I'm currently catching up on Ian C Esslemont's half of the Malazan series, and being reminded of how much I really love the setting he and Steven Erikson have created. I don't go in for fantasy nowadays, preferring historical for the most part, but I would play a game set in that world.
Allegedly the setting came from an AD&D1e to GURPS game, but there's been nothing released on an RPG front, and the two authors are said to be pretty coy about that. So what have people been doing in the setting? What systems have they been using to fit the huge spectrum of potential power levels between the lowliest mortal, up through various Ascendant paths and ultimately to godhood?
I haven't used it personally, but I know a few out there have (not counting Esslemont and Erikson of course ;)). There's a GM on one of the PbP forums who's supposed to be getting a game ready (using Gurps) but nothing in several months.
As coy as the authors have been I wonder if they are working on a RPG version.
Hey Kiero,
Big Malazan Fan here as well. I'd play in it in a heart-beat.
As for systems to use for the Malazan game, I'd probably take on of the two following:
1) Strange Fate - Fate as a game has a lot of freedom to "design" characters and the Strange iteration of Fate has a very easy but cool way to model power-levels. So i'd say this is a pretty good choice.
2) Marvel Heroic version of Cortex Plus - Again, easy to model very different characters and the power-levels are done via dice-sizes without going over the top aka every character still works in a group of very different PL. I'm very curious to see how Cortex Prime will turn out. It should have more dials all in all then MHR so it might even be easier to use for Malazan.
And as you already said yourself, the authors used GURPS heavily...I knew someone who played with them back in the day and he said that some parts of the setting are even informed by GURPS-philosphy. So if GURPS is your thing, I guess this is the rulesset to go with.
Also, as a sidenote (probably for others then Kiero, because he should know about it ;) ), there is a Malazan hack for Fate (Fate 3.0) on the rpg.net wiki somewhere. I think it is quite nice.
Quote from: SionEwig;1092434I haven't used it personally, but I know a few out there have (not counting Esslemont and Erikson of course ;)). There's a GM on one of the PbP forums who's supposed to be getting a game ready (using Gurps) but nothing in several months.
As coy as the authors have been I wonder if they are working on a RPG version.
I'd be willing to bet one or both of them have fat folders with all their homebrewed stuff in it.
Quote from: Anglachel;1092589Hey Kiero,
Big Malazan Fan here as well. I'd play in it in a heart-beat.
As for systems to use for the Malazan game, I'd probably take on of the two following:
1) Strange Fate - Fate as a game has a lot of freedom to "design" characters and the Strange iteration of Fate has a very easy but cool way to model power-levels. So i'd say this is a pretty good choice.
2) Marvel Heroic version of Cortex Plus - Again, easy to model very different characters and the power-levels are done via dice-sizes without going over the top aka every character still works in a group of very different PL. I'm very curious to see how Cortex Prime will turn out. It should have more dials all in all then MHR so it might even be easier to use for Malazan.
And as you already said yourself, the authors used GURPS heavily...I knew someone who played with them back in the day and he said that some parts of the setting are even informed by GURPS-philosphy. So if GURPS is your thing, I guess this is the rulesset to go with.
Also, as a sidenote (probably for others then Kiero, because he should know about it ;) ), there is a Malazan hack for Fate (Fate 3.0) on the rpg.net wiki somewhere. I think it is quite nice.
I'd forgotten about that, there's the frame for some stuff there. As always the tricky part is magic, it isn't like a lot of other systems and thus requires a fair bit of hacking to get something that fits.
Interestingly, there is an article on the Malazan wiki about the roleplaying origins (https://malazan.fandom.com/wiki/Role-playing_Game_Origins_of_the_Malazan_Series) of the setting. Also an explanation as to why there isn't a proper published RPG book yet - because the authors find RPGing steals their writing mojo - and vice versa.
Erikson has also written an article about the origins of the world (http://www.steven-erikson.com/index.php/the-world-of-the-malazan-empire-and-role-playing-games/).
