Robert Conley has shared (on his bat in the attic blog) his working draft of new roleplaying rules for his Majestic Wilderlands setting. Mr. Conley has published several pay aids under his own Bat In The Attic imprint as well as with Goodman Games and others. His Majestic Wilderlands setting is one of my favorite published settings and now Mr. Conley is in the process of writing a game system compatible with Swords & Wizardry (itself based on White Box) specifically for his Majestic setting. This product not only gives us tailor-made rules for the setting, it also is an excellent model for how to modify an RPG for use with your own campaign. It seems to be one of Mr. Conley's unique gifts that his play aids are not only highly useful and entertaining at the table, but also instructive regarding "how to" design one's own setting, adventure, sandbox, and now rules.
The current digital file, which Mr. Conley calls a supplement, covers four classes, five races (men, elves, half-elves, halflings and dwarves) and details for up to 5th level play. Presumably there will be a full version covering all the classes, races and levels of play his campaign supports at some future point. For now this supplement gives a lot to work with and demonstrates how to set things up for specific campaign play. The classes and races presented here are specifically designed for the campaign. Rather than a generic cleric class, Mr. Conley gives us his Cleric of Mitra (other classes are Burglar, Fighter and Magic User). Because what characters do outside of adventuring impacts the campaign world there is an ability system to handle these activities. Rather than the usual table of percentages Burglars (and other classes) get ability bonuses which increase as they level. The ability bonuses may be used to customize a character so that Burglars may specialize or focus their advancement in areas the player chooses. Majestic Burglars and Clerics are part of an organization and therefore are more closely tied to society than in most out-of-the-box systems. Abilities include areas of expertise such as athletics, research, stealth and thaumatology. Abilities are tested by throwing a d20, adding (or subtracting) the appropriate attribute modifier and comparing the result to a target of 15. The 5th Edition system of advantage and disadvantage applies. A modified score higher than 15 succeeds.
In addition to a saving throw verses magic, The Majestic Fantasy RPG uses magical immunity which is a d20 roll adding any bonus and looking for a total higher than 20. Casters need to memorize spells in order to cast them conventionally, although ritual casting from the spell book can be attempted taking more time and using more components. The spells listed are mostly those found in Swords & Wizardry, White Box, etc. Combat involves critical hits and fumbles and players have the option to try for various combat stunts such as a face shot or disarming attack.
There is a lot of really good game content available on the internet today, much can be easily adapted for use in my own campaign. Even when I don't use something I have read, I am often inspired with ideas of my own which I end up sharing at the game table. The best content is useful, inspiring and teaches me something. The Majestic Fantasy RPG is that kind of play aid. I can hardly wait for the fully finished product.
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