The Majestic Realms RPG
Aug 31, 2016 8:42:35 GMT -5
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Post by robertsconley on Aug 31, 2016 8:42:35 GMT -5
The basic goal of the project is to take everything I been doing with OD&D and and Swords & Wizardry and compile into a single set of rules. It not a better way of playing OD&D just the way I been playing OD&D. While some people will use the entire Majestic Realms RPG as written for adjudicating and managing their campaign, I feel that the default, especially in the target OSR audience, is to kitbash whatever to make the campaign they want to run or play in.
If the majority of my audience kitbash, how can I best support it? Is the traditional core book like Swords & Wizardr the best way? Or would just be consider yet another RPG. I also have weigh the fact that the OSR is awash in a sea of complete RPGs.
What I decided to do is take a page from Dave Hargrave's playbook, the Arduin Grimoire, along with the Thieves Guild series, and release the Majestic Realms as a series of supplements. When combined they will form the entire RPG. However they don't have to buy the all books each supplement will present and expand a particular aspect of OD&D in the form of Swords & Wizardry so a referee or player can buy only the ones that interest them. Just as important I can throw in useful non-rules related material that would otherwise bloat a core rulebook.
As a general note, this is very much a Majestic Wilderlands 2nd edition in terms of the rules. In general any changes or addition I make to OD&D/Swords & Wizadry goes no further than what I did in the MW Supplement.
What I plan so far is the following
The Red Scroll of War
This book focuses on fighters and support for adventures focusing on fighters.
The Lost Grimoire of Magic
This book focuses on magic-users and supports adventures focusing on magic-users. This further along than the other books and will probably be released first.
The Chromatic Tome of the Heavens
This book focuses on clerics and supports adventures focusing on clerics.
The Shadow Charter of the Brotherhood
This book focuses on rogues and supports adventures focusing on rogues.
Note this kind of been done with the Thieves Guild series.
For the above four you can expect rules for classes, some monster and treasure that fit the theme of the book, and the wilderlands fleshing out locales that fit the theme of the book. For example I plan to write up a gladiatorial arena for The Red Scroll of War.
The Legendarium
The monster book. Compiles all the monster presented in the preceding four books plus my take on remaining monsters from Swords & Wizardry I didn't cover. For the most part the stats are the same but the description are how I used them in my campaigns rather than a generic toolkit approach. There are some major difference, for example Demon, Faeries, and Dragons. Each reflect how I used them my campaign.
There will be a handful of locale focusing on monsters in the Wilderness section of this book.
The Domesday Book
This is going to be something a little different. The heart of the book is a monster manual of NPCs. Basically templates for common NPCs I used in various campaigns. Want a 9th level wizards, it covered. Want to know what a baronial guard is setup as? I got it covered.
There will be a rules section that will have the complete character generation section. The other supplements will have summaries but here where the complete rules describing attributes and character generation will go. Finally there will be a handful of locales for adventuring focusing on NPCs similair to what I am going to put into the Monster book.
Quick Character Generation
When I run convention games, I want people to able to make their own characters. The challenge is that you have at best a three or four block of time to do that and the adventure. So I come up with a way to have everybody generate a complete OD&D character in less than 20 to 30 minutes. This includes equipment, higher levels, and sometimes magic items.
I will throwing the PDFs for this into the character supplements. Plus using the print on demand card printing capabilities of RPGNow to offer a print option.
Right now I writing the core rules for all of this. Some are done like the character classes, other I am still doing. For example I writing up what I do for treasure generation. I hope to start releasing some of this next year (2017).
If the majority of my audience kitbash, how can I best support it? Is the traditional core book like Swords & Wizardr the best way? Or would just be consider yet another RPG. I also have weigh the fact that the OSR is awash in a sea of complete RPGs.
What I decided to do is take a page from Dave Hargrave's playbook, the Arduin Grimoire, along with the Thieves Guild series, and release the Majestic Realms as a series of supplements. When combined they will form the entire RPG. However they don't have to buy the all books each supplement will present and expand a particular aspect of OD&D in the form of Swords & Wizardry so a referee or player can buy only the ones that interest them. Just as important I can throw in useful non-rules related material that would otherwise bloat a core rulebook.
As a general note, this is very much a Majestic Wilderlands 2nd edition in terms of the rules. In general any changes or addition I make to OD&D/Swords & Wizadry goes no further than what I did in the MW Supplement.
What I plan so far is the following
The Red Scroll of War
This book focuses on fighters and support for adventures focusing on fighters.
The Lost Grimoire of Magic
This book focuses on magic-users and supports adventures focusing on magic-users. This further along than the other books and will probably be released first.
The Chromatic Tome of the Heavens
This book focuses on clerics and supports adventures focusing on clerics.
The Shadow Charter of the Brotherhood
This book focuses on rogues and supports adventures focusing on rogues.
Note this kind of been done with the Thieves Guild series.
For the above four you can expect rules for classes, some monster and treasure that fit the theme of the book, and the wilderlands fleshing out locales that fit the theme of the book. For example I plan to write up a gladiatorial arena for The Red Scroll of War.
The Legendarium
The monster book. Compiles all the monster presented in the preceding four books plus my take on remaining monsters from Swords & Wizardry I didn't cover. For the most part the stats are the same but the description are how I used them in my campaigns rather than a generic toolkit approach. There are some major difference, for example Demon, Faeries, and Dragons. Each reflect how I used them my campaign.
There will be a handful of locale focusing on monsters in the Wilderness section of this book.
The Domesday Book
This is going to be something a little different. The heart of the book is a monster manual of NPCs. Basically templates for common NPCs I used in various campaigns. Want a 9th level wizards, it covered. Want to know what a baronial guard is setup as? I got it covered.
There will be a rules section that will have the complete character generation section. The other supplements will have summaries but here where the complete rules describing attributes and character generation will go. Finally there will be a handful of locales for adventuring focusing on NPCs similair to what I am going to put into the Monster book.
Quick Character Generation
When I run convention games, I want people to able to make their own characters. The challenge is that you have at best a three or four block of time to do that and the adventure. So I come up with a way to have everybody generate a complete OD&D character in less than 20 to 30 minutes. This includes equipment, higher levels, and sometimes magic items.
I will throwing the PDFs for this into the character supplements. Plus using the print on demand card printing capabilities of RPGNow to offer a print option.
Right now I writing the core rules for all of this. Some are done like the character classes, other I am still doing. For example I writing up what I do for treasure generation. I hope to start releasing some of this next year (2017).