>Trove -- https://mega.nz/#F!3FcAQaTZ!BkCA0bzsQGmA2GNRUZlxzg!jJtCmTLA
>Useful Shit -- http://pastebin.com/FQJx2wsC
Last Thread >>48075802
Accepting uploads.
Question of the thread:
What are you working on?
>>48168405
Thanks, I was just about to make a new one.
OSRIC - Advanced Adventures #21 - The Obsidian Sands of Syncrates.pdf
OSRIC - Advanced Adventures #22 - Stonepick Crossing.pdf
OSRIC - Advanced Adventures #23 - Down the Shadowvein.pdf
OSRIC - Advanced Adventures #24 - The Mouth of the Shadowvein.pdf
OSRIC - Advanced Adventures #25 - Beneath the Heart of Empire.pdf
OSRIC - Advanced Adventures #26 - The Witch Mounds.pdf
OSRIC - Advanced Adventures #27 - Bitterroot Briar.pdf
OSRIC - Advanced Adventures #28 - Redtooth Ridge.pdf
OSRIC - Advanced Adventures #29 - The Doom of Red Rauthim.pdf
OSRIC - Advanced Adventures #30 - To End the Rising.pdf
OSRIC - Advanced Adventures #31 - The Lost Lair of Drecallis.pdf
http://www.uploadmb.com/dw.php?id=1467937444
>>48168484
The two from the last thread have been uploaded. Downloading this now.
>>48168405
>What are you working on?
Another magic system, I'm starting to get sick of classic vancian. Been thinking of magic it two-parted, with the wizard being able to do simple but interesting cantrips (Beyond the Wall style) and also powerful but dangerous spells (DCC style). There would be no middle ground.
>>48168405
>What are you working on?
Locating downloads for Dark Albion and Alpha Blue. So far unsuccessful.
>>48168405
I'm working on this big setting for a campaign I'm going to be running, but asking for opinions and advice might be more suited to a world building thread or something.
Also wrestling with whether I want to pay 20 dollars to get that coat of arms creator, since every other generator online sucks tremendously.
>>48168405
>What are you working on?
A new system. Still trying to figure out what "gimmicks" to focus on but I'm hoping it comes out well.
>>48169513
>Dark Albion
Pundit's a faggot.
>>48169276
I've been experimenting with my own magic system idea as well.
Every Wizard gets magic dice- each die is a type or school of magic. Each level the Wizard gets +1 dot or rank in one school, roll under to cast a spell (in combat).
The only issue I have is what exactly should be the 'losing' resource condition for the dice? Maybe equal to go successful result - active motes? In that case maybe 2 dots per level?
>>48169513
Both are under /OSR Misc
>>48169795
Pundy's Reddit-tier.
Last chunk is all miscellaneous stuff. I tried to folder-ize this stuff a bit.
Blood & Treasure - Come to Daddy (lq).pdf
Blood & Treasure - Come to Daddy - Maps (lq).pdf
Castles & Crusades 4e - Abbernoth Campaign Setting.pdf
d30 Fiend Generator, Pt 1.pdf
d30 Fiend Generator, Pt 2.pdf
Whitehack 2e (booklet version).pdf
0e-BX-1e - Auroral Arcazal of Aethaungor.pdf
0e-BX-1e - Foray to Filmarion Wood.pdf
0e-BX-1e - Grizzly Graveyard of Grimgortha.pdf
0e-BX-1e - Inexplicable Ice Tower of Inverlock Isle.pdf
0e-BX-1e - Sjaudvergrhall.pdf
0e-BX-1e - Thrymjahellir (Threemyahetler).pdf
0e-BX-1e - Tomb of Ludor the Beheader.pdf
Kugelburg Flood (a four-page dungeon).pdf
Old School Rules - Android.pdf
OSR & D&D5e - (DNH1a) Lost Temple of Forgotten Evil - Side Quests - River Crossing (dewm).pdf
OSR - (PO-2) Goblin Market (watermarked).pdf
Percent in Lair - Ant, Giant.pdf
Thunderhead Manse (a one-page dungeon).pdf
Lamentations of the Flame Princess - Dark Sun Conversion Guide (13 pgs).pdf
Lamentations of the Flame Princess - Forgive Us - Conversion Document.pdf
Tunnels & Trolls (7th edition) - Alternative Rules.pdf
Tunnels & Trolls - Catacombs of the Bear Cult.pdf
Tunnels & Trolls - House of Wish and Wonder (dewm).pdf
Tunnels & Trolls - Uncle Ugly's Underground.pdf
Dragon Horde 01.pdf
Gazebo Gazette 01 (dewm).pdf
http://www.uploadmb.com/dw.php?id=1467938582
>>48169979
His blog would be tolerable if he didn't turn every other article into a politics rant.
>>48169959
I don't know how I missed those looking there twice, thank you TroveGuy!
>>48170092
>Lamentations of the Flame Princess - Forgive Us - Conversion Document
Oh, it appears this is a document for converting this LotFP adventure to work in Pathfinder. Weird. I wouldn't have bothered downloading it if I'd known that.
>>48170259
Also, Swords and Wizardry - Hero's Journey is a clone based on S&W, rather than an addon for it directly. It might be better filed separately.
/TSR/04 AD&D 2nd Edition is now complete. Every file has been vetted, and with a couple minor and negligible exceptions, we have everything listed under the collectors checklist for TSR.
It will take a bit for the Mega Folder to sync, but all of the folders within have been sorted out on my end.
Next we start tackling the settings.
>>48170425
retraction: one major exception:
Keep an eye out for the 1991 factory cards. We have a nearly-complete card collection now. We're just missing the 91 series of trading cards.
>>48168405
>What are you working on?
I'm converting the MCC free RPG day 2016 Funnel over to Heroes & Other Worlds rules.
