IC: Peasant Revolution

System-wise, I’m currently torn between:
• Sword of Cepheus (tweaked for low-magic, gritty play)
• Free Kriegsspiel Revival (FKR) style, focusing on rulings over rules and emphasizing narrative over mechanics.

I haven’t settled on a setting yet either still bouncing around ideas.

At this stage, I’m mostly gauging interest while I refine the concept. On that note what I’m envisioning is something of a gritty struggle as under equipped peasants beginning in a rural fief claw against the system that drives to crush them back into servitude. The opportunity I’m envisioning is something Watt Tyler-esque there’s a brief window of some kind for the dissidents to assert a level of dominance against their local lord due to some previous circumstance of plague or war.

Interest to hear what others preferences are regarding system and setting.

Oh, man. Years ago I sketched out a campaign called Red Flag Over Fantasyland about a revolution based on early agrarian socialist movements like the Diggers and Levellers in a medieval fantasy setting. Fighting the despotic monarch and nobility, the church and institutional gatekeepers of magic with scythes, pitchforks, folk-religion and folk-magic. It's a rich, complex idea with so much scope for poltical, moral and tactical play. Best of luck in exploring your take on the idea!

This would be vastly interesting in Warhammer role play.

I would be interested in any system though just that Warhammer adventures might really reach into the peasant aspect.

I'm honestly not against using Warhammer fantasy, as I do prefer d100 systems, but I've never actually GM'd in that system before. I'm also not too keen on the setting of Warhammer fantasy.

You basically covered what I was thinking about more or less. An immediate consequence of what I have in mind is the post overthrowing the lord of a specific fiefdom and the what comes next aspect. Do they try to demand increased status, such as being promoted to Yeomen or some sort. Or do they attempt to become an independent commune and deal with the surrounding political landscape of being hated by everyone.

A second thought occurred to me that I could potentially do something Total War Shogun 2 based, with an Ikko Ikki peasant/ronin/sohei revolution.

This is a brave and fascinating idea. I think there would be a logic to a peasant revolt that meant it would have to succeed across the whole of a society or else be quickly and brutally crushed.

Effectively, the peasant is at the foundation of the 'great chain of being' and so any local disturbance has profound consequences for the entire house of cards. Although the peasants might overthrow their manorial lord, the earls army wouldn't waste anytime putting the rebels to the sword. A corrollary of this would be that game would likely be either (relatively) short, bloody, and tragic (think Montsegur 1244) or epic scaled, multifaceted, and unpredictably emergent.

I suppose a third option might be - peasants revolt -> revolt crushed -> a band of societal miscreants are outcast and take to the forests to fight a guerilla war for justice (so, Robin Hood?)

System-wise, are you familiar with Aquelarre or Chivalry and Sorcery?

Not familiar with either of those systems.

In the long long run, I agree. Either crushed or you know, you get the French Revolution. But in the span of century of so, there some nice examples in Germany. Depending on the play style and goal, it might be possible to have something in between those two extremes.

Possibly, a goal or rather an offer from the ruling class might be the creation of a new class as an attempt to get things back under control, depending on how rough the conflict gets.

off that topic a bit, it needs to be established, in whatever system used, that a direct or fair fight/duel with a knight will entirely result in death. Fights with the tanks of old need to be won through clever strategy and disciplined formations (which will be a significant challenge among peasantry).

Would be interested in hearing what kind of characters (peasants) they’d pitch.

I think Ikezu-Ishi could work for that. Though it is fairly rules light.

this was a really good suggestion. Thank you for sharing that!

Thought for sure this was gonna be a Burning Wheel pitch 😜

I have really tried to like burning wheel. Character creation wise I think it fits the theme I’m going for very well, but I just can’t force myself to like the rest of it. I have started and stopped reading gold edition a few times now, haha

Burning Wheel is one of my favorite games but I can understand its not for everyone. Its also much harder to make work and needs an experienced GM and invested players.