May Day! My Favorite Games "Swords & Wizardry Complete" by Matt Finch

It is the first day of May and the perfect time to visit and review one of my favorite games. The retro-clone OSR Swords & Wizardry Complete by Matt Finch

[@ChuckBarchuk]

Matt Finch answered a question of mine and confirmed, in his view, that Assassins do not need to roll a move silently or hide check in order to backstab.
Assassins may attack from behind with a to-hit bonus of +4 and inflict double damage. This damage multiplier increases
at the same level as that of a Thief.
When attacking with surprise, from behind, the Thief gains +4 to hit and inflicts double damage.
At levels 5-8, damage is tripled, and from a Thief above level 8 such an attack inflicts quadruple damage.
The difference is subtle but on purpose. Cool stuff.

[@JasonFlashFootball]

It is very cool to have the designer/author available to get feedback and confirmation. Indeed cool stuff.

[@ChuckBarchuk]

@@JasonFlashFootball Well I had asked Matt if the difference in the wording was intentional because it suggests that the Assassin doesn't need surprise while the Thief does. He simply stated that he would not require an Assassin to roll a hide or move silently check when backstabbing that they could simply just move behind a distracted opponent.

[@markkernow]

Exactly right Jason! Love that printing too, the artwork is great! Somehow this is more to my taste than Advanced OSE, even though they are close. I actually got to use this for my brief Welsh Borderlands semi-historical campaign. A number of minor typos as you say - the Ranger text says d8 hit dice, but the table says d6. Have you seen Matt Finch's Kickstarter for a new version, now he has broken away from Frog Gods?

[@JasonFlashFootball]

Hey Mark! Awesome to hear from you. I had no idea there was a Kickstarter or that Mr. Finch had left Frog God. I'll keep my eye out for the next edition.

[@ChuckBarchuk]

Here is the Parry ability from the sample revised edition that just wrapped up on kickstarter.
Parry: Fighters with a Dexterity score of 14 or better can fight on
the defensive, parrying enemy blows and dodging attacks, as shown
on the table below. The Fighter can parry at any time, without
giving up the ability to attack in the same round. Parrying is not
effective against missile weapons, but is effective against claws, bites
and touch attacks.

[@JasonFlashFootball]

Interesting. The new edition sounds great.

[@ChuckBarchuk]

@@JasonFlashFootball Well before people were assuming you had to parry instead of attack. So it's cool that this ability has been clarified a bit.

[@ChuckBarchuk]

Monk has also been changed quite a bit on the revised edition. Essentially they have attribute requirements in order to access various abilities. For example, they now need a 15+ in Dexterity in order to use Thief abilities.

[@JasonFlashFootball]

Nice! Again, refining how a character class is more unique and less "automatic". I like these subtle little differences.

[@ChuckBarchuk]

@@JasonFlashFootball Well I guess there were complaints that the Monk is overpowered. I've never played one so I'm not sure.

[@ChuckBarchuk]

So a Monk needs a Wisdom of 15+ to access Weapon Damage Bonus, Alertness, Slow Falling, and a Wisdom of 12+ to gain their Saving Throw Bonus. They need a Dexterity of 15+ to gain Multiple Attacks, Deflect Missiles, Thief abilities. So yea you could end up with a pretty nerfed Monk if your stats aren't high enough.

[@jasonmabry8526]

The Blackest of Deaths by Bloat Games might interest you. Leveless OSR gaming. Deadly and cool.

[@JasonFlashFootball]

Hmm? I've not heard of it. I'll check it out.