>>48168405
>What are you working on?
Prepping to someday run B4- Lost City with a bunch of changes- mostly just taking out the stuff that doesn't make sense/is shit.
>>48170603
What are you cutting, then?
>>48170893
So far it's just been changing some of the later encounters to make more sense(WTF is a blue dragon doing 9 floors underground? And how did he wind up next to the chimera and vampire rooms?)
Other than that: trying to figure out how the party can restock on members once inside other than with natives,remodeling some of the floors to be more thematic ,and changing Zargon to be not-Cthulhu for giggles.
>>48170425
>/TSR/04 AD&D 2nd Edition is now complete.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDajqW561KM
> \TSR\04 AD&D 2nd Edition
Completely finished, vetted, uploaded.
> TSR\05 Settings\Al-Qadim
Vetted, finished, uploaded.
> TSR\05 Settings\Birthright
Vetted, finished, uploading new files now.
As a passing comment, the Birthright splats are some of the most beautiful RPG books I've ever seen.
I'm going to try to do the smaller settings next. Lankmar, Mystara, and Planescape are likely going to get done before I go anywhere near Dark Sun, Ravenloft, Dragonlance, or Forgotten Realms. Especially those last two. Holy fuck those are a lot of books.
>>48171057
You're doing Pelor's work, TG.
I made this a while back but I never posted it here. It's a Zombie PC template for AD&D 2e based on The Complete Book of Humanoids (which you'll need to use).
Be warned that it's probably REALLY shitty and my understanding of AD&D is shaky.
http://buzzclaw.blogspot.com/2016/05/blind-homebrew-playable-zombies-for-ad.html
>>48170985
>trying to figure out how the party can restock on members once inside other than with natives
I love coming up with these- I should make a random table for it. Now I don't know what's in that dungeon in particular-
>Caccoon with disoriented man is stuck inside. His blood is bright green, but us otherwise totally normal
>Stone Cistern with ancient person- lots of culture and technology shock- comes from Bronze age civ in the setting
>Ceiling gives way, new character literally falls right into the party
>Boiling cauldron owned by witch/shaman enemy. The potion is to 'create person'. The last ingredient is a drop of blood. The next character will be similar in apperrance to the blood donor
>person kind of just appears next to party, insists they have always known them. (They have, but they are from an alternate universe where the character is a lifelong friend.)
Are there any funnel adventures centered around non-human PCs? It would be cool to go from a 0-level Orc nobody to Kruk Bloodfist, Scourge of The Shaded Hills.
Reposting from the old thread.
>So Shinobi and Samurai has me thinking of a pseudo-hexcrawl game with some domain management involved.
>The basic gist is that the party members have, for various reasons, displeased the Imperial Court and "promoted" to senior representatives of the Emperor's Grace to the far northern reaches of the Empire - a podunk land where it's always cold, the people are surly at best and angry natives that want Imperial heads on a pike at worst, monsters abound and there's a hell of a lot to do. Also, the last senior representatives sent up north all died there.
>So, what are good resources for winter styled adventures? I'm not interested in fantasy ice realms or anything like that, but stuff like Hokkaido and the less populated regions of Canada.
Anon recommended Weird New World but also said it might be too magical.
>>48171373
>So, what are good resources for winter styled adventures?
Dragon #68 has weather and Ice Age adventuring rules, maybe those might be helpful?
>>48171317
I wouldn't know, but that sounds like a fantastic idea. heck, I like the idea of an OSR game focused entirely around non-core races. so instead of Humans, halflings, and elves you get Orcs, Kobolds, and, dunno, ghouls or something.
Any one here look at or play Godbound? It's not really OSR, but I am curious what others think.
>>48171468
>>48171468
>I like the idea of an OSR game focused entirely around non-core races.
You might like In The Shadow of Mount Rotten, it's all about playing as Goblins, Hobgoblins, and Orcs in the wastes.
As for me, I've been thinking about writing up a funnel for Gibberlings or something like them but I doubt my own abilities.
>>48171529
Is it any good as a setting? Have the pdf, just haven't really cracked it open yet.
>>48171750
I haven't read it in an in-depth way but it definitely seems to be.
>>48169725
Speaking of this, I'm wanting to not use vancian casting. Any OSR games with a good magic system that can give me some inspiration? I was thinking a point based system maybe?
Any systems with a good Illusionist class out there?
Spell components - useful and potentially flavorful way of restraining wizards/coloring spells, or just an unnecessary exercise in resource management?
Managed to add
> Dark Sun
> Lankhmar
> Mystara
to the "complete and vetted" list. Mystara is presently uploading. Apparently nearly all of the official AD&D2e material for it was audio-based? Everything comes with CDs. I'll have to play with it later.
Remaining in this folder
> DragonLance
> Forgotten Realms
> Greyhawk
> Planescape
> Ravenloft
> Spelljammer
The good news is that once those are finished, I'll have curated the entire TSR D&D collection.
NEXT STOP: JUDGES GUILD.
Keep an eye out for any and all JG material.
What sort of spells do you think, from the original DnD game and from any expansions you know of, are absolutely the most core and 'essential' spells to have in a retroclone/rulebook? Not necessarily the strongest or most useful, just the ones you feel are best/most classic/most memorable?
>>48173209
Magic Missile
Fireball
Sleep
Floating Disk
>>48171468
been working on a setting idea for this sort of concept, pretty likely I'd make crunch for it as well if it goes anywhere
>>48171317
>>48171468
>>48171529
>>48173301
You want to look up
>\TSR\04 AD&D 2nd Edition\AD&D2e Adventures - Miscellaneous\TSR 11392 - Reverse Dungeon.pdf
And
> \TSR\02 Basic D&D\Basic D&D Gazetteer Series\TSR 9241 - GAZ10 - Orcs of Thar.pdf
Might flip through the rest of the Gazetteer series as well.
