[15% of all net profit generated by this project between 07/20/20 and 08/10/20 will be donated to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.]
This book is the culmination of many other things that I have written over the past few years. I feel that Sword Omen may be my magnum opus – a collection of my best advice to referees and my favorite rule principles. While this is a stand-alone game, much of the advice herein can be applied to other systems. At 82 pages, it's also the longest game I've designed in over a decade.
Sword Omen embraces the oldest of old school edicts – rulings, not rules. The guidelines presented therein are intended to create a simple yet dynamic framework for resolving action based on common sense, rather than a set of inflexible rules that attempts to provide answers for everything. There’s really only one rule at the core of Sword Omen:
If a character’s record sheet says a character can do something or that they know something, then they can do it and they know it. Period.
I know that's a pretty unusual concept in a hobby full of games that fetishize randomizers such as dice and cards, but there it is. There are, of course, many intricacies, but that's the core of the system when broken down to its most basic element. Simple. Concise. Functional.
Sword Omen also takes a large amount of inspiration from the Original FRPG where structure is concerned. It includes a heavily implied setting, but leaves enough room for you to make it your own. Inside this book, you’ll find guidelines for creating characters, resolving challenges (including combat), a magic system, a selection of creatures, guidelines for travel and exploration, and a bunch of advice for the referee (to be fair, there is quite a bit of that throughout the book).
Conceptually, Sword Omen sits someplace between the Original FRPG and WFRP. It embraces the core themes of the Original FRPG, such as adventure, exploration, and travel, but also emphasizes the deadly nature of combat, the powerful but unpredictable and corrupting nature of magic, and darker menagerie of monsters in WFRP.
Sword Omen features black and white art by Carlos Casthilo, Daniel Comerci, Dean Spencer, Henriette Boldt, kjpargeter (via freepik), and Yuri Perkowski Domingos which has been carefully chosen to convey this implied setting and envisioned tone of the game, as well as conjure up images of the aesthetic of the Original FRPG.
Sword Omen is laid out as a small format document for easy tablet (or phone) viewing, plus it has been bookmarked for quick reference.
This book is the culmination of many other things that I have written over the past few years. I feel that Sword Omen may be my magnum opus – a collection of my best advice to referees and my favorite rule principles. While this is a stand-alone game, much of the advice herein can be applied to other systems. At 82 pages, it's also the longest game I've designed in over a decade.
Sword Omen embraces the oldest of old school edicts – rulings, not rules. The guidelines presented therein are intended to create a simple yet dynamic framework for resolving action based on common sense, rather than a set of inflexible rules that attempts to provide answers for everything. There’s really only one rule at the core of Sword Omen:
If a character’s record sheet says a character can do something or that they know something, then they can do it and they know it. Period.
I know that's a pretty unusual concept in a hobby full of games that fetishize randomizers such as dice and cards, but there it is. There are, of course, many intricacies, but that's the core of the system when broken down to its most basic element. Simple. Concise. Functional.
Sword Omen also takes a large amount of inspiration from the Original FRPG where structure is concerned. It includes a heavily implied setting, but leaves enough room for you to make it your own. Inside this book, you’ll find guidelines for creating characters, resolving challenges (including combat), a magic system, a selection of creatures, guidelines for travel and exploration, and a bunch of advice for the referee (to be fair, there is quite a bit of that throughout the book).
Conceptually, Sword Omen sits someplace between the Original FRPG and WFRP. It embraces the core themes of the Original FRPG, such as adventure, exploration, and travel, but also emphasizes the deadly nature of combat, the powerful but unpredictable and corrupting nature of magic, and darker menagerie of monsters in WFRP.
Sword Omen features black and white art by Carlos Casthilo, Daniel Comerci, Dean Spencer, Henriette Boldt, kjpargeter (via freepik), and Yuri Perkowski Domingos which has been carefully chosen to convey this implied setting and envisioned tone of the game, as well as conjure up images of the aesthetic of the Original FRPG.
Sword Omen is laid out as a small format document for easy tablet (or phone) viewing, plus it has been bookmarked for quick reference.
In order to download this game you must purchase it at or above the minimum price of $13 USD. You will get access to the following files:
I purchased this game and having gone through it, I'm excited. It has a flexible frame, you can adapt to any setting. A great RPG to introduce new players to the hobby.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the kind words (I'm the author of Sword Omen)!
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