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Owlbears and Rust Monsters and Bulettes and Umber Hulks!
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Dec 30, 2013 23:07
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VacuumJockey posted:"This is the game we all know, in a version borrowing from all editions, from "classic" to "3e." I think his math's a little off there.
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Dec 30, 2013 23:48
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WotC's started releasing the Gazetteers on RPGNow!  Oh, and Birthright too.
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Jan 7, 2014 16:43
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Fuckin' finally. My print copies of the GAZ series were getting old in the tooth and I never owned a couple of them. Incidentally I could write essays on why the GAZ series of supplements are some of the best D&D ever written but instead I'm just going to say they are and they own (with just a couple of "for their time" exceptions). Grand Duchy of Karameikos is a grand introduction to them.
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Jan 7, 2014 17:10
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Woo, legitimate GAZ supplements! This is gonna be great.
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Jan 7, 2014 17:25
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Just the first one so far, correct?
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Jan 7, 2014 17:46
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Yeah, it just went up today. WotC has been releasing the old stuff on Tuesdays, so hopefully we'll see a new one each week.
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Jan 7, 2014 17:59
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Any word on the quality of them? I ask 'cause all my legit-bought stuff from the days of yore are generally "okay," scans of said items (...and I wish that that part would be brought up by reviewers more often, but...). I turned my nose up at the Basic stuff back then as I was too cool to come off my AD&D 1st/2nd high horse, but I'm a little bit "smarter," now.
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Jan 7, 2014 18:57
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Aside from one page, the Karameikos scan is very clean and clear, complete with a really nice set of the old coloured maps at the end. I haven't looked at Birthright.
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Jan 7, 2014 19:33
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So there's a New Year's sale going on at DriveThru RPG. Does anyone have opinions on Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea? I also see that Dungeon Crawl Classics is in the "Hahahaha" category in the OP; why's that? What's a good retroclone to start with if you've never played something very old-school before? I see that Crypts & Things is mentioned highly, why is that?
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Jan 7, 2014 19:35
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Spincut posted:So there's a New Year's sale going on at DriveThru RPG. Does anyone have opinions on Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea? I also see that Dungeon Crawl Classics is in the "Hahahaha" category in the OP; why's that? DCC is not for everybody, I guess. It doesn't take itself too seriously and the math might be off, but it has rekindled my interest in sandbox gaming.
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Jan 7, 2014 19:50
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Spincut posted:I also see that Dungeon Crawl Classics is in the "Hahahaha" category in the OP; why's that? Because they put this on page 4. Dungeon Crawl Classics posted:Abandon all presumptions, ye who enter here.
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Jan 7, 2014 19:57
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Spincut posted:So there's a New Year's sale going on at DriveThru RPG. Does anyone have opinions on Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea? I also see that Dungeon Crawl Classics is in the "Hahahaha" category in the OP; why's that? To answer your question on Dungeon Crawl Classics, it was likely put in that section because of its use of zocchi dice and its adherence to randomness. The game uses d3, d5, d7, d14, d16, d24, and d30 dice which few people own. The game can be played without them. In regards to its adherence to randomness, the game's default mode of character creation -- which it says is essential -- requires everything to be random. It starts by making 4 level 0 characters whose stats were decided by rolling 3d6 in order, their occupation and equipment were randomly rolled for, and who all use a d4 as their hit dice. Then you send them into a dungeon and the survivor becomes your character. Another example would be that spells have a multitude of different effects depending on how you roll when you cast them. There is also a large number of random tables. There is also alot of dialogue in the game that is straight out of grognards.txt. That said, it isn't a terrible game. I've played in a game of it and, while it was a bit too random for me, it was a fun session. I would say that your feelings on the game depend almost entirely on how you feel on "letting the dice decide."