>>48173366
I've read Orcs of Thar before, and it's definitely an influence, although I'd almost definitely make up all new classes for the Monstrous Humanoids, as the Orcs of Thar ones are kinda on the weak side by BX/BECMI/RC Racial Class standards(at least in my opinion), not to mention I prefer variety in my classes(most races would get at least two classes)
>>48173599
In the game I'm currently working on, the four races each have multiple classes, demihumans have 3 and humans having four (human, however, can go into a class archetype such as Warrior [knight] or [berserker] making them not unlike kits from 2E).
Nonhumans. Do we really need them? Pointy-eared bastards.
Could we just make humans more interesting?
>>48174405
You are correct. But when you start insuinating things like 'these humans are half demon' and 'these humans live a lot longer then others', you start getting to the question as to why you made them all humans in the first place.
Personally I am not a fan of the classic elf/dwarf/hobbit paradigm because I think it's a bit boring. But humans, goblins, trolls, and furries being playable? Now we're talking.
>>48174405
I'd say make humans more interesting, make demihumans weird as fuck so only the most daring/experienced players will play them.
>>48174422
> But when you start insuinating things like 'these humans are half demon' and 'these humans live a lot longer then others', you start getting to the question as to why you made them all humans in the first place.
I had no interest in doing that.
Good morning bump
>>48173006
>Apparently nearly all of the official AD&D2e material for it was audio-based?
IIRC there's two setting boxes and one adventure, with all three having audio CDs for reading narration out loud for the included adventures. From what I've heard they're not that great, and the early ones even include narrating what the PCs do which is a bit eh.
I think it was a thing in TSR at the time?
>Keep an eye out for any and all JG material.
A word of warning: Pegasus Magazine is weirdly difficult to track down in digital format. I managed to get a few issues from a half-dead torrent, but that's it.
Also, if you manage to figure out what's missing (I think there's some collectors lists out there to make that easier), post a list so that we can crowdsource that shit.
>>48173366
Thanks, TroveFamigo
>>48174405
No need to "make humans more interesting", really - they're generally the most interesting race in the setting anyway. Just chop of race selection altogether and you hardly miss anything.
Seriously, though, look at your favorite setting and compare the number of different human cultures to the number of different demihuman cultures. Per race. Because generally you'll find that you maybe get just half a dozen cultures for a non-human race at best, and most of those could probably be done by a human culture as well.
People have a very specific idea for what an Elf or Dwarf is supposed to be like, and don't vary too much from that idea - however, with humans people look at IRL civilizations like they do demihuman races. You get vikings and Ottomans and Romans and Native Americans and Indians and Frenchmen and Italians and I'm not even done with listing all the pastiches in the Known World.
Meanwhile the Elves are basically limited to varieties of magical hippies and Dwarves are gruff gold-diggers who may or may not speak with a Scottish accent.
I'd argue that humans are ALREADY more interesting than demihumans.
Does anybody have issues with the way to-hit / attack progressions are done in whatever version of D&D you're playing? Has anybody modified these progressions, even if it's just importing multiple fighter attacks into Basic?
Hey can anyone post the LOTFP combat reference sheet that was on here about a month ago.
>>48177660
>>48177971
And the firearms variant.
>>48177971
>>48177986
Thanks!
>>48172654
> Spell components
I like them as a way to reign in more powerful spells. Plus I'm a fan of anything that makes magic weirder and more eccentric, so having my magic user stealing dead man's fingernails and shit is fun.
The common complaint though is that spell components are a resource tax. While thieves and fighters can do their things all day every day without issue, Wizards have to burn money to use their powers. Given how limited magic users already are in the early part of the game, components can seem like adding insult to injury. On the other hand, one could balance this by noting that they don't have to buy armor or weapons, generally.
The best situation is with a balance.
>>48172654
Yes and yes, sort of.
Pinches of sulphur and frog eyes are fluffy and cool from a narrative standpoint, but mechanically the magic user is already bound by the limits of spell slots and the need to balance flexibility with effectiveness in loadout. Tracking down individual components for individual spells effectively forces them to do the same thing twice to be functional (memorizing the right spell as well as carrying the right component) Personally, I like taking a cue from 3.x (heresy, I know) and having generic component pouches for low-value materials while limiting high-level spells with expensive compounds and gems. Plus you can still get casters in trouble by separating them from their pouch.
>>48169276
I've always liked the idea of having a magic system that builds on adjectives, instead of stupid long lists.
Say, for example, you have the Fire spell. All it does is create a ball of fire in your hand, and you can lob it at enemies to cause burning damage. Now, if you're strong enough to enlarge the spell--Ranged Fire is like shooting a small bolt, Explosive Ranged Fire is like shooting the classic Fireball. More levels, more adjectives you can tack on, and your spellbook would be filled with all the adjectives you've collected.
Granted, I have no idea how utility spells would work. Explosive Knock would unlock all the doors in an area? I dunno
>>48179831
Sounds like Ars Magica or Changeling: The Dreaming.
>>48179854
Ars Magica is an interesting system, but the system is a tradeoff. You gain more flexibility player-side, and you don't have a list of spells to comb through. On the other hand, you now need to set up a system of rules about what magic can and can't do outside of what the players own capabilities are that must be remembered at all times, and as a GM be prepared to babysit your players use of magic to make sure they are within the bounds of their abilities.
For a game like Ars Magica, which is explicitly about wizards, it works fine. It's a good entree, but I have a suspicion it would make for a clunky side dish.
>>48174575
Alright, then how would you make humans more interesting without playing into traditional fantasy tropes?
>>48172654
The latter, I reckon. I'm fine with it as a way of "coloring spells", although from my experience that's mostly just bad puns - however, making them actually keep track of how many ounces of bat guano and living spiders they're keeping in their pockets seems overly fiddly.
