Dan Proctor released it just last night and it has already jumped to #1 at RPGNOW.com!  That is fantastic news for the Labyrinth Lord community and the OSR.  Print versions are available here.  Congratulations to everyone involved!  BHP is continuing to support Labyrinth Lord online and in game stores – and we a have few modules just for AEC lined up for later in the year.

Check it out!

The free pdf version can be found here.

…but I am still waiting on the actual boxes.   Considering that I doubled the original order, it should have taken them longer to create and ship them. But I have been promised that they should be here by Monday and I will begin shipping them immediately.

I know that folks will be pleased with these boxed sets even if they end up shipping a week late. The only part of this product that I could not create myself was the actual boxes (okay, I just ordered the dice and pencils too), so I have to depend upon their expertise and timing. However, these boxes are actual game boxes with the same quality graphics and construction as your Monopoly or Clue game.

I just wanted to let everyone know why they hadn’t shipped yet.

Fewer Rules, More Imagination!

Prepare to be introduced to the old style of free form gaming! Swords & Wizardry: WhiteBox is inspired by the original 1974 fantasy role-playing game created by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. These rules are flexible and open to interpretation – designed not to cover all conceivable situations, but to allow good Referees and Players the freedom to create and play games of their own design.

Free PDF

6″ x 9″ Perfect Bound

6″ x 9″ Hard Cover

Now that all the WB Boxed Sets have been sold, it is time to assemble them. Here is a picture from this afternoon of two of my boys and I putting sets of dice into ziplock bags.
I’ll keep everyone updated on our progress and when the boxed sets will ship. We have everything on hand – just waiting for the boxes to arrive.

The entire 1st printing of the WhiteBox Boxed Sets has sold out.  The run consisted of 250 units and I cannot express my gratitude to everyone who purchased one. I can’t wait until folks get to see them. I am very proud of these boxed sets and I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. They will all ship as soon as the boxes arrive (everything else is on hand).

The WhiteBox free pdf is up and the 6″ x 9″ single volume softbound and hardbound versions will be up on Lulu.com in just a few days.  And, in a few months, WhiteBox will be shipping out to games stores world-wide.

Thank you.

Here are the “official” WB logos that you can use to on all your WB products (for free and for profit). Of course, you don’t have to use them, but I thought I would offer.

Remember to follow Matt’s Swords & Wizardry Compatibility-Statement License (found on pp. 111-112 of WhiteBox) when creating material that you want to indicate compatibility with S&W:WB. Brave Halfling Publishing’s being the publisher of WhiteBox does not add anything to Matt’s Compatibility License.

Download

Stuart Marshall has given a good review of Alphonso Warden’s epic, high-level adventure, “The Forgotten Temple of Baalzebul.” As far as I am aware, this is the only review of this module.

Thanks Stuart!   Link

Pdf Version

Print-On-Demand Version

Mark Allen and I talked it over and since the WB Boxed Set is currently sold out, we thought it would be alright to go ahead and let folks see what the cover of the box is going to look like. The boxes are still being manufactured, so you will just have to imagine the sides of the picture being folded down for now. I hope you like it.

PRESS RELEASE

BRAVE HALFLING TO PUBLISH SWORDS & WIZARDRY WHITEBOX

December 22, 2009 – Brave Halfling Publishing, Black Blade Publishing, and Mythmere Games are pleased to announce a new forward leap in the development of the ENnie-Award-Winning Swords & Wizardry game. Swords & Wizardry is a retro-clone of the original, 1974 edition of the well-known fantasy game written by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson (often called “0e,” for “original edition”). The Core Rules version of 0e, published by Black Blade, includes material derived from the various 0e rules and
supplements originally published by Tactical Studies Rules and TSR Hobbies between 1974 and 1977. The WhiteBox version of the 0e game is based solely on the first boxed release of 1974, which was altered in many ways by the later supplements.

As of today, Brave Halfling Publishing will become the publisher of the Swords & Wizardry WhiteBox Rules, under license from Mythmere Games, the producer of both versions of Swords & Wizardry. Brave Halfling will publish not only the WhiteBox rulebooks, but also a full line of supplemental material including modules and other resources specifically designed for use with the WhiteBox version.

“This is going to be a real boost for fans of Swords & Wizardry: WhiteBox,” said Matt Finch, founder of Mythmere Games. “There has been a lot of excitement about the Swords & Wizardry game, but up until now, most of the attention has been focused on the Core Rules. With Brave Halfling coming in to publish and support the WhiteBox rules, this is a chance for the game’s earliest, un-supplemented edition to really grow and thrive. Brave Halfling plans to build an entire supporting line of WhiteBox products, which didn’t happen even back in 1974. The game was changed with supplemental rules before TSR ever published a single module. Brave Halfling is going to be the first into that new territory.”

“We have lots of plans for Swords & Wizardry: WhiteBox,” said John Adams, president of Brave Halfling Publishing, “and you’re going to begin seeing them almost right away. For starters, we’re already assembling a Boxed Set packed full of Old-School goodies including four digest-sized rule booklets, a set of dice, a tablet of digest-sized graph paper, twelve 3×5 index card character sheets and a digest copy of Matt’s A Primer for Old School Gaming. Next we will be releasing a single-volume version of WhiteBox in both perfect bound and hard cover.”

“At first glance, it may seem unusual for two versions of Swords & Wizardry to be published and distributed by different companies,” said Jon Hershberger, president of Black Blade Publishing, “but there are key differences in the rules mechanics, and available character classes and monsters, spells, and magic items, which creates a unique and distinct feel to both versions of the game.  With both games being developed by different publishers, that also guarantees that the two won’t grow too similar over time.”

“Twice as many modules,” Matt Finch added. “That says it all, doesn’t it?”
Formed in 2009 by Jon Hershberger and Allan Grohe, Black Blade Publishing publishes the Swords & Wizardry Core Rulebook under license from Mythmere Games. For additional information, visit www.black-blade-publishing.com.

John Adams’ Brave Halfling Publishing has been producing Old-School products since May of 2008 and now publishes Swords & Wizardry WhiteBox under license from Mythmere Games. For additional information, visit www.bravehalflingpublishing.com.

Well, everyone seems to be blogging about their favorite rpg products of 2009, so I thought I would add my two cents.

I’ve been reading and re-reading my copy of Hackmaster Basic and I must say, this new system seems to be growing on me. Just old-school enough and just new school enough. I think I’ll be giving it a serious test drive in 2010. I’ve even pre-ordered Frandor’s Keep.