Well, not really, but it's still rather interesting news when Necromancer Games' "successor" which publishes Pathfinder compatible products adds publishing Swords and Wizardry to its business. Was Erik Mona sending us all a secret message from his GenCon picture that I've seen up on various old school blogs?
August 24, 2010 - Poulsbo WA
Frog God Games, the successor to Necromancer Games, is pleased to announce that effective immediately, Mythmere Games, headed by award-winning author Matt Finch, will be joining up with the Frog God Publishing team to produce even more of the true old-school gaming resources that Necromancer Games and Frog God Games have always been known for.
Matt explained one of the reasons for the agreement as “"There is a large and active community of gamers playing various out-of-print editions of fantasy role-playing games. This alliance is going to be a big leap forward in terms of providing new resources and adventures to those of us who prefer an older-school type of game. It doesn't matter if you're an old-school grognard, a brand-new player, or an experienced gamer trying out this whole 'old-school' thing the internet keeps talking about. You're going to like this".
As a result of this merger, Frog God Games will be publishing the Complete version of the old school, ENnie Award-winning Swords & Wizardry™ fantasy role-playing game, which will be released in November.
“This merger is very much in line with my philosophy on game design, I play an old school game at my table, and have always written and produced books of that genre”, said Bill Webb, CEO of Frog God Games. Frog God Games and its predecessor, Necromancer Games both are known for producing d20 and Pathfinder adventures and sourcebooks with a distinctive “old school” feel. Necromancer, where Bill was partnered with Clark Peterson, produced over 50 books between 1999 and 2007, including Wilderlands of High Fantasy™ (under license to Judges Guild), Gary Gygax’s Necropolis™ and Rappan Athuk, Dungeon of Graves™.
Frog God Games is currently producing adventures to support the Pathfinder™ role-playing system. According to Bill, “This brings together the best of both worlds for me; our material is distinctly old school feel, regardless of the game system. By supporting both formats, I see an opportunity to provide high quality and exciting material to a larger audience. It’s a win for the gaming community.”
Frog God Games will now produce game supplements for both the Swords and Wizardry™ game and for the Pathfinder Game™ (published by Paizo Publishing of Bellevue WA).Swords & Wizardry builds and supports free-form role-playing games.That is to say, games where “light” rules create a framework instead of trying to cover every detail, every rule, and every situation. Over 30 books are currently in production for release in 2010 and 2011.
Matt explained , “There are a lot of gamers out there who are using out-of-print rules quite happily, or who have a vague feeling that they lost some of the game's spirit over the years and don't know how it happened. And then there's the thriving community of old-school gamers on the internet, who have been powering forward for years. I think this new development is going to take us to critical mass. With an old-school game like Swords & Wizardry breaking into the mainstream, with all the power of Frog God Games behind it, I believe that all these three gamer-communities are about to connect. This is when the thunder starts to roll.”.
The Swords & Wizardry game “clones” the original rules of the fantasy role-playing game that started it all back in 1974, when it was published by Gary Gygax and DaveArneson. Part of the reason for the merger was to expand distribution and enhance production quality by involvement of a larger company. Matt described this as, “a step that has been developing for years, as the old-school community has grown larger and larger, supported by more and more gamers, and, increasingly, even by publishers. And this is the point where it all reaches critical mass, I think. Frog God Games has the resources and the high profile to introduce this particular style of gaming back into the mainstream."
Most previously existing products created by Mythmere Games, including Knockspell Magazine™ will continue to be produced and distributed by Black Blade Publishing (http://black-blade-publishing.com/Store.aspx).
Distribution and publication of the Swords and Wizardry Core Rules will continue through Black Blade and other sources, and will be compatible with the Swords & Wizardry Complete Rulebook to be released in November by Frog God Games along with a full supporting line of adventure modules and other resources for the game.
Well...good tastes in fantasy rpgs, at least. ;-)
Is that Bill Webb? Lots of interesting rumblings out there in the blogosphere. I'm thinking one thought here is to reach a larger audience for S&W. Would I be far off there?
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Oh, I see how it is. You guys ignore MY thread about the same thing. I can take a hint....
Joking aside, I'm excited about this. I was just on the verge of shelling out for the S&W White Box when the announcement was made. Now I just have to hold out for a couple months....
