You know what they say, a GM without a game is like a dog without a bone, a cat without a string, a player without dice, a ... well, you get the picture.

In the next few months I’ll have time to start GMing another game here, and am curious what people find the most interesting from the list below, something they may like to try. Feel free to vote on this even if you have no intention to play--I’m just looking for what people find the most intriguing.


Flashing Blades. If not the early 1600s of The Three Musketeers, I’m also thinking about shooting the setting forward 150 years to the time of the French Revolution, wherein the players play roles similar to that of the Scarlet Pimpernel, saving innocents from the guillotine.


Dragon Warriors. What I have in mind for this nifty RPG is presenting five or six different Knightly Orders for the players to choose from, with the starting setting being the Principalities of the Crusades. Warlocks, Sorcerers, Barbarians, and the other professions are the bad guys the characters must overcome to obtain, secure relics and treasures of the True Faith. I also have the idea to strip the setting away altogether and placing the game in the real world of 1170/80A.D., with the starting point being the Crusader states.


A hybrid steampunk/cyberpunk game.  Anyone remember Etherscope from Goodman Games? I liked some parts of the setting and the history, but I did not like the rules at all. What I did like a lot was the steampunk aesthetic and the ability to “Scope ride,” the cyberpunk equivalent of flinging your consciousness into the net and netrunning. If I were to run this, I’d use Chaosium’s d100 system, with a trimmed-down ruleset and perhaps an earlier starting time, around 1915-ish. Steampunk, cyberpunk, intrigue, dystopia, what’s not to love?


Pulp Hero/Two-Fisted Tales. I’ve never run anything in this genre, but have an itch to run something along the lines of The Shadow, Doc Savage, Indiana Jones. This could be a fun, lighthearted sort of game, either solo or group.


Southern Gothic. This would not be lighthearted, but be a horror game set shortly after the Civil War wherein a Confederate military officer returns home to find his house destroyed and his wife and young son missing. Searching for them, he encounters the horrific, the supernatural, twisted realities, grotesqueries, all the trappings of a Southern Gothic tale. This would be a solo game.


The last three would use the d100 Chaosium system. So, what intrigues you the most?

I like “intrigue” itself. It is the most sought after component of most games I look for and seemingly the hardest aspect to pull off. That said, the ‘punk game seems to be the one that offers this the most at first glance. Although each one sounds rather promising in its own right, just perhaps not as strong on the intrigue element.

The set up and setting for Southern Gothic sounds awesome. I've never played solo and I've never played a d100 Chaosium game, but if you had no other takers, I'd be interested.

In reply to 1492 (msg # 3):

I'm looking for another Mongoose Traveller game or AD&D game. I had 6 Traveller games, but my GM passed away last Thursday.

While I am not looking at adding a new game at this time, you said that was irrelevant to the question.

So, I would rank them like this:

Pulp Hero/Two-Fisted Tales- it's also something I have not traditionally played, but the description as a fun, lighthearted sort of game catches my eye, and competent yet flawed adventurers in exotic locales sounds very promising.

Flashing Blades- this would also be interesting, something like "Les Sept Vies de l’Epervier". I would worry my lack of historical knowledge would be a barrier if it intended to hew closely though.

Southern Gothic- very intriguing, although my concern would be a solo horror game could be a bit too dangerous unless that one person is quite skilled. The protagonist appeals to me more as a character to read about than to play though.

Dragon Warriors- I do not know the system or setting, so would skip this. If it was real world, that would solve the setting issue. But the base idea sounds solidly adventurous.

A hybrid steampunk/cyberpunk game- I do not remember Etherscope, and do not particularly care for dystopian games. I see enough dystopia just walking out of the house. :P
A more hopeful steampunk setting would probably be more intriguing- to me, at least.

Good luck, and hopefully this helped!

I would certainly be interested in Flashing Blades.

It is a fascinating time of economic, social upheaval, with new technologies changing the world in so many ways. The age of empire, the discovery of new worlds - and it could also be a time of steampunk, or monsters such as werewolves and vampires. Guns rule, but swords are not yet obsolete.

