Tenkar's Tavern: NTRPG Con Day 3 - Top Secret With Merle Rasmussen

Saturday, June 3, 2023

NTRPG Con Day 3 - Top Secret With Merle Rasmussen

This morning at 8 AM, Rach and I played in a Top Secret: New World Order session with Merle Rasmussen. Too early to normally be awake and fed, but worth it to play with Mr. Top Secret himself.

Our team was sent to recover a nuclear bomb lost in the Aussie Outback over 60 years ago, a Broken Arrow mission. Needless to say, we went off script in unexpected directions as a group, but Merle handled us well.

As is usual with Merle, Legos were involved ;)

Afterward, there was a Small Publishers seminar by Zach Glazar and Skeeter Green. Well done and informative.

Did I mention Steve Marsh and I caught up after the seminar? Note, the pic is from earlier in the con ;)

Next up - Awards & Auction

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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. BOTH editions of LotFP's Weird Fantasy and some dead tree copies of the Greyhawk Grognards Adventures Dark & Deep

I am so deep in the OSR when I come up for breath it's for the OSR's cousin, Tunnels & Trolls

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

Swords & Wizardry Light - Forum

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Saturday, June 3, 2023

NTRPG Con Day 3 - Top Secret With Merle Rasmussen

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