Just subsume it into a general "you need to pay X gp to prepare this spell", if that's what you're actually after.
>>48179020
>they don't have to buy armor or weapons, generally.
Neither do the Fighter and Cleric, though? They buy their first set of plate and whatever weapon they fancy, and then probably mostly rely on random treasure after that.
Even in the editions where plate costs a thousand gold or more, that's still less than you need to get to level two. Meanwhile, spell components are either extremely cheap and thus ineffective in being anything more than a recordkeeping headache, or they're expensive enough to actually matter and thus quickly outpace the Fighter's spending on arms and armor.
Besides, what the Fighter is REALLY going to spend money on is a fuckhuge castle and an army of mercs. But the Magic-User is also going to spend a shitton of cash on magic item and spell research. It evens out.
If you want to balance magic-users, don't make shit more complicated than it needs to be. Shit, just go in and change the root of the problem, which is probably going to be the spells unless you're playing OD&D with Greyhawk in which case it's the rule that level 7+ spells don't allow saves. If Wish gives you a headache, just don't let M-Us cast it and restrict it to wishing wells and genies. If Sleep is too good at beating encounters, nerf it.
Don't try to add stuff on to cure the symptoms; go straight for the throat.
>>48179831
>Explosive Knock would unlock all the doors in an area?
And AoE unlock would probably be handy, yeah. Especially with hidden doors.
Door mazes BTFO.
>>48172188
It may not be completely OSR, but 2nd Edition has the Vikings Campaign Sourcebook, and there's a section on Rune Casting. It's not as powerful or versatile as Vancian casting, but it's certainly more flavorful in the context of the intended setting.
There's also Psionics, though that may not be your cup of tea (Psionics pops up in several places, notably the 1e Player's Handbook, the Dark Sun setting, and the Complete Psionics (Psionicist?) Handbook for 2e.
>>48180327
> Psionics
Why was this a thing? What do psionics offer that make them different/interesting/desirable in a system where we already have divine and arcane magic?
>>48179970
Not the original Anon- but personally I would make it to where instead of race you pick a nation for your character to be from, and actually have them be culturally distinctive rather than "Humans in blue clothes, Humans in Red clothes, etc" best example I can think of would be similar to the Witcher's various nations.
>>48180327
>Vikings Campaign Sourcebook, and there's a section on Rune Casting
I'll check it out, thanks. Might check out how Ars Magica does it as well.
>>48180327
>(Psionics pops up in several places, notably the 1e Player's Handbook, the Dark Sun setting, and the Complete Psionics (Psionicist?) Handbook for 2e
Don't forget OD&D Supplement III: Eldritch Wizardry, a.k.a. The Best Worst Psionics Version.
It's pretty neat but oh boy does it need an editor to go over it. That book's easily the worst-formatted OD&D supplement, and that's saying something.
I'll also never stop shilling BECMI's psuedo-psionics system that the Immortals got, which honestly handled psionic combat way better than psionics ever did. (Turns out the answer was rock-paper-scissors.)
Wrath of the Immortals was a bad product, but I don't remember how much they kept of power combat?
Also, I think there's two versions of Dark Sun psionics? There's a latter book, Sun & Sand or something, I honestly don't remember. Might be that it just hooks into Complete Psionics Handbook, though. Also I think Skills & Powers might have had a system?
There's also that one Dragon Magazine issue that tried to fix AD&D 1E Psionics and created the Psionicist and whatnot.
The history of psionics is kind of messy.
>>48180449
What did druids and illusionists have to offer in a system that already had M-Us and clerical magic?
It covers a literary niche that wasn't previously covered, basically. You'll probably note pretty quickly while reading through Appendix N that a bunch of that stuff could probably be classified as "psionics", not to mention the whole new agey stuff that got tacked on to it later.
Although I suppose it shares some ground with the Monk?
There's more ways to handle magic than how Jack Vance did it in The Dying Earth, really.
>>48180549
>best example I can think of would be similar to the Witcher's various nations.
What, not the real world?
>>48172654
>>48179020
>>48179336
Another option is to make the need for material components a phased affair.
Low-level shmucks are scrambling to bottle monster blood and bug parts while high-level mages are casting spells through willpower alone.
>>48180775
>There's a latter book, Sun & Sand
You mean The Will & The Way?
>>48180793
True, though taking inspiration from real world nations has it's problems once the players figure out, "Oh these are the totally-not-French guys."
>>48180857
>Low-level shmucks are scrambling to bottle monster blood and bug parts while high-level mages are casting spells through willpower alone.
While thematic, that's a bit backwards balance-wise. It's usually not the low-level M-Us who are the problem, after all.
Which is probably why AD&D put high-cost material components on specific supposed-to-be-rare spells, come think of it.
>You mean The Will & The Way?
That's the one, yeah. I remember gearing about it while reading a thread about the CPH but couldn't remember the name. Apparently it fixed some stuff?
>>48180880
Trust me, players will do that anyway.
"Oh, it's the not-Romans. Oh, it's the not-hippies. Oh, it's the not-vikings. Oh, it's the not-mongol horde."
>>48180857
Or, for hilarity, something akin to nWoD's Mage - it is the youngsters that cast out of willpower and gumption, but as their powers grow and they become more and more out of phase with the fallen reality they have to rely more on rotes and magical instruments lest they get massive paradox whammies.
Which also neatly pushes high-level wizards to stay in their labs and towers instead of solving everything forever.
>>48180775
>What do psionics offer that make them different/interesting/desirable in a system where we already have divine and arcane magic?
> Divine and Arcane magic
>What did druids and illusionists have to offer in a system that already had M-Us and clerical magic?
Druids and Illusionists are specific classes that use divine and arcane magic.
It doesn't say "why do we need different classes." Classes are fine.
