I picked this and By This Axe, I Hack up last week and have been spending the last several days reading through them. Both games are simple, easy to understand and, most importantly, extremely evocative of the worlds being emulated. All this is done in a short, cohesive ruleset.

You won't find a lot of Lore and Backstory here; what you will find is classes/archetypes that evoke the characters from Lord of the Rings and Conan (respective to the game) while providing solid amounts of variation. Combat resolution isn't complex, yet has enough depth to have the different character types feel different.

Overall, highly recommended.

I picked this and There and Hack Again up last week and have been spending the last several days reading through them. Both games are simple, easy to understand and, most importantly, extremely evocative of the worlds being emulated. All this is done in a short, cohesive ruleset.

You won't find a lot of Lore and Backstory here; what you will find is classes/archetypes that evoke the characters from Conan and Lord of the Rings (respective to the game) while providing solid amounts of variation. Combat resolution isn't complex, yet has enough depth to have the different character types feel different.

Overall, highly recommended.

I really enjoy this book and series. The fact that this is a small fraction of the size of other table tops, makes it easier for introducing family and friends to the genre. I'm really looking forward to running a game of this in the near future.

I'm not really sure what the 2 star review was all about as they didn't leave a review to read, but this game (and its primus: By This Axe I Hack) are now my favorite Sword & Sorcery game. The only problem I have with it is that there is so much information that is kind of scattered throughout the books, so I find myself flipping through it much more. The one I've printed out (from the pdf) is already wearing thin on the edges. I have resolved this mostly by purchasing the print on demand version in recent hours, and look forward to enjoying it for I hope several years more to come.

Looks very promising! I love the work the author did with By This Axe I Hack. Can't wait to see the Tolkien-esque spin. Simple class-and-level based system, follows (with some good tweaks) The Black Hack, nice flexibility for character development (boons). Be interesting to see if magic system looks more like By This Axe (level-less spells divided into schools) or like The Black Hack (more traditional level-based D&D-esque spells). Hope it's out soon!

I enjoy this just as much as the basic set. The perfect companion -- so smoothly do the two fit together I find myself wishing they could be combined so that players won't have to page back and forth between the two volumes to consider the different classes and options.

Innovative, succinct, fantastic. My new go-to.

This is one of my very favorite of all OSR rulesets. Clear and succinct. Creative. Takes the best of multiple versions of D&D and mushes them together seamlessly. AND it emulates the feel of sword-and-sorcery. I've already started intercolating some of the ideas and procedures into my exisitng campaign, and will start using them all in the next one. Highly recommended, along with the expansion. Just fantastic work. And it's presented in such a way that it seems so obvious, you find yourself wondering why no one's done it this way before.

Really love the new additions to both Warrior and Magicians. Looking forward to play my Bounty Hunter in the next campaign!

More Goodness for this Black hack variant, love the way you can build your own Clases

A simple game to both play and run. It keeps your nose out of the book and in the game. The character building system has something to offer for everyone and the character progression system makes you feel like your character is getting better, again without having to bury your nose in the book.

I've always prefered my fantasy role playing more Conan and less LotR. This is a Sword & Sorcery version of The Black Hack written by Prowlers & Paragons writer and designer Leonard P.

You can tell from the character options this is written by someone with a deep knowlegde of and love for the genre. You can tell by the dedication to making the rules actually work, it was written by a serious game designer.

I'm sending my D&D books to college with my son this Fall. I won't miss them because I have By This Axe to play.

I came across this adaptation of (The black hat) as a recommendation from a friend. I have several relatives that have shown interest in TTRPG games after seeing it in movies and series such as The big bang theory and stranger things. Once I tried explaining the rules I either endup with a group of all fighters/rogues or casters i need to do a lot of hand holding. This system does simplify many of those issues, specially since not everyone has to be a "fighter" from lvl 1 to 3 (like in DnD) but instead they can be "archer", "Soldier, "knight" or for rogues: "Pirate, Scout, thief, and Magicians: " Shaman, sorcere, warlock", just to name a few. Therefore i can have up to 6 players using the "warrior" subclass but still think they are playing something different due to the classes differences at lvl1.

Good job

The quick start rules and character sheets for the amazing P&PUE. If you like superheros, super RPGs or just really excellent game engines, give it a try.

There's really only one undisputed king of action movie genre emulation when it comes to tabletop games, and that's first edition Feng Shui. Everything else is a pale imitation, no matter when those imitations came out chronologically - even before Feng Shui did. Trying to create a genre emulation RPG in this arena is, then, a pretty goddamn ballsy move.

Magnum Fury by Leonard A. Pimentel for LakeSide Games attempts to recreate the feel of more western action movies of the 80s and 90s, where Feng Shui is more about the over-the-top action of wire-work Kung Fu epics from Golden Harvest and their ilk. Here it's more about Die Hard than Zu Warriors and that means there is some different emphasis.

MF definitely takes some cues from Feng Shui, especially in the way it handles 'Mooks' and things, but it's a bit more open in terms of character creation and drops the most defining feature of Feng Shui - stunts. This is a little disappointing, but also thematically better fits what happens in 80s style films.

The system is simple and quick, using 2d6 (3 if you have advantage) and adding bonuses to see if you fail, succeed with a cost, or succeed outright. The idea of 'No', 'Yes, but' and 'Yes' is something I've played around with in games - but more expanded - and it does definitely help drive the narrative aspect of these sorts of games mechanically. You can think of Die Hard as a game in which John's player keeps rolling 'Yes, but...' results.

Characters are primarily defined by their style (such as 'Cerebral' or 'Dangerous', their career, such as 'Private Detective' or 'Assassin' and their drive and flaw. Everything else - abilities and so on - are essentially set dressing.

There's nothing massively innovative here, but its an interesting 'Frankenstein' of game concepts, brought together in an effective and fun package, presented in a format that suits a laptop screen rather than print. It knows its a one-off, con-slot or fill in type game and plays to that strength.

Personally, I'd use it to run players through the plots of some god-awful 'straight to video' actions flicks of the 80s, such as frequently appear on Red Letter Media's 'Best of the Worst'. These films, weirdly, often make fantastic inspiration for RPGs.

At 24 pages this is pretty slim, but it doesn't need to be huge. At $3.00 that's about right (perhaps 50 cents over what I'd charge) but it's definitely worth a shot.

Style: 4/5 Substance: 3/5 Overall: 3.5/5 A great little filler game. For three bucks you can hardly go wrong.

A very good product!

I enjoyed the relative simplicity of the rules, which make for a fairly light system that allows for more narrative freedom, rather than spending too much time on numbers and intricate rules. It also alleviates some of the pressure on the GM by making it more player-driven, which seems like it can make for a very enjoyable system for players who just want a fun, lighter experience. There could have been more examples of gameplay, to help demonstrate the system for players who may not be familiar with this type of dice system and game flow, but overall I'm very pleased.

Recommended for GMs and players who prefer a more narrative-driven game, but with more focus on somewhat stereotypical heroism rather than the usual, greyer morality other systems might present. All in good fun, of course.