). And in particular, if you look at the section with the biographies of the Frogmen Kings on p.179, I don't think it makes them look 'just like humans'.  Instead, to me part of their horror is that they are clearly monsters, playing dress-up as humans, like a murderer wearing the skin of his victims as a mask.
LION & DRAGON: Medieval-Authentic OSR Roleplaying is available now! You only THINK you've played 'medieval fantasy' until you play L&D.


My Blog:  http://therpgpundit.blogspot.com/
The most famous uruguayan gaming blog on the planet!

NEW!
Check out my short OSR supplements series; The RPGPundit Presents!


Dark Albion: The Rose War! The OSR fantasy setting of the history that inspired Shakespeare and Martin alike.
Also available in Variant Cover form!
Also, now with the CULTS OF CHAOS cult-generation sourcebook

ARROWS OF INDRA
Arrows of Indra: The Old-School Epic Indian RPG!
NOW AVAILABLE: AoI in print form

LORDS OF OLYMPUS
The new Diceless RPG of multiversal power, adventure and intrigue, now available.

Evermasterx

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 159
Da + dw
« Reply #325 on: March 30, 2016, 09:29:08 AM »
I'm on the verge of starting a Dark Albion campaign, and want to use Dungeon World as a game engine. Or if you prefer I want to play DW using DA as a setting... I've never played DW, but after reading it, I find it very good for my tastes.
What do you think?
"All my demons cast a spell
The souls of dusk rising from the ashes
So the book of shadows tell
The weak will always obey the master"

Kamelot, The Spell
--------
http://evermasterx.altervista.org/blog/tag/lords-of-olympus/

RPGPundit

  • Administrator - The Final Boss of Internet Shitlords
  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 48855
    • http://therpgpundit.blogspot.com
Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
« Reply #326 on: March 30, 2016, 02:00:17 PM »
Quote from: Evermasterx;888320
I'm on the verge of starting a Dark Albion campaign, and want to use Dungeon World as a game engine. Or if you prefer I want to play DW using DA as a setting... I've never played DW, but after reading it, I find it very good for my tastes.
What do you think?


I think you're trolling.
LION & DRAGON: Medieval-Authentic OSR Roleplaying is available now! You only THINK you've played 'medieval fantasy' until you play L&D.


My Blog:  http://therpgpundit.blogspot.com/
The most famous uruguayan gaming blog on the planet!

NEW!
Check out my short OSR supplements series; The RPGPundit Presents!


Dark Albion: The Rose War! The OSR fantasy setting of the history that inspired Shakespeare and Martin alike.
Also available in Variant Cover form!
Also, now with the CULTS OF CHAOS cult-generation sourcebook

ARROWS OF INDRA
Arrows of Indra: The Old-School Epic Indian RPG!
NOW AVAILABLE: AoI in print form

LORDS OF OLYMPUS
The new Diceless RPG of multiversal power, adventure and intrigue, now available.

Evermasterx

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 159
Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
« Reply #327 on: March 30, 2016, 04:55:31 PM »
Why?
"All my demons cast a spell
The souls of dusk rising from the ashes
So the book of shadows tell
The weak will always obey the master"

Kamelot, The Spell
--------
http://evermasterx.altervista.org/blog/tag/lords-of-olympus/

Battle Mad Ronin
BANNED

  • BANNED
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 237
Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
« Reply #328 on: March 31, 2016, 01:04:38 AM »
Quote from: Evermasterx;888473
Why?


RPGpundit's attitude to Dungeon World isn't exactly favorable :)

I think the system will suit just fine. I'm starting a DW campaign in April, and having read the game I get the impression it can handle Shakespearean intrigue and Chaos Frog-fighting equally well. Do tell how it works out for you!

Evermasterx

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 159
Dark Albion: the Origin Thread
« Reply #329 on: March 31, 2016, 02:57:38 AM »
Quote from: Battle Mad Ronin;888606
RPGpundit's attitude to Dungeon World isn't exactly favorable :)

I think the system will suit just fine. I'm starting a DW campaign in April, and having read the game I get the impression it can handle Shakespearean intrigue and Chaos Frog-fighting equally well. Do tell how it works out for you!
Thank you BMR. DW is what I was looking for.
But when the author of a setting that you bought attacks you because you want to play it with a system he doesn't like, the enthusiasm somehow fades.
I care about RPGPundit's opinions, in fact I read his blog too, but I am not a troll. That's for sure, and everybody can read my 150+ posts in this forum since 2009 that prove it.
"All my demons cast a spell
The souls of dusk rising from the ashes
So the book of shadows tell
The weak will always obey the master"

Kamelot, The Spell
--------
http://evermasterx.altervista.org/blog/tag/lords-of-olympus/