Quote from: Bland Joe Dwarf;594442And what about its differences in setting/premise to other OSR Sword & Sorcery-oriented games, like Crypts & Things and Dungeon Crawl Classics ?

Will answer this tomorrow.

I've been talking myself out of it for months, but I just ordered the box.

How does the monster section look?

I think I'll wait to save up and get the boxed set, after a few other games.

I'll be hosting the author for a Q&A in #rpgnet tomorrow evening, as it happens.

Also: there are crabmen with lazer pistols.

Quote from: Gib;594471How does the monster section look?

The contents you can see in the pictures are separated between two books: the Player's, and the Referee's Manual. Each book contains three volumes pertaining to the game. So total you got 6 volumes in 2 books.

Alright.

The Bestiary of Hyperborea is Volume IV of the rules. It contains:

• Aboleth
• Aerial Minion
• Ant, Giant
• Ape, Albino (white ape)
  
• Ape, Carnivorous
• Ape, Mountain (ogre)
  
• Ape-Man
• Archaeopteryx
• Aurochs
• Automaton (living statue, golem; clay, flesh, iron, stone)
  
• Basilisk
• Bat (normal and giant)
• Bear (black, brown, cave, polar)
• Bee, Giant
• Beetle, Giant (bombardier, fire, stag)
• Behir
• Bird-Man
• Black Pudding
• Blink Dog
• Boar
• Camel (bactrian, dromedary, leaper)
• Cave-Man
• Centipede, Giant (black, pink)
• Chimaera
• Cloaker
• Cockatrice
• Colour Out of Space
• Crab, Giant
• Crab-Man
• Crocodile
• Cyclops
• Deer (red, reindeer, giant elk)
• Demon, Class I
• Demon, Class II
• Demon, Class III
• Demon, Class IV
• Demon, Class V
• Demon, Class VI
• Demon, Succubus
• Demon, Swine
• Dog (hunting/sled, war, wild)
• Dwarf
• Eagle, Giant
• Eel, Electric
• Elder Thing
• Elemental, Air
• Elemental, Earth
• Elemental, Fire
• Elemental, Water
• Falcon (hawk)
  
• Ferret, Giant
• Fish-Man (deep one)
  
• Fomorian (hill giant)
  
• Frog, Giant
• Fungus (shrieker, violet)
• Gargoyle
• Gelatinous Cube
• Ghast
• Ghost
• Ghost, Banshee
• Ghoul
• Ghul (desert demon)
  
• Giant, Fire
• Giant, Frost
• Gibbering Mouther
• Gorgon (medusa)
  
• Great Race (yithian)
  
• Green Slime
• Grey Ooze
• Griffon
• Harpy
• Hell Hound
• Hippogriff
• Horse (draft, riding, warhorse)
• Hydra (aqua, pyro)
• Hyaena (common, giant)
• Hyaena-Man (gnoll)
  
• Invisible Stalker
• Lamiae
• Leech, Giant
• Lich
• Lion
• Lizard, Giant (chameleon, draco, komodo dragon, tuatara)
• Lizard-Man
• Lotus Woman
• Lycanthrope (wererat, werewolf)
• Mammoth, Woolly
• Man, Bandit
• Man, Berserker
• Man of Leng
• Manticore
• Mi-Go (fungi from yuggoth)
  
• Minotaur
• Minotron
• Mummy
• Musk Ox
• Mustard Mould
• Naga
• Night-Gaunt
• Nightmare
• Ochre Jelly
• Octopus, Giant
• Oon (ghost-man)
  
• Orc (demon pict)
  
• Otyugh
• Owl Bear
• Pegasus
• Pterodactyl
• Purple Worm
• Rat (normal, giant)
• Remorhaz
• Rhinoceros, Woolly
• Roper
• Rust Monster
• Salamander (fire, ice)
• Scorpion, Giant
• Sea Serpent
• Shadow
• Shambling Mound
• Shark, Great White
• Shoggoth
• Skeleton
• Skeleton, Animal
• Slithering Slime
• Sloth, Ground
• Slug, Giant
• Snake (asp, cobra, python, rattler, viper)
• Snake, Gaint (asp, cobra, python, water)
• Snake-Man
• Snow-Man, Abominable (yeti)
  
