So, succumbing to the draw of Zweihander, has led me down other paths.

I am not obsessive about d100 RPG’s, I am just limiting myself to them. I really (no really…) do not want to collect them all, to chase up every edition of every game, or even try to find those old favourites that I let go of years ago (TMNT, Hawkmoon, Elf Quest) or even travel down some newly established d100 roads at all (Newest Rune Quest, CoC 7th, D100 Revolution), but I will chase up the best representative(s) I can of the genres I like.

Zweihander has a couple of spin-offs that really appeal and neither have direct equivalents in the d100 landscape. To be clear, it has not even arrived yet, but I have re-read a lot of older reviews and found many new ones and I am excited. This is not just a good remake of WHFRP 1-2e, but possibly a superior d100 core mechanic. If it is a good enough fit, I will run the Enemy Within campaign (1e or 4e) with it rather than the less cohesive WHFRPG 4e.

Flames of Freedom is a reimagining of the older “Colonial Gothic” line of games in a 600+ page tome, complete with rules. I have been tempted by this system before, so a Zweihander version in all its weighty glory is really calling. It also borrows heavily from the feel of that parent game. It is as grim and perilous, just in a different place and time, but still has the same vibe. I have always been drawn to the early American colonial “Sleepy Hollow” period or earlier. This is set around the AWI (another favourite).

Dark Astral is another game that fits well and has been ordered. Gene Wolfe’s “Book of the New Sun” far future dark sci-fantasy series was a favourite growing up. I loved it’s timeless feel. Dark Astral uses a similar theme. Zweihander again adds a darkness and peril that this needs. I do have a far future BRP expansion directly linked to Wolfe’s work “Chronices of Future Earth”, but DA adds the grit, the dread.