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May 18, 2013, 10:35pm

Original D&D Discussion :: Other :: Other Editions and Simulacrum Games :: Swords & Wizardry :: My review of S&W

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Topic: My review of S&W (Read 683 times)

Julian Grimm
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My review of S&W
« Thread Started on Apr 11, 2009, 8:06pm »

I attempted my first review of anything and decided to start with S&W. You can find it here if you are interested.

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Jason Coplen
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Re: My review of S&W
« Reply #1 on Apr 11, 2009, 9:02pm »

Nice. I enjoyed that article, friend.

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garish
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Re: My review of S&W
« Reply #2 on Apr 13, 2009, 6:59am »

Nice review, JG. For a game that is accused of being for disgruntled oldsters, I sure find that younger kids love Oe and get their heads into it quickly. It seems you have the same experience.
Have an exalt.

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Julian Grimm
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Re: My review of S&W
« Reply #3 on Apr 13, 2009, 10:39am »

The accusations just make me smile. Except for a small few publishers most games have gotten so complicated that they loose new gamers and even vets. Add in the ridiculous price points of the games and games like S&W, BFRPG. LL and C&C and others become more interesting to price savvy gamers and those who need a good 'introductory' game.

Thanks to the OGL and those with the drive to produce these systems we can now have the classic style game that will bring in the new generation. I only wish I had the money to donate for a proper print run of S&W to get the game more known.

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Re: My review of S&W
« Reply #4 on Apr 13, 2009, 1:45pm »

Apr 13, 2009, 10:39am, Julian Grimm wrote:

I only wish I had the money to donate for a proper print run of S&W to get the game more known.

Dan Proctor did a distribution drive (selling special edition hardcovers for $50) for Labyrinth Lord to get a real print run accomplished (although his distributor is now out of business, you can still get LL from your local Barnes & Noble). Perhaps Matt will eventually do something similar with S&W.

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Julian Grimm
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Re: My review of S&W
« Reply #5 on Apr 13, 2009, 2:51pm »

I could jump on to that but I need $50 bucks first. Mrs. Grimm is rather tight on the purse strings.

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mythmere
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Re: My review of S&W
« Reply #6 on Apr 13, 2009, 3:03pm »

It's not really in my plans, because going into a distributor network would require an increase in the price of the books. If we seem, at some point, to have saturated the market we're reaching through the internet, I'll consider this. But right now, sales are steady and pretty good. Until it drops off, I prefer to be giving people the low prices.

Being in distribution requires a pretty hefty cut to be paid to the distributor and the store. The consumer has to pay that.

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Julian Grimm
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Re: My review of S&W
« Reply #7 on Apr 13, 2009, 4:11pm »

Very understandable. And think of the creativity this opens up for those of us who plan on making our own boxed sets and such. This is why I am liking this end of gaming so much more. It's like we've moved back to the days where you can have fun with all aspects of the game not just a few.

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John Adams
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Re: My review of S&W
« Reply #8 on Apr 13, 2009, 5:53pm »

Apr 13, 2009, 10:39am, Julian Grimm wrote:

Thanks to the OGL and those with the drive to produce these systems we can now have the classic style game that will bring in the new generation. I only wish I had the money to donate for a proper print run of S&W to get the game more known.

You and me both.

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Re: My review of S&W
« Reply #9 on Apr 17, 2009, 11:26am »

Apr 11, 2009, 8:06pm, Julian Grimm wrote:

I attempted my first review of anything and decided to start with S&W. You can find it here if you are interested.

I enjoyed your review. This system is a long-awaited breath of fresh air.

Your choice to synthesize an Elvish combination Mage-Fighter class (avoiding the back-and-forth switch) seems more consistent with the way the Dwarfs have their own class. It's a change toward simplicity I would hope to see in a future edition.

The price of these on-demand books seems more than reasonable, and I don't really see how a traditional distribution with a higher retail price would make the system more popular.

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Julian Grimm
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Re: My review of S&W
« Reply #10 on Apr 17, 2009, 2:32pm »

The idea came from basic D&D and the mechanics from the S&W white box so I cannot claim it to be entirely mine. However the reasoning is mine. One was that my seven year old was playing and needed something simpler than the switching as well we had worked up a combo class for her when we were playing C&C. Another was that my wife wanted to keep her cherished elven magic-user and wouldn't budge on that. And finally there was world flavor to consider.

So I reasoned elves could be of one of three classes fighting man, magic-user or the elven adventurer. And I felt that covers all bases of an elf rather well. It worked well for them and I felt it was a reasonable answer especially for new players. As experience with the game grows I will try to phase the switching in just to have it.

The price and simplicity of the system is a big appeal to me. Especially in these times when there is both less time and money for gaming. And having what in essence is OD&D back on the market is something I will support. I will admit I just downloaded and printed the PDF but when I get the extra cash there will be an S&W book bought to show my thanks for the system.

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