Potential conversion projects

[mhd]

"Does it have quasi-Vikings?" is actually my favorite litmus test of a setting's originality.

[L. Marcus]

How do you define quasi-Vikings?

[Christopher R Taylor]

Well I guess people have very... interesting definitions of originality.

[Nolgroth]

What actually is original these days? Not much I think. Everything borrows from something else, even if that borrowing is unintended. Boring is purely subjective. 

 

I think the world of Elder Scrolls is actually quite detailed, with a rich history. I've not seen many (or any) other settings that delve so deeply into the world lore. Dragon Age has a lot of lore associated with it, but still not the accumulation of folk lore, tall tales, historical or other texts. It is not a perfect setting, but I've not met one of those yet anyway. There are many things that would need to be adjusted in order to make an Elder Scrolls RPG. Map scale would be my very first issue to resolve. Magic, alchemy, combat, etc. are pretty bone stock standard concepts. Birthsigns are simply a flat bonus or bonus power. Standing Stones came in Skyrim and took the place of Birthsigns, basically slottable Birthsign abilities. Racial abilities would, again, be flat bonuses.  The hardest part would be settling on relative points/power level. From there, building Monster lists, Spells, and Weapons would be relatively easy (if time consuming).

 

That said, while not "original" I think the setting is far from dull or boring. Like all settings, relative fun depends greatly on the participants involved. I think I might have fun translating Elder Scrolls over to Hero. I would certainly enjoy reading somebody else's take on the translation.

[Christopher R Taylor]

I think the most interesting part would be coming up with the systems that allowed players to build their own magic items and spells as in the earlier games.  The alchemy is pretty well already in the game, all you'd have to do is convert the effects.

[mhd]

How do you define quasi-Vikings?

I guess I could say "Raiding norsemen", but that rarely seems an issue. As opposed to some other common tropes (Roman empire, greek city states, Catholic church, Native Americans…) Vikings tend to be copied rather literally, so you usually get runes, berserkers, longships, jarls and everything else in the mix (Thralldom being rarely included, though).

 

I'd like to add that I made the comment about "originality", which usually doesn't overlap all too much with how much I actually like a setting. Most original thoughts in games of either kind tend to be rather bad, so a good copy seems preferable. As long as the melange isn't too incongruous (where vikings can be problematic).

 

As for magic-building systems, I'd ditch some of the emulative aspects and just impose some minimal constraints on standard HERO power construction. Adding another seemingly self-sufficient system on top of HERO rules can create some levels of leaky abstractions. The middle ground between "create a power with limitations X, Y and either Z or ZZ" and "let's ditch HERO for that and use this set of rules I made up" is rather treacherous.

[Michael Hopcroft]

Try building the setting around the Vikings. All player characters come from that culture, and the campaign is about them discovering a strange and hostile world where anything goes.

 

It could be analogues to other periods. But there could be alien super-science indistinguishable from sorcery -- but more powerful and deadly. There could be incomprehensibly alien things, creatures and beings. There could be the ruins of a vast technological civilization -- or a technological civilization that isn't quite as ruined as it looks.

 

Vikings are natural explorers. Point them in the direction of adventure and it's virtually guaranteed someone will get a longship crew together and set out to find it. But sometimes what they find is so terrifying that they will do anything to make sure it doesn't follow them home. Or perhaps Viking courage, elan and resourcefulness may be enough for them to triumph against the impossible odds (especially if the Gods really are on their side!).