Joined: 02 Aug 2011
Posts: 9
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Hey all you Kobolds! Let's do a little time travelling back to 1973 and play a little game no one had ever conceived before. This was the very first edition of the game we've all come to know and love, now reinvisioned by Matthew J. Finch into an Ennie winning rules set known as Swords & Wizardry.
If you already play Swords & Wizardry, it’s the quality of the book that’s going to knock your socks off. If you don’t already play Swords & Wizardry, then this book is your ticket to what the oldest of old school gaming was (and still is) all about. For a beginning gamer the simplicity is perfect; but Swords & Wizardry really shows its stuff in the hands of experienced gamers. The essential core of the game is described in the book, but what makes the 1974 version of the game different is that it is highly customizable for each individual gaming table. In fact, the book describes several of the most common variations on the major rules. So your group can pick it up and play immediately (using the default rules as described), and as the campaign develops, choose to vary or add to the rules using the option “modules” that are in here.
The ‘70s was a decade of freaky improvisation, weird fantasy, and rebellion. And that’s Swords & Wizardry. If that’s how you roll, all the rest is just details. As we’ve said since 2008: The Original Game is so powerful because it is encapsulated in a small formula, like a genie kept imprisoned in the small compass of an unremarkable lamp. Take this framework, and then imagine the hell out of it!
We at Frog God Games want this book to be made available for a whole new generation of players. It is the ease of play and simplicity of the rules that make it easy, with a little supervision, for even little kids to pick up with relative ease. Bill Webb, CEO of Frog God Games, himself taught his two children to play when they were tiny tots. To this end we are attempting another kickstarter for a rules set that works with the massive Rappan Athuk, the Dungeon of Graves (S&W version). We want to get enough of these books printed to send through distribution and into brick and mortar stores.
As a thanks to one of the original creators, we offered to Gail Gygax a donation to the Gary Gygax memorial fund. This was her response:
"Frog God Games has a new Kickstarter project: the reprint of the Swords & Wizardry Rules. Everyone is talking about it! These old school rules are right in line with Gary's vision of the game. It is good to see them continuing the tradition started in 1973 and keeping the flame alive. I am so appreciative of the added efforts of Frog God Games to donate a portion of all book sales to the Gygax Memorial Fund. Several other companies are similarly providing support to include, True Dungeon, Wizards of the Coast, and many others. It is wonderful to see our industry coming together to make Gary's memorial a reality." - Gail Gygax
Frog God Games website link: http://www.talesofthefroggod.com/index.php
Kickstarter link: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/froggodgames/swords-and-wizardry-the-actual-1st-edition-rolepla
P.S. We've had such a response so far that we've already blown through our initial bonus levels. This means that, among other fun bonus rewards, Erol Otus will be doing our cover art for both the reprinting of Swords & Wizardry Complete and the new Monster Book. |
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