Spellcraft & Swordplay Revised & Wasted Lands (per email message)
Mar 9, 2023 20:13:23 GMT -5
The Semi-Retired Gamer and Morose like this
Post by The Perilous Dreamer on Mar 9, 2023 20:13:23 GMT -5
Product announcement: (and yes to thegreyelf, I think this is a brilliant idea)
Over at odd74 ( I don't have the link) thegreyelf posted this: (I got this by email and I don't have links, so if anyone wants to post them please do)(finarvyn or Falconer)
thegreyelf says:
Over at odd74 ( I don't have the link) thegreyelf posted this: (I got this by email and I don't have links, so if anyone wants to post them please do)(finarvyn or Falconer)
thegreyelf says:
So I had a brainstorm in the shower this morning, and I hope it will be well-received.
For quite some time now I have been promising that an updated revised Spellcraft & Swordplay was in the pipeline, and that it would be getting a proper treatment.
That time is now.
Wasted Lands: The Dreaming Age will have not one, but TWO rules chapters. Chapter Four will be entitled "Powered by O.G.R.E.S." and will present the O.G.R.E.S. system with which you're now familiar from Night Shift: VSW and which is our current house system moving forward. Chapter Five will be entitled "Powered by O.R.C.S." and will include the full revised O.R.C.S. rules - essentially making Wasted Lands also function as Spellcraft & Swordplay revised. You will be able to choose seamlessly which rules system you want to use.
Elements of the game that are suited to either system will be found in the O.G.R.E.S. chapter, as that's our house system moving forward. You will be surprised (or you might not) at just how compatible the two systems are - they use many of the same underlying assumptions and ranges - ability scores, for example, use the exact same bonuses in both systems. Even the core resolution is the same, just with different numbers (O.G.R.E.S uses 1d20 + bonuses vs. TN 20; O.R.C.S. uses 2d6 + bonuses vs. TN 14).
This seemed the best way to continue the legacy of Spellcraft & Swordplay without the need to support two completely separate game lines, which in the end aren't all that different, and without the added expense of additional core books (which require extra art, layout, editing, and printing, and which divide the fanbase). It streamlines company operations, gives everyone the game they want, and allows for a single line of support materials, unifying Elf Lair Games. I'm excited to see what everyone thinks of the grand experiment. I think you'll enjoy it, and it further cements Elf Lair's slogans of The New Class of Old School, and Your Game, Your Way.
For quite some time now I have been promising that an updated revised Spellcraft & Swordplay was in the pipeline, and that it would be getting a proper treatment.
That time is now.
Wasted Lands: The Dreaming Age will have not one, but TWO rules chapters. Chapter Four will be entitled "Powered by O.G.R.E.S." and will present the O.G.R.E.S. system with which you're now familiar from Night Shift: VSW and which is our current house system moving forward. Chapter Five will be entitled "Powered by O.R.C.S." and will include the full revised O.R.C.S. rules - essentially making Wasted Lands also function as Spellcraft & Swordplay revised. You will be able to choose seamlessly which rules system you want to use.
Elements of the game that are suited to either system will be found in the O.G.R.E.S. chapter, as that's our house system moving forward. You will be surprised (or you might not) at just how compatible the two systems are - they use many of the same underlying assumptions and ranges - ability scores, for example, use the exact same bonuses in both systems. Even the core resolution is the same, just with different numbers (O.G.R.E.S uses 1d20 + bonuses vs. TN 20; O.R.C.S. uses 2d6 + bonuses vs. TN 14).
This seemed the best way to continue the legacy of Spellcraft & Swordplay without the need to support two completely separate game lines, which in the end aren't all that different, and without the added expense of additional core books (which require extra art, layout, editing, and printing, and which divide the fanbase). It streamlines company operations, gives everyone the game they want, and allows for a single line of support materials, unifying Elf Lair Games. I'm excited to see what everyone thinks of the grand experiment. I think you'll enjoy it, and it further cements Elf Lair's slogans of The New Class of Old School, and Your Game, Your Way.
Well, this has been an adventure. It turned out to be serendipitous because it pointed out some GLARING holes in the O.G.R.E.S. rules that I had to address, such as mounted combat, travel times on foot, combat circumstances such as concealment, cover, and prone, and other things that come up in fantasy way more than they do in modern games. The good news is I'm full speed ahead back on Wasted Lands, now.
