Sword & Scoundrel
| Sword & Scoundrel | ||
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| RPG published by Grand Heresy Press |
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| Rule System | TROS-inspired d6 pool | |
| Authors | Jackson Malloy AKA Agamemnon | |
| First Publication | 2018 | |
Sword & Scoundrel (formerly called Band of Bastards) is an in-development The Riddle of Steel-inspired TTRPG system published by Jackson Malloy of Grand Heresy Press. It mainly differs from the other big TROS successor, Song of Swords, in that its mechanics are more simplified (but still pretty dense. This is TROS we're talking about) and the whole system is designed to be modular, so that more advanced mechanics can be taken out or put back in easily. Also unlike SoS, it does not include its own setting baked into the rulebook, and assumes you are using a generic humans-only historical European setting. Though the Wound Tables do include entries for wings and tails, if you want to play a race that has those.
Development of the game started in 2014 and open beta rules were published in 2018.
The System
The biggest departure from TROS is that combat is no longer a 2-tempo gambit. Skirmishes are still a collection of duels played out separately. But the dev still wanted to have a "dice gambling" mechanic, so they came up with the Wager system. You choose how many dice from your pool you want roll in any check. Any dice that aren't rolled are "wagered". If you succeed, the more dice you wagered, the higher your margin of success. When attacking, this means more damage. When defending, this means extra dice for your pool on your next turn.