This series of PDFs is great so far [see the various detailed reviews of Woodland Warriors], but this one did leave me with a couple of questions: if characters from the standard setting can journey to Greyrock Isle, how do they get there; if they use waterborne craft, what would these be; what dangers would they face at sea; which Kind would make the best pirates?

If you liked Woodland Warriors, well you'll enjoy this just the same.

The 2 new Kinds (Otters & Hares) and 2 new classes (Talespinner & Wayfarer) are great! The campaign setting is a little darker than that featured in Woodland Warriors, which for me was a good thing. Though there are notes about how to run it in a more light hearted fashion for those who want to.

The art is great, and the adventure seeds very flavorful.

Cheers.

Great little game! the system is genius!

I really love the way Simon has turned the S&W system into a seamless d6 OD&D game. The races are very evocative and the classes very well done. It's the kind of game you could read once and start playing immediately, but detailed enough that you won't get bored of it anytime soon.

I bought this game quite a while ago, but only recently got to play it a few times, hence this review (my first ever even though i buy something from rpgnow pretty much every week), as i felt it deserved some attention. Our 3 sessions to date have been great fun and i'm genuinely hoping that Mr Washburn sticks with this core system for a bunch of other things!

The end.

Ps - The artwork is great too! Oh and Grubman's adventure is very well written indeed!

Maybe not as enjoyable as BOL, a very fun and simple game to play. IIf you like old novels like Don Pendleton's books and others in the same vein, then go for this !

Woodland Warriors, based on the Swords & Wizardry iteration of OD&D, is brilliant! I am especially satisfied with the use of d6s that essentially transform the classic game system to a roll/keep affair. Dave Bezio's adventure in the back really captures the Redwall feel this game seems meant to stress. I will be playing this with my 7-year-old daughter and nephew. The excellent side effect is the kids have asked me to read the original Redwall to them!

My one gripe is i would have liked to seen details bringing the classes to Level 10 or more.

Being a big Redwall/Mouseguard fan, as well as a fan of old-school games like Swords & Wizardry, this seemed like a sure buy for me. And I was not dissapointed. The writing is good, the ruleset is concise and clear, and the maps and art are charming. I really like the all d6 approach to OD&D that is in here, and am tempted to use it for regular fantasy games as well.

Woodland Warriors is a new game from Simon Washbourne, The game allows players to take on the roles of anthropomorphic animals in a medieval like setting . If you enjoy stories such as Redwall, Mistmantle Chronicles, Mouseguard, etc. you'll feel right at home with this game.

The game's system is a modified version of the Swords & Wizardry rules, which itself is a variation of the Original Dungeons and Dragons system. The biggest changes to the system is the use of d6's for every roil whether attack, damage, or saving throw, and that character progression is limited to 6th level. These and other tweaks to the system greatly simplify the game.

The game has four character classes available to play; Friar, Scout, Warrior, and Wizard. Players can also multi-class. There are five races for use as PCs; Badger, Hedgehogs, Moles, Mice, and Squirrels. The Monster section has a few other races such as the Hare, and the Otter that may be suitable to play with a few tweaks. There is also a Rogue NPC class which could be used as a fifth character class with your Referee's permission.

The books includes a nice little campaign setting called Stonewell Abbey, along with several adventure seeds. The game includes a full adventure as well.

The full color art, and presentation really helps convey the genre quite nicely. Just a casual read through of the book conjures up a feeling of adventure.

To try the game out I ran the included adventure for my wife, two teenage daughters, and a family friend. None of them had ever played a role playing game before. I was able to walk them through character creation, and how to play in less than 20 minutes. All the players were able to quickly grasp the simplified rules, and jump right into the game. The setting, and the system complemented each of perfectly. The included adventure was a nice introduction to the setting, and everyone had a great time playing, and are now looking forward to exploring Stonewell Abbey further.

Woodland Warriors is a great value. If you are a fan this genre, or would like to try something off the beaten path, you can't go wrong with this book. Highly recommended!

Ok, I like some things about this book, but not others.

The setting is an ok setting that lends itself to being more of a kids' game. There are some minor gripes I have with correctness (a woman who holds the same position as a abbot is called an abbess), and the fact that it's basically Redwall: The Game with attempts to avoid legal action. However, as far as gaming goes, these have no effect on it.

