Sale - The Secret Fire (OSR Ruleset)

Secret Fire Games is running a sale on its entire The Secret Fire line of releases. Has it really been 9 years since it was first released?.

Very much OSR. While some part may be disturbing, there are few games that one can fip through for 10 minutes and be filled with inspiration.

Winner of the 2012 Innovative Game Design Award from I-CON 31, THE SECRET FIRE™ uses a unique blend of game design and storytelling to create a fast and flexible original fantasy game system of roleplaying, exploration, and constant danger. Developed by Origins Award®-nominated game designer George Strayton (Dungeons & Dragons, Men in Black, Star War D6, Indiana Jones, The D6 System, The Lord of the Rings, etc.), TSF’s revolutionary “immersion” mechanics (screenwriting plus fantasy RPG game design) to breathe real life into the experience of descending into dungeons, exploring the uncharted wilderness, and saving the innocent from certain doom. 

“A flavor-filled approach to fantasy gaming that puts the mystery and magic back into the dark recesses of the dungeon.” —Monte Cook

Yep, that is an affiliate link above. Support The Tavern.

The Secret Fire - The Way of the Tree, Shadow & Flame (A Delivered Kickstarter)

The book is NOT that blurry in real life ;)

Look what I found waiting for me when I got home from work today - The Secret Fire - The Way of the Tree, Shadow & Flame.

Estimated to ship in August, it arrived today - not even a month past estimate. Hell, that's practically early in the Kickstarter world ;)

The layout is clean and very readable, although it may take a while before I find the free timne to read it.

Fun times :)

Kickstarter Round 2 is the Charm - The Way of Tree, Shadow & Flame for The Secret Fire

The first time The Way of Tree, Shadow & Flame for The Secret Fire Kickstarter was up, there was a screwup with the payment set up that prevented folks from making pledges. Well, there was also the issue that there weren't pledge levels designed for folks that already owned The Secret Fire RPG.

+George Strayton has fixed the payment set up (the new Kickstarter is taking pledges) and there are now pledge levels for folks like me that already own The Secret Fire. I'm in for $25 - pledge number 11 ;)

I don't know if the project is going to hit it's $10k stretch goal, but if it does there will be few folks happier than me:

$10,000 - Bruce Heard to author a gazetteer of The Secret Fire world!

I'm still pissed at Jim Ward for dumbing down The Crusader when it was under his editorship (I think it's irrelevance was mostly his doing) and Frank Mentzer and I butted heads over his Lich Dungeon. I'm happy to be able to look at +Bruce Heard  as one of the old TSR crew that still does quality work. I'm hoping Bruce gets to work on this project and I look forward to his next project.

A Kickstarter That is Flying Under the Radar: The Way of Tree, Shadow & Flame for The Secret Fire RPG

Do you remember The Secret Fire RPG? I do, and while I'd be hard pressed to find my print copy at the moment, I was looking at the PDF the other week wonder why it never got more attention than it did.

Same may be said for the Kickstarter of The Way of Tree, Shadow & Flame for The Secret Fire RPG. Two days into the Kickstarter and not a dollar pledged.

I think a major part of the issue is that there isn't a pledge level that doesn't include a a copy of the  Secret Fire Rules, in print or PDF. I already have it in print and PDF - why do I need to pledge for a level that includes something I already own? I would suspect that this Kickstarter would attract those that already have an interest in The Secret Fire, so why not allow them to pledge for what they actually need?

Has anyone else seen this Kickstarter mentioned anywhere?

The goal is reasonable - 3k. At 6k The Secret Fire Companion for Swords & Wizardry is added. I'd jump in for that alone if I was being forced to rebuy a game I already own.

The listing of involved authors has some major writers of classic D&D and OSR fame:

Authors include Ed Greenwood, Logan Bonner, Michael Curtis, Thomas Reid, Bill Heron, Ronald Corn, George Strayton, and Bill Smith, with a foreword by Jim Ward.

I'm surprised none of them are mentioning their involvement on their blogs or social circles.


