Swords & Wizardry: Suggested House Rules for Saving Throws...

Good Afternoon, All:

It seems to me that it would be pretty easy to house rule saving throws in Swords & Wizardry to reflect other retroclone and D20 System gaming experiences. I offer the following as a quick rule of thumb for doing so, in case it serves your interests. The key to this approach is simply the use of situational modifiers to the Swords & Wizardry saving throw, based on the circumstances surrounding the saving throw itself.

Labyrinth Lord Style Saves
The first type of saving throws I'll chat about here focus on the old-style saving throw categories from Labyrinth Lord. For this, I'd take a look at Delta's Original Edition Delta rules. Inspired by his suggestions, I would note that you gain the following bonuses, should the circumstances of the saving throw require it:

Clerics
Spells +1
Breath Attacks +0
Petrify or Paralysis +2
Wands +4
Poison or Death +5

Fighting-Men
Spells +0
Breath Attacks +1
Petrify or Paralysis +2
Wands +3
Poison or Death +4

Magic-Users
Spells +2
Breath Attacks +0
Petrify or Paralysis +3
Wands +3
Poison or Death +3

D20 System Style Saves
The second type of saving throws I'll mention here derive from the D20 System. Following the example above, I would note that you gain the following bonuses, should the circumstances of the saving throw require it:

Clerics
Fortitude +2
Will +2

Fighting-Men
Fortitude +2

Magic-Users
Will +2

MyD20 Lite/Fantasy Concepts Style Saves
The last type of saving throws I'll mention here derive from MyD20 Lite and Fantasy Concepts, which in turn were inspired by Star Wars Saga Edition. These use the same categories as the D20 System above, but with a few changes that might be more fitting to your game style:

Clerics
Fortitude +1
Will +2

Fighting-Men
Fortitude +2
Reflex +1

Magic-Users
Reflex +1
Will +2

Hope This Helps,
Flynn