Renaissance Fantasy

[jimmyjimjam]

Does anyone know of a book/game/campaign setting that does a kind of high fantasy renaissance world? I dont mean 7th sea-I mean sort of like renaissance italy with elves, dwarves, wizards, etc. Not warhammer fantasy rpg either.

[L. Marcus]

. . . Aww, shucks, I was gonna say Warhammer Fantasy . . . :(

I will be following this thread, though. The concept intrigues me.

[Dr Divago]

Does anyone know of a book/game/campaign setting that does a kind of high fantasy renaissance world? I dont mean 7th sea-I mean sort of like renaissance italy with elves, dwarves, wizards, etc. Not warhammer fantasy rpg either.i would to say "7th sea" but setting really suck XD

"fantasy" with elves dwarfes etc dunno; in italian language there is "Katakymbas" (or katakumbas? don't remember :D) that is medieval fantasy in italy... well... laitia a fantasy world similar to italy but with all name changed (something like...)

has some nice ideas, but game's not very good so...

[Thia Halmades]

i would to say "7th sea" but setting really suck XD

"fantasy" with elves dwarfes etc dunno; in italian language there is "Katakymbas" (or katakumbas? don't remember :D) that is medieval fantasy in italy... well... laitia a fantasy world similar to italy but with all name changed (something like...)

has some nice ideas, but game's not very good so...

There's a book that's coming for HERO... whassicalled... crud. "Victorian HERO" I believe, which will cover this fairly well. There's also (note: I don't normally shill other system's material, but) White Wolf's Mage: Sorceror's Crusade is set in that time period, and Sword & Sorcery released Relics & Rituals III which is a very fae based/celtic feel in the Renaissance period. You might also draw inspiration from Steve's own Tuala Morn setting, although not having read it, I can neither confirm nor deny that it's what you're looking for.

But for straight setting material, I'd lean towards Sorceror's Crusade.

[Shadowsoul]

There is an rpg set in a renaissance style world with magic, fae and some classical races, centaurs and satyrs. Can't for the life of me remember its name however.

Although it doesn't have elves and things you might want to look at the White Crow series which showcases some renaissance style magic and is usually set in a renaissance style world. Although I found it a bit of a drag to read because Mary Gentle is so preoccupied with being clever that she sometimes neglects a decent plot and defies any sense that things are progressing in any particular direction.

There was a book someone recommended to me when I was thinking about my renaissance style magic, Shadow of the Lion by Mercedes Lackey, Eric Flint, & Dave Freer. It's a fantasy set in 16th century Venice. I'd actually forgotten about it. Think I will order it for Christmas.

Some historical stuff on the Renaissance has been discussed in a previous thread.
http://www.herogames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=31525&highlight=renaissance+rpg

Good luck with this and I will post again if I remember the name of that dratted game.

[Kevin Schultz]

Hitting the OTHER side of the Renaissance, there's Castle Faulkenstien; however, that's early 1800's Steampunk with orcs, elves, and dwarves, rather than 1500's.

[AmadanNaBriona]

There's a book that's coming for HERO... whassicalled... crud. "Victorian HERO" I believe, which will cover this fairly well. There's also (note: I don't normally shill other system's material, but) White Wolf's Mage: Sorceror's Crusade is set in that time period, and Sword & Sorcery released Relics & Rituals III which is a very fae based/celtic feel in the Renaissance period. You might also draw inspiration from Steve's own Tuala Morn setting, although not having read it, I can neither confirm nor deny that it's what you're looking for.

But for straight setting material, I'd lean towards Sorceror's Crusade.


*Regency Hero* is what you're thinking of, Captain.

Later than the Renaissance, but some similar bits.

a defining characteristic of the Renaissance, at least for gamers, is it's the main time period when the effects of gunpowder were altering the whole landscape of warfare. At the beginning of the 16th century Archers were still the dominant form of Missile armed troops, whereas by the turn of the 17th C. they had all but been replaced by Shot (Musket, Caliver and Arquebus). Firearms increased greatly in effect as well, due to systematic experimentation and tinkering from a lot of very smart folk, leading to a decrease in armor due to it's generally decreasing usefulness, The near extinction of Shields except in certain circumstances (because in order to be actually worth the encumberance they also had to be "proofed", aka bullet resistant, making them generally very heavy), and a rise in formal martial arts that would lead to the age of Fencing (which wasn't all that terribly common in the renaissance proper).


Tuala Morn isn't really cut out for such, tho aspects of it could be ported over for the Faerie stuff and the like.

[Thia Halmades]

1) Straight into my memory banks, thanks!
2) Sorceror's Crusade is then exactly right, if I'm thinking of the right period.

[jimmyjimjam]

I am really surprised there isnt a book somewhere for fantasy like this similar to "high medieval" yet.

