The Kickstarter for Song of Swords just launched. It's half way to funding, and it's a project dear to my heart because I've served as a playtester for the last few years.

Song of Swords is a game about people and the horrible things they do to each other. The system is designed to have a deep, involving mechanical base while remaining easy to play at the table. The game is best suited to gritty, lethal settings with a strong emphasis on personal drama and dangerous battles. Sword and Sorcery, Low Fantasy, or Historical games are all a perfect fit. I've been playing with this system and helping to playtest it for years now, and I'm excited to be able to finally hare it with other people.

The goals of Song of Swords are fairly simple.

A Focus on Characters: A roleplaying game is nothing without interesting characters to play, and SoS is built around that idea. Characters are created with goals, flaws, and passions built right into their mechanics and development, and only advance by striving towards those goals, or failing.

Fast Paced, Deadly Combat: SoS is built to make combat satisfying to play through as well as quick and easy at the table. Your dice pool is divided between actions in a back-and-forth skirmish, and your abilities are determined by your weapon and the maneuvers you know. Because of the maneuver system, combat can be as complicated or simple as you want. The system works just as well depicting the bloody cut and thrust of a duel as it does complicated counter attacks and specialized maneuvers. The developers have tried to replicate actual medieval combat techniques while still remaining fast and fun. What weapon you use and what armor you wear matters, and wounds wear down your ability to fight rather than draining hit points.

Modularity: Everything can be changed for the campaign you want to play. Character creation is easily fine tuned to the exact power level you want for Player Characters. Combat can be remade to be as complicated as you want. Multiple magic systems are being developed, each one capable of being dropped in or out as needed for the setting. Fatigue rules, infection rules, and even rules for fighting groups of mooks can be dropped in and out with ease. I've used the game to run gonzo fantasy, daring sword and sorcery, and brutal historical drama with minimal to no retooling of the system.

Intriguing Fantasy: SoS is also going to ship with a premade fantasy setting that's infinitely gameable. Though the world is based on 16th century Europe, the world is just as alien as it is familiar. The best person to describe the game's default fantasy setting is the creator.

"The fantasy setting is our own creation, we call it Tattered Realms, and it's an honest, low-fantasy but high mysticism setting. Most of our effort has gone into making all of the nations and such actually feel like countries that developed around each other, because nothing in the world drives me crazier than fantasy settings where neighbors don't seem to interact or have cultural exchange. The same thing with magic. It effected the world, society deals with it, rather than pretending it doesn't exist.

It's got some serious fantasy elements, but until they're on the screen, it feels very subdued."

If any of this interests you, please consider looking at http://www.songofswords.net/ for more information and possibly donating to the game at https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2006613790/song-of-swords-tabletop-roleplaying-game?ref=nav_search I have created some of my favorite tabletop memories with this system, and I hope that others can find the same sort fun.

Fun news for anyone keen on the project.

It reached complete funding within 24 hours and 46 minutes!
And... in fact one of the stretch goals is already done. This is good stuff.

Can anyone share a rundown of some of the playable races? What are the elves like?

Quote from: Bobby B;946263Fun news for anyone keen on the project.

It reached complete funding within 24 hours and 46 minutes!
And... in fact one of the stretch goals is already done. This is good stuff.

Can anyone share a rundown of some of the playable races? What are the elves like?

Well hello there! I'd love to tell you a little bit about some of our races. Especially the elves, also known as the Din!

HUMANS:
Human beings, also called the Race of Men, the Hostoadin and a host of other names and monikers, are the most populous and widespread race in Song of Swords, rivaled only by the Zellish Elves, and potentially the Goblins.
Humanity is a flexible race, and one that builds communities naturally. Humans form nomadic tribes and pastoral communities as easily as they form city-states and great empires; there seems to be no environment which they favor over any other; from burning deserts to frozen tundras, lush valleys to desolate wastelands — everywhere men can live, men do live.

