Fantasy gets the Bronze

If you’ve looked at my Appendix N, much of my influences are pre-medieval for the most part. I have a real fascination for post Roman pre-medieval era Europe. Otherwise known as the Dark Ages, there is some pretty interesting stuff going on here. I don’t know much about RuneQuest, but reading through the very first few pages of RuneQuest Second edition, they make it clear that Glorantha is a Bronze Age setting. My setting that I’m working on for my own Old School project will be very Dark Age/Bronze age (of course with the much loved anachronisms and such) world. I’d be interested in hearing good sources of Bronze Age Gaming material. I already have quite a bit of real world historical material so I want to see how things were handled by other fantasists out there. I know about Glorantha, but what would be the most valuable supplements. I’m only heard a little about the Slaine setting (I think there was some d20 material). Thoughts/suggestions?

Comments

  1. TreyJanuary 12, 2011 at 4:02 AM

    There's also Testament a d20 supplement about the Bronze Age Old Testament era.

    On Glorantha, its tough to say what supplements--are you mainly looking for how the tech aspect is handled? I'm not really sure which supplement would be best for that. Maybe just he main book? Or for info on specific cultures, the book on the Heortlings.

    Sorry for a lack of titles, I've got Glorantha material for original RQ, Moongoose RQ, and HeroQuest, so where I've learned what tends to run together. :)

    You know, Tekumel, isn't Bronze Age, but doesn't have common iron weapons, so it might be worth looking at.

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  2. PontifexJanuary 12, 2011 at 5:26 AM

    I don't have any rpg material, but I am a fan of the gothic invasions period in particular. I like the idea of invading hordes. I hope you find some good stuff

    ReplyDelete
  3. XyanthonJanuary 12, 2011 at 6:10 AM

    @Trey - Thanks! I think I might just check out the main book. I forgot about Testament as well. I've got some ideas for the look and feel of my world but I'm interested in how others approach a Bronze Age setting. Medieval onwards tends to be the norm. I'm guessing there is not a huge ammount of difference from a game perspective esspecially since I am not planning on going into the weeds on weapons vs. armor and the like.

    @Greg - Yes, all of that stuff is fascinating to me as well. I really am interested in the German migration period and the tings going on in Wetern Erope after the fall of Rome. Lots of murky goodness that I think can provide a lot of fun setting wise. I'm not looking to do a direct port of real world history, but I want that same gritty feel.

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  4. JohnJanuary 12, 2011 at 7:37 AM

    I loved the old basic D&D Hollow World setting - it was a mish-mash of pseudo-historical bronze age cultures (egyptian, scythian, greco-roman, trojan, etc) in a gonzo place with dinosaurs.

    For Moldvay or LL, it provides lots of new race-as-class races and cultural profiles for these bronze age cultures.

    ReplyDelete
  5. XyanthonJanuary 12, 2011 at 11:31 PM

    @Beedo - I've never checked out the Hollow World stuff. At the time I was solely a 1e AD&D type so I didn't pay much attention to what was going on with the other stuff. Now it seems that I've missed some great stuff. I'll have to go back and check it out.

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