Prehistory RPGs?

[Harperfan7]

Does anyone know of any prehistoric rpgs?

Like fallout, except hunter/gatherer?

The DMG mentions playing a stone age type campaign, but I've never seen any published material or anything.

[VelvetThunder]

As far as D&D goes. The Frostburn book is about as close as you can get. Assuming you don't mind it being in an Ice Age. It's got Stats for Neanderthals, as well as Very Primitive weapons, Such as my favorite the Tigerskull Club.

[Satyr]

Like almost always, the correct answer is: Gurps. There is a´n Ice Age source book for it, but it is ancient and shows its age,; more important, the new Low Tech (which will come out soon) will cover most of the necessary stuff, while Thaumaturgy includes many interesting supernatural systems.

And, it is somewhat advantagous to have the best roleplaying game around as a base for the campaign.

[bosssmiley]

Wasn't there a caveman RPG/beer & pretzels game called "Ugg", or something?

Basically you're only allowed to use a vocabulary of ~35 words during play, with any one caveman knowing 8-10 of them. It sounded hilarious.

I'm not sure how thoroughly supported by archaeological evidence its' modelling of life in palaeolithic times is though.

[hewhosaysfish]

If you have a look at www.1km1kt.com you can download "Grunting: The Race for Fire" (which like bosssmiley's suggestion limits the players' vocabularies) and/or "Operation Caveman".
I haven't played either but Grunting looks like more fun to me.

[Knaight]

Gurps works well, although Satyr is being absurd. There are other systems that work just as well or better for some people. I prefer Fudge, which is free. Then you go to fudge factor, the free online magazine, and look at this.

I personally like it better than Gurps, the guy who made Fudge played Gurps, wrote a lot for it, and then wrote Fudge as an alternative. A lot of people feel that he wrote some of the best stuff for Gurps, so the writer knows what he's doing, and its reflected in Fudge.

[Asbestos]

Like almost always, the correct answer is: Gurps. There is a´n Ice Age source book for it, but it is ancient and shows its age,; more important, the new Low Tech (which will come out soon) will cover most of the necessary stuff, while Thaumaturgy includes many interesting supernatural systems.

And, it is somewhat advantagous to have the best roleplaying game around as a base for the campaign.

Yeah, Gurps is probabaly the way to go, or Frostburn as was mentioned above, I'm just posting to point out how shocked I am by Satyr's statement here, especially considering how much I've seen him back up the Unisystem as flipping awesome.

[Harperfan7]

I don't have frostburn, I'll have to czech it out.

Thanks for the links, fellas.

[BlueWizard]

You could also just limit what is available to your players and just use D&D rules.

[V'icternus]

And by re-touching some of the names, appearance and keywords of monsters in the MM, you've got your enemies all set up. (A Dire Wolf can be a pretty effective Sabertooth Tiger. All you have to do is change the name and describe it as a Sabertooth Tiger.)

[hamishspence]

Before Frostburn, I lean't toward customising appearance of Dire creatures to match the real prehistoric ones anyway- was never fond of spiky ridges.

so, I'd call a MM Dire Lion a Cave lion (20% bigger than a common lion) and an MM2 Dire Elk a Megaloceros, and so on.

Fiend Folio has a few- the pre-ice age Indrocotherium, the ice age Dire Rhino (which closely resembles woolly rhino) the Terror Bird, etc.

Weapons of Legacy has a stone axe Legacy item.

[V'icternus]

And of course, it's up to the DM what mystical creatures he wants to include, as they would likely still be around back then.

Of course, if you want, you could cut magic out entirely (Any Arcane classes and magic effects or monsters). Or Divinity (All Dieties and Divinity based classes and creatures).

Taking out all Martial things wouldn't make any sense, but if you don't think cavemen would have rangers, remove them as a choice.

Choose what armours and weapons are availiable (No forged metal), and if you like, reward ingenuity with a weapon with the same stats as a similar one to the one they've made, and give it a new name.

It's all about how creative you want it to be. Remember, as DM, the rules are merely guidlines. You control the Universe, and if a player says "But the rules say..." you can feel free to have a Dragon* eat them, and respond "The rules also say you're dead. Problem solved."

*This also works with Dinosaurs, large bears, and other party members.

[hamishspence]

Depends on the setting. Shamanistic priests don't seem like a bad idea. Or bards- skin drums, bone flutes, etc.

and Rangers fit quite well, maybe customised to specialize in spear and atlatl rather than bow.

But also, it should be kept in mind this may not be "real prehistoric world" monsters can still work.

[V'icternus]

Yep. It's all up to the DM.

I mean, if you want it to be really authentic, then make all the characters human (though this may tick them off) and remove Divinity and Arcane based classes and monsters.

Of course, maybe your cavemen are all very religious, and have Paladins and Clerics.

Maybe they're advanced, magically speaking, and have rare individuals who practice this art and cast rituals.

Money would probably be measured differently, too...

I mean, maybe you like the idea of a bunch of primitive Elves, Dwarves, Humans, Halflings, or whatever, going up against a fully fledged Red Dragon. Maybe you prefer a bunch of wild Humans fighting large beasts and gathering food to survive. (You might want to grant "Nature" as a bonus trained skill for all characters, in this case)

It's all up to you.

[BlueWizard]

Heck with modern archeology's view, there might've been even more different humanoid types running around back then.

[Talya]

They got a BSG RPG yet? ;)

[BlueWizard]

[V'icternus]

Depends on how far back you're basing it.

Basically, any time setting can be adjusted to, as long as you don't mind prohibiting some things, changing some names and flavour text (and keywords), and you're creative enough to pull it off.

Example: It's not a +3 Magic Longsword, it's a +3 Power Sword! (Warhammer 40K refferance)

Another example: It's not a greataxe, it's a big club with a sharp stone attached!

Yet another example: It's not a Dragon with the Flight and Breath Weapon rules removed, it's a bloody Dinosaur! Run for your lives before it eats you and stop questioning my logic!

One final example: It's not a Potion, it's a glob of mashed up herbs!

[Dixieboy]

Fallout is justified scizo tech though, not so much prehistoric.

I mean the tribal dude in fallout 2 has SMG skillz

[Satyr]

Yeah, Gurps is probabaly the way to go, or Frostburn as was mentioned above, I'm just posting to point out how shocked I am by Satyr's statement here, especially considering how much I've seen him back up the Unisystem as flipping awesome.

Now I have the feeling I have to justify myself...

I am completely able to idolize more than one system. And both Gurps and Unisystem both have their qualities. But: Unisystem is the simpler one, which also offer lesser options. It works great if you try to convert an already existing setting that fits into the system's parameter; if you start from scratch or with only very basic concept notes, the greater versability and adaptability of Gurps is a better basic for a game.

Besides, I consider a book on paper preferable to a pdf. It's easier to read, easier to handle and more practical, I think. I can't think that I ever saw Hero or Fudge as complete books. Which I consider a serious drawback.

[Tetsubo 57]

I think Frostburn is the way to go. Add in the Druid alternative class ability (PHB II) Shapeshift for a nice shamanistic feel.

While GURPS produces some of the best supplements in the industry, the system itself is not a perfect fit for every genre. You could look into the UniSystem (All The Flesh Must Be Eaten), Savage Worlds or BRP.