Has anybody here played Sertorius?

[jdrakeh]

I recently picked up Wandering Heroes of Ogre Gate after eyeballing it for a looooong time and I've found that I rather like it. So, uh, another Bedrock game - Sertorius - is set in the same world, but has a completely different premise (PCs are godlike sorcerers). Has anybody here played it? If so, can you give me an idea of what it's all about?

 

[clash bowley]

I have run and really liked other Bedrock Games, but Sertorius's premise does nothing for me, so I never played it. I would be surprised if it wasn't top quality though!

 

[Dumarest]

Never heard of it but playing a godlike character holds no appeal for me. Bedrock is a class act, though; they sent me a free PDF of a game so I could see if i wanted to buy it as online web sites only had about three random pages for preview and no store in my area carried it. Maybe someone who has played it can tell us why it's awesome.

 

[Baulderstone]

I recently picked up Wandering Heroes of Ogre Gate after eyeballing it for a looooong time and I've found that I rather like it. So, uh, another Bedrock game - Sertorius - is set in the same world, but has a completely different premise (PCs are godlike sorcerers). Has anybody here played it? If so, can you give me an idea of what it's all about?

I own Sertorius and have read it, but I haven't gotten to play it yet. I have played a lot of Wandering Heroes of Ogre Gate. I'm in one of BedrockBrendan 's current groups (He runs three games a week because he takes playtesting seriously). I've also run playtests of a forthcoming game using the same system. I really like the system from both sides. It's quick and intuitive.

Sertorius uses the same basic system as Wandering Heroes, but with a western ancient world setting. The PCs are infused with the blood of dead troll god, granting them divine powers. A lot of the book details the setting, and the GM is encouraged to let the players try and inflict their will on it, although there is plenty of force to oppose them. Based on my experience with Wandering Heroes, PCs are formidable but not invulnerable.

If you want a taste of the game, the first adventure was put out as a free PDF, Beneath the Banshee Tree. That might give you some feel for the game. As I tagged Brendan in this post, he might be along soon to answer questions. I know this is one his favorite designs.

I should mention that I have done editing work on recent Bedrock titles, so my opinion may be clouded by the fortune I have made doing work in the RPG industry.

As an aside, I also decided just this weekend to run Wandering Heroes as an upcoming RPG Pub Club game in a Hangout in the near future. If you are interested, I'll be sure to tag you when I make the announcement.

 

[jdrakeh]

Thanks for the replies, all. This will give me some stuff to track down and mull over while I come up with better questions.

 

[BedrockBrendan]

I recently picked up Wandering Heroes of Ogre Gate after eyeballing it for a looooong time and I've found that I rather like it. So, uh, another Bedrock game - Sertorius - is set in the same world, but has a completely different premise (PCs are godlike sorcerers). Has anybody here played it? If so, can you give me an idea of what it's all about?

Hey Jdrakeh. It looks like people described it already, but if you have any specific questions, happy to answer. One point of clarification, Sertorius is set on a different world but the two places are connected by a portal and calamity surrounding it.

 

[Llew ap Hywel]

Is it an existing mechanical system or something new?

 

[BedrockBrendan]

Is it an existing mechanical system or something new?

It uses the Network System, like all of our games (except Arrows of Indra, which is OSR). Network is skill based with d10 dice pools. We modify it to fit what we are doing. So Sertorius is a lot more robust mechanically than the books that came before (i.e. Terror Network, Servants of Gaius).

 

[Baulderstone]

Is it an existing mechanical system or something new?

I believe that Sertorius is the fourth game to use the Network System, and Wandering Heroes of Ogre Gate is the fifth. It's a simple core system. Skills run from one to six. Roll a number of d10s equal to your skill and keep the highest, with a target number of 6 being the standard for unopposed rolls. If you don't have a skill but it is something can be rolled as default, you roll two dice and keep the lowest. Modifiers typically involve adding or removing a dice with the roll. It has a very satisfying probability curve.



If you are making an "attack" against a character, the TN is set by their appropriate defense score. Defenses include Parry, Wits, Hardiness, Stealth. etc.

It's a simple base that works well for both gritty, modern games like Crime Network and the higher fantasy of Sertorius and Wandering Heroes Ogre Gate.

 

[Llew ap Hywel]

Thanks both

 

[jdrakeh]

Hey Jdrakeh. It looks like people described it already, but if you have any specific questions, happy to answer. One point of clarification, Sertorius is set on a different world but the two places are connected by a portal and calamity surrounding it.

Thanks! I'm very pleased with WHoOG (that's a fun abbreviation!), so I'll probably be looking to pick up Sertorius in the near future.

 

[AsenRG]

I played half a campaign of Wandering Heroes of Ogre Gate, which uses the same system (in a different setting).
It was ~30 sessions, and you can find the condensed description here.
http://aflashingbladeandpanache.blogspot.com/search/label/Wandering Heroes of Ogre Gate