OT: "Historical" VS Fantastic RPG´s

[James Langham]

You can actually have fun the other way too, when I first ran Call of Cthulhu in the mid-late 1980s, I created new character sheets without SAN, Cthulhu Mythos skills, etc and told them it was a historical RPG. I them introduced the horror elements slowly over the first few adventures...

[mikeo80]

I have played AD&D, CyberPunk, Traveller, Mech Warrior, Morrow, Gary Guygax' version of Wild West Game (Do not remember title. LOTS of fun!)

Each one had it's own appeal, it's own enjoyment.

Do I prefer one over the other For me, the best is Morrow Project.

My $0.02

Mike

[Adm.Lee]

I can keep my fantasy gaming and historical gaming separate. I don't like mixing the two. My friends, by & large, fall into one camp or the other, and I now have two gaming groups (three, if you count my son & his pals, who are still too young to have formed preferences).

Having said that, I even prefer my D&D playing to stay away from uber-powerful, super-wahoo elements, and stick closer to something like realism.

[ArmySGT.]

I forced myself to finish Dies The Fire and it was enough to convince me never to read any of Stirling's other books

I haven't read "Dies the Fire" which appears the new show "Revolution" takes much of their premise.

However I enjoyed "Conquistador" very much.

[ArmySGT.]

As for magic or super science games I am an all in or all out.

I would play AD&D because the magic is very much part of the scene, however I totally reject the psionics from Morrow Project, except for Bruce.

However, I am leaning toward a Terminator style time machine for how Bruce moves through time just to get away from psionics.

It is very 70's powers of the mind chicanery.

[Graebarde]

I haven't read "Dies the Fire" which appears the new show "Revolution" takes much of their premise.

However I enjoyed "Conquistador" very much.

You should hear the hype on the Sterling group when "Revolution" was first announced. there had been hopes DtF might make the screen, but I guess those hopes are dashed. People would say DtF 'stole' the idea from "Rev" when in fact I feel it was the reverse. Watched the pilot last night. Probably will continue to watch it for a while, but there's LOTS of problems with the series technically IMO.

[Targan]

Gary Guygax' version of Wild West Game (Do not remember title. LOTS of fun!)

Boot Hill Classic game.

[raketenjagdpanzer]

Boot Hill Classic game.

(Gygax)

Anyway, Gary once told me a pretty funny story about playing Boot Hill...his character was a bit like Tuco from "The Good, The Bad and the Ugly" and wound up getting arrested in a town he'd planned on robbing. He was actually arrested by another PC (played by Don Kaye) and Don hadn't thoroughly searched him. So while the Sheriff was looking out the depot window at the bandito's gang riding in to town and shooting the place up in prelude to rescuing Gary's character, Gary drew a knife from his boot and threw it at Kaye's back!

Well, he missed, but only just. The knife thudded in the doorjamb and Gary said as Don's character whirled around ready to blast him, doing his best "Mexican bandito" accent: "Hey, sheriff! I thought you might need a knife to fight off those desperadoes! Use mine!"

[ArmySGT.]

You should hear the hype on the Sterling group when "Revolution" was first announced. there had been hopes DtF might make the screen, but I guess those hopes are dashed. People would say DtF 'stole' the idea from "Rev" when in fact I feel it was the reverse. Watched the pilot last night. Probably will continue to watch it for a while, but there's LOTS of problems with the series technically IMO.

Oh I don't have high hopes for it. Tiny vegetable gardens but, we have this heaving fat guy who was some Google exec. By the way 15 years on where did he get new eyeglasses The clothing looks manufactured and less homespun. Nice new shoes and boots all around. I would expect moccasins with tire sandals.
Guns are scarce. In America Not enough mismatched families. There would be a huge die off and you would expect that adults would be settling with anyone and raising children together.

To clean, and too Disney-esque. I would love this if it was more like "The Road".

[Targan]

Too clean, and too Disney-esque. I would love this if it was more like "The Road".

Ooh, The Road. The book and the movie were excellent, but so grim. I reached the end of both feeling a bit depressed but still impressed by the quality of the work.

