This morning I kicked off my Crypts & Things / Swords & Wizardry / Swords & Sorcery Campaign. Well, more of a reboot of the Swords & Wizardry campaign that lasted one session before I realized I needed lots of tweaks to make a viable 2 person party from unadulterated S&W.
One player kept his scores and morphed from a Ranger into a Thief. The other rerolled and changed from a Cleric into a Magician.
A few tweaks were made to the C&T rules:
- added cleave (ACKS version) to all the classes. All classes but Magicians improve with it as they level
- did away with the spells per day for the magician, as casting burns HP and that's already something the player need to think of strategically
- as suggested either here of on G+, a witty rejoinder to heal 1d4 HP was added in the players' bag of tricks
So, how did the session go?
The players got to roleplay in the village of Grimsgate for a bit and really seemed to enjoy it. There was just enough for them to do to track down rumors and not so much that they lost focus. They met a old farmer that was able to give them fairly accurate directions to the hill where the Elder Temple's ruins were.
The trip to the Elder Temple through the wilderness was uneventful, more due to the fact that I only had a two player party than anything else. Besides, a party of two in light armor makes much less noise than a party of six with plate mail and chain mail thrown in ;)
As for the tunnels and rooms under the Elder Temple? The party has encountered all types of near men, former men and even a demon or two. Definitely a Swords & Sorcery type of adventure for them so far. Flavor text like this is perfect:
Jylagura the Demon-Speaker has a shoulder bag made of cured human skin, which contains a number of disgusting items used in his demonic rituals, and also contains a gem carved in the shape of a demon’s head.They have at least one more session in the Elder Temple ruins, maybe one and a half. Lots of fun so far. It is playing very well. There can be no greater compliment ;)
Hey Erik, I follow a lot of your stuff on G+ and through the Swords and Wizardry discussion group (G+ as well...) and have a question about your game if you don't mind. From the sounds of things you're attempting a more sword and sorcery type feel to it? (More R.E. Howard and less J.R.R-ish if you will)
ReplyDeleteAny truth to this? If so, what are you changing (if anything) in the basic rules in order to meet the change in "genre"?
I ask because I'm in the process of attempting just that.
I'm using a mish mash of S&W and it's Crypts & Things variant, but much of it is available for perusal and poaching here: http://akraticwizardry.blogspot.com/2009/07/swords-sorcery-house-rules-index.html
DeleteSaving Throw instead of skills. All can try to use thieving skills, but thieves are the best. All can backstab. Lots of other goodies :)