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Yora
2017-07-02, 03:34 PM
I want to run a fantasy campaign in which characters of pretty heroic power are taking on a larger threat in a very open ended manner. This means I will have no idea how long the campaign will take a d how far the characters will advance until the players reach the final confrontation or fight the enemy leader or champion monster.
I want to avoid havig the players grind XP with sidequests to go from zero to hero and be able to progress with their plan to defeat the antagonists, but I also don't feel happy about adjusting the opposition they face to their current power level. Knowing what they are capable of and what they are facing and then coming up with a plan that can succeed is something I consider quite important in open ended campaigns.

So I think a game with character levels (and especially one with considerable power increase between levels) like all the versions of D&D might not the optimal choice for a system.

What fantasy games that have PCs start quite poweful and advance only gradually are there and what do you think makes them a potentially good fit for a situation like this?
If the games have relatively simple rules and no funky dice that would be a big advantage.

Arbane
2017-07-02, 11:42 PM
The new Conan game springs to mind instantly.
Barbarians of Lemuria
Runequest, possibly.
Feng Shui's been hacked to play fantasy before, and since it's an Action Movie game, the heroes are pretty powerful.
Exalted, but that's rather rules-heavy, and PCs might be TOO powerful. :D

Fri
2017-07-02, 11:58 PM
Maybe Dungeon World? They have level, but I don't think character power jumps wildly when you level up. IIRC on each level the character choose a different advanced moves instead. So basically they get more and more advanced moveset instead, while each move basically can be taken at any level up.

Mr Beer
2017-07-03, 12:24 AM
GURPS, the Dungeon Fantasy stuff. Reward at the rate of 1 CP per session or similar.

Or, if you like D&D, you can use it and just re-write the XP rules. Award XP at 1/10th the normal rate or whatever; or just don't award XP at all; or level them every 12 sessions; or level them at the end of every mini-arc. As long as you explain to the players before hand, it should be fine.

Koo Rehtorb
2017-07-03, 12:31 AM
Burning Wheel.

It's skill based, you buy skills/stats at character creation and they improve individually by using them in play. Each skill/stat has a number value between 0-10 or so, the upper floor varying slightly based on the type. In addition to the number each one also has a shade associated with them, black, grey or white, which denotes mortal, heroic, godlike ability in it. It's also possible to shift the shade of your stuff eventually in play but it's an incredibly slow process.

To tweak how powerful you want characters to be to start with all you really have to do is adjust (roughly) how many skill points they're going to be able to get at character creation, decide how high they can buy up each individual skill at character creation (the normal cap is 6), and decide if you're going to let them buy any shade shifts at character creation. From there on characters will progress organically at a fairly slow rate.

It's not a particularly simple system, but you can trim a lot of the complexity out by not using the optional subsystems until you're comfortable with the base game.

Psikerlord
2017-07-03, 12:32 AM
Low Fantasy Gaming rpg might be worth a look - low magic base, 12th level max, milestone or incremental advancement.

Hmm PCs dont start high power however, it is fairly standard power curve

Slipperychicken
2017-07-03, 12:40 AM
There are fantasy games that use One Roll Engine (abbreviated as "ORE"). I haven't played them, but I know there's at least REIGN and Blood of the Gods.

Mendicant
2017-07-03, 12:45 AM
Or, if you like D&D, you can use it and just re-write the XP rules. Award XP at 1/10th the normal rate or whatever; or just don't award XP at all; or level them every 12 sessions; or level them at the end of every mini-arc. As long as you explain to the players before hand, it should be fine.

You could also use an E6-style advancement, hacked to be appropriate to your preferred edition. Start at your preferred power level, and then dole out advancement in small pieces.

Scots Dragon
2017-07-03, 01:37 AM
In addition to the aforementioned Dungeon Fantasy, GURPS also has several Conan supplements.

Mutants & Masterminds has a supplement specifically geared towards comic-book sword and sorcery, inspired by Warlord, Savage Sword of Conan, and others, Warriors & Warlocks.

There's The Riddle of Steel and Blade of the Iron Throne, though I can't speak much as to how the latter wound up being.

There's the Talislanta system from its 4th edition onwards, available here (http://talislanta.com/?page_id=5) for free. Reskinning it to basically be about sword-and-sorcery humans is about ninety percent of what's done in the Atlantis RPG.

Lacco
2017-07-03, 02:35 AM
There's The Riddle of Steel and Blade of the Iron Throne, though I can't speak much as to how the latter wound up being.

I second this.

RoS is exactly what you are looking for - level-less heroic fantasy/sword & sorcery game. Uses pools of d10s and pair of d6 for the GM. Looks complicated at first, and needs some time to adjust regarding combat, but the basic combat rules can be learnt within first combat and then it's only about adding depth with additional maneuvers. The skill packet system works better for non-adventurer-only-parties a bit better. It's drawback is magic system - unless you houserule it, or import one, the original one is... well, unusable.

