What other settings would suit TROS

[Darren Hill]

The recent discussion with Nick about games or settings being suited or unsuited to TROS made me wonder, what other settings would provide changes to the core rules or game style but still have all the elements of 'classic' TROS.
I have one suggestion, but first, a minor rant.

I'd also like to add that in the movie/novel paradigm that I like to work from with TROS (as opposed to the traditional DnD-esque model), the main bad guy is usually not much better than the protagonist, and may be his equal in those stories where the protagonist and villan actually square off.

One thing that occurred to me. If we base our games on cinematic swashbucklers, there ought to be a move which enables the villain to appear to get the perfect opportunty to kill our hero, and then fall on the hero's sword for no very good reason. ;)
I watched the first Riverworld movie recently, and both hero's climactic fights ended like this. For it happen once is bad enough, but you sort of accept it with a sigh, but TWICE in one movie!

Back to the point. I could easily (so easily!) envisage playing a TROS campaign on the Riverworld. Having Sir Richard Burton and Cyrano de Bergerac crop up would be fun, too.
It has the larger than life characters with strong motivations that are characteristic of TROS, and has lots and lots of duelling.
Obviusly it might also have riverboats, biplanes, and maybe helicopters, but metal is very scarce so guns (or more precisely ammunition) wouldn't get in the way too much.
But the overall 'feel' of a campaign strikes me as being very characteristic of TROS, while at the same time offering something different.

Does anyone have other off-the-wall suggestions? (Or maybe disagreements.)

[Eamon Voss]

I personally think that in any setting with an element of realism, TROS would be ideal.  Or at leats the combat, skill, and SA systems.  For example:

1. In an oriental setting, don't make up new weapons.  At best, add in a spiritual attribute called Chi if you want to get fantastical.

2. In an ancients (Romans vs. Gauls) setting, it works great.

3. In a medeival setting, it works great.

The weapons and armor system works.  In fact, without the use of plate armor, it speeds things up and makes the game even better!

[Lance D. Allen]

A setting that I think TRoS would be absolutely PERFECT for (to the point that I'd be willing to contact the author to do an official supplement, if I were the BMiC) is that from the Tiger and Del novels. I don't know if anyone else has read them (I've only read the first four, having only recently discovered there are 6) but the series is inundated with driving goals, passions, destiny, faith, and even a little luck. The sword-play is deadly (slightly underdescribed, but I get the impression that Jennifer Roberson isn't a big sword buff) and the healing is handled in a realistic manner (Tiger is plagued by the same wound throughout an entire book..). Sorcery is mysterious and powerful.

As soon as I picked up the first book to read again after years, I knew it'd be perfect for TRoS.

[Darren Hill]

I'm not familiar with the Tiger and Del books (I'm not actually a big fantasy reader), but my two player group are designing characters which look a lot to me like Fafhrd and The Grey Mouser. That lead me to think of Thieves World, which seems to me to be a very good fit.
Your Tiger and Del post made me think of the Dumarest Saga (though why, I'm not sure), a low-tech SF setting where the hero is searching for the lost planet of Earth, has powerful drives, passions, and enemies (and a spooky level of luck), and gets into a lot of duels and knife-fights.
Dune - there's another SF setting that would work well.

Any setting that's reasonably realistic, as Eamonn said, with the emphasis on 'gritty', where the technology (or magic) doesn't get in the way of having a good sword fight, and characters are the focus of the setting, shoud work well.

[Draigh]

I once ran TRoS in Middle Earth, adding a spiritual attribute: Secret Flame, which represented the character's inner goodness.  The players couldn't spend secret flame to advance their character, but they could use the dice in a myriad of situations ranging from haggling with a merchant to facing down 30 orcs.

[Darren Hill]

I once ran TRoS in Middle Earth, adding a spiritual attribute: Secret Flame, which represented the character's inner goodness.

I can just imagine shelob: "mmm, taste that inner goodness. Yum yum." ;)

Nice idea. So did the secret flame value fluctuate, and how?

[adamsmith]

I'm not sure whether it would work, but the new Midnight setting seems to be a reasonable fit. Any opinions?

[Poenz]

A few series come immediately to mind, as being worthy of the TRoS rule set:

First we have George R. R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire--

Lots of brutal fights, lots of characters driven to extremes by ambition and passion; and the setting owes a lot to the real world.  If there ever was a set of books that seemed destined to wed a particular game system, it's these three and TRoS.  

Now if Mr. Martin can just maintain that feel for the three to come.

Second would be Steven Erikson's Malazan Empire books--

Gritty, sordid, lethal setting.  The first book focuses on a brutal military campaign of high intrique, low morals--and devastatingly powerful magics.  In some ways it might be a closer fit than the Martin books, particularly if you're running a campaign in which gods and magics play an all-important role.  

I'll also tip my hat to Stephen Brust's Taltos books and David Gemmel's fantasy books.  Both writers have many fine qualities, their stories are great reads, and TRoS would suit their settings quite nicely I think.  

Finally, if you discarded the magic rules, TRoS would be a great system for any of the historical novels.  The two series that leap to mind are George Fraser's Flashman books and Dorothy Dunnett's Lymond Chronicles.

