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Re: The Success of Basic Fantasy and S&W

Posted: Wed Sep 07, 2016 10:46 pm
by The Wanderer
A workshop thread sounds great!

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

Re: The Success of Basic Fantasy and S&W

Posted: Fri Sep 09, 2016 10:35 pm
by 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.

Re: The Success of Basic Fantasy and S&W

Posted: Sun Sep 11, 2016 4:30 pm
by 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!

Re: The Success of Basic Fantasy and S&W

Posted: Sun Sep 11, 2016 5:04 pm
by Bravesteel
merias wrote: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.
merias wrote: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!
merias wrote: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.

Re: The Success of Basic Fantasy and S&W

Posted: Sun Sep 11, 2016 8:03 pm
by The Wanderer
Bravesteel wrote:
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.

Re: The Success of Basic Fantasy and S&W

Posted: Sun Sep 11, 2016 8:06 pm
by Bravesteel
The Wanderer wrote:
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.