... and stay there.
Why does fantasy gaming have to lead one out of the tavern or the neighborhood the tavern is in? Couldn't the life of a barfly in a world full of elves, orcs, goblins, immortals, fire wizards, and the like be interesting and game-able?
I admit it I'm considering whipping up an OSR compatible rule set for fantasy RPG urban adventuring where the characters are doxies, urchins, bravos, bawds, and the like. I've got a working title: Flagons and Freaks. Yes there will be an element of parody, it;s too silly an idea not to have a little parody built in but murder hobos have been getting way too much attention over the years when there are lots of opportunities for alley rats and gutter snipes.
I'm picturing gambling (maybe a gambling mechanic at the core of the game), low class street crime capers,seduction and associated illicit affaris, sewer slogging, smuggling, grave-robbing (also known as dungeoneering), burglary, drinking constests, and bar-room brawls.
I'd likely tailor classes and even ability scores to meet the setting tightly but have it work so monster statistics in most OSR adventures would still work.
Good idea or bad idea?
Take a look at Backswords & Bucklers By Christopher Cale on Lulu. It "focuses on running games set in the Underworld of London, based out of a tavern.: and is based on Sword & Wizardry White Box. Some clever ideas.
ReplyDeleteI think it's a great starting point.
ReplyDeleteAlso, let's not forget abot good old tavern fights.
Sounds like the regular adventuring session to me. ;-)
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of the group staying at the tavern. Should work for those crime/horror scenarios 'at the diner'. Mysterious strangers, weird characters, murder, conspiracy, the secret ingredient for the perfect minestrone ...
Ever played Red Dragon Inn?
ReplyDeleteWent to a "gamer tavern" here near Seattle and when they saw us breaking it out, they offered to sell us a pitcher and shot glasses, so that the players could take a drink when their characters did.
Good times.
This sounds like a great idea! I always enjoyed posts/adventures that illustrate how incredibly disreputable the "adventuring" lifestyle was historically 99% of the time. Your average adventurer (minus a handful of upper class clerics,knights, runaway apprentices and farmers sons/daughters ) probably comes from the very backgrounds you want to profile.
ReplyDelete