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Thursday, September 14, 2017

James Kramer is Looking for a Home for Usherwood Publishing and its Titles

This has been a tough week in the OSR. First we lost James Koti to cancer over the weekend. Wednesday night we lost Mona Dowie to cancer. Now, James Kramer, owner of Usherwood Publishing is fighting an inoperable brain tumor.

James is looking for a new home for his Usherwood releases. I suspect the best known release is the A5 trim of the OSRIC rules, released in conjunction with Blackblade Publishing.

He posted about it at Knights & Knaves:

Its funny. I've always followed the Usherwood releases and have the "pocket" edition of OSRIC on my desk and yet I never associated James with it. Never too late to learn.

If you have a serious offer please email James with it.

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 ;)

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Thursday, September 14, 2017

James Kramer is Looking for a Home for Usherwood Publishing and its Titles

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