Then again, I should be used to being depressed by the post-apocalyptic genre by now, what with the mental scarring left by Major Po

[copeab]

I like to mix tech and magic in an (alternate) historical setting. Oh, and weird science.

Deadlands: Weird West was made for me

Had run three campaigns set in a vaguely Shadowrun setting (with less cyber and more horror).

Currently running a Weird War II game.

[Tombot]

You can actually have fun the other way too, when I first ran Call of Cthulhu in the mid-late 1980s, I created new character sheets without SAN, Cthulhu Mythos skills, etc and told them it was a historical RPG. I them introduced the horror elements slowly over the first few adventures...

Thats a neat trick i used too, when i first introduced a group to CoC myself
An Intro ala "The Untouchables" (30s GTA-Style) with a slow progression to the occult (watching "Angel Heart" over and over again) and then going full throttle into the mythos...
Every CoC-group should have the chance NOT to know from the beginning, that they will be confronted with the Great Old Guys..uh Ones, i mean.

@copeab: I have no doubt that "Deadlands" (and other "fantastic" games) are great fun, too! Dont get me wrong - i would never look down on these!
Just the dissapointed faces when i present T2k / Classic Western to other players ("No muties No magic Possible disfigurement by injuries Coolness under Fire "...)- thats a mistery to me.

[Graebarde]

Oh I don't have high hopes for it. Tiny vegetable gardens but, we have this heaving fat guy who was some Google exec. By the way 15 years on where did he get new eyeglasses The clothing looks manufactured and less homespun. Nice new shoes and boots all around. I would expect moccasins with tire sandals.
Guns are scarce. In America Not enough mismatched families. There would be a huge die off and you would expect that adults would be settling with anyone and raising children together.

To clean, and too Disney-esque. I would love this if it was more like "The Road".

Hmmm the glasses hasn't jumped out at me, but should have since I went four years between changes recently and was REALLY having major problems until I got them upped. At 15 years with cloths, if they salvaged well in the early days, there MIGHT be 'new' cloths, but I would expect not as you say. Foot wear, the same, but it depends on who you have in the community. Personally I favor the wood soled clogs over sandals, and not all that hard to fabricate over the winter months IF the material is ready.

I agree with the guns issue. With a gun per person in the US and vast amounts of ammo for said guns, well that's where Rev differs from DtF greatly since the guns still work.

I'm wondering where the family was before heading for Chicago. Couldn't have been too far. Also WHY the brother, who was military in SC at the time of the event decided to go to Chicago to run his bar Lot's of dead time they could have covered.

Mismatched Depends on WHERE they were. Where I grew up it would not have been the case to have the mismatched families with 90% plus Northern European population. Near the big cities, yep, I agree.

And there would be a BIG die off.. probably 90% of the current population. Just like after the twilight war should be... violent death, exposure, accidentals, disease and infections taking large tolls, suicides for those unable to cope, and starvation... etc etc etc.. pockets would survive and perhaps even flouish compared to most. As I've said a LOT of it depends on the leadership that steps up as to how well any community will survive. And the human resources capabilities.. who knows how to grow food, process food, care for animals, craft needed items, etc etc

I do agree over all it's too 'clean' though hygiene can be maintained. Worse than Hollywood it's a TV series.

[stg58fal]

This is actually the only RPG forum that I can even name, let alone hang out at with anything that resembles any kind of regularity. Any others I've been to have been as a result of something I googled.

I like both fantasy and sci-fi/modern games, though I probably give a slight nod to the latter, mostly because I find it easier to think of things that involve tech rather than magic. From both sides of the screen, GM and player. Tho I have played magic-users that were both a lot of fun and very effective.

[mikeo80]

Boot Hill Classic game.

I just went though my game stuff, and there it was. Boot Hill. Like I said LOTS of fun.

I have even used the personal damage system from Boot Hill and used it in a Morrow Game. Seemed to work well.

Also brought a "cowboy" into an AD&D setting. Boy, did I scare the S**T out of the locals when I used my "FireStick" to kill a couple of wandering orcs who were disturbing our camp site. (It is amazing what a double barreled, 10 Ga. Greener will do to an orc at short range )

Like I said, LOTS of fun.

My $0.02

Mike