Sharp Swords & Sinister Spells

A Sword & Sorcery Rules Light Role Playing Game with Old School Spirit

In ages past, great kingdoms covered the world. Now, their ruins dot the savage wilderness that encroaches the few decadent city-states of our current time. In this perilous world, brave adventurers bearing sharp swords and sinister spells look for glory, gold and forbidden knowledge.

Sharp Swords & Sinister Spells is a rules-light, sword & sorcery, old school role playing game inspired by the original fantasy RPG and the Old School Renaissance movement as well as the stories by such authors as Robert E. Howard, Clark Ashton Smith, H.P. Lovecraft, Fritz Leiber and Michael Moorcock. With this book, you and your friends will be able to play exciting adventures with bold barbarians, witty thieves and cunning sorcerers without worrying about complex rules and tiresome preparations.

ATTENTION! Sharp Swords & Sinister Spells is not a Simulacrum of an older edition of the world’s most famous fantasy RPG! Although inspired by the original game and the OSR movement, the game was designed to be have its own unique system, more suitable to the Sword & Sorcery genre the author has in mind. The following author's work inspired the mechanics of this game: Gary Gygax, Dave Arneson, David Black, Christian Mehrstam, John Cocking, Peter S. Williams, Joseph Goodman, Harley Stroh, Jason Morningstar, Ian Livingstone, Steve Jackson, Simon Washbourne, Kevin Crawford, Sandy Petersen, Mike Manson, Jay Little, James M. Spahn, Ben Milton.

Men and women, considered brave by few, desperate by some, and insane by most. They leave the fragile security of the City-States to enter the ancient ruins in search for treasure and secrets that are better left undisturbed.

The world of Sharp Swords & Sinister Spells is an ancient one. Many civilizations have risen and fallen through the ages and not all of them were of men. Now what remains are their ruins and a few decadent City-States that live in the shadow of their former ancestors. The men and women of the current time are divided between many cultures, each with its own ambitions and rivalries.

The players’ characters are typical adventurers who seek glory, gold, ancient relics, power and other personal goals. They are not the stereotypical heroes who risk their live for the simply benefit of others. Many of their adventures put them face to face with weird things, terrible and fantastic, which are not as common place as in other fantasy genres. There are no elves in the forests. No dwarves in the mountains. Dragons and other monster are legendary creatures and, probably, unique. Sorcery is feared, respected and hated by most mortal men. The steel of his sword and the courage in his heart is all an adventurer needs to forge his destiny.