Here's the rest of the blurb:

This first supplement for The Secret Fire roleplaying game augments the material presented in the main rulebook, expanding upon existing elements as well as adding new dimensions of play. At the same time, The Way Of Tree, Shadow & Flame seeks to maintain the dark sense of mystery, uncertainty, and danger of the original system, while providing players and Master Creators with options and advice for creating and fleshing out three-dimensional characters to set forth on perilous quests in search of fortune, glory, or perhaps some greater cause, all within a realistic fantasy milieu. As The Secret Fire was always meant to be a free-wheeling game of adventure loosely bound by its rules and empowered by the varied imaginations of its various participants, so this book is the result of contributions from many veteran game designers responsible for some of the most popular game systems and campaign worlds in the history of the hobby. 

The Way Of Tree, Shadow & Flame contains new Callings (Assassin, Druid, Huntsman, Knight-Errant, Skald), new prayers, spells, and rituals, new Traits and Trademarks, expanded Energy Point options, backstory and relationship generation tables, new equipment, rules for building and running your own domain, new monsters and talismans, new ways to use the Elder Gods and the Character Wheel, optional rules to customize your campaign and increase immersion, random encounter tables for sandbox play, advice for MCs, and more!

Sounds interesting but unlikely at this time. George may be better served by rebooting this Kickstarter with a little more support up front and some friendlier support levels for those that supported the game with their gaming dollars when it released.

edit: from the comments on this post


Michael CurtisApril 26, 2013 at 10:35 PM
Check out the Updates on this Kickstarter. Apparently there's a problem between Kickstarter and Amazon which is not allowing contributions to be processed, hence the $0.00 funding. It looks like George is going to pull down the campaign and reboot it. Maybe he'll take your advice and reconfigure the pledge rewards as well.

I don't think he made a formal announcement regarding the Kickstarter due to the problems with the contribution process. He told me he'd let me know when it was underway, but I hadn't heard anything until reading this post.

Mini Review: The Secret Fire GM Screen - Keeper of the Unknown

I don't believe I've ever reviewed a GM / DM Screen before, let alone one available in PDF (you insert it into a blank GM screen available in fine hobby shops everywhere).  The Secret Fire - Keeper of the Unknown is my first attempt to do so.

It has 6 sides / pages, so even if you just printed it out for reference as the gaming table, the charts themselves should help expedite play.  It does not, however, list which pages should face the PC and which should face the GM.  My assumption is pages 1, 2 and 4 should face the players and 3, 5 and 6 should face the GM (as such I am is disagreement with the official lay out - sue me ;).  Kinda quirky, they should have been grouped together in my opinion.

The Energy Point Special Effects Cost Charts for Weapon Attacks, Spells and Exploration are on page 2, and are almost with the price on their own.  I suspect these charts are the most referenced in The Secret Fire, and will suffer wear similar to those that the Combat Tables suffered in the AD&D 1E Dungeon Masters Guide.

The rest of the included charts are used for movement, lighting, stat bonuses and penalties, combat and battle sequence and the aptly named Revenge of the Elder Gods.  Hmm, maybe I missed a few bits n' pieces, but you get the main idea.  The most commonly used charts are put at your finger tips, which is as it should be.

Do you need this to run The Secret Fire?  Of course not.  If you've been running the game since release, you have at least 6 months of campaigning behind you, and you survived without it.  Will it make it easier for you to run a campaign or game session?  Definitely.  It's a tool you don't absolutely need, but you will want.

Later on down the line there should be a physical GM Screen for The Secret Fire, but for now a print out of the PDF should serve you fine.

From the blurb:


This 6-page, printable screen for THE SECRET FIRE enables Master Creators to keep the secrets of the game hidden from the players and provides a quick reference to commonly needed material for both MCs and players alike:
The Players' Side features:
• Energy Point Special Effects for Weapon Attacks, Prayers & Spells, and Exploration
• Light source areas of illumination and durations
• "Revenge of the Elder God" tables for Critical Failures
• Effects of all States (Blind, Deaf, Pinned, Vulnerable, etc.)