It's also not a setting that suits D&D,and that's a big plus.

Thanks for the input thus far, everyone. Adding in a few posts from behind the scenes, Flashing Blades and Southern Gothic are the early frontrunners, but keep 'em coming if you're so inclined to voice your opinion.

A quick clarification: a solo game can accommodate several players, but each would be playing in their own private thread, going through the same adventure, not knowing what the other players/characters are doing.

I'll put down tokens on Southern Gothic, Pulp Heroes, and Flashing Blades.

For Southern Gothic, you might think of several survivors from the same Appalachian hamlet, who served through the War in the same regiment/company. They come home to find their village swept away not by war but by Something Else.

Lots of pulp archetypes as fodder for that one, including some duos or teams.

I see I am alone in 'Dragon Warriors'. I have all six books, played all the adventures. They are great. The system is simple but very good. Remarkably good actually considering it's age and simplicity. And world is fun. I'd be as happy... maybe happier with the crusades as that is a great time

Pulp heros/twohanded sounds fun.

The 'd100' system is in my 'Too bad a system to play' so while I like most of the worlds you describe I wouldn't join because of the system.

I'd be interested in a Dragon Warriors game if you're running; I've even got the original Corgi UK Paperbacks from back in the day.

My votes would be:

1. Southern Gothic.
2. Flashing Blades.

Thanks for asking, and good gaming to one and all! :)

I don't know anything about Dragon Warriors, but if you actually end up running an even remotely historically accurate game set during the Crusades, I'll learn.

Scarlet Pimpernel Flashing Blades sounds like fun.
Southern Gothic... somewhat less so. I like the genre, I'm not much for solo play.
I am 100% down for Pulp.
This message was last edited by the user at 04:01, Fri 21 July 2023.

Dragon Warriors game world is sort of a middle ages European/Middle East analog. The in game lore does include their version of the crusades; to whit English/French/Germanic sounding peoples with a sort of Christian religion go south to hot dry lands populated my an Arabic/MiddleEastern sounding people to fight for the Holy Lands.

 Count me in if you do a dragon warrior game
This message was last edited by the user at 12:27, Thu 27 July 2023.

Hmm... that's interesting. Is that four for Dragon Warriors.

I would say to people that haven't tried it: it has the following features

• Simplicity
• Good character classes (except the elementalist... don't play one)
• A fantastic armor system, better than any other system I can think of off the top of my head
• Decent magic systems (but whatever you do, don't play an elementalist: they are bad).
• Decent stealth system... better than most games
• And a load of fun adventures / decent world

In reply to Siran (msg # 16):

That sounds worth trying out!

Make it 5 then. But I'm up for flashy blades if that is run as well.

I am interested in giving Dragon Warriors a try

A sudden surge by Dragon Warriors and now it's essentially a three-way tie between Southern Gothic, Flashing Blades and Dragon Warriors. Still a couple of months away, so still plenty of time to think about it.

It may be getting lost in this thread, so in case it is, keep in mind what I'm offering with Dragon Warriors is to play a knight from one of five knightly orders. No other professions, such as Warlock, Barbarian, Elementalist, are on offer.

The five knightly orders would likely be Knights Templar, Knights Hospitaller, Teutonic Knights, Knights of the Holy Sepulcher, and the Order of St. Lazarus. Each order would have its strengths and weaknesses and unique special talents. These orders aren't a part of the game. They'd all be created by moi.

Also, I'm leaning toward eliminating the Land of Legend (DW's setting) in favor of the Crusader states of the late 1100s, but that's still up in the air. We'll see.

Ah then not me then. Not enough variety

I still recommend the game to others though

I would still definitely be interested in Dragon Warriors, if you don't mind someone new to the game.  The system sounds intriguing.

Yeah, the system sounds fun but I don't want to be a crusader...

Flashing blades!

I'd be interested in either FB or DW.

My interests are Steampunk (I recommend Revolution D100 for its lovely invention rules), Flashing Blades (I'd want to play someone akin to Julie d'Aubigny, aka la Maupin), and Southern Gothic (I concur with Gaffer that a ragged squad of survivors from the same regiment would be more interesting).