Tome of Adventure Design DEAL OF THE DAY

Just 7.70€ (8.40$) for the next 20 hours or so on Drive...

...it's a steal (normally would be 21$)

an interesting book on adventure creation by Matthew Finch the author of Swords & Wizardry.

in the book you will find a lot of useful indication on how to create adventures.

If you want to buy it go through the Tenkar's Tavern review to tip the good Tenkar!

Tenkar Tavern Tome of Adventure Design LINK

To get a better picture of the book take a look at the comprehensive table of contents.

You get the direct link to the product here: Tome of Adventure Design LINK.

Two Kickstarters

Two interesting kickstarter I have recently backed

Astonishing Swordsmen and Sorcerers of Hyperborea 2nd edition

the first one is an excellent OSR inspired to AD&D 1st edition with a nice number of twists. The first edition was successful and this one is more good stuff in a single book. Shipping costs outside of the USA are a bit high but the books are premium quality

Aventuria - Dark Eye almanac

the second one is a guide to the world of the Dark Eye.

The english version of this german rpg was very successful and full of nice add ons. I hope this one will be similar.

Warhammer inspired RPG on kickstarter

A kickstarter for a Warhammer forward-clone!

Inspired by Warhammer Fantasy Role Play 2nd edition here comes ZWEIHANDER GRIM AND PERILOUS RPG

Cover of much loved 1st edition WHFRP

Cover of much streamlined 2nd edition WHFRP

Seelie Knight a Swords & Wizardry racial class for the 2016 S&W Appreciation Day

This is my contribution to the 2016 Swords & Wizardry appreciation day, the entry for the 2013 appreciation day is here: Swords & Wizardry short review and new class.

In this article we propose an elven "racial class" adding a new class to the choice of character class for the S&W game and introducing the concept of racial classes in S&W. Racial classes can explore dungeons side by side with all the other classes present in the S&W rules as convincingly demonstrated by the excellent Fantastic Heroes & Witchery simulacrum.

Racial class add one or more distinctive class that are representative of the ideals of a certain race, the race in question have no level limits in its racial class while other races usually cannot progress in this class, half-races are the exception. For example Half-Elves can progress in elven racial classes but have level limits, human and other races will have stricter level limits. It's not possible to multi-class in racial classes.

The Seelie Knight

The Seelie Knight is a champion of the Seelie court, trained in combat (he fights as a Fighter) in poetry and gifted with glamorous magic. They fight for flowers and blood wreaking confusion in the battle with their magic.

Prime Attribute: Charisma 13+ (the character gains a +5% experience bonus if their Prime Attribute is 13 or higher.)
Hit Dice: 1d6/level (a Seelie Knight gains just 1 hp/level after 9th.)
Armor/Shield Permitted: Seelie Knight are able to use armor up to chain mail or any shield effectively.
Weapons Permitted: Seelie Knight are able to use any weapon effectively
Race: Only elves and half-elves (max 12th level, 13th with 18 charisma) may become Seelie Knights.

Table: Seelie Knigh advancement

XP	Faerie Spells 1st/2nd/3rd/4th/5th	Level	Hit Dice	Saving Throw
0	-/-/-/-/-	1	1d6	15
3'000	1/-/-/-/-	2	2d6	14
6'000	2/-/-/-/-	3	3d6	13
12'000	3/-/-/-/-	4	4d6	12
24'000	3/1/-/-/-	5	5d6	11
48'000	3/2/-/-/-	6	6d6	10
96'000	3/3/-/-/-	7	7d6	9
200'000	3/3/1/-/-	8	8d6	8
330'000	3/3/2/-/-	9	9d6	7
460'000	3/3/3/-/-	10	9d6+1	6
590'000	3/3/3/1/-	11	9d6+2	5
720'000	3/3/3/2/-	12	9d6+3	4
850'000	3/3/3/3/-	13	9d6+4	4
980'000	3/3/3/3/1	14	9d6+5	4
1'110'000	3/3/3/3/2	15	9d6+6	4
1'110'000	3/3/3/3/3	16	9d6+7	4
1'110'000	4/4/3/3/3	17	9d6+8	4
1'110'000	4/4/4/4/3	18	9d6+9	4
1'110'000	4/4/4/4/4	19	9d6+10	4
1'110'000	5/5/4/4/4	20	9d6+11	4
1'110'000	5/5/5/5/4	21	9d6+12	4
+130'000 per level	same progression	+1	+1/Level	4

Requirements and Limitations

Seelie Knight owe alliance to a Seelie Lord and the Seelie Queen, direct order from their lord cannot be ignored

Class Abilities

Weapon Training

Seelie Knights at 3rd level gain +1 to hit and damage with swords and spears

Spell Casting

Seelie Knights cast “faerie” spells from a specific list, with numbers as per Table: Seelie Kinght Advancement. Each day, the Seelie Knight can cast a number of spell from the standard list as shown in the table he needs not to prepare the spell and as long as has use he can cast the same spell over and over. 

