Sword & Sorcery Inspiration
Experience the tales of Sword & Sorcery that have shaken us on the big screen.
In Development
The Hero's Handbook
The Fatemaster's Guide
Sounds of Sorcery
- Rules
- Appendices
- Fatemaster Section
- Final Formatting for Publication (on DTRPG)
- Now Available as PDF on DTRPG!
- Rules
- Artwork In Development
- Charts in Development
- Tables in Development
- Introduction Track
- Theme
- Songs of the Dark Powers
- Cinematic Themes
- The Saga Awaits
- Finishing Touches and Last Edits
- Final Checks
- Now available as Audio CD or Download!
Development History
April
2020
Original Concepts
Savages & Sorcery was born, or at least the fundamental iconic archetypes: a world more brutal than traditional fantasy that captured the feeling of Conan the Barbarian; Red Sonja; Beastmaster and other traditional Sword & Sorcery IPs. After looking into several rule sets to see if I could find one that captured the feeling of what I was looking for, I turned to Heroquest for its combat and spells but tried to carve a world out that was dark and devastating on my own.
June
2020
Reverse Engineering and Results
Beginning with the 'heroes' from Heroquest, I did what I could to find out what made them work mathematically. Finally I worked out Body, Mind, Agility, Fate systems (even though Agility and Fate were added from my own mental workings) and determined Talent descriptions, looking at how the abilities of the Wizard, the Barbarian, the Elf, and the Dwarf were balanced.
August
2020
New Realms and Possibilities
With a 25th Anniversary Edition Heroquest coming I realized that if I were to continue the efforts, I would need to create a new world with new monsters outside of Heroquest's IP, especially if I had any hope of publishing.
October
2020
New Inspirations
In the brief respite I had before the Holiday Rush (though there wasn't much of one due to the Global Pandemic) I began looking into every ruleset I could get my hands on that seemed to hearken to a Sword & Sorcery world. That collection continues to this day and I have borrowed and adapted quite a few inspirations from them, making them more streamlined and evocative.
November
2020
Hiatus
The stresses of a new job (new location) in retail sales in combination with the Holiday put all creative projects on pause for several months.
March
2021
Sword and Sorcery Discoveries
Enjoyed immensely Shadow of the Demon Lord by Schwalb Entertainment. The magic system was particularly streamlined and evocative and brought my attention back to my own production for a time. The fiction and world were very dark which at the time was quite fun.
I started developing campaign stories around the spellcasters, putting them in interesting places of power. There was a whole political group of fire elementalists who had the ear of several political powers.
This also led to developing witchcraft. Lesser known magics but also less direct and destructive and with a seduction of their own. I even gave them a bit of an Arabic flair by replacing their brooms with flying carpets.
May
2021
Remembering Older Games
In an attempt to capture Sword & Sorcery feeling through an older game (or at least see how older games looked at these) I approached Monte Cook's Arcana Evolved and Mike Mearls' Iron Heroes. I became fascinated with the magic system of Arcana and the world of Iron Heroes, seemingly at opposite ends of the spectrum. But it worked. If you introduced a spellcaster to Iron Heroes, bring in someone who knows the spells from Arcana Evolved, not the traditional Dungeons & Dragons spells, and they fit together thematically. It definitely got my interest piqued.
July-February
2021-2022
Economic Hardships
Due to the rising and ridiculous cost of gasoline I realized I had to leave my job and find one closer to home. This took a few months, but hardship and strain were the defining elements of this time. I began to read Savage Kingdoms Reforged Core Rulebook by Mike Yow when I could spare time to do so.
May
2022
New Job Begins
There is no time for reading or much of anything else besides the new position. At least I wasn't spending much money as it was not a retail position.
August
2022
Short Story: The Law of Three and One
Not much time, but there was a contest going on so I thought I would try to write something really quick. Everyone who read it personally loved it; it ultimately was not chosen for the contest. It's now in the Hero's Handbook.