• Spectre
• Spider, Giant (crab, black widow, ogre-faced, phase, trap-door, wolf
• Spore-Man
• Squid-Giant
• Stirge
• Tentacular Horror
• Thew Wagon
• Tick, Giant
• Tiger (tiger, sabre-tooth)
• Toad, Giant
• Tree-Man (treant)
  
• Troglodyte
• Troll
• Vampire
• Vhuurmis (beast-man)
  
• Weasel, Giant
• Whale (blue, killer, narwhale)
• Wight
• Will-O'-Wisp
• Wolf (wolf, dire wolf, winter wolf)
• Wolverine (normal, giant)
• Wraith
• Wyvern
• Zombie

Described using an OS stat block you'll be pretty familiar with, including a list of the special traits and abilities of the creature, and descriptions, background etc which totals generally around two paragraphs of 10+ lines each, sometimes less (for ubiquitous animals, for instance) and sometimes more (for specific complex races like the Elder Things). It's well organized and usable in-game. I particularly like the summaries of specific special traits and abilities at the end of each creature's entry. Then you can just modify it as suits the game. It's nice.

Quote from: Caesar Slaad;594461What proportion of AS&SH is setting?

The details pertaining to the setting of Hyperborea are omni-present in the work. It's a game that's built for the setting, and vice-versa. Now that said, the two larger portions of the work dedicated to the setting per se are the Bestiary with loads of details about specific denizens and creatures of Hyperborea, and Volume VI Hyperborea Gazetteer (in the Referee's Manual, see above for the six volumes in two books thing), which is the presentation of the setting in a way that is indeed reminiscent of the kind of details and organization you could find in the World of Greyhawk boxed set of 1983.

Now I'm going to quote the contents of Volume VI as posted by Jeffrey Talanian on the AS&SH forum on the OD&D Discussions board:

• INTRODUCTION the etymology of the term "Hyperborea" and how the author applies it to this fantasy game milieu
  
• HYPERBOREA in RELATION to OLD EARTH and the CELESTIAL BODIES Old Earth, The Sun (Helios), The Moons (Phobos and Selene), The Planets (Ganymede, Saturn, Ouranos, Poseidonos, Yuggoth), Astronomical Phenomena, The Black Gulf, The Boreas (North Wind)
  
• CALENDAR the 13 year cycle explained, which features 1 year of complete light, and 1 year of complete darkness; days of the week; the 13 month calendar, including the moon phases of Phobos and Selene; the Festivals detailed (Apollonalia, Saturnalia, Bealltainn, and Plutonia)
  
• CLIMATE and SEASONS of HYPERBOREA winter, spring, summer, and fall discussed as relating to the 13 year cycle in which there is 1 year of uninterrupted light and 1 year of uninterrupted darkness
  
• FLORA and FAUNA of HYPERBOREA desert, forest, grassland (and steppe), tundra, and wetlands
  
• LOTUS SPECIES OF HYPERBOREA black lotus, golden lotus, smoky lotus, violet lotus, white-speckled blue lotus
  
• A BRIEF HISTORY OF HYPERBOREA short history of the realm from when it was an arctic continent on Earth to its own planetary body in the far-flung future; includes information on the reign of races such as the elder things, snake-men, the bestial vhuurmis, the Hyperboreans; the advent of the Ashen Worm is discussed, as well as the rise of the barbarians, the coming of the Green Death, and man's struggle to survive in the post-plague years
  
• COMMON ERA CHRONOLOGY OF HYPERBOREA a table that lists major events of the Common Era (post-Green Death) and also several events before the Common Era)
  
• RACES of HYPERBOREA races discussed in greater depth, including "Common" men, Amazons, Atlanteans, Esquimaux, Hyperboreans, Ixians, Kelts, Kimmerians (and Kimmeri-Kelts), Picts (and Half-Blood Picts), Vikings, and other races
  
• ANCIENT and CURRENT LANGUAGES the major language groups are discussed; also, some of the rare and secret languages, and also writing systems
  
• CIVILIZED AND BARBARIC HYPERBOREAN POPULATIONS EXAMINED population distribution, settlement populations (village, town, city); also, fortifications and population communications are discussed
  
• POLITICAL and GEOGRAPHICAL DIVISIONS many of the lands on the map are discussed. It is important to note that there are many towns, villages, stretches of land, rivers, islands, and so forth on the map that are left blank for the individual referee to develop. This is a sort of two-pronged approach in that referees who want pre-developed setting are supplied with plenty of resources, and those who wish to create their own are left with plenty of blank canvass; other still might wish to work out something between.
  
