The Riddle of Steel

[Wiglaf]

I've been fiddling around with this RPG for a while now and it is really interesting. Its' a little hard to find print copies now, but the Quickstart rules are available for free.

Essentially, it is a nearly classless system that relies on story based character advancement. Combat is very tactical and often quite quick and brutal. I find it be be a lot of fun, but a little add at first.

Anyway, here is a link to the publisher. Things seem to be moving slowly here, some family difficulties that haven't been detailed.

The Riddle of Steel.

And here is a link to a forum made for it that is working hard to keep the game going.
TRoSFans.

Personally, I would love it if Paizo would try and contact this publisher and try to work out a way to sell PDFs of their books. This is a great system, and I'd like to see it continue to grow.

[Mactaka]

I used RoS for a game set on Hârn.

The players loved it, but then RL stepped in and several moved away.

[Shekment]

I am also a fan of TROS. I have tried a couple of time to get a game going, but must people get hung up on the combat and magic systems. The players around here also struggled with the idea that you only get experience for advancing your own personal goals and agendas. They have grown too used to getting xp for killing monsters.

[The-Last-Rogue]

Hmm. Seems very cool, if, perhaps, a bit too brutal on the players.

Still, I may have to check this out.

[David Fryer]

The Last Rogue wrote:

Hmm. Seems very cool, if, perhaps, a bit too brutal on the players.

No more brutal than some D&D games I've played in. I once had a friend of mine go through seven characters in three sessions.

[Pop'N'Fresh]

Looks really cool! This would make for an excellent RPG for use in the Birthright CS I think, or Game of Thrones. For Pathfinder and other D&D dungeon crawls it would probably turn out to be way too brutal.

[The-Last-Rogue]

David Fryer wrote:

No more brutal than some D&D games I've played in. I once had a friend of mine go through seven characters in three sessions.

Hmm. Can someone offer some in-game experience? Are PCs dying off very frequently in this game? Or is there enough room for error that PCs can afford an error or two and still come out alive (even if barely)?

Thanks.

[David Fryer]

The Last Rogue wrote:

David Fryer wrote:

No more brutal than some D&D games I've played in. I once had a friend of mine go through seven characters in three sessions.

Hmm. Can someone offer some in-game experience? Are PCs dying off very frequently in this game? Or is there enough room for error that PCs can afford an error or two and still come out alive (even if barely)?

Thanks.

It depends. TROS can be fairly brutal if it is played wrong. You need to spend a fair bit of time getting used to the way combat is handled. The combat system requires a fair bit of luck and some patience to survive. If you are a hack and slasher, you will go through characters quickly, unless you have very good dice rolling skills and a fairly liberal GM. If you are willing to fight defensively, wear your opponent down, and strike when he is weakest, you will do fine.

[David Fryer]

Playing TROS, did anyone else find that their skills at creating a character's backstory and motives improved, or is it just me?

[Mactaka]

David Fryer wrote:

Playing TROS, did anyone else find that their skills at creating a character's backstory and motives improved, or is it just me?

Yes. Players liked that the stories were more driven by their motivations and their traits led to a great deal of thinking about their backgrounds.