Looking for a fantasy game where the rules and setting are designed together for a unique experience.

Some of the better marriages of rules and setting that I've seen are: Pendragon explores the Arthurian stories of Mallory with rules that focus on characters virtues, passions, etc. Sagas of the Icelanders is about the stories of the first Norse settlers on Iceland and portray rules for honor, duels, family bonds etc to emulate those. Both of these are low on fantasy, though.

Or are you interested in totally original/created from scratch settings?

Agree with both of Itachi's recommendations and will add Beyond the Wall.

Pendragon (Le Morte D'Arthur)
Sagas of the Icelanders (Icelandic Sagas)
Empire of the Petal Throne (Tékumel)
RuneQuest 2nd (Glorantha)
Hero Wars/HeroQuest (Glorantha)
Mouse Guard (The Mouse Guard comic books)
Burning Empires (The Iron Empires comic books)
Ars Magica 2nd (a fantasy Europe centered on a community of magicians)
The Nightmare Underneath (a D&D derived game -- mixed with other rules hacked from other games where the PCs go into "dungeons" that are nightmares trying to invade this world)
Earthdawn (a pre-history fantasy world)
Castle Falkenstein (Players play the roles of gallant adventurers, facing the intrigue and derring-do of Victorian adventures such as The Prisoner of Zenda -- but with magic. It uses a card hand mechanic and the idea of an adventurers journal (written by the player) as part of the rules)

That's a list off the top of my head. There will be many more!

EDITED TO ADD: the degree to which each of these games + settings is built specifically to handle the flavor of the world; whether the worlds are original or inspired by other works of fiction; and how fleshed out each setting is creates a matrix and variety I'm not going to try to sort out. (So much of it will come down to taste.) But I think it's a solid list to answer the question and add more.)

Fate of the Norns: Ragnarok. Superheroic Vikings from the sagas. Your powers are bound to futhark runes, and you play them on a playmat. They are also your hit points, and there are no dice.

Swashbucklers of the 7 Skies (with hard copy available from the Evil Hat store). The PDQ rules were updated to what's known as PDQ# explicitly to support the swashbuckling genre. The rules can, however, be divorced from the setting for people who want to build their own, and can be downloaded freely. These rules do a nice job of capturing the feel of swashbuckling adventure, duels, ship duels, mysticism and intrigue.

As for the setting, imagine a world that is shaped like a snow globe, one that is thousand of miles across. At the base of the globe is a viscous substance known as the "blue". Nobody knows what's below it, if anything. Above this, as you climb in height, you pass through different "winds" that alternate between blowing clockwise or counterclockwise. Now, if you look on the globe from a top-down, you see the world is divided into seven distinct "skies". There is one in the exact center, and six evenly segmented around the perimeter. These skies rotate about the globe, each having its own physical characteristics and each controlling a season / climate. Throughout the globe at various heights, floating by unknown means, are bowl-shaped islands, each about the size of the combined British Isles. Within the islands are land masses of various sizes, each with its own ocean or sea. The peoples of these islands, each governed by its own unique culture, can construct ships that are able to sail through these seas and beyond into the "skies".

There's so much more I. I really can't begin to cover it all. It is one of my all-time favorite games. It is hands-down my most-played game by now.

Edit with the plug from the Evil Hat website in case I failed to capture the essence of the game above:

"Skyships ply the 7 Skies, soaring from Cloud-Island to Cloud-Island for conquest, espionage, trade, and piracy. Kingdoms clash, cultures collide, and secrets abound. Heroes and villains roam Above the Blue, seeking action, intrigue, adventure, and style. Will you be one of them?"

If you're looking for historical fantasy, there's Vampire: The Dark Ages from back in 1996.

The last book Mark Rein-Hagen worked on for White Wolf, and the last major release before WW jumped the shark.

Ha! Good timing. The Earthdawn 4E Quickstart is LIVE (& free in pdf):
http://www.fasagames.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_102_128_103&products_id=1144

Comments, questions, errata notes? Have At (in this thread):
http://www.fasagames.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=394

Over The Edge has a very complete and well-described setting.  It can be a lot of fun to play, but has a very nineties feel that's getting long in the tooth. The rules, however, are a brilliant exercise in open-ended simplicity. I've never seen such a streamlined system that ran so we'll without sacrificing a great deal of nuance.  OTE sacrifices nothing.

Spellbound Kingdoms is the best game you've never heard of.

Quote from: Dave R;985358Spellbound Kingdoms is the best game you've never heard of.

Ha. I was just about to name that one.

Plus Agone and Rêve: The Dream Ouroboros/Rêve de Dragon.
But then I reminded myself that both games may have settings that provide unique experiences but not because of a perfect marriage of setting and rules - rather in spite of the rules which (in both cases) are too crunchy and fiddly and simulative for "onirique", fairy tale-like adventures.

Ars Magica fits the bill.
As does Blades in the Dark.
And probably Conspiracy of Shadows.
All three have subsystems that accentuate the most prominent or interesting element of their settings (managing magic guilds, thieves guilds, and chaos cults, respectively).

Beyond the Wall is a good one and the rules are intrinsic to the play. OSR with a low fantasy vibe.

I thought King Arthur Pendragon was the best rules designed to emulate the setting game until I played Fate of the Norns: Ragnarok. FotN is massively designed to have the rules emmulate the setting, right down to its well integrated use of the runes. The game is set during Ragnarok, the world is ending, the Sun and Moon have been devoured, the land is in perpetual darkness and winter, and the characters are heroes worthy of legend. Also the mighty deeds of your last character have a chance to directy benefit your next character.

The One Ring from Cubicle 7 does a good job of modeling heroes in the Tolkien mode. The mechanics for journeys, Fellowships of adventurers, and lots of subtle elements really encourage an approach that is different to D&D and other fantasy. Playing this game feels like playing in Middle Earth in the late Third Age. Note the rules do not really support evil characters nor do they favour a wandering murderhobo approach.

Quote from: DavetheLost;985393I thought King Arthur Pendragon was the best rules designed to emulate the setting game until I played Fate of the Norns: Ragnarok. FotN is massively designed to have the rules emmulate the setting, right down to its well integrated use of the runes. The game is set during Ragnarok, the world is ending, the Sun and Moon have been devoured, the land is in perpetual darkness and winter, and the characters are heroes worthy of legend. Also the mighty deeds of your last character have a chance to directy benefit your next character.

I did not know this game existed until this thread. This morning I did a deep dive into the material... and it seems gorgeous and strange and amazing? It does have that vibe of Pendragon -- that is, pulling you into the world of the setting to think like the setting rather than using tropes of the past in a modern sensibility?

Have you played it? How did it play? Can you talk any more about the game?

Fate of the Norns has amazing aesthetic and flavorful rules but ultimately felt like a reskinned D&D 3e for us, with too much focus on tactical combats and classes and tracking lots of (very fantastic, almost supers -like) powers. If that's your thing, go for it.

It has very little resemblence to Pendragon, though.