Pike and shot era campaign setting

[BootStrapTommy]

Recently, I've been seized with some inspirations that have left me, as a DM, rather fascinated with a certain early modern aesthetic. Perhaps because of the YouTube algorithm seizing on some religious discussions I had become drawn to (resulting in a fair number of videos on the Thirty Years' War and English Civil War), or maybe a bit too much time recently playing Total War Warhammer, but the military and cultural advancements of the early modern period, and the resulting aesthetic, have really dominated my thoughts of late. Between early modern/Renaissance firearms, the fractured, often sectarian politics of the time, the early Age of Exploration, and the rise of the merchant middle class, I kind just really dig the idea as a setting.

While I'm happy to try and worldbuild and homebrew a setting of my own for the era for a future campaign with my biweekly 5e group, I certainly wouldn't mind some help from more commercial, polished sources. Was mostly just curious if anyone had resources that came to mind, either as an existing, published 5e setting, published 3rd party adventures, personal worldbuilding projects, or even other RP systems that do this well. One of my players had requested a nautical campaign for our next one, so I figured that such a setting lends itself well to that kind of adventure.

Any suggestions are well appreciated. :smallbiggrin:

[Grod_The_Giant]

Not D&D, but... this sounds exactly like 7th Sea (https://www.drivethrurpg.com/m/product/185462). I've never played, but the general consensus seems to be "awesome setting, but the narrativist mechanics can be a difficult adjustment for some players."

If you want D&D mechanics, I've got some good material on firearms in my Grimoire of the Grotesque.

[Sparky McDibben]

Hmm... this could also be conducive to a mercenary campaign, especially as the war starts to grow and escalate, a group of hard-bitten mercs who have proven themselves would be a clutch asset to any number of power brokers.

If you're looking at pike-and-shot, it's also likely you will have large battles. I'd ask yourself two questions:

How do you want PCs to fit into large battles?

Does the presence of magic change the tactics of the era (tercios, massed musket fire, etc)?

For the first, I would suggest that you check out the 3.5e supplement "Heroes of Battle" as it helps answer those questions and gives a framework for plugging the PCs into large battles.

[HappyDaze]

Imagine a D&D where heavy armor and Strength-based weapons are largely shunned by fighting men in preference to light/medium armor and rapiers. Oh, yeah...

[Sparky McDibben]

Not D&D, but... this sounds exactly like 7th Sea (https://www.drivethrurpg.com/m/product/185462). I've never played, but the general consensus seems to be "awesome setting, but the narrativist mechanics can be a difficult adjustment for some players."

I believe there was a 3.5e conversion of it by Alderac Entertainment Group. Might be hard to track down (not to mention the 3.5e problem of splatbook bloat), but if you're interested in swashbuckling, hoo boy is it good stuff. Alternatively, you might check out Sorcerer's Crusade by White Wolf (as inspiration for a D&D game - it has a bunch of citations for works you can check out to fuel your gaming).


Imagine a D&D where heavy armor and Strength-based weapons are largely shunned by fighting men in preference to light/medium armor and rapiers. Oh, yeah...

I mean, I know you're joking, but that just makes me want to build a doppelsoldner, grab heavy plate as soon as I can afford it, and charge in there with a two-handed weapon. I'm wondering if barbarian or fighter would be better?

[Grod_The_Giant]

Maybe Savage Worlds, actually? I feel like 17th century is probably right in the sweet spot for ranged/melee balance there. 50 Fathoms and Pirates of the Spanish Main both look solid.

Also, I suppose I should mention Ghosts of Saltmarsh (5e) and Stormwreck (3.5e) for aquatic d&d.

[Marcloure]

Firearms usually don't work very well in D&D, since you can't make them balanced against armor. Luke Crane, from the Burning Wheel, was also fascinated by this period of transition, so he made a mix of Old School D&D and Late Renascence in his Miseries and Misfortunes game. Never played it, but I heard it's very good (likely complicated too, since it's from Luke).

Now, you probably don't want that answer, since you asked how to adapt D&D, not which system to play. Still, I would suggest you to try Pathfinder instead. It's close to D&D and has a quite considerable support to firearms and modern age.

[Catullus64]

How do you feel about Warhammer? Retrofitting some Warhammer tabletop materials to D&D shouldn't be too labor-intensive; just make a few race and class restrictions, maybe a few home-brewed systems. The more important thing is to get the darkly humorous tone and down-to-earth feel, rather than worry too much about mechanics. You mention the Total War series, so I assume you're at least partial to the setting.

Warhammer Fantasy, particularly the Empire, fits the sort of setting you describe to a tee. Early renaissance-era technology? Check. Sectarian infighting? Double check. There's certainly a wealth of source material for you and your players to draw upon.

[BootStrapTommy]

Thanks for the suggestions so far. They're a place to start and much appreciated. Though my hope was someone knew a third party setting for this, I'm totally prepared to figure it out and worldbuild something if necessary.


Hmm... this could also be conducive to a mercenary campaign, especially as the war starts to grow and escalate, a group of hard-bitten mercs who have proven themselves would be a clutch asset to any number of power brokers.

If you're looking at pike-and-shot, it's also likely you will have large battles. I'd ask yourself two questions:

How do you want PCs to fit into large battles?

Does the presence of magic change the tactics of the era (tercios, massed musket fire, etc)?

For the first, I would suggest that you check out the 3.5e supplement "Heroes of Battle" as it helps answer those questions and gives a framework for plugging the PCs into large battles.I was thinking, thematically, that the powers that be would shun arcane magic. Witchhunters, low magic, and what not. Lets me ignore battlefield blasting as too rare to be of consequence. And creates fun conflict for arcane caster players. So most battlefield magic is the buffing type, prolly from a cleric.

