Swords, Spells, & Skills [playtest]

WARNING: This roleplaying game is currently in development and is being released for the purpose of gathering additional playtesting information. See below for more details.

Swords, Spells, and Skills is a simple game about going on adventures as fantasy characters in an open world. It was inspired by the oldest edition of the world's most famous role playing game, so many of those adventures will likely involve exploring dangerous places for treasure.

Here's how this game differs from others in the "old-school" genre:

• No ability scores. Player character abilities are determined by their class and measured by their level.
• No hit points. If a character is hit in combat, they must sacrifice something (armor, weapon, body part, hireling, etc.) or die. A longer explanation of the system can be found on my blog.
• No counting coins. Wealth is determined by the amount of treasure a character has, which is not diminished through regular purchases. 
• No experience points. Each of the three classes level up differently by catering to the thing they want to do most. Fighters want to fight, magic users want to discover magic, specialists want to go on adventures. 
• Normal dice only. Only six-sided dice are required. Risky actions are resolved through opposed 2d6 rolls. 

Like similar games in the genre, this game has the following features:

• Item slots. A simple way for inventory to matter without tracking the weight of each item. How much a character carries impacts their mobility. 
• Simple classes. Player characters can be deadly fighters, mystical magic users, or crafty specialists. The rules encourage players to lean into these archetypes. 
• Simple NPCs. Non-player characters are described primarily as they would be in the fiction. Their only stat is level, which is a measure of how dangerous they are.
• Sandbox open world. The rules are designed for players to set their own goals, not for the referee to design a strict storyline for them to follow.  

Swords, Spells, and Skills is currently in an incomplete, playtest form. Expect significant changes to nearly everything about the game (potentially even the name) as it is playtested and further developed. Please leave any feedback in the discussion board below. 

In addition to improvements to the existing rules, early backers can expect the following additional features to be added over time:

• Mass combat
• Hex/point crawling
• Dungeon crawling
• Creating maps and locations
• General GM advice
• Examples of play
• Sample NPCs
• ... and more!

As the game is developed, the price will rise. However, early backers who buy at a lower price will continue to get all updates even as the price rises. For full transparency, here is the pricing plan:

• Release as early playtest: $5 <--- Current price
• Feature complete: $10
• Fully playtested with proper layout: $15

The speed at which these stages are completed depends on the number of purchases and general interest in the project. 

A huge shoutout to FMC: Basic by Marcia B. of Traverse Fantasy, which heavily inspired this game.