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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Iosue" data-source="post: 9128399" data-attributes="member: 6680772">This was originally going to be part of my Let's Read of Sword World 2.5, but I thought this might be of interest even to people who haven't read that thread all the way through. Because Sword World 2.5 has some incredible starter sets that I think RPG publishers could learn from.SW 2.5 has two official "Start Sets." The Star-Catching Labyrinth and Darkness Sinking into the City of Water.There is actually an unboxing video of Star-Catching Labyrinth, which you can view <a href="https://youtu.be/U2tMtxBPYCA?si=xz8JYeGriuprlMoI" target="_blank">here</a>. But it's about 30 minutes long, so here's a summary.<img src="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ENWMH0LU4AEM9fY?format=jpg&name=large" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" />In the upper right are four booklets. These are a Start Book, which contains an explanation of what an RPG is and a little solo tutorial for playing SW 2.5 and using the contents of this box. A Rule Book, which is just a condensed basic reference of the rules from Part 2 of Core Rulebook I. And three Scenario Books, each containing one session's worth of an adventure. On the back of each book is a battle map using the Basic Combat Zones. While they are functionally the same, the background image representing the terrain are all different.There are 20 monster cards, providing two of each of 10 different monsters that show up in the scenarios. There are also 8 magic cards, which provide an explanation of Priest and Sorcerer magic, as well as spells up to Level 3 for those kinds of magic. Finally there are some cards with messages used in the scenarios. These cards are all 9 x 9 cm (3.5 x 3.5 in.) There are four pregenerated characters included in the set. Each gets an A4-size "Guild Registry Sheet", which essentially describes their background and personalities, as well as tips for how to play them effectively. Each character then gets three 12 x 12 cm (4.7 x 4.7 in.) PC cards, such as can be seen in the lower middle of the picture. There is an initial card, which has their stats on the front and their equipment and other notes on the back. Then there are two double-faced cards that represent two paths of improvement. You use the initial card for Scenario 1, either 2A or 2B for Scenario 2, and then the respective 3A or 3B for Scenario 3. The four PCs are Dwarf Fighter 1/Priest 2, Human Fighter 2/Scout 1, Elf Sorcerer 2/Sage 1, and Lycant Shooter 2/Scout 2.Along with these are about 40 item cards, the long, narrow cards that can placed at the bottom or the side of the PC card for quick reference and calculation. There are 9 weapons, 4 shields, 4 armors, 6 scenario specific items, and then multiple consumables such as healing potions, awaken potions, and mana crystals.There are also two 12 x 12 cm cards that are completely blank and white on both sides. These are for the five dry-erase markers, with erasers in their caps that are also included. These markers can be used to write on the the blank, PC, and monster cards, to keep track of hit points, note any buffs/debuffs, and draw little diagrams.There are also punch-out sheets containing tokens for each of the PCs, as well as generic "monster" tokens, and 68 dungeon tiles. Now, these dungeon tiles are not to scale with the stand-up tokens. They are just for creating maps where the players can see where their characters are. Any combat, of course, goes on the battle mats mentioned above. There is also a large fold-out that shows the GM how to arrange the tiles for the various dungeons in the scenarios.Finally, the box set comes with 5 multicolored sets of 2d6, so each player can get a different color.That's the Star-Catching Labyrinth. It's focused on dungeon exploration. The second Start Set, Darkness Sinking into the City of Water, focuses on city adventures. It contains essentially the same contents, except with new PCs, and instead of dungeon tiles, it comes with a huge map of the city of Harvess. Now, here's what blew my mind. All the PC cards, the items cards, the tiles, the chits, the tokens, the maps, and the monster art, all of that is available in PNG form for free from the GroupSNE website. Basically, anything that is player-facing. And this is so people can play online. There are no licensed VTT versions of these adventures (or really any adventures). As far as GroupSNE is concerned, the GM will buy the physical set. They are then happy to provide, at absolutely no charge, all the image assets that that GM will need to put in front of the players so that they can play online.</blockquote>

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