Swordbearer (role-playing Game)
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''Swordbearer'' is a fantasy role-playing game published by
Heritage Games Heritage Models was an American game company that produced role-playing games, metal miniatures, and game supplements. Wargaming and fantasy miniatures Heritage Models, a manufacturer of metal miniature wargaming soldiers, was founded by Jim Oden ...
in 1982, and then republished by Fantasy Games Unlimited (FGU) in 1985. The game featured a number of original innovations, but despite good critical reception, it failed to find an audience under either publisher.


Contents

''Swordbearer'' is a fantasy game system with concepts that were new to fantasy role-playing games of the time.


Spheres

Unlike the popular role-playing games of the time ''
Dungeons & Dragons ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (TTRPG) originally created and designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by TSR (company)#Tactical ...
'' and ''
RuneQuest ''RuneQuest'' (commonly abbreviated as RQ) is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game originally designed by Steve Perrin, Ray Turney, Steve Henderson (game designer), Steve Henderson, and Warren James, and set in Greg Stafford (game designer), Gre ...
'', characters in ''Swordbearer'' have no classes or professions, instead learning whatever skills are appropriate from six different "spheres" of skills. A character that specializes in a Sphere can learn related skills more quickly.


Status

There is no money in ''Swordbearer''. Instead, everyone has a Social Status ranked from 1 (slaves and indentured servants) to 17 or higher (nobility). A character with a certain status can obtain any item of the same status. For example, a character with Status 7 is assumed to have the wherewithal to obtain any Status 7 item. If a Status 5 character finds a Status 9 item, the character's Social Status rises to 9.


Magic

The rules suggest for new players that magic can be set aside at the start of the game and then added as they gain experience in role-playing. Magic is done with "nodes", aligned to various elemental or spiritual forces. Each node's power can be linked to a specific spell. The elemental forces are somewhat similar to the Chinese Five Elements theory, with Crystal, Light/Dark, Wood, Metal, Fire, Water and Wind. Spiritual types are Vitriolic, Phlegmatic, Choleric and Melancholic. (Unlike other role-playing games of the time, clerics and priests have no special "divine magic" abilities.) However, a number of calculations are needed to apply magic. For example, once the character has located and identified the appropriate node of energy, and aligned the node to a spell, then the character must see if their attempt to cast the spell is successful by consulting the alignment equation: ( x current power of aligned mode- 5 x strength of node to be aligned+ 75).


Terrain

Terrain in ''Swordbearer'' is important. For example, there are differences in the ease or difficulty of wading through or boating on various types of watercourses, and maps feature nine classes of terrain and vegetation from desert through to jungle.


Other innovations

* Encumbrance, usually a matter of calculating the weight of everything the character is carrying in other role-playing games of the time, is drastically simplified: Every character can possess a maximum of 10 "items", although the definition of an "item" is loose: an "item" could be a retainer, a castle plus all its attendants, etc. * There are a very large number of playable character races: in addition to the usual elves, dwarves, humans, etc. used in other fantasy role-playing games of the time, ''Swordbearer'' also includes dragons, centaurs, gargoyles, as well as original races like bunrabs (humanoid rabbits) and moonspiders (intelligent arachnids). * Combat initiative is determined by skill. Every weapon has both an Accuracy and Speed skill; attacks are carried out in descending order by Speed skill. The "Characters" and "Fighting" book (48 pages) includes character creation, skills, equipment, and combat. The "Elemental Magic" and "Spirit Magic" book (32 pages) describes the magic system in detail. The "Racial Index" and "Gamemaster's Guide" book (48 pages) covers intelligent races, monsters, and how to run the game.


Publication history

''Swordbearer'' was created by B. Dennis Sustare with contributions from Arnold Hendrick, and was published by Heritage USA in 1982 as a digest-sized
boxed set A boxed set or (its US name) box set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box, hence 'boxed', and offered for sale as a single unit. Music Artists ...
with cover art by Dennis Loubet and interior art by David Helber. The game did not sell well. In 1985, FGU purchased the rights to ''Swordbearer'', and also picked up the old stock of the game from Heritage, which FGU's Scott Bizar felt should be a necessary part of the deal. FGU then republished the game in the same format with new cover art by
Bill Willingham William Willingham (born 1956) is an American writer and artist of comics, known for his work on the series '' Elementals'' and ''Fables''. Career William Willingham was born in Fort Belvoir, Virginia. During his father's military career the fam ...
; later that year, FGU published a second edition as a full-sized boxed set containing two books (one 60 pages and one 32 pages). FGU published one supplement, '' Dwarven Halls'', detailing the dwarves and other inhabitants of a long valley, which is designed to be transplanted into any campaign setting. Sales of the FGU edition of ''Swordbearer'' also languished and it eventually went out of print with no further supplements published.


