The Success of Basic Fantasy and S&W

[The Wanderer]

A workshop thread sounds great!

Anyone want to stat up the blue cover characters for pregens to start us out?

[Bravesteel]

I found the blog post pretty interesting. I came to Swords & Wizardry (only just bought a shed load of books) because of Rappan Athuk, not because of the game itself. I really wanted to play through the dungeon with my group and Pathfinder is not my bag of tea, so Swords & Wizardry it is! I can honestly say that I am having a VERY interesting time learning reading through the rules, and I don't necessarily mean in a bad way, but I have really had to concentrate and wrap my head around each page. To give you a little context, I am 27 and I have played RPGS for about fifteen years, starting with AD&D 2nd Edition and immediately moving on into 3rd Edition when it surfaced and beyond. I tend to pick up rules pretty quickly, but I find the presentation quite. . .disjointed. All I have to say is thank god for the explanation boxes in S&W Complete or I'd still be figuring it all out.

Yesterday, I came across Basic Fantasy, I decided to check it out, even though I has bought roughly ~$400 worth of S&W stuff I am still waiting on the actual Frog God Games order to ship, so I delved right into it. I have to say that Basic Fantasy is simply presented WAY better than S&W Complete, like not even close in my opinion. I almost wish I had found Basic Fantasy earlier, let go of my Rappan Athuk dreams, and bought into Basic Fantasy, saving myself ~$250 give or take.

Now, I am perfectly happy with my choice, I think S&W Complete is definitely my favorite game now, but I thought I'd give a newcomer's perspective on the subject.

In terms of projects I am thinking about putting together a monthly or bi-monthly fan magazine for S&W Complete, as I have the layout skills and would be my little way of giving back to this awesome game.

[merias]

I agree, the BFRPG rulebook is very nicely presented as far as ease of understanding and where to find things. I think that reflects the continuous edit/update cycle. One of the key differences between S&W and BFRPG that makes me prefer the former, however, is the power curve. It is not as steep with BFRPG. For example, a S&W Complete M-U needs 100k XP to get access to the more powerful 5th level spells. In BFRPG, that same M-U needs 300k XP. Clerics differ even more- 48k vs. 270k XP for 5th level spells. It gets even worse (or better, I suppose this is purely subjective) when you consider that by-the-book, BFRPG does not award XP for gold. This creates a very different feel for players and refs alike. Also, welcome to the forums!

[Bravesteel]

I agree, the BFRPG rulebook is very nicely presented as far as ease of understanding and where to find things. I think that reflects the continuous edit/update cycle. One of the key differences between S&W and BFRPG that makes me prefer the former, however, is the power curve. It is not as steep with BFRPG. For example, a S&W Complete M-U needs 100k XP to get access to the more powerful 5th level spells. In BFRPG, that same M-U needs 300k XP. Clerics differ even more- 48k vs. 270k XP for 5th level spells.

That's really interesting, and I think it backs up my choice, as I think S&W is just about right in terms of advancement speed; any slower and my Pathfinder-loving group would probably get bored.

It gets even worse (or better, I suppose this is purely subjective) when you consider that by-the-book, BFRPG does not award XP for gold. This creates a very different feel for players and refs alike.!

Interesting, I didn't pick that up when I was reading BFRPG, but I can say that after reading the OSR Primer on Frog God Games' website that I really like the idea of giving XP for gold!

Also, welcome to the forums!

Thanks, glad to be here! Happy to find a place talking about S&W that doesn't appear half-dead.

Edit: One other market differentiator between BFRPG and S&W is that the former has all of their books available via Amazon, with S&W only having the S&W Complete and Monstrosities, but Monstrosities is not available through Amazon Prime.

[The Wanderer]

Edit: One other market differentiator between BFRPG and S&W is that the former has all of their books available via Amazon, with S&W only having the S&W Complete and Monstrosities, but Monstrosities is not available through Amazon Prime.

Its not complete and not official Swords and Wizardry but that's why I tried get White Box:FMAG on Amazon. Everything I release will be on Amazon.

[Bravesteel]

Its not complete and not official Swords and Wizardry but that's why I tried get White Box:FMAG on Amazon. Everything I release will be on Amazon.

Glad to hear it! I think it's a bad marketing decision (I'm a marketer so I have some knowledge in the area) to not have published products available via Amazon. The market penetration alone more than makes up for Amazon's cut.