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Jan 7, 2014 20:09
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Yeah, pretty much. Outside of that, there isn't much else in the way of pretentiousness, though, at least compared to other OSR products (*cough*Secret Fire*cough*). Really, your enjoyment of DCCRPG will really come down to whether you like CHARTS or not (which I do).Spincut posted:So there's a New Year's sale going on at DriveThru RPG. Does anyone have opinions on Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea? I haven't played AS&S, but my brother has, and he liked it, so a tentative thumbs up? As for Crypts & Things, it's a hack of Swords & Wizardry based around emulating the Swords & Sorcery type novels that Conan and his ilk popularized. It makes some pretty drastic changes to do so, like pooling Cleric and Wizard spells into one class (Magician), giving all classes backstab (because you're all rogues, you see), and changing up how HP works, to name some of the more drastic changes.
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Jan 7, 2014 20:10
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Rulebook Heavily posted:Because they put this on page 4. I don't know, that whole segment is stupid enough that I kind of love it. I don't like the huge number of dice, though, and spellcasting seems a bit complicated for my tastes. I'd like to play it some time, but I have the feeling those issues mean it'll never be my thing. The character funnel is loving perfect, though, for what the game is supposed to be like. I find that old-school style games really work best if you have a few characters in your stable, though--part of the fun of the game is hearing about a dungeon and trying to get a good line-up for it going, and having multiple characters makes a lot of bullshit situations way less painful (getting turned to stone means you play your B guy until you can afford to get your A guy turned back, not that you're just hosed for the rest of the night). I also really like the idea of defining a character against a randomish prompt rather than just making one from scratch, but that might just be me.
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Jan 7, 2014 22:42
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What can I say, DCC is so completely over the top, while also being so completely full of itself, that it just deserved a humor category of its own. It's a joke that takes itself seriously, an extreme that revels in its extremities, and is at least reportedly playable while not having awful content. It's a standout from basically every angle you look at it from, so it gets to stand out. I could give two figs about its gameplay, but there ya go.
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Jan 7, 2014 22:45
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Rulebook Heavily posted:What can I say, DCC is so completely over the top, while also being so completely full of itself, that it just deserved a humor category of its own. It's a joke that takes itself seriously, an extreme that revels in its extremities, and is at least reportedly playable while not having awful content. It's a standout from basically every angle you look at it from, so it gets to stand out. Yes that is true although we should put a footnote explaining that so it doesn't come off as us saying DCC is terrible, because it isn't(in fact in my opinion it's the second best OSR ruleset behind Adventurer Conqueror King System and with Dark Dungeons, Mazes & Minotaurs, and Basic Fantasy Role-Playing as the top 5 OSR games)
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Jan 8, 2014 00:34
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I hope that the BECMI creature crucibles come after the GAZ series. Those were my introduction to the Known World and I love them.
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Jan 8, 2014 02:05
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Spincut posted:Does anyone have opinions on Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea? The classes are stellar, as they added all kinds of subclasses that really are interesting to play. This includes separating the traditional d&d barbarian into barbarian and berzerker and making gishes of all stripes. The necromancer, witch, and illusionist all have their own spell lists so they seem distinct unlike specialist mages from D&D. The art is very good, the monsters are good, and it's only as groggy as b/x, but there is a rapey abominable snowman that I thought was a little much though it is literally one sentance and no worse than half-orc descriptions from any edition you can think of. It's weird fantasy without the Raggi dicknipple poo poo. So for me, this completely replaces B/X and other clones because it is the same game but better. The reason this won't be my main retro game is that I miss the content from the later Mentzer boxes though it should be trivial to port the good stuff to or from the respective games. The physical release is the bomb too.
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Jan 8, 2014 11:48
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Babylon Astronaut posted:If you like B/X, you'll love it. Most of the core engine is recognizable as b/x but without some of the more clunky bits. For an example; they streamlined saves and made ad&d style stats modifying saves core. So now instead of having a strange progression, all classes share the same saves progression and get bonuses to the ones that fit. Noted and for $5 at Drivethru/RPGnow at this point, then why the hell not get it? -toss that on my "to read / eventually to use," pile p.s. Dang! This thing is neat! Dammit_Carl! fucked around with this message at 22:07 on Jan 8, 2014 |
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Jan 8, 2014 17:04
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Alright, with the Gazetteers coming out, it's time to remind people of Calidar again (especially since it's in the last two days). Bruce Heard was the driving force behind the GAZ series and this is back to Basics.
