Today we're pleased to announce that Rachel Kronick's Blade & Crown, a gritty medieval RPG inspired by Harn, is now available in print. You can check out the game's website and blog for the game to get a better sense of what makes it unique.
My gaming group helped playtest B&C, and one of the things I like about the game is that most of what a player needs is right there on their character sheet. No need to look up lots of things during the course of play. Just consult your sheet and roll the dice.
It is interesting that Chris Kutalik and some other friends on G+ are developing Medieval Hack, a hardcore medievalist RPG. Something is in the air. Blade & Crown certainly fits the bill of hardcore medievalism, but with a much lighter touch than something like Chivalry & Sorcery. I remember owning that game, as well as Lee Gold's Land of the Rising Sun, and while I particularly liked the latter RPG for its comprehensive setting information, I admire the mechanical approach taken by B&C far more: a skills based system; one core mechanic. It is quite playable, while not sacrificing simulationist realism.
The GM does need to consult a table to determine damage, as Blade & Crown is a very realistic system. I remember one comrade-at-arms being fairly irked at that realism, when an urchin took out his knee with a slingshot. But that is how real world combat has always been. You can still create combat monsters. Just expect them to experience serious injuries from time-to-time.
"The fortunes of war." as Kor once said.
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Skill and armor also mitigates this.
If you're interested in the game, stop back at The Everwayan from time to time. I'll be running periodic reportage on our home Blade & Crown games here.
Blade & Crown isn't really inspired by Hârn; it comes from 80s 'realistic' fantasy games, modern indie design and a lot of my own ideas.
ReplyDeleteHi Rachel: sorry I had that wrong. Feel free to say more here about which 80 s games were important inspirations for you, It's always nice to see what was important for folks. The biggest late 70s and 80s influences in terms of fantasy for me was the game and it supplements that I never got to play: RuneQuest.
ReplyDeleteLots of games threw off sparks during the process: Hârnmaster, Swordbearer, Pendragon, Chivalry & Sorcery, Runequest, Fate... at some point, it becomes hard to name them all.
ReplyDeleteA lot of it was just me, of course. Not a lot of games use xD10 keep the highest, for example, and the way Traits work is unique, so far as I can tell.
Thanks for stopping by to clarify, Rachel! I really have to see a copy of Swordbearer some time. I can't tell whether I have ever seen a hard copy of the game or not!
ReplyDeleteWe will certainly have to arrange that! Swordbearer is a terrifically innovative little game that hasn't gotten anywhere near enough appreciation since it was published.
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