Tenkar's Tavern: This is NOT the Swords & Wizardry: Light Setting Map - But it WAS a Great Exercise in What Can Be Done in 90 Minutes with the Right Tool

Tuesday, July 5, 2016

This is NOT the Swords & Wizardry: Light Setting Map - But it WAS a Great Exercise in What Can Be Done in 90 Minutes with the Right Tool

So, last night I got to thinking that it had been a while since I'd used the Other World Mapper program. Since I plan on making a small sandbox setting for Swords & Wizardry: Light,I opened up OWM and had at it.

The above is after about 90 minutes of tweaking. Far from finished, it did get me thinking about simple "how and whys", such as why the huge canyon, who or what is in the lands that aren't under control of a noble or some such, trade, resources and the like.

Now on to mapping something out in Black & White, as color won't work so well when something is meant to be printed at home.

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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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Tuesday, July 5, 2016

This is NOT the Swords & Wizardry: Light Setting Map - But it WAS a Great Exercise in What Can Be Done in 90 Minutes with the Right Tool

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