ZELLISH ELVES:
The Zells, or Zellish Elves, or Sugaardin, are a race of humanoids who favor a maritime existence, mentally and spiritually bonded to their crews, as well as to the living ships on which they sail. The Zells rule the seas of Mundus, and can be found in every maritime role, from mercenary to merchant. Though at heart they are not as warlike a people as humans are, the Zells have proven that on the high seas, they have no equals. Like all Din, the Zells are immortal as long as they retain their Focus. In the Zell's case, this Focus is called The Dream. Whenever a group of Zells are together on a seaborn vessel for a great period of time, they begin to hear each other's thoughts, experience each other's feelings, and become able to communicate telepathically. Any ship on which a Dream is formed becomes a Zellislava, and becomes self-aware and able to be communicated with by its crew. As long as a Zell is immersed in a Dream, he or she will never age.

BURDINADIN ELVES:
The Burdinadin, or “Iron Elves,” are a race of intellectuals and shut-ins who have sealed themselves away from the outer world within huge metallic fortresses called Iron Glades. The Glades play a role in the Burdinadin Focus, which is unknown in its particulars but can be fulfilled if a din is shielded from the impurities of the natural world outside. The Burdinadin are gifted scientists, in large part because the same quasi-magical senses that make the outside world so intimidating to them can also be turned inwards, to analyze the subtle mechanics of natural law. The Burdinadin live almost exclusively in the Iron Glades, which were built to shield them from the spiritual contaminations of the outside world. Having learned to retain their sanity and their Focus in such claustrophobic environments, the Burdinadin combine gregariousness and privacy, and greatly value their personal space, often retreating into seclusion for weeks or months at a time to ponder over problems, or come to terms with personal dilemmas. Their society recognizes and respects this withdrawal, but expects conformity and reservation in public. The result is a highly dignified society, with extreme standards of decency, conduct, and morality, but for which anything is permissible in private.

OHANEDIN ELVES:
The Ohanedin, or "Family Elves", are a race of immortals who dwell in the hills and forests of northern Iber, in the region called Kartzletan. Like all Din, they have a Focus that makes them immortal. For the Ohanedin, however, that Focus is obedience to a set of rules laid down by terrifying and unknowable spirits beyond the veil of reality. The Ohanedin are usually fair-skinned, with eyes ranging from brown to bright blue, and black, brown or greenish-blonde hair. They are taller than their Burdinadin cousins, standing between 5'8 and 6'0 on average, and weighing about 140 pounds. Females are not much smaller than males, but the difference is noticeable. Ohanedin are stronger, faster, and have better senses than humans, before even considering the paranormal abilities granted to them by their Focus. It is unclear as to whether this is a result of genetics, or if it is somehow related to their long-term relationship with otherworldly entities. It may also be a combination of the two. The Ohanedin and the Burdinadin are said to have once been the same race, and their powers are both the result of attunement to the "Spirit World." The Ohanedin adapted to it, while the Burdinadin sealed themselves off from it. Why they look so different is as of yet unclear, but since Din are immortal, this split may have taken place millennia ago. To preserve their immortality and their special powers, Ohanedin must obey the mandates of their Patron Spirits:
- Never clothing themselves in metal (metal weapons are acceptable as long as the Ohanedin doesn't have to touch the metal part)
- Never betraying an oath freely given.
- Never eating meat from an animal that cannot speak.
These are the three basic prerequisites, but many Ohanedin have more. Additionally, and unlike a normal Din, when an Ohanedin breaks its Focus, it suffers much more than just a temporary loss of immortality. Touching metal causes them severe pain, eating the wrong sort of meat causes them to become violently sick, and betraying an oath causes them to age for a year and a day unless they atone through some means such as cutting off one of their fingers, or serving the offended party for ten years.

