tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post678412218588055598..comments2024-03-28T20:36:33.364-04:00Comments on GROGNARDIA: Open Friday: Non-English RPGsJames Maliszewskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comBlogger54125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-43981332330948778532011-01-11T18:42:26.370-05:002011-01-11T18:42:26.370-05:00Why just limit the putative new website to JRPGs? ...Why just limit the putative new website to JRPGs? I'd love to see games of all nationalities represented! There's a whole world out there, people.velaranhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15689908090884198784noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-21120498003428139832011-01-10T05:06:24.413-05:002011-01-10T05:06:24.413-05:00@Raybourn:
just to point that "Lex Arcana&quo...@Raybourn:<br />just to point that "Lex Arcana" is an italian RPG set in Ancient Rome (that might be the "empire that never fall" you are talking about). It's a sort of "Sword and Sandals simulator" :-)<br /><br />Thumbs up for the JRPG grognardia-like website!MTNhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10389626031147642433noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-71071401077153678772011-01-08T15:04:24.248-05:002011-01-08T15:04:24.248-05:00Would that Google Translate worked properly. When...Would that Google Translate worked properly. When I tried to throw another Portuguese game in there, it translated 3 pages. :(<br /><br />Of course, I could learn more languages, but the time involved is far more than negligible. I already know English, German and Latin, with a few phrases in French and Spanish.<br /><br />I played the crpg based on Das Schwarze Auge, Drakensang -- and the game seemed fun.Eric R. Wirsinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04632409261940844934noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-47689476849994295632011-01-08T10:04:20.246-05:002011-01-08T10:04:20.246-05:00The first French RPGs were published around 1983-1...The first French RPGs were published around 1983-1984. <br /><br />There was <i>L'Ultime Epreuve</i> (Ultimate Trial), which was inspired by Runequest. Characters had the usual standard abilities like in BRP but "skills" were all derived from the abilities without any choice. There was also a goal : the heroes of Lynaïs were supposed to find a way to reach the Last Challenge, the Gate to free the Lords of Balance who had been trapped by the Lords of Entropy. All the "races" were humans but were very similar to the D&D races (e.g. forest men instead of Elves, mountain men instead of Dwarves, plus the mysterious Monolith Men, mystics who lived on menhirs). <br /><br /><i>Légendes celtiques</i> was one of the most complex RPGs (except for Aftermath). The basic system was simple (a little like Daredevils or Bushido) but it took forever to create a character (at least two hours). <br /><br /><i>Empire galactique</i> was the first French SF RPG. It was very similar to Traveller but it used Character Classes and levels: Military, Priest (= Psi), Trader, Navyborg.Phersvhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10962408594713963134noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-66389635120588724532011-01-08T09:46:47.356-05:002011-01-08T09:46:47.356-05:00Nephilim by Multisim.
I could never find copies of...<i>Nephilim by Multisim.</i><br /><br>I could never find copies of the original French game and, since I knew I'd never get the chance to play it, I never pursued the matter too assiduously. But it's a game I was very interested in, as I'd heard it was much different than the version Chaosium published, particularly in terms of its feel.James Maliszewskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-29752808757329942242011-01-08T09:44:31.375-05:002011-01-08T09:44:31.375-05:00Dzikie Pola from Poland. I've always been inte...<i>Dzikie Pola from Poland. I've always been interested in the Rzeczpospolita in the 17th Century.</i><br /><br>Oh yes! I'd seen pictures of this game and wished I could obtain a copy. Of course, no one in my family has spoken or read Polish since my great-grandparents' day ...James Maliszewskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-39348002439000584392011-01-08T09:43:36.444-05:002011-01-08T09:43:36.444-05:00Being one of the authors, I'm very happy to di...<i>Being one of the authors, I'm very happy to discover you like Miles Christi, James :)</i><br /><br>I had no idea you were one of the designers! Yes, I adore <i>Miles Christi</i>. It's a good example of how I prefer historical RPGs to be written. I only own the rulebook, which was hard enough to obtain, but it's a thing of beauty.James Maliszewskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-4545357724973311912011-01-08T08:22:45.714-05:002011-01-08T08:22:45.714-05:00Velaran has already covered several of the Swedish...Velaran has already covered several of the Swedish big RPGs. During the 80's this market was huge (albeit on a smaller scale than the US, since Sweden is a bit smaller as a country with 8 million people).