Quote from: ImperatorMate, you will end using BRP and you know it

Yeah. That's why I said what I would use, not what I think Balbinus should use. He knows very well it will be BRP, and so do I.

-clash

Quote from: Balbinus1. A game set during the 17th Century wars of religion?    Ideas that occur to me are a houseruled WFRP (and if so 1e or 2e) or maybe Flashing Blades, but there must be options I'm missing.

AD&D 2nd ed historical supplement 'A Mightly Fortress'. Whether I use it with 2nd ed or not... Yes, I probably would. Not the soundest edition of the game, but good enough, and 'Mighty Fortress' (detailing more or less to that era) is an excellent product.

Quote2. A game set during the Renaissance in the early to mid 16th Century?  Maelstrom (the original one from way back in the day) could work I guess, or maybe WFRP again with tons of houserules, but neither is quite right I suspect.

Would depend rather on what the focus of the game is. Either Whitewolf WoD or Chthulu (BFRPG) would work.

Quote3. What about a game set in Britain in the 14th Century?  Mongoose Runequest maybe?  Other?

Ars magica. Perfect for it really. Or perhaps another of the historical supplements for 2nd ed (that era for Britain I'd use a mix of Charlemagnes Paladins and The Celts, but you'd have to modify both to get the flavour right).

The problem with this question for me is that it could mean a couple of things. One is "what system would you use?" and the other is "what system do you suggest I use?"

Now, I, for one, never pay the slightest attention to other people's suggestions for games I'm intending to run. I suspect Balbinus is the same. So my comments will stay away from suggesting a system for his use--he's big enough and ugly enough to work that out for himself.

I still have the problem of which system I might pick for the various settings outlined. To review:

1. A game set during the 17th Century wars of religion.
2. A game set during the Renaissance in the early to mid 16th Century.
3. A game set in Britain in the 14th Century.

It seems to me that every one boils down to the same question: what exactly do you want the system to be doing in play? For example, I could run every option there using HeroQuest if what I wanted was a game with no dedicated combat rules but with the option to go to the system for all and any conflict. The 'rules-lite' option in a sense.

Similarly, it seems to me that Burning Wheel could also handle all the given settings if I wanted more systemic focus on keynote fights and debates.

If I wanted a broad-brush, fictional approach with the setting providing mainly background colour for the characters, I might consider using Primetime Adventures. The ABC (Australian Broadcasting Commission) channel shows lots of costume dramas.

Then there's the thought that any of those eras would make a fascinating setting for a game of Sorcerer--but here you're starting to get into more esoteric territory....