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Shadow of the Weird Wizard
by Adam [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 03/16/2024 13:17:32

I love this a lot so far, I'd been looking for a stellar universal fantasy RPG that I could adopt with qualms for over a decade and this is The One. I'm looking forward to seeing any updates/expansions.

I've noticed a handful of typos myself (Retributive Staff has 2 typos) and some talents that I felt like could be worded more clearly (Telepathy) but seeing as how it's being actively updated I don't care about these minor inconveniences.

10/10 I'm looking forward to running games in this for many years.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Shadow of the Weird Wizard
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Shadow of the Weird Wizard
by Hazel [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 03/14/2024 18:41:55

Shadow of the Weird Wizard is unmistakably an improvement upon its first iteration, Shadow of the Demon Lord.

The combat system has been improved greatly with both martial and magical characters getting buffs to keep the game balanced but fun. I can't wait to see more official adventures come out since I loved the adventures of Demon Lord.

My only gripe would be the art which was a step-back from the pages upon pages of art that Demon Lord provided. Still, they do their job in painting the picture of the Borderlands.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Shadow of the Weird Wizard
by Rafael [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 03/14/2024 17:25:26

Excellent work, a fantasy ttRPG that gives you plenty of options without overwhelming you. A good evolution of sotdl.

I don't give it 5 stars because I find the art inconsistent and uninspiring.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
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Shadow of the Weird Wizard
by Edward [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 03/09/2024 22:16:15

Ring Side Report- RPG review of Shadow of the Weird Wizard

Originally posted at www.throatpunchgames.com, a new idea every day!

Product- Shadow of the Weird Wizard System- Shadow of the Weird Wizard Producer- Schwalb Entertainment Price- $19.99 here https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/457226/shadow-of-the-weird-wizard?affiliate_id=658618 TL; DR- A LOT more but not what some expected. 99%

Basics- Family friendly fantasy Schwalb! Shadow of the Weird Wizard is Schwalb Entertainment's family friendly fantasy RPG. Let's look at the basics then the breakdown.

Base Mechanics- This game is d20 based with the normal base numbers you would expect. There are only four attributes (strength, agility, intelligence, and will). The interesting part is your abilities directly determine a bonus to any roll. If you are asked to make a will roll, you look at your will attribute, subtract 10, and add that number to a d20 roll. So if you have a will of 13, then then the bonus is +3. Simple. This goes for everything from attacks to opening a lock. The number you are aiming for most times is a 10 for a success.

Boons and banes- Aside from a d20, the other die this game uses often is a d6. If you have an advantage in a situation, then you roll a boon or a d6 and ADD the value to the d20 roll. If you have a disadvantage you roll a bane or a d6 and you SUBTRACT the value from the d20 roll. If you have multiple boons or banes, you roll multiple dice but combine only the most extreme penalty or bonus to your d20 roll. Boons and banes counteract one another, so two banes and three boons mean you get one boon on the roll.

Combat- Combat is a bit simpler than Shadow of the Demon Lord. Here, each side takes a turn with the GM or Sage going first. All their NPCs go first moving, attacking, or casting spells, and then the players can choose whatever order they want to take. Each turn a player can move and take an action. These actions are attacks, spells, and anything else a player can think of.

Leveling up- This is the biggest change Schawlb brings to the world of RPGs. Leveling up in all the Shadow games is simple and occurs quite often. After a four hour adventure, you level up. Not after multiple sessions. Not at specific XP levels. Just after every completed game. Leveling up is also predictable. Level 1 and 2 you get levels in your base class or your novice path. Level 3 and 4 you choose an expert path. 5 is back to your novice path. 6 is your expert path. 7 and 8 are a master path. 9 is your expert path, and finally 10 is the master path final level. The classes/paths are split into four basic areas: fighter, rogue, wizard, and cleric, and this is the same for both the expert and master paths as well. So you can be a novice cleric, then a mountebank (rogue), and finally an alienist (wizard) and the flow will be fun and works well.

Ok, now my breakdown.

Mechanics or Crunch- I like the Shadow games. This is no different. This one doesn't have the slow/fast turn mechanics of the Shadow of the Demonlord, but that will make this appeal to a wider audience of gamers. Aside from that, this game’s goal is to be fast. Schwalb wants to make an approachable game that flows fast. And this does. 5/5

Theme or Fluff- Schwalb is not known for being family friendly. His other stuff is just bizarre and gross AND I LOVE IT. This is meant to be a very different experience. It's well done, but if you want the gothic horror of Shadow of the Demon Lord, you will be disappointed. However, if you want a family friendly game then this is the Schwalb Entertainment that you would bring to the table. 5/5