• MARVELS and WONDERS of HYPERBOREA the realm features some unique features such as the Black Obelisks, Mount Vhuurmithadon, the Boreas (North Wind), and the Rapids at the End of the World
  
• RELIGIONS of HYPERBOREA faith in this decaying realm is discussed, and also the deities of Apollo, Artemis, Aurorus "The Shining One", Azathoth, Boreas "The North Wind," Helios "The Sun," Kraken "The Dimensional Dweller," Krimmr, Kthulhu, Lunaqqua, Mordezzan, Rel "God of Thieves," Thaumagorga, Tlakk-Nakka, Xathoqqua "The Toad God," Yig (Apep) "The Great Serpent," Yikkorth "The Ashen Worm," Ymir, Yoon’Deh, Ythaqqa "The Wendigo," and Yug. The orthodoxy of Xathoqqua (Tsathoggua) is most prevalent across the realm.  
  

That's actually I think one of the many qualities of the game, that the setting doesn't feel apart from the rules of the game, and yet is completely usable independently if you so wish. It's also, to paraphrase the author, one if not the defining element that distinguishes from other retroclones, or games like DCC RPG (which includes no explicit setting described), Crypts and Things (which includes a 6-page minimalist setting in the form of "the Continent of Terror") and the like.

Quote from: Patrick;594427I bought this game in PDF and wish I had bought the box set.  Just looking at the maps and rulebooks reminds me of opening my first box set (World of Greyhawk).

I had the chance to receive a print copy of RuneQuest Deluxe at the same time as AS&SH, and the AS&SH boxed set opening had nothing to envy, as far as my glee and wow factor were concerned, to the opening of the RQ boxed set that followed.

Fun fact: AS&SH contains a set of six dice you can ink yourself. One of the dice is a d20 numbered 0 to 9 twice, like the originals of decades ago. I never owned a d20 like that and was quite pleased to find it in there. In the RQ Deluxe box, there were ALSO two d20 numbered 0 to 9 twice you could ink to stand for the percentile dice. It was a funny coincidence.

Quote from: Patrick;594427Also, thank you, Ben, for posting pics of this stuff...I really dig your preview and unboxing posts.

I still owe you some pics and description of the Call of Cthulhu 30th anniversary French edition. I'll get back to you on that thread. And probably create a separate one for Les Années Folles, too. So thanks for the interest mate. It's cool to share the love.

Quote from: Bland Joe Dwarf;594442And what about its differences in setting/premise to other OSR Sword & Sorcery-oriented games, like Crypts & Things and Dungeon Crawl Classics ?

Crypts and Things is essentially a Swords & Wizardry variant. It has therefore fairly minimalist rules in comparison to AS&SH. The Classes of C&T are the Barbarian, Fighter, Magician and Thief (1). The Cleric's province is mostly folded into the reworking of the Magician's Vancian magic system separated in three spell lists of Black, Grey and White magic, whether you want to focus on destruction and harm, alteration and manipulation or life and protection respectively. The setting included in the game is fairly minimalist. It's a type of game whose vibe is completely different from AS&SH to me. It doesn't have the same scope or mood or art, for that matter. These are just two completely different treatments and games, to me.

DCC RPG is like... nothing like the other two. It's really a game that took the Appendix N sources from the 1e DMG and just went ALRIGHT let's go HARDCORE, let's go ROCK N ROLL with this shit and build some DYNAMITE game out of this WOOHOO! It's like D&D on acid listening to Led Zeppelin with a bunch of Elric novels on the table, used copies of Rolemaster and Warhammer on the game shelf against the wall and a bottle of tequila and a HUGE pile of blank character sheets to boot. It takes Moldvay D&D as a base, but with all the tweaks and the unpredictible magic and the supernatural patrons and the d20 system somewhat there and all the weird polyhedral dice... it's barely recognizable and yet it's like ... a hardcore crazy version of D&D in a way. It's absolutely BRILLIANT and anyone who wants a completely fresh take on D&D-type adventuring in dungeons and the like should totally check it out.