Saving Throw Bonuses

Seelie Knights gain a +2 bonus on saving throws against being paralyzed and illusion.

Establish Seelie Stronghold

At 9th level, a Seelie Baron (9th level title) may establish a stronghold and attract 1d4 3rd level Seelie Knights and 2d6 1st level Seelie Knights who will swear fealty to the character as loyal retainers.

Spell Lists ("Known spells")

Level Number	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th
1	Charm Person	Detect Invisibility	Clairaudience	Charm Monster	Create Food
2	Cure Light Wounds	Hold Person	Clairvoyance	Cure Serious Wounds	Feeblemind
3	Detect Magic	Invisibility	Cure Disease	Neutralize Poison	Finger of Death
4	Light	Mirror Image	Dispel Magic	Hallucinatory Terrain	Hold Monster
5	Purify Food and Drink	Phantasmal Force	Locate Object	Massmorph	Quest
6	Shield	Snake Charm	Suggestion	Polymorph Other	Telekinesis
7	Sleep	Speak With Animals	Remove Curse	Polymorph Self	Wizard Eye

Continually spell slot recharging and sorcery for all

Rule

Spell-casters recharge spell slot as follows:
1) must be awake
2) must not be tired
3) 1 level of spell slot each 2 turns (20 minutes)
4) must be recovered first lower level spell slots then higher level ones 
5) while recovering spell slots spellcasters are more easily surprised (-2 on surprise rolls)
6) if a spell is cast spell recovery is interrupted
7) no more than 30 spell slot level day

Note: in effect all spell caster function as D&D 3.x sorcerer with the added benefit of recharging continually (but this is an hindrance at higher levels), and the possibility to change ready spell (but this take longer than before). The number and levels of spell in a caster Spell Progression no more represent the spell a caster can cast in a single day but the maximum number of charged spell slot that the spell caster can have at any given moment. 

The number of ready spell is equal to the number of spells in the Spell Progression +2 for each level (a 1st level magic user in AD&D 1st edition can have 3 1st level spell ready, and 1 spell charge, at 3rd level it will have ready 4 1st and 3 2nd level spell and it will have 2 1st and 1 2nd level charge).

To change ready spell the spell caster need 1h*spell level with his book or in sacred place (if of divine nature) plus 10gp*spell level in ingredients, without his book it must engage in spell research or study under a mentor (that can also be a monster or extraplanar creature) in this case the time grows steeply:

• book/sacred place: 1h*level + 10gp*level of spell to ready
• mentor: 1day*level+100gp*level of spell to ready + service to be contracted with the mentor
• research/meditation: 1week*level+1000gp*level of spell to ready

Examples

1) Toran a 5th level Spellsword can charge up to 
2 slot of 1st level, 2 of 2nd and 1 of 3rd.

In a tough encounter with a band of ogres Toran cast a Lightning Bolt and a Magic Missile discharging a 3rd level slot and a 1st level one. After 20' the 1st level slot will be fully recharged, after another 60' also the the 3rd level slot will be recharged. But while recharging Toran will be -2 on surprise rolls, and if after the first 40' (he recharged fully the 1st level slot, but the 3rd level one is still recharging) he need to cast Invisibility he will need to start recharging from 0 and after 40' will recharge the 2nd level slot and will need other 60' to recharge the 3rd level slot

2) Eward a 14th level Archmage can charge up to 
4 slot of  1st, 4 of 2nd, 4 of 3rd, 4 of 4th, 3 of 5th and 3 of 6th.

His tower sieged by powerful forces Eward must use all his magical power during the 1st wave of attacks, now he will slowly but continually recharge his spell slot but first he will recharge his lower level slots. After 2h he will have recharged 4 1st level slot and 1 2nd level slot. To fully recharge all his spell slot (since slot will recharge only while the mage is awake and not tired) he will need 146 turns or 24 hours and 20 minutes about 3 days without casting any spell (and he cannot recharge more than 30 level each day, so since the total of spell slot is 73 levels he needs more than 2 days to fully recharge).