Oh, I see how it is. You guys ignore MY thread about the same thing. I can take a hint....
Joking aside, I'm excited about this. I was just on the verge of shelling out for the S&W White Box when the announcement was made. Now I just have to hold out for a couple months....
Completely missed your thread, W0nkothesane. Did you give it a zippy title? ;-P (Besides, you totally got Skeld and Joel A. as consolation prizes...)
I love the looks of the White Box, but that version of the game is just too bare for me, I'm afraid. (And the Brave Halfling fellow seems like a great guy, so that's too bad.)
I was also entertained by the whole kerfluffle amongst Finch's online community in the wake of this announcement, upon which he had to pour the oil of dissing Pathfinder players to calm it. LOL. Luckily for him, I'll be more dispassionate and fair when it comes to looking at what comes out of his new hook-up with FGG. What interesting times we live in.
And GV's post was completely ghosting on me, but now I have added assurance that my probing for conspiracies was based on solid instincts. Mona, I'll catch you yet!
Oh, I see how it is. You guys ignore MY thread about the same thing. I can take a hint....
Of course we are going to ignore your thread...it says it...right there...in your Name "the sane"! Boy, did you come to the wrong place! :P
Of course we are going to ignore your thread...it says it...right there...in your Name "the sane"! Boy, did you come to the wrong place! :POh, I see how it is. You guys ignore MY thread about the same thing. I can take a hint....
But his name is W0nko. I see his paradoxical name as fitting right in.
So, is this the final cover or a mock-up? Looks good.
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But his name is W0nko. I see his paradoxical name as fitting right in.
The explanation behind the handle I've been using for about ten years now, taken from the Hitchhiker's Guide wiki
Back on topic, the sparsity of the White Box was both a blessing and a curse in my eyes. The internal argument went something like this:
"But my players will be so bored with such limited options!"
"Who cares? They've been pampered far too long, grown complacent"
"Well, I care! They're my friends and I want them to have fun!"
"Their sense of entitlement will be their downfall! Join me, and we will design a dungeon the likes of which none shall escape alive!"
I may or may not be dramatizing it for re-enactment purposes.
Heh, no intention to diss PF players -- what's really key about FRPG gaming isn't the rules, it's how well the fantasy side of it operates. Does something kick-start your imagination into moss-draped forests with memories of their own, ancient beyond human ken? Rune-graven, claustrophobic corridors with haunting echoes, where greed or righteousness drives you forward inch by inch toward unspeakable peril, hair rising on the back of your neck, sword loosened in the scabbard, spell held at the ready?
That's what it's all about. The nice thing is that the all-in, balls-out immediacy of good fantasy gaming can translate just fine across the systems. Granted, it comes across differently, I think, depending on whether you're using the lens of an abstract system or the lens of a granular one, but good fantasy is good fantasy.
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Heh, no intention to diss PF players -- what's really key about FRPG gaming isn't the rules, it's how well the fantasy side of it operates. Does something kick-start your imagination into moss-draped forests with memories of their own, ancient beyond human ken? Rune-graven, claustrophobic corridors with haunting echoes, where greed or righteousness drives you forward inch by inch toward unspeakable peril, hair rising on the back of your neck, sword loosened in the scabbard, spell held at the ready?
That's what it's all about. The nice thing is that the all-in, balls-out immediacy of good fantasy gaming can translate just fine across the systems. Granted, it comes across differently, I think, depending on whether you're using the lens of an abstract system or the lens of a granular one, but good fantasy is good fantasy.
That's what has drawn me to S&W instead of, say OSRIC. But I still have to convince my players to join in on the game. I'm a relatively young gamer who is interested in the games that are older than I am. Many of my gamer friends, though, are fans of Fourth Edition and think that more options ----> better game, so I've got to ease them into it.
I know at least half of the people I play with regularly would flat-out refuse if their only character options were the ones presented in the White Box. It's their loss, but those are the people I play with. And FYI I've tried expanding my pool of players, for those who are thinking about replying telling me to find a different group.
I still have to convince my players to join in on the game. I'm a relatively young gamer who is interested in the games that are older than I am. Many of my gamer friends, though, are fans of Fourth Edition and think that more options ----> better game, so I've got to ease them into it.