It's also completely different from AS&SH, a game which by comparison really embraces the O/AD&D game paradigm (OD&D to Supplements to AD&D 1e including bits of Unearthed Arcana, if you will) and creates a new spin on it with the gem that is the Hyperborean setting itself. It's a much more subtle piece of work in a way (though under the ROCK N ROLL FUCK YEAH style of DCC RPG there IS a lot of subtle game design to find in there), whether we're talking about the mood and vibe, the world and its pastiche components, the blend of fantasies that resulted in it, and how the traditional 1e-style rules mixed with the setting create this very special brew of pulp swords and sorcery.

So in conclusion, I think all three games are completely different from one another. I would play all three.

(1) Here are by comparison the contents of Volume I Swordsmen & Sorcerers, which is essentially the Character Generation part of the AS&SH game:

• Introduction (brief introduction to game)
  
  
• Dice Conventions (how to use dice)
  
  
• Character Creation (steps to creating a character)
  
  
• Attributes (strength, dexterity, constitution, intelligence, wisdom, charisma; modifiers are presented on shallow curve: str 13-14 = +0/+1, str 15-16 = +1/+1, str 17 = +1/+2, str 18 = +2/+3)
  
  
• Race (Races of mankind, including Common, Amazon, Atlantean, Esquimaux, Hyperborean, Ixian, Kelt, Kimmerian, Kimmeri-Kelt, Pict, Pict Half-Blood, Viking)
  
  
• Physique (height, weight, age determination, etc.)
  
  
• Class (4 principal classes presented in 12 levels of advancement; by 9th level most characters are eligible to establish a castle, stronghold, hideout, etc.)
       Fighter: a swordsman, bowman, or other warrior type.
       Magician: a sorcerer who memorizes arcane formulae and casts spells.
       Cleric: an armed and armoured mystic sorcerer.
       Thief: a nimble swordsman possessed of numerous specialty skills.
  
  
• Subclass (18 subclasses)
       Barbarian: an outland warrior possessed of feral instincts.
       Berserker: a rampaging shock trooper renowned for unbridled battle rage.
       Cataphract: a mail clad horseman and warrior elite.
       Paladin: a champion who crusades for justice and Law.
       Ranger: a borderland fighter, frontiersman, and wilderness warrior.
       Warlock: a spell weaving fighter who wields steel and sorcery interchangeably.
       Illusionist: a sorcerer who evokes phantasms and manipulates shadows and light.
       Necromancer: a sorcerer who practices black magic and communicates with the dead.
       Pyromancer: a sorcerer who manipulates the elemental power of fire.
       Witch: a sorceress who brews potions, divines portents, and lays curses.
       Druid: a mystic sorcerer empowered by ancestral, elemental, and animistic spirits.
       Monk: a warrior-priest who strives for physical and mental mastery.
       Priest: a chaplain mystic of prodigious spell casting capacity.
       Shaman: a primal sorcerer who confers with ancestral and totem spirits.
       Assassin: a thief who specializes in murder and intrigue.
       Bard: a warrior, scholar, and weaver of enchanted lyrics and/or music.
       Legerdemainist: an adept thief who also commands the power of sorcery.
       Scout: a lightly armed explorer, intelligence gatherer, and stealth master.
  
  
• Alignment (ethos and principals as governed by Law/Civilization versus Chaos/Barbarism; alignments include Lawful Good, Lawful Evil, Chaotic Good, Chaotic Evil, and Neutrality)
  
  
• Other Statistics (armour class, fighting ability, hit dice, hit points, movement, saving throw)
  
  
• Background (secondary skills, languages)
  
  
• Weapon Skills (each character class/subclass begins play with a broad group of weapons with which they are familiar; fighters, for example can use all weapons without penalty, whilst magicians begin with proficiency in a small handful of weapons. Characters with a limited list gain new "off-list" weapon skills every 4 levels, so your magician can indeed learn to fight with a sword.)
       Weapon Mastery: Fighters may select two and fighter subclasses may select one weapon with which they have mastered. This confers a +1/+1 bonus. Mastery also confers increased attack rates. New masteries are achieved every 4 levels.
  
