What is the best system for a Witcher campaign?
Witcher
Riddle of Steel or similar. It would also encourage the "spirit" of the setting and books in that combat is highly lethal and you should consider the path of least resistance
They're coming out with an official one later this year. But I'd say just use D&D 5e. I know there're people who've made custom Witcher classes.
I personally would say Song of swords. Once magic is in there.
But In the "what RPGs come from your country" there was Symbaroum, which also seems to be a nice fit for that.
On an unrelated note: I'm eager to see how the new official game CDPR are working on turns out.
Riddle of Steel would definitely work imo
Literally this.
The core book for Symbaroum is in the thread btw
Cheers
Elric! By Chaosium,
Lethal Combat, Dark Fantasy, percentile dice.
No d&d noobfag play something else
Rune quest might work Too
Never heard of this.
Care to elaborate?
Theres a post linking to pdfs just below the one you responded to.
But the setting Primer is free, so I can post it here.
I can't say terribly much about the system itself, since I only skimmed over it, but what I saw was pretty good.
Looks pretty neat.
And yes, there is English translation, at least covering crunch
mediafire.com
Enjoy, the game is simple, lethal and with crunch intentionally designed to play as "magic knight". Translation is so-so, but the guys doing it openly admited their grammar is lacking, while their proof-reader dropped roughtly after 1/3 of text.
Still enjoy. One of better games for newbs that exists.
>I'm eager to see how the new official game CDPR are working on turns out.
They've dropped the project in March.
Last year a group of Poles were working on a translation of original Witcher RPG that was made in Poland. Pretty sure they actually managed to translate most of the game mechanics, but they stopped short of fluff, the bestiary, items and etc. No word from them ever since.
Best bet is to wait for the new licensed RPG to come out in a few months. It sounds like it's not only using materials from the games. But also from the books.
We dropped it, because all 3 proof readers dropped us (Żorż speaking here).
Get us proof-reader and we can continue.
Well, fuck
Shame to hear that. I hoped to at least be able to simply use the lore section from it if the system turns out bad bad. Well. Maybe, if I can get beyond my all encompassing lazyness, I'll do a Witcher Supplement for SoS.
He talked about the completely new system. I think. At least I did
I know he talked about the new system, that CDPR contracted from the original creators of Cyberpunk 2020, but as already noted in this very thread, the game was "postponed indefinitely".
Meanwhile, we dropped out translation, because lack of interest. I mean - the interest in game itself was suprisingly high (I "blame" then-current release of TW3), but barely anyone wanted to proof-read it, giving us in total 50 pages of proof-read text. Even skipping insignificant elements, there are 200 pages of crunch.
I'm a bit confused right now. The translation of the old system, or do/have you actually worked on the new system?
Translation of the old one. Come on, the new game was contracted for R.Talsorian Games. I wish we had at least 1/20 of their resources for our small-ass translation project - we could afford to hire professional to proof-read or outright translate it for us and then still have cash to pay the fine for breaking copyrights.
Well damn. Your guys work was fucking awesome. I appreciate your work as I've been using the material you guys translated for a game I'm running with friends.
What sorta proof-readers you need? Surely theres no shortage of volunteers (I sadly can't do much right now do to working 16 hours a week of overtime till July.)
There's already some homebrew Witcher stuff on the Song of Swords/Tattered Realms wiki. A Witcher race, some potions, and some signs. Also, monster hunting rules as well. I think it would work pretty well, if players made their characters at a fairly high power level.
It might be a bit difficult to learn because of the state of the rule book, but it would work pretty well.
If you want something a lighter, OP, you could try RuneQuest 6. Even lighter, maybe something like Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay?
>Surely theres no shortage of volunteers
The moment actual work and dead-lines get involved, people flake out en masse. We need native English speaker or someone with English degree. Supposedly some Brazilian English teacher contacted us last week, but when we dropped the text on him, we didn't get any further reply since Wednesday. So either he's busy working or flaked just like everyone else. After all, it's volunteer work and shitload of it.
Wait. When did the new Witcher RPG get postponed indefinitely? Talsorian just released a Dev Blog talking about the game and it's release on May 16th. (Granted they mentioned they couldn't mention a release date.) But nothing I've heard indicated the games been postponed.