ORREDIN ELVES:
The Orredin, Helians, Helion Elves, Gold Elves or "The High Folk", are a race of Din who dwell in the great city of Helion. Helion, located in the center of the Broken Sea, is all that remains of the Eastern Ruvian Empire, which fell into the sea eons ago in a great cataclysm that nearly destroyed all civilization on Vosca. Most of the race went extinct due to interbreeding with humans – it is unclear whether this preceded or followed the destruction of their empire. The Orredin are immediately recognizable by their purple eyes (a universal trait within the race) and very modest, but still visibly pointed ears. The Orredin are living fountains of magical energy – the same sort of energy that is tapped with Sorcery. Each of them produces a small but very noticeable amount of this power, and this power feeds into the Flow of sorcerous power in the area, swelling it to the point that it can even bleed out through the leylines into adjacent regions. It should come as no surprise then that all Orredin are, to some extent, Sorcerers. Being able to produce one's own energy is an overwhelming advantage for a sorcerer. It allows minor enchantments to be kept active at all times, and it facilitates truly impressive acts of magic when a large group of them put their heads together with purpose. The effect of multiple Orredin in an area is multiplicative, rather than cumulative. Each one produces more energy in a group than they would individually, meaning that as the concentration of Orredin increases linearly, the amount of power they produce increases geometrically. The Helians retain their Focus as long as their environment has a certain amount of "Flow" coursing through it. Essentially, they either need a location with powerful latent magic, or the presence of about 300 other Helians within about a square mile. This is why they habitually construct metropolises, and enslave or enlist other races to perform agriculture for them.

DWARVES:
Dwarves, or Fedarshin, are a race of short, sturdily built folk who live primarily underground in isolated strongholds typically called forts, or holds. The Dwarves don't fit in on Mundus. They have a compulsive urge to dig, to scrape away dirt and to strike the earth, and seek out something in the deep. They combat these urges with obligation. Dwarves value anything that can keep them focused on life, even if the depths of are never far from their mind. Dwarves also know, instinctively, what the moment of their death by age will be, down to the second. They do not know how, or where, but they know when. Many Dwarves, upon reaching an old age and knowing their time has come, will finally indulge in one final dig, heading down to die in the deep, as so many have done before. Dwarves stand about 4'10 tall, with black or brown hair, often braided with metals and stone insignias woven in. Their compact, stocky frames weigh about as much as humans who stand a foot or more taller. Females stand almost exactly the same height, but lack beards, and have softer (if still very sturdy) facial features. Dwarves can see in the dark. They are hardy, and very resistant to injury, toxin, and hardship, and are famous for their capacity for drink. They are also long lived, though not immortal, and after reaching adulthood at about 20, many live to the very old age of 200, though interestingly, Dwarves never become decrepit, they simply persist in a sort of middle age until dropping dead.

GOBLINS:
Goblins are a crafty, slight subterranean race, driven into the deep places of the world in eras long past by other races invading their homelands and defeating them in battle. Now the Goblins live brutish, violent lives in the deep places, struggling for survival against the terrors of the dark, and occasionally slipping away to the surface, to seek better lives among their historic enemies. Goblins are physically slight, and have thin, downy hair on their heads. They have alarmingly large eyes due to their environment, and can see in the dark with great precision. The average goblin stands at 3 feet 5 inches, and weighs 50 lbs. Their eyes are large, and filled almost entirely with pupil. Their hair is usually white or pale yellow. The Goblins live in the deep places, in the vast volcanic tunnels beneath the surface. In these scarce, dark places the Goblins form tight-knit tribes and communities where survival is a daily struggle, and there is no room for waste or rivalry. The males live in the outer cordon of warcamps and outposts, protecting the inner villages from the predation of hostile subterranean beasts, while the women and the young dwell in the inner lands, scraping a living from the stones, and crafting weapons, armor, food, and supplies for their beleaguered defenders. Goblin leadership tends to be split between the inner (female) and the outer (male) halves of each tribe, and traditionally only the greatest warriors of each generation are allowed to breed, producing new generations to fling their lives away in defense of the nest. Goblins are suicidally courageous, but fear sunlight more than death. Only the bravest and most determined of raiders will venture above ground to seek supplies, loot, or even allies on the surface-world.

