Publisher: RetroRoleplayingMicrolite74 games are trimmed-down miniature versions of the Primary Fantasy SRD rules designed to be quick and easy to play, especially when compared to modern incarnations of the game. The goal of Microlite74 games is to recreate the style and feel of that very first (“0e”) fantasy roleplaying game published back in 1974 without giving up all of the clearer mechanics of modern D20-based versions.
Microlite74 Swords & Sorcery is designed for low level play in swords & sorcery settings. If the fantasy stories of Robert E. Howard, Fritz Lieber, Clark Ashton Smith, C.L. Moore, Karl Edward Wagner, and David Gemell are more to your taste that those of Tolkein or Eddings, this version of Microlite74 may be just what you are looking for. Microlite74 Swords & Sorcery is based on Microlite74 Extended 3.0 but with many special rules designed for swords & sorcery style campaigns. For example, there are only two classes (Adventurer and Sorcerer) and 6 levels, magic is limited and casting certain spells can corrupt the caster, and many 0e style magic items are relics of dead civilizations from long ago. Humans are assumed to dominate the world and most enemies are other humans and animals. True monsters certainly exist but they are assumed to be rare. Unlike most Microlite74 games which use a Microlite20-based experience system, this version uses a more standard experience point system.
Other versions include Microlite74 Basic, Microlite74 Standard, and Microlite74 Extended. Microlite74 Basic rules are complete but basic: There are only two classes (Fighter, Magic-User, and Cleric). Spells are limited and levels top out at 12 to 14. Microlite74 Standard includes many more classes and spells – all over those included in the original edition and its supplements. Microlite74 Extended includes all the material in the standard version extended with a number of house rules the author used in his 0e campaigns starting in the late 1970s. Microlite74 Companion volumes add even more options.
These rules assume that the GM understands the basic concepts of roleplaying games, but provides information for both the GM and the players on the various “old school” styles of play. Microlite74 games can easily use adventures and material from early editions of the world’s most popular tabletop fantasy roleplaying game or modern clones.
Price: $3.99