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Sharp Swords & Sinister Spells
Publisher: Old Skull Publishing
by Christopher L. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 02/04/2021 16:08:44

From my blog: https://sisypheantales.wordpress.com/2021/02/04/sharp-swords-sinister-spells/

Sharp Swords & Sinister Spells, by Diogo Nogueira, is an OSR style, swords and sorcery game all about minimalist rules, quick play, and giving Referees and Game Masters the tools to craft adventures, locations and items on the fly with plenty of tables and idea generators.

It is 46 pages of easy to learn, quick to practice medieval fantasy roleplaying goodness. The layout is digestible. Paragraphs are not cluttered together, each topic and section is given space for the reader to take in the information without distraction from art or a blurring of tightly bound paragraphs. Keywords in the rules are put in bold print to make them easier to reference. In three pages, an aspiring Game Master or player can become familiarized with the basic rules of the game and be ready to play.

In this game, character creation is broken down to 3 Archetypes ( Warrior, Specialist, Magic User) using 4 Attributes (Physique, Agility, Intellect, Willpower). Sharp Swords uses a roll under d20 system with some additional bells and whistles like luck and usage die for adding an additional layer of chance and simplifying inventory respectively.

While the base game is simple and easy to pick up, what makes Sharp Swords & Sinister Spells great is the GM tools in the back. The first 24 pages of the book get players and the GM ready to start play and the last 13 give the GM the tools to keep the good times coming. It has what you’d expect any good Game Master section to have, a bestiary, reaction table, morale rules, and how to reward players with XP and treasure. One of my favorite things to see are the tables and kit designed to give GMs longevity. There are tables for goals, locations, NPCs, adversaries, complications and rewards. All of which are system agnostic and can be used in any other game, as a result is a simple 2d6 roll away.

Sharp Swords & Sinister Spells is an ideal addition to any Game Master, Referee, DM, etc. that enjoys light, hackable, sword & sorcery roleplaying games that not only aim to provide a solid rule set for play but a competent tool kit as well.

Post Script

There is also an Addendum to Sharp Swords & Sinister Spells that offers an expanded tool kit with optional rules for expanded vocations, handling zero level characters, sanity and madness rules, monster generators, forgotten artifacts and random life events. It, like the GM section in the core book, is just as valuable to anyone looking to run Sharp Swords or any other sword and sorcery RPG.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Sharp Swords & Sinister Spells
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