ASCENDED HUMAN: PALADIN
The Paladin are servants of the Sun who have descended from Mount Genosus after death, no longer mortal. They are paragons of the Genosian faith and answer to their god directly - not to the church, or the Pontifatrix, or any secular authority. They're a secretive but very influential group that has two duties, and two duties only.
- Service the Temple. Guard it, protect it, test those who desire entry.
- Crush Witches. A "Witch" is defined as anyone whose actions undermine construction of the Ziggurat, or piss off God. The use of certain magics in certain ways, certain practices, even certain races. The Paladins find the offending people, and purge them with extreme prejudice.
Many extend their sweep to include villains, criminals, and more mundane infidels and heretics. The Paladins are from diverse backgrounds, and define things differently. They're also pretty hard to masquerade as, because when in direct sunlight, a Paladin naturally manifests a visible corona of light over his head. Some Paladins prefer to work as part of a group or a system. Some gather armies of militant warrior monks, who dedicate their lives to serving the Paladins in battle. These orders can become very powerful, and can effect politics and the affairs of nations, such as the White Company, led by Grandmaster Gnaeus, who has fought in thousands of wars across history, serving the will of Genosus and the needs of his worshippers against all enemies within and without. Others prefer to ride alone, like Victor Slate, known to some as The Fist of God. When Paladins are killed, they rarely stay dead for long. It is known that they have the ability to return through the Solar Gate, but some of them take longer doing it than others, and a few simply elect not to. They are forbidden from holding noble title.

This is a basic overview of most of the races we have so far, if you have any more questions or comments, feel free to leave them!

Hey guys, this is Jimmy, I'm the lead designer on this project. I've posted a few times here asking questions about other projects, so I'm a bit more familiar with the culture than my compatriots. I just wanted to say we've had a great campaign so far, and if anyone would like to ask questions about the game or talk shop, I'm here for you. I'm also a big fan of the Pundit. It's a bit daunting potentially coming beneath his eye.

Thanks again, I hope you like our game.

Before I commit to reading 335 pages, can you give me a short overview about how your game is different from TRoS (which I own and have run)?

Quote from: AsenRG;946573Before I commit to reading 335 pages, can you give me a short overview about how your game is different from TRoS (which I own and have run)?

Well, a lot of games in this sort of realistic fantasy HEMA-simulator genre have run into problems presenting the subject matter in an accessible and consistent way. Weapons and Armor need standardized rules with clearly stated effects, maneuvers benefit greatly from standardized language, fantasy races (if they're present at all) need to be easy to references and understand. Tables need to be easy to find, combat rules need to be easy to reference, and it helps a lot if all of the systems resolve in more or less the same way, instead of having a lot of variable numbers to remember. It's my feeling that we've made some pretty big strides in this direction. It might be a bit hard to see in the beta as well but we're very determined to produce a "clean" game by the end of it, something with no loose ends.

We've looked at a lot of games and learned a lot about the design pitfalls that plague them. Obviously we're still in Beta, but I think we've done a pretty good job of sidestepping most of the hurdles that have stood in the way of this sliver of the hobby from really taking off. I know the game is pretty dense looking right now, but a lot of that is miles and miles of weapons and armor tables. We're going to have to find a way to format that down a bit before release, because lawdy there's a mile and a half of polearms in this thing.
Anyway I hope you like it if you decide to read it. We've got a lot of loyal fans who would be glad to help you out if you're curious about some of the mechanics you might not be familiar with, some of them hang out in a roll20 room and teach new guys the ropes. They're glad lads. https://app.roll20.net/join/346755/hRKd4w

Quote from: Jimbojack;946701Well, a lot of games in this sort of realistic fantasy HEMA-simulator genre have run into problems presenting the subject matter in an accessible and consistent way. Weapons and Armor need standardized rules with clearly stated effects, maneuvers benefit greatly from standardized language, fantasy races (if they're present at all) need to be easy to references and understand. Tables need to be easy to find, combat rules need to be easy to reference, and it helps a lot if all of the systems resolve in more or less the same way, instead of having a lot of variable numbers to remember. It's my feeling that we've made some pretty big strides in this direction. It might be a bit hard to see in the beta as well but we're very determined to produce a "clean" game by the end of it, something with no loose ends.

