S&S Revised Edition

[thegreyelf]

Just wanted to put the word out that I am beginning work on the major revision of the S&S rules set. It's been out since August and I've gotten some great comments, feedback, and even editorial catches from people. I don't intend to be one of those companies that puts out a new edition every year, but let's face it: S&S is a work in progress, moving fast towards being complete. As we move towards building an identity of our own, you guys have already given us the necessary feedback to strengthen its legs.

In addition, Tim and I have designs on trying to get S&S into game stores hopefully within the year, and when that happens we want the game to be as complete and flawless as possible.

To that end, some of the things that will (hopefully) be fixed:

1. ALL holdover references to d20 mechanics will have been caught and removed (I just had another one pointed out--the Sword of Life Stealing references a natural 20 where it should reference Box Cars).

2. Elements that exist only as holdovers from the inspiriation game, such as %-based thief skills, will be removed and replaced with the 2d6 core mechanic to work towards a more unified task resolution.

3. Awkward and unneccessary subsystems such as separate rules for saving throws and morale checks will be folded into the Ability Check rules.

4. Attack routines for multiple hit die monsters will be clarified and streamlined.

I should note that all of these alterations WILL be included in the first sourcebook, Monstrous Mayhem, so if you pick up the sourcebook there will NOT be a need for those who already have the game to re-buy the core book.

Now, I'm still debating whether to actually call this a "Second Edition," as that might be confusing when it hits store shelves. I'd like feedback from the community on that. I will probably make a subtle alteration to the cover design so people can tell it apart from the earlier printing--perhaps a different background color than black, for example.

It also might be a bit before it actually sees release. I want to be extremely thorough with this, so it's the last revision we see for a good while.

If anyone has any thoughts or comments, please by all means head over to our forums at elflairgames.proboards107.com/ and weigh in!

[Finarvyn]

Rather than "S&S Second Edition" you might call it "S&S Revised" or "S&S Evolved" or something that helps a customer realize that it has been updated but not with a total overhaul.

PDF readers are easy to please because you can give us an updated copy and it won't really cost anyone anything. It's the print readers who will be more annoyed. In my case I was planning on ordering the "Old School Edition" in booklet form, and I guess with this new info I'm more inclined to wait for the updates and order it then.

[thegreyelf]

Again, it could be awhile before the new version is ready to go, so if you don't mind the wait, that's great! And also, like I said, Monstrous Mayhem will contain all of the updates for those who already have the game. Those who are playing the game as-is, are happy with the core book, and don't plan to buy MM probably won't need the revisions anyway.

[Deleted]

If the decision were mine to make, I would go with "S & S, Revised Editon" or "Revised 1st Edition" just to stick with nomenclature that would cause the least amount of confusion.

[thegreyelf]

"Revised Edition" sounds like a good solution.

[Finarvyn]

Mar 12, 2009 11:11:43 GMT -6 thegreyelf said:

Again, it could be awhile before the new version is ready to go, so if you don't mind the wait, that's great!

Well, yes I do mind. But it's not like I have a choice.

And the revised edition will be printed in OLD SCHOOL booklets as well as the usual kind? That's what I really want -- the OLD SCHOOL little booklet version with all of the errata inserted and all d20 references, etc, purged.

[thegreyelf]

Well, I think I created a monster with the old school edition, so yes, likely it'll be released in that format, at least through Lulu. Getting boxed sets done via a real printer isn't remotely cost-effective, however, so if/when we go into actual distribution and store sales, it's going to be a single volume. Tim and I may decide to make it a digest-sized single volume, but it won't be a 3-volume boxed set.

I'm still working on realizing a limited edition boxed set, but it's been slow to develop. No idea if it'll ever come to pass.

[Finarvyn]

Mar 12, 2009 14:13:57 GMT -6 thegreyelf said:

Getting boxed sets done via a real printer isn't remotely cost-effective, however, so if/when we go into actual distribution and store sales, it's going to be a single volume. Tim and I may decide to make it a digest-sized single volume, but it won't be a 3-volume boxed set.

If it can't be a boxed set, how about 3-volumes enclosed in a ziploc bag of some sort? I'm thinking of some of games that Task Force and Metagaming released in the 1980's in ziploc bags, and I think those sold well.

I just mention this becasue I'd much rather have 3 smaller booklets than one single booklet, and maybe others would agree.

[coffee]

Plus you could release a pdf of the cover for the box, so people could take the advice elsewhere on this forum on "assembling your three little booklets" and build their own box.

People already have done this for the pdfs of their OD&D books. I don't doubt that some would do so for this project (it fits better on the shelf that way, for one thing).

[thegreyelf]

The Revised Edition of Spellcraft & Swordplay is now available at Lulu in hardcover, softcover, e-book, and Old School Edition 3-volume format. This will (hopefully) be the only major revision of the game for Lulu purposes, save to fix typos and errors people find.

We have gone to a 6x9 format for all books, in the interest of giving us a somewhat unique trade dress, as well as reformatting with a different font and layout for the single-volume editions.

The major revisions include the removal of anachronistic elements that were present largely because of the legacy issue--things like %-based thief skills and %-based exceptional strength are now gone, and d6's are all that's needed to play the game.

A few basic tweaks were made here and there to the weapon vs. armor type table, but the adjustments are minor. Thrown spears have been added to the ranged weapons table, the ranges for thrown weapons tweaked, and the target numbers for ranged weapons adjusted.

On the AC table, base studded leather is now the same as leather + shield, and Lorica Segmentata has been added to the list, with the same AC as chain and scale. Now studded + shield shares the same AC as chain, scale, and Lorica.

Also changed: the spellcasting table. We uncovered some discrepancies with the numbers on the table--the difficulties seemed off in minor but niggling ways. So the pattern has been adjusted to be more linear. On the up side, it may be possible now for someone to memorize the table so it need not be referenced every time a spell is cast.

On the down side, it's gotten just a shade harder to cast spells at base level.

While the current version has a slightly shorter page count, the word count is the same--this is largely a factor of the new font and layout. The artwork has been retooled and a great number of new pieces added. The much maligned Elmore art is removed.

The Spellcraft & Swordplay Revised Edition can be purchased in hardcover, softcover, and e-book format at www.lulu.com/elflairgames