<br /><br />Biggest of these were Drakar och Demoner. A fantasy game that was at first a straight translation of Chaosium's Basic Fantasy, but then took on a life of its own. This accounts for the biggest difference in RPG philosophy between the US and Scandinavia: here level-based systems are considered generally bad, and skill-based systems are generally considered superior.<br /><br />This was followed by Mutant, a Gamma World rip-off using a BRP-derived rules system.<br /><br />A few editions of these followed, and Drakar och Demoner became the base line for fantasy roleplaying in Scandinavia. Everything D&D was in the US, DoD was for us. Culturally and commercially.<br /><br />Some other noteworthy mentions are Kult, as above, Mutant Chronicles which was a multimedia push to challenge Games Workshop and their WH40k line. Although Mutant Chronicles was conceived for the US market, we who worked on it at first were mostly Swedish.<br /><br />As the RPG market sagged, a small outfit released a game called Eon, a standard fantasy roleplaying game with a fairly complex system that managed to somewhat revive (or maybe reanimate) the hobby. It was notable for its insistence on being "realistic fantasy" which generated quite a lot of discussion. <br /><br />IMO one of the best is Western, a wild west game. Superbly researched, an intricate and very complex combat and skill system and featuring the shot clock decades before KenzerCo called their Aces and Eights mechanic an innovation.<br /><br />Recent additions are Operation Fallen Reich, which I don't know much about, but which is beautiful and Coriolis, a sci-fi game that is as beautiful as any RPG book you have ever seen.<br /><br />As I mentioned earlier, for us BRP is the yard stick, and that game's design informs everything that is designed here, either if it is inspired by it or if it is a reaction against it.<br /><br />Of note is that one of the biggest advantages the early games had was being in native languages and having toy store distribution. I myself don't believe that the system itself had much to do with it, and slate the success of those early games up as being the right idea at the right time, combined with good business sense. <br /><br />/MMagnus Seterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06976545976676117166noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-67952904551337264842011-01-08T06:24:15.432-05:002011-01-08T06:24:15.432-05:00JRPG grognardia-like site would be awesomeJRPG grognardia-like site would be awesomerafael beltramehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13028259465633616284noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-23838863226456500262011-01-08T05:20:04.437-05:002011-01-08T05:20:04.437-05:00I confirm what liza says about D&D not being t...I confirm what liza says about D&D not being the entry game to anyone in Spain, back in the '80s. RuneQuest was king then, along Call of Cthulhu.<br /><br />Also, I can a few more titles to her list:<br /><br />- Far West: self explanatory, kind of "Old School", by the way.<br /><br />- Superheroes, Inc.: supers the spanish way.<br /><br />- Comandos de Guerra: WWII special ops with the same system as already mentioned Exo.<br /><br />- El Capitán Alatriste: Captain Alatriste, our already world famous 17th century character.<br /><br />- Almogàvers: writen in Catalan language about an historical mercenary company from the north of Catalonia who fought in the Mediterranean in the 13th and 14th centuries.<br /><br />- Tirant lo Blanc, joc de rol de cavalleria medieval: also in Catalan language, based in a famous literary work of the 15th century, a book of chivalry, published in Valencia.<br /><br />And I know there are even more that we forget...Luis M. Rebollarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13755926205276190040noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-79474404989989736272011-01-08T04:45:55.147-05:002011-01-08T04:45:55.147-05:00@Tedankhamen said: They were ALL playing the same ...@Tedankhamen said: <i>They were ALL playing the same module at different tables. "Char's Counterattack" for the Gundam RPG (which I also have - full size book). They were competing to see who could do it 'better'.</i><br /><br />This isn't so unusual. Tournament adventures were a fairly standard part of the convention scene down here in the 70's and 80's. They are lots of fun, but require you to have a large pool of reliable gamemasters on tap to run them. Especially the post tournament awards, questions, and debrief session.Reverance Pavanehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01217657347160811310noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-21651625005694863912011-01-08T04:01:40.720-05:002011-01-08T04:01:40.720-05:00@Christian: C.O.P.S is not exactly post-apocalypti...@Christian: C.O.P.S is not exactly post-apocalyptic. It's a near-future (2035) game where you play law enforcement officers in an independent California, ripe with gang warfare and hostile Jesusland-style USA.<br /><br />The game was first published with Asmodée but has been re-released by Oriflam very recently, you should be able to find it fairly easily through Web shops.Aliashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05524695958933499524noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-61384616352131157982011-01-08T02:40:05.255-05:002011-01-08T02:40:05.255-05:00There are some hungarian RPG-s as well:
Our very f...There are some hungarian RPG-s as well:<br />Our very first RPG was Harc és Varázslat (Fight & Sorcery). Only the core game was released, and it was unfortunately not a big success, but its nevertheless one of my favorites. It used ten sided dice, and it was based on a percentile system. In feel it was similar to 1st ed AD&D, but simpler.<br />The most famous and successful RPG in Hungary is M.A.G.U.S. This fantasy system is still alive, and it had already many editions. Its popularity in Hungary in is similar to the popularity of Das Schwarze Auge in Germany.<br />Other hungarian RPG-s:<br />Armageddon 2093 Mars: a cyberpunk game<br />AUVRON: fantasy game<br />Requiem: fantasy game<br />Gallia: humorous game in the world of Asterix and Obelix<br />Coyote: wild west rpg<br />Unfortunately only M.A.G.U.S. survived, the other RPG-s are all out of print.<br />Some people play "Kard & Mágia" from Gábor Lux, which was released as a free PDF. This enjoys some popularity hear in Hungary, especially since the old school renaissance, and could be describes as an easier version of D&D 3.0.NARMERhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00855497821876444750noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-35237925615260466702011-01-08T02:05:01.177-05:002011-01-08T02:05:01.177-05:00A game that I have been trying to hunt down is the...A game that I have been trying to hunt down is the French RPG C.O.P.S. It has a nice post apocalyptic look to it, and it takes place in my home town of Los Angeles.Christian Lindkehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12381310217234123318noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-86768284665469300102011-01-08T01:47:10.018-05:002011-01-08T01:47:10.018-05:00I went to a Japanese TRPG convention once in the n...I went to a Japanese TRPG convention once in the nineties and was struck by two things:<br /><br />1) It was mostly girls<br /><br />2) They were ALL playing the same module at different tables. "Char's Counterattack" for the Gundam RPG (which I also have - full size book). They were competing to see who could do it 'better'.<br /><br />Don't forget the Magius System, which was both a universal and rules lite system (3 stats, Body, Mind, and Spirit I think) that was put out in the 90s and supplemented with books for different anime titles. There were the Slayers books, the Silent Mobius book, and the Evangelion sourcebooks (3 or 4 - one was a BIG sized NERV sourcebbok), plus others. The Evangelion is he only one that looked any good, as the rest were underdeveloped ruleswise. The Evangelion version split the game into Headquarter Decisons and Mecha Combat phases, and how you performed in the first affected what options you'd have in the second. Also, with the NERV book you had colour cut outs and cards that turned the game into a tactical sim. I sent my whole collection to an Evangelion freak back in Canada a few years ago.Tedankhamenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00181643018957592969noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-25970453293136027272011-01-07T22:42:16.875-05:002011-01-07T22:42:16.875-05:00Wow, I remember Creguian!
I also remember, have r...Wow, I remember Creguian!<br /><br />I also remember, have read or have played...<br /><br />Sword World, Sword World 2.0, Record of the Lodoss War, Legend of Crystania (One of Japan's all time most popular RPGs - Group SNE), Al Shard and its variations (Al Shard is like a Norse influenced Exalted - F.E.A.R.), Arianrhod (Very MMORPG like but unlike another game, it embraces it and doesn't pretend not to - Very popular in Japan - F.E.A.R./Game Field), Road to Lords (Odd mix of Western and Asian, Low Fantasy - Publisher Unknown (I forget)), Glorious Saga (Brutal Sword & Sorcery - Publisher Unknown (again, I forget)), Monster Maker (Wizards are mainly Summoners...reminds me of a medieval setting Pokemon - Publisher Unknown), Blade of Arcana (Very interesting! Game uses D20 and Major Arcana Tarot Cards - Theme deals with Strong Monotheism Church and medieval Europe feel - F.E.A.R./Game Field). <br /><br />Science Fiction: Space Opera Heroes (SF/Comedy or at least light hearted - Publisher Unknown), Star Ocean (Based on the Video Game - Square Enix Publishing), Paradise Fleet (Awesome Plot! Mix Battlestar Galactica and Voyager and Get Better Than Both! - Fujimi Dragon), Star Legend (Hard SF/Space Opera mix - F.E.A.R./Enterbrain), MetalHead (Mix Near Future Space Opera, Mecha and Cyberpunk - I own this game and love it - Hobby Japan) Mobile Racer Championship (Mecha meets Speed Racer - Weirdly cool - Spin off of Metal Head - Hobby Japan). <br /><br />Near Future/Modern/Action-Horror: Gundog, Gundog Zero (Modern Military - Arclight), Double Cross (Classified as Superhero but more Supernatural - F.E.A.R./Game Field), Ghosthunter (Modern Paranormal - F.E.A.R.), Angel Gear (Modern Mecha vs Biblical Armageddon - Very Evangelion - F.E.A.R.) Troubled Aliens (May be translated as The Trouble With Aliens - A cool comedy RPG that mixes Men in Black with a sitcom feel and action/adventure - Publisher Unknown but I think its Arclight). <br /><br />I do loves me some TRPG.