Designer's Notes

This simple rule changes a fundamental assumption in the ACKS magical system (but also of the D&D 5th edition system and of the sorcerer spell system of D&D 3.x and Pathfinder) that spell-caster recover all their spell slot in the morning after one night of rest (and about one hour of meditation).

This assumption is derivative from 3rd edition D&D, in fact in 2nd edition spell caster needed to impress spell in their memory taking 10' for each spell level (and in 1st edition the time was 15' for each spell level as it is also in OSRIC and Adventures Dark and Deep). The strange thing is that this assumption makes things harder for lower level spell-caster and give way too much power to high level spell caster.

In ACKS a 1st level arcane spell-caster has 1 level of spell/day and at the 14th level arcane spell-caster 73 level of spell/day (divine spell caster are not so far off and the numbers are not so different also in D&D 5th edition or for sorcerers in D&D/d20 system like 3.x sorcerer or Pathfinder sorcerer) this means that we have a gigantic difference in raw power from 1st to 14th level, no other classes see such a difference in raw power.

Introducing this rule we have that magical capacity of recovery is constant during the day and independent from caster level with, at least, the following beneficial effects:

1. spell caster will never be short of low level spells (a problem that in later edition of the game was resolved giving at will powers to caster and in previous edition with cantrips); 
2. high level spell caster to get fully recharged need more than one day w/out spell casting (as in older edition) as you can see in our 2nd example where the Archmage Eward ned almost 3 day to get fully recharged;

I decided for 20' (or 2 turns) because in ACKS you roll for wandering monsters each 2 turns.

Trance/Meditation (ACKS)
To modify the Trance/Meditation Proficiency is a necessary rule change with the rule presented: While in a meditation spell caster recharge 1 level of spell slot each turn. The mage can use meditation up to a number of hours equal to the maximum level of spell he can use.

Wizard Spell Recovery (D&D 5th)
Wizard can keep this edge since it can be used a limited number of times each day.

NOTE: for the italian version of this one go here: Ricarica Magica Continua

Martial Elf Ranger of the 1st Forest an ACKS Wednesday post

This is a class developed using the Martial Elf race for the Adventurer Conqueror King System RPG (or ACKS rpg in brief) using (at the best of my ability) the rules for building classes presented in the ACKS Player's Companion.

The Ranger of the 1st Forest is the first class I present for the Martial Elves, some of this classes will have "of the 1st" in the name since they are inspired by some classes of AD&D 1st edition.

The Ranger of the 1st Forest is built trying to mimic the 1st edition Ranger.

Prime requisite: str, dex
Requirements: wis 9, int 9
Hit dice: d6* (+1 at 1st level)
Maximum Level: 12

XP	Title	Level	Hit Dice
0	Runner	1	2d6
2'650	Strider	2	3d6
5'300	Scout	3	4d6
10'600	Courser	4	5d6
21'200	Tracker	5	6d6
42'400	Guide	6	7d6
80'000	Pathfinder	7	8d6
160'000	Ranger	8	9d6
320'000	Ranger Knight	9	10d6
500'000	Ranger Lord	10	10d6+2*
680'000	Ranger Lord	11	10d6+4*
860'000	Ranger Lord	12	10d6+6*

*Constitution bonus no longer apply

Level	Divine Spell 1st/2nd/3rd	Arcane Spell 1st/2nd	Additional melee Damage bonus vs Beastman & Giants
1	-	-	0
2	-	-	+1
3	-	-	+1
4	-	-	+2
5	-	-	+2
6	-	-	+3
7	1/0/0	-	+3
8	2/0/0	-	+4
9	2/1/0	1/0	+4
10	2/2/0	2/0	+5
11	2/2/1	2/1	+5
12	2/2/2	2/2	+6

Ranger Divine Spell repertoire (5 spell per level):
1st level: Cure light wounds, Locate Animal or Plant, Predict Weather, Pass w/out trace, Resist Cold
2nd level: Charm Animal, Delay Poison, Resist Fire, Snake Charm, Speak w/animals
3rd level: Call lightning, Cure disease, Eyes of the eagle, Growth of Animals, Water Breathing

Ranger Arcane Spell Repertoire: like a mage and needs a spell book (must find a teacher to learn spells or to change them), rarely a ranger will change his arcane repertoire

