Greetings Everyone,
I recently stumbled upon the Barebones Fantasy system and immediately fell in love with the simplicity of its mechanics. I can hardly wait till the sci-fi version of the game becomes avaiable to the gaming community.
With one of my gaming groups taking a haitus until the new year, I've decided to introduce them to Barebones Fantasy when we get back together. I've also decided to make it a relatively familiar setting to play in, by introducing them to Barebones Fantasy in the kingdom of Westeros. Of course there needs to be some minor changes to the rules in order to have a campaign in a low magic setting, and I thought the forums might be a good place to discuss them and receive some valuable input into what changes are necessary for the game. Here are the changes I've made so far in order to run a campaign in a low magic setting:
1) Dwarves, Elves, and Halflings don't appear in the campaign setting, therefore are no longer available as races. Also natives to Westeros now start with the Trade Tongue and Andal as their starting languages. Since the only starting race is Human now, I've been playing around with the idea of dividing them into cultural groups and would appreciate any input people might have on how I should stat them.
2) Cleric and Spellcaster are no longer available as skills. While there are characters with magical abilties in the game of thrones novels like Daenerys Targaryen and Melisandre. Your typical maester or priest of the Seven cannot hurl fireballs or heal someone through prayer no matter how hard they try and the campaign can easily reflect this through simply preventing players from taking ranks of Cleric or Spellcaster.
3) Enchanter remains an available skill, although runecraft has been removed as an ability for that particular skill. The Alchemy and Enchantment ability remain because Maesters and similarly educated individuals are capable of brewing or crafting some truly extraordinary things. As for Familiar ability, I'm fairly comfortable in allowing a Maester to have a raven as a familiar, or in the case of the Stark children direwolves.
Those are the changes I've made to the game thus far in order to mimic the feel of Westeros. I'd appreciate any input people might have into the changes I've made, or additional tweaks I can make to the game in order to make it a truly enjoyable and memorable experience for my players.
Cheers,
Greymalken
BareBones Fantasy RPG is not associated with Skaldcrow Games' Bare Bones Multiverse, despite similar names. Check out Glenn's products by clicking here.
You should preface each game with "Look at to your left. Look to your right. More than likely half of you is going to die tonight."
Where did you stumble upon it?
1. Humans Only
(I'm not famliar with game of thrones setting)
This is the same thought we've had for a pirate version of BBF. We were thinking of dividing the humans geographically (spaniards , dutch, brits, etc.) and using the BBF races as templates, give each human group something unique. Try to sum abilities to +10, for instance one group might have +10 STR while another group might have +5 STR and +5 DEX. You might even give a +15 and -5. Each group might start with a +10 to a specific skill (treat it as having 2 secondaries). Or maybe each group has a special ability; gain +10 to fighting from horseback, gain +10 to hiding in the shadows, etc.
Basically something that makes each group unique.
2. Magic
Perhaps allow a character a 5% chance to become a cleric/spellcaster. If they do perhaps lay some restrictions, think of the show Merlin where he has to hide his powers from Uther or be killed. I did see one episode where they were talking of praying to trees? Maybe this is a good lead in to a cleric that is in touch with the tree gods.
Are there any additional skills that would be reflected in the setting?
I came across Barebones Fantasy via three sources, which was more than enough for me to purchase the pdf. The first being from a friend of mine who mentioned the game in passing after having learned about it, while keeping his eye on the Star Frontiersman magazine. The second time I heard mention about Barebones Fantasy was from a blog that I follow called Under Siege. And finally I saw it on the DriveThruRPG and read several positive reviews about the game, and finally decided enough was enough I had to get a copy of this game.
With that being said I've decided to modify the racial ability scores for Humans in the campaign, to reflect regional diversity. Here's what I'm thinking so far with those changes.
1) The North +5 STR, +5 WIL
2) The Riverlands +5 LOG, +5 WIL
3) The Vale of Arryn +5 DEX, +5 LOG
4) The Westerlands +5 LOG, +5 WIL
5) The Iron Islands +5 STR, +5 WIL
6) The Reach +5 DEX, +5 LOG
7) The Crownlands +5 DEX, +5 LOG
8) The Stormlands +5 STR, +5 WIL
9) Dorne +5 STR, +5 DEX
I was tempted to go with a +10/+5/-5 ability modifier set for each of the regions, but ran into some trouble figuring out where to put the negative ability modifier with some of the regions. If anyone has any suggestions as to how I should change these regional modifiers, they would be greatly appreciated. I'm not sure as of yet if there are going to be changes to the racial abilties for Humans to suit each particular region as of yet for the campaign.
While I know nothing about the series (I know, shame on me) I am a fan of the breakdown of human nations. I like the breakdown that you have here as it represents that different regions would create people with diverse strengths
Very cool.
-Chris
I've only seen the first season and not read the books, but low magic isn't no magic. There have been some pretty impressive magical forces wielded. Maybe limit the group to one Spellcaster or Enchanter with Runecrafting? (Either or, not both) I mean, think the witch that cursed and killed the horse lord. If the characters can't be the movers and shakers, then who should be? I'd think the key is just to not allow them to cast a spell and fix a problem, but that's the same regardless of setting isn't it?
I suppose it might be possible for a character to pick up Cleric or perhaps Spellcaster later on in their character's development. However, it shouldn't be their starting skill choice in a low magic campaign like Westeros.