We've looked at a lot of games and learned a lot about the design pitfalls that plague them. Obviously we're still in Beta, but I think we've done a pretty good job of sidestepping most of the hurdles that have stood in the way of this sliver of the hobby from really taking off. I know the game is pretty dense looking right now, but a lot of that is miles and miles of weapons and armor tables. We're going to have to find a way to format that down a bit before release, because lawdy there's a mile and a half of polearms in this thing.
Anyway I hope you like it if you decide to read it. We've got a lot of loyal fans who would be glad to help you out if you're curious about some of the mechanics you might not be familiar with, some of them hang out in a roll20 room and teach new guys the ropes. They're glad lads. https://app.roll20.net/join/346755/hRKd4w

So it's "TRoS with unified mechanics"?
How much of the combat engine is from TRoS? I'm not there yet, and don't want to jump ahead, because I like what I'm seeing so far;).

Quote from: AsenRG;946703So it's "TRoS with unified mechanics"?
How much of the combat engine is from TRoS? I'm not there yet, and don't want to jump ahead, because I like what I'm seeing so far;).

Multiple person combat is easier, including ganging up on someone. Weapon TNs are also slightly higher on average, with TN7 being typical instead of TN6. Those are two changes I know of off the top of my head since I personally never played TROS.

There is a reason they do not compare Song of Swords to The Riddle of Steel: they don't want to risk getting sued. That's why Opaque makes no mention of TRoS. The community has a roll20 if you want to ask fans of the game about how SoS and TRoS are different: https://app.roll20.net/join/346755/hRKd4w

There's a more recent playtest version ( https://mega.nz/#F!S89jTT7J!ozFi9GvzaFGHfBa59Ik2-Q , go to LaTex under #01 SOS). It has a new initiative system to make multi-person combat a lot smoother. Why are there two versions? The editor wanted to format and edit the game without Jimmy and other game devs making their own changes to the document. That's the version on the website, and it's honestly probably easier to learn the system from reading it if you're new to a game like this. The one in the mega more recent mechanics, but since you played TROS it shouldn't be as hard for you to figure it out.

Quote from: AsenRG;946573Before I commit to reading 335 pages, can you give me a short overview about how your game is different from TRoS (which I own and have run)?

Most of the changes are small tweaks that add up until quite a large amount has changed. Armor having different armor values against different types of armor, weapon qualities being codified into tags, large numbers of maneuvers being tweaked and rebalanced like Steal Initiative, the addition of a third Initiative Orientation (Yellow,  a half way point that allows you to defend when the other guy attacks and attack when the other guy defends but restricts some of your abilities), the elimination of proficiency based Activation Costs, and a bunch of other quality of life changes that keep the system running smoothly.

Other larger changes are the Arc system, which replaced Spiritual Attributes. Now characters work for concrete goals and achieve XP rewards for it, and don't spend them as a metagame currency. If that's something you liked about Riddle it's trivially easy to add back in, but I find it better to keep track of and direct the flow of the campaign. Toughness is now derived from other attributes, making Naked Dwarf Syndrome much less likely to occur.

The setting is completely different, and much better, though completely optional. I've run both high fantasy with all of the above races and completely historical games with issue. All in all, the game is more finely polished and has more toys to play around with. It's come far enough that they're getting to be quite distinct.

