Where would you set a fantasy naval wargame?

[RuleBritannia]

After listening to the podcast and thinking about how far we are from Neo-UCS and possibly Man'o'War, I was thinking about how there doesn't seem to be much action on the fantasy naval wargame front.  Obviously a diverse setting like classical Warhammer Fantasy or Uncharted Seas would seem a slamdunk, but there is one Fantasy setting that seems crying out for such a game.  A Song of Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones is crying out for a system.

I would go for the book licence since a) probably cheaper, b) more battles and fleets, c) you can include stuff from earlier in the setting.  It seems to have worked for CMON for their massed strategy game. 

The advantage of the setting is that GRRM's world is mostly quite low fantasy allowing the game to be a test bed for a decent medieval game that can have magical elements tacked on, be it dragons, kraken, or wizards.  You can really play up Euron's madness in contrast.

I would imagine the fleets being the impressive Royal fleet, with access to a couple of wildfire kamikaze ships, Stannis' stormlands fleet with an effective core of anti-pirate galleys and mercenaries, the elite and well built Lannister fleet, the impressive and effective Redwyne fleet with excellent scouting, three different possible Ironborn fleets of the Iron fleet of warships, the longship raiders, and Euron's magical fleet summoning kraken, the small and hardy Night's Watch fleet out of East Watch, the new Manderly fleet out of White Harbour, the Seagard defensive fleets, and Aurane Waters pirates out of the Step Stones.  You could add on some Essos stuff if the game caught on, with mercenaries, the effective massed produced Bravos boats, the slave ships out of Slavers bay, Volantene fleets with Red Priest support.  You could differentiate by Galleys vs. Sailing vessels, warships vs. longships and equipment of siege weaponry.  Then something like Fantasy Flight systems with upgrade cards to represent certain commanders like Euron, Stannis or Victarion, or characters like Moqorro could give them that sense of ownership.

[Covertwalrus]

Going to go off on a tangent, but to start with I concur wholeheartedly a fantasy naval game in GRRM's setting is a good starter. While the milieu suggest that coastal trading is the main naval ability of the civilization, this is a tactically rich enviroment for gaming, as Cruel Seas shows well.

 The wider applicatiosn of Fantsay navl coem in in other backgrounds; There are fantasy worlds which have exploration voyages and large trading fleets as fgivens, most notably in some RPGS like D&D, but also in fictional works by Lieber, Carter and such authors. Even original Warhammer had fleets travelling the world to exotic lands like Lustria and Ulthuan . . .

[Easy E]

Yes, that would work fine. 

However, if I was going fantasy naval I would go more Spelljammer to get my Sci-Fi Fantasy mixed together!

[Dakkar]

If I had to pick a Fantasy IP for Naval, two things come to mind:

1) Elric of Melnibone'  - basically what GW copied the Dark Elf ideas from for MoW, but many cooler aspects possible and a wide Fantasy world to call upon. Also Dragons.

2) GoT, as mentioned - but only because CMON has done so great with the Battles game, that I have confidence they could make a ship game work. Also Dragons. Also Wildfire. Also Ser Davos...

3) Forgotten Realms - anything and everything goes... Imagine a proud fleet of Cormyr, packed with War Wizards and Griffon Riders facing off against the aquatic monstrosities of the Abolethic Sovereignty.

Oh wait, that was 3 things...

[RuleBritannia]

Our three main settings.... 

It does seem like the missing piece of the puzzle, and a stronger, less generic setting tied to an existing property might be the way to do so.  A lord of the rings one shot with Gondor, Umbar and Elves might not have the range decide having the name appeal.  I can see the problem of developing Elric and Forgotten Realms, that as important root works for modern fantasy, but much of their distinctiveness robbed out by later works like Warhammer Fantasy might struggle. 

[Pendrake]

Bigger fan of the generic setting. Possibly this is because I have (almost) no knowledge of GoT (I lack cable Telly and have none of the books).

