Thursday, July 14, 2011

Torch & Sword Beta 1

My 0e/LBB retro-clone Torch & Sword is nearly complete. Since I'll be taking a little break from it to work on my new campaign, I decided to release this beta version (PDF, LaTeX source files).

In a few months, I'll give it a final edit and add one or two bits and bobs, but it's now pretty close to a complete implementation of the original rules. I also added some art.

28 comments:

  1. Cool!!! From my quick glance, it looks sharp. And it looks like you've packed a hell of a lot of info into 79 pages!

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  2. Looking forward to reading over this. It's obvious you put a lot of effort into the project just looking at the preview here in the post.

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  3. Thanks! I'm shooting for a minimal framework with a terse style. There are few Gygaxian prose flourishes here, I'm afraid.

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  4. I agree with both James and R. W., really good work!

    I like the clean and minimalistic approach.

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  5. Nice! Excellent layout, digging the appendix. Are there any rules changes to the original beyond the appendix?

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  6. Are there any rules changes to the original beyond the appendix?

    I tried to isolate rules additions to the appendix.

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  7. Very cool stuff. Will give it a more thorough read soon. Thanks!

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  8. Well done Paul, looks great. And I look forward to having a better look at T&S.

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  9. Whoa, you've been busy! Looks great man.

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  10. What the... How is it that I just learned of this today- literally while randomly looking through a blog roll list? Anyway you've made a really well laid out and beautifully illustrated retroclone of the 3lbb's. Really awsome, and looks really close to the source. For combat, I like how you combined FC with the target 20 system - I did basically the same thing as an "alternate" combat system in the Champions of Zed retroclone. Great Stuff Paul.

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  11. Thanks! Nice to see you here. I bought Fight On! 12 five minutes ago, and had just started reading ZED article when you left your comment. I'm eager to see the whole book.

    To be honest, I haven't been using FC at the table. My group has settled into S&W's AAC system, and I find it plays well despite my initial hesitance about it.

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  12. Technical question: Are you writing in LaTex directly or are you converting to LaTex from something? If the latter, what?

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  13. I write LaTeX directly in Vim.

    Anyone curious about LaTeX but not comfortable with a text editor and raw markup might take a look at Lyx, a word-processor-like LaTeX GUI.

    Another options would be to do the bulk of the writing in a simple format like markdown, then convert to LaTeX using pandoc. I have considered going this route myself.

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  14. I write my own stuff in org-mode on emacs and export it to LaTex, but that is becoming a bit too limiting. I was thinking of moving over to just writing the tex files directly. Your tex files are a helpful tool. I like the landscape layout. Thanks for posting them.

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  15. Excellent work so far, I'm looking forward to seeing the final product! Are you planning to include anything from the supplements? I like your approach of keeping any changes to the appendices, I like simulacrums to stick as closely as possible to the original gameplay (that was my goal for Blueholme). And the screen-sized format is a good idea - I know I look at stuff more on screens than in print these days.

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  16. It only covers the three LBB's.

    I haven't touched this project in a long time. "LBB clone" is a well-served niche at this point. It was a very educational experience for me.

    At some point, I'll do one more editing pass on this, tighten up the formatting, and quietly stick on my publications page at devilghost.com.

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  17. Sweet.

    (For some reason, this post didn't show up in my feed reader; I only noticed it because I saw a share on Google Plus.)

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  18. Also, I'd be greatly interested in seeing a 1-up digest version of this (better for reading on tablets).

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  19. What's the argument for using this rather than, say, Labyrinth Lord or Swords & Wizardry?

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  20. LL and S&W are probably better choices. Torch & Sword has two possible advantages: it's extremely terse, and it makes an effort to preserve the ambiguities and lacunae of the LBB's. Also, all the art is public domain.

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  21. (This is an old post, so comments only appear after I approve them.)

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  22. I think that's why this serves a niche that none of the other clones scratch as yet. It's a great little package for the electronic age - a lot of people I see at play (and work) now come to the table armed with a tablet. It makes occasions where things can't proceed because some document or other is missing much less likely.

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  23. I really like what you did here. Nice neat little package with all the necessities. I'm wondering though, did the original box include rules for aerial combat? I haven't seen the white box in years and don't remember it.

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  24. Yes, the original game includes rules for aerial combat based on Mike Carr's Fight in the Skies WWI game.

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  25. Just a suggestion: the character creation quick steps makes it seem as if a PC of a given race can be any class. It says, "Choose a race," and then the next line is "Pick a class". But then the next page makes it clear that dwarves, elves and halflings are classes unto themselves, so to speak. You might want to re-word the instructions in the quick steps. Otherwise, great looking rule set!

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  26. This is really good. I especially like the inclusion of splintered shields and love the thief class and carousing experience.

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