Looking for a Game: The Riddle of Steel

I can promise terror, glory, and riches...or a quick and brutal death.
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Wiglaf
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Looking for a Game: The Riddle of Steel

#1 Post by Wiglaf »

Greetings,

Are there any other fans of this game around? I recently completed my collection for this system, however, I've yet to play in a single game. I'd be happy to play in a one on one or small group game if someone is willing to help me learn this very interesting system.

For those who don't know about the Riddle of Steel it is an indi RPG published by Driftwood Publishing well over a decade ago. It has long been out of print. However, it contains rules which I feel are the gold standard for gritty and interesting melee combat in a RPG. It uses a combination of dice pools, hit locations, and maneuvers specific to the weapons being used to tell an immersive tale of risk and bloody reward. Sadly, there are no legal PDFs out there of which I am aware. The books can still be found on Amazon and Ebay, but come at a high price.

So, any interest in this system?

Verrain
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Re: Looking for a Game: The Riddle of Steel

#2 Post by Verrain »

I am also in the camp of being intrigued by TROS but never have played it. If a GM shows up, I would join a game.

Fun fact: I was in a gaming group with Jake Norwood for a time, but he had moved on to Burning Wheel at that point. Really fun guy to game with.

Wiglaf
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Re: Looking for a Game: The Riddle of Steel

#3 Post by Wiglaf »

That's pretty cool, Verrain. I'm glad to hear that he kept on gaming. :)

Wiglaf
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Re: Looking for a Game: The Riddle of Steel

#4 Post by Wiglaf »

Hey, Verrain, given the lack of interest from others, and our mutual intent of trying the system out, what would you say to a 1 on 1 style game? It would be a slow moving game, say 2-3 posts a week, in order to give us plenty of time to look up rules. I have a few different ideas that would suit this style of game.

1, Dead of Winter; The Baron's son is missing. He was sent North with a trading caravan bound for Orc territory. The Baron fears that the Orcs are somehow involved. He needs someone he can trust to journey North into the snow-bound wilderness to discover the truth before the snow and ice ends all possibility of travel, and likely his son's life. Based on a D&D 3.0 module this adventure includes the chance for intrigue, negotiation, investigation, and violent action in a place where shades of grey abound and the elements can be deadlier than an assassin's knife. This would be a single plot, with the option to expand further if we wanted to.

2, Riding to Glory through Fire and Steel; Now is the hour where heroes are made! For the past decade the forces of the Evil Emperor have been slowly sweeping across the land. Countries have fallen to his grasp by pike, shot, and sword. The Noble Queen of Teradoth has asked for a few good men to stand beside her as she attempts to halt the Emperor's advance. Set in a world similar to the English Civil War, and drawing inspiration from James Bond, Sharpe's Rifles, and Horatio Hornblower, this would be a swashbuckling adventure filled with dash, daring, espionage, and the clash of steel as Good attempts to triumph over Evil. This game would be more episodic with a clearly defined goal, your mission, but a few different ways that it could be accomplished.

3, Blood on the Sands. Overshadowed by the sickly green glow of Skull Mountain the city-state of Gore's Arena hosts a grand series of matches to keep a hungry population entertained while unnamed horrors lurk in the sewers and dungeons beneath their feet. Very few frills here. Just lots of fighting as your character tries to survive long enough to earn their freedom.

Do any of these sound interesting to you? Anyone else want to throw their hat in the ring for one of these ideas? I'll leave this up for another week. If, by then, there isn't any interest I'll shelve TRoS for now and work on one of my other ideas for the new year.

Verrain
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Re: Looking for a Game: The Riddle of Steel

#5 Post by Verrain »

Hmmmm. Tempting. Of the three, I think I'd prefer the arena since I would like to get a handle on TRoS's combat system before trying an actual full length adventure with it.

Wiglaf
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Re: Looking for a Game: The Riddle of Steel

#6 Post by Wiglaf »

Sounds good to me. Do you have the book?

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