Execution- This is a solidly put together game that meets all the base requirements I need and want in a book. There is art that breaks up text blocks. There is a solid layout to ease reading. And there are hypertext to make this a breeze to move through quickly. The one thing I do not like is the lack of a walkthrough of making a character and leveling up. I know it's not hard, but those things are something I think really helps the new players. That said, this is a near perfect book for production. 4.9/5

Summary- I have always loved what Schwalb Entertainment puts out. It's a very different philosophy compared to other RPGs and companies. This is no different, but it is a change from the normal tone of Schwalb. Not bad, but different. You have to know exactly what you are getting here. This is a player book, not a full system book. The original Shadow of the Demon Lord was an all in one book. This is not that. If you think that this one book will do it all, you will be disappointed. But this book doesn't skimp on content as you get a crazy amount of things for your money. I just would like a few more examples for perfection. 99%



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Secrets of the Weird Wizard
by Colby [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 03/01/2024 12:13:26

When combining the information in this book with the rules from the players book we are given a fantastic game! It's strange and wacky, with some neat character options and good rules.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Secrets of the Weird Wizard
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PunkApocalyptic: The RPG
by Jeffrey [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 02/29/2024 21:09:43

Robert J. Schwalb absolutely nailed this motherfucker!



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
PunkApocalyptic: The RPG
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Shadow of the Weird Wizard
by Joe [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 02/28/2024 19:39:27

DISCLAIMER: This book is one of two of a core set. Some people didn't know that. Why 5 stars? I don't have anything meaningful to mark against the system, so it gets a full score.

WHO IS THIS GAME FOR? Medium crunch rules. Detailed combat. Lighter on skills/backgrounds/non-combat features. General/flexible fantasy setting, can cover falling empires/cities of thieves/pirates/shires/etc.

WORTH THE COST? I believe so. There's a lot of range and replay value for players (more than average) and it's priced normally. Should stay fresh for a very long time. MY OPINION I am mostly an OSR-type of guy, but I felt a need for something to serve as a replacement for 5e at my table. I chose Weird Wizard for the following reasons:

I read SotDL, so I was down for a cleaned up/updated version of that.

I really, really like Paths as a character building system. I'm very pleased to have a medium-crunch game that can allow such a wild range of character builds. One person's Fighter - Gladiator - Blade is just as playable as someone's Rogue - Druid (Tradition: Alteration) - Barbarian.

Core mechanics: 4 ability scores is sweet and simple. The central resolution mechanic isn't hard: 1d20 + a stat + a boon or bane (1d6). I also like that you count up your Damage taken, rather than subtracting it from your Health, which can be affected in other ways. I like the spell casting (which I can't succinctly describe) and the tactical effects for non-magical combatants, which also seem like they'll be easy to play at the table.

The right kind of setting for my playstyle. Enough information that I don't have to think too hard, but enough ambiguity that I can do whatever I want. This will be elaborated upon in many supplemental products coming down the line, which was easily my favorite thing about this and Shadow of the Demon Lord. I like having a lot of stuff to work with.

I appreciate that the layout is going to be revisited. As this is going to be an RPG that I'll be keeping for a long time, I'd want it to be in its best shape. I don't know if DTRPG reviews can be edited later on, but if anything critical changes I will edit as needed.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Shadow of the Weird Wizard
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Shadow of the Weird Wizard
by Samuel [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 02/27/2024 19:38:14

I really love this. It smooths out a lot of rough edges for SotDL without losing the joy of the base rules of that take on D&Dish rules. Honestly this is what 5e and D&D One should have been. Tight, consistent, balanced, and easy to play.

Note that unlike Shadow of the Demon Lord it's not the full system just the player's guide. (Honestly this is a good thing as SotDL was huge and pricey.) The yet unreleased Secrets of the Weird Wizard include a lot of the setting, non human races, and monsters. I was in the kickstart and the rough draft is look good.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Shadow of the Weird Wizard
by Frenzy [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 02/27/2024 17:29:38

One of the best heroic fantasy rpgs I had the pleasure of playing. Its clean and elegant rules makes it very easy to follow, and the large quantity of options promises amazing adventures.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Secrets of the Weird Wizard
by Dan [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 02/26/2024 13:26:01

Happy to say this is an excellent product even in the pre-release state. Along with Shadow of the Weird Wizard (the players guide) the game is 100% playable today. As with Schwalb Entertainment’s other games I greatly enjoy Rob Schwalb’s take on monsters, peoples, places, gods and legends. In this case in the Borderlands setting where the Weird Wizard has recently disappeared initiating the mass migration of refugees. Taking inspiration from Greyhawk, it seems to likewise be inspired from many other fantastical places such as Lankhmar, the Dark Empire of Granbretan, the wastelands of Essos, the medieval realms of Three Hearts & Three Lions and other old and new fantasy novels. I would say there are even nods to Freeport and Ptolus. Included in all of this is solid advice on running the game, rules for zone play, traps and a bestiary both grand and grotesque. Also Man-Bear-Pig!!! Buy it!



