Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 8, 2011 17:04:52 GMT -6
Hey gang, I’ve just announced a Swords & Wizardry compatible game you should check out. Press release is below. I hope you like it! — StanPRESS RELEASEFor immediate release. Rogue Comet has announced an open playtest for the beta version of Lost Empires™, a new rules-light fantasy roleplaying game available for free at www.roguecomet.com. “We’re big fans of the so-called Old School Renaissance (OSR) in roleplaying games,” said Stan Shinn, Lost Empires’ game designer. “Simple, fast-play rule games like Microlite20 inspired us to do something new with the retro-clone games now gaining popularity. The rules for Lost Empires fit on one double-sided page so it’s really easy to pass out a sheet to your friends, do a quick review of the simple rules and start playing in minutes.” The game mechanics of Lost Empires, while familiar to many, introduces several changes to broaden the appeal of fantasy roleplaying to new audiences. “We’ve eliminated many of the quirky rules and tedious bookkeeping of many legacy games,” Shinn said. “While the OSR is driven in part by the nostalgia of veteran gamers, we designed our system from the ground up to appeal to people new to the game, particularly young people.” Lost Empires eliminates class levels, gives mages greater freedom in which powers they can access, uses dice counters to track monster hit points, and removes most tables and rules which normally would require consulting a manual. “Nothing kills game-play faster than having to stop and flip through rule books,” said Shinn. Lost Empires also introduces “bullseye”™ rolls to increase the sense of danger. Damage rolls are open ended, meaning even a lowly orc can get a lucky shot and kill you, and even an out-matched warrior has at least some chance (however slim) of slaying the dragon. One notable departure from other retro-clone games is Lost Empire’s magic system. “In some games,” said Shinn, “if you want to cast a 4th-level spell, you have to be a 7th-level caster, even though you start out by casting 1st-level spells at your first class level. Lost Empire simplifies this, allowing mages to access any power, even though doing so may be deadly. Spells are not memorized or selected in advance. Instead, mages use mana to wield powers. Mana, like Hit Points, can be drained. Mages can cast any spell, but the more power they wield the greater risk they have of overcasting, which can result in unconsciousness or even death.” Lost Empires will run as a public beta from now until summer 2011 at which time a revised 1.0 version will be released. To download a free copy of the gorgeously illustrated 60 page PDF, the free 1-sheet rules summary and character sheets, visit www.roguecomet.com. For more information on the Lost Empires Beta playtest, visit www.roguecomet.com/forums or email games@roguecomet.com.
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grimstone
Level 1 Medium
We have enough youth, how about a fountain of smart?
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Post by grimstone on Jan 8, 2011 19:50:31 GMT -6
Looks interesting, I'll have to read through it. ;D
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Post by blackbarn on Jan 10, 2011 12:45:34 GMT -6
Nice... someone finally did an old-school based game and made it look modern. I've been wondering when that would happen.  I like it, and the rules are just different enough to be interesting without losing a lot of the original's strengths. |
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LouGoncey
Level 4 Theurgist
"Lather. Rinse. Repeat. That's my philosophy."
Posts: 108
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Post by LouGoncey on Jan 11, 2011 4:50:01 GMT -6
I like Lost Empires alot, but I have a couple of questions:
1) I'm assuming hit dice and mana dice a d6 and cost a trait point each to buy.
2) Even though I'm supposed to make up a ST target when a player rolls, I'm assuming a 15 is a handy guide to use.
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Post by makofan on Jan 11, 2011 7:27:32 GMT -6
Actually I think 1 HP or 1 MP costs 1 point to buy. So if you want to start with 6 HP, you spend 6 points on it.
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Post by kesher on Jan 11, 2011 9:42:08 GMT -6
I just tried to download the rules, and though it comes up in my browser, when I download it, I get a message saying the file is damaged.
Anyone else have this issue? Any ideas?
*Just posted about it on their forum, so we'll see.
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Post by aldarron on Jan 11, 2011 10:01:12 GMT -6
Impressive visual effort and website. I'm curios about the art. Did you draw all those yourself sshin?
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Aplus
Level 6 Magician
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Post by Aplus on Jan 11, 2011 11:54:39 GMT -6
The production quality of the site and the PDF are top-notch. I will be sure to give it a thorough reading and see if I can get some people to play it!
Also, I must ask, how did the idea come about to promote this game as being compatible with S&W? It doesn't seem to share a great deal in common with S&W. Was it just a way to tap into an established pool of existing adventure modules? Just curious.
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LouGoncey
Level 4 Theurgist
"Lather. Rinse. Repeat. That's my philosophy."
Posts: 108
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Post by LouGoncey on Jan 11, 2011 19:15:20 GMT -6
Actually I think 1 HP or 1 MP costs 1 point to buy. So if you want to start with 6 HP, you spend 6 points on it. Really, I kinda doubt, but it could be true (if it is, it's the first thing I'm changing). I think its too strict with the exploding dice causing damage and mana loss. Can't wait to find out. |
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LouGoncey
Level 4 Theurgist
"Lather. Rinse. Repeat. That's my philosophy."
Posts: 108
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Post by LouGoncey on Jan 12, 2011 14:09:18 GMT -6
I asked on the Rogue Comet forums and it is one point at a time. I wonder if you can buy AC?