Ah, yeah. /sosg/ already told me that. But I already forgot, thanks for reminding.
Oh, okay. Yeah, what that other user asked: What kind of proof readers do you need? I might be able to do a bit. As long as I only have to proofread the english parts, and not have to do crossreferencing with the original, since I dont speak Polish.
>Native english or english degree
Ah, well I can't shine with that sadly.
Why has it been dropped? Any forum post stating a reason for that?
Well damn. You'd think there would be at least a few people who wouldn't flake out on this sort of thing.
Thats not possible, Talsorian just released a Dev Update May 16th
rtalsoriangames.wordpress.com
Dropping some good Witcher Art.
...
There was the guy we head-hunted originally on RPG Codex, but he was English major preparing for hist Masters, so after he got busy with his final work at the uni, he had to drop us and then all the contact was cancelled. Nobody else was as dedicated as him, not to mention being in constant contact and exchange of thoughts about translation and proper wording.
Oh, sorry then. Last time I've checked about it, it was mid April and it looked like they've just dropped the whole thing. Not to mention threads about the subject on RPG Codex and gossip in the net. After all, Talsorian is infamous for their delivery time.
I think the new "official" game will not be the best option though. From what we now it seems very combat-centric, with class-based character developement, and MMO like ability trees.
For me, It doesn't really fit the setting's spirit.
Savage Worlds might work
Gotta remember that gossips just that, gossip. It looks like there bound to some sort of agreement that prevents them from mentioning a release date. Which is probably the biggest stumbling block.
To be honest, I'd be extremely surprised if CDPR let the RPG get so close to when the game was mentioned to be released (And so late into it's development.) and then let it get dropped without any official word either from them or Talsorian.
It's Fuzion, right? The same system as Sameface Comic the RPG?
I think we'll have to wait a bit before we actually can judge the game as being good or bad.
Though I also hope there's non-combat options for players. The nature of both the books and the video games means there's probably going to be an emphasis on it.
As for class based character development? That's what almost every RPG does anyway and sorta makes sense.
And after playing FFG's SW games I actually sort of dig the ability trees.
This was one of the main reasons we started translating the original game - the new one is class based and on Fuzion, so only refluffed PT could be worse.
Well I know some people might hate it, but GURPS works fairly well for it. There's even a good fan book/bestiary out there for it
Just coming from rtalsoriangames wordpress
It seems that you are right and they are still on the tracks, don't you think ?
Song of Swords would probably work when it's done
>SoS memery
Literally fuck yourself, you lousy lot. All of you. Fucking refluffed PT works better than that piece of crap
Yes, I'm the guy giving SoS crap every time in most of your SoS general. Fuck off from Witcher. Poles got their game for that and even if translation is half-baked, it's still miles ahead of SoS. GURPS got fanmade module for Witcher and it's better. PT got THREE different modules for Witcher and they are better. Savage got forum-based module for it and it's better.
Nobody asked for your meme game, so kindly fuck off
I don't know SoS, why so much hatred ?
Runequest 6 seems a good system, with cinematical combat, skill based and no classes as such plus lots of different kinds of magic. Being an offshot of BRP it's quite easy to copy and paste from other games like CoC or Elric if you want to add more things like sanity or whatever.
It's not toward the game itself, which is pretty forgettable clusterfuck of rules.
It's about people who push it on every step, on every thread, like it was fucking salvation and second coming of Christ. I mean I can get people who push GURPS as an answer for everything. Savage, too. I can even endure "refluffed PT" meme.
But SoS, unformatted pile of shit, the ultimate monument to autism, should fucking burn, exactly because of autists pushing it on every fucking step. Fucking Jehova Witnesses are more reasonable than those cunts.
Think about it this way - those people managed to fucking spoil the game for me with their constant pandering how "great" it is, while it's literally 400 pages of autism, running more or less on self-wankery. If "basic" rules takes more than 50 pages, it's badly designed game. SoS got 250 of basic stuff. Yet it's pushed like it was best thing since fucking sliced bread.
And I'm drunk. But even without it, I hate the game with undying passion.
Damn, where does your hate for SoS come from? People tell about their campaings run with SoS from time to time and they seem to work good.
also:
>I don't like it
>better just call it memery
Song of Swords. A kind of spiritual successor to Riddle of Steel, it has a general up here most of the time.
