![]() ![]() Of particular interest to me was the chapter's collection of archetypal characters, since it's here that one can most obviously see the inspirations for this product. These include racial templates for classic fantasy races, such as elves and dwarves, as well as some sly references to more nouveau races such as infernal half-breeds and living constructs. Also included in the second chapter are a wide variety of useful templates. Chapter Two, meanwhile, is a rules-heavy chapter, adding new mechanics to the M&M system, in addition to showing how existing rules can be modified or otherwise altered to better suit a fantasy setting. For those unfamiliar with the history of these comics (or of pop cultural pulp fantasy, generally), it's extremely useful. Writers Dale Donovan, Matthew Kaiser, John Leitheusser, and Aaron Sullivan certainly know the history of S&S comics and the text is peppered with useful references to influential titles in the genre, along with occasional quotes from writers like REH.Ĭhapter One presents an overview swords-and-sorcery comics, as well as a discussion of dramatic/thematic elements common to them. The writing is clear, for the most part, and the editing is solid. It's only fitting, therefore, that someone would create a RPG product that explicitly connects fantasy gaming with swords-and-sorcery comics - and what better someone than Green Ronin Publishing, whose superhero game, Mutants & Masterminds, is one of the most successful offspring of D&D 3e via the Open Game License? Their recently-released PDF product (with a print version coming in the summer), Warriors & Warlocks, is 142 pages of rules, advice, and examples on how to use the M&M rules to play in "the days of high adventure." W&W is a full-color product that's lavishly illustrated by excellent comic book-style art, some of it quite evocative. Indeed, I suspect that far more gamers know Conan from reading comic books than from reading the writings of Robert E. There's little doubt in my mind that quite a few early designers of roleplaying games were first exposed to pulp fantasy not through the original stories themselves but through comic books based on those stories. These comics were simultaneously a reflection of a the wider pulp fantasy revival that began in the late 60s and engines of that revival in their own rights. The early 1970s was a boom time for swords-and-sorcery comics, with titles like Conan the Barbarianand Red Sonja leading the way. The influence of comic books as an inspiration for Dungeons & Dragons is a topic we've discussed here recently. ![]()
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