The MC's Side features:
• Attack Matrix
• Ability scores and their associated Adjustments and Descriptors
• List of Skills and Difficulty Levels
• Daily, Exploration, and Battle Sequences
• Common attack adjustments
• The Montage System
• Wound Effects
• Damage description table
• Effects of all States (Blind, Deaf, Pinned, Vulnerable, etc.)

Note that the PDF is large (approximately 100 mg) to retain the highest print-quality possible. Pages can be printed out and inserted into generic game master screens available at local and online hobby stores or clipped to screens from other RPGs for use during SECRET FIRE game sessions. You can also save each of the six pages as a 72 dpi jpeg for use on iPads, iPhones, or other tablet or mobile devices.  In addition, the file was created for full-page bleed, so depending on your printer, you may have to shrink it to around 95%. (The file was created this way since a printed version of the screen will be released later in 2012.)

Snuggling Up With Crypts & Things

I'm on a bit of an art kick this weekend, and I find myself flipping thru the Crypts & Things PDF looking at the artwork.

Next chose (or commissioned) some really nice pieces of art for this book.  Effective without being overbearing.  Paizo can afford to splash painting and full color art throughout their books, but B&W line art can be very effective, as is the case with Crypts & Things.

If I have one complaint with The Secret Fire, it's with the artwork.  Going for gore and reaction more the effect, that book's artwork took away from the total package in my opinion.

With Crypts & Things, the artwork only adds to the total package.  Can you tell I'm enjoying myself?  heh

Mix and Match - Building the Perfect System, or Not

As I await the arrival of some of my pre-orders (most notably the X-Plorers Boxed Set on the Tome of Horrors Complete) I'm set to do a more through read of the Adventurer Conqueror King System, specifically the campaign rules.

The way I see most of the Old School / D20ish rules that have been released, they are fairly modular in nature. You can pick and choose subsystems fairly liberally between them, mix and match, and with a little tweaking you can have a mish mash of rules that do your bidding.

I really like S&W Complete. It feels closer to the AD&D rules that we used to play with then even OSRIC does.

I also like LotFP's Weird Fantasy. Not so much the rules (I understand what Raggi was going for, but it does not fit my style of play) but the GM advice and such.

The Secret Fire has a few things I want to lift, 'tho I'm not sure it would be the core I would build off of. TSF is something I'd have to run as is to run it well.

ACKS feels fairly close to S&W Complete to my eyes, and I think I could bounce back and forth between the two fairly seamlessly.

Why the hell can't I think of running a game without mixing or houseruling? Heh

Out of the Frying Pan, Into The Secret Fire!

It's been DAYS since I've postured a horribly titled The Secret Fire RPG post, so here's the latest.

Today, I want to talk about the spell levels. In a typical D&D style OSR game, the spell lists advance every "Odd Level". This is a general statement as I know certain classes frequently buck that trend (clerics and druids are often the examples). In The Secret Fire, spell rank / levels advance along with character level through level 5. Which means at level 5 a spell caster has access to his / her most powerful magics.

Now, these powerful magics aren't necessarily being cast at their greatest strength - that still comes with level advancement. It does mean that by level 5, the spell casters have pretty much peaked.

Now, on my initial, haphazard, read-thru of the rules, I was still thinking about the traditional advancement in the back of my mind, even tho I read the new advancement and knew it was there. So it didn't full "click". Now that it is clicking, I need to go back and see if the casters (and classes that take a caster class as a talent) run away from the other classes in terms of power. Not that an absolute balance is required to enjoy a game, but you don't want your players feeling that they made a lame choice compared to others.

The Secret Fire - It's a Band, Baby!

I was just goofing around with some google searches and it appears that there is / was an indie rock band named The Secret Fire. They have a myspace page and everything. Of course, they haven't logged into it since June of 2010. It must be that "myspace thing". Everything goes to myspace to die.

