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The Arcanum - Interest?

Jedaii

By Jedaii
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Jedaii

Jedaii

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Hi Weaverfolk! I'm seriously thinking of running a one-shot with a mix of "Sword and Sorcery" and "High Fantasy" elements. The game system I want to use is the real issue because many gamers have never heard of it, let alone have it. The Arcanum was published back in the early 80's by Bard Games and had two editions during that period (I have 2e). Then four years ago, ZiLa Games published a "cleaned-up" 30th-Anniversary edition of the same system:

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Anyone have the Arcanum and also might be interested in playing? There's two good reviews here and here.

Edited by Jedaii (see edit history)
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Jedaii

Jedaii

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7 hours ago, cybersavant said:

Found my copies just recently. Do you have enough people to run a game?

Just you, my friend. Want to run multiple characters (your own party)? It's an option I'd go with if you like - and no one else jumps in.

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RedMax

RedMax

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2 hours ago, Jedaii said:

Just you, my friend. Want to run multiple characters (your own party)? It's an option I'd go with if you like - and no one else jumps in.

The game seems interesting, and I have a copy.

I would rather play just a single character, though. I'm fond of the Zephyr race, maybe a rogue.

Rather than play a party, I'd rather that--if it's just two players--we each are "in charge" of some NPC's. Like, we each command some henchmen, which would essentially be us running a party but I like it more when there's some give and take with multiple characters. Like, the GM has them push back on some commands or rebel if our plan is unreasonable. So they'd still be a variety of classes and races but we wouldn't be 100% sure they would listen.

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Jedaii

Jedaii

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3 hours ago, RedMax said:

The game seems interesting, and I have a copy.

I would rather play just a single character, though. I'm fond of the Zephyr race, maybe a rogue.

Rather than play a party, I'd rather that--if it's just two players--we each are "in charge" of some NPC's. Like, we each command some henchmen, which would essentially be us running a party but I like it more when there's some give and take with multiple characters. Like, the GM has them push back on some commands or rebel if our plan is unreasonable. So they'd still be a variety of classes and races but we wouldn't be 100% sure they would listen.

Excellent! I love the Zephyrs so great choice. Your henchman option works perfect for the adventure, just not at the first chapter. The PCs would need to earn the trust of key NPCs in order to get henchmen.

Thoughts?

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RedMax

RedMax

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8 hours ago, Jedaii said:

Excellent! I love the Zephyrs so great choice. Your henchman option works perfect for the adventure, just not at the first chapter. The PCs would need to earn the trust of key NPCs in order to get henchmen.

Thoughts?

Yes, this sounds great. :)

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RedMax

RedMax

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I was just doing preliminary work on my character. He'll be a Zephyr rogue. I was looking at "spy" and "bounty hunter" and even "enchanter" but rogue fits what I'm imagining for the character.

If it's allowable, I'm thinking his three weapons will be two-handed sword, boomerang, and bolas. I almost took shuriken but I realized boomerang would fit his persona more.

I struggled with whether I should make him a rogue. Zephyrs have wings so the "scaling walls" seemed useless, but then I realized that they lose their flight ability if down in hp, plus, if you're sneaking in somewhere you usually can't just land on the roof. So, he would come in from an angle and land on the side of a building and use his climbing that way.

Reminds me of that Dylan song: "If I was a master thief perhaps I'd rob them..."

 

rogue01.png

zephyr01.png

Edited by RedMax (see edit history)
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Jedaii

Jedaii

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This system was a rules supplement for AD&D 1e and the options were everything I was looking for:

  • Eliminates Vancian magic rules
  • Armor reduces damage
  • includes Hybrid classes as Professions
  • included a flying race (Zephyr)
  • introduces eight different schools of magic (1984!)
  • incorporated two tiers of skills (Background and Professional)
  • included a more cinematic style of combat with offensive and defensive tactics
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RedMax

RedMax

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11 hours ago, Jedaii said:

This system was a rules supplement for AD&D 1e and the options were everything I was looking for:

  • Eliminates Vancian magic rules
  • Armor reduces damage
  • includes Hybrid classes as Professions
  • included a flying race (Zephyr)
  • introduces eight different schools of magic (1984!)
  • incorporated two tiers of skills (Background and Professional)
  • included a more cinematic style of combat with offensive and defensive tactics

Yes, there is so much I like about this system. I like the number of character classes, and that some of the classes seem "useless" but they are all so interesting. Like, I could imagine playing a "scholar." It's like they incorporated all these NPC classes as actual options.

And if you know how AD&D 1e works, this system is a breeze. And I'd argue an improvement without going too crunchy.

 

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