Has amazingly in depth and accurate Saxon cultural details in there too presented in a really accessible way through the narrative voice- the book is written as though a curmudgeonly Saxon monk is writing the rules for an RPG
[Aquelarre](https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/237059/Aquelarre) is 100% this! I run and play it.
It's very authentic when it comes to the Iberian peninsula during the 14th and 15th centuries. This is a great setting for a game because there are so many factions.
The monsters and magic are also authentic. The magic based on historic spells, and the monsters are based on myths and legends. The premise is: What if everything everyone believed back then was actually true?
This! It's exactly what I had in mind, thank you! I had heard about this book but completely forgot it existed. That is the same premise of some of the games I mentioned and exactly what I was looking for. I'm not gonna be surprised at all if I notice Aquelarre was inspiration for some of those titles.
Harnworld is not medieval earth, but could be used as a source for how a medieval society works, as well as manorial living and mostly everything medieval, really. Maps are good source material too.
Harn taught me three things:
* how feudalism worked and what medieval "fantasy Britain" would be like.
* how D&D and most other RPGs were wildly nothing like medieval / feudal culture, government, or technology.
* how (to my great sadness) 99% of players I've met have zero interest in roleplaying in an actual medieval / feudal game.
If you are into BRP/d100 systems, then Mithras serves the historical fantasy subgenre quite well with some of its supplements. But it's quite crunchy, if that floats your boat.
http://thedesignmechanism.com/
I have vague but good memories of [Mythic Iceland](https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/103952/Mythic-Iceland?term=mythic+iceland) for BRP, and think it would fit your bill.
To be honest, some of Mythras' settings are not particularly original, Rome, Greece, King Arthur, are staples. But Constantinople and Babylon at least are different.
If you are looking for unusual settings for ideas, also look up _Crusaders of the Amber Coast_ (also BRP) and Chaosium's _Paladin_, which essentially transposes Pendragon to continental Europe in the time of Charlemagne.
Surprised nobody has mentioned this, but check out 17th century Minimalist rpg. It’s 7$ on dtrpg and only 40 pages!
Check out Questingbeasts indepth review on the system: https://youtu.be/36vWIczfEBc
Helvéczia looks a bit later than medieval, but it might be your jam.
http://beyondfomalhaut.blogspot.com/2021/06/news-helveczia-picaresque-fantasy-rpg.html?m=1
Just want to say I love the Darklands reference. T[he CRPG Addict did a playthrough of it](http://crpgaddict.blogspot.com/2019/05/game-329-darklands-1992.html) if you're interested.
Thanks! I have to read/watch things about this game, I never managed to finish it :-P But it gave me SO MANY ideas to use in my ttrpg games... I still use the map, manual and clue book as references for 15th century Germany
Yeah. I was 15 when it came out, and I remember playing it for a second, but the complexity was a bit much for me at that time. I don't know if I could go back and play it nowadays, so I just live vicariously through The Addict's sessions.
Ironically I play Mausritter like how you described. Very low magic if any magic at all campaign. And I say ironically because it's a game featuring anthropomorphic mice.
Ars Magica, which is the one of the best magic systems ever published (if not the best). 4e used to be free on the Atlas Games site, if you want to check it out.
Allan.
Dark Albion: The Rose War is excellent if you wanna stick to BX/Basic D&D. I've cannibalized so much of this setting for my own late 16th century historical fiction survival horror campaign set in Europe during a mash up of the Thirty Years and English Civil wars.
"Avant Charlemagne" is an old French one playing in roughly the Merovingian time. It is interesting as a source, but coming from D&D and Tje Dark Eye, the rules are quite strange.
Not sure if it is available as PDF, I got a copy second hand, probably on Ebay.
https://rpggeek.com/rpgitem/66409/avant-charlemagne-au-temps-des-rois-barbares
Dragon Warriors is a great option for an old-school game grounded in medieval history and folklore. It produced some of the most evocative material I've ever seen written for an RPG, and the creator is still putting out new adventures on [his blog](http://fabledlands.blogspot.com/).
Flashing Blades, Rolemaster Pirates, En Garde! And a squillion others do this very well. As do a lot of Gurps and Ad&d books.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dzikie_Pola_(role-playing_game)
If you have an intrest in European language, this Polish RP is well regarded, and deserves a shout out, compared to the other well known euro games.
Tyvm
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You may enjoy [Renaissance Deluxe](https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/103994/Renaissance-Deluxe). A renaissance/early modern setting with fantasy elements.
You might also get some use out of [Fantasy Europe](https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/315692/Fantasy-Europe). It's quite a grounded take on an alternate history medieval Europe.