Anyhow, I was thinking that I really like the way that The Secret Fire handles multi classing, or whatever you want to call it in TSF. That means it must not be balanced, because as we know, multi classing in AD&D was balanced to the point that the MC'ed character was generally underpowered once the rest of the party started hitting their stride... generally about 6th or 7th level for them. Reduced level with the permanent XP split for the MC was their burden for life.

Then again, even with TSF, certain MC options are better then others, and certain primary classes work better then others, for in truth, in TSF, it isn't so much multi classing as it is adding a secondary class. You don't get all the class abilities from the second class, and what you do get is watered down from the full version.

I Am a Servant of The Secret Fire

Well, maybe not a servant, but I'm certainly enjoying it so far ;)

I think I touched on 'Trademarks" briefly in another post, but I'm going to delve into them a bit deeper tonight.  They are a sorta like feats.

I'll let the author explain a bit better then me:

Trademarks are the unique elements of a character’s makeup that set him apart from others of his Calling. These abilities, or qualities, are powerful additions to the nature of the PC, so choose carefully. They can and should impact the course of your character’s life, making his path a unique one, especially when combined with his ranks on the Character Wheel.

Some Trademarks are combat oriented, some are non-comabt oriented and some are both.  As  you can guess, some are more powerful then others.  One of my favorites is Holy-Man Training.  It adds Holy-Man prayers (spells) to you character's abilities, tho' he only gains half as many as a true Holy-Man.  Instant Paladin if you add this to a fighter.

A Character starts with 2 trademarks and gains one every odd level.  Humans gain an extra one at creation, for 3 to start.

Characters in The Secret Fire aren't much more special then the average person.  Stats are rolled on 3D6.  The amount of damage a character can withstand is about the same as a normal person, so trademarks can be the difference between life and death.  It's the edge that the players get.

Sometimes it Helps to Hold It

The two copies I have of The Secret Fire paperback look awesome.  Hopefully I'll find some time to read this weekend (renovations never seem to end).  Soon I should have my pre-release copy of Adventurer Conqueror King.  I just found out earlier tonight that George Strayton plays in a White Box campaign run by one of the guys behind ACK.  The two games currently on my mind the most.  Go figure.

Think I may need to Frankendragon the two ;)

Or maybe not.  But stealing from one for the other is also fun.

Oh, and just to throw this out there, I don't think I could use descriptors in place of numerical modifiers as The Secret Fire relies upon.  That's one of those things that's been hard wired into my D&D brain.  I don't think it would suffer much from avoiding the descriptors.  Guess time will tell when I get to actually play it.

I Have The Secret Fire in My Hand!

Feline approved.  Cover is reflective in direct sunlight.  The Secret Fire is flammable, do not place in open flames.  No felines were damaged in the shooting of this picture.  Ashley has no opinion on Role Playing Games, in general or otherwise, but enjoys RPG dice.  Opinions expressed are those of her owner.


Lulu sent my two printed copies of The Secret Fire damn fast.  Nice white paper, large pocket sized, perfect for me to throw in my bag for work or read in the private reading room.

If you purchased a PDF copy of The Secret Fire from Lulu that lacks bookmarking, go to this post on The Secret Fire Blog to find out how to get an updated copy.  The Secret Fire guys (George and the rest) have been very receptive to critiques and their customer service has been top notch.

Rule Correction / Clarification For The Secret Fire

George emailed me last nite to inform me that I was not wrong in thinking that the Luck Throw uses 2D6. Apparently there are 2 typos in the PDF where it states a Luck Throw uses a D12 - and I found one of those typos inadvertently using the new PDF with bookmarks.

So, until the PDF is updated, remember 2D6 for any Luck Throw you may need to make. Now if I can only convince him to use DARO (doubles are rolled over) from Tunnels & Trolls ;)

The Secret Fire PDF - Now With Bookmarks!

George Strayton just sent me an updated file of The Secret Fire PDF. Not only is the cover full color now (and sweet looking) the sucker has bookmarks!

