BRP Greece/Sword and Sandals?

[Guy Hoyle]

I was just paging through the new edition of BRP, and I looked at their Ancient World setting. This reawakened a long-standing desire to run a Greek Myth/Sword and Sandal game. I would love to receive some input on creating this type of setting, especially from those who have run such a campaign. Is there any interest in a conversation about this?

[g33k]

Look at the "Diadochi Warlords" thread!

 

[smiorgan]

Yes, I'm interested.

Diadochi Warlords is very well done. It makes some very precise choices, though:

• Rules light (based on Stormbringer's older editions)
• Historical
• Low-fantasy  

Personally, I'd be interested on a more freewheeling, high-fantasy take on Greek Myth. Be it fantasy Greece or fantasy pseudo-Greece, like Mythra's "Meeros" or D&D 5e "Theros" setting or the Melkoni in Jackals setting.

 

[rsanford]

A long time ago, I think in 2015, I saw a post indicating that Pete Nash of Mythras fame was working on a book where you play heroes in mythic Greece. I haven’t asked about it recently but I don’t doubt it’s still progressing. If it turns out as good as BRP Rome it will be worth the wait.

I also understand that Chaosium has a completed document for a Homeric Greek game using Pendragon rules but it has a lot of stuff ahead of it. The original title was Before Iron but now it’s Myrmidon.

Others pointed out Diadochi Warlords for Mythras but there is also Warliords of Alexandria for BRP by Zozer. I understand that the two settings are mostly the same with just the rules being different 

I also would recommend the first edition of Agon (not the newer kickstarted one). It’s not BRP, and it’s a little “different”, but every element of that game is designed to deliver Homer’s Greece to its players. I haven’t played it yet but I understand it’s incredible!

 

Edited June 5, 2023 by rsanford

[smiorgan]

1 hour ago, rsanford said:

Others pointed out Diadochi Warlords for Mythras but there is also Warliords of Alexandria for BRP by Zozer. I understand that the two settings are mostly the same with just the rules being different 

Actually, in my previous post I was confusing Diadochi with "Warlords of Alexandria" by Zozer.

[Ian Absentia]

2 hours ago, rsanford said:

I also would recommend the first edition of Agon (not the newer kickstarted one). 

As an aside, why not the new Kickstarted edition?  I really enjoyed the original at the time, much more so than other similar games of the era.  What's changed?  And presumably for the worse?

!i!

[Guy Hoyle]

So I’m being pulled in several different ways here. I am a longtime fan of Greek mythology and have read the Iliad and Odyssey many times, but I think I’m in the mood for something lighter. Maybe a tad more authentic than your average Sword and Sandal “Peplum”, but a little lit over the top, too. Warlords of Alexandria is a different feel, and I do want something more set before the Bronze Age Collapse (maybe culminating in that). Some anachronism wouldn’t be out of place, either. If you’re familiar with Mazes and Minotaurs, it’s a bit too much of a parody for me, but I admire it’s chutzpah.

[rsanford]

1 hour ago, Ian Absentia said:

As an aside, why not the new Kickstarted edition?  I really enjoyed the original at the time, much more so than other similar games of the era.  What's changed?  And presumably for the worse?

 

I don't have anything against the new version of Agon, but they removed most of the mechanics from the first edition that made the game special. I think I will stick with first edition.

[Questbird]

10 hours ago, smiorgan said:

Actually, in my previous post I was confusing Diadochi with "Warlords of Alexandria" by Zozer.

 

You can download it here:

 

[Kloster]

16 hours ago, smiorgan said:

Actually, in my previous post I was confusing Diadochi with "Warlords of Alexandria" by Zozer.

Warlords of Alexander is good.

[Lofgeornost]

On 6/5/2023 at 9:58 AM, ghoyle1 said:

I was just paging through the new edition of BRP, and I looked at their Ancient World setting. This reawakened a long-standing desire to run a Greek Myth/Sword and Sandal game. I would love to receive some input on creating this type of setting, especially from those who have run such a campaign. Is there any interest in a conversation about this?

I'd be interested; there isn't a BRP game that does this exactly, to my knowledge. I recently stumbled on a D100 game that is based on the author's re-imagining of Bronze Age/Homeric Greece, Fragments of the Past. The Quickstart, which is fairly extensive, is available for free on Drivethru. I've wondered about adapting it to BRP, Mythras, or OpenQuest.

[Raleel]

On 6/5/2023 at 9:40 AM, smiorgan said:

Personally, I'd be interested on a more freewheeling, high-fantasy take on Greek Myth. Be it fantasy Greece or fantasy pseudo-Greece, like Mythra's "Meeros" or D&D 5e "Theros" setting or the Melkoni in Jackals setting.

Mythras' Thennla, with Shores of Korantia, is a pretty fully fleshed out version of that.

19 hours ago, ghoyle1 said:

So I’m being pulled in several different ways here. I am a longtime fan of Greek mythology and have read the Iliad and Odyssey many times, but I think I’m in the mood for something lighter. Maybe a tad more authentic than your average Sword and Sandal “Peplum”, but a little lit over the top, too. Warlords of Alexandria is a different feel, and I do want something more set before the Bronze Age Collapse (maybe culminating in that). Some anachronism wouldn’t be out of place, either. If you’re familiar with Mazes and Minotaurs, it’s a bit too much of a parody for me, but I admire it’s chutzpah.

what does lighter mean here? Like a pulp version?

[rsanford]

13 hours ago, Kloster said:

Warlords of Alexander is good.

It really is. I’m hoping to run a game where the Greek gods of myth, who have lost power due to their worshipers falling away, provide one last mission to the PCs to restore them to power.

[Nick Brooke]

I liked the look of Hellenistika, but if it ever happens that'll be for 5e, not BRP. Still, Ken Hite and Handiwork Games make good and beautiful things, so I live in hope...

[Zit]

If you read French, there is "Kosmos, le jeu de rôles", an amateur rpg about ancient mythic Greece.

 

Edited June 7, 2023 by Zit

[smiorgan]

21 hours ago, Raleel said:

Mythras' Thennla, with Shores of Korantia, is a pretty fully fleshed out version of that.

Is Meeros part of that world or separate?

 

[Lofgeornost]

8 minutes ago, smiorgan said:

Is Meeros part of that world or separate?

 

It's separate, I think, though the Shores of Korantia supplement has some suggestions of how to fit Meeros into it.

[Raleel]

1 hour ago, smiorgan said:

Is Meeros part of that world or separate?

 

 

1 hour ago, Lofgeornost said:

It's separate, I think, though the Shores of Korantia supplement has some suggestions of how to fit Meeros into it.

as they say, they have suggestions, which essentially amounts to wholesale replacing a northern colony with Meeros. I ran it this way, and it worked well. Frankly, I think it's a great, maybe the best, way to get into Mythras if you want something a little less medieval and still higher magic.