[Silverbullet]

Correct me if I’m wrong, but wasn’t there some discussion at some time about Hero Games doing a Fantasy Europe book for Fantasy Hero…

This just reminded me of that...:p

[Shadowsoul]

I've found it!

Lace and Steel is a renaissance fantasy game with a high fantasy flavour.

Here's my google search of it.

http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=%22lace+and+steel%22&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&client=firefox-a

[Doc]

Well, I didn't read it, but Iron Kingdoms seemed to be in this time setting.

Another option would be D&D world Ravenloft. Some lands were set off in a renaissance time scale.

[Thia Halmades]

Well, I didn't read it, but Iron Kingdoms seemed to be in this time setting.

Another option would be D&D world Ravenloft. Some lands were set off in a renaissance time scale.

Speaking as the self-appointed board expert on the current edition of Ravenloft, the point of the setting is much more to have horror in "any setting" that you want, depending on the domain you select. The default feel is certainly Victorian, but then the default Domain seems to be Darkon; if you set your default to more of a Barovia, you'll alter the view of the field.

Yes, absolutely, some of that material is there, but you have to pick & choose your books to get what you want. I think the Ravenloft Gazetteer II covers Darkon, and of course you can pick up the core texts (PHB & DMG for 3.5).

[Doc]

Speaking as the self-appointed board expert on the current edition of Ravenloft, the point of the setting is much more to have horror in "any setting" that you want, depending on the domain you select. The default feel is certainly Victorian, but then the default Domain seems to be Darkon; if you set your default to more of a Barovia, you'll alter the view of the field.

Yes, absolutely, some of that material is there, but you have to pick & choose your books to get what you want. I think the Ravenloft Gazetteer II covers Darkon, and of course you can pick up the core texts (PHB & DMG for 3.5).


Can I join the board too? Here's my CV. I was GM of three different Ravenloft campaigns over about 7 years. To be honest, though, I only played with the second edition boxed set, never updating my knowledge of the world even after passing to ed. 3.5... But I read a lot about it official and unofficial publications and, as I didn't lie on my CV, can I still join, pleeaaaase???:D

More seriously, Ravenloft is the only thing I'll miss from D&D... All my games were set in a Victorian age. One of my scenarios even took place around the construction of the Trans-Darkonian railway... I played a lot with the Kargat too, making it a British style secret police, you know, with police officiers wearing suits and bowler hats... I also gave it a clear "Lovecraftian" feel.

Well, sorry for my rambling, good old memories, you know...:rolleyes:

Have fun! ;)

[Thia Halmades]

Yes, but as a requirement of membership you have to own all of the 3.0 & 3.5 Ravenloft books. Including the one they finished but never published. :eg:

[Thia Halmades]

Yes, but as a requirement of membership you have to own all of the 3.0 & 3.5 Ravenloft books. Including the one they finished but never published. :eg:

[Captain Obvious]

Yes, absolutely, some of that material is there, but you have to pick & choose your books to get what you want. I think the Ravenloft Gazetteer II covers Darkon, and of course you can pick up the core texts (PHB & DMG for 3.5).

Is there anything in the Gazetteers that wasn't already published somewhere else? Or in the PHB or DMG for that matter? I always liked the Ravenloft material, but the White Wolf stuff seemed to reprint so much I gave up trying to get any of it.

That box set with the Tarokka cards and the dice was wicked cool though, if only for the cards and dice.

[Thia Halmades]

Is there anything in the Gazetteers that wasn't already published somewhere else? Or in the PHB or DMG for that matter? I always liked the Ravenloft material, but the White Wolf stuff seemed to reprint so much I gave up trying to get any of it.

That box set with the Tarokka cards and the dice was wicked cool though, if only for the cards and dice.

That's an easy yes. The gazetteers go into an incredible amount of detail on each zone, and being a White Wolf product, also includes all kinds of additional detail, possibly plot seeds and the 'running plotline' of this edition of Ravenloft.

For a real Renaissance level feel, you can also grab Van Richten's Armory, which is very good and loaded with all kinds of nifty weapons and spells. Again, remember, I don't normally shill anything not HERO related, but for a great horror setting, with all the extra material, those books are really, really hard to beat.

The PHB & DMG inclue all new rules for handling horror (not unlike the SAN system from Cthulu, I assume, but I only played CoC once) and possible reactions. If it's very important to you, I can go grab my books and try and give you a breakdown. I haven't had to use them for about a year, and until I do another Ravenloft campaign, they'll just hang out being proud of being pwned.

[Doc]

Yes, but as a requirement of membership you have to own all of the 3.0 & 3.5 Ravenloft books. Including the one they finished but never published. :eg:

Yiay... Will pdf versions be ok...? :nonp:

[Thia Halmades]

Yiay... Will pdf versions be ok...? :nonp:

I'll think about it. This time. :D