Hey folks! Today I'm posting the first draft of a swords & sorcery inspired 'Pamphlet RPG' I've created, called Barbarians & Black Magic. This is the nuts and bolts of an RPG all crammed into a double-sided standard letter-sized page and folded into three panels. Download here from the google drives.Barbarians & Black Magic owes it's mechanical chassis to such fine old RPGs as The Fantasy Trip and GURPS, so it should be easy to grok for anyone familiar with those games. The stats are pretty straightforward and simple and the gameplay (admittedly minimal playtesting so far) is pretty quick.
I'm hoping to get out a companion 'scenario pamphlet' later this summer which will provide examples of spells, magic items, traps, monsters, and other such things to help make the game feel more 'complete.' So look for that in late August!Ultimately, the goal here is to write a digest-sized version of Barbarians & Black Magic RPG in the 32 page range that is an xd6-based, roll-under game engine, with some different and hopefully colorful combat and magic mechanics, but is not just yet another Dungeons & Dragons retro-clone type RPG.
This is what I got so far. Cheers!Steve
P.S. Thanks to William McCausland for his great collections of fantasy spot art available at DriveThruRPG.com. Check out Outland Arts for more art & RPG goodies!
P.P.S. If any person knows (or can figure out!) where I cribbed the name Barbarians & Black Magic from, I will send you a free print & PDF copy of Dice Roll Zine #2, my zine devoted to OSR roleplaying games. This mini-contest is open to anyone, worldwide. Leave a comment below with your answer. Good luck!
