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Ancient World (historical)?


g33k

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I know that most-any version of BRP, plus a 7th-grade history book, could do a swords-and-sandals game set in Sumeria, Babylon, Egypt, etc...  But is there any actual published book (or good freebie) for this, either a complete BRP game or a setting-book specific to any BRP game-engine?

 

Thanks!

 

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@MatteoN

Yeah, that looks just right. My French suffices to see that much, but stops there... :_(

@Chorpa

Rome is really later than I wanted. But there are quite a few Roman resources, actually; not just the one you linked.

@Darkholme

Again, "late antiquity" is later than desired...

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@Chorpa

Rome is really later than I wanted. But there are quite a few Roman resources, actually; not just the one you linked.

 

True. I have plenty of the GURPS books covering different parts of the worlds in ancient times and they are actually very usable in a BRP like game. 

 

GURPS Egypt, GURPS Greece and GURPS Arabian Nights are examples that should suit some of your needs. ;)

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RE those GURPS titles:  Egypt might work, partly.  What I really want is further-east (Mesopotamia) and some of it is even older than the 5K years of "GURPS Egypt" -- Uruk, Sumeria, Akkad, Ur, Babylon...

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RE those GURPS titles:  Egypt might work, partly.  What I really want is further-east (Mesopotamia) and some of it is even older than the 5K years of "GURPS Egypt" -- Uruk, Sumeria, Akkad, Ur, Babylon...

I agree. Don't know of many books covering ages that far back. But it would be a very cool periods to play in. Still enough unknowns from that period to give a Game Master some creative freedom to shape it the way he likes.  :)

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RE those GURPS titles:  Egypt might work, partly.  What I really want is further-east (Mesopotamia) and some of it is even older than the 5K years of "GURPS Egypt" -- Uruk, Sumeria, Akkad, Ur, Babylon...

Don't ignore the Old Testament when researching your game world.  Much of it is primary source material for the cultures involved.

 

Also, consider this supplement for Mazes and Minotaurs:

 

http://mazesandminotaurs.free.fr/MQ8.pdf

 

The gazetteer is mostly cultural info, with few game mechanics, detailing a fictionalized Persian Empire.

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@MatteoN:  thanks for that KS link!  A thinly-veiled Persia does indeed sound good.  Looks like a d6-engined Persian take on Ars Magica -- Troupe play, centered on the Magi, etc.  The cultural references and setting details should be spot-on, though.

 

@seneschal:  Yep, the Old Testament has lots of good material... and even its own game, Green Ronin's "Testament" (for d20) complete with 2 expansions, "Hittites" and "Trojan War"...  http://www.rpgnow.com/browse.php?keywords=testament&cPath=1487&x=0&y=0&author=&artist=&pfrom=&pto=    Thanks too for the M&M link!

 

 

 

But -- as I feared -- the answer is, "no," there isn't a BRP game (or supplement) for the setting.  If I do it, I'll have to compile my own setting, sourcing relevant textbooks, Biblical accounts, other RPGs (as variously noted, above), etc...   :-P    And right now, I just don't have the time...

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if you read French, there's this extensive supplement: http://www.basicrps.com/uruk/Uruk_V4.0.pdf

 

By the way, this supplement's author goes - I believe - by the nickname Zit on this forum. He's also the author of a supplement on the nomads of the steppe north of China (Mongols and pre-mongol peoples) that should soon be published in English by Alephtar games; so I wonder if Alephtar might be interested also in publishing Uruk...

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Yes, I am. If I can help understanding Uruk, just tell me. I started to write a short English version of it, but I never finished it. I may at least translate at first the mechanisms and rules without the background (I suppose, g33k, that you already know about the period).

Wind on the Steppes, role playing among the steppe Nomads. The  running campaign and the blog

 

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@MatteoN:  thanks for that KS link!  A thinly-veiled Persia does indeed sound good.  Looks like a d6-engined Persian take on Ars Magica -- Troupe play, centered on the Magi, etc.  The cultural references and setting details should be spot-on, though.

 

 

Here's a brief description the setting by its author: http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?742428-Sorcerers-of-Ur-Turuk-a-D6-Troupe-Style-Persian-S-amp-S-RPG&p=18497416#post18497416

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Yes, I am. If I can help understanding Uruk, just tell me. I started to write a short English version of it, but I never finished it. I may at least translate at first the mechanisms and rules without the background (I suppose, g33k, that you already know about the period).

I do know some about the period, but haven't delved too deeply into the fables and myth-cycles of the different cultures; I know there was a lot of "sharing" where close cognates of one culture's myth would also appear in a neighboring culture.  Whether these are common-source derivations from an older myth, or borrowing (as the Romans did from the Greeks) I don't really know.

 

Please *DO* pitch this as a full product to Alephtar (or Design Mechanism for RQ6, or whoever) !  It seems more than odd that the original/best "swords and sandals" RPG doesn't have the biggest, most sprawling historical "swords and sandals" setting!

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Among others, writing, the Deluge, Babel, the 60minutes / 60 seconds, Astarté, mathematics, complex irrigation... all this comes indeed from there. As well as the very first written sword and sandals epo: Gilgamesh :P. Some say that Abraham lived there at that time.

 

Rewriting it for editing is however a huge work, which I’m not sure to have the courage and time to do. I would change some mechanics as well. If anybody wants to make something out of it, I’m ok and Google translation could help, but this setting is centered around the end of the 3rd millennium (Akkadian and 2nd Sumerian Empires): I’m not sure of the audience for this, which is a criterion for editing.

Wind on the Steppes, role playing among the steppe Nomads. The  running campaign and the blog

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

But -- as I feared -- the answer is, "no," there isn't a BRP game (or supplement) for the setting.  If I do it, I'll have to compile my own setting, sourcing relevant textbooks, Biblical accounts, other RPGs (as variously noted, above), etc...   :-P    And right now, I just don't have the time...

 

Or you could try Warlords of Alexander, which is a great ancient setting available for download here on BRP central. It is set after the death of Alexander (~320 BCE) where Alexander's former generals have become rival warlords, sundering the once great empire of Greece, Persia and India. If I were to do a sword and sandal campaign I would start with this one.

 

Although it's the right region, I guess you are looking for something a few thousand years older.

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Although it generally covers a later period, Green Ronin's 'Testament' is certainly one of the best mythic-historic Near Eastern ancient world settings with some great source material. Easy to Ignore the mechanics and use the mechanics from the BRP BGB or, ideally, RQ6,

Then again, a nicely illustrated children's Old Testament tales or numerous ancient history websites can also give you what you need, as you already identified

Pity it's not all under one cover

Unfortunately no rpg exists AFAIK that uses Sumeria as a setting, BRP or otherwise, I suspect.

But someone could prove me wrong...

" Sure it's fun, but it is also well known that a D20 roll and an AC is no match against a hefty swing of a D100% and a D20 Hit Location Table!"

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Yes, sorry,my bad.

I meant to say that no English language rpg exists that I am aware of that uses Sumeria for a setting

:-)

" Sure it's fun, but it is also well known that a D20 roll and an AC is no match against a hefty swing of a D100% and a D20 Hit Location Table!"

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  • 3 weeks later...

I just had a look at the trailer of this new movie "Exodus: gods and Kings". God-zilla vs. Ramses. With Moses leading a cavalry charge. With stirrups. In the 13th century BCE. I may be a nerd, but I definitely won't list it as a ressource for ancient World.

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Wind on the Steppes, role playing among the steppe Nomads. The  running campaign and the blog

 

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