Flintlocks and Witchery : Orthodox Sword & Backpack

The other night I found my old Sword and Backpack Notebook. This got thinking about the game (as well as some found memories) and all the hacking I did of it which lead me to the thought of, I think I need to go back and read all of the original material. I grabbed my phone googled it up and discovered that the itch store had vanished but the Sword and Backpack Tumbr blog is still active. This lead me to frantically re-download all of the archived material except the playlists. Here is the direct link to the playlists.

Maybe I have an irrational fear of amazing things vanishing form the internet, and this game is something I don't want anyone to lose access to so you can find the all of the original Sword and Backpack files here!.

After my panic calmed down, with my Adventure's Almanac in hand I started to reminisce about the first time I discovered Sword and Backpack and how it actually took my awhile to wrap my head around it. Then I kind of went through a montage of how my ideas about gaming and philosophy about rulings not rules evolved and changed.

Even though I have fallen out of love with the d20 and the classic 3.x style games, I could not help but follow the white rabbit and answer the question of, "If I was to run Sword and Backpack today with the original material - how would I do it? What would be in my 'Invisible Book of Rulings'?" Then the idea of Orthodox Sword and Backpack popped into my head - and here we are.

The truth is, I just think the idea of assembling your own Adventurer's Almanac is just rad! Now, for what you all came here for - the "how to" or at least how I would do it.

The Adventurers and what they are good at:

Adventurers start with 10 Stamina.
Adventurers gain a +5 bonus whenever dice need to settle a task that relates to their job (Warrior, Rogue, and Sorcerer). Remember everyone can try anything, some characters are just better suited for certain tasks then others.
Adventurers start out with one point of Inspiration and it can be spent for a re-roll.

Resolving Conflict and Combat:

There are only three Difficulty Classes/Levels for all actions (including how hard enemies are). The base is always DC 12 and adjust up or down.

Easy, DC 9. Leaping a narrow chasm, sneaking up on an inattentive guard.
Normal/Standard, DC 12. Kicking open a stuck door, picking a poor lock.
Hard, DC 15. Swimming against a strong current, climbing a sheer surface with no gear.

Characters go first unless they are surprised. It is good to have the players determine order and that order can be used indefinitely unless they choose to change it.
When combat happens, determine initiative, and both the player and Storyteller roll d20s (including bonuses where applicable, the Storyteller adds the opponents Stamina rating to the roll) and whoever result is higher wins. Only the attacker can cause loss of stamina.
All hazards and attacks cause the loss of one Stamina.
Most opponents should only have 1-2 points of Stamina. Only the toughest and strongest of opponents should have more.

Recovery:

Stamina is recovered one point per night of rest. Magic or divine intervention may add an additional point of Stamina recovered.

Silver and Gear:

Silver Standard is used. A silver coin is worth about $5.00 USD and everything is dealt in silver.
Mundane gear and service prices range from 1-20 silver pieces. Anything more exotic and the sky is the limit.
All Adventurers start with the gear needed by their Job, bedroll, mess kit, tinder box, 7x rations, 50ft. of rope, 10x torches, a water skin, and 1d20 silver pieces.

Sage Advice (Running the Game):

Do not be punitive or unfair. Keep an eye on what DC's are used and don't make things difficult just to be difficult. Basically don't be a dick and reward good role playing.
Work with Sorcerers before the game to pick their spells from the Magic Supplement #1 or help them create their own from the examples. Remember all spells must have a verbal and manual component (and those components from the examples can be redefined). Beginning spells should stay at DC 9/DC 12. More powerful spells will increase the difficult of casting further.
Use the d20 of fate! If you don't know the answer to something or are undecided roll that d20 and 1-10 is a no and 11-20 is a yes. You can also use the d20 of fate to give things percentages of chance - ever number on the d20 is 5% percent. So, if the weather had a 30% chance of rain then it would rain on a 1-6.