Some Dude
Explorer
THIS READ-THROUGH IS FOR THE ZWEIHANDER PLAYER'S HANDBOOK, FROM ANDREWS MCMEEL UNIVERSAL PUBLISHING. FULL DISCLOSURE: I WAS GIVEN A COPY OF THIS BOOK BY ITS AUTHOR
Well, hello!. It's been a minute. How y'all been?
So, I have been meaning to get around to this for a while. I've had this book for a few weeks now. But, you know, life and naughty word.
Those of you who have read my previous threads, welcome back. Those who haven't may want to start here, with my read-through of the Zweihander Revised Core Rulebook, and then go here for my read-through of the Main Gauche supplement.
Now, since I know that some of you will be reading this first, and may not be familiar with Zweihander, I'll sum up real quick, so we can all be more or less on the same page. Those of you who have read the previous threads, be patient, this won't take long.
Zweihander Grim & Perilous RPG is d100-based roleplaying in a "grimdark" fantasy world, that first began as a fan update/retro-clone of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2nd Edition, but has since become very much its own thing. See, that didn't take long. If you need more info, see the threads I linked above.
As returning readers know (and new readers will find out), Zweihander tips the scales at almost 700 pages. And, while Zweihander is satisfyingly complete, around half of those pages are information for GMs. So, the Grim & Perilous gang decided to release a book containing only Player info.
Rather than simply being a reprint of the first half of the Core Rulebook, The Player's Handbook features new art, some new Ancestries, and, according to Zweihander-related social media, improvements to user interface. In addition, there was special attention paid to some of the editorial issues that have thus far been my chief complaint about what I have otherwise found to be a fun, interesting and well-balanced game. So, I'm curious to see what changes and/or improvements have been made.
I wasn't sure how to proceed with this, seeing as I've already read through this material (well, most of it, there is supposed to be some new stuff here). I have thought about this a lot. In the end, I decided that re-writing all of my previous work would be boring to read for anyone who has read my previous thread on this material, as it appeared in the Core Book. However, it seems to me that some refresher is a good idea, in order to keep everything in context. And, on the off chance anyone is reading this before my read-through of the Zweihander Revised Rulebook,it will keep them from being confused.
So, I have decided to give more concise, yet hopefully informative rules descriptions here, while concentrating on the differences between the Core Rulebook and Player's Handbook. On some level, this feels "lazy" to me, but I just don't see the advantage to myself, or any returning readers, of repeating word-for-word what has been posted in previous threads. If anyone disagrees, feel free to say so. But my approach here is going to be to encapsulate key points of the rules, while highlighting where this book differs from its predecessor.
I say this feels lazy, but my intent is to read each chapter, first in the Corebook, and then in the Player's Handbook, and then post about them. So, it may be a bit more time consuming than my previous read-throughs, where it was read/post, read/post. etc. But, overall, I think this is the approach that will yield the best information for the reader, and for me.
OK, well, it's getting late, I'll start soon with a post about the book's physical presentation. This has been a standout feature of the Zweihander RPG line so far. How will the Player's Handbook measure up? Stay tuned to find out!
Well, hello!. It's been a minute. How y'all been?
So, I have been meaning to get around to this for a while. I've had this book for a few weeks now. But, you know, life and naughty word.
Those of you who have read my previous threads, welcome back. Those who haven't may want to start here, with my read-through of the Zweihander Revised Core Rulebook, and then go here for my read-through of the Main Gauche supplement.
Now, since I know that some of you will be reading this first, and may not be familiar with Zweihander, I'll sum up real quick, so we can all be more or less on the same page. Those of you who have read the previous threads, be patient, this won't take long.
Zweihander Grim & Perilous RPG is d100-based roleplaying in a "grimdark" fantasy world, that first began as a fan update/retro-clone of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2nd Edition, but has since become very much its own thing. See, that didn't take long. If you need more info, see the threads I linked above.
As returning readers know (and new readers will find out), Zweihander tips the scales at almost 700 pages. And, while Zweihander is satisfyingly complete, around half of those pages are information for GMs. So, the Grim & Perilous gang decided to release a book containing only Player info.
Rather than simply being a reprint of the first half of the Core Rulebook, The Player's Handbook features new art, some new Ancestries, and, according to Zweihander-related social media, improvements to user interface. In addition, there was special attention paid to some of the editorial issues that have thus far been my chief complaint about what I have otherwise found to be a fun, interesting and well-balanced game. So, I'm curious to see what changes and/or improvements have been made.
I wasn't sure how to proceed with this, seeing as I've already read through this material (well, most of it, there is supposed to be some new stuff here). I have thought about this a lot. In the end, I decided that re-writing all of my previous work would be boring to read for anyone who has read my previous thread on this material, as it appeared in the Core Book. However, it seems to me that some refresher is a good idea, in order to keep everything in context. And, on the off chance anyone is reading this before my read-through of the Zweihander Revised Rulebook,it will keep them from being confused.
So, I have decided to give more concise, yet hopefully informative rules descriptions here, while concentrating on the differences between the Core Rulebook and Player's Handbook. On some level, this feels "lazy" to me, but I just don't see the advantage to myself, or any returning readers, of repeating word-for-word what has been posted in previous threads. If anyone disagrees, feel free to say so. But my approach here is going to be to encapsulate key points of the rules, while highlighting where this book differs from its predecessor.
I say this feels lazy, but my intent is to read each chapter, first in the Corebook, and then in the Player's Handbook, and then post about them. So, it may be a bit more time consuming than my previous read-throughs, where it was read/post, read/post. etc. But, overall, I think this is the approach that will yield the best information for the reader, and for me.
OK, well, it's getting late, I'll start soon with a post about the book's physical presentation. This has been a standout feature of the Zweihander RPG line so far. How will the Player's Handbook measure up? Stay tuned to find out!