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Jan 9, 2014 06:32
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Rulebook Heavily posted:Alright, with the Gazetteers coming out, it's time to remind people of Calidar again (especially since it's in the last two days). Bruce Heard was the driving force behind the GAZ series and this is back to Basics. Bruce Heard is amazing. He also wrote the article about Rakasta bloodlines that included Displacer Beast heritage. That means that he is the first D&D author to introduce displacerbeastmen as player options. (Also, he wrote Orcs of Thar, which is just about the finest Monstrous PC supplement. The split between the humorous surface and the serious underworld was great.)
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Jan 9, 2014 08:02
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Rulebook Heavily posted:Alright, with the Gazetteers coming out, it's time to remind people of Calidar again (especially since it's in the last two days). Bruce Heard was the driving force behind the GAZ series and this is back to Basics. Done. I was a sucker for Mystara; I'll be a sucker for this.
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Jan 9, 2014 16:46
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Mormon Star Wars posted:Bruce Heard is amazing. He also wrote the article about Rakasta bloodlines that included Displacer Beast heritage. That means that he is the first D&D author to introduce displacerbeastmen as player options. Well the fluff part of Orcs of Thar is fine but if I remember the crunch part of that book sucked since the Racial Classes in that book were stupidly underpowered(an issue that plagued most of BECMI/RC's Racial Classes)
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Jan 9, 2014 22:07
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Thanks for the opinions about DCC and Astonishing etc etc of Hyperborea. DCC sounds like an interesting one-shot to do, at least, and Hyperborea sounds pretty cool. I'll pick them both up.
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Jan 9, 2014 22:15
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B4(The Lost City) - or the idea behind it - would be perfect for ASSH! Any other suggestions for "weird," modules to mine for this game?
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Jan 9, 2014 22:22
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If you're looking for weirdish modules, the DA series (Blackmoor and friends) might be worth glancing at. Part of their schtick is that there are technologically advanced aliens involved in the subsequent modules though, and the whole thing is set a thousand years before the current Mystaran timeline. Castle Amber (the original module, not the Return to... box) is based in part on the weird tales of Clark Ashton Smith and Poe. There's some rear end in a top hat stuff inside, but it's neat.
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Jan 9, 2014 23:15
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I suggest you also check out Many Gates of the Gann and Anomalous Subsurface Environment.
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Jan 10, 2014 21:02
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Over the weekend I tried to order a hardcopy of Fantastic Heroes & Witchery on Lulu, but it has been temporarily recalled for more proofreading. So to tide me over, I picked up the pdf of Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea. And drat, that is another good weird fantasy RPG; I like it a lot! If I were to contrast and compare, I'd say that FH&W is the B/X to AS&SH's AD&D. In any case, I petition for AS&SH to be placed on the OP shortlist. It is worthy, I assure you!
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Jan 13, 2014 15:13
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VacuumJockey posted:I suggest you also check out Many Gates of the Gann and Anomalous Subsurface Environment. ...and picked up ASE as well in the ensuing pdf-purchase-melee per recommendations! ASSH makes my thews tremble with sanguine anticipation!
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Jan 13, 2014 15:40
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Has anyone played much microlite 20? I really like the idea of using your hitpoints to cast spells and I'm curious as to how it plays out. Also, this thread is amazing and has inspired me to run a game of something old school for some mainly new players. Does any one have any suggestions on games that avoid the early character funnel? I'm thinking the first part of my post might contain the answer to this question, especially as I'm most familiar with 3.5, but I'd really like to try a retroclone. Probably due to buying a basic box set as a kid and never being able to get any one to play it with me.
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Jan 14, 2014 01:53
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rock rock posted:Does any one have any suggestions on games that avoid the early character funnel? Pick just about any of them and start at level 2 or 3 and maybe give people negative HP equal to their level or something. Alternately, just make Raise Dead spells real easy to afford. The ACKS wounds system makes low level characters way less likely to die, in my experience. It does make them unplayable fairly quickly, but a Raise Dead equivalent heals all lasting wounds in addition to death.
