19th Century Imaginations - Characters in wargames for ...

19th Century Imaginations - Characters in wargames for imaginary nations. Ever since Tony Bath\"s Hyboria Campaign (see Rudi Geuden\"s great ... Monday,April15,2013 19thCenturyImaginations-Charactersinwargamesforimaginarynations EversinceTonyBath\"sHyboriaCampaign(seeRudiGeuden\"sgreatpageonthetopic),theideaofgeneratingpersonalitiesforthevariousrulersandpersonalitiesinthefictionalkingdomsanempiresinvolvedinwargaminghassortof"stuck". OneofthethingspointedoutinthethreepartarticleontheHyboriaCampaignoveratHillCantonsisthatTony\"scampaignneverwasaroleplayingcampaign,andalthoughthesettingwasfantastic,therewerenonon-earthlyelementstoit(noovertmagic,nospellcasters,nofantastyraces,etc). Thismakesit(asitalwayshasbeen)theperfectUr-exampleofahistoricalfictionbasedwargamingcampaignfromafantasysetting,butwithoutfantasyelements. Youknow-Imagi-Nations.ThenalongcameRolePlayingGames,wherecreatingcharactersbecameascientificart(oranartisticscience,butwhatever-yougettheidea). Lotsofcreativity,yes,butalsolotsandlotsofrulesandstructure.Forawargamingcampaignsetting,however,Idon\"tbelieveyouNEEDtoknowtheminutiaeofallthat,inordertohavecompellingcharacters. Ashortrundownofcapabilitiesandmotivesisallthatisrequired. ThesystemthatHowardWhitehousedevisedforhisterrificgameofBritishImperialforcesvs.theforcesoftheMahdi-"Sciencevs.Pluck"isperfect. Itgivessomebackgroundtothecharacter,anindicatorofgeneralexperience,andsomespecifictraits.Andstill...SinceIDOhaverole-playinginmybloodIthinkitmightbenicetoseewhatspecificseachcharactermighthave. SoIhavebeenthinkingaboutarole-playingsystem(ithastobesimple,relativelyspeaking)thatmightfootthebill.Thefirstthatcomestomind,especiallygiventhatIamdealingwiththesecondhalfofthe19thcentury,isofcourseSpace:1889,thatwonderfultourdeforcefromFrankChadwick,backwhenoneofthegreatestgamingcompaniesofalltimewasstillinexistence-GameDesigner\"sWorkshop. Thestrengthsofthesystemare(1)itissimple,(2)ifindividualcombat(forduels,orassassinations,orwhatever)isrequired,thenitiseasytoadjudicate,(3)itismadefortheVictorianMilieu,and(4)ItdoeshaveaniceNPCmotivationgenerator. Infact,IhaveusedSpace:1889charactergenerationinconcertwiththatfoundin"Sciencevs.Pluck"inthepast,anditworksextremelywelltogether. Thedrawback-sincetheskillsystemandstatisticsystemissosimple,therejustsimplyaretoomanysimilaritiesamongthecharacters. Still,itmightwork,itmightwork.Thesecondonethatcomestomind,istheD6system,especiallyclosetotheoriginalWestEndGamesversionoftheStarWarsRole-PlayingGame. Thisworkswell,hasanicesystemthatIlike(anditisnotTOOmuchdifferentfromtheSpace:1889adjudicationsystem,nottoocloseeither,makingitanicealternativetoconsider)forskillsandcombat,andiseasytounderstandcharactersfrom,evenifyouarenotconversantintherules. However...Thisonewouldrequirealotofworkonmyparttocreatecharactertemplates,Ithink.I\"llhavetotakeacloserlook.Oneoftheneatthings,however,isthevastnumberofdifferentsettingsthattheD6systemhasbeenappliedto,notleastofallthemarvelousPulpgamesthatPeterSchweighoferandhispublishingcompany,GriffonPublishingStudio.Finally,thethirdonethatcomestomindisagamethatisbasedonaculturalworldmuchlikethatlate19thcentury,albeitinapuresciencefictionenvironment. ThatisClassicTraveller(ormoreaccurately,ClassicTravellerasithasbeenre-envisionedandre-packagedbyMongoose). ThisonehasallthecharactertypesIneed-Armyofficers,Navyofficers,Spys,Nobles,Diplomats,Barbarians,Scientists,etc. Ithasagreatstat/skillsystem,andawonderfullynon-complicatedsystemforskillsandcombat. Unfortunately,inherentintheskillsystem,areanumberofdifferentskillsthatareSpecificallyforhigh-techsciencefictionsettings(thisisappropriate,ofcourse). And,thereisnottheclearcutpersonalityattributegeneratorthatexistsforbothSpace:1889andSciencevs.Pluck. However...sinceneitherofthosesystemshasanythingtodowiththeactualstatisticorrulessystem-thecouldeasilybetransplantedtoTraveller.So-whichonetopick? AsSherlockHolmeswouldputit,thisisdefinitelyathree-pipeproblem. I\"llgetrightontosmokingthosepipes,andcomeupwithasolution,andthenstartpostinghereonmydecision,alongwithsomegamechartstomakewhicheverIchooseworkfortheBalkaniangamesIworkon. Postedby cturnitsa at 1:12PM Labels: 19thcentury, imaginations, roleplaying, wargaming 1comment: JonathanFreitag said... Chuck,IagreewithyourconclusiononWhitehouse'sSCIENCEVSPLUCK.Whitehouseprovidesanexcellentfoundationforanalt-historycampaign.Anotheroptionfora19thCenturycampaignisHensley'sFIELDSOFHONORwargamerules.Althoughoutofprint,IseeitfrequentlyoneBay.FoHprovidestelescopingbattlerulesaswellascampaignruleswithappendicescoveringmostofthe19thCenturyconflicts.Leaders(andtheirsubordinates)aregivenattributesandpersonalitiescanbetrackedthroughthecareersaLEGACYOFHONORroll. 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