Swords & Sorcery: The Pulp Fantasy

A fork of the SRD 5.2.1. Work in progress.

Overview

S&S rebuilds character advancement around Skill Rank, a per-skill value bought with Skill Points that replaces the Proficiency Bonus for player characters. One number both gates what a character can attempt and scales how well it works.

Monsters keep the Proficiency Bonus, so 5e monster stat blocks work as written. This was a fixed design constraint, and it is what allows the rest of the rebuild.

The system aims for fewer decisions at character creation and more granular control as a character levels. There are no subclasses; identity comes from where Skill Points go.

Contents

File	Covers
basic-rules.md	Abilities, Skill Rank, D20 tests, actions, social interaction, exploration, combat, damage
spellcasting.md	Schools of magic, Spell Points, learning and casting spells, Concentration
spell-lists.md	Spells by school
enchanted-items.md	Generating enchanted items
upbringing-feats.md	Origin feats

Core classes and character creation are referenced throughout but not yet written.

Differences from SRD 5.2.1

Characters

• Seventh ability: Luck, for player characters only. No Luck saving throws and no Skill Rank.
• Skill Points are a single currency covering skills, tools, weapon groups, armor types, and magic schools. Per level, a character gains their class value plus their Intelligence modifier.
• Knacks replace binary proficiency. A knacked rank costs 2 Skill Points and rises to +10; an unknacked rank costs 4 and stops at +5. Either way, the cap is character level ÷ 2, rounded up.
• The Proficiency Bonus no longer applies to a player character's attack rolls, ability checks, or spell DCs. It is retained for saving throws.
• No subclasses. Upbringing feats and rolled zodiac signs cover origin.

Magic

• Spell Points replace spell slots, at a base cost of 2 SP per spell level. Daily output is comparable to 5e at equivalent levels, but its shape is the caster's choice.
• Ten schools in four groups: four elemental (Air, Fire, Water, Earth), three ego (Body, Mind, Spirit), plus Light, Dark, and Holy. The eight 5e schools are discarded, as is the 5e spell list.
• Spell levels run 1–10; there are no cantrips. A character's Skill Rank in a school caps the spell level castable from it.
• No prepared-spell gate and no limit on spells known. Learning a spell is the constraint, normally through a purchased consumable or a teacher.
• School access is class-gated: wizards to the elemental schools, clerics to the ego schools plus Light or Dark by alignment, paladins to the ego schools plus Holy. All healing sits in schools wizards cannot reach.
• No spellcasting foci. Material components are unified to one type per school family.
• A Spell Die allows partial Spell Point recovery on a Short Rest, working as Hit Dice do.
• Anyone can cast from a scroll or storing item without having learned the spell, but still pays the Spell Points and components.

Combat and senses

• Resistance Points, a −20 to +20 per-damage-type value rolled against on a d20, replace Resistance, Vulnerability, and damage Immunity.
• Weapon and armor competence is bought as Skill Ranks rather than granted by class. Weapons carry Strength requirements.
• Senses are rebuilt for physical plausibility: Scent reports presence and identifies a species only if previously encountered; Hearing pinpoints a noise but conveys no identity; Blindsight is narrowed to creatures that plausibly have it and conveys less than sight.

Table procedure

• Group checks resolve by averaging the party's rolls. Helping requires Skill Rank, is rolled, and grants half that rank on a 10+.
• Taking 10 and Taking 20 are reinstated, and the DC ladder extends past 30.
• Explicit sections on GM authority and precedent, and on the menu of available actions.

Status

Core rules are roughly 70% written.

• Core classes — not yet documented, though referenced throughout. Highest priority.
• Character creation guide — not yet documented. High priority.
• Spells — levels 1–2 written; higher levels pending. The Light school is undeveloped.
• Equipment list and an extended race list are planned.

Materials are released on a rolling basis, without numbered editions or errata. Groups who need a stable target should work from a snapshot of the ruleset.

License

Rules are licensed CC BY 4.0, which is compatible with SRD 5.2.1 upstream.

Art and miniatures are licensed CC BY-NC 4.0. The intent is to limit bulk commercial reproduction rather than small operators; individual print shops can be granted permission explicitly.