RPG OSR Review : Swords & Wizardry

Let's Review the now iconic Swords & Wizardry from Frog God Games. OD&D rules clarified and organized!
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[@kurgon1976]

My favorite part of these are the old school black and white art.

[@keithdonohue4631]

It's Labor Day weekend, and The Cap's latest OSR review is another labor of love. Thanks, so much!

[@Diabolik771]

2:52 if you want to take that tape off without messing up the box, use lighter fluid. It eat the tape glue and evaporates completely without staining and doesn't harm ink.

[@captcorajus]

That's not mine. That's someone's off the interwebs I captured to use as an example. :)

[@RobbiGraves]

Excellent review of one of my favourite clones. I've been running S&W for about a year for players who mainly know wotc era DnD and they have all really taken to this ruleset, which makes Original DnD approachable.

[@mattnerdy7236]

Hey Capt., been thinking about you. I knew it was time for another great video of yours to drop. The artwork you showed in the beginning was just jaw-dropping. I got that excitement that I use to get back in the 80's as a teenager. Love your reviews. Thanks Capt. & have a great day.

[@captcorajus]

Yeah, the artwork for this was really spectacular. I really want to play this game so bad. lol

[@darrenp9454]

Hey, Matt, small internet... Lol

[@drewwill6497]

Great review as usual! Can't wait for the City of Brass review. Thanks Cap!

[@joshjames582]

Here's what I love about S&W - it's a completely free to play, accessible, non-intimidating version of OD&D, which itself has an unfair reputation as being an obscure and too-primitive version of the game. S&W has free pdfs of all official versions, an SRD for the Complete version, and a Light version that acts as a quick play/starter set for S&W that anyone can pick up and play. It's a simple framework that extra complexity can be added onto, if the DM or players wish, but in its presented form it's got enough substance to run a full campaign for many years. Yes, I dare suggest even the Light and Whitebox versions count for that, because why not? The whole point of D&D when it came out in 1974 was that the light little rules were just guidelines. A starter for the imagination. Individual referees and players could feel free to build on the concept and expand the campaign infinitely without permission from any authority figure. S&W brings those days back to us, for those brave enough to answer the calling.

[@goodtrubble9688]

Thanks for pitching another winner to fill my time over the weekend! You do great work!😁

[@fulminatus6241]

Glad you're back. Love your work. Thanks for all your efforts.

[@AAron-gr3jk]

it's a treat when you release another video. thanks Cap

[@koz8319]

Was on the fence about swords and wizardry, but after this review it's coming home! Thanks Capt!

[@captcorajus]

Yeah, i was pleasantly pleased with it. I had been asking to review it many times, and this was one that really surprised me with just how awesome it was.

[@notsofree_willy]

Just finished watching the backlog of your videos after discovering your channel, it's been a pleasant experience learning about d&d history from you!

[@captcorajus]

Great! That is the entire point of this channel, and to enjoy the OSR movement and all the fun that offers. Thank you for the kind words.

[@notsofree_willy]

@@captcorajus after learning about the OSR movement I've been itching to find players to play with!

[@captcorajus]

@@notsofree_willy Well there are quite a few FB groups you can join that will help you find people in your area to play with. I've found that a lot of the 5E players are willing to give it a shot.

[@Johnny_Nitro]

2nd Yes!!!! Damn it took a long time to get this video out Cap.

[@kubaz122]

It’s great to see more videos. You’re one of my favourite channels.

[@captcorajus]

Wow. Humbled. Thank you!

[@menion2599]

This get a pre-viewing like - just what I wanted to see!

[@menion2599]

All present and correct (and viewed). Lovely looking book this. Need to think of ways of getting a copy without annoying the wife... Thanks for the great work!

[@HowtoRPG]

Love every video you have made. This was very interesting.

[@hawkeyepearce1066]

Thanks for another great insight into the OSR side of this great hobby! Looking forward to your thoughts on the City of Brass, as I backed the kickstarter for the 5E version, and still have yet to dig into what amounts to a pretty weighty tome.

[@freddaniel5099]

Great review of a great product. Thanks!

[@udasu]

My crew is trying LL now. Thanks for this one. Erol Otus art too!

[@MrRourk]

Take a look at BX Advanced

[@magonus195]

Thank you for the comprehensive review

[@captcorajus]

You're very welcome!

[@Talwyn22]

Another great video :) Interesting system.

