I would really like to play a Medieval role playing game for PC. The problem is, I’m not sure if any such game exists. There are many “swords and armor” type RPGs, but they all have some kind of fantasy element - wizards, dragons, elves, orcs, whatever. I have NO interest in any of that. I just wonder if there is a roleplaying game for PC where you play the role of a Medieval knight, upgrading your weapons and armor and killing a lot of bad guys, with no “fantasy” content. It doesn’t even need to be historically accurate.
Hard to see how a single individual would cope with no special powers.
He’s got to travel on his own, despite wild animals, bandits and feuding kingdoms.
He’s got to earn the trust of the locals to get income.
He’s got to cope with disease and maintaining his equipment.
Then what sort of adventures can he have, dealing only with organised human communities?
Darklands is along those lines but there are some fantasy elements that creep in. It’s very tightly focused on thirteenth century Germany. The major fantasy elements are that there is satanic power in the world, the Catholic church has real power to do something about it, and alchemy actually functions.
There’s no reason that “your character would die” in such a setting; it just requires a different set of expectations in the design.
Well, Mount&Blade pulled it off just fine, including all the elements you just described. (You’re completely alone at first, but you can build up gigantic raiding parties of more than 100 men, including “heroes” with specialized skills.) And that game had no fantasy whatsoever. So it CAN be done. The problem is that Mount&Blade had no coherent story whatsoever, and one-dimensional characters.
There’s Avalon Hill’s Kingmaker, although that’s only a role-playing game in the sense of “if I were the leader of the House of Lancaster, how would I win the Wars of the Roses?”
Great game, though. Wiki link. There was also a computer version, but I’m afraid it’s abandonware now.
Hmm, I don’t think I know a computer RPG that would be strictly medieval, but I do know metric fucktons of pen & paper historical RPGs (Pendragon was nice. It did feature some Arthurian folklore, but you could totally ignore it and have a perfect Dark Age historical campaign).
There’s Assassin’s Creed, which is not an RPG, but is a visually stunning representation of the high middle ages. Oh, and features lots of stabbin’.
And of course, there’s a lot of strategy games, like Medieval Total War, Crusader Kings, Europa Universalis or Lords of the Realm (if you’re not put off by VGA graphics and messing around with DOS, check out the first Lord of the Realms. Brilliant, brilliant game.)
You can make it Realistic, OR lacking in Fantasy Elements, OR not at all Medieval. Pick two.
Other posters have mentioned why. It really doesn’t matter is you pretend your character (with 250 hit points, Grandmaster swordsman, and the Masterwork Plate Armor of Grand Smith Bartley) is mundane . He’s not.
When you can take 30 arrrows to the chest and kill a dozen men (and the enemy always has hordes waiting to be killed off) you’ve tossed reality out the window. Mount and Blade is still grossly implausible, just in a different way.
Which is why they have fantasy elements. Why not appeal to a larger audience and open up the gameplay?
There was one I played some time ago that I put aside for being way too boring. It was all about the knights and as I recall it really tried to teach you history and be accurate. I don’t recall there being any magic…lemme see if I can find it.
"Marvin claims Borgo has stolen one of his pigs. However, Borgo claims he only did it because Marvin put a curse on his leeks. What will your judgement be, m’lord ?
Your bethroted, Azinga of Berchtesgaden, has just arrived at the castle’s gates. She does not speak a word of English, and looks like a cross between a dog and a giraffe. May you live happily ever after.
The wound you have suffered during the last turney has started oozing and festering. -1 Charisma.
The castle’s last cat has been roasted. Your belt is starting to look very tasty. The siege continues."
I think I found it! It was Arthur’s Knights - Tales of Chivalry. The magic and stuff is limited to what people believed in those days. I don’t remember much about it but I got really bored midway through.
Personally I hated it, but I play games for that element of magic and other-worldliness. You may like it better.