Recommended: Swords and Wizardry Complete – Revised Edition

The kickstarter for the revised version of the Swords & Wizardry Complete rules was a great success. Backers (like myself) now have PDFs of the new core rulebook. I’ve looked it over and am very favourably impressed. The organization and layout have been improved from earlier versions. Information is presented in a direct, economical, but nonetheless aesthetically pleasing way. Kudos to Suzy Moseby on doing such a fine job on the layout. The art is solid, with a few very good pieces, and nothing objectionably unappealing. I like all three covers (the Erol Otus one [depicted below], as well as the green and blue designs by Del Teigeler). (But I do miss the original wonderful S&W cover by Pete Mullen.)

It's amazing to me how much content Matt Finch has managed to pack into such a slim package (144 pages) in a clear and accessible way. Roughly speaking, Swords & Wizardry Complete, gives you pretty much everything in the original D&D 1974 box set, and a lot (but not all) from the subsequent supplements (Greyhawk, Blackmoor, and Eldritch Wizardry). What you end up with is something very close to Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (as realized in 1979), but somewhat simpler and lower-powered. The main (or at least most noticeable) differences: in S&W there are no half-orcs, gnomes, illusionists, or bards; alignment is three-fold (Lawful, Neutral, Chaotic); hit dice are lower (e.g., fighters have d8 in S&W instead of d10 as in AD&D); and slightly lower level-limits for demi-human characters. Aside from these changes – which, of course, are easy to modify if one wishes – S&W provides a “simplified” version of AD&D, and is readily compatible with most material produced for D&D and AD&D prior to 3^rd edition.

 

There are some minor but helpful innovations in S&W that distinguish it from "0 edition" D&D. Among them: the ‘ascending’ scale for AC is used (which I appreciate and find preferable to the older system, although the old ‘descending’ system is provided as an option as well); a single unified ‘saving throw’ is provided for each class (but with the option to use the older system, broken down into categories like “death rays and poison”); four different options for determining initiative are outlined; rules for morale are provided; and rules for two-weapon fighting are included. These are all helpful additions to the game in my view.   

 

Since it is a “clone” of early (0e) D&D, S&W includes elements from that system that personally I am not that keen on. For instance, the special abilities of thieves (as well as assassins and monks) are quite miserable, with very low chances for success at anything until characters achieve higher (7+) levels. If I were to run S&W again, I’d probably just use my version of the class instead. Likewise, I’ve never been a fan of the way earlier editions of D&D and AD&D implemented “level limits” on non-human characters. I think that there are better ways to “balance” non-human characters against human ones. (S&W does include an optional rule to permit non-human characters to advance beyond their level limits, but with a 50% penalty to experience points earned by those characters. I’d likely either use that option, or simply grant some additional bonus to human characters instead.) Of course, one cannot really fault a retro-clone like S&W for “cloning” such rules from earlier editions, and in any case such things are easy to house-rule.  

 

In short, this revised, updated version of Swords & Wizardry is excellent, the best version yet. It was the “retro-clone” that helped inspire this blog in 2009 – and for which I wrote a number of house-rules – and it remains my favourite. I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys the spirit of old school Dungeons and Dragons!

 

(For a more comprehensive review, check out this one at the blog “It’s Okay; Gary Sent Us.”)