Tenkar's Tavern: Trimmed Swords & Wizardry: Light to Four Pages

Friday, June 24, 2016

Trimmed Swords & Wizardry: Light to Four Pages - Now to Rewrite & Rebuild

I do believe that is 18 monsters, all on one sheet. You should note that four pages is without an item list (weapons and armor are chosen by class and an adventurer's pack will cover the other items). Magic items are also not included, as they are meant to be special and unique and to be explained in the 4 page adventures meant to accompany the Light rules (and possible elsewhere, see below)

Spell lists are whittled down, but again, new spells from the various Swords & Wizardry rules can be introduced via adventures.

I am considering an optional Deadly Machinations four page pamphlet, which would offer GMing advice, sample magic items, random encounter charts, adding in alignment and languages and other ways to get your PCs in trouble. For the folks looking for a Thief class, this would be where they'd make an appearance, assuming they did.

The whole key to this is keeping the releases at four pages, so you can print it on one sheet at booklet settings.

Simple, short, cheap to print and viral in distribution ;)

4 comments:

Dithering FoolJune 25, 2016 at 10:36 AM
Here is a vote for including Thieves!
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Kitchen WolfJune 27, 2016 at 2:06 AM
In a game intended for beginners, I'd ditch the descending armor class. Having both is confusing, and ascending is more intuitive no matter how much some of us may love THAC0. Plus you save all the space of listing both and explaining the difference.
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Doctor FuturityJune 28, 2016 at 2:49 PM
Agree....ditch the descending AC. Also, keep thieves in there, but maybe stick to the "thievery skill" option from the S&W Companion.

On the creature list: dryads but no dragon? Hmmmm
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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 ;)

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Friday, June 24, 2016

Trimmed Swords & Wizardry: Light to Four Pages - Now to Rewrite & Rebuild

4 comments:

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