Quote from: AsenRG;946703So it's "TRoS with unified mechanics"?
How much of the combat engine is from TRoS? I'm not there yet, and don't want to jump ahead, because I like what I'm seeing so far;).

You can't get a clear official statement that anything is inspired by tRoS, because the gentlemen behind Riddle of Steel are a lot less okay with the idea of their name being associated with other projects after the mess that was Blade of the Iron Throne. I don't think it's actually a "get sued" situation, and Jimmy and the boys wouldn't be nearly as crass as Bovine were about it, but it's still courteous to Norwood et al to respect their wishes on this matter.

The combat engine's basic paradigm - a pool of dice that you commit or not across two rounds, maneuvers that you pick from, wounds coming from tables rather than HP or something - all that's the same. When it comes to details, all that's changed. It's a bit more similar than if you compare, say, Mutants and Masterminds to the d20 stuff that it originates from, that's more different from its inspiration than SoS is from Riddle of Steel. But if you compare, say, Pathfinder and D&D 3.5, there's a greater change than that. Mordhau gave a good overview of the most significant changes, but I'll say that overall it's a bit smoother of a running experience. A lot of the specific flaws that plagued RoS were fixed in the first, like, year of development and it's been refined since then.

PDF looks to be password protected.

Quote from: CRKrueger;946763PDF looks to be password protected.

I'm not having an issue. You downloaded it from the link on http://www.songofswords.net/?

Quote from: Cruxador;946754You can't get a clear official statement that anything is inspired by tRoS, because the gentlemen behind Riddle of Steel are a lot less okay with the idea of their name being associated with other projects after the mess that was Blade of the Iron Throne. I don't think it's actually a "get sued" situation, and Jimmy and the boys wouldn't be nearly as crass as Bovine were about it, but it's still courteous to Norwood et al to respect their wishes on this matter.

The combat engine's basic paradigm - a pool of dice that you commit or not across two rounds, maneuvers that you pick from, wounds coming from tables rather than HP or something - all that's the same. When it comes to details, all that's changed. It's a bit more similar than if you compare, say, Mutants and Masterminds to the d20 stuff that it originates from, that's more different from its inspiration than SoS is from Riddle of Steel. But if you compare, say, Pathfinder and D&D 3.5, there's a greater change than that. Mordhau gave a good overview of the most significant changes, but I'll say that overall it's a bit smoother of a running experience. A lot of the specific flaws that plagued RoS were fixed in the first, like, year of development and it's been refined since then.

There's a fair amount of accuracy here regarding gameplay, rules, etc.

To touch on it briefly: Claymore and Jimmy had a lot of conversations, talked with people involved with various projects when SoS was starting, and the attitude is a friendly one, with some pretty clear, mutually agreed upon guidelines out of respect and brand identity. We don't want anyone getting confused as to who made what, and there is a healthy sense of 'best of luck!' So I wouldn't want anyone to shy away of making comparisons as a conversation point, but it's not something we're going to speak to in great detail.


That being said--I will say another differentiator between Song of Swords and any other game out there is going to be magic. You aren't able to see it in it's entirety just yet, but our magic is going to be very unlike other games in this genre.

Song of Swords is taking a lot of old tabletop mechanics and attuning them with present day game design knowledge. Absolutely a "whole is greater than the sum of the parts" situation--I'd say the user base sticking with this game, and playing it for so long is a good testament to that.

Quote from: CRKruegerPDF looks to be password protected.

Kick us a message via the 'Contact Us' page with a screenshot. PDF should be password protected from editing the text, but not from viewing/commenting/copy/pasting.

Quote from: Cruxador;946766I'm not having an issue. You downloaded it from the link on http://www.songofswords.net/?

Yep.  Using an iPad though with safari, will try later on a PC.

Quote from: CRKrueger;946785Yep.  Using an iPad though with safari, will try later on a PC.

If true, that has to be some sort of mistake on our end, I'll have one of the guys look into it. Sorry for the inconvenience.