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Thursday, December 24, 2009

Brave Halfling White Box *In a Box*

John Adams of Brave Halfling Publishing announced that the company has become the publisher of the White Box version of Swords & Wizardry, under license from Matt Finch's Mythmere Games. Better yet, BHP will be producing a new edition of the game, available in four digest-sized booklets in a box. The new edition will include additional material not in the original release, such as, I believe, wilderness adventuring rules. BHP also plans to support the game fully with a line of supplements and adventures.

I think this is great news. White Box is a great ruleset and my own preferred version of Swords & Wizardry, as it's closer to the LBBs than the Core Rules. I find its clean and simple presentation very easy to build upon and I've adopted parts of the game for my Dwimmermount campaign. I'm really looking forward to what Brave Halfling has in store, especially given that the press release notes that White Box will retain its "unique and distinct feel" rather than following the lead of the S&W Core Rules. I think that's a good approach; I definitely plan on paying close attention to this line of products.
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13 comments:

  1. JDJarvisDecember 24, 2009 at 9:00 AM

    Good news indeed. I've been using the S&W:White Box rules myself for fill-in/one-off games for a while as the rules are quick and easy to use. The small rulebook makes it easy to get right to the action.

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  2. rainsweptDecember 24, 2009 at 9:48 AM

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  3. Matt FinchDecember 24, 2009 at 9:54 AM

    Keeping a unique feel between WB and Core is a major benefit. The Core Rules are designed very much to reach beyond the "OSR" and engage newer gamers in freestyle gaming. But it would be a shame to lose that funky, folded-over, almost underground-comix feel that was another side of D&D.

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  4. christianDecember 24, 2009 at 11:20 AM

    Holy wow. That cover art from the white box booklet is awesome. I bet the box set will be insane. Can't wait to lay down my money. :)

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  5. crowkingDecember 24, 2009 at 12:54 PM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  6. nothingDecember 24, 2009 at 2:12 PM

    This new edition is mostly just a cleaned up version of the original in addition to a new layout for digest printing--fixed typos, corrected monster AC entries, textual clarification, restoration of some missing text, etc.

    Any additional material, like wilderness adventuring rules, are not in Books I-IV. I'm not a member of BHP, though, so I can't comment on any Supplements they may produce that might include such guidelines.

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  7. sevenbastardDecember 24, 2009 at 2:21 PM

    box sets are making a comeback. The Dragon Age RPG is going to be released as two 64 page guides, a poster map, and dice.

    http://www.greenronin.com/dragon_age/

    probably not going to buy it but its good to see its in a classic format. And may be a product that tempts computer gamers into the world of tabletop RPG? One can hope.

    Not so sure about the new Warhammer Fantasy but at least it is in a box.

    But really it was worth clicking the "announced" link just to see the elf archer from Keep on the Boarderlands fighting a troll in the snow covered forest. That elf archer inspired a lot of my early PC. Less so the hairy dude with no shirt and a skirt.

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  8. AnonymousDecember 24, 2009 at 2:56 PM

    I would find the Ultimate version of this to have the Pete Mullen White Box cover for the box and the Steve Zeiser art for the booklets as shown in the previews. I really like the work of both illustrators and would hate to lose that Mullen cover.

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  9. David LarkinsDecember 24, 2009 at 3:09 PM

    Fantastic! And now there'll be a box to keep all those other digest-sized books that have been coming out! :)

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  10. thekelvingreenDecember 24, 2009 at 5:43 PM

    box sets are making a comeback
    The new Doctor Who rpg is also a boxed set, and seems to be doing quite well.

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  11. crowkingDecember 24, 2009 at 6:27 PM

    I have to agree with AV and that you have to have a Pete Muller cover for the box set. He's the best OS-style artist since Trampier and Otus.

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  12. SHARKDecember 26, 2009 at 12:45 AM

    Very cool stuff!

    Oh, and I hope you have a Merry Christmas!

    Semper Fidelis,

    SHARK

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  13. AkrasiaDecember 29, 2009 at 4:11 PM

    Exciting news!

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