Psionics are not just a third kind of magic (which might not have been a bad way to do it), they are a whole new and additional subsystem.
>>48168405
What's OSR?
>>48181340
OSR generally refers to D&D games released during the TSR era (pre 3e) and modern games that are based off them (OSRIC, Dungeon Crawl Classics, Lamentations of the Flame Princess, Swords & Wizardry, etc)
>>48172188
What do you mean? You want to use mana points?
>>48169276
I actually like how VtM handled disciplines.
each level of a discipline has one power that does one specific thing. To use it, you need to pass a particular dice roll, or else nothing happens - the more dramatic ones also use up a resource pool such as blood.
For osr I'd run it like this: magical abilities come in distinct paths. You start out with the first power of one path. When you level, you can either learn the next power along that path, or start learning a new path. All powers require a (difficult) roll to perform, with something bad happening if the roll is failed.
>>48168405
I have asked this before, several months ago, but I would like to get a new round of opinions on it.
What is your opinion of classless systems?
How would you do your own, and what would you include?
Do combat skills in the vein of LotFPs stances have a place in OSR?
I have been plugging away at a point-buy based classless, levelless character generator wherin you use 100 points (Sounds like a lot, turns out it isn't) to purchase hit die, AC bonus, spell slots, starting gear and the like and to allocate into your stats (at a rate of 1/1). Balance is a long road but it has reached the point where nothing seems hugely OP and the average statline people I test put together is in the 50-70 total realm, about where 3d6 would get you.
Would you personally bother with such a system?
>>48182579
>What is your opinion of classless systems?
Not OSR.
>>48182579
I prefer classless systems for things like modern or sci-fi, but that's because I'm a sucker for the strong guy/smart guy/sneaky guy tirfecta.
I think point buy is an interesting system but the random rolling is a lot of fun too. I'd prefer smaller point values is a lot easier to manage IMO.
Also as for other non-class based systems look up 'Adventure Points' on 'I remember that move' blog, really interesting way of generating adventures if you don't mind the GM fiat kind of stuff. Also Into the Odd has an interesting classless system though it is more gear based in that regard.
>>48182612
Edgy.
>>48182579
>What is your opinion of classless systems?
Probably a better fit than classed systems for many genres - sci-fi comes to mind, but really it's mostly anything that isn't as archetype-obsessed as fantasy.
Actually making them work depends on how you go about doing things, though. There's a world of difference between GURPS and a one-class-does-everything system that still has levels and whatnot.
>How would you do your own, and what would you include?
OD&D, Fighter table, everyone can use spell scrolls if found but not necessarily REuse them, throw in some clerical spells either in yet more scrolls or perhaps some rudimentary prayer mechanic.
If I wanted to go full point-buy I'd probably need to stop HP growth and remove spell levels and all sorts of stuff that would make me rather just steal some other system, though.
>Do combat skills in the vein of LotFPs stances have a place in OSR?
No clue what those are, but there's certainly things that can be done with expanding on combat. Or, hell, ripping out the combat system entirely and replacing it with something else. d20-roll-to-hit isn't THAT fundamental to OSR - just rejigger the rest of the math and you can change things without much of a problem.
Do note that most changes that would make combat more complex would also make it take longer - this includes dead-simple stuff like Chainmail man-to-man.
Maybe a 3E Crusader-esque card combat system could work out? I dunno. Or just use ordinary playing cards, and make the suit matter or something. Or go rip off Yomi. There's a hell of a lot that can be done.
>>48182688
>Into the Odd
Wow, I have basically read all of that guys stuff. I liked the classless system he had, but I wanted a more 'build your own' feel. Its not really classless in that sense, it just lets you mix and match to an extent.
Will look up Adventure Points presently.
>>48182612
In what way? I would argue OSR is more based on the feel of the gameplay.
>>48182748
Part of it is wanting to break away from the archetypeal system, particularly because my players tend to ignore it or put their own spin on a class. I thought I could encourage this by pushing modularity.
LotFPs stances are essentially 4 actions which are available to certain classes that change your stats per turn. Say you wanted to go all out, you can choose the Offensive stance and get +2AB and -2AC.
I think it would be cool to be able to learn a greater variety to encorage progression outside of levelling and break up the "I hit it with my sword" that ensues when there are no convenient cliffs or flippable tables. For example, you could learn a parry where you take -4AC, but if the enemy still misses you deal double damage next turn to them as you take advantage of an opening.
As a more general point, the consensus seems to point to sci-fi benifiting from this the most. How about science-fantasy in the vein of Hyper Light Drifter or Furi?
>>48168405
Finished working on a B1 rewrite (chopped it up and rebuilt it as a tighter DCC funnel-like module. Really just formatting my Ref notes).
Now I am working on my homebrew rules. I got burned out on DCC so I'm starting with LotFP and houseruling the poops out of stuff. Some DCC stuff will probably find its way in.
Biggest changes are I'm trying to separate ability scores from class choice. Abilities will no longer directly modify class specific stuff; just things that are useful to any character.
STR modifies carry weight, DEX modifies initiative, CON modifies hitpoints, INT modifies languages, CHA modifies hireling morale, LK works similarly to DCC but not quite.
Saving throws are now a dice pool mechanic and are tied to each ability score with class modifiers further tweaking it.
Race-and-class.
Bunch more stuff.
>>48174405
>Do we really need them?
depends on the setting. Yes, I know it's a trite answer, but it works.
When I run stone-age games, PCs can be humans, or neanderthals, or various prehistoric mutants. When I run 'kitchen sink' fantasy, elves, orcs, dwarves and goblins become options. When I run pseudohistorical (such as my ancient roman game) it's humans only, but foreign cultures take the place of demi humans. When i go gonzo, you get weird-as-fuck nonhuman races. And so on.
