Later this week, an updated 300-page playtest document for N.E.W. will be available to playtesters. I'll then be leaving it in their capable hands for a while, as I turn my attention to O.L.D.
So, what do we know about O.L.D.? Well, as N.E.W's companion game, it uses the same system and is 100% compatible. But it has lots of stuff that the latter does not have.
Exciting stuff! And all the while I'm working on that, I should be reading awesome N.E.W. playtest reports!
So, what do we know about O.L.D.? Well, as N.E.W's companion game, it uses the same system and is 100% compatible. But it has lots of stuff that the latter does not have.
- Careers include a host of medieval fantasy occupations. Barbarians, hunters, rangers, assassins, gladiators, mages, druids, clerics, loremasters, burglars, inquisitors, watchmen, and many more.
- The magic system may be familiar to some. It's our own Elements of Magic - learn spell lists and spend magic points to combine elements of those lists for whatever magical effect you desire. This is the revised system we released a decade ago, written by Ryan Nock, and it has always been very well received. It doesn't need that much alteration to slip right into O.L.D. Of course, like N.E.W., it's not a class system - anyone with a MAGIC attribute can use magic to a greater or lesser extent.
- A whole chapter called Herbalism. Collecting and preparing herbs for specific effects. Herbalism will be a notable and flavourful feature of the game. I've spent today researching medieval uses for herbs (and extrapolating fantasy uses from that) and, of course, Gygax's Appendix J from the 1E DMG.
- The game covers a range of technologies, going up as far as muskets, arquebusses, and rifles. Though their inclusion is entirely up to you.
- A solid chapter on wilderness travel and hex maps.
Exciting stuff! And all the while I'm working on that, I should be reading awesome N.E.W. playtest reports!