I’d rather have decent base rules with add/on supplementary templates to reproduce-represent fleets from Umbar, or Lannister, or Terrabinthia, or wherever.

I would call the setting “The Sea Between the Worlds” (TM Pendrake  all rights reserved.)

The Concept would be such that Melnibónean battle barges could tangle with an Orc Fleet from WoWarcraft, but on the next table over a Skaven squadron could be tackling a fleet of galleys belonging to the Tisroc of Calormene.

Purists could limit their fleet builds to wage a campaign set solely in their favorite fantasy setting.

( Also +1 on allowing flying galleons & sky pirates type of craft.)

[Wanjajoral]

I certainly would enjoy a ASoIaF naval game as I am a fan of that IP.
The Forgotten Realms also lend themselves for a rich thematic setting - including flying ships powered by Magic as portrait in the "Counselors and Kings" trilogy by Elaine Cunningham.

But I have another funny idea that I want to throw into the mix - how about a game about desert ships? Large wooden ships rolling across the vast sand seas, propelled by sails, complete with terrain (and line of sight) like mountains, ergs, dunes, wadis and oases and things like sand storms or huge sand worms (a lá Dune) - that would certainly be unique.

[RuleBritannia]

But I have another funny idea that I want to throw into the mix - how about a game about desert ships? Large wooden ships rolling across the vast sand seas, propelled by sails, complete with terrain (and line of sight) like mountains, ergs, dunes, wadis and oases and things like sand storms or huge sand worms (a lá Dune) - that would certainly be unique.

That does sound fun.  Maybe more like DWars armoured, but as a fantasy land game.  Mobile castles, faster land sailing ships, Da Vinci style tanks. 

[Dakkar]

But I have another funny idea that I want to throw into the mix - how about a game about desert ships? Large wooden ships rolling across the vast sand seas, propelled by sails, complete with terrain (and line of sight) like mountains, ergs, dunes, wadis and oases and things like sand storms or huge sand worms (a lá Dune) - that would certainly be unique.

The Dark Sun setting for D&D had a lot of those elements, including smaller vessels for sailing the desert flats, and larger ships sailing the coast of the Great Silt Sea.

See also "Sky Galleons of Mars" for SPACE:1889 :-)

[Fracas]

I thought the uncharted seas background had potential
Especially if all the factions originated there rather than from another continent

[Covertwalrus]

But I have another funny idea that I want to throw into the mix - how about a game about desert ships? Large wooden ships rolling across the vast sand seas, propelled by sails, complete with terrain (and line of sight) like mountains, ergs, dunes, wadis and oases and things like sand storms or huge sand worms (a lá Dune) - that would certainly be unique.

 Not such a bad idea - It would also look a lot like a Barsoom styel game, or even an early days of Tatooine feel as well.

I thought the uncharted seas background had potential
Especially if all the factions originated there rather than from another continent

 That it did . . . Let's hope that Warcradle were serious when they talked about reviving the game ( After all, it was the first Spartan property they released new art for, though try and find those sketches on the web now . . . )

[RuleBritannia]

I think they were on the Uncharted Seas facebook page?  The castle boat was the right kind of silly for me but not very UCS.

[Easy E]

I think a Age of Sail/alt Napoleonics with fantasy races would be fun.  Magic and Muskets so to speak.  Kind of like the old Flintloque and Warploque? 

[RuleBritannia]

I think a Age of Sail/alt Napoleonics with fantasy races would be fun.  Magic and Muskets so to speak.  Kind of like the old Flintloque and Warploque?

There are the Tremaire books which are the Napoleonic war with dragons.

[Easy E]

I think a Age of Sail/alt Napoleonics with fantasy races would be fun.  Magic and Muskets so to speak.  Kind of like the old Flintloque and Warploque?

There are the Tremaire books which are the Napoleonic war with dragons.

Heard of but never read. 

It might also be fun to bring fantasy races even further forward in time..... such as WWI or WWII?