>>48180880
this stops being a problem if you run pseudohistorical. Just have the totally-not-french be actually french, rather than trying to disguise it.
>>48182872
>but I wanted a more 'build your own' feel.
Oh well, if you want that, go for Goblin Punch. He has a max 4 level sort of system where you could mix and match class abilities, going in order. So as class may be Fighter 1, Fighter 2, Barbarian 1, Noble one as a level 4 chatacter. Sadly it's not fully finished or posted yet. It's 'The Goblin Doctrine' over on that blog.
>>48183165
I browse Goblin Punch a lot, but haven't seen that. Thanks. I guess it isn't in the GLOG.
From what you describe it sounds neat, but lacking in modularity. Care to elaborate?
>>48183293
Nevermind, I am an idiot. I realise what you are talking about now.
>>48181340
>>48181439
Some would also add a number of systems from the same pre 3e era, old school Warlock and Runequest, but they tend to be in the minority
>>48182915
Do you have a write up?
>>48182915
Wouldn't putting so much stock in ability scores screw people who rolled badly?
>>48168405
>What are you working on?
Just finished transcribing a bunch of setting data from one of the PDFs of Woodland Warriors into a Tiddlywiki to use as a campaign journal. Probably won't be able to use it but I know a couple people I could run it as a solo game for.
>>48183656
I'm still working on it in evernote. I will probably transfer the finished product to google drive and pretty it up a bit for my players. Maybe I'll share it here.
>>48184041
couple of failsafes:
Roll a group of 3 or 4 level 0's.
4d6 drop lowest down the line. Swap one.
A character with less than 0 total modifiers may be scrapped and re-rolled.
A special ratman race may be chosen and is restricted to characters that have total 0 or less modifiers. They get some nice bennies to offset having poo-poo ability scores.
Beyond using a single save mechanic, what else does S&W do different from other games?
>>48187931
Nothing
Alright, /osr/, working on a new campaign setting that should, hopefully, be system neutral and you all get to help put something in!
I already have the general landmasses and seas done, but I want to know what I should do with the largest city in setting: Should it be a city state? Should it be ruled by a monarch, mage, council, oldest person, etc? Should I place it in not!China, not!England, not!Arabia or not!Sub-Saharan Africa or someplace completely different? Maybe it's a flying city that slowly moved around? Who knows! I want fun and crazy ideas! Names! Locations! Factions! Churches! All are open and free and will also help refine the setting at large (after all, if there is a temple to Ythullian the Conqueror then I'll no doubt work on that and figure out why Ythullian is called that and how they fit in the setting!
Top 10 choices (my pick) will be picked, nitpicked over and, hopefully, made into a overarching gazetteer of the setting for your all's enjoyment and use.
>>48188358
The city is located entirely on an archipelago and nearby adjoining islands. The area is littered with angular rock formations, naturally forming into long and straight pillars of hexagonal stone perfect for building basic foundations even on the water.
The city is very vertical- every building rises into huge spires. This is primarily for the political system, which we will get to shortly.
The city is not owned by any one person or group, it is democratic and organizes by votes. However each 'vote' is based on a colored flag system, typically blue and pink for easy identification, pink for 'yes' and blue for 'no', but more complicated issues and elections may have multiple set colors for each selection.
There is no law against people owning multiple towers however, so a single owner can control the city's laws through money. All the votes are counted from a single central 'high' tower owned by the democratic/religious council that tallies the votes dependently. Only votes counted from this tower count, so politically interested people often build their towers higher to block sight to competitors, or even do some insane slanted building to try and squeeze just around the corner of another tower so the flag can be seen.
What's a big race that could occupy the slot for 'big guy' race in my game setting? I'm looking for something a little less monsterous because before I was using trolls, but might be interested in something less offensive.
Half giants/giants maybe? Weird end people? Something more gonzo? I'd be interested to see what /osr/ comes up with.
>>48189440
Trolls could work, just have to have them be a bit more Scandinavian and less Poul Anderson/Gary Gygax in nature, like how this thread on the Trudvang setting from ages ago describes them;
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/16453010/
>>48189485
I appreciate the input but I was specifically looking for something other than trolls.
>>48189440
Is "big guy" really a slot that needs to be filled?
Either way, though, you can't go wrong with actual giants and fuckhuge castles dotting the mountainside.
>>48189559
>Is "big guy" really a slot that needs to be filled?
No, but my game features size categories so I thought it would be nice to have a range.
Also; giants are pretty cool but kind of boring in the grand scheme. I'll have to give them some kind of meme ability in the meantime.
>>48189823
>kind of boring in the grand scheme
Only if you don't lean into the whole size difference.
Go full Jack and the Beanstalk on that shit. Take inspiration from Narnia. Make a dungeon where a square is 20 feet, and the PCs don't have a clue what's on top of a table. Run with the idea of giants not taking other races entirely seriously due to their diminutive size. Make them war with the dragons for dominion of the mountaintops, and build castles in the clouds.
Giants are kind of neat, I think.
>>48189869
When you go that big sure, but honestly I'm more of a 9 ft tall kind of giant guy, was more my style. I can't have PCs being that big and/or strong.
>>48189440
Intelligent (and time-travelling) T-Rexes, giant robots, friendly sky krakens, animated trees (stone would be trolls), space hamsters and dragons.
>>48189918
>I can't have PCs being that big and/or strong.
Wait a goddamn second.
What happens with high-level PC mages? Shouldn't they be "that strong"?
>>48189440
>mystically inclined tortoise people
>3.5 style Goliaths or Darfellans
>centaurs
>nomadic elephant people
>sentient constructs
>minotaurs
are all suitably generic fantasy if you're wanting to play it safe.
>>48190145
I think he means physically big.
Failing that, not everyone runs games where power increase is levels - some systems provide diminishing returns so that characters don't get crazy strong like in your example.
