Some Thoughts The Arduin Rpg & Free ' Ruins of Arduin' Swords & Wizardry rpg retroclone

" Rules for Fantastic Campaigns with Paper and Pencils

User summary:

A fan-created adaptation of the Arduin campaign setting to the rules for Swords & Wizardry Light."

Its been a long time since we dusted off our notes on the Bloody,Bloody, Arduin rpg campaign & some of the weirdness that's flowed under the campaign  bridge here. The fact is that the Ruins of Arduin Blog is now gone & only reachable by the Waybackmachine.  That's fine because some choice bits remain such as the free Ruins of Arduin rpg retroclone by John Miskimen 

What 'Ruins of Arduin' has is an OSR  engine based on Swords & Wizardry light with a whole cloth Aruin setting build into it. Because its free there's quite a bit that can be done with it. Arduin remains one of the best of the gonzo old school settings created by game designer/DM legend David Hargrave. 

All of the major player PC alien races of Arduin appear in 'Ruins of Arduin' , the most interesting monsters, different magic item options, Arduin treasures, etc. There's just enough of the Hargrave magic in there to make this so worth downloading. 

There's just enough of the weirdness of Arduin's setting to get & keep a game rolling for years. And its this element that we're going to be plugging into. Over the years various bits & pieces of Arduin have appeared in my games & Ruins of Arduin has made it far easier to do on my part. Deodanth bounty hunters, Star Mage NPC's & patrons, the occasional very nasty version of a slaver, etc. 

What makes 'Ruins of Arduin' work so well is the 'Swords & Wizardry light engine', its easier to use, simple to get into, & highly reliable when it comes to actual play. Its literally a page of 

'plug & go play'  game.                                                                                                                                        

What works with 'Ruins of Arduin' is that essence of the Arduin experience is there without the extrainous manure that crops up in some of the experiences that have happened to me with D&D's 'other three brown' books. Arduin is the mother ship of gonzo gaming that we love & from a time long before the OSR was a twinkle in the eyes of anyone. 
What's going to happen with me taking on Ruins of Arduin?! Well its gonna be interesting & somethings really are gonna change in the coming months. If you haven't got a copy of Ruins of Arduin then grab it now before its gone into the ether.