Any published ancient world campaign?

[Carlos]

Hello everybody!

I've been reading the forums for a while and I have found them very interesting. Now, I have finally registered to post a question. In the past, I've directed 1 or 2 session adventures. In the next months, I'm likely to start directing again and I'd like to try a campaign. I've never been very good at it, and I would like some help with my first campaign after a while.

I was wondering, is there any published ancient world campaign? I've been googling without success. It doesn't matter whether it's on the Internet or printed. And although BRP would be easier, it doesn't matter whether it's other system neither. I know there are some middle ages ones available, but I was wondering about ancient world. Thanks.

Regards,

Carlos

Edited April 23, 2009 by Carlos

[ORtrail]

Check the download section here, as Warlords of Alexander is a great setting. I believe you want more of a campaign, rather than just a setting, but Warlords is filled with a ton of adventure ideas.

[Jarulf]

While it hasn't been released yet, Rome: The Life and Death of the Republic will be available soon. From the samples we've seen it looks very tasty indeed.

BRP Rome

[Carlos]

Thanks for those two settings suggestions. I had already noticed Warlords of Alexander and Pax Romana. And I'm too definitely waiting for Rome. Let's see whether someone else has come across some campaign...

[RosenMcStern]

Rome contains over one hundred scenario hooks and cameos, both scattered in the text and collected in the Campaign chapter, and extensive guidelines on how to design your own campaign. There is no pre-written campaign, but all you need is to pick some scenario hooks and put them together.

I will also exploit this opportunity to announce that the proof copy of Rome reached Chaosium yesterday. General availability at end of May confirmed, do not forget to preorder. Charlie sounded happy...

[Atgxtg]

Yeah Rome!

You should run some BRP Gladiatorial contests at the convention. Hand out some rewrite gladiators or have simplified CHAR GEN and let people fight it out. Good advertising and fun.

P.S. Maybe charge a L. to enter and winner gets a copy?

[seneschal]

Green Ronin's "Testament" is still available, d20 for biblical role-playing. Iron Crown Enterprises put "Mythic Greece" and "Mythic Egypt" supplements for Rolemaster. And GURPS has a ton of historical stuff.

Don't forget "Mazes and Minotaurs," the semi-historical Greece game.

[Agentorange]

Green Ronin also did a Rome supplement for D20 which includes a scenario.The testament supplement that Seneschal mentioned is very good, in my opinion the best D20 supplement ever produced, and there are some scenarios out for it as well. As mentioned GURPS has more historical stuff out than you can shake a stick at. Even if you don't use the game system they're usually chock full of excellent background material

[Carlos]

:-O

I knew about GURPS' but not about the rest of the stuff. Thanks guys! I'm sure I'll get something out of all that.

[Pete Nash]

You should run some BRP Gladiatorial contests at the convention. Hand out some rewrite gladiators or have simplified CHAR GEN and let people fight it out. Good advertising and fun.

Sound's like fun. I wish I'd thought of that. Better than my crass desire for a Toga Party to celebrate Rome's launch. Hmmm, maybe a LARP gladiatorial contest wearing togas...

Seriously though, I will be running a couple of games. One of which will include a chariot race and maybe a beast hunt with a man eating lion... >:->

http://www.tentacles-convention.de/roleplaying_games.html (at the end of the page)

[GianniVacca]

Do you read French? If yes, you may want to check URUK (by Olivier Dubreuil, available on my website):

http://www.basicrps.com/uruk/URUK_BRP.pdf

It is a fully-fledged, 100-page standalone rolegame set in ancient Mesopotamia.

Unfortunately, it was written before the publication of the new Basic Roleplaying (and even before its playtest began); its core mechanics are from the French BaSIC booklet rather than from the new Basic Roleplaying by the Chaosium.

[Atgxtg]

Sound's like fun. I wish I'd thought of that.

I wish I had too. Years ago, at my first RPG Con, one of the guys came up with this idea for the Lost Worlds game books. People count pay $1, pick aLOst Wolrd book they owned (with some restrictions-for instance no Ice Drake) and fight each other, keeping track of thier Win/LOsss record.

I worked out really cool, since it gave people something to do that only took a few minutes at a time and could be done between events, and didn'T require a table. I was running stuff constantly and it was one of the few things the GMs could get in on.

Seriously though, I will be running a couple of games. One of which will include a chariot race and maybe a beast hunt with a man eating lion...

Lion's not bad, especially if you hunt your own. Just be sure you marinate it or use plenty of garum.