Yes, I'm happy as pig in poo! Dancing a jig! All that jazz!

I can wander the PDF as I have a horrible habit of doing and navigate my meandering path. Heck, I found a mistake of mine already that I made earlier thanks to the bookmarks - a Luck Throw is rolled on a D12, not 2D6 - target number is still 7. Hmm, the 2D6 might make for an interesting house rule tho.

George, thanks for listening. My sole complaint (not counting some art - but that is a matter of taste) thus far has been addressed. K, time for me to peruse my newly updated and bookmarked PDF.

No idea if the update is on Lulu yet or not, but I assume it will make its way there sooner then later.

Oh, and the latest Lulu 20% Off Coupon is SINK305

The Secret (Ring of) Fire

Just humming some Johnny Cash in my head right now...

(the rest of The Secret Fire posts)

Alright, enough of that.  Let's talk about wombats.  Or not.  Combat, let's talk about Combat.  None of that AC  or THACO shit in The Secret Fire.  Nope, you gotta roll again your opponents "dodge score".  Which is also how effects like poison, dragon's breath and the rest of them damage you - it's a D20 roll against your dodge score.  So, the to-hit resolution in cobalt is the same system that does away with saving throws as you an I know it - unless it calls for a Luck Roll, in which case its 7 or better on 2D6.
Higher Dodge is better btw.

"What about my armor?" you might say.  Well, ya see, armor (or other types of resistance, depending on the Attack Type,) subtracts from the damage you take (there's always a minimum of 1 point taken).  Feels a bit like Runequest or Tunnels & Trolls.

Armor absorbing damage is important in a game where the PCs can't take as many hits as in the usual OSR type games.  Interesting tweak.  I may need to run a mock combat to see how this works in play, not just theory.

Oh, and my kid passed his First Aid Certification test.  Inching closer to EMT certification.  It's a good day ;)

Ah, heck... enjoy some Johnny Cash :)

Never Scream (The Secret) Fire!

My Gamer's ADD is really strong, as it effects even the way I read The Secret Fire - I'm bouncing like one of those 10 cent power balls you used to get out of gum ball machines when I was a kid.

So, where's the gnomes? 4e turned the gnome into the unwanted stepchild of D&D, dropping them from the core races and their missing from the core here too. Not that it matters all that much to me as I don't recall ever actually playing a gnome in any edition of D&D / AD&D, but I felt it should be mentioned lest one of those gnome lovers get upset at the omission.

Hmm, for that matter, there are no "half races" either - unless I missed them during my power ball bouncing around the PDF. No half-elves or half-orcs (actually, not sure if I saw orcs at all in the monster section - I'll need to double check that.

initiative - Roll a D6, add your Agility modifier and count down from highest to lowest. Pretty standard. Except that PCs can swap initiative score with each other. That certainly isn't standard. It add a certain amount of tactics to combat that isn't there otherwise. It also means that just because you rolled a sucky roll, if your party needs you to react faster, they'll swap your score to get you there. Pretty neat. I don't believe I've seen that before.

Morale - As far as I can recall, this is missing from most OSR style games (James properly pointed out my error here - its there, same system - I'm going to lock myself in the privy for a 15 minute time out ;). It's nice to see, especially as this is a very lethal combat system. Much easier to chase your adversaries away then killing them all.
It's rolled on 2D6.

Notice that they have stayed away from a unified resolution system? 1D6, 2D6, variable D6, D20. Yes, one die size does not fit all rolls. Nice.

K, lunch time is over. Back to work.

My Pants Are On (The Secret) Fire

I never promised the Blog Post Titles would be any good, or even funny... just part of the theme ;)

Now I'm going to talk about skills and skill tests.  Most D&D / D20 games use some sort of "roll a D20 and see if you made your target number".  Not so in The Secret Fire - here you roll D6s and the number of dice rolled is dependent on the difficulty of the task at hand.  You are attempting to equal or roll under the relevant ability.