There something immediately PC-party recognisable about a standard Malazan squad, for example; with a heavy, scout, cutter (healer), sapper/saboteur and mage as the roles to be filled. You can tell the Malazan military structure and tactics were invented by gamers with notions of how to overcome the usual fantasy strictures, what with the heavy use of magic for things besides artillery and alchemical munitions.
I'd crowdfund the shit out of such a thing ^^ Or just buy the book if SJG publishes one. I'm not a GURPS player but if they publish a Malazan RPG, I'll definitely become one.
I mean the Encyclopedia would also be extremely useful. In most cases I feel comfortable to make the rules-part myself, It's the world info and details that i'd like to have handy in a printed and official document.
Something the setting makes a big deal of is that virtually anyone can learn magic. Some people manifest ability spontaneously, but for everyone else, they just need the right training and discipline. The exact Warren(s) they get access to, though seems to be intrinsic in some way.
I'm wondering how well most systems that aren't GURPS handle that.
Bah it would be some weird mix of GURPS and Fate. At least that is how the books read to me. Sometimes he cared about established facts and characters responding to situations naturally, and then other times magic works on pure story game logic. "Magic does what would be cool. Cause reasons"
I ran a con game in D&D5E which worked fine. I suspect I'd have to tack on a different magic system if I was to run a campaign version though - warrens are both a source of magic and a gate to other realms which has no analog in D&D as far as I can tell.
Quote from: Rhedyn;1094685Bah it would be some weird mix of GURPS and Fate. At least that is how the books read to me. Sometimes he cared about established facts and characters responding to situations naturally, and then other times magic works on pure story game logic. "Magic does what would be cool. Cause reasons"
Yep, there's a fair bit of that, in the description of how it played out they were liberal with either using the rules or not.
Quote from: spon;1094692I ran a con game in D&D5E which worked fine. I suspect I'd have to tack on a different magic system if I was to run a campaign version though - warrens are both a source of magic and a gate to other realms which has no analog in D&D as far as I can tell.
I think you could get away with it for a short game, especially if it wasn't all that magic-focused. What was the scenario for your con game? However, as you say, for a longer one, you need a different magic system that reflects the setting.
Some Warrens have their own pocket realm attached, not all of them. Mockra doesn't for example. And you wouldn't want to travel to Hood's realm, since you die if you go there (unless you're already dead...).
Quote from: Kiero;1094695I think you could get away with it for a short game, especially if it wasn't all that magic-focused. What was the scenario for your con game?
It was called "Assault on Moon's spawn" The PCs all had reasons to try to break into the abandoned flying castle - looking for a pathway to Mother Dark's throne. It as fun and the people who knew the background seemed pretty happy.
Quote from: spon;1094743It was called "Assault on Moon's spawn" The PCs all had reasons to try to break into the abandoned flying castle - looking for a pathway to Mother Dark's throne. It as fun and the people who knew the background seemed pretty happy.
Based on the events of
Orb, Sceptre, Throne at all, or your own creation?
Quote from: Kiero;1094753Based on the events of Orb, Sceptre, Throne at all, or your own creation?
Pretty much my own stuff, but obviously "inspired by" what I got from the various books that mention Moon's spawn. Basically a 4-hour exploration of a couple of towers, a chained dragon and a throne-room where everyone turned on each other. For con games, I seem to write a lot of Paranoia-esque scenarios!
Man, I thought Erikson's dual-wielding fetish was bad, but Esslemont's is even worse. Every other named character uses a pair of Wickan-style long-knives.
I'm reading the Path to Ascendancy prequel trilogy, and I have to say the pre-Malazan Empire era is much riper for RPGing. Mostly because it's so broken and balkanised. There's a sort of high Roman Empire uniformity and durability about the setting presented in the main series that doesn't exist a century or so before.
Possibly because Dancer and Kellanved "fixed" a lot of the problems that existed in building their empire, especially for ordinary people. Though the Talons and Claws took a horrible toll on the pre-Malazan aristocracy of the various kingdoms they conquered.
Though I have to say I often find the pre-history of many settings as they are presented to us as more compelling than their "present". That's the case with Forgotten Realms, for example, where the Days of Thunder (https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Days_of_Thunder) have a nice sword and sorcery vibe to it.