Economic RPGs

>>54635991
Play Exalted.

>>54636099

I don't know much about Exalted, but is it really great for a setting that might be dominated by a monotheistic religion, where pure adventuring or combat will be less than diplomacy and pure roleplaying?

Skimming wikipedia makes me think that might not be the case, especially if I'm going low-magic, but do you mean the actual core mechanics would be good for what I'm trying to do?

Okay so recommending a system depends largely on the experience you want here.

Just accept the fact that you need to do most of the economic rules on your own, market prices and what not. I can recommend using Stars Without Number: Suns of Gold rules for trading endeavours

Do you want players to mainly be playing themselves if they were running the empire? As in they are essentially playing as the empire and doing what is best for it.

Or are they playing the leader of an empire who has human desires and flaws, sometimes backstabbing each other and sabotaging their own empire to satisfy personal desires?

If you want the former then I have no idea what you should use but I don't think it matters too much.

For the latter, use Burning Wheel.

>>54635991
> in a low-magic not!Europe setting
> Maybe PCs travel deep into Africa to collect certain high-power magic items
I'm not sure how to reconcile these.

It's worth considering whether the pursuit of profit is the driving force for adventure in itself, or simply a backdrop for personal issues. I tend to think that the former is going to run better because it's easier to run week-in and week-out - and you can always delve into personal stuff. Whichever way you go, make sure that character rewards are closely tied to that main driving force. For example, if the game is about profits it's a good idea to give experience for getting money.

>>54636219
My guess is that anon suggested Exalted because it has subsystems for abstracting a lot of the bookkeeping. I'm not sure that's what you want.

File: Venetian Trade Empire.png (118KB, 1000x635px) Image search: [Google]

118KB, 1000x635px

>>54639011

>Just accept the fact that you need to do most of the economic rules on your own

Yeah, absolutely, the systems you suggested there will definitely help though.

>Do you want players to mainly be playing themselves if they were running the empire?

I'm trying to combine that kind of raw management and financial manipulation with the kind of gameplay you'd get out of a political intrigue-heavy game with most combat involving reconaissance, spying, or assassination in some way. I don't know how viable that is.

They wouldn't be the leader of any Empire until at least the end-game - the idea being that they claw their way to the top of a large-scale perhaps not totally transparent financial network across the setting.

>I don't think it matters too much

You're probably right, I'm just looking for stuff that could be used as ideas and general directions to look for small mechanics I can steal.
>>54639897

>I'm not sure how to reconcile these.

Should have been clearer, I mean there isn't any magic now, maybe at some stage in the past there is, and an ideal place to find any remnants of that era would be to go to some archaeological site in a place that was filled with really ancient societies.

>I tend to think that the former is going to run better

I agree

> if the game is about profits it's a good idea to give experience for getting money

This is a good idea, and it might seem obvious, but I'd not thought of it. Thanks.

>>54635991
Reign sounds like what you're looking for. Exalted is definitely not. I second the SWN supplements for generating plot complications.

>>54641407
This actually sounds really ideal, there's definitely lots I can adapt from here. I guess if I combine the trade rules and some of the economic bits from SWN, run off the sort of core parts of Reign, and develop my own stuff for economics rules and bookkeeping (maybe borrowing some things from Exalted), I'd be pretty close to the game I'm looking for.

>>54635991
I recommend the Isreali game Sheckels and Shoahs.

GURPS with Social Engineering, Boardroom and Curia, Low Tech: Life and Economics, City Stats, Pyramid issue 3/95 article 'Low-Tech Transportation's (how much does it actually cost to run a trade caravan and etc.), Pyramid issue 3/87 'Purveyors of the Priceless' article (bartering, trading, commerce expanded on), Pyramid 3/52 article 'Lord of the Manor'.

Also possibly pyramid issue 3/44 'Abstract Wealth' if you don't want counting every last penny (you still use concrete numbers for purchases, but this avoids turning the economics Sim into an accounting Sim instead); at the resolution you're talking with economics, this is a more realistic wealth system than the default and covers things like borrowing, selling assets, trading at a loss, etc. "under resolution" so you can focus on the more important stuff.

>>54641899
P.S. I would also use some of the SWN stuff even playing GURPS for this type of campaign.

>>54641899
Solid, I agree with the stuff regarding resolution, I want to get very detailed, and if players want to turn it into accounting, that's fine by me, but it shouldn't be a necessity.

>>54642052
Cool, good stuff. Whatever you end up using, I hope you have fun.

Also one thing I forgot, if you use GURPS also get Mass Combat. It's slightly abstract, but fun, and covers costs of raising and maintaining armies, supply lines, being a general, waging wars, different unit types, strategy, sieges, etc. since you mentioned military leaders as a possibility in your OP.

You probably want some kind of a decently in-depth and strong system for that kind of stuff if you're planning on having PCs be in charge of waging wars, strategy, etc. (again, whatever system you end up using).

Happy gaming.

>>54642426
Thanks! Yeah I'll definitely look into GURPS for Mass Combat and maybe a few other systems. It'll take a while to set it all up, and then there's setting building and reconciling all the economic rules, but it should be a good time.