<br /><br />Japanese Game Battle for the Beautiful Heart Are GO! :)Adam Dicksteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04840144928096089178noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-26766039102163755452011-01-07T21:34:53.142-05:002011-01-07T21:34:53.142-05:00Although the JRPG talk website largely focuses on ...Although the JRPG talk website largely focuses on recent JTRPGs like YuyakeKoyake and Maid, Japan had some interesting D&D inspired games back in the late 80s\early 90s. I have both the Basic and Expert rules of the Lodoss RPG, both pocket-sized with beautiful art and rules reminiscent of Chaosium tweaked in D&D's direction. I also have the three companions, all over-sized (i.e. normal North American RPG book size)and brimming with gorgeous art, humorous articles and gaming advice, and terribly written adventures.<br /><br />Then there's the Dragon Half RPG, based on the D&D-inspired comedy manga and anime of the same name, where characters are ALWAYS of mixed monster and human parentage, advance in both Hero Levels and Gag Levels, and have a Gag Skill that always fails spectacularly when they try to use it. Pocket-sized again, brimming with humor and art from the manga. The system is a boiled down (and IMHO much better) version of the Sword World RPG.<br /><br />As for Sword World, it IS the Japanese D&D. Huge back in the day, cramming the old book stores with replays, supplements, and adventures. Unfortunately, it is such a number cruncher I doubt it'll start any OSR out here.<br /><br />That's not to mention the 'replays', or session reports written down as a novel. Very popular out here, and the book stores are brimming with them. Old Lodoss ones even have the Tunnels & Trolls stats for characters in them.<br /><br />More recently, Arian Road (spelling) is a new D&Desque RPG with that cutesy, big head anime art. It's rules, however, reflect computer RPGs more, with unlockable kewl powerz on cards, and all traps, spells, and monsters are statted so that cards can be printed up and used. I think it is still more true to its roots than 4E, however.<br /><br />The big dofference I find between J-D&D and the D&D I remember is that there is a lot more gaming and DMing advice and humour in Japanese materials. Whereas back in the day in North America people too their fantasy waaaay too seriously (thanks, Tolkien), from the start Japanese saw the absurdity in subterranean monster flatblocks with inhabitants crammed cheek to cheek. Advice was also few and far between back in the 80s and 90s I remember, something the OSR helps compensate for nowadays. Reading Airian Road's advice section, with notes on properly cleaning up the session venue, thanking everybody, being considerate, etc shows how far the Japanese are ahead of the English-speaking ganers in this respect.<br /><br />Not to mention the Japan-only D&Dish GURPS setting, Lunar (I have the Monster book and the Gazeteer), Creguian (Japanese Traveller, sort of...), Dungeon Quest, etc etc...<br /><br />I am seriously thinking of starting a Grognardia-inspired about J-TRPGs...Tedankhamenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00181643018957592969noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-19277512975553305822011-01-07T21:01:23.951-05:002011-01-07T21:01:23.951-05:00Out of curiosity, how popular are rpg's or war...Out of curiosity, how popular are rpg's or war games (i.e. mini's) in other countries? Are they as niche as they are here? have they always been or did they experience the same Hesoidian epochs that James has enumerated. <br /><br />I've always wondered this, specifically in reference to j-rpg's. Gaming seems to be such a perfect otaku hobby: the obsessive minutia of game worlds, the supplementary appeal to the collector (who must have everything), the mahou & high adventure. Did they achieve any measurable popularity or were they strangled in the crib by their vigorous sibling (born shortly after), the video game?Nilonimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17631112372990712584noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-56293041836288437382011-01-07T20:12:54.016-05:002011-01-07T20:12:54.016-05:00The italian rpg "I cavalieri del tempio"...The italian rpg "I cavalieri del tempio" a fanta-historical game in which the players are knights templar bound to bring on "the great plan". I'm afraid it was never translated thoughartikidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17474295473142339717noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-79359314323286256292011-01-07T18:12:31.923-05:002011-01-07T18:12:31.923-05:00I've always been intrigued by the Japanese rpg...I've always been intrigued by the Japanese rpg <i>Sword World</i>.thekelvingreenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01928260185408072124noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-79985454142000114352011-01-07T17:36:27.741-05:002011-01-07T17:36:27.741-05:00@ mondbuchstaben