BoIT uses pools of d12s and pair of d6 for the GM. Can't judge the time to adjust - never ran it, but it's main strength is that it's RoS for Conan-esque Sword & Sorcery games with working (and from my opinion very interesting) sorcery system. It's definitely an RPG for adventurers who take on powerful enemies.

In both characters start as competent - I'd say level 4-6 in 3.5e.

The Passions/SA systems for advancement favours story over sidequests, as the players gain SA/Passion points from advancing their stories and playing their characters.

To recommend one... I'd have to ask: do you plan to run a exploration/dungeon delving campaign? Or more of a "adventure of the week" type?

veti
2017-07-03, 02:42 AM
Fantasy Hero. You can pick any starting power level you want, from "slightly above normal" to "full-on legendary hero or superhero".

Zombimode
2017-07-03, 05:44 AM
The new Conan game springs to mind instantly.

I seconed this. The system has turned out pretty nice in general.

Mutazoia
2017-07-03, 06:11 AM
Amber Diceless (or it's new version "Lords of Gossamer and Shadow") No levels at all....

Jay R
2017-07-03, 08:59 AM
Fantasy Hero. You can pick any starting power level you want, from "slightly above normal" to "full-on legendary hero or superhero".

Agreed. The GM can set the level for the characters, and while they earn more points along the way, the increase isn't huge compared the the starting values.

Yora
2017-07-03, 09:28 AM
Maybe Dungeon World? They have level, but I don't think character power jumps wildly when you level up. IIRC on each level the character choose a different advanced moves instead. So basically they get more and more advanced moveset instead, while each move basically can be taken at any level up.

Dungeon World definitely seems like something I have to give a closer read. I looked at it once some years ago but back then didn't like it for its loose structure. Now this seems actually quite appealing to me.

LibraryOgre
2017-07-03, 09:57 AM
Dungeon World definitely seems like something I have to give a closer read. I looked at it once some years ago but back then didn't like it for its loose structure. Now this seems actually quite appealing to me.

I've played a fair amount of Dungeon World, and it works quite well for this kind of thing. My go-to, these days, would probably be Savage Worlds, though... I whipped up a quick fantasy game for some kids a couple years ago. Most of the time, you're rolling two dice and comparing them to a 4 TN.

Max_Killjoy
2017-07-03, 10:29 AM
Fantasy Hero. You can pick any starting power level you want, from "slightly above normal" to "full-on legendary hero or superhero".

I seconed this. The system has turned out pretty nice in general.

Thirded. Makes everything customizable from the bones out.

Thrudd
2017-07-03, 03:18 PM
Any of the generics could do it. GURPS and Hero are already mentioned, there's also D6 Fantasy that's free.

Morty
2017-07-04, 02:04 PM
The Conan RPG looks very interesting, judging by the quickstart. I'm glad this thread pointed it out.

2D8HP
2017-07-04, 02:48 PM
Chaosium's BRP, which is just so intuitive.
(Here's a pdf sample (https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=1&ved=0ahUKEwi2yMuqooTUAhVpz1QKHZrTAPAQFggfMAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chaosium.com%2Fcontent%2FFree PDFs%2FBRP%2FCHA2021%2520-%2520Basic%2520RolePlaying%2520Quick-Start.pdf&usg=AFQjCNGmy2_JQrnYDUhYIyRJT3ghBDKF-Q)), is my "go-to" generic system.

They're many BRP based games, the most known of which is Call of Cthullu, which I found to be one of the easiest RPG's to Gamemaster or "Keeper", more D&D like were RuneQuest, Pendragon (my favorite), and Stormbringer, but the most D&D like was Magic World (free pdf "quick start) (http://www.chaosium.com/content/FreePDFs/Magic%20World/Magic%20World%20Quickstart.pdf), which was designed to use "Runequest like rules, but with a gonzo D&D feel".

Check it out.

Jay R
2017-07-05, 07:37 PM
It's counter-intuitive to think of it this way, but D&D with very few experience points would work.

LibraryOgre
2017-07-06, 11:08 AM
It's counter-intuitive to think of it this way, but D&D with very few experience points would work.

That essentially the idea behind E6 and similar games. There's a degree of rapid growth (levels 1-6), and then... plateau. You can't meaningfully advance beyond level 6 in HD, ThAC0, Saves, or Spells, but you can get more of other things... proficiencies, skills, etc.

If I were to do E6 in AD&D, I'd probably lean heavily on Skills & Powers/Spells & Magic (though perhaps not quite so abusable).