And that's my libraries worth.  And I'd like to see them done in that order.

Let me know when they're finished,

~PO

[Malechi]

Though not a novel or series as such, the "Blade of the Immortal" manga series by Hiraoki Samura (from Dark Horse in the States) (as already stated here previously...or was it rpg.net) would be perfect.  Also called "Mugen no Juunin" or "Inhabitant of Infinity" (I love that literal translation), it deals with massive pathos, passions, drive and motivations for all the characters from Manji (the Immortal) to Rin, the girl he must protect and even the bad guys who you sometimes feel sorry for (especially when they come to an EXTREMELY bloody end at the point of one of Manji's many blades).  The fight scenes are a blur of bloodshed and motion and the story pushes on now past the four trade-paperbacks I own.  Its just a pity that they cost $30 each down here in Oz, otherwise I'd catch up asap...one day.  

I'm planning on running a similar "Dueling Sword Schools of Tokugawa Japan" game as soon as I get the time..

cheers

Jason

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/kandria  - tRoS campaign world in the making...

[Bankuei]

Hi folks,

I can't highly recommend Vagabond, the manga retelling of Miyamoto Musashi's life.  A brutal, "no anime magic super powered", honest, down to earth tale of a single man's growth from senseless anger and violence into the sword saint of Japan.  

Chris

[Ilvarin]

I believe that the world/setting of the Elric of Melnibone stories would make a great fit with TRoS. TRoS' sorcery is spooky and flexible enough. Another bonus is that it has already been written up under another system, so the narrative work has already been done.

[Morfedel]

Ilvarin, Poenz: great suggestions! (well, and everyone else too, but those particularly leapt to mind).

I have never read those, er, Malazon Empire books; tell me about em, Poenz.

Another I'd recommmed is, with a little retooling of the magic system, The Black Comany Series. The first five books of the series are amazing (ignore the Silver Spike; it was kind of a side novel about side characters, and it wasnt very good); also ignore everything after the 5th book of the core series - Glen Cook stopped writing for that series for a LONG time, and when he came back... it wasn't the same.

The magic was a lot of flash and fury, strange energies and pastel colorstorms, true names and runes of power. TRoS' magic system doesn't use those kinds of mediums, and doesn't do things like Fireballs (although The Black Company series didn't either, but for all intensive purposes the spells might well have been).

But with a little retooling of the magic system, then TRoS would fit great! Then you can battle against the forces of Sort-Of Evil, Shades-of-Grey good guys, "True Evil," and begin to wonder who the good guys and bad guys really are.

And man, those "evil" sorcerers were great. Lets see if I can remember the Ten Who Were Taken:

1) Soulcatcher
2) Stormbringer
3) The Howler
4) Moonbiter
5) BoneGnaster
6) The Hanged Man
7) The Limper
8) Nightcrawler
9) ShapeShifter
10) ... Figures, there is always this one I ALWAYS forget! Argh! Has anyone else read this series and remember who I've forgotten?


Anyway; its a first person series, which is about a Mercenary company known as The Black Company, hired by The Bad Guys (tm) to help in fighting off  The Good Guys (tm) during another in a series of rebellions against the empire.

It's told from the point of view of the company medic, who is disturbingly known as Croaker. :)

It's a bit different, and not everyone's cup of tea, and sometimes fluctuates a little in quality (particulary The Silver Spike, which as I said was a side book and not part of the core series; and everything after book 5); but I enjoyed them thoroughly, and I've always wanted to run an adventure in this.

A bit of TRoS Magic Retooling and we might well get it to work! :)

[Poenz]

Morfedel,

If you enjoyed the early Glen Cook's Black Company books, you're going to luvvv Steven Erikson.  Many similarites could be drawn between the two, but they are each their own creatures.  I can't stress enough how wickedly wonderful these books are.  And they're thick and meaty things too.  They're imports here in the States, but available of course on Amazon.  The series starts with Gardens of the Moon--but while the latter ones build on the world and the characters, the individual books are mostly self-contained stories, which in itself is a welcome relief from the industry standard these days.  Enjoy.

~PO

[arxhon]

The Camulod chronicles by Jack Whyte perhaps, though i've only read the first novel in the series.

I gotta say it, since no one else has: Hyboria, the world of Conan and (i believe) Red Sonja. TRoS and Conan make a great fit, they are fairly similar in the levels of magic and grittiness. And lets face it, Conan is quite the passionate man.

[Morfedel]

Wow. I looked them up on Amazon: they have  book 1... and book 4. No 2 or 3. That's not good. :/

Morfedel,

If you enjoyed the early Glen Cook's Black Company books, you're going to luvvv Steven Erikson.  Many similarites could be drawn between the two, but they are each their own creatures.  I can't stress enough how wickedly wonderful these books are.  And they're thick and meaty things too.  They're imports here in the States, but available of course on Amazon.  The series starts with Gardens of the Moon--but while the latter ones build on the world and the characters, the individual books are mostly self-contained stories, which in itself is a welcome relief from the industry standard these days.  Enjoy.

~PO