Tenkar's Tavern: More Treasures Uncovered - Role-Playing Mastery and The Complete Guide to Role-Playing Games

Saturday, October 1, 2011

More Treasures Uncovered - Role-Playing Mastery and The Complete Guide to Role-Playing Games

I never even realized that I owned Role-Playing Mastery by EGG himself and the Complete Guide to Role-Playing Games by Rick Swan. TCGTRPGs was apparently bought at Odd-Job for 88 cents.

They were packed away for at least 10 years. It feels like I've discovered OSR Gold. I'm actually more excited about finding The Complete Guide to RPGs then RP Mastery. I need to find which of these out of print games are worth while tracking down ;)

3 comments:

mikemonacoOctober 2, 2011 at 8:22 AM
Nice finds!
The Swan book is a little negative IMO (can't recall exactly what put me off but the reviews crapped all over something I really liked -- probably GURPS or Bruce Galloway's Fantasy Wargaming?). Heroic Worlds is by far a better a reference guide, but harder to find.
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Theodric the ObscureOctober 2, 2011 at 4:22 PM
I hope you'll excuse me for plugging my read-through of EGG's Role-Playing Mastery, updated most Tuesdays. http://mythopoeicrambling.blogspot.com/search/label/Tomeful%20Tuesday
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TenkarOctober 2, 2011 at 4:55 PM
Plug away lad ;)
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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 (thank you Kickstarter) (edit) BOTH editions of LotFP's Weird Fantasy and will soon have some dead tree copies of the Greyhawk Grognards Adventures Dark & Deep ~~shipping shortly~~ in my grubby hands awaiting a review..

I am so deep in the OSR when I come up for breath it's for the OSR's cousin, Tunnels & Trolls (and still waiting on dT&T to ship).

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 48, simplicity and flexibility while remaining true to the feel of the original is an OSR hat trick for me ;)

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Saturday, October 1, 2011

More Treasures Uncovered - Role-Playing Mastery and The Complete Guide to Role-Playing Games

3 comments:

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