[@ImaginerImagines]

Glad to have you back. Thanks for the review. While I have the original white box books and supplements, for actually playing the game this sounds like a better option.

[@captcorajus]

Yeah, I have the PDFs for the other versions, but after reviewing the Complete rules they seemed the best indexed, explained, and presented, so i thought I'd do a full review on this.

[@ImaginerImagines]

@@captcorajus it is definitely appreciated. After your review I put it on my buy list. Again thanks.

[@SirMillz]

Great review, as always Captain! I'm Surprised you're just now getting around to reviewing S&W. It's a neat, skimmed down OD&D clone.

[@captcorajus]

yeah, i know i've had people asking me about it for years, but you know, i'm getting to them as i can! lol

[@willmistretta]

Just rewatching this today and wondering if you'd consider taking a look at the new revised edition that's releasing soon. It's seeing some excellent new additions and updates that just might earn it an even higher rating on your scale!

[@captcorajus]

you can count on it.

[@robbabcock_]

Good stuff!

[@thankukorea]

Always enjoy your reviews.... curious what you would rank Castles and Crusades.

[@captcorajus]

Very highly. I've done two videos on that game. Love it.

[@thenachomancandysavage4074]

Fantastic review,do you have any plans to review basic fantasy rpg or dungeon crawl classics ?

[@captcorajus]

I've already reviewed Basic Fantasy. kzbin.info/www/bejne/fHqvZIF9fJaCos0 Dungeon Crawl Classics is on my radar, but its going to require a bit more depth and time to actual playing than I have time to devote at this time.

[@tomtom7955]

i dont think i ever caught that subtle rule difference with magic missile, always used the auto hit version which made shield so good

[@captcorajus]

Yeah, I have to say that rolling 'to-hit' especially when you've got like ONE spell is just... too brutal.

[@fja3924]

So what would you get for OSR gaming? Swords and Wizardry, Advanced Labyrinth Lord or Basic Fantasy RPG? I would use Ascending AC but I could easily convert that for LL. Thanks for any reply!

[@thagomizer4711]

Quick question: what did you think of the S&W treasure system? I have mixed feelings on it, really. I do enjoy having the treasure tables by monster type, a la B/X, but getting to roll up a treasure hoard using an assortment of monsters by default makes dungeon design itself a little easier.

[@captcorajus]

I really kind of like the S&W method. Though when I DM I've rarely used random treasure tables except as a guideline. What I allow into the campaign is very specific. I don't give out permanent use magic items lightly. Potions, scrolls, and 1 use items are pretty common, but anything with a + bonus or special ability is super rare in my games.

[@thagomizer4711]

Yusssss! I’ve been waiting for you to review this for ages! This was my number 1 system for a long time, and I still love it dearly. Though I think Gavin’s Old School Essentials just usurped it.

[@captcorajus]

Yeah, i'm sort of waiting for my hard copies to come in on that system. I'm a backer. You can be sure that i'll be reviewing it when it comes in. :)

[@thagomizer4711]

captcorajus did you go for the box, the rules tome, the deluxe copy, or a combination? I got the deluxe rules time and the advanced supplements, personally.

[@captcorajus]

@@thagomizer4711 I really wanted the box, and I like the idea of the booklets, that allow you to just grab the rules you need. So, during play, the player could be using the spells booklet, but the DM could be using the monsters booklet. Whereas with the rule tome, one person has all the rules, and people have to wait for them to get done to look up what they want.

[@thagomizer4711]

captcorajus yeah I had thought about that too. Luckily the PSFs for the books came free with my pledge level, so I printed them out in booklet form for use at the table.

[@reesedavis3499]

what's that into music?

[@YousephTanha]

Great video. Does a supplement exist that adds more character player options? IE: More races and classes?

[@captcorajus]

Absolutely, there are tons of additions to this OSR Rules set on Drivethrurpg and at the Frog God Games Website

[@Bren71319]

Who does the music for your intro? One hell of a groove goin’ on there!!!

[@captcorajus]

Thanks. Its a carefully edited version of another groove i put together. The jazzy groove is called bluebreak

[@Bren71319]

Yeah, very good... I just realized there’s two pieces used at the beginning of each video. The one I commented on is the kind of “carnival” sounding one with the drum beat... Great...

[@rkcpek]

Sice osr concentrates on role playing rather than strict rules; would you consider a review on rules lite, aka intro systems? Systems such as "Advanced Fighting Fantasy" mini-six, gurps-lite,etc?