The system? Not quite so ok. Take the d20 system, which is nice and simple, and port it straight to d6. By scaling it down. A 17% guaranteed miss chance in combat? Really? I mean, these are heroes. Basically every gripe I have with the d20 system becomes more glaring when it's taken down smaller. The modifiers are, at least, toned down similarly, but it's still way easy to run into situations where it's gonna result in a 73% chance of brilliant success and 17% chance of failure. This isn't necessarily bad, but it removes the focus on actually playing strategically and places the focus on probability, with no chance for marginal success (literally, if you have a +1 to hit modifier, you can't hit the magic sweet spot between missing and hitting, because your results are 1-failure or 2+1-win), which would make the system feel more fluid.

All in all, I like its effort, but it just runs into walls over and over. I mean, it's good, but I've seen many others try the same game without falling into the "Let's make a kids' game" trap, and actually using a more serious approach. Believe me, a kid's game does not need to be simplified this far. Still, the art's decent and the writing's good (even if the technical aspects aren't so much), so it's not bad even if it's not stellar.

I have three children (6, 8 & 10) who all love superheroes and enjoy roleplaying. We have struggled to find the perfect system that is easy and understandable for them. After trying out Supers we knew that we found the perfect system. The ease of character generation, the simplicity of combat and the down right fun that you can have playing this game because you're not bogged down flipping pages looking up rules is priceless.

My kids greatly enjoyed playing Supers and look forward to our next session.

Bottom line...if you're looking for a great system for kids or just a light fun system to relax your brain give Supers a try.

At it's core, BoL is perhaps one of the best RPGs I have ever played. Simple and intuitive, the rules blend into the background and let you get on with the adventure. It includes just the right amount of background and setting information -- enough to get you started and get the creative juices flowing; but not enough detail to bog you down and overwhelm the senses (i.e., the Forgotten Realms Syndrome). No overreaching metaplot (a good thing). No fiddly skill system (thank goodness for "careers"). Elegant magic system that allows the players to create their own spells while at the same time maintaining the flavor of S&S magic. What's not to like?

The only changes I've made are to convert the 2d6 resolution system to 3d6 and to change the default setting to the Hyborian Age.

There are few RPGs one would call a gem. Some are called that due to nostalgic reasons, others due to overdo hype... Barbarians of Lemuria is neither. It's not an old game we played when we started in the hobby back in 74, 80's or 90's (your milleage may vary). Yet, this 110-page PDF feels like an old school title and it's very welcomed in my gaming table.

I won't dare to compare Barbarians of Lemuria to that old science-fiction game where you could die when rolling your character. Each one has its own strengths and are completely different systems, but somehow when reading Simon W.'s book my mind drifted away to that old RPG...

((Let's see... We have careers, we roll 2d6 and must reach 9 or more after adding some modifiers... Yes, I was mistaken. In that old sci-fi game we needed to reach 8 or more. It's completely different. ;-) ))

Okay, jokes aside, I really like Barbarians of Lemuria. Let me tell you what you'll find in the book.

It's a 110-page PDF with a 2-collumn layout and line drawing artwork. It has a clean design and my printer didn't screamed "Ink!" when printing. The artwork is simple and evocative, but I didn't like the style so much--and a word of warning to the puritans: there are a few bare breasts, but this in any way detracts the book (it's my humble opinion the artist followed the sword & sorcery genre art to the letter, as many S&S tales depict partially nude women ready to saved from eldritch horrors or ready to be sacrificed).

I am not too qualified to review the setting background as I've never read Carter's Lemuria, so I won't dabble in those areas. However, having played a mini-campaign using Barbarians of Lemuria rules and Howard's Hyborean Age background where a barbarian becomes king, I'm apt to say the game instills the creating of great characters and even--dare I say that in a S&S setting?--heroes.

Speaking of characters, a group of four players who had never played Barbarians of Lemuria before was able to create their chars in less than 10 minutes. And that's a plus in my GMing book.

But how a character is created in these rules? It's a point buy system with few attributes and few abilities. Once you've made that choice, you almost finished your character creation. What is missing? The careers.

And here is one of the points where the rules shine.