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Secrets of the Weird Wizard
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Shadow of the Weird Wizard
by Wu [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 02/26/2024 09:45:07

Honestly love everything about this book, couldn't get into shadow of the demon lord but this right here is my cup of tea, smooth combat with plenty of character options.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Shadow of the Weird Wizard
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Shadow of the Weird Wizard
by Franck [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 02/25/2024 02:03:05

This is just a PHB for a new game and is not complete. You can only play humans, there is no bestiary, and you won't be able to play with this game until the rest is released. And I wish this was clearly stated on the store page because I wouldn't have bought it at that time. The layout is basic and the illustrations OK, but it doesn't inspire anything compared to the previous games based on this system. A lot of the paths are from SotDL with very little changes. If a refund was possible, I would probably have used it.



Rating:
[2 of 5 Stars!]
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Shadow of the Weird Wizard
by Dan [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 02/23/2024 20:11:13

Love this book. Another home run for Schwalb Entertainment. I was a fan of Shadow of the Demon Lord, but the innovations in this game are so much better. Right off I should note that this is the players book and is book one of a two book set. The second is Secrets of the Weird Wizard which is currently available for sale in unformatted form and will be updated in the future. A third book on Ancestries is in the works. On Shadow of the Weird Wizard spell mechanics are way better than Shadow of the Demon Lord and much simpler, the initiative system far faster than Demon Lord (both of which totally outclass regular D&D in this regard. The Health and damage mechanics are perhaps the most innovative ruleset. Should damage equal health the character falls unconscious but on a rest heals the damage. But in addition some attacks remove health making the character weaker and with the problem that health takes longer to heal. A great way to simulate basic endurance (damage) and more serous wounds (health reduction). Meanwhile an injured status (damage equaling half your health) provokes more serious attacks from some enemies. The game also contains the same path system for characters as Shadow of the Demon Lord. Full of all the richness in text, rules and especially lore that Rob Schwalb is famous for Weird Wizard is a must have game for anyone who loves D&D, wants to incorporate new rules in their own games, or just wants to take the leap into something new and exciting. Weird Wizard is well worth it.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Shadow of the Weird Wizard
by Marco [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 02/23/2024 17:43:46

Ever since I discovered SotDL years ago, I always wanted a lighter version of it. As in, a lighter tone of the setting. Well, this is it and it's glorious.

NEGATIVES FIRST:

  1. The layout needs reworking, but a reworked version is coming as I'm typing this review.
  2. The core rulebook only comes with 1 ANCESTRY - Human. I don't like this, especially since the cover of this book has different ancestries. The book does mention more ancestries arriving in the DM book, but still.
  3. Although playtests are over, some mechanical imbalances need tweaking imo. To be fair, these are just minor imbalances, nothing too broken.

THE POSITIVES:

  1. The Demon Lord engine has been refined and streamlined. Some terms and rules make the system a lot easier to learn.
  2. The magical traditions are back, but are now empowered by talents you learn each time you learn or relearn the same tradition. These give mages a nice oomph to their power.
  3. Weapon properties, though already introduced in Demon Lord, have been expanded. Each weapon is now unique thanks to its properties.
  4. Martials are given bonus damage in D6s that they can spend for attacking multiple targets or performing maneuvers.
  5. The "Power" derived stat has been removed. Instead, each spell tells you how many times you can cast it. Once again, this makes the system a lot easier to learn.
  6. Some new and familiar character paths with most having their unique flavor.

THE VARIABLES. These are some points that I'm not positive or negative on:

  1. There are some quirky rules such as sound volume, obstacles that block sound volume, wind strength, and some others. I'm quite indifferent on this despite others seeing it as a negative, because they are so trivial. I doubt you'll be referring to these rules every session.
  2. Some of the art is, um, funny? I don't really care.
  3. The insanity and corruption mechanics have been removed. If you like to play a darkly-themed game, then stick with Demon Lord. However, if you like to have a blank canvas that you can mold to your own setting then you'll like this more. This is a variable for me, because I know that I can jump back on to Demon Lord if I wanted a grittier and darker game.

OVERALL, SotDL was my favorite game, because of its robust character options and simple-to-learn system. It was only held back by its dark flavor.

Weird Wizard's improved system and character options and generic setting allows me to make my own out of it without forcing in the insanity or corruption mechanic.

I have a feeling, that this will be my new favorite ttrpg.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Shadow of the Weird Wizard
by Will [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 02/22/2024 20:46:13

I’m happy with the way power level for spells is fixed for hybrid magic characters: at high levels their magic is still good.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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