Ranger Skill list: as Elven Ranger in ACKS Player's Companion

A Martial Elf Ranger of the 1st forest can build an Elven fastness

In ACKS terms it is built as follow:

(1625) Martial Elf 3 +
(0625) Mage 1 (delayed availability Level-8)* +
(0250) Cleric 1 (delayed availability Level-6)**

*max 2nd level spells
** max 3rd level spell, +1 3rd level spell

as a five point class The Ranger of the 1st Forest has a level limit of 12

trade off
Unrestricted armor to Broad (+1 power) +150 XP
no turning undead (+1 power)
* & ** (+1 power)

total cost 2500+150=2650

powers:
+tracking (like elven ranger)
+bonus melee damage vs beastman and giants: ranger adds +1 to damage at 2nd level, 4th, 6th, 8th, 10th and 12th (for +6 that is cumulative to the +5 from fighting 2)
+bonus hd at 1st level (so he goes from 2d6 at 1st to 10d6 at 9th level + 2hp additional levels)

Designer's note
I eyeballed the value of some non standard trade-off but I think that I come close to ACKS standards.
Obviously any suggestion is welcome.

Dragons from Brazil

Two OSR Dragons were born in Brazil, they hatched in the comfortable caverns under RedBox Edition.

I bought them in pdf format from their online store (hoping that it will become simpler in the next days).

The first one is a fantasy rpg "Old Dragon", this one I also printed out (I can just skim pdf but to really read something I have to print it.... ok I am not really into portuguese but I can get around a bit to get what is going on.

I must say that this is not a review but just "first impressions" from reading here and there. But I am getting really good vibe from this two games.

Old Dragon is a clever mix of Swords & Sorcery, 3rd edition and BECM plus something new and fresh. 

You get the classical six attributes and bonus like in 3rd edition (+1 each 2 point over 10, bonus spell for high Int or Wis) and from previous editions (% bonus to thief abilities, % to know spells, % of resurrection, % bonus to reaction, a bonus to the number of undead turned by clerics based on Charisma).

There are the 4 classical races: human, dwarf, elf and halfling (each get a +2/-2 to one attribute, human get to chose where) with the usual special abilities, there are no level limits and no multiclassing.

Hit dice are like in Ad&D (Cleric d8, thief d6, mages d4, fighter d10 - but not elf fighters), the classes are the four basic classes but each of them have 2 or more specialization that can be taken around 5th level, such specialization work like the druid and knight/avenger of BECM (you get some powers at higher levels).

Each classes have a To hit Bonus and a Saving Throw (only one like in Swords & Sorcery), the interesting thing is the progression of the To Hit that is quick up to 10th level and then slow down (so a Fighter will have +10/+4 at 10th level but only +15/+9 at 20th level - in the tables the Fighter is the only one to have double bonus).

Clerical spells go up to 7th level, Mages spells to 9th.... there are monsters, spells, magical objects and rules for the Master. The game is complete in 150 pages plus appendix...

We have the classical Law, Neutral and Chaos alignment.

In the monster section we also get old buddy Cthulhu

As you can see even at first glance the game is a lot of old school fun... but the Old Dragon is not the only Dragon as we said.

Indeed the nice people from RedBox Edition also get us Space Dragon a pulp space opera osr rpg based on the same overall system (with adjustments) of the Old Dragon rule set.

In this second game we get 3 races (human, android and mutants), Science take the place of Wisdom and Comunication the place of Charisma. We also get 4 classes (Scientist - that can deactivate robots instead of turning undead, Prowler - a thief, spy and pirate, SpaceMan - pilots and fighters, Mentalist) like in old dragon each class get specialization based on affiliation that get alignments in space, you can be Lealist, Neutral or Rebel.

Then we have spaceships, aliens, relics, powers and all that you need for your pulp space opera rpg in less than 200 pages.

This two games are a steal at less 4 euro/dollar each (consider that the price of both manual in pdf is 12.90 R$ and each US$ or Euro is worth around 4 R$, a R$ is the Brazilian Real, for the two books 25.80 R$ I cached out 6.59 Euro), I suggest you to add this fine OSR books to your rpg collections....

My beautiful printed copy

Interior art

I have to add that a new edition boxed set of Old dragon is coming (that is a box with the rules and some additional goodies as was explained by Fabiano Neme - one of the authors - in the comments), you can find the news here: Old Dragon New Boxed set 

with new logo and graphics and a new print of the bestiary with a hard cover (capa dura!)... looking forward to getting also the new edition new printed versions!