From a roll of 24 (give or take a few as I don't have the book in my hands now) careers, you'll be able to pick 4. Then, using a few points (remember this is a point buy system!) you'll select which careers your character has more aptitude or has spent more time as. This choice almost determines a kind of character background, as you'll be able to see how your character started as a Farmer and became a Pirate (for instance). Instant character background is always another plus in my book. Add the equipment rules (simply give whatever the players want--if it's too much make them lose it somehow; if it's less than you think they need, give something to them during the adventure) and you're set.

And how the system works?

In combat, you'll roll 2d6, add the appropriate attribute, add the appropriate combat ability, add/subtract any modifiers. If the result is 9 or more you succeed.

Outside combat, you'll roll 2d6, add the appropriate attirbute, add any appropriate careers, add/subtract any modifiers. If the result is 9 or more you succeed.

There are a few more details, like using Hero Points (meta-gaming abilities, auto critical results and such) and using magic (true to the genre, it's dangerous, time consuming, and corrupting), but they are equally simple and fun to use.

What about the fun factor?

High. Extremely high. One of the first adventures I've GMed to the group was a variation on Howard's The Tower of the Elephant, and the group instantly was drawn into action. There was no downtime looking for rules (hey, the main rules of the game were described ahead, so believe me when I tell you this is a rules light system!) and the fights were interesting: rabble monsters fell like the cannon-fodder they were and the main villains fought well in a epic combat.

This is a masterpiece. I can't deny it. Or, better yet, like I've said at first, this is a gem. Grab it. You won't be disappointed.

Great simple d6 game, reminds me of a stripped down version of the d6 system somewhat. The only thing I found missing was an equipment section and money system, I guess you use real world $$$ but as to costs and material strength of items and equipment, I have no idea how that works.

Awesome, awesome, awesome! what can i say, have played several games with this already as I have both the PDF & the printed copy from lulu. This game just ooozes S&S, my group just loves the simplistic skill system (which there are none, just career levels that kinda group several skills and abilities under one core roll). You can't go wrong here if you like real freeform roleplaying, if you like more detailed systems, then go grab any d20 OGL or 4e system out there as they gag the market already. This simple d6 system reminds me of Classic Traveller at times but only in a S&S setting with sorcerer's.

Just like BoL, this game covers its subject matter very well. If you liked reading the old action thriller books from the 70s and 80s you will like this game.

As fans of the sword and sorcery genre, my fantasy role-playing group thouroughly enjoyed Simon Washbourne’s Barbarians of Lemuria game. Currently, I am the game master for two distinct Barbarians of Lemuria play-by-post games. This review sets to accomplish critical critiques of the Revised Edition layout and substance.

The Revised Edition offers significantly more artwork throughout the book. Except for the cover, all artwork is done in black-and-white, making both editions printer-friendly. By comparison, the previous edition offered about 46 images (including a profession map by Gil Pearse) over 103 pages, while the Revised Edition boasts a whopping 80 non-repeating images over 100 pages, and includes the same high-quality map. In fairness, some graphics are used more than once, but I did not see any image used more than twice. An exception of this art was the image of a ram’s skull that precedes the bottom page number. While this graphic seems like a nice touch, I fear the repeatative nature may at least cost a page of ink over 100 pages. Hopefully, this issue can be resolved before final editing and printing. Some favorite artwork is used again. John Grumph, Keith Vaughn and Matthew Vasey do the interior artwork.

Each of the twenty+ possible character profession gets a bust-style portrait, and the NPC/Example characters found near the end of the book have each received new full-body images. Because the art is very similar throughout the book, the same intense feel can be maintained. In describing geographical areas, some characters receive “boons” (formerly named “traits,”) and possibly some “flaws.” I also liked how each career received some special attention as to its possible play in combat. For example, while an executioner might do well with a two-handed axe, such a character should only gain a bonus to combat rolls if their target is prone.

As a player and a game master, I am exceptionally excited about the new design! The addition of the new caricatures adds a great flavor of the gaming world. I am thankful Washbourne kept the map, because the work was exceptional and has become engrained in many players’ memories. While I hoped for more artwork about the “flora and fauna” (and even the inclusion of the “bloodless” creatures), I am satisfied with what has been provided because artwork can be expensive.

New players to Barbarians of Lemuria will enjoy the rules-lite systems and freedoms this system supports. The artwork helps pace new information, and inspire the imagination. Fans of the game will enjoy the same sword-and-sorcery fun, high quality artwork, and have satisfaction that the author accepts feedback and is actively pushing the game to new heights in Europe and America!