[Carlos]

I have had the chance of having a look at the books you have suggested, and indeed they are full of material to set a campaign in this setting. But because I haven't been able to find one, and nobody has suggested any, I'll have to suppose that there are no campaigns available in this setting.

In this case, could you recommend a good BRP campaign to adapt to this setting? It would definitely be much easier if the original campaign had a low level of magic and monsters.

[soltakss]

The RQ Historical campaigns are:

RQ3 Land of Ninja

RQ3 Vikings

RQM Land of the Samurai

RQM Pirates

Stupor Mundi

These are set in the Medieval Age, pretty much, although Pirates is a little later and Vikings is possibly a little earlier.

BRP itself does not have any historical campaign settings.

Cthulhu Dark Ages is a setting based in Dark Age Europe, but has a lot of Cthulhu Mythos, so isn't that historical.

BRP Rome is coming out soon. BRP Iceland was supposed to be coming out, but has stalled, I think.

It all depends on what you mean by Ancients campaigns. Bronze Age? Iron Age? Classical?

There is a Bronze Age Sourcebook available from the Downloads section and Warlords of Alexander is a post-Alexandrian setting.

Apart from that, I can't think of any other ancient settings.

[Rurik]

Sadly it seems he is looking for actual campaigns, not just settings.

And as far as I can tell Carlos is correct, there are no actual campaigns to be found.

Which is the 'sadly' part.

[Carlos]

Firstly, I would like to clarify that by BRP I meant "BRP family" (including BRP, Runequest and others).

Secondly, Rurik is right, what I was looking for is what I understand by campaign; a very long adventure or a series of them interrelated. What some were suggesting, although very useful, are what I understand as settings; background information for your adventures and campaigns. Having said this, there are some books suggested by Soltakass that I haven't checked before. Thanks, I'll check them this weekend.

Finally, I know that ancient age is a very broad term, but I was not expecting to find many campaigns, so better to be opened to whatever could be available.

[Hervé]

You might try Ancient Kingdoms:Mesopotamia from Necromancer games.

Dead Cities in the Desert

A city of unspeakable antiquity, buried for centuries beneath the desert sands, has been rediscovered deep in the accursed desert known as the Red Waste. Dare you enter The City That Worshipped a Thousand Gods, seeking the treasures and relics of its Hierophants? Beware the lurking terrors of a bygone age!

Treasures of Darkness

Ancient Kingdoms: Mesopotamia™ is a huge sourcebook with numerous new classes, deities, monsters and magic items, including a series of short adventures. Explore ancient ruins, temples and dungeons of the lost city of Ibnath, and the perilous wilderness areas that surround it. The Ziggurat of the Ghoul-Queen awaits!

New spells, new classes and new environmental challenges! Vast regions to explore and epic quests to complete. Destroy the Cult of the Pit Worm Yhath! The definitive d20 sourcebook for Mesopotamia, the land of the Elamites, Assyrians and Akkadians. Expanded desert rules and source material make this a unique offering for your gaming table. 10 related short adventures make this a single source for adventure in the lands of Babylon and Ur. Dozens of new monsters, spells, magic items and character classes, all found nowhere else.

The book is half sourcebook, half campaign, set in a mythic Mesopotamia. Of course, it's D20 material with its usual loads of dungeons, monsters and items, but most of the materiel remains interesting (after some adaptation, that is). It has a rather high Sword & Sorcery feel that may not fit if you plan a more "historical" campaign. I used it with Conan with very statisfying results.

For those who like the author's work (Morten Braten aka Thulsa), be sure to check his Conan site at hyboria.xoth. You'll find a very nice S&S campaign, The Spider God's Bride as well some very professionally adapted old D&D modules for the Conan RPG. If you plan to ever run a Conan BRP campaign, you'll also find some nice background information there.

Here's the link:

Hyborian Age d20 Campaign Site - hyboria.xoth.net

Yes, I know I'm ranting on Conan again, but I just can't help it...

[mikmo]

Great stuff! Thanks for the link,

AK:Mesopotamia is IMHO one of the best ever ancient-sword&sorcery-horror adventure series. It combines beautifully Clark Ashton Smith, Lovecraft and epic D&D adventures in par with classics as Pharaoh/Lost tomb of Martek. Even the d20 specific class/rule section succeeded creating atmosphere nicely. It would have been even better with BRP-conversion.

Heartily recommended. Hope that The Spider God's Bride is made of the same stuff.

MM

[Puck]

Hope that The Spider God's Bride is made of the same stuff.

I picked this up and just loved it. It is fun just to read through and really captures the feel of sword and sorcery fiction. It is really a shame it is not for d100. Well worth the money anyway!