Tenkar's Tavern: Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea in Hand

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea in Hand

The Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea comes in a huge box, suitable for display on a bookshelf. The books are damn huge too. Heck, I haven't even unfolded the map yet, but that also looks sizable.

I'm very thankful it looks good on a shelf, as I've got Blood & Treasure and Delving Deeper to read thorough before I get to AS&SH ;)

Just got back from my mini vacation to the Poconos. Hopefully tonight I'll have the next part of the Blood & Treasure review up.

2 comments:

JasonZavodaSeptember 4, 2012 at 5:35 PM

You need to put the other books away and go straight for the Astonishing Swordsmen. This one isn't a shelf-warmer. The more I work with the Hyperborea setting the more I've come to like it.
ReplyDelete
Replies
zeroheroSeptember 4, 2012 at 6:33 PM
I agree with Jason. I was itching to run a game of Astonishing Swordsman after about 5 minutes of flipping through the Player's Book.
ReplyDelete
Replies

Add comment

Why "Swords & Wizardry?"

Believe me when I say I have them all in dead tree format. I have OSRIC in full size, trade paperback and the Player's Guide. I have LL and the AEC (and somewhere OEC, but I can't find it at the moment). Obviously I have Basic Fantasy RPG. Actually, I have the whole available line in print. Way too much Castles & Crusades. We all know my love for the DCC RPG. I even have Dark Dungeons in print, the Delving Deeper boxed set, Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea. BOTH editions of LotFP's Weird Fantasy and some dead tree copies of the Greyhawk Grognards Adventures Dark & Deep

I am so deep in the OSR when I come up for breath it's for the OSR's cousin, Tunnels & Trolls

So, out of all that, why Swords & Wizardry? Why, when I have been running a AD&D 1e / OSRIC campaign in Rappan Athuk am I using Swords & Wizardry and it's variant, Crypts & Things, for the second campaign? (Actually, now running a S&W Complete campaign, soon to be with multiple groups)

Because the shit works.

It's easy for lapsed gamers to pick up and feel like they haven't lost a step. I can house rule it and it doesn't break. It plays so close to the AD&D of my youth and college years (S&W Complete especially) that it continually surprises me. Just much less rules hopping than I remember. (my God but I can run it nearly without the book)

I grab and pick and steal from just about all OSR and Original resources. They seem to fit into S&W with little fuss. It may be the same with LL and the rest, but for me the ease of use fit's my expectations with S&W.

Even the single saving throw. That took me longer to adjust to, but even that seems like a natural to me now. Don't ask me why, it just does. Maybe it's the simplicity of it. At 45 52, simplicity and flexibility while remaining true to the feel of the original is an OSR hat trick for me ;)

Swords & Wizardry Light - Forum

RPGNow

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea in Hand

2 comments:

Blogs of Inspiration & Erudition