September
2022
New Job Ends Abruptly
Now I have free time. Too much free time. I began to integrate principles from Savage Kingdoms with Iron Heroes and In the Shadow of the Demon Lord. Interesting results. Used the Heroquest combat dice for fun and immediate combat results. Incorporated an idea from 25th Anniversary Edition Heroquest: one of the skulls now triggers a special effect on attacks. 1/6 chance.
February
2023
New Job Begins
Back to full-time retail. Not much time for anything else at all. I briefly got back into World of Warcraft: Classic as a means of stress reduction.
September
2023
New Job Begins
Found a part-time retail position closer to home. Less stressful than full-time retail. More time for game design. Fell in love with Adventurer Conqueror King system and Low Fantasy Gaming roleplaying games. Started looking for vintage games that captured the feeling of being in a low fantasy fiction again. And from those began developing the rules of Savages & Sorcery more concretely.
October - January
2023 - 2024
Holiday Rush
Not much time for game development. Tried to find those classic point-and-click adventure games or games similar to them with an old world fantasy feeling.
March
2024
Concretion, at Last
Finally have a working logo, and was busy making a master document of the rules. Following some vlogs by a published RPG designer who was mentioning the lookbook (?!?). I realized I didn't have much of a look in mind for this world.
May-June
2024
Working Documents
The rules and adaptations from other games are finally all in one place, even if it is not the most clear presentation. Began working on a more formal, illustrated document; retheming as necessary.
August
2024
Publication?
I was about to publish the document on DriveThruRPG, but realized that I had wanted someone to write a foreword for it and they still had the document. Started talking to artists for potential commission work. AI-generated artwork might actually be better at the moment.
October
2024
Holiday Rush
Before the Holiday Rush of 2024 I went back to my original document and started outlining the basic things I most enjoyed about it and what I didn't like about it any longer (and why). Started working on a simple list of wants for Savages and Sorcery, and where the theme comes from.
August
2025
Awakened Again
After a time of forgetfulness, I was reminded of this effort once again and turned my mind to it with zeal. I began looking at how to simplify the game, streamline it, make it more fun and more approachable, and how to capture that experience for others. Changed: Combat system from dice pool to single d20 roll. Changed: Thematic elements that were from post bronze-age era removed unless obviously magical in some way. Changed: Channeling mana is now easier but still dangerous. Reduced other limitations and restrictions, but also brought down some of the high gifts, talents, and powers. Limited some things more and reduced the limitations of others. What do I need to refocus on?
October - November
2025
New Dreams - New Realities
Recreating a new master document and work to publish. No longer writing three books; but reducing it to two books and a zine to publish through DriveThruRPG; started working on cards again. And sticking to the mat on the art direction: this game will capture the theme and feeling of those Boris Vallejo, Julie Bell, and Frank Frazetta paintings.
Late November
2025
Publication Finally
No small feat, that. After the journey you see chronicled here, the Hero's Handbook was published as a PDF on DriveThruRPG. Severe Tendonitis injury slowing production. Will be able to continue once I recover.
December
2025
Kunaki Publishing Soundtrack CD.
The Sounds of Sorcery soundtrack will soon be available in both physical and digital download from Kunaki. Links available soon. Work on the Fatemaster's Guide continues.
January
2026
January Updates.
Began working on Dead Man's Hand, a poker like game using 6 suits and no numbers as a type of gambling game that might be played in Formydia. Work on Fatemaster's Guide continues, but slowed due to Southern U.S. Winter Storm, and health issues. Stay tuned for information on Contest of the Runes; you can help shape the world and fate of Formydia.
February
2026
Efforts Continue
Despite a variety of health concerns, work continues on the Fatemaster's Guide. I've also been creating outlines for the World of Formydia zines/boxed sets. Next main project: fix issues with Heroic Fate Deck; get prototypes for Talent and Spell cards. Still planning on the Contest of the Runes. More information soon.
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