Battles could be fun, though a fair bit of work. Might play into a more "special forces" model for the players. If it worked for Gideon in the Bronze Age, it'll work for the my players in the early modern.


Firearms usually don't work very well in D&D, since you can't make them balanced against armor. Luke Crane, from the Burning Wheel, was also fascinated by this period of transition, so he made a mix of Old School D&D and Late Renascence in his Miseries and Misfortunes game. Never played it, but I heard it's very good (likely complicated too, since it's from Luke).

Now, you probably don't want that answer, since you asked how to adapt D&D, not which system to play. Still, I would suggest you to try Pathfinder instead. It's close to D&D and has a quite considerable support to firearms and modern age.Benefit of the selected time period is that guns were good enough to be used at scale in battle, but not yet strong enough to fully make armor obsolete. Kind of why I liked it; makes firearms present and even common, but by no means negates the value and presence of melee weaponry.

Plus, I found some GM Binder .pdf that expands on guns in 5e, with a lot of elements thematic to the firearms of the time.


How do you feel about Warhammer? Retrofitting some Warhammer tabletop materials to D&D shouldn't be too labor-intensive; just make a few race and class restrictions, maybe a few home-brewed systems. The more important thing is to get the darkly humorous tone and down-to-earth feel, rather than worry too much about mechanics. You mention the Total War series, so I assume you're at least partial to the setting.

Warhammer Fantasy, particularly the Empire, fits the sort of setting you describe to a tee. Early renaissance-era technology? Check. Sectarian infighting? Double check. There's certainly a wealth of source material for you and your players to draw upon.Probably not a wholly bad idea. Warhammer certainly has been fueling my appreciation of the aesthetic and setting. Plus, I was actually thinking of sneaking in some Domain of Dread type elements, and honestly Vampire Coast factions make for easy Darklord material for a nautical campaign, so that's just more inspiration.

[Thane of Fife]

There's a 2nd edition AD&D book called A Mighty Fortress that was about using that edition to run a (more historical) game around the Thirty Years War period.

It wouldn't be something you could use directly, but there might be some ideas in it (or just general background) that you could use.

[JackPhoenix]

Probably not a wholly bad idea. Warhammer certainly has been fueling my appreciation of the aesthetic and setting. Plus, I was actually thinking of sneaking in some Domain of Dread type elements, and honestly Vampire Coast factions make for easy Darklord material for a nautical campaign, so that's just more inspiration.

In that case, I'll suggest Shadow of the Demon Lord. The mechanics are simple and easier to learn than WFRP, especially for someone familiar with 5e D&D (though the game has unfortunate tendency to rename familiar mechanics just for the sake of it), spellcasters and martials are better balanced and magic itself is less overpowered and more limited (and better thematically focused in a way that allows easy removal of magical traditions that don't fit the setting). Firearms are a part of the default setting. It's more of a horror game than high fantasy adventures, though, and combat is rather deadly. Shadow of the Weird Wizard, a game based on the same ruleset intended for more D&D-like adventures will be released later this year.

[HappyDaze]

Firearms usually don't work very well in D&D, since you can't make them balanced against armor. Luke Crane, from the Burning Wheel, was also fascinated by this period of transition, so he made a mix of Old School D&D and Late Renascence in his Miseries and Misfortunes game. Never played it, but I heard it's very good (likely complicated too, since it's from Luke).

Now, you probably don't want that answer, since you asked how to adapt D&D, not which system to play. Still, I would suggest you to try Pathfinder instead. It's close to D&D and has a quite considerable support to firearms and modern age.

D&D is not the real world (even the weakest human with Strength 8 can walk around unencumbered all day while lugging 120 lbs.). There's no reason that D&D armor can't be seen a better than real life while d&D powder is inferior. If a gun still has the impact of a heavy crossbow, then it's balanced even if it leaves the question of why not use a heavy crossbow.

[KorvinStarmast]

Any suggestions are well appreciated. :smallbiggrin:
You could do worse than finding an old copy of Chainmail. (3rd edition).
Treat firearm equipped troops as ARQUIBUSIERS.
There are also rules for canon.

[BootStrapTommy]

In that case, I'll suggest Shadow of the Demon Lord. The mechanics are simple and easier to learn than WFRP, especially for someone familiar with 5e D&D (though the game has unfortunate tendency to rename familiar mechanics just for the sake of it), spellcasters and martials are better balanced and magic itself is less overpowered and more limited (and better thematically focused in a way that allows easy removal of magical traditions that don't fit the setting). Firearms are a part of the default setting. It's more of a horror game than high fantasy adventures, though, and combat is rather deadly. Shadow of the Weird Wizard, a game based on the same ruleset intended for more D&D-like adventures will be released later this year.I'll definitwl give that a look then. Thanks.


D&D is not the real world (even the weakest human with Strength 8 can walk around unencumbered all day while lugging 120 lbs.). There's no reason that D&D armor can't be seen a better than real life while d&D powder is inferior. If a gun still has the impact of a heavy crossbow, then it's balanced even if it leaves the question of why not use a heavy crossbow.Like I said, benefit of the period in question is that sans bayonets and janky gunpowder tech means guns hadn't yet rendered other stable weapons of the medieval/Renaissance obsolete quite yet.

But answer the question, the flintlock pistol is a one handed, where the heavy crossbow is two, lol

[loki_ragnarock]

But answer the question, the flintlock pistol is a one handed, where the heavy crossbow is two, lol

It's also much easier to preload a bunch of flintlock pistols, hang them on your bandoleer barrel up, and cycle through them as you need them. I'm not sure object interaction rules in this edition really help that image, though.

Trying to do the same thing with xbows is a dicey proposition