4/19/13

Five For Friday 17: Swords & Wizardry Five Ways

This is my wrap-up post for my week-long celebration of Swords & Wizardry. Here are five different approaches to Swords & Wizardry that I enjoy (in alphabetical order):
  • Crypts & Things: A good example what can happen by thoughtfully adding a few cool tweaks AND deleting extraneous materials. A very swords & sorcery approach, with a bit of horror thrown in. The mage class, a combination of cleric and magic-user, is particularly good.
  • Majestic Wilderlands: Rob Conley's (Bat in the Attic) setting has a very "played in" feel to it for good reason: It has been his setting for thirty years.
  • Qalidar:  Christina Lea's pandimensional ruined city is a very cool setting for Swords & Wizardry. I am thinking this would be an interesting setting for a GURPS campaign, as well.
  • Swords & Wizardry Complete Rules: This is an almost exact replica of what I was playing back in 1977--a weird mix of Holmes D&D, the four supplements, the AD&D Monster Manual, and Judges Guild's Ready Ref Sheets.
  • Swords & Wizardry Core: The simplicity of it all is the key to what makes it work so well...plus the PDF is free.