  
• Money (gold, electrum, silver, copper; exchange rates; starting gold)
  
  
• Equipment (armour, shields, melee weapons, missile weapons, general equipment, provisions, religious items, clothing, livestock, tack and harness, vehicles, services)
  

Thanks, Benoist, for the amazing extended review, I bought DCC and was curious about C&T and AS&SH'S link points to sword & sorcery and Appendix N material, and you've just sold the game to me straight, although I think I'll wait for it to arrive on Nobleknight, Leisure Games or other, because ordering books to Brazil with non-expedited/priority shipping is too risky.

Quote from: Bland Joe Dwarf;594733Thanks, Benoist, for the amazing extended review, I bought DCC and was curious about C&T and AS&SH'S link points to sword & sorcery and Appendix N material, and you've just sold the game to me straight, although I think I'll wait for it to arrive on Nobleknight, Leisure Games or other, because ordering books to Brazil with non-expedited/priority shipping is too risky.

You're very welcome. I hope you get to play the hell out of AS&SH when you get a chance to get it. It's an amazing game.

Quote from: Benoist;594555The contents you can see in the pictures are separated between two books: the Player's, and the Referee's Manual. Each book contains three volumes pertaining to the game. So total you got 6 volumes in 2 books.

Alright.

The Bestiary of Hyperborea is Volume IV of the rules. It contains:

• Aboleth
• Aerial Minion
• Ant, Giant
• Ape, Albino (white ape)
  
• Ape, Carnivorous
• Ape, Mountain (ogre)
  
• Ape-Man
• Archaeopteryx
• Aurochs
• Automaton (living statue, golem; clay, flesh, iron, stone)
  
• Basilisk
• Bat (normal and giant)
• Bear (black, brown, cave, polar)
• Bee, Giant
• Beetle, Giant (bombardier, fire, stag)
• Behir
• Bird-Man
• Black Pudding
• Blink Dog
• Boar
• Camel (bactrian, dromedary, leaper)
• Cave-Man
• Centipede, Giant (black, pink)
• Chimaera
• Cloaker
• Cockatrice
• Colour Out of Space
• Crab, Giant
• Crab-Man
• Crocodile
• Cyclops
• Deer (red, reindeer, giant elk)
• Demon, Class I
• Demon, Class II
• Demon, Class III
• Demon, Class IV
• Demon, Class V
• Demon, Class VI
• Demon, Succubus
• Demon, Swine
• Dog (hunting/sled, war, wild)
• Dwarf
• Eagle, Giant
• Eel, Electric
• Elder Thing
• Elemental, Air
• Elemental, Earth
• Elemental, Fire
• Elemental, Water
• Falcon (hawk)
  
• Ferret, Giant
• Fish-Man (deep one)
  
• Fomorian (hill giant)
  
• Frog, Giant
• Fungus (shrieker, violet)
• Gargoyle
• Gelatinous Cube
• Ghast
• Ghost
• Ghost, Banshee
• Ghoul
• Ghul (desert demon)
  
• Giant, Fire
• Giant, Frost
• Gibbering Mouther
• Gorgon (medusa)
  
• Great Race (yithian)
  
• Green Slime
• Grey Ooze
• Griffon
• Harpy
• Hell Hound
• Hippogriff
• Horse (draft, riding, warhorse)
• Hydra (aqua, pyro)
• Hyaena (common, giant)
• Hyaena-Man (gnoll)
  
• Invisible Stalker
• Lamiae
• Leech, Giant
• Lich
• Lion
• Lizard, Giant (chameleon, draco, komodo dragon, tuatara)
• Lizard-Man
• Lotus Woman
• Lycanthrope (wererat, werewolf)
• Mammoth, Woolly
• Man, Bandit
• Man, Berserker
• Man of Leng
• Manticore
• Mi-Go (fungi from yuggoth)
  
• Minotaur
• Minotron
• Mummy
• Musk Ox
• Mustard Mould
• Naga
• Night-Gaunt
• Nightmare
• Ochre Jelly
• Octopus, Giant
• Oon (ghost-man)
  