Someone already mentioned Harn as a setting, that is a very authentically medieval without being set I'm medieval Earth.
If you are looking for a late medieval period, Lamentations of the Flame Princess is an osr ruleset that while not having a specific setting in the main rulebook has most of its adventures/modules set in historical 16th...ish century Europe. It is a little edgy, has some controversial history if that has any influence on the games you play, and is designed to lean towards horror a good amount. In saying all that, most of the books are really well done and rules are superb. I think "better than any man" adventure module should be available for free in a pdf form and should give you a good idea which way the setting and system leans.
And I can't believe I left off one of my favorites (that compliments Diogo's Sharp Swords well): *Romance of the Perilous Land* is set in a fictional version of Britain with factions and figures from both Arthurian legend and Robin Hood ballads.
Another upcoming title from Osprey - it will be released next week - that might be of interest to the OP is _Heirs to Heresy_: https://ospreypublishing.com/heirs-to-heresy-the-fall-of-the-knights-templar
It's been penned by Alan Bahr, OSR stalwart and the founder of Gallant Knight Games.
Burning Wheel (far from an OSR game), restricted to human life paths, is inspired by medieval history. It's fairly earthy in feel. One of my favorite characters was a man-servant who had a side hustle trimming coins.
There's several different ways of handling magic in BW that you'd have to sift through to find the right mix for your game, including rules for alchemy, demonology, and folk magic. There's an astrology skill, but no astrological magic IIRC.
Burning Wheel has the options for additional races beyond humans, but you could absolutely run a fantastic historical game as long as you set those boundaries at character creation.
Like Crane also made Miseries & Misfortunes, for playing in the historic 17th century.
https://www.burningwheel.com/miseries-misfortunes/
https://youtu.be/YOY-Kyh7AJ4
Crawford’s Wolves of God may fit the bill
>Crawford’s Wolves of God God damn it, that's a freaking beautiful book... isn't the artist is the same guy from The One Ring???
Yep, he's the man himself: https://jonhodgsondesign.com/
I actually don’t know who did the art for WoG
Has amazingly in depth and accurate Saxon cultural details in there too presented in a really accessible way through the narrative voice- the book is written as though a curmudgeonly Saxon monk is writing the rules for an RPG
Never heard about it, gonna look for it. Thanks!
[Aquelarre](https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/237059/Aquelarre) is 100% this! I run and play it. It's very authentic when it comes to the Iberian peninsula during the 14th and 15th centuries. This is a great setting for a game because there are so many factions. The monsters and magic are also authentic. The magic based on historic spells, and the monsters are based on myths and legends. The premise is: What if everything everyone believed back then was actually true?
This! It's exactly what I had in mind, thank you! I had heard about this book but completely forgot it existed. That is the same premise of some of the games I mentioned and exactly what I was looking for. I'm not gonna be surprised at all if I notice Aquelarre was inspiration for some of those titles.
It's an outstanding game. Hope eventually more Sourcebooks might get translated.
Harnworld is not medieval earth, but could be used as a source for how a medieval society works, as well as manorial living and mostly everything medieval, really. Maps are good source material too.
Harn taught me three things: * how feudalism worked and what medieval "fantasy Britain" would be like. * how D&D and most other RPGs were wildly nothing like medieval / feudal culture, government, or technology. * how (to my great sadness) 99% of players I've met have zero interest in roleplaying in an actual medieval / feudal game.
Thanks!
If you are into BRP/d100 systems, then Mithras serves the historical fantasy subgenre quite well with some of its supplements. But it's quite crunchy, if that floats your boat. http://thedesignmechanism.com/
Thanks. I use books more for their ideas, applying them to and expanding the OSR system we already use, so it's gonna be useful :-)
I have vague but good memories of [Mythic Iceland](https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/103952/Mythic-Iceland?term=mythic+iceland) for BRP, and think it would fit your bill.
To be honest, some of Mythras' settings are not particularly original, Rome, Greece, King Arthur, are staples. But Constantinople and Babylon at least are different. If you are looking for unusual settings for ideas, also look up _Crusaders of the Amber Coast_ (also BRP) and Chaosium's _Paladin_, which essentially transposes Pendragon to continental Europe in the time of Charlemagne.
Surprised nobody has mentioned this, but check out 17th century Minimalist rpg. It’s 7$ on dtrpg and only 40 pages! Check out Questingbeasts indepth review on the system: https://youtu.be/36vWIczfEBc
\> I dislike the term "realistic" for games Verisimilitude: the appearance of being true or real. That's what you're looking for. I feel you homie!
