MY FATHERS SWORD

Just as blade and neck are about to meet, a fireball comes shooting across the valley, faster than lightning and brighter than the sun. It hits the side of the beast turning its fur into a burning inferno. The gargantuan carcass is heaved to the side, landing on the ember ground.

“I had it”, Agimi says to Ziym, a wizard peeking up from behind a thorny bush.

“I know”, Ziym’s hoarse voice answers in the cold air. And a dry laughter echoes over the valley. “But I got it!”

Agimi’s gaze, that on several occasions had made dragons recoil, softens. “Let’s go get that treasure!”

The two friends then swiftly spurt the last stretch towards the Tower of Fire. The only remains of the beast is a pile of ash, which the wind soon spreads across the valley…

FENIX AWARDS 2025
GOLD WINNER – BEST ROLEPLAYING GAME

Introduction

OK, so where to start? How the heck is this game to be played? In our opinion: however you want to! Who are we to sit here and tell you how to have fun?! But if you really must know what we think, here are our two cents:

You play this game the way you’ve played every other roleplaying game, and you can bring in basically any scenario or adventure and play it using this rule set.
Make sure you’re not too serious about it, and put the pedal to the metal. Like, really down there. Think rather the style and tone of “The Princess Bride” or "Discworld" than “Lord of the Rings”. The game should be played very laid-back, with a large portion of humor.
The players play epic heroes whose mastery is unrivaled (at some things, they're really crap at other stuff). These heroes could be inspired by classic characters from the stories of books and movies we all know and love, or by characters you've played in the past.

What you’ll get

40-PAGE BOOK
The book is 40 pages, of which most pages are dedicated to character creation, the rules are explained in just 3-4 pages. And well… that’s about it.

BASIC EIGHT
This book introduces our own game engine that we call "Basic Eight". Although it is very basic (hence the name), it is a complete rules set and will be enough for you to play an epic adventure scenario. Characters have no attributes, and there are only eight skills (hence the name): Physical activity, Social interactions, Knowledge, Spiritual power, Perception, Combat, Magic and Secrecy.

A TON OF FUN
My Father's Sword is a game where you'll heavily embrace all the clichés of the fantasy genre, while taking a trip down memory lane. Try to get back into the feeling you had when you first picked up a roleplaying game and really let your nostalgia and memories guide you through what you thought was the coolest thing ever back then. When playing My Father’s Sword you’ll finally be rewarded for doing something clichée!

FOCUS ON THE NARRATIVE
In this game the focus is on bringing the narrative forward, without bogging the session down with discussion on rules, number crunching, or flipping through the book. Instead the game is designed to give both players and GM the tools to tell a story together in a fun, easy and exciting way.

What you’ll not get

A MASSIVE SET OF RULES
This game does not provide a rule for every and any given situation. Instead it encourages you to let the narrative flow with the aid of common sense. The eight skills will cover most situations.

SPECIAL RULES FOR COMBAT/MAGIC
My Father’s Sword does not have hit points, initiative rolls, or combat rounds. Minor combats with little or no narrative importance are resolved by a single opposed dice roll. Major combats, boss fights etc that play a big part of the narrative are resolved by several dice rolls where players describe the actions they wish to take. Don’t worry, this is the one that most playtesters have also been hesitant about before trying the rules out. But once they’ve tried it in gameplay, all have agreed that it works perfectly well

The same with magic. There are no schools of magic (unless you want to include that, but then only in terms of the story), there are no spell slots or mana points etc, and there is no cap on what or how much magic a character can do. Again, this has been something playtesters have been hesitant about but loved once they’ve tried it.