Help: Engel RPG and how to DM it(?)

[dota600]

ENGEL


Excuse me for the large picture but that is what I see and felt after reading the core-rules and its story.

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Such majestic and innocent entities being subjected in such a dire and helpless state.

Engel is a German RPG that revolves around a post-apoc Earth in where Engel's(Angel's in our modern times) has come down to earth to protect humanity against the threat of the Lord of the Flies and the Heresies that accompany such malignant being.

Has anyone read it? I've been interested on the book so much because of its mood, athmosphere, setting and its incredibly interesting history, but I am such a newb DM that I am genuinely lost about the d20 rules that it uses. I mean why was the warrior included in the P.C classes if there is already a fighter? I am also lost if the rules are based on the 3.5 PHB since everything seems so similar yet slightly wrong on a few occasions.

I am also at lost about some of the denezins that populate the "Earth" that the book represents. Who is the Pontifex Maximus dude? What is the Dreamseed and where do they come from? There are lots of questions around the setting that the book has left unsolved.

I have plans to make the orders(Gabriellites, Michaellites, etc) into several sub-races instead of classes since it felt so wrong to me to make them classes instead of races. And in there stead, I will include the classic 3.5 PHB classes instead(except arcane casters) to the fold.

Has anyone ever DM'ed d20 Engel successfully? Any tips on a newb that wants to use the system and settings that it represents? Thanks for any tips, advice and help in advance.

Additional Info(contains some spoilers)
http://www.rpg.net/news+reviews/reviews/rev_7779.html
http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/9/9395.phtml

[Satyr]

First of all, ignore the D20 rules. Really, just ignore them. They are a detriment to the real Engel rules, so get your Tarot cards and use the real rules of the game.
Second, Engel is not a competitive game. At all. Try to explain this to your players - they are supposed to act as paragons and a strong team; the Michaelite is supposed to act as a fair and just, but also an unquestioned leader. the Gabrielite is pretty much unmatched when it comes to smiting things.

And of course the big spoiler (Don't read it if you are ever going to play this game):

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There are no angels. There is only genetic engineering.

[dota600]

First of all, ignore the D20 rules. Really, just ignore them. They are a detriment to the real Engel rules, so get your Tarot cards and use the real rules of the game.
Second, Engel is not a competitive game. At all. Try to explain this to your players - they are supposed to act as paragons and a strong team; the Michaelite is supposed to act as a fair and just, but also an unquestioned leader. the Gabrielite is pretty much unmatched when it comes to smiting things.

And of course the big spoiler (Don't read it if you are ever going to play this game):

Spoiler

Show

There are no angels. There is only genetic engineering.

Err... I have no idea how the tarot card system works since it is not included in the core rules. How does one use the tarot cards? Where can I get the "true rules" on playing it?

And if ever I cannot have access to the card system, is homebrewing sufficient enough to work around the problems?

[Terraoblivion]

As for who the Pontifex Maximus dude is, that is pretty simple. He's the Pope, though hardly as we know him. I don't know the setting very well and someone who does, such as Satyr, correct me if i'm wrong, but i believe that the Pope in this setting is a kid or a teen at most and that he is also effectively immortal. He is also the ruler of what remains of the world, which is kind of important.

[Satyr]

I only know the German rules, but doesn't include your book the neat 24 Tarot cards and the corresponding rules? That's... bad.
Personally, I am only used to the Arcana (Tarot Card) system, where characters have no mechanical aspects, only descriptive strengths and flaws. Scenes are solved by drawing one tarot card and interpret it in the context of the scene; depending on their orientation, the result may be good or bad, and usually the player has to describe the outcome; there is only one card - the Lord of the Flies - which is always bad.

It's not so much a roleplaying game in the traditional sense, but more a tool for collective storytelling and as such, the dramaturgical impact of any given situation is usually more important than the individual gains or losses.

Therefore, I personally think that the D20 system is one of the worst choices for the game they could possibly made (and that they left out the real system is actually nigh inexcusable); I would suggest to take a nice free system focused on narrative weirds and you have a much better solution at hand.
Yes, I know, "play something else" is a really bad advice, but in the Case of Engel D20, it is a lot more honest than anything else.

[Fortuna]

As for who the Pontifex Maximus dude is, that is pretty simple. He's the Pope, though hardly as we know him. I don't know the setting very well and someone who does, such as Satyr, correct me if i'm wrong, but i believe that the Pope in this setting is a kid or a teen at most and that he is also effectively immortal. He is also the ruler of what remains of the world, which is kind of important.

Y'know, it's always amused me that the big bridge can be so powerful...

[dota600]

I only know the German rules, but doesn't include your book the neat 24 Tarot cards and the corresponding rules? That's... bad.
Personally, I am only used to the Arcana (Tarot Card) system, where characters have no mechanical aspects, only descriptive strengths and flaws. Scenes are solved by drawing one tarot card and interpret it in the context of the scene; depending on their orientation, the result may be good or bad, and usually the player has to describe the outcome; there is only one card - the Lord of the Flies - which is always bad.

It's not so much a roleplaying game in the traditional sense, but more a tool for collective storytelling and as such, the dramaturgical impact of any given situation is usually more important than the individual gains or losses.

Therefore, I personally think that the D20 system is one of the worst choices for the game they could possibly made (and that they left out the real system is actually nigh inexcusable); I would suggest to take a nice free system focused on narrative weirds and you have a much better solution at hand.
Yes, I know, "play something else" is a really bad advice, but in the Case of Engel D20, it is a lot more honest than anything else.

I see, well... I see some point but I am still at lost since I have little idea how the tarot card thing works so I will then use the d20 instead. As you have said, I should focus more on narration and telling about the world and responding to the P.C's interaction instead of encounters(since the core rules has only given just "two" dreamseeds to encounter with). It also appears that I have to adjust some of the rules given in the d20 system since it appears to be a little messed up.

Anyway, Satyr, do you have any recommendation on how to motivate players to interact more on a role-playing heavy system like this? I myself see that "magic item rewarding" and such is a poor excuse for them to push themselves forward so any suggestions?

Spoiler

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since there is no magic in Earth.

[Terraoblivion]

Actually it doesn't mean big bridge, Random Person, but instead supreme bridge builder. It is also a title derived from that of the high priest of the cult of the Tiber god in republican Roman times, since bridging the river was seen as a supremely sacred act.

And to get back on topic, from what i know about the system i have to agree with Satyr. Forget about using d20 and find one of the many free systems that float around and use it instead. Also be aware that with a group strongly used to d20 getting into the right mindset for a system like this might be supremely hard.

[Fortuna]

I am aware of the actual meaning, but it looks like big bridge and is funnier if you translate it as big bridge (although that joke may have been in bad taste from the start, and I apologize if I offended anyone).

[Terraoblivion]

Oh, i see. In that case i apologize. I'm not quite used to people actually knowing Latin and i'm much more used to explaining things that don't need explaining than i should be.

[Fortuna]

Just learning, sadly. Still, I read Cryptonomicon and did my homework about it thereafter.