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Jan 12, 2011 15:58:58 GMT -6
1) I'm assuming hit dice and mana dice a d6 and cost a trait point each to buy. It costs 1 Trait Point for both Hit Points and Mana Points. You roll d6's for monster HP, but for PC's, it a point-buy system. For example, if you're a starting character with 0 XP, you get 10 Trait Points to spend. So you could by 5 HP and 5 Mana Points. Or you could have bought 8 HP and 2 Mana. With each new 1,000 XP you get another 1 Trait Point. So at 5,000 XP, you have earned 15 Trait Points (10 Trait Points before you started, and 1 for each 1,000 XP). With those 15 Trait Points you could have 5 HP and 10 Mana, or 8 HP and 7 Mana, etc. So for PC's, you never roll dice for HP, only for monsters. Make sense? Let me know if I can clarify this further. I hope you enjoy the product and I look forward to your continued feedback! Also also be putting out some errata and clarifications on the RogueComet.com forums soon on this. Eventually I'll issue an updated PDF with clarifications to answer FAQ. 2) Even though I'm supposed to make up a ST target when a player rolls, I'm assuming a 15 is a handy guide to use. Yes, 15 is a good default saving throw. -- Stan Rogue Comet |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 12, 2011 16:01:00 GMT -6
I just tried to download the rules, and though it comes up in my browser, when I download it, I get a message saying the file is damaged. I answered this on the RogueComet.com forums, but for everyone's benefit, the PDFs are large files (7 Meg for the full rules if I recall) so if the download doesn't complete for some reason, the PDF will be corrupt. So just try again and you should be able to get the full PDF. If you still have issues just email us at games@roguecomet.com and we'll email you a copy. We plan to release 'printer friendly' versions soon which will be much smaller and reduce this issue. -- Stan Rogue Comet |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 12, 2011 16:01:49 GMT -6
Impressive visual effort and website. I'm curios about the art. Did you draw all those yourself sshin? Actually, I paid an artist in Spain named Santiago. Some of his portfolio is here: quellion.deviantart.com/He's pretty good -- I like his style! -- Stan Shinn Rogue Comet |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 12, 2011 16:04:44 GMT -6
Also, I must ask, how did the idea come about to promote this game as being compatible with S&W? It doesn't seem to share a great deal in common with S&W. Was it just a way to tap into an established pool of existing adventure modules? Just curious. You're right, it is quite a bit different from S&W. I did this thinking it might be nice to tie in the idea that you could use the S&W-compatible modules (for example, these: www.talesofthefroggod.com/index.php/products) with Lost Empires. That's the main reason why I did it. On the down-side, for legal reasons, the S&W license says if you say it's 'compatible' then you have to have both ascending AND descending armor class, which I dislike. I prefer the never ascending armor class system as it makes the math easier. Based on the feedback so far, I'm considering removing the 'S&W compatible' language in the final release and using the ascending armor class (where a higher AC is better) exclusively. Let me know if you have any thoughts about this. Thanks! -- Stan Rogue Comet |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 12, 2011 16:07:24 GMT -6
I think its too strict with the exploding dice causing damage and mana loss. Can't wait to find out. It is a very dangerous game. That was one of my design goals -- I wanted to recreate the old-school 'Jeepers, I could really die!' feel with a very different mechanic. That being said, I'll be curious to see if the amount of HP and Mana you get at early levels is throttled at the right level given the 'risk' of exploding dice effects -- I'll be curious to see any feedback any of you have from playtesting. My experience at the game table is that having access to such a broad array of arcane powers (as opposed to the Vancian technique where you pre-select only certain powers) really spices up the game. Mages definitely have the potential to be the most powerful players, but overcasting is such a risky affair I think it tempers the potential overuse of the higher powers, while making the game more 'magical' at lower levels. But I'd be curious to see if other people playtest it and have the same opinion. -- Stan Rogue Comet |
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Post by blackbarn on Jan 12, 2011 21:40:09 GMT -6
Based on the feedback so far, I'm considering removing the 'S&W compatible' language in the final release and using the ascending armor class (where a higher AC is better) exclusively. Might as well do it, especially since you prefer the ascending. I think including both just clutters the game rules up needlessly; pick one and go with it. |
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Post by Craig J. Brain on Jan 17, 2011 3:30:38 GMT -6
Based on the feedback so far, I'm considering removing the 'S&W compatible' language in the final release and using the ascending armor class (where a higher AC is better) exclusively. Let me know if you have any thoughts about this. Thanks! Stan, The "S&W Compatible" is what caught my eye initially. However after reading what you have so far, as much as I like S&W, I think you should seriously consider making this game your own, as you have with the levels ideas and magic systems. Craig J. Brain |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 19, 2011 8:13:51 GMT -6
I think you should seriously consider making this game your own, as you have with the levels ideas and magic systems. Craig, I've gotten feedback from several people that 'dump the S&W compatible' is the way to go -- thanks for your feedback! I believe I will indeed make the game it's own thing apart from S&W. -- Stan |
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Post by danbuter on Jan 22, 2011 8:48:37 GMT -6
Pick either descending AC or ascending AC. Having both is not simplifying the game.
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Post by Finarvyn on Jan 22, 2011 9:30:37 GMT -6
Pick either descending AC or ascending AC. Having both is not simplifying the game. No doubt that printing both won't simplify the game, however... 1. It doesn't take up much space to print both 2. It makes conversion to other modules/systems a little faster 3. It doesn't "hurt" the game to include both Not that conversion can't be done with a fast equation, but just mentioning why it might be left with both included. |
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Post by Mike on Mar 13, 2011 3:41:57 GMT -6
Hugely impressed!
Any chance of a printer-friendly version?
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I like it, and the rules are just different enough to be interesting without losing a lot of the original's strengths.
