Book & Blade is
a rules-light old school fantasy roleplaying game. It is a hack of
Ben Milton’s RPG Knave, and is further influenced by other Knave
hacks that build upon Ben's game.
Book & Blade is
highly compatible with old school Dungeons & Dragons rules and adventures. It plays
very similar to older D&D versions, with three main exceptions:
- No Classes – PCs
don’t choose a traditional class at start. PCs can be customized
as they level by choosing feats. Fighting
types can take fighting feats. Users of magic can choose
magic-related feats. You can re-create various D&D classes
this way, or build multiclass characters by mixing and matching
various abilities.
- Every PC can use
spell books – In traditional D&D, Magic-Users carry a spell book
that contains various spells. In Book & Blade, a spell book only
contains a single spell. So if you want to be able to cast multiple
spells, you’ll have to carry multiple spell books. All PCs can cast
spells, but they have to decide if they want to fill up their
limited inventory with bulky spell books, instead of other gear. Which leads us to….
- Inventory is crucial
- Other than the feats they choose, a PC’s role in the party is determined largely by the equipment
they carry. Fighting-types will fill up their limited inventory slots with
weapons and armor. Users of magic will fill up their inventory with
multiple spell books, so they can have an arsenal of various spells at their disposal. But inventory slots are limited, so you can’t have
the best weapons and armor and be able to wield a large number of
spells. And don’t forget to leave some of your inventory slots
open for the treasure you’ll find on your adventures, since this is a game that is all about acquiring gold, as gold = XP.
You can download Book & Blade here.
- Brian Stewart
