#Swashbuckling roleplaying games pdf#

Overall, there are about 30+ combat skills, 15 knowledge skills, and 20+ miscellaneous other skills to chose from, and half a dozen virtues and flaws. Most RPGs are much simpler to keep track of. Toss in individual armour levels for 5 individual hit locations, weapon bonuses, and of course the basic 9 stats. a 'courtier' has a dizzying 9 combat skills, 5 knowledge skills, and 9 other skills. Character 'archetypes' show an immense array of skills - i.e. There are animal rules, and rules for character creation. This is where the game reveals itself as a wannabe RPG. In addition there are horsemanship rules allowing mounts to be jumped over fences etc, and rules for coaches.Īt 21 pages the main rule section is not onerous but I am very concerned at the record keeping involved - far more than most skirmish games and exceeding a lot of RPGs. Similar to 'Flashing Steel' there are improvised actions that allow swinging from chandeliers, improvising attacks etc. You can also challenge opponents to a duel. This adds some interesting flavour and tactical choices to fights. I mean, it is probably safe to assume that a model will have more than enough ammo for a short skirmish, given the slow reload time of most flintlock weapons.Ĭlose combat allows for pushbacks, drawbacks, disengagements, repulses and turnabouts - allowing a winner to maneuver his foe around the battlefield. To add to my ire, the game adds totally uneccessary record-keeping in tracking ammunition.

A little confusing as one minute a high roll for the attacker is good, the next minute it is bad. If the roll is 10+, the damage is prevented. Whoa - wait a minute! Ticking off hitboxes on specific damage locations? If the defence exceeds weapon strength, roll d10 and add the difference tot the roll. If weapon strength exceeds defence rating, a box is crossed off for that location (i.e. There are also rules for suppressive fire (forcing morale checks). Weapons include rapiers, whips, pistols, muskets, and similar swashbuckling gear.Ĭombat is resolved by attacker's melee/musket + d10 vs targets' dodge + d10 if the attacker wins it is a hit. This seems to revolve around a 'weapon chart' which is broken down into range bands (close, medium, long.) Within each band, weapons are rated for Range, 'To hit' bonus, and 'Weapon Strength' which is compared to target Defence. Never did come at the flying sailship though. I like this as it adds an extra element of tactics/resource management. This can also be used to increase the range of a weapon or move 1' per point or increase or decrease damage taken or inflicted. Players have 'hero points' which they can use as a resource to change dice rolls up or down depending on how many hero dice they spend. Players can 'hold' their action until later to interrupt an opponents' turn. Players can perform one action per activation a move, jump, climb, melee, shoot, reload, etc. Roll d10 to see who has the initiative which means the initiative player wins any ties (when models have equal dodge stats).

The models with the highest dodge goes first, then the next highest etc. Models succeed in actions if their stat + d10 equals 10 or more. Weapon Strength (damage caused by weapon compare to Defence Rating) However there is a heck of a lot of stats. The old chestnut that d10s are not easily available just doesn't wash anymore, and a d10 offers more options and more gradual modifiers. The game uses d10s, which I approve of heartily. I found the ruleset a tad hard on the eyes.That said they were written with a lighthearted feel, and have a pleasant tone as you read. The combat tables were not as easy to use as I would have liked. Illustrations are sparse, but I had no trouble reading through it.

#Swashbuckling roleplaying games pdf#

The pdf is 101 pages - a rather largish print off. The combat is simple, but Gloire contains more record-keeping and stats than most RPGs.