Swords & Wizardry

Setting Introduction

The world is an alternate fantasy version of our own, where humans are the dominant people, alongside the familiar folk of legend: elves, dwarves, halfling, and most importantly, monsters.

Our adventure takes place in the early Dark Ages of Britain, only a few years after the fall of the Roman Empire. In our own history this moment marks the beginning of the long struggle that would become the War of the Four Kingdoms, fought between Scotland, England, Wales, and Ireland. It is also the era from which much of Britain’s myth and legend emerges.

During this age we may witness the first steps of King Arthur’s journey, the rise and fall of powerful witches, and the slow transformation of the world into the feudal kingdoms of legend. But this world did not follow the path of our history. The War of the Four Kingdoms ended far too soon, and in catastrophe.

The remnants of the fallen Roman Empire left behind powerful magical artifacts: wands, staffs, enchanted blades, and relics of forgotten sorcery. When these relics were unleashed in war, they shattered the fragile foundations of civilization. Kingdoms collapsed, cities burned, and knowledge was lost.

Your party must pick up the broken pieces of civilization by delving into ancient dungeons, lost ruins, and monster-haunted wilds to recover gold, relics, and the lost magic of the old empire. With these treasures you may build a stronghold, gather followers, and if fortune favors you reignite the fading heart of civilization itself.

Style

This adventure is a casual, retro-OSR style sandbox, where the actions, or inaction of the party shape the world for better or worse.

Sessions are designed to be fast and focused, diving straight into the action at the entrance of a dungeon or delve. The goal is simple: get in, explore, and get out within a single game night. Failing to escape before the session ends could mean leaving a character behind and lost in the dungeon until they can be rescued in a later expedition.

We won’t spend session time on shopping trips or extended roleplay in town. Those things can be handled between games. When a session begins, the party will already be prepared and standing at the entrance to the next adventure, ready to descend.

This is a casual and relaxed game focused on exploration, problem solving, and overcoming obstacles. The story will emerge naturally from your choices and discoveries rather than from a pre-planned epic narrative.

At the end of the night the party agrees on how many in game days pass before the next adventure and what they plan to do. Your charavters only recover 1hp a day and the world will keep moving with or without your character, dungeons will rehabitate, factions will move and rival parties my get the drop on your loot!

Characters

You are not heroes or legends. You are ordinary people seeking a better life. Whether your reasons are selfish or altruistic is up to you, but survival will depend on your wits, courage, and a little luck. The monsters will be dangerous, and the world will not be fair.

To reflect the rough, old-school tone of the game, characters are generated randomly. There are no rerolls, unless none of your attributes are 9 or higher. After rolling, you may swap the values of two attributes once.

Struggle is part of the experience. Your character’s limitations will push you to find creative and unexpected solutions to the challenges you face.

If your character falls, you will begin again with a new character at Level 1.

You may have up to three characters in the campaign at one time. However, only one can be your main character. Any additional characters gain 50% less experience.

And remember: the larger the party, the more thinly the experience is divided among everyone present.