It ranges from 3d6 for an Easy attempt to 7d6 for an Impossible attempt.  If you are trained in the skill in question, you roll one less die (in effect, shifting the difficulty down by one).  I'm surprised that I like this system, but I do.  It makes your actual ability scores important - score of 13 to 15 are a +1 adjustment to other rolls, but as far as skill go, a 15 is much better then a 13.  It also brings back the "bell curve".

Moving on to the random charts, I think they are pretty good in my opinion.  The personality quirks and random equipment help to define the characters.  It's similar in a way to what Scott from Huge Ruined Pile had us roll in his house ruled OD&D game.  Anything that helps to define a character is good.  Would I buy it for the charts alone?  No, but they should port to other games fairly well.

K, lack of bookmarking is really starting to annoy me and my desire to flip semi randomly throughout this PDF.  The hardcopy won't be so annoying, but flipping through a PDF without bookmarking can lead to major frustrations.

We Didn't Start "The Secret Fire"

At some point I'm going to run out of witty blog post titles for this never ending review of The Secret Fire RPG. ;)

Anyhow, back to the game - or rather, the reading of the game.

This definitely has an Old Ones / Cthuhlu feel to it, which helps it read as well as it does.  As I said earlier, it seems to out weird LotFP's Weird Fantasy without straying too far from the fantasy tropes we already know.  I still have an issue with the artwork as it attempts to draw upon satantic imagery when it can (with the exception of the cover art and a few other).  There are much more effective, and potentially less alienating ways to draw upon the Old School RPG style of art.  Not a huge issue to me, but I could have done with less of it.

Saving throws - replaced by a Luck Roll.  Luck Rolls do not change with level, what you need to roll at level 1 is the same as at level 10 (baring the choosing of certain trademarks/abilities or finding an item or such).  I believe you need to roll a 7 or better on 2D6 but I can't find the rule at the moment.  Bookmarking the PDF would have prevented this issue.  Yes, the lack of bookmarking is becoming a real PITA.

The Montage System - a random way to hand wave certain situations.  Well, really its more then that, but in other games, it would probably be a hand wave with maybe a die thrown to see in generally how well it goes for the PCs:

However, there may be times when the party (or the Master Creator, TSF speak for DM) may wish to speed up play and instead call for a quick resolution. Rather than simply handwaving the situation (which is, of course, a perfectly acceptable option), the MC can instead employ the simple universal method outlined below. Note that this system works for multi-aspect events (such as parley, wilderness travel, etc.) rather than single actions (such as picking a lock — use a Skill Check in that situation). You can even use it for combat, especially when wandering monsters appear, if you are trying to speed up play for one reason or another. But note that, depending on the roll, the outcome could prove extremely beneficial, wildly disastrous, or anywhere in between, for the player characters. Which, of course, is what makes it fun. 

The Montage is a way to “play” through events that would take a lot of real time, even though they may take anywhere from a few minutes to a few days of game time; yet everyone agrees these events should only take a short amount of real time. The system can be used for random engagements, and everyone rolls using their prime stat (Critical Failure means death, Complication means wounded, etc.).

Is it something I would use often?  I'm not sure.  Generally speaking, if something is worth resolving, it's worth playing out, either via combat or role play.  Still, this may fit well for certain groups.

More later, with another bad blog post title ;)

I'm On "The Secret Fire"

Yeah, i could start numbering the posts, but what's the fun in that?  Yes, more of my thoughts and observations on The Secret Fire RPG.

Just so y'all know, I was not a Kickstarter supporter of this project.  Truth to tell, the webpage (and yes, the associated blog) did not excite me.  Lot's of advertising talk, light on what was actually going on.  The Gail Gygax endorsement didn't excite me (she killed Legendary Adventures before I ever got to enjoy my books), but Monte Cook having good things to say did.  So, I went into this kinda neutral.

I'm also one of those fine folk that has asked out loud if we really need more retro clones and the like... it hasn't stopped me from buying them, but are the really needed.

