Swordbearer

Sadly I lost my 1e boxed set long ago. I only had the pleasure of running 3 sessions and playing in two sessions before life threw me a radical curve and I lost my copy in a cross-country move. It was for it’s time a bit revolutionary. The socio-economic system was true to feudalism, so unlike the totally not medieval capitalist system in D&D and almost every other FRPG of the time. To me, a fledgling SCAdian at the time, it was a breath of fresh air. Something accurately medieval in a medieval-themed fantasy RPG? Imagine that!

I really liked the magic system of elemental and spirit nodes, kinda like the magical mana in several fantasy worlds. It allowed a creative blend of magics that I wished I’d gotten to explore more. I’d love to get the pdf rules from FGU and find an online table to play it again after all these years.

All of the FGU content is fantastic. I've not played them in group but I like the detailed explanation of the mechanics and considerations for various systems. I have Space Opera, Aftermath and Swordbearer and I read them often when I'm working on homebrew rules and such. The difference between FGU systems and typical systems is like
the difference between learning how to solve equations and being given the function. This IS a compliment.

I own a copy of the 1E box set and if the mechanics are the same, Stats for humans are rolled on 2d10. They include Mass, Agility, Intelligent, and Social Status. Strength is derived from Mass. Monsters and other races have different rolls for Stats.

There are no classes, only Skill Spheres. Each character can choose 1 or 2 Skill Spheres and you spend "Experience points" to buy the individual skills. Skills in the Sphere(s) you select cost less than skills from other spheres. You can ;learn any skill in the game at creation or during play. Skills are expressed as % and tests are d100 > Skill Rating.

Character Progression is mostly about increasing Skills through use and gaining more Skills during play and 'down time' between adventures. Social Status can be increased by find a 'treasure' of a SS higher than your own.

Economics are different, with your buying power determined by your Social Status. All Items have a Status Rating and the closer a specific...See more item is to your Status, the herder it is to acquire.

Encumbrance does not exist! Instead, each character can carry 10 Items. Some items do not count as one of your ten items. Other items come in sets that count as 1 Item (4 daggers or 10 throwing stars). NPCs, called a Retinue, count as items, but then each NPC can then carry 10 items. The NPCs also have a Social Status requirement. Mounts are also Items and have a Social Status requirement.

There are two kinds of Magic in the world, Elemental and Spirit, and they are quite complex in how they work and would require way more room.

I ran Swordbearer for a friend back in the mid 90s and it is not a hard game to run, but modern players would probably not like it because it's not a Monty Haul style game.

How many pages is this? Can we have more than a one-line description?

Is the reproducable character sheet included in the file?

Can you tell us more about this game? Is it a standard Fantasy RPG?