Reception

In Issue 71 of ''
Dragon A dragon is a Magic (supernatural), magical legendary creature that appears in the folklore of multiple cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but European dragon, dragons in Western cultures since the Hi ...
'' (March 1983),
Ken Rolston Ken Rolston is an American computer game and role-playing game designer best known for his work with West End Games and on the computer game series ''The Elder Scrolls''. Tabletop role-playing games Ken Rolston began working as a professional g ...
reviewed the Heritage USA edition and called the game rules "intelligent, logical, and full of sensible advice ... a thought-provoking and imagination-stirring fantasy role-playing game." Rolston thought the best part of the rules were "a self-consistent magic system with an appealing atmosphere of ritual and drama, an unusually detailed character generation system, and the finest advice, common sense, and experienced wisdom on gamesmastering ever collected under one cover." Writing in 1983, Rolston foresaw that Heritage USA would have difficulty making headway against industry giants like ''Dungeons & Dragons'' and ''RuneQuest''. He suggested that aggressive marketing of the game was needed, and believed that the small digest-sized box "is a poor step in that direction" although the low price of only $10 was attractive. Rolston also believed that further scenarios and supplements "of superior quality" should immediately be made available to aid in marketing.
Ken Rolston Ken Rolston is an American computer game and role-playing game designer best known for his work with West End Games and on the computer game series ''The Elder Scrolls''. Tabletop role-playing games Ken Rolston began working as a professional g ...
reviewed ''Swordbearer'' for ''
Different Worlds ''Different Worlds'' was an American role-playing games magazine published from 1979 to 1987. Scope ''Different Worlds'' published support articles, scenarios, and variants for various role-playing games including ''Dungeons & Dragons'', ''Rune ...
'' magazine and stated that "If Heritage were to publish some first-class support materials for ''Swordbearer'' - some well-written scenarios, particularly - gamers might begin to consider adopting ''Swordbearer'' as their campaign system. Unless there is some evidence that the publisher is going to support the product with the same high quality of supplements as are available for ''D&D'', ''RQ'', and ''T&T'', it is unlikely that they will risk switching over to the new system, in spite of the obvious qualities of ''Swordbearer''. In the meantime, anyone who plays FRP games will find this game well worth the ..price tag." In his 1990 book ''
The Complete Guide to Role-Playing Games ''The Complete Guide to Role-Playing Games'' is a book written by Rick Swan and published by St. Martin's Press in 1990 that explains role-playing games and provides reviews of those that were on the market at the time. Contents ''The Complete G ...
'', game critic
Rick Swan Rick Swan is a game designer and author who worked for TSR. His work for TSR, mostly for ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'', appeared from 1989 to 1995. Swan also wrote '' The Complete Guide to Role-Playing Games'' (1990), published by St. Martin' ...
called this "Swords and sorcery for grad students ... a sophisticated alternative for those bored with ''
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Several different editions of the '' Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D'') fantasy role-playing game have been produced since 1974. The current publisher of ''D&D'', Wizards of the Coast, produces new materials only for the most current edition of the ...
'' and ''
RuneQuest ''RuneQuest'' (commonly abbreviated as RQ) is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game originally designed by Steve Perrin, Ray Turney, Steve Henderson (game designer), Steve Henderson, and Warren James, and set in Greg Stafford (game designer), Gre ...
''." Although Swan liked some of the innovations around skills and magic, "In the end, ''Swordbearer''s complexity overwhelms its clever ideas. The simplest combat engagements can take ages to complete, and even modest mathematical errors ... can produce wildly inaccurate results." Swan concluded by giving the game a rating of 2.5 out of 4, saying, "The material is clearly presented, and referee hints abound, but the amount of effort required to master the game mechanics make ''Swordbearer'' virtually unplayable."


References


External links

{{Portal, Companies
Fantasy Games Unlimited official website
Arnold Hendrick games Fantasy Games Unlimited games Fantasy role-playing games Heritage Models games Role-playing games introduced in 1982