Interest Check: Hillfolk/DramaSystem & Eagle's Twilight

[Hector Trelane]

Hullo all,

I'd like to gauge interest in the rules-light, high-story, high-roleplaying DramaSystem by Pelgrane Press. (Note: the DramaSystem rules engine is available under two open licenses.)

I'm intrigued by the DramaSystem's design philosophy, as explained by author Robin D. Laws here. Key points: it simulates character-driven TV series scripts (e.g. Vikings, Game of Thrones) by emphasizing dramatic scenes and emotional goals internal to characters by providing a mechanic to deal with this--territory normally beyond the scope of RPGs. I'd like to play through a session or two as a learning experience to inform other games I intend to GM (at a minimum) -- or even to continue playing (if it's fun and a group is interested).

The flagship setting for the DramaSystem is Hillfolk, but there are many others. In particular, Eagle's Twilight grabs my eye:

"Eagle’s Twilight, written by Charles Picard, brings us back to 5th century AD Britain near the Hadrian Wall when Rome withdraws all its troops, leaving the Britons without any Imperial rule or defence."

From the game description:

For generations the wall Hadrian built protected the far edge of the world’s greatest Empire.
And then one day Rome recalled her legions.
You and yours have decided to stay.
Yesterday you were Romans.
What are you today?

That's a very pointed question, and it applies equally all soldiers and villagers left behind, be they Roman or Celt, auxiliary or Pict. Player characters can be any of these.

If a group expresses interest (and I can think of one GM for whom this seems custom-made--I'm sending a pm), I'd be willing to GM or co-GM this using the CoreRPG engine.

Roma invicta! (... well, maybe not)

[Mask_of_winter]

I bought the Hillfolk bundle of holding last year but never got far with it. I'd be interested in trying this out too if schedule will allow.

[Hector Trelane]

Hi Mask, I'm checking for interest on G+ and may be able to cobble together a small group that way: https://plus.google.com/100883549721...ts/h7vDWVUXoxQ

[Hector Trelane]

For those curious, this is a great podcast interview I just discovered. It includes a short example of character creation and play towards the end: https://2gms1mic.com/2012/10/09/inte...th-robin-laws/

I continue to be intrigued and plan to pursue this!

[Hector Trelane]

Game beginning to form here on Google+ using the Eagle's Twilight series pitch: https://plus.google.com/u/0/communit...87942007747261

I'm thinking that the Savage Worlds ruleset would be the best FG ruleset to convert for DramaSystem use since it includes a deck of cards and card dealing tool, which is used heavily in by the DramaSystem. (DramaSystem also uses bennies, which Savage Worlds supports... but the character sheet is significantly different and DramaSystem has four token currencies that would need to be tracked that are lacking in Savage Worlds.) Any other ideas?

[Mask_of_winter]

Dealdands reloaded supports 4 different kinds of tokens.
If it werent for the cards I'd say go CoreRpg with the MoreCore extension with it's Hero Points.

[Hector Trelane]

I'd have to purchase Deadlands Reloaded, which I'd be happy to do. Perhaps I could jump on with you one time to kick the tires?

[Mask_of_winter]

Sure. Hit me up. If I'm around and free I'll show you around.

[Raz_Kabooz]

Hector is beginning to schedule our first session of Eagle's Twilight. We'll be kicking the tires on the DramaSystem ruleset. See this link:

https://plus.google.com/u/0/events/c...CMKFi7XAi7GQOw

There's still room to join. If interested, contact Hector or post to Google+ community linked (above).

[Hector Trelane]

First session complete, characters created. See here for a session summary https://plus.google.com/100883549721...ts/CwEorha7wik

... and here for a relationship map between characters: https://plus.google.com/100883549721...ts/WgqkVt3aEGW

There's room for more players so post here or PM me if you are interested!