I know at least half of the people I play with regularly would flat-out refuse if their only character options were the ones presented in the White Box. It's their loss, but those are the people I play with. And FYI I've tried expanding my pool of players, for those who are thinking about replying telling me to find a different group.
I wish I could help with some useful advice, but I don't have any. It takes a kind of sudden mental "aha" moment to "get" how abstract gaming works, and even if someone "gets" it, it doesn't mean they will like it better. For some people, having the rules of a granular system is precisely what makes the rules recede and the fantasy move into the foreground (ie, you don't have to worry about what the probability of something is going to be - it's established - so you can concentrate on the cool fantasy side of things). For others, like you and me, granular rules intrude on the ability to get into the fantasy.
It's not an easy task to convey how our abstract "less is more" mentality operates. People simply aren't familiar enough with it to make it intuitive.
Heh, no intention to diss PF players -- what's really key about FRPG gaming isn't the rules, it's how well the fantasy side of it operates. Does something kick-start your imagination into moss-draped forests with memories of their own, ancient beyond human ken? Rune-graven, claustrophobic corridors with haunting echoes, where greed or righteousness drives you forward inch by inch toward unspeakable peril, hair rising on the back of your neck, sword loosened in the scabbard, spell held at the ready?
That's what it's all about. The nice thing is that the all-in, balls-out immediacy of good fantasy gaming can translate just fine across the systems. Granted, it comes across differently, I think, depending on whether you're using the lens of an abstract system or the lens of a granular one, but good fantasy is good fantasy.
Well, I'm glad to hear that. I had no idea you posted around here, and it's good to see that--maybe we'll be seeing more of you. I definitely agree that imagination is IT, and that rules are just the aqueducts through which the living water flows (or fails to flow). Could you see my question about the cover above (sometimes boardwonkiness may interfere)?
I think that both old school and new school perspectives have a lot to learn from one another (even if my perspective can't seem to stretch far enough to get what some of my friends see in 4e) and enjoy trying to keep a foot in both schools.
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I still have to convince my players to join in on the game. I'm a relatively young gamer who is interested in the games that are older than I am. Many of my gamer friends, though, are fans of Fourth Edition and think that more options ----> better game, so I've got to ease them into it.
I know at least half of the people I play with regularly would flat-out refuse if their only character options were the ones presented in the White Box. It's their loss, but those are the people I play with. And FYI I've tried expanding my pool of players, for those who are thinking about replying telling me to find a different group.
I wish I could help with some useful advice, but I don't have any. It takes a kind of sudden mental "aha" moment to "get" how abstract gaming works, and even if someone "gets" it, it doesn't mean they will like it better. For some people, having the rules of a granular system is precisely what makes the rules recede and the fantasy move into the foreground (ie, you don't have to worry about what the probability of something is going to be - it's established - so you can concentrate on the cool fantasy side of things). For others, like you and me, granular rules intrude on the ability to get into the fantasy.
It's not an easy task to convey how our abstract "less is more" mentality operates. People simply aren't familiar enough with it to make it intuitive.
This paragraph* alone makes you my hero.. now I have to look up the stuff you made so I can take a look at it.
I'll admit I follow the latter philosophy (the rules define stuff so we don't have to stop and think of fair ways to adjudicate situations), but abstract gaming is perfectly okay with me too. I play savage worlds with some people twice monthly, which we only barely follow real rules for. We have stats and skills that may or may not be balanced, and everything past that is "WHEEEE!" I DM Pathfinder weekly (different group) and am going to try to ease my players into some more abstract play. Hopefully it works out.
* Technically two, but the second one was tiny.
But yes; that's a fine piece made for this book by Rick Sardinha...
Yep.
I have a question for Matthew Finch. Matthew, you made a City Encounters document some time back. I've seen people talk about it, but can't find it. Is it still available, and if so, where?
Ranine bump.
Did not make the bird jump from the trees.
I don't know what message board Matt Finch frequents the most. But he does seem to visit the Necromancer boards more often than these.
You might have better luck getting the Finch to read messages placed on the Necromancer boards. Here is the link .
I appreciate it, Dark Sasha. So, you're saying go to where people are instead of expecting everyone to come to me. I will ponder this novel suggestion. ;-)