Playing by the Rules

Selecting a rule set for your game (assuming you're not going to design one yourself) is much like auditioning new members for a band (that's another story). You have to go ever each and every element to ensure that what you choose has the best fit for your intended purpose. In my 25+ years of gaming I've seen a lot of rule systems and some just didn't work either because they were too loose or simply too restrictive. The best rules were those that didn't infringe on the flow of the adventure and were more guidelines than hard and fast mandates. Unfortunately a lot of the open source rule sets out there at the moment (True20, D20, OGL) simply aren't designed for the type of game I am putting together.

That's why at the moment I am leaning heavily towards the Fuzion system, with some home modifications of course. I can't expect to find a system that I can drop my material into in such a way that it fits perfectly. That's unrealistic. Then again I don't want to have to spend months adding enhancements or working with something that's just not flexible enough. I like the way the attributes are broken down in Fuzion, after all they focus on the individuality of the character rather than restrict you to churning out one-dimensional cardboard cutouts with Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Charisma, Intelligence and Wisdom, and little else. A system must have that flexibility when you're designing what amounts to real people and putting them into real historical situations rather than throw-away semi-superhero's that are there to save the day. I also tend to see a lot of systems that place far too much emphasis on the role of combat in a game. The whole point of 1601 will be characterization, political and religious intrigue, and conspiracy rather than a high body count. That's also why I have contemplated including a LARP module, something that some systems have made attempts at doing - in particular the excellent Mind's Eye Theatre series from White Wolf.

The LARP element I am hoping will attract a lot of people to this game. Because of the lack of magic and the limited combat, this kind of setting and the storylines that will grow out of it lend itself perfectly to this format. From the stand-off between soldiers and a Catholic family suspectd of hiding a priest to the first contact betweeen the Jonestown settlers and native Americans.

Some colour background:

1601 is a character oriented role-playing system set during the last tumultuous years of the reign of Elizabeth I. Unlike many other RPG systems, 1601 is not heavily centered around combat, rather the subtlety, communication and interplay between individual characters, both real and imaginary. While there may be the opportunity for some to prove their courage and skill on the battlefield or in one on one combat, the primary focus of this game is the intrigue, the deception and the religious and political turmoil that was orbiting the final years of The Golden Age.

Catholic repression had reached a zenith by the close of the 16th century. Catholic’s had conspired at every chance to remove Elizabeth from the throne and replace her firstly with Mary, Queen of Scots, and then by a Catholic sympathizer amidst the royally connected families. Under the guise of religious freedom the fires of rebellion were stoked in hundreds of Catholic houses throughout England. While many sought to change England from within, others exiled themselves to European shores or placed their hopes on the discovery of new lands where they were free to live and worship as they chose.

As the spies of Walsingham, Burghley, and later his son the Earl of Salisbury dug deep into this Catholic underground, exposing both fact and fiction, hundreds were hunted down, tortured and eventually executed as enemies of the state. It is a time of turmoil, of political aspirations, international intrigue, conspiracies and religious persecution. The lack of a successor to an aging Queen has fractured the country along both religious and political lines as the nobility vie for popular support.

Amidst this intrigue lie secret societies, alchemists and hermeticists, magi and those who challenge the boundaries of science. In the world of spies are the actors and playwrights that are linked to the greats such as Marlowe and Shakespeare. Sedition festers like a sore and nobody is safe from its clutches. Whether you choose to do the bidding of Cecil and the Crown and hunt down Jesuits, the traitorous nobility, or non-conformists; give comfort to your fellow religionists and plot rebellions and assassinations in the taverns of London; or seek a new beginning in Europe or the New World, your story is woven tightly into history. Can you change it?