[@captcorajus]

There are a few criteria for the topics I select for my reviews. First and foremost, I need to have some experience with the subject matter so that I can speak authoritatively on the topic .Second, I tend to stick to Dungeons & Dragons related material. Other games I review are Call of Cthulhu, Star Wars and a few others. Otherwise, the number of topics would be too broad, and then channel would go off in some tangent directions that does not appeal to most subscribers. Good question though! Thanks!

[@Number01]

How does this compare to the new complete box set? Thanks for all your videos!

[@captcorajus]

its essentiall the same information just repackaged

[@Number01]

@@captcorajus thank you!

[@007nikster2]

What is that fantasy midi song at the beginning of your video?

[@captcorajus]

The ever present question. Its a remix i did of some things off an old TSR CD module. :)

[@BTsMusicChannel]

13:09 I think Mazes & Monsters is the most expensive of the retro games.

[@scottanderson8167]

NO THIEVES! Also: there’s good reason for the 5 saving throws. That said I love the white box and I know all of the guys who designed it.

[@itsasecrettoeverybody]

Advance Labyrinth Lord or swords & wizardry complete?

[@captcorajus]

I think if between the two I'd enjoy playing/ DMing Swords and Wizardry a bit more. Both are great

[@itsasecrettoeverybody]

@@captcorajus thanks, I think the same. Both are great but S&W has the edge. The hints the book gives and the support for alternative rules makes it a breeze to house rule and get the experience you want from it. I have both in PDF I'm thinking about getting a printed version of S&W to put next to my OSRIC copy.

[@captcorajus]

@@itsasecrettoeverybody Yes, I have to agree 100% with you there. There 'alternate' rules are varied in different sections letting you sculpt the game to your liking.

[@shawnwarswick8898]

Probably the only place I disagree is presentation. I really don’t like the spells being all listed together and my players don’t either.

[@captcorajus]

I really can't understand why you would prefer the other method? Its a pain in the butt when the spells are broken up by class and spell level. The front of the magic listing has the spells broken up that way, so you know what spell goes to what and then you just look it up by alphabetical order. You don't have to page through to the class, and then page through to the level and then look it up alphabetically. You save two whole steps.

[@shawnwarswick8898]

captcorajus I have them tabbed. Just open to the tab and boom. But honestly I don’t use all of the spells anyway. It could be that I’ve been doing it one way since 1981 so I’m used to it, old grognard that I am. LOL

[@captcorajus]

@@shawnwarswick8898 gotcha. Makes a lot of sense. Also,we grognards are notoriously set in our ways. lol.

[@shawnwarswick8898]

@@captcorajus Definitely dude. I love having it broken down by class and by level. But I also love THAC0 so... I might be a LITTLE different. ;)

[@shawnwarswick8898]

I'd love to see you review Adventures Dark and Deep and/or Dungeon Crawl Classics. See what you think of those OSR's.

[@adzi6164]

3:34 Chainmail is not a supplement, lol

[@captcorajus]

D&D is an evolution.. in part.. from Gygax's fantasy rules to Jeff Peren's original game. If you are unsure of my terminology in this regard, and you have a copy of chainmail, I suggest you turn to page 28, and there you will find that indeed it says, "Fantasy Supplement". Furthermore, OD&D was not intended as a stand alone rules set, as Chainmail was intended to be used to 'supplement' the OD&D rules. Thus, in either case, (at least in regards to D&D, which is the topic being discussed in this video) it is indeed a 'supplement". :)

[@adzi6164]

@@captcorajus welp, yes, the fantasy rules for Chainmail were, indeed, a supplement for it - but still, the original D&D was just an add-on to Chainmail, and the attack matrix rules using the d20 were the alternative rule (and poorly balanced, as it makes no effort to differentiate weapons, and it also nerfs player characters greatly), while the default one was just using the Chainmail rules, with the adjustments described in the D&D set's booklet about adventures. (the Chainmail rules actually made sense from all weapons dealing the same d6 of damage)

[@kaldemvor]

The carry modifiers for strength are ridiculously low. I routinely carry 25-40 lbs 2.5 miles at a fast walk when coming back home from the store. I'm not a big guy, either.

[@erikmartin4996]

I am not trying to be rude but his name is Erol not Earl.

[@captcorajus]

Not to be rude, but relax and enjoy things more. :)