This is a review that has been a long time coming and the game has an interesting history. I want to discuss some of the history of this game before I get into the review.
In 2015 I discovered Sword and Six-Siders by happenstance and I do not have a date when the game was first made available. It was originally designed by a user known as Vanquishing Leviathan and the rules that turned into Swords and Six-Siders evolved from Vanquishing Leviathan's house rules for Tunnels and Trolls.
"Yes, what eventually became Swords & Six-Siders started out as my houserules for T&T. I'd say S&SS is one part T&T, one part BX, and one part modern innovations to my own taste." - Vanquishing Leviathan
The original author offered the game through his website (which does not exist anymore) where the author produced the books himself (print, art, cutting, stapling, etc). The original game was offered in a box set and included three booklets (players guide, DM's guide, and an adventure) and a small stack of yellow character sheets. What was great about the three booklet offering is that it had some fun nuances - one of my favorites was that the back cover on the DM's guide had a graveyard tracker where the GM could keep track of how and when the characters died. It was a fun way to honor the death of a character. I have had the chance to interact with the author during this time and it was refreshing to see an author that truly believed in the game.
"The box is a candy box with an adhesive label attached. The way I can afford to produce this game is by doing everything by hand. I did the design, writing, layout, art, all the folding, stapling, trimming. I think this is a great game, the best at what it does, so I invested my own time and money in it. This isn't a kickstarter, where you wonder when/if you'll ever receive your product. I figure if I believe in the game, why should I put the financial risk onto the customer?
I am so confident in the game, I made it available for free, the full rules, with art, as a pdf fully loaded with bookmarks. That way, you can try before you buy, and you don't even need to buy if you don't have the money." - Vanquishing Leviathan
The game is designed to operate with a single d6 (I will go into the system more during the review) and to allow the players and the DM to focus on the story over mechanics. The game itself also went through many revisions and adjustments before becoming the product that was offered.
"Earlier versions of Swords & Six-Siders were more T&Tish, where you advanced by increasing your stats. At one point, there weren't any classes, you could build your PC however you wanted by distributing your gained stat points, unlocking various abilities. The downside was that it is even harder to achieve balance that way, and it created an enormous amount of choices at every turn.
That is when I put in the class system. The classes in the basic game are really more archetypes: someone who is good in combat but not with spells: fighter, someone good with spells but not combat: wizard, someone who is sneaky and skilled: thief, someone who is a little of everything: myrmidon. That pretty much covers the basic archetypes in fantasy, and streamlines character creation.
Everything about this game is intended to speed things up, so you spend more time playing and having fun and less time wrestling with the rules. I've run convention games with strangers, people who have never played S&SS before, and in a 6 hour game, we spent maybe a total of 5-10 minutes looking at the rulebook (to check spell effects; spell descriptions are a single sentence). The comments I received were to the effect of "I can't believe you could do so much and have so much fun with such a simple game." - Vanquishing Leviathan
- 17 Pages for Core Rules/Character Creation
- 11 Pages for Spells
- 7 Pages for Action and Conflict
- 5 pages for traps
- 27 Pages for Monsters
- 15 Pages for Treasure
- 11 pages for Optional Advanced Options
- 93 Pages that include a sample adventure and setting
- 12 Pages of Appendix's
- Handful of pages for licensing information, character sheet, advertisements
Character Creation: Character Creation may feel familiar to some and characters start at level 1. Players with guidance form the Game Master will follow these steps:
- Choose a Race (Dwarf, Elf, Halfling, Human): Note Attribute Modifiers.
- Determine Ability Scores (Strength, Intelligence, Wisdom, Dexterity, Constitution, and Charisma): Roll a d6 three times and on each result record the number that is showing and the number opposite from the number showing. This will give you six different scores that are placed wherever the player wants to place them. A score of 1 gives a -1 penalty to rolls involving the Attribute and an score of 6 grants a +1 involving rolls with the Attribute.
- Choose a Class (Cleric, Fighter, Myrmidion Pathfinder, Thief, and Wizard). The Myrmidion is a hybrid between a Fighter and a Wizard where the Pathfinder is something akin to a Ranger.
- Choose Alignment (Law, Chaos, Neutral) and note languages by race.
- Determine Hit Points by rolling a d6. Anything result under 3 can be bumped up to 3 and starting HP can be modified by Race and/or class.
- Select Armor, Weapons, and Starting Equipment.
- Choose Spells for Myrmidions and Wizards.
- Calculate and record armor class and damage reduction, bonus and penalties to attack, damage, and saves per class and class. It is important to note that damage and attack modifiers are applied to both melee and ranged weapons unless a specific weapon is not available per class.
- Name your character something cool.
As you go through the character creation process I find it important to note that Shields and Helmet increase armor class or the difficulty to be hit and "armor worn" provided damage reduction. Players are allowed to pick whatever equipment (including weapons and armor) that is within reason and makes sense for their character. No prices are listed for armor, weapons, and other adventuring gear. There is gold in the game, but that is more used for services and leveling.
"Most of the game is handled through narration, whether by the gamemaster describing s scene or other players describing their characters actions. Dice rolls are appropriate for situations related to combat, accomplishing great feats, and resisting harmful effects and hazards."
These checks are broken down into the following ways:
- Ability Check: A catch all for any action as it relates to a single ability. 1d6 + Ability Modifier (if any) vs. a target number of 6.
- Class Skills: This is something described in their class and it follows a 1d6 + Ability Modifier (if any) + 1/2 of class level - rounded up vs. a target number of 6.
- Saves: 1d6 + 1/2 level vs. target number of 6.
- Death Save: When a character reaches zero HP, they are considered alive but unconscious and must make a Constitution save every round to stay alive. If one of the saves fail the character perishes.
When characters enter combat, this formula is followed:
- Determine Surprise for both sides of the conflict if necessary (1-2 on a d6)
- Initiative is determined every round by rolling for the groups or individual on the PC side
- Characters can move and attack in the round. Movement is determined by range bands (contact/reach/close/far/distant/yonder). Each of these have ft. measurements associated as well. To make at attack roll, toll 1d6 + to hit modifiers vs. Armor Class.
- Determine Damage: If the attack hits, roll damage (most weapons deal 1d6, two handed weapons deal 1d6+1) and subtract damage reduction (if any) from the opponents armor. Regardless of damage reduction, a successful attack will always deal 1 point of damage.
Initiative is re-rolled every round and there are some additional modifiers/rules for things like cover, prone, etc.
There is one major caveat to the core resolution mechanic. This is something that is important to remember and may get forgotten when new people are playing this game. The caveat is that a natural result of a "1" is always a failure and a natural result of a "6" is always a success.
The final thing to mention in this section is about Advancement. Character's level max out at level six and various bonuses are gained at certain levels. Characters acquire gold to count for XP but the gold only counts when the characters can transport it to town.
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