daemon@decwrl.UUCP (10/26/83)
From: Ed Featherston HL01-1/P06 225-5241 <roll::featherston>
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Newsgroup : net.games.frp
>From : ROYAL::RAVAN
Organization : Digital Equipment Corp.
Subj: Review of "Swordbearer"
After several years of running a variant of AD&D, I switched my
dungeon to Swordbearer rules. The following is a review of
Swordbearer for those who are unfamiliar with it.
The Swordbearer system was published by Heritage, after which
(not as a direct result, I hope) Heritage went out of business.
I learned that the game has been purchased by Fantasy Games
Unlimited, and that the game designer is working on a new
version. I hope sincerely that this is all true, because the
first version of Swordbearer, incomplete though it was, contained
some very good elements, including the best magic system I have
ever seen.
Briefly, SB is a skill-based system rather than class-based;
there are no rigid character classes, although areas of
specialization do exist. There are no levels either; individual
skills improve as they are used (and only IF they are used).
This makes for more varied characters and more emphasis on
role-playing. Disadvantages include the difficulty of deciding
which "skill" a specific action involves (is "diving off a cliff"
really a "jumping" skill, is it a "diving" skill, or is it a
specific skill all by itself?), and the risk of accumulating
hundreds of different skills, each with a different percentage
chance of success.
The combat system resembles Runequest somewhat, in that there are
various body locations, each of which may have different armor.
Swordbearer does not use increased hit points to indicate
improvements in a fighter's abilities; instead, the amount of
damage a character can take remains pretty much unchanged
throughout his/her lifetime. Armor can absorb some damage, and a
successful parry or use of a shield will turn aside most damage
from a single blow. Damage to weapons, shield, and armor are
more common than in AD&D; if you pit your longsword against a
foe's greatsword, it is very likely that your weapon will break.
(Note: all this does require rather more bookkeeping and math
than AD&D.)
The magic system is simple, yet has great subtlety. It explains
why mages hoard their secrets so jealously, why they live apart
from humanity most of the time, and why the use of the most
powerful magicks tend to draw mages toward evil. If
rationalizations are needed for limiting the abilities of
non-human races, this magic system provides logical and
consistent reasons. Even better, there is a built-in safeguard
that allows the DM to control the amount of magic available
without disrupting the "world" too much.
I will provide a more detailed explanation if anyone is
interested. If you aren't satisfied with any of the magic
systems that have long lists of mostly unrelated spells, with
little or no explanation of why they work or when they fail, you
might want to pick up Swordbearer. (Note: there are some
serious flaws in the system; I have had little difficulty
working around them so far, but they will probably demand major
effort in the future. Still, I think Swordbearer is required
reading for anyone who is comparing gaming systems.)
Miscellaneous: Anybody out there play "Thieves' Guild"? Anybody
heard of BART (Brotherhood of Adventurers, Rogues, and Thieves)?
(This isn't a puzzle, I'm just looking for other interested
parties.)
/beth ravan/
Mail address : ...decvax!decwrl!rhea!royal!ravan
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