Spheres

Unlike the popular role-playing games of the time Dungeons & Dragons and RuneQuest, characters in Swordbearer have no classes or professions, instead learning whatever skills are appropriate from six different "spheres" of skills. A character that specializes in a Sphere can learn related skills more quickly.^[1]

Status

There is no money in Swordbearer.^[2] Instead, everyone has a Social Status ranked from 1 (slaves and indentured servants) to 17 or higher (nobility). A character with a certain status can obtain any item of the same status. For example, a character with Status 7 is assumed to have the wherewithal to obtain any Status 7 item. If a Status 5 character finds a Status 9 item, the character's Social Status rises to 9.^[1]

Magic

The rules suggest for new players that magic can be set aside at the start of the game and then added as they gain experience in role-playing.^[2] Magic is done with "nodes", aligned to various elemental or spiritual forces. Each node's power can be linked to a specific spell. The elemental forces are somewhat similar to the Chinese Five Elements theory, with Crystal, Light/Dark, Wood, Metal, Fire, Water and Wind. Spiritual types are Vitriolic, Phlegmatic, Choleric and Melancholic.^[3] (Unlike other role-playing games of the time, clerics and priests have no special "divine magic" abilities.)

However, a number of calculations are needed to apply magic. For example, once the character has located and identified the appropriate node of energy, and aligned the node to a spell, then the character must see if their attempt to cast the spell is successful by consulting the alignment equation: ([5 x current power of aligned mode] - [25 x strength of node to be aligned] + 75).^[1]

Terrain

Terrain in Swordbearer is important. For example, there are differences in the ease or difficulty of wading through or boating on various types of watercourses, and maps feature nine classes of terrain and vegetation from desert through to jungle.^[2]

Other innovations

• Encumbrance, usually a matter of calculating the weight of everything the character is carrying in other role-playing games of the time, is drastically simplified: Every character can possess a maximum of 10 "items", although the definition of an "item" is loose: an "item" could be a retainer, a castle plus all its attendants, etc.
• There are a very large number of playable character races: in addition to the usual elves, dwarves, humans, etc. used in other fantasy role-playing games of the time, Swordbearer also includes dragons, centaurs, gargoyles, as well as original races like bunrabs (humanoid rabbits) and moonspiders (intelligent arachnids).
• Combat initiative is determined by skill. Every weapon has both an Accuracy and Speed skill; attacks are carried out in descending order by Speed skill.

The "Characters" and "Fighting" book (48 pages) includes character creation, skills, equipment, and combat. The "Elemental Magic" and "Spirit Magic" book (32 pages) describes the magic system in detail. The "Racial Index" and "Gamemaster's Guide" book (48 pages) covers intelligent races, monsters, and how to run the game.^[3]