Sword Omen
A downloadable game
This book is the culmination of many other things that I have written over the past few years. I feel that Sword Omen may be my magnum opus – a collection of my best advice to referees and my favorite rule principles. While this is a stand-alone game, much of the advice herein can be applied to other systems. At 82 pages, it's also the longest game I've designed in over a decade.
Sword Omen embraces the oldest of old school edicts – rulings, not rules. The guidelines presented therein are intended to create a simple yet dynamic framework for resolving action based on common sense, rather than a set of inflexible rules that attempts to provide answers for everything. There’s really only one rule at the core of Sword Omen:
If a character’s record sheet says a character can do something or that they know something, then they can do it and they know it. Period.
I know that's a pretty unusual concept in a hobby full of games that fetishize randomizers such as dice and cards, but there it is. There are, of course, many intricacies, but that's the core of the system when broken down to its most basic element. Simple. Concise. Functional.
Sword Omen also takes a large amount of inspiration from the Original FRPG where structure is concerned. It includes a heavily implied setting, but leaves enough room for you to make it your own. Inside this book, you’ll find guidelines for creating characters, resolving challenges (including combat), a magic system, a selection of creatures, guidelines for travel and exploration, and a bunch of advice for the referee (to be fair, there is quite a bit of that throughout the book).
Conceptually, Sword Omen sits someplace between the Original FRPG and WFRP. It embraces the core themes of the Original FRPG, such as adventure, exploration, and travel, but also emphasizes the deadly nature of combat, the powerful but unpredictable and corrupting nature of magic, and darker menagerie of monsters in WFRP.
Sword Omen features black and white art by Carlos Casthilo, Daniel Comerci, Dean Spencer, Henriette Boldt, kjpargeter (via freepik), and Yuri Perkowski Domingos which has been carefully chosen to convey this implied setting and envisioned tone of the game, as well as conjure up images of the aesthetic of the Original FRPG.
Sword Omen is laid out as a small format document for easy tablet (or phone) viewing, plus it has been bookmarked for quick reference.
[08/13/2020: Uploaded revised PDF (Sword Omen 002). Includes correction of minor typos and revised/expanded bookmarks for easier reference.]
[12/31/2020: Corrected some of the text in "combat turns and who acts when" to bring it inline with text and terms later in the document.]
[01/15/2021: Corrected minor typos. Added clarifications on combat re: defense moves, with special thanks to allinonemove for their assistance. Unfortunately, bookmarks were removed when formatting the PDF. I will rectify that in the next day or two.]
[02/13/2021: Re-added bookmarks to Sword Omen 004 PDF.]
Purchase
In order to download this game you must purchase it at or above the minimum price of $13 USD. You will get access to the following files:
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Community Copies
These are free for the taking! If you're on a budget and have a hard time fitting fun into it, these are for you. Further, for every copy that sells at retail price, I'll add an additional two Community Copies.
Development log
- Updated file 02/13/2020.Feb 14, 2021
- Updated file 01/15/2020.Jan 15, 2021
- Permission granted!Aug 14, 2020
- Updated file available!Aug 14, 2020
- Previews of the rules, for those who askedJul 21, 2020
Comments
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I've bought a lot of ruleset here, I don't usually comment on them but this is exactly what I was looking for. I find the combat very well done, diceless and tactical. In other similar products, the actions are so vague as to be boring, not here. This game is an example of excellent game design. I ask one thing if the author reads these comments, does a deflected attack automatically deal damage or can it be parried and deflected in turn? As a referee I let it automatically deal damage to weak creatures but not elites, however no png or monster can deflect an already deflected hit.
Hi, Lucius. Thank you for the kind words! Re: deflected attacks. As written, yes, a deflected attack deals damage to the new target. And it was my intent that an already deflected hit cannot be deflected a second time (although I did not spell that out explicitly, so you made a great call).
I just grabbed this PDF; it looks great and reads very well. Do you have an example of combat that you can share? I have many questions...
1. Popcorn initiative is definitely a high trust endeavor. Popcorn initiative really isn't too concerned with mechanical balance in any game that uses it - it's about doing what is fair and fun for the players.
When I run games using popcorn initiative (including Sword Omen), I just try my best to be fair and fun, using the narrative environment as a guideline and taking into consideration any skills that characters have, as well.
This comes back to rulings, not rules.
Going back to the example of an ambush, once the first NPC has taken action, it's feasible that a PC may have the time to quickly square up the situation - especially if they had stated they were moving carefully and have a skill like "combat tactics".
In such a situation, I'd probably let that PC take action next and, potentially, bark some commands to his allies, making them aware of where other foes are located, as well.
2. All defense actions are taken as an immediate response to an attack action. So, for example, if Enemy X attacks a PC, that PC immediately gets to take their first (free) defense action. They may take more defense actions during the turn in this manner if attacked again. I'll try to clear this up in a future revision.
3. By default, attack actions automatically deal damage unless defended against using a defense action. No skills are compared. BUT if you're resolving a contest of weapon skill that isn't actual combat with an intent to kill (say, such as that scene in the Dark Crystal involving Trial by Stone or a fencing contest), then you would compare skills as using the rules for standard action resolution. I need to go back and clarify this as well.
Thank you for your questions!
Thanks for the reply!
Another question: since casting a spell during combat requires 2 actions, it seems that this can only be accomplished if the character has an applicable _combat_ skill. Correct?
You are correct.
Am I correct in guessing from the cover art that there may be some Bloodborne inspiration here? (I am always on the lookout for soulslike games to add to my Itch collection....)
Bloodborne wasn't really an inspiration, as I've never played it, BUT the implied setting is certainly open enough that you can drop such things in - and the game is lethal enough that it might even be a good fit.
Excellent! Big fan of people with monster hands regardless. 🙂
That fellow with the monster hand is a magi (one of the species of player characters). They can cast more magic rituals per day than other characters at the cost of such physical mutation (such mutations don't have a mechanical effect, but can impact the narrative and interactions with other people).