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Jan 14, 2014 02:00
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rock rock posted:Has anyone played much microlite 20? I really like the idea of using your hitpoints to cast spells and I'm curious as to how it plays out. Microlite20 is cool, but I prefer to use it as a replacement for Heroquest's rules than as an actual RPG. It works really well as a boardgame.
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Jan 14, 2014 07:13
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I did kinda get that vibe. Do you use skills? Because using them makes it open ended enough that the distinction between board game and RPG becomes blurry. I suppose you just take out DM narration of skill checks but how does that even work for failure? Any way, did you find the HP as mana mechanic balanced?
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Jan 14, 2014 07:42
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rock rock posted:Has anyone played much microlite 20? I really like the idea of using your hitpoints to cast spells and I'm curious as to how it plays out.
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Jan 14, 2014 11:12
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GAZ2, The Emirates of Ylarum, is up.. Looks like we're getting one gazeteer a week after all.
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Jan 14, 2014 17:47
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rock rock posted:I did kinda get that vibe. Do you use skills? Because using them makes it open ended enough that the distinction between board game and RPG becomes blurry. I suppose you just take out DM narration of skill checks but how does that even work for failure? M20 only has 3 Skills, so they were used when applicable. Think of M20 as midway between D&D and Heroquest, simpler than a full RPG, but not quite as simple as an actual boardgame. There's still party banter/light roleplaying going on, but not to the extent of a standard D&D campaign. For spellcasting, I stuck to Vancian casting instead. I didn't like the HP as MP thing.
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Jan 15, 2014 12:04
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Help me out here brosefs. I want to break out of the tyranny of 3.x/Pathfinder and I want to go back to ye olde days where everyone died and dungeons were scary. My group wants to play the old modules (Tomb of Horrors, Temple of Elemental Evil, Village of Hommlet, Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan, etc) and experience 'old school dungeon delving'. I was thinking about running Labyrinth Lords, is it easy to play these old modules in that system? Also, as all of my players 'learn' to play rpgs using Pathfinder (we started only 3 years ago): how hard is it to go back to the older systems for 3.x players? How do you guys handle followers? Does anyone have a suggestion with which module to begin our retro-rampage? Commissar Kip fucked around with this message at 11:40 on Jan 16, 2014 |
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Jan 16, 2014 11:38
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I'd recommend B-2 Keep on the Borderlands. It was the introductory module for the same game as Labyrinth Lord. It's a good slice of dungeon crawling, and you can see what your group likes doing. It has a big handy map and the wilderness tables from expert which are cool too, so it's easy to DM as well.
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Jan 16, 2014 13:03
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LL is, in my opinion, an excellent choice in regards to dialing the gaming clock back a bit but having something that is currently available - I've given Goblinoid Games $$ and been happy about it. The book layout is clean, the writing is good and best of all, there is plenty of free poo poo out there for you to use providing you don't mind trudging through the multitude of OSR related websites. If your guys are used to 3rd ed. rules, then stepping over to an OSR game might prove daunting in that there is so much less to the character sheet to keep track of; the big swathes of blank space on paper may freak them out a bit. Also, the descending AC takes some getting used to. Otherwise, Saves, Hit Dice, and all that other stuff should feel like old hat to them. Hell, you might like it better as a GM/DM as there is certainly less fiddly things to deal with on your end. As far as old modules go, I'd wager to say that they could be run as-is as whatever differences my exist between the rules that the module was made under (i.e. Basic D&D from then vs. Basic LL now) is miniscule. And if any big discrepancies pop up, then just wing it and go with your gut but do read the modules first so you don't get blind-sided by something. For newer modules related to LL - "Barrowmaze," by G. Gillespie, the Dragonsfoot.org site has plenty of fan-made ones to use for free, and "Anomalous Subsurface Environment," by P. Wetmore (thanks VacuumJockey!)spring to mind as good things to use. For followers, the DM always ran ours as we would have used those bastards mercilessly in finding traps, monsters and so on - only pausing long enough to loot their rapidly cooling bodies and to prod the next poor sod forward with a spear. Still, there are rules in the books that cover some of that stuff, so don't sweat it.
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Jan 16, 2014 13:55
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