"Top Elements for a Celtic Fantasy Ruleset?" Topic

What features or qualities would you look for in a fantasy ruleset that was based on Celtic mythology?

Woad, tatoos, and torcs.

See Erin, by AA. Did a good job of covering Irish myth. Minis were nice too.

Phil

Cows, lots of them.

Warp spasms.

I'd start with looking at existing write-ups, e.g. the Celtic supplement for PENDRAGON.

Do we need a specifically Celtic-dedicated rules set? or take a flexible fantasy rules system and fit the elements of Celtic mythos into its mechanisms?

Wouldn't "Celtos" rules & minis fit your needs? I am not a fan of the AA celt figs.

Are we talking roleplaying? skirmish? larger?

Wouldn't "Celtos" rules & minis fit your needs?

I haven't seen the new version yet – I understand it is in playtest.

As Doc McB says, definitely warp spasms.

Here's another vote for the Celtos game and miniatures.

Mongoose published a Slaine RPG about 10 years ago, along with about a dozen sourcebooks. Long OOP, but if you track down some of them, you might be able to pull some ideas from them: link

I think it's part of the Runequest system now: link

This guy has converted Savage Worlds for Slaine: link

Enya singing in the background ?

*Ducks*

There was this set of celtic heroic combat rules in an old issue of Wargames Illustrated (IIRC – back when it was Black Dwarf).

Heroes would ride out of the battlines and challenge each other (in a rather Homeric fashion), listing their ancestors and past achievements, then boasting and performing feats (see link).

Seems to me the Boasting rules in Fantasy Warriors might be appropriate for a set of Heroic rules.

Boasting, yes. When I do the Irish write-up for PRIDE and Splintered Lands, I'll give Irish heroes a high charisma which lets them raise a unit's morale. But I could certainly have rival champions do a charisma roll-off, representing a contest of boasts, aka smack-down talk, with the loser dropping in charisma (which would in turn reduce his ability to exhort and rally troops during the battle).

Haven't decided yet on best mechanism for warp spasms. One approach is an ability by an Irish unit to mutate itself -- would require a die roll and be fairly difficult -- into something more formidable -- becoming Fearsome and up a die level in melee. But were warp spasms confined to a few heroes like Cuch? or widespread?

"rival champions do a charisma roll-off, representing a contest of boasts, aka smack-down talk, with the loser dropping in charisma "

An Iron Age "Yo Mama"?

"Yo mama so ugly, Balor looked at her and died!"

"Haven't decided yet on best mechanism for warp spasms."

Maybe there's a chance that the hero kills his own people too/instead? Sort of like a Night Goblin Fanatic?

Maybe there's a chance that the hero kills his own people too/instead? Sort of like a Night Goblin Fanatic?

Oh yes, that DEFINITELY should be a possibility!

Hmmm. In PRIDE terms, a hero attempting a warp spasm would risk attacking his own unit. Do we presume that a single man, no matter how strong, cannot destroy an entire unit? Athough Samson could and did. Cuchulain killed a bunch, but wasn't it in a series of individual duels? It's been a long time since I read the TAIM.

But attacking one's own unit would at minimum result in the loss of the hero -- maybe he just goes off somewhere to sulk, or is cast out, or something -- and his erstwhile unit at a minimum loses morale, and maybe a die level or a stand.

Hmmm.

I REALLY appreciate TMP!

And you MUST insist that the players who want to Boast really come up with Iron Age "Yo Mama" jokes.

Absolutely!

Just as, when someone plays the Wolf's Howl spell (forces a morale check) I require them to howl.

This reminds me of the new game on the way from Zombiesmith…

"Taking the gritty tactics and concepts of the Dark Ages and setting them in the whimsical world of Agaptus, WoA: Shieldwall begins with the Roar Phase in which both sides rally their line and taunt their opponent. The goal of which is generating Froth, a resource used throughout the game to bend the rules and adjust position in the line.

"To represent the flowing nature and chaos of the battlefield, WoA: Shieldwall utilizes a blind random activation system in which the commander never quite knows how far he can push his fighters before the momentum of the battle passes to his opponent."

link

Surprised nobody has mentioned taking heads. Killing your enemy is one thing, but taking his head home should definitely give double the victory points/kudos/whatever. You would end up with glory hungry heroes spending half the battle dismembering their dead opponents rather than dealing with the ones still running about. Which seems appropriate.
Wasn't there a legion of Celtic slaves fighting for the Romans against the Carthaginians whose attack stalled on account of all the head-taking? Freedom was promised to every slave who brought back an enemy head. The legate had to promise them all freedom on the spot to get them moving again.

Roar phase, yes. 1st edition of PRIDE OF LIONS had Roar and Charge -- required the target to test morale unless it could roar (or chant, or bellow, or sing "Men of Harlech") back. Replaced now with Fearsome, same game effect, but perhaps there should be provision for SUSTAINED morale-affecting noise making.

Of course, there's also the notion, which I suspect is true enough, that men got as drunk as they could manage before going into a shield wall. Don't have a hang-over rule.

Yes, taking heads and stripping armour.

All in all rather Homeric.