>>48192493
>some systems provide diminishing returns
Where's the fun in that though? If almost all of the fun is in the early then why advance?
>>48190922
>mystically inclined tortoise people
Fuck I love mystically inclined tortoise people. Maybe my favorite non-"standard fantasy" thing.
>>48193385
Levelling up isn't the only way to progress a character. I would argue it isn't even the most interesting, not by a long shot.
Using funds aquired through crawls to create a place in high society, making
contacts, doing advanced research, pursuing legendary artefacts, aquiring power outside of levelling through items or dark deals - there are far more interesting things someone with a wealth of stolen wealth and magical artefacts can do than grind for higher HP.
Theres also an argument to be made for internal consistency. Into The Odd points this out - an experienced delver is more likely to survive traps because they have better equipment, more lackeys, more experience, not because they can tank the trap with bloated HP. It helps the GM too - you don't need to create 20th level magic user proof mazes of arbitrary restrictions anymore when the same old spike trap will kill a foolish player just as dead.
>>48193754
In that case, why even use OSR at all when there are systems that do horizontal progress much better like BRP? Leveling up matters, and ignoring it as "the least interesting way" goes counter to the OSR ethos.
>>48193754
This. Leveling up is to character development what "I'm a half-angel/half-demon/half-troll with a three-handed sword that I can dual wield" is to backstory -- IE it's a lousy substitute. It can give you a sense of progression, but progression and character development are two different things.
>>48194404
Leveling up can be mechanically interesting (even if it's narratively dull.) His point is that when it comes to character progression, it's not the only game in town.
>>48194443
But it is the most important one. There's a reason GP=XP and isn't just a monetary reward. Scoring treasure means not only that characters can tackle harder challenges, but also that they get more byes when handling stuff that would skewer them in the early parts of their adventuring life. But when you're seriously considering that a high-level character should die the same to a simple trap that skewers level 1 rookies, you might as well accept that not only you're against leveling up, but the entire concept of levels. And that's okay, there's a lot of fantastic games where character stats are functionally static and don't have HP bloat of any sort, but they're not OSR.
>>48194737
>And that's okay, there's a lot of fantastic games where character stats are functionally static and don't have HP bloat of any sort, but they're not OSR.
>pre-OD&D Blackmoor
>OD&D with Chainmail combat strictly enforced
>Holmes, to some degree
>not OSR
>>48194404
>In that case, why even use OSR at all when there are systems that do horizontal progress much better like BRP?
BRP is a boring mess of a system for the most part
>>48194861
>official TSR material
>OSR
(Okay I kid but I've seen that line before.)
>>48195055
>Chainmail
>TSR
I kid, I kid.
Sometimes I still wonder how the hell Gygax got away with having his game rely on/recommend two products from two other completely separate companies, though. (i.e. Guidon Games' Chainmail and Avalon Hill's Outdoor Survival)
The adventurers are ready to take on one of the city's filthy gang of cutpurses and brutes. There is however something off about just this gang.
What's weird about the gang, /osrg/?
>>48195471
They're unfalteringly polite to the people they mug, rob, and run protection rackets on. There are reports that new gang members that fail to show proper respect are forced by the veterans to return stolen goods and apologize profusely before being carted off to some terrible fate.
>>48194404
I'm not saying levelling (or a system that apes its results) is a useless system. Its always going to be satisfying to see those numbers tick up, and its a big part of the mechanical side of representing progress.
I just want to argue that levelling is not all of progression - there is a huge number of ways to further your character outside of it, and if you exploit that levelling becomes far less important. As >>48194443 states, levelling is mechanically useful but not a substitute for all progression
>>48195471
They'll steal everything but money. Jewelry, gemstones, fine art, purses, the boots off of your feet - but no cash.
>>48195471
There's only a dozen of them, but every one of them is a shape-changer. They seem like there are dozens of them because every time they go out, they look like completely different people. The gang has risen to supremacy in the city because any time two of their rivals might try to work against them, they disguise themselves as one of said rivals and attack the others, then disappear and watch the rivals destroy each other instead.
>>48195471
>>48195471
they're from social, religious and racial groups that you wouldn't expect to tolerate one another. In actual fact, they're all infested with a parasite that uses pheremones and so on to make its hosts co-operate with one another.
>>48195471
There is no gang. They are really just a small handful of agitators and provocateurs working on behalf of the corrupt city government.
Whenever the mayor/prince wants to seize control of something, he uses these agents to cause mayhem and uses it as a pretext to assert more power and control (to uproarious applause, no less). Whenever there is a scandal, he uses them to distract.. and through them, he can both keep tabs on the city's actual underworld and keep control of it. The fake gang have become kingpins of the city's underworld, allowing the ruler to tax even the criminal underbelly of the city.
>>48188358
The city is a dozen or some interlaced fortifications, walls and battlements placed at one of the more economically exploitable mountain passes. The different sections get smaller and more fortified as it approaches the centre, with different militant groups in charge of defending each gate as casts/houses. At the centre is an oracle that dictates the various taxes, tariffs and tolls on goods moving through the city, and how to trade the most beneficially. The Entombed Oracle is never seen except by The Most Esteemed Caretakers, deadly and silent guardians who communicate the oracle's predictions and rulings in calligraphy of melted gold. The further from the oracle, the more verbose the casts are allowed to be, the more like merchants and the less like soldiers they get.
>>48189053
This is a cool thing, going to steal it.
I'm working on two separate magic systems here and I'm not sure which one I like better. I want somebody to help me decide.
>Big Points Magic System
Based loosely on the 'Goblin Punch' new magic dice system. Basically each level your Wizard gets a single magic die, at level 1 they have 1 die, level 2 they have 2, etc.- they roll as many as they want to cast spells. They have to succeed by rolling high enough numbers on all the dice together. Each 6 rolled also removes that dice for the rest of the adventure/session.
