Product– Sword World
System- Sword World
Producer– Mugen Gaming
Price– FREE here https://mugengaming.com/pages/sword-world-rpg-coming-soon
TL; DR-So this is what Japan’s been up to? 100%
Basics– Fight the Scarbown! Sword World is maybe one of the biggest RPGs you’ve never heard of. It hasn’t left Japan in over 30 years, but in 2026, Mugen Gaming will make an English translation of the game. Let’s dig into this one before it comes to the US.
Core Mechanic- This is a 2d6+numbers game. When you do a thing, you get a skill check that looks like [Type of check (skill/class): number]. You roll the 2d6 and then you see if you have the skill and if a class is required. Not all checks will have class requirements, but if it does, then you can’t add the bonus if you don’t have the class. If you equal or beat, you get your desired result. Done!
Weapons, items, and spells- Something novel in the RPG space is how weapons, items, and some spells work. I want to hit you with a long sword. Like above its the same basic idea of [Accuracy check (accuracy): number], but we also look at what you rolled beyond that. On 2d6 two 1s is always a failure, but beyond that each weapon has a chart with different bonus damage based on the roll. This means how well you roll also determines how much damage you do beyond just the crit! Even when you pop a healing potion you roll 2d6 and see how much you heal. Don’t roll two 1s or it’s a dud! But, the trade off for that degree of randomness is you now also get things like the weapon having a range where the numbers are marked in red. These red numbers mean you get that value and roll again. You keep rolling till you don’t roll in the red area. Crits mean exploding dice! Some spells like energy bolt, think magic missile, can crit and just keep going!
Magic- Magic is more like Final Fantasy and less like DnD. Magic characters have magic points and a list of known spells. You keep casting till you run out of magic points, and there are magic potions that restore those points.
Combat- Combat is an interesting change. Each enemy has an initiative score. Characters roll initiative as normal and the results are compared to the score. That determines initiative. Combat is zone based with a frontline and backline for both sides. When you attack, you do the accuracy roll above but must beat the required value. If you hit, you do damage as above, but the attacker has a defense value that you reduce the damage by. When enemies attack, you roll an evasion score vs their accuracy. Players move zones, attack, cast spells,and do whatever they want to until one side is dead or runs.
Ok, that’s the basics. Let’s review this.
Mechanics or Crunch– I love me some DnD, and this feels like someone else’s interpretation. And, that’s fun. I like the novel differences and seeing a different interpretation of how to play with math. Also, I LOVE when dice are not success or failure, but degrees. That makes me happy. There is nothing here I do not love from the crunch. 5/5
Theme or Fluff– So this is where the animes get it huh? What i’ve got so far is simplistic. You got good humanoids and bad ones. You’re gonna go kill the bad ones. Ok, it’s not extremely novel, but it’s something. I’m looking forward to the new material when there is much more than a paragraph explaining the world. That said, it’s interesting and the art tells a pretty story. It’s definitely anime-esk, but considering I’m gonna finish watching Record of the Lodoss War, I’m down. 5/5
Execution– This book has two adventures and a ton of art in a free product. It’s clean, reads fast, and is easy to navigate. It has two adventures, one to teach, and one to play with friends. It even has four characters and gives breakdowns of how to play with two, three, or four players. This is a solid intro to the product. 5/5
Summary– I am a weeb. Been watching anime since the 80s and playing RPGs since the 90s. So, this is an interesting mix of all my hobbies. It isn’t an anime inspired conversion of Pathfinder or DnD, it IS Japanese RPGs. So, not only is it a whole new culture to do games, it’s how different people can see something and make their own version of it. I’m very interested in what this product will bring to the market. 100%
Throat Punch Games 