Sword & Sorcery RPGs 2024

[rhythmsoundmotion]

What kind of experience are people having with Sword & Sorcery RPGs in 2024 (now that it’s almost over?) What upcoming kickstarters feature RPGs with Sword & Sorcery flavor? How are the major authors (Moorcock, Howard, Wolfe, Vance, etc) being represented in the RPGS?

 

[aramis erak]

The closest I got: Jackals. It's got only religious magics, it's a variant of OpenQuest (but is not similarly open... Grumble.) That the casters tend to be doing almost as much DPR as the tanks... and much of that from melee weapons... 6 sessions down. More to come.

It feel less like howard or vance, and a bit more like The Books of Judges, Ruth, 1st/2nd Samuel, 1st Kings... with occasional bits of other, earlier, works in that most common anthology called The Bible... The Luathi are explicitly a pastiche of proto–Canaanite and proto–Israelite; the existence of both Kings and Judges makes it mostly cognate to 2nd Samuel.

But it does have fantasy monsters to kill, and killing them my players have been in the last month and a half. And clergy can work magics. (All magic is religious.)

Runner up? Dragonbane. Did not go well. I like the system, but the adventure was WAY too lethal.

 

[Distracted DM]

I'm sure there may be better ones, but Dungeon Crawl Classics seems to run Sword & Sorcery very well, and its adventures are geared in that direction as well.

It's not out til 2025 :'( but Planet X Games' Assault on Witchgate 13 is my biggest Can't Wait as far as S&S goes. It screams Eternal Champions to me. Goodman Games has had Moorcock on several livestreams, it might even be an annual thing

 

[Theory of Games]

GURPS Conan still slams to this day. The system is so precise and yet so simple to play and the setting guide truly reveals the Hyborian Age.

TBH S&S isn't about the system per se. It's about the characters. They should be morally-gray opportunists and as such the "heroic fantasy" often presented by many systems falls flat. While he sometimes performed heroic actions, Conan of Cimmeria was anything but a hero.

I mention GURPS because the system's made a semi-resurgence in 2024 .... and the great majority of fantasy ttrpgs are terrible.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I own Through Sunken Lands, although I don't recall if I ever ran it. It seems very good, although depending on the exact sword & sorcery flavor I was looking for, I might go for the Black Sword Hack or the Lankhmar DCC game instead.

 

[Enaknomolos]

This year saw the new Mythic+ version of Barbarians of Lemuria successfully kickstarted and sent out to backers. It's gorgeous, and will be out for retail in the new year. Still easily the best S&S game.

A light version Barbarians of Legend (link is to DriveThru PDF, the PoD is on LuLu) came out too. It looks really good, though I've not run it yet.

There's been a few others, but none that have impressed me.

I also agree about GURPS Conan, though as a sourcebook for BoL!

 

[J.Quondam]

If you play 5e and/or just like the classically S&S "Xoth" setting, @xoth.publishing recently completed his 5e conversion for the "Spider-God's Bride" adventure series, now as a bundle on dtrpg. (Iirc, older versions of the adventures are also available in 3.5e/PF1 in pdf and hardcopy via his website.)

 

[dbm]

GURPS Conan is still available from SJ Games in PDF as well, so no need to go to the secondary market.

I agree that S&S is first about a style of game and feel of characters. For me, Savage Worlds really fits that bill nicely and the Fantasy Companion has a whole stack of guidance and new tools to make that easier, however you could easily play a Conan inspired game with just the core book.

 

[rhythmsoundmotion]

I noticed that Dungeon Crawl Classic has a whole Lankhmar series of modules. And Dying Earth as well.

 

[kronovan]

The only S&S I'm running these days is DCC+Dying Earth and Savage Worlds+Lankhmar. Both are fun to GM and play for different reasons. l own and have run in the past SW+Beasts & Barbarians, Mythras+Monster Island and a variety of S&S settings for BRP. When my players and I get an itch for something S&S, we're content with what I already own. So not looking to back or buy anything else soon.