Oh, okay. I see.
But I actually only recommend it when I think it would work. And witcher is detailed enough in the combat, and overall quite gritty so I actually think SoS is a good system for it.
Yes the formatting is bad, nobody would argue that.
Also: I recomendet it with the sidenote "Once magic is in", which implys the next version, which also will be properly formatted, and incorporate enhancements from Ballad
in order to answer this you need to consider what a Witcher actually does in setting. Broadly speaking they:
>drink crazy potions
>perform limited magic
>use swords
>track
>barter
They're basically DnD rangers. In fact building a ranger with a single level in Wizard would probably give you a perfect Witcher.
Witcher by fucking default needs magic. And a type of magic that also by fucking default needs to be easy-to-use by character default build for melee combat.
Cue the original Witcher TTRPG, where both Armed Combat and all forms of magic are under Dexterity, so it's zero problem for witchers to cast their signs and then behead something.
SoS doesn't even include magic. At all. Rings you a bell how fucking incompatiblite it is with BASIC premise of being a witcher?
Shit son, read what I write for once
>Once magic is in there.
>Once magic is in there.
>Once magic is in there.
>Once magic is in there.
Shit son, why then even propose SoS, if it doesn't have magic?
>No way to cast signs
>No way to cast signs
>No way to cast signs
>No way to cast signs
I also recomended Symbaroum and the upcoming Witcher RPG by CDPR. I left the existing Witcher RPG out, becaus I assumed he knew about it.
SoS is not the only thing I recomennded.
Also: Ballad has magic, which you could easily adopt to SoS. Problem solved
>refluffed PT
what the fuck do you mean by PT?
He probably means PF
Pathfinder, for whatever reason, is referred as PT among Poles.
Not to mention it was never released in Slavland, so Poles have really strange attitude toward it.
>witcher + D&D anything
unles you go with e8 or some other way to harshly limit lvl scope, then nope. And even then it would be still bad.
Well cut off my legs and call me Shorty - the very first tabletop to ever have anything to do with Witcher and wasn't the Polish one Witcher game was Pathfinder.
No, really.
It was basically heavy modded ranger class.
Either use the old game from '01 (Veeky Forums helped to translate crunch for it literally a year ago) or wait till autumn of this year for new game from Talsorian, published directly in English.
That depends, what exactly are you trying to emulate?
The setting, as a self contained world independent of the characters' actions?
The feeling of being the protagonist/last-savior in the protagonist in a gothic-horror fantasy world?
The "classic" (by which I mean the OGL that you millenials can't see past) D&D experience with a re-skin for your favorite video game?
Something in-between?
Each has its own answer. The game mechanics determine the tone and feel of a game, but most systems can be "re-skinned" into a new setting pretty damn easilly.
TLDR: Pick the game that's best suited to the tone you want (just saying "Witcher" doesn't tell us enough to know what you want there) and re-skin THAT game. Think tone and genre first, not setting first.
Maybe Song of Swords?
...
>They've dropped the project in March.
Source? Because they're still releasing updates as of May 16th.
That's why people have been mentioning the homebrew Witcher material. Potions, and some Signs, already made. There's also a magic system in the other book, which would work well with some modification.
It's a legitimate recommendation that already has some content made for such a game. If you don't like it, fine, but you don't need to start screaming every time something you don't like is mentioned. Especially since at every step of the way, people have been recommending alternative games, often at the same time as SoS.
Question for anybody
When would you set your campaign? In the time when there were more witchers and the schools still were active, shortly before the books&games, during the books&games or after them?
The best moment for campaigns is the one picked by original Polish game - roughtly the days of earlier short stories, somewhere before Ciri, or preferably even Pavetta was even born.
Why?
Because you have shitload of petty kingdoms instead of map-covering empires, all busy with their own business, creating MUCH more adventure-friendly environment and actually giving you a chance to avoid big politics.
I'd set before the waning of witchers. There should be a lot of monsters, busy witchers and political events leading to their extinction are only looming on the horizon.
I'd second this. Witchers are on their way out, but not immensely so, and there's a lot of political squabbling rather than world changing events.
Aquelarre with Polish lore instead of Spanish lore.
No witchers allowed, just regular people getting fucked left and right by evil shit.
But then you take away the part of the fucking lore players are most interested in.