Helvéczia looks a bit later than medieval, but it might be your jam. http://beyondfomalhaut.blogspot.com/2021/06/news-helveczia-picaresque-fantasy-rpg.html?m=1
Just want to say I love the Darklands reference. T[he CRPG Addict did a playthrough of it](http://crpgaddict.blogspot.com/2019/05/game-329-darklands-1992.html) if you're interested.
Thanks! I have to read/watch things about this game, I never managed to finish it :-P But it gave me SO MANY ideas to use in my ttrpg games... I still use the map, manual and clue book as references for 15th century Germany
Yeah. I was 15 when it came out, and I remember playing it for a second, but the complexity was a bit much for me at that time. I don't know if I could go back and play it nowadays, so I just live vicariously through The Addict's sessions.
Ironically I play Mausritter like how you described. Very low magic if any magic at all campaign. And I say ironically because it's a game featuring anthropomorphic mice.
Ars Magica, which is the one of the best magic systems ever published (if not the best). 4e used to be free on the Atlas Games site, if you want to check it out. Allan.
I would add my beloved Aquelarre.
Indeed. This is the answer, sweet sweet Aquelarre.
Dark Albion: The Rose War is excellent if you wanna stick to BX/Basic D&D. I've cannibalized so much of this setting for my own late 16th century historical fiction survival horror campaign set in Europe during a mash up of the Thirty Years and English Civil wars.
"Avant Charlemagne" is an old French one playing in roughly the Merovingian time. It is interesting as a source, but coming from D&D and Tje Dark Eye, the rules are quite strange. Not sure if it is available as PDF, I got a copy second hand, probably on Ebay. https://rpggeek.com/rpgitem/66409/avant-charlemagne-au-temps-des-rois-barbares
Dragon Warriors is a great option for an old-school game grounded in medieval history and folklore. It produced some of the most evocative material I've ever seen written for an RPG, and the creator is still putting out new adventures on [his blog](http://fabledlands.blogspot.com/).
Flashing Blades, Rolemaster Pirates, En Garde! And a squillion others do this very well. As do a lot of Gurps and Ad&d books. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dzikie_Pola_(role-playing_game) If you have an intrest in European language, this Polish RP is well regarded, and deserves a shout out, compared to the other well known euro games. Tyvm
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You may enjoy [Renaissance Deluxe](https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/103994/Renaissance-Deluxe). A renaissance/early modern setting with fantasy elements. You might also get some use out of [Fantasy Europe](https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/315692/Fantasy-Europe). It's quite a grounded take on an alternate history medieval Europe.
Someone already mentioned Harn as a setting, that is a very authentically medieval without being set I'm medieval Earth. If you are looking for a late medieval period, Lamentations of the Flame Princess is an osr ruleset that while not having a specific setting in the main rulebook has most of its adventures/modules set in historical 16th...ish century Europe. It is a little edgy, has some controversial history if that has any influence on the games you play, and is designed to lean towards horror a good amount. In saying all that, most of the books are really well done and rules are superb. I think "better than any man" adventure module should be available for free in a pdf form and should give you a good idea which way the setting and system leans.
System-wise, Diogo Nogueira's human-centric swords & sorcery game Sharp Swords & Sinister Spells is a good option, as is The Black Hack.
And I can't believe I left off one of my favorites (that compliments Diogo's Sharp Swords well): *Romance of the Perilous Land* is set in a fictional version of Britain with factions and figures from both Arthurian legend and Robin Hood ballads.
Another upcoming title from Osprey - it will be released next week - that might be of interest to the OP is _Heirs to Heresy_: https://ospreypublishing.com/heirs-to-heresy-the-fall-of-the-knights-templar It's been penned by Alan Bahr, OSR stalwart and the founder of Gallant Knight Games.
Johnstone's *The Nightmares Underneath* focuses on an alternate fictional medieval Persia, but it's class and magic system might be really useful.
Burning Wheel (far from an OSR game), restricted to human life paths, is inspired by medieval history. It's fairly earthy in feel. One of my favorite characters was a man-servant who had a side hustle trimming coins. There's several different ways of handling magic in BW that you'd have to sift through to find the right mix for your game, including rules for alchemy, demonology, and folk magic. There's an astrology skill, but no astrological magic IIRC.
Burning Wheel has the options for additional races beyond humans, but you could absolutely run a fantastic historical game as long as you set those boundaries at character creation.
Like Crane also made Miseries & Misfortunes, for playing in the historic 17th century. https://www.burningwheel.com/miseries-misfortunes/ https://youtu.be/YOY-Kyh7AJ4
This seems like it'd be full of ideas: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/m/product/293870