FLASHING BLADES boxed set + HIGH SEAS expansionMark Pettigrew design: 1984 - Fantasy Games Unlimited (Complete boxed set), 1985 - Fantasy Games Unlimited (High Seas expansion)
A complete role-playing game plus expansion set in the swashbuckling era of the Three Musketeers in 17th-century France. A time of adventure and intrigue in which the rival interests of King and Cardinal played a deadly game across France and all of Europe.
FLASHING BLADES boxed set comes complete with the following:
- 49-page b&w illustrated rulebook.
- 15-page b&w illustrated book of three introductory adventures to get the campaign started.
- 1- illustrated judge's screen.
- 1- Mase character sheet suitable for photocopying.
- FGU game price list
- 2-D6 & 1-D20 in clear storage bag. (included here although not included in original game)
FLASHING BLADES HIGH SEAS includes the following:
- 41-page b&w illustrated expansion
- Adventure in the New World and Caribbean
- New colonial characters, new skills, and backgrounds
- Rules for shipbuilding, types, sea travel, trade, ship-to-ship combat.
- Mini-campaign amidst the pirates of the Spanish Main.
Rules in base game are included to cover character creation and skills, secrets and advantages, combat careers, economics, military campaigns and character involvement, politics and social standing. Detailed background sections provide a view of the political climate, laws, religion, customs, lifestyles, and a total 'feel' for the period. The introductory adventures are designed to demonstrate a wide variety of adventure styles possible within this popular genre as they deal with out-and-out combat, intrigue, international politics, and the social picture.
The Complete Guide to Role-Playing Games review called Flashing Blades "the best-ever RPG of its kind." Especially liked is the Advantage and Secret possessed by each character, writing that these "steer adventures in unexpected directions, and also encourage the players to pursue their own agendas, often at the expense of their comrades." The game mechanics "detailed but not overly complicated" and the combat system "flexible ... without the burden of endless computations."