StevenGEmsley

Hi there @HeirophantX, you mean where is my campaign set, or where, physically, do we play? We're in South Yorkshire. You?

Nor do I, regrettably, but the English translations are adequate, not great IMO

Shiny! Mass combat and random tables...I do love a random table or two. It's definitely on my list, many thanks!

Well that'll learn me to be a Johnny-Come-Lately Second Ed C&C convert!! Thank you 🙂

Ta da!!! ...and semis...

Hi gang when searching for fan factions a while ago I made a note to look for something (a supplement? Adventure?) called Divers & Sundry. I didn't note where I saw the reference(because I'm clearly an idiot), but I found the reference scrawled in an old notebook today. Anyone heard of it??

I enjoyed the books. I think they would be better in the original Spanish, the English versions suffered in the translation. Going back to the film...tercios!! Don't think I've seen that on film before!!

Great recommendation for Blood TideTide, thank you! Just finished reading it. I particularly like the voudun rules.

Genius cinematography too...the scene where Maria tells Alatriste that her husband is dying looks just like a Rembrandt painting

Where in Scotland? I know there's a bit of an RPG scene in Dundee...

It's almost required viewing for Renaissance players - "stuff looks like this!"

...and for those of you who like magick mushrooms in their Clockwork & Chivalry games, there's A Field in England. <spoiler space> Frankly, it's a complete headf**k. But a beautiful headf**k!

If anyone hasn't seen The VVitch, you really should. It's pretty much straight out of the Witchcraft chapter of Renaissance... <spoiler space> ...except for Black Philip, who is clearly The Black Man avatar of Nyarlathotep...

I realise posting to an old thread may be necromancy, but with military campaigns it's always worth reading Bernard Cornwell's Sharpe novels. Oh, I know they're clichéd and melodramatic, but Cornwall is brilliant at spotting gameable scenarios in military campaigns, and is great at villains too - it's years since I read them and I still loathe Sergeant Hakeswill!!

Sounds like an utterly stunning game, and thank you for sharing it wih us all 😊

And the scenes in the tunnels at the siege of Breda...brutal!!

Hey man, if you want to borrow my login to Adobe Document Cloud, it can convert it to a Word docx file in a matter of minutes...

Thanks for the recommendation, I had no idea the book had been filmed! Picked it up cheap on Amazon video and watching it now. Visually, it's stunning! Love the opening scene of the Spanish soldiers wading through the water with muskets held high, then Alatriste gently blows on the matchcord around his wrist to keep it lit.

Everything on Prax and Pavis?? My god, man, that must have taken a while!!! 😁

Actually, that's a very good way of looking at it!

So, I’ve begun my project. Possibly quite daft, but I’ve started. See, for years…ever since TSR released A Mighty Fortress in their Historical series for AD&D...I’ve gamed in that era and milieu. Even if I’ve GM’d straight fantasy with goblins and dragons, it’s always been set in pike-and-shot era Europe. However, AD&D was woefully inappropriate to the period, so I’ve always adapted. Then Renaissance came along and, as a ruleset it was perfect. And because it was BRP, I could nick from all kinds of different sources. However, one thing I dislike in play, particularly when players aren’t all au fait with the rules is to say “okay guys, character generation is in this book here…there are a couple more skills in this book, and some more factions in this book and this book and those notes, and…” See what I mean? So, I have Renaissance: Deluxe, Dark Streets, Clockwork & Chivalry, Clockwork & Cthulhu, A Clockwork of Orange (oh, those factions!!), Pirates & Dragons, various incarnations of Call of Cthulhu and Runequest, Cthulhu Britannica: Folklore, dozens of magazine articles and of course HR4: A Mighty Fortress all in pdf. And I have Adobe Acrobat. So my project is to compile a single document, organised so all the relevant information is in the right chapters, all cross-referenced and properly indexed, all looking nice and pretty, with all the options in there (a chapter on the Mythos, a chapter on Clockwork, a chapter on folklore, a chapter on witches and so on). And then get a copy printed up into a single, probably stupidly expensive, hardcover for personal use. Is that weird? Yep, that’s weird. However, it’s a weird hobby and I’m a weird guy, so… Wish me luck!!

Quick reply, as I'm on my way out for lunch (will post more later), but if you were to offer up a text-only pdf of your notes for sessions 3 and 4...well, you have one sale at least 😆

So I've read through the Heydelberg Horror and skimmed the Köln Machinations. As you know, I came for the factions, and they don't disappoint. The idea to include the 'provenance' of the tenets of the faith is inspired and will give the illusion of veracity to religious debates as players quote the Heydelberg Catechism or the Tridentine Creed to support their arguments. I love little details like these, though they can be ignored if preferred. Also good to see political factions shown as loyalty to royal houses, such as the Stuarts or the Bourbons. Very in keeping with the period. Now honestly, I intended to leave it there. My first Call of Cthulhu game was back in around '83 or '84 and I've been adding the Mythos into my games ever since, so am a little burned out on it, if I'm honest. Then I read the Cult of the Black Christ of Chalma, and it rang a bell, so I hit Google, and lo and behold, it's based on a real legend, and it's this kind of connection and extrapolation that made me fall in love with Call of Cthulhu all those years ago...reading the weird and making it fit the Mythos. Man, sometimes it's scary how little work is involved in doing that! So I read the adventure. Ostensibly it's for Clockwork and Cthulhu, so falls into the category of alt-history, but the clockwork elements aren't intrusive and easily dialled back - the Turkish clockwork warriors are in the background, the Red Scorpion can become an 'ordinary' barge and there is a random encounter which can be ignored if required, or used as-is on the basis that 'real world' clockworks of the time were amazingly intricate and inventive. Without spoilers, it's a solid adventure, tightly plotted with interesting NPCs (all of whom have a story and secrets to tell), but it is rooted in the Mythos - I'm debating a rework to plant it in the God/Satan cosmology, but to be honest it works so very well in the Mythos it would be a shame not to run it as is. I'll have a better read of the Köln Machinations, but the appendices have some great additions such as the day of the week affecting how various magics work - beautifully in keeping with the beliefs of the time. I think it would be a massive shame not to see parts 3 and 4, but understand that commercial considerations may hold sway. I do hope there may be a way to see them in print as, frankly, it's almost as if this ruleset and this campaign were written for me and my group. Thank you Jeff (and Peter and Ken!)

I'll be happy to after a more thorough read through. But based on first impressions, I love it!

Doh! I forgot to mention Cthulhu Britannica: Folklore to add to the "perfect campaign for Steve and his friends" list...