• Orc (demon pict)
  
• Otyugh
• Owl Bear
• Pegasus
• Pterodactyl
• Purple Worm
• Rat (normal, giant)
• Remorhaz
• Rhinoceros, Woolly
• Roper
• Rust Monster
• Salamander (fire, ice)
• Scorpion, Giant
• Sea Serpent
• Shadow
• Shambling Mound
• Shark, Great White
• Shoggoth
• Skeleton
• Skeleton, Animal
• Slithering Slime
• Sloth, Ground
• Slug, Giant
• Snake (asp, cobra, python, rattler, viper)
• Snake, Gaint (asp, cobra, python, water)
• Snake-Man
• Snow-Man, Abominable (yeti)
  
• Spectre
• Spider, Giant (crab, black widow, ogre-faced, phase, trap-door, wolf
• Spore-Man
• Squid-Giant
• Stirge
• Tentacular Horror
• Thew Wagon
• Tick, Giant
• Tiger (tiger, sabre-tooth)
• Toad, Giant
• Tree-Man (treant)
  
• Troglodyte
• Troll
• Vampire
• Vhuurmis (beast-man)
  
• Weasel, Giant
• Whale (blue, killer, narwhale)
• Wight
• Will-O'-Wisp
• Wolf (wolf, dire wolf, winter wolf)
• Wolverine (normal, giant)
• Wraith
• Wyvern
• Zombie

Described using an OS stat block you'll be pretty familiar with, including a list of the special traits and abilities of the creature, and descriptions, background etc which totals generally around two paragraphs of 10+ lines each, sometimes less (for ubiquitous animals, for instance) and sometimes more (for specific complex races like the Elder Things). It's well organized and usable in-game. I particularly like the summaries of specific special traits and abilities at the end of each creature's entry. Then you can just modify it as suits the game. It's nice.

Thanks for taking the time to go above and beyond there.
 I'm sure I'll get some use out of it.

Q&A in progress!

Quote from: Silverlion;594245What do you think about it?

Inspiring, but not something I'm likely to run. (The flavor of the setting is too weird/horrific for a game including kids, which is my usual group, and I'd have to hunt a while to find adults who want to play in it.)

Quote from: Silverlion;594245What is cool about it?

Setting, and very secondarily how the rules align with the setting.

Quote from: Silverlion;594245How do the mechanics work/differ from other OSR/Retroclone type games?

As others have said, it's very much AD&D-like; nothing in particular jumps out in my memory.

Quote from: Silverlion;594245How is the magic system?

Each of the magic-using subclasses has its own custom spell list (with moderate overlap with the base list) with enough flavor. Like later D&Ds the number of spells has multiplied; a witch has access to maybe 5 different narrow Detect spells over the first two levels. If you read the spell listings carefully bits of setting flavor peek through, but there are so many spells this takes work. I think flavor could have been much stronger with narrower spell lists.

All spells for all classes are listed in one big alphabetical list, which some like. I find it easier to reference but much, much harder to browse than by-class by-level sorting.

Quote from: Silverlion;594245What doesn't quite work for you?

Ruleset feeling like complexified AD&D. As somebody who last ran Labyrinth Lord, has been building a couple of ACKS sandboxes, and is currently distracted by Spears of the Dawn, the rules just strike me as too fussy. For some reason ACKS subclasses appeal to me (not using the stock set themselves but using them as examples + the rules in the Players' Companion to build my own setting-specific subclasses), but the subclasses of AS&SH are too many and too blah. I'd like to think there's a way he could have portrayed how the subclasses belong to the setting to make them more relevant.

Quote from: Silverlion;594245Boxed set of PDF? (I'm poor.)

Given that constraint, PDF. You'd have to print out and tape together the map segments if you wanted to refer to them easily (much spilled ink! See if he can throw together a version without the black fill?), but everything else you need is there. If you are so in love with the PDF that you do want to run it, you can then start saving up the $50+ for the boxed set.

I thought the dice were gimmicky, and am much happier with a standard set of dice bought at FLGS. Similarly, I'm not likely to use the included character sheets - so I'm left with a big box, two nice sturdy spiral bound books, a poster map, and clutter.