Sword & Sorcery RPGs 2024

it would be impossible to get that stale smell though.
There's actually an argument that's usually the opposite of the one I make for RPG books: Make it a paperback and use the cheapest quality paper that will definitely yellow, with covers that will crack and dog ear practically on their own, etc.

I think most sword and sorcery fans would love it.
 

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I backed Tales of Argosa (Low Fantasy Gaming 2e), recently got a mail saying it'll be shipping soon and I'm really excited for it! there's a free public playtest which is pretty complete.

while DCC gives me the immediate rush and crazy adventures, this feels much more grounded and gritty, I like the exploits and the flexibility (and it has Foundry support which means I'm much more likely to run it).
I love the inclusion of cards and dice to give ideas and answer questions (and there are free online versions so you don't have to but them)
I grabbed the playtest for Tales of Argosa, I can’t pass up the chance to thoroughly explore a game I might want to buy.
 

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Not familiar with it, but heard good things
 




Monsters in Sword & Sorcery can be a lot of things but I would be disappointed to run into a Beholder, or Mind Flayer. Maybe I am reminded too much of their Forgotten Realms lore.
One of the key things I try to do when running S&S style campaigns is describe creatures instead of naming them. I think that a description of a gigantic bulbous ball of flesh that seems to be mostly teeth and rank breath, surrounded by pulsating tubes of flesh tipped by eyes, could make for a terrifying encounter.

But honestly there are so many interesting monsters to choose from, it does seem a bit of a shame to run with D&D standards.
 

I have been tempted to get DCC Dying Worlds, Savage Worlds Lankhmar, and Savage Worlds Beasts & Barbarians how do they all compare to one another? I have been tempted by Mythras as well, but learning an additional system is putting me off.
DCC Dying Earth is a very good adaptation of Vance's 21st Aeon. It adds its own occupations which are very reflective of the Dying Earth. It also adds something called Animus which are bit like some of the hindrances in SW, but much more thematic to the setting. It adds the 3 classes of Vat-Thing, Magician and Witch, which have proven to be good for the couple of players that went with one of them. The setting also has it's own roughly 100 page magic book titled Primer of Practical Magic. It covers magic specific to the setting -even philosophies- and provides Magician abilities, Witch pacts and a feature for Wizards called objurations. IMO it's impressive and definitely provides a S&S vibe, but a weirder one than a lot of classic S&S. I'm fairly new to DCC, so it's proving to be a challenge to run, but fun none the less.

Beast & Barbarians is IMO the most traditional of the 3, with its Dead Sea Dominions setting providing a Conan-like vibe. I own the Gold edition which was written for SWD. I've yet to run it for SWADE, but don't really see any problems doing so, other than tweaking Powers a bit. The Steel Edition was also written for SWD, but it tweaked and fixed some things that were deemed problematic in Gold. The setting is humancentric with Humans being the only playable race, but there's lots of cultural variation.

B&B does a good job of providing a classic S&S setting for the SW rules. It has 3 interesting and thematic Arcane Backgrounds - Lotus Mastery, Sorcery and Path of Enlightment. It also adds 2 categories of allies called Henchmen and Right Hands. Henchman are like any othe Extra but can take 3 wounds. While Right Hands roll a wild dice, but still only take 1 wound. I've used these in many other SW settings with good results. One of its more humorous, new edges is Loincloth Hero/Bikini Heroine. Which grants a free soak roll if the PC isn't wearing any torso armor - i.e. looking sexy like the loincloth and bikini clad protagonists of some S&S.

Note that Some folks (discussions at RPG.NET IIRC) have taken offense to some of its art and language, which in a few places has been deemed too spicey or sexist and if a few case for cultures, racist. It never bothered my players or I, but as I typically provide a zero-session document for PC creation, I might very well have omitted any such references. Also, as I don't own the Steel Edition, I'm not sure if that was cleaned up in it.

I consider Lankhmar City of Thieves to be 1 of the best settings created for SW. Like Dying Earth it's a weird take on the S&S genre, just as was Lieber's original writings. It was also written for SWD, but there's a conversion guide available to run it with SWADE. Its Powers system is unlike any I've played or run in other SW settings and it really suits the world of Nehwon well. Instead of providing a number of Arcane Backgrounds, it instead just provides AB Sorcery, but gives 3 significant variations of it - Black Magic, Elemental Magic and White Magic. It also provides a rituals feature, which could prove a challenge if using SWADE, as they function in some ways like SWADE power Modifiers. Personally, I'm not a fan of modifiers in SWADE being a default feature and at times limit or omitt them in my homebrewed settings. So tweaking them for Lankhmar was really 2nd nature for me.

Your Nehwon PC can be any of the 3 races of Human, Ghoul or Ratling, which the latter 2 being interesting to play. It provides new Hindrance and Edges, with its custom edges being the more impressive of the 2 - highly thematic. As well, power descriptions are given, as some function a bit differently than they do in the core SWD rules. There's some nice setting specific rules, in particular Shadowing which is a more detailed play mechanic for Stealth Vs Notice for situations where a PC may follow a "mark".
 
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Beast & Barbarians is IMO the most traditional of the 3, with its Dead Sea Dominions setting providing a Conan-like vibe. I own the Gold edition which was written for SWD. I've yet to run it for SWADE, but don't really see any problems doing so, other than tweaking Powers a bit. The Steel Edition was also written for SWD, but it tweaked and fixed some things that were deemed problematic in Gold. The setting is humancentric with Humans being the only playable race, but there's lots of cultural variation.
Looks like they put out an update for SWADE!
 

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