The Secret Fire isn't a retro clone.  It gladly borrows and steals from D20, FATE, possibly T&T and I'm sure others.  It is solidly D20, and if you've played D&D in any of its incarnations (even - GASP! 4e) you will probably be comfortable with the system fairly quickly.  

I've been reading this like I read most RPGs these days - I jump around like a Mexican Jumping Bean.  As was pointed out by a poster on RPG.Net, the PDF lacks bookmarks.  How the hell do you put out a 310 page PDF these days without bookmarks?  I fully expect that will change in the near future, and the file will be updated with bookmarks.  If it isn't, I'll be here to rant.

That being say, I'm enjoying this immensely, even without the ease of bookmarks to enable my haphazard jumping thru the virtual book.  

Did I mention I just ordered 2 dead tree copies from Lulu?  Love those 20% off coupons ;)

Dinner calls.  More rule observations later tonight if all goes well.

Does "The Secret Fire" Out Weird LotFP's "Weird Fantasy"?

I like Raggi's Weird Fantasy RPG and own the boxed versions of both the Deluxe and Grindhouse Editions.  While I may not agree with all of the changes Raggi made to the classes and races, I always figured I could house rule them to a state I was comfortable with.  Besides, the tone of the game did have a nice horror feel to it, especially in the Referee Book.

I think The Secret Fire may have outdone Raggi on the "Weird" axis.  Case in point.  TSF changes many of the D&D spells we know and  gives them a twist.  Sometimes they are easily recognizable, sometimes it takes a little work.  As an example, I'm going to show what all the CLW, CSW, CCW and Heal spells turned into - one simple, yet powerful and disturbing spell:

Mend (Life)
Circle: I                                   Casting Time: Move
Range: 5 feet (1 square)          Resistance: Willpower
Area of Effect: 1 Creature       Duration: Instant

Description: Your allies thought you mad when you asked if you could make small incisions on each of their limbs with the Brand of Mantheris. As you concentrate, holding the Brand gently in your grip a few inches from your ally’s wound, a tentacle of blood streams from the Brand toward his body, which spasms painfully as the blood forces its way into him. At first, there is only suffering; then his injuries begin to disappear and relief spreads across his face. You are grateful that you had properly attuned the Brand to your ally, as the use of this power on the un-attuned can lead to injury and even death. 

Mechanics: By briefly laying hands upon a living creature, the cleric channels positive energy that cures 1d4 + Wisdom adjustment Stamina. The amount of die increases by 1d4 for each level, up to level 4 (4d4). At level 5 the die increase by one size (4d6) thereafter continuing to add 1 die size each level, up to 4d20 at level 9.
-At level 10 the Holy-Man may use a mend prayer to perform a miracle once per day. A miracle fully heals the creature chosen, regardless of amount of healing done. Any other uses of Lay Hands on that day are rolled as normal for a Level-10 Holy-Man (4d20). If this ability is performed twice in one day for any reason, the gods consider it arrogance, and all life from the caster is transferred to the injured.
-This prayer will not affect creatures without corporeal bodies, or creatures that can only be harmed by iron, silver, or magical weapons.
-The reverse of the prayer, rend, inflicts the same amount of damage on a successful prayer attack against the target. Because the subject is less willing and the intention more severe it takes a full Action to complete a Rending prayer.
-A critical miss while performing rend results in inadvertently requesting your Deity strip the intended amount of life from your body, and transfer it into the target as healing.

That is a disturbing reworking of the healing spells from D&D.  It scales very well and is limited to one casting per day (unless you want the gods to kill you).  Screwing it up can have deadly consequences.  Definitely a "Weird Fantasy" vibe if you ask me.  This is just one spell of many that have been reworked into a similar vibe.

Did I mention that spells that have limited durations count down in "real time"?  If a spell lasts 10 min/per level, that's 10x minutes at the gaming table, not game time.  Certainly makes bookkeeping easier and encourages the players to keep the pace of the game moving,

I haven't even touched on the races or classes yet, have I?

Count this as the beginning of the review process.  This is going to take some time, as this isn't the usual clone or house rule revision that we often see.