The MU can cast any spell he can muster enough energy for (enough dice)- but obviously has a higher chance of failing big spells if he uses lesser amounts of dice.
>Skill based Roll-Under system
The Wizard instead gets a certain number of magic related skills (such as one per magic school), each level. This one still uses a d6 system but instead the Wizard must roll under their skill in the ability for it to work. For example the Wizard may have 2 dots in Conjuration, and can roll a 1 or 2 to succeed.
I like this second method because it forces Wizards to somewhat specalize in certain spells/magic paths, however I need to find a way for the Wizard to 'lose' spell points or casts or whatever to keep with the theme of losing resources. Any suggestions on which is better/ideas for improvement?
WANTED:
> TSR 8446 Leaves From the Inn of the Last Home.pdf
It's a dragonlance book. Every version I've been able to track down has been corrupted and missing pages.
>>48198424
>Leaves From the Inn of the Last Home
Sounds like a DUDE WEED LMAO module.
>>48198964
It's a fluff book, full of stuff like recipes, numerology, songs, and other stuff like that. A really neat example of super-detailed worldbuilding.
"Leaf" is another word for a page of a book.
>AdLiD ("Ad-Lib Dungeon") - improvised by Frank Mentzer on the spot.
>The teaser: "You decide what monsters and treasures will be found... and Frank creates an adventure on the spot. Anything can happen!".
>Frank runs this game periodically. He give out notecards before the game and each player writes down something to be encountered during the game. If I thought about this more beforehand I would've written "Bargle". On the spot all I could muster was "H.P. Lovecraft". Thus our group encountering H.P. himself, complete with bat wings and tentacles, as the BBG. One of the other players in this game was a grandson of Bob Bledsaw, founder of Judges Guild, and I chatted with him during the break.
>you will NEVER EVER play in one of Mentzer's ad-lib dungeons
J U S T
WANTED:
> TSR 9565 - Fate Deck
> TSR 9565A - Fate Deck (with "The Haunted Amulet" mini-adventure)
> TSR 9565B - Fate Deck (with "The Dwarven Crown" mini-adventure)
> TSR 9565C - Fate Deck (with "Death on the Deep" mini-adventure)
> TSR 9565D - Fate Deck (with "The Duntollik Run" mini-adventure)
Those aside, we have all of the Dragonlance Saga stuff.
If we acquire those and >>48198424 we have all of the TSR Dragonlance stuff.
>>48171153
I like this.
>>48195471
They are all incredibly shy. Gang members appear to be on the short and weak side. Members always avoid eye contact and flinch if you try to touch them. They talk in barley audible mutters that only other gang members hear clearly.
They always travel in groups of at least three and wear many layers of thick clothing.
Despite their unseeming nature the citizens, the guard and all the other gangs in the district seem to be terrified of them. No one wants to talk about why and will react with hostility if opposition to the gang is brought up.
Final Trove Business stuff for the night:
DragonLance is all sorted out save for the previously mentioned.
Planescape has now been completely sorted out with one exception
> 05 Settings\Planescape\Planescape Boxed Sets\TSR 2607 - Planes of Law
All of the copies I could find of this were in some way fucked, but all put together and fucked in different ways. If someone wants to either
> A) Find a single volume version that has everything and works
> B) Make a single volume version that has everything from the multiple broken files
Let me know and I'll upload it.
UNRELATED PSEUDO-PERSONAL BUSINESS:
I'm recruiting one or two potential new players for an OSR game I'll be running. I thought I'd off here before going to gamefinder.
> Either B/x or LotFP. I haven't worked out which yet.
> Played by voice, through skype or Discord, with Roll20 as the rolling engine.
> First session will be Saturday 07/23/16, at 8pm EST.
We have an existing group of players already, but we're looking to add a couple more so that when someone misses a game the rest can still play. We're mostly mid-to-late 20s players, relatively mature, and fairly laid back. New players will be accepted on a trial basis to see if you gel well with the group.
Interested parties leave email, skype, or discord information where I can contact you, or email me at[email protected]
>>48202108
What's the hook for the game?
>>48202916
Probably run some modules for either system. If it's B/x, we'll go explore classic stuff. If it's LotFP, I'll either run a few of those or homebrew something. Either way, it will be somewhat episodic until the new group is cemented, then we'll look at a proper campaign. Don't want to start anything long-term until we know everything's a good fit.
How do you justify having a setting with goblins, hobgoblins, gnolls, orcs, trolls, etc?
I really like all of them but it feels like they clutter up the place and there should be less of them.
>>48203917
besides the fact that most of them occupy different niches, in almost all of my settings most if not all of the Monstrous Humanoids are artificial in origin, generally created by some dark overlord or civilization in a distant dead age(Trolls are often a bit of an exception to this, as I often have them be semi-natural and one of the templates used to make the other Beast-Men races)
>>48199765
He's still alive, anon! Maybe try going to a con where you know he's going to run a con game.
Although chances are that it won't be an ad-lib one, and I have no clue if he still runs con games.
Still, he's alive. It's not like trying to play in, say, Gygax' Castle Greyhawk.
>>48203917
The various giant-types occupy a specific niche of being a somewhat level-appropriate monster.
Speaking of which, you left out the kobolds and all the giant varieties. But yeah, Kobold->Goblin->Orc->Hobgoblin->Gnoll->Troll->Giants is a progression that lets you have the classless humanoid beasties all the way down in the megadungeon with them still being relevant in small groups.
Only the lower four - kobolds, goblins, orcs and gnolls - being encountered in large organized groups also helps bring in a contrast to the standard four "good" races of halflings, dwarves, humans and elves.
Someone recently posted a Dugeon World mediafire folder in here recently, but the archives are being unhelpful. Anyone got the link on hand