Maddrox looks awesome! Very Gamm...@ mondbuchstaben<br /><br />Maddrox looks awesome! Very Gamma World/Mutant Future/Thundarr. I have found two pdf versions that you can still download and I've been running bits through Google translate.<br /><br />Both are in german but there are lots of inspiring images and maps. I believe the two pdfs are; the final printed (reloaded) version, and the original, longer, draft. Here are the direct links for anyone interested:<br /><br />http://www.maddrax.de/mx-rpg_online.pdf<br /><br />http://www.maddrax.de/rpg/MaddraxRPG.pdf<br /><br />There are a lot of games on this thread sound really intriguing.B. Portly Esq.https://www.blogger.com/profile/15481964118769949033noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-6628077259728461282011-01-07T16:48:40.711-05:002011-01-07T16:48:40.711-05:00> Unfortunately, the first German rpg, Midgard,...> Unfortunately, the first German rpg, Midgard, doesn't get very much love from German gamers. Soon overtaken by the already mentioned DSA, Midgard was - and still is - shunned for its allegedly cumbersome rules as well as for its default setting - even though I only assume the latter. <br /><br />Agreed. Suffering the curse of Tékumel somewhat; for reasons almost as historical, and twice over to boot given the reworking of the setting. Somewhat a pity that; even more so with the language "barrier" resulting in very little understanding of overall gaming history vs. just the English-language portion thereof.irbyzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12215185881501392755noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-23335340266834362332011-01-07T16:46:01.030-05:002011-01-07T16:46:01.030-05:00Hello, there is an Italian rpg named "Lex Arc...Hello, there is an Italian rpg named "Lex Arcana" about an empire that never fall. Mostly due to the use of magic.Ipercarlohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10276474405669709612noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-38927259018396773742011-01-07T15:10:57.043-05:002011-01-07T15:10:57.043-05:00The history of RPGs in Spain is a weird one: most ...The history of RPGs in Spain is a weird one: most people I know played Rolemaster, Star Wars, James Bond or Runequest before D&D od CoC. Anyway, there were a lot of interesting native RPGs here. <br />The grandfather of all of them was the beloved Aquelarre, a TRULLY gritty and dark game of folkloric fantasy set in medieval Spain.<br />Analaya was sword and planet game, set in the dying world of Arcturus, with overtones of Barsoom, Athas and Tchai.<br />I remember also a lot of Science-Fiction games that I, unfortunately, didn't play (I was in teenager fantasy mood): Exo, Fuerza Delta (both space opera), Atlantis (post-apoc), Jurasia (time travel).<br />I played a lot Mutantes en la Sombra (Mutants in the Darkness), a techno-thriller/spy/low-powered superhero game.<br />Ragnarok was a very profesional game of horror and investigation, sort of a contemporany Call of Cthulhu, (we regard it as a "serious" game, played only by our older brothers and forbidden to the "kids").<br />Oráculo (Oracle) was a mythical game set in ancient Greece: its only supplement was a sourcebook for Plato's Atlantis.lizahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09786809318270279916noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-80073826513861396592011-01-07T14:31:54.374-05:002011-01-07T14:31:54.374-05:00Unfortunately, the first German rpg, Midgard, does...Unfortunately, the first German rpg, Midgard, doesn't get very much love from German gamers. Soon overtaken by the already mentioned DSA, Midgard was - and still is - shunned for its allegedly cumbersome rules as well as for its default setting - even though I only assume the latter. Midgard IS quite rules-heavy but by no means bloated (like DSA4 or D&D 3.X). Rather, it can be thought of as a German version of Rolemaster, having rules which, for example, differentiate between a character's appearance and his/her charisma. My assumption concerning the default setting is purely subjective, but the shiny, heroic Aventurien of DSA seems to appeal to much more players than a rather sober - some may call it dry - low fantasy setting which leans quite closely - and detailed, at that - to actual earthly cultures. My impression is that Midgard has remained far too geeky (rules-wise and setting-wise) to be rewarded with economic sucess.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com