As of this moment, I've actually started to further flesh out the regional options for the game. Using Larry's advice giving each region it's own unique identity through special abilities. People from Dorne for example, borrowing heavily from Larry's suggestion have Horsemanship (+10 to fighting from horseback). However, I do need some help with creating several abilities that suit the setting, particularly with those associated with bloodlines. They are listed below:
Blood of the Andals (Came to Westeros during the Age of Heroes, they conquered all but the North, bringing with them the worship of the seven divine)
Blood of the First Men (Came to Westeros during the Age of Dawn, they made the Pact with the children of the forest and practiced the worship of the old gods)
Blood of the Ironborn (Hailing from the Iron Islands, these rugged folk are used to inhospitable conditions, and worship the drowned god through dark rites)
Blood of the Rhoyne (Dark-skinned folk from a foriegn shore, they believe everything in life is a competition and should be treated as such)
I'd appreciate any suggestions people might have as to what sorts of bonuses these traits should apply. I'm thinking that the Blood of the Ironborn might give a +10 to resistance checks against environmental exposure for example, but haven't written anything in stone as of yet.
I look forward to your suggestions.
Cheers,
Greymalken
Greetings Everyone,
Here's what I've managed to cobble together for the regional traits thus far.
THE CROWNLANDS
• Add 5 to starting DEX and LOG.
• Disease Resistance (+10 to resistance checks against disease).
• (insert ability here)
• Move 8 spaces.
• Speaks andal and trade tongue.
DORNE
• Add 5 to starting STR and DEX.
• Blood of the Rhoyne (haven't figured out what this does yet).
• Horsemanship (+10 to fighting from horseback, begins with a riding horse with saddle, bag, tack & harness).
• Move 8 spaces.
• Speaks andal and trade tongue.
THE IRON ISLANDS
• Add 5 to starting STR and WIL.
• Blood of the Ironborn (+10 to resistance checks against environmental exposure).
• Sailor (haven't figured out what this does yet).
• Move 8 spaces.
• Speaks andal and trade tongue.
THE NORTH
• Add 5 to starting STR and WIL.
• Blood of the First Men (haven't figured out what this does yet).
• Cold Resistance (+10 to resistance checks against the cold).
• Move 8 spaces.
• Speaks andal and trade tongue.
THE STORMLANDS
• Add 5 to starting STR and WIL.
• Blood of the Andals (+10 to a skill check of your choice).
• (insert ability here)
• Move 8 spaces.
• Speaks andal and trade tongue.
THE REACH
• Add 5 to starting DEX and LOG.
• Blood of the Andals (+10 to a skill check of your choice).
• (insert ability here)
• Move 8 spaces.
• Speaks andal and trade tongue.
THE RIVERLANDS
• Add 5 to starting LOG and WIL.
• Blood of the Andals (+10 to a skill check of your choice).
• (insert ability here)
• Move 8 spaces.
• Speaks andal and trade tongue.
THE VALE OF ARRYA
• Add 5 to starting DEX and LOG.
• Blood of the Andals (+10 to a skill check of your choice).
• (insert ability here)
• Move 8 spaces.
• Speaks andal and trade tongue.
THE WESTERLANDS
• Add 5 to starting LOG and WIL.
• Blood of the Andals (+10 to a skill check of your choice).
• Wealthy (+10 to any check involving bribery, begins with an additional 10 Gold Dragons in equipment or coin).
• Move 8 spaces.
• Speaks andal and trade tongue.
To answer a few questions that might come up since the campaign takes place in Westeros they use the currency system for the setting. Someone from The Westlands can easily afford Bandedmail and have coin left over for a riding horse if they wanted.
The Blood of Andals is shared by many regions and applies a +10 to a skill check (I'm not sure if I'm using the right terminology, could someone please correct me if I'm wrong). For example you could get a +10 to the Deception or perhaps Stealth skill check from Thief. You wouldn't get a +10 to using the Thief skill. I'm hoping this reflects the adaptability of the Andals, to flourish in whatever field of expertise they choose to pursue.
Obviously, the Westeros campaign I'm working on still needs alot of work and any help and/or input people are willing to give me will be greatly appreciated.
Cheers,
Greymalken
• Blood of the xxx (+10 to a skill check of your choice).
Is this picked at character creation and added to the P/S column on the character sheet? If so can you add it to your Primary thus gaining +30.
I appologize if I have used the incorrect wording for this particular ability, hopefully someone can help me with the correct terminology.
Example: If you picked for example Warrior, you'd need to choose one of the following marksman, melee weapons, thrown weapons, or ranged combat. If you picked unarmed combat for example you'd receive a +10 to skill checks for unarmed combat, not to all rolls associated with Warrior. If you made Warrior your Primary you would indeed gain a +30 to your unarmed combat checks.
This is similar to the Halfling Footpad ability, which can grant a halfling a +30 to stealth rolls as a starting character if you take Thief as your Primary.
No problem! There isn't any specific wording in the core book, but you could call it specialization if you like. How does this sound?
Specialization
At character creation gain +10 to one aspect of a skill you have at least 1 level in. For instance, if you have at least 1 level in thief choose Deception and gain +10 to any check involving deception.
Greetings Everyone,
I've completed the regional traits for both Dorne and The Westerlands and decided to post them. I'm still working on the rest of them, and would appreciate any suggestions people may have.
Cheers,
Greymalken
DORNE
• Add 5 to starting STR and DEX.
• Blood of the Rhoyne (+10 to physical resistance checks).
• Desert Dweller (+10 to resistance checks against environmental exposure).
• Horsemanship (+10 to riding, begins with a riding horse with saddle, bag, tack & harness).
• Move 8 spaces.
• Speaks andal and trade tongue.
THE WESTERLANDS
• Add 5 to starting LOG and WIL.
• Blood of the Andals (+10 to a chosen aspect of a skill).
• Mercantile (+10 to skill checks involving the moneylender and merchant career paths).
• Wealthy (Begins with an additional 10 Gold Dragons in equipment or coin).
• Move 8 spaces.
• Speaks andal and trade tongue