Taking the LBBs (S&W version) and Judges Guild City State products and modifying them to create a personal playground is what Rob Conley has skillfully done in his Supplement VI The Majestic Wilderlands. Calling his digest sized tome Supplement VI probably reflects how he uses the material it contains, basically as an additional supplement for the original system. Mr. Conley borrows the organization of the LBBs and official supplements with sections titled Men & Magic, Monsters & Treasure and Underworld & Wilderness Adventures.
When setting out to personalize the game to one's own world or setting I think in terms of a formula: new character classes, PC races, describe how magic works, the role of the gods, how combat works, inclusion (or not) of how to handle non-combat skill/ability tests, a bestiary, magic items, an atlas (either original or borrowed maps), descriptions of cultures, religion, history, climate and perhaps a calendar. In The Majestic Wilderlands Mr. Conley has taken some existing maps from the Wilderlands series (Judges Guild) and the original game rules (Swords & Wizardry White Box) as the basis and following his own preferences, applied his imagination and creates something new and exciting for the hobby.
The three basic character classes of the original game are the starting point to which Mr. Conley adds two new classes and several sub classes to each main class. The basic PC races (think Tolkien) are present as well as nine additional ones, some borrowed, some of his own unique design. An explanation of the author's non-combat ability test mechanics and his combat options, an explanation of the basis of magic in his world and rules for rituals are all described in some detail in the section titled Men & Magic.
A few new monsters and magic items specific to this world are described in the brief section Monsters & Treasure. A detailed description of the world of The Majestic Wilderlands takes up the remainder of the book. The author describes the main campaign area where he and his players have adventured for decades, the surrounding regions, climate, cultures, history and religion. The reader is not overburdened by detail, but there is enough here to explain the author's vision. Mr. Conley points to various regions of his setting which are designed to support various types of adventure, desert, jungle, arctic, pirate, Arabian nights, political intrigue, chivalry are all covered. He seems to have included an area to cover most of the classic adventure settings and he invites you, the reader and future referee to follow his footsteps adding to and borrowing from his work to create your own personal version of The Majestic Wilderlands. At our best, that is exactly what we referees do.
Using the maps and presumably the random tables (probably modified) Mr. Conley sites many of the cities and dungeon products produced by Judges Guild on those maps (either in the original JG locations or ones of Mr. Conley's choosing). The author of The Majestic Wilderlands has populated these maps with peoples and cultures of his own design, who worship his gods, learn his history and adventure as members of his PC classes. The resulting Majestic Wilderlands hits the sweet spot with just enough material to add enormous variety and depth to the original Judges Guild playing aids and White Box rules without becoming a chore for the prospective referee to read and master. The Majestic Wilderlands stands out as a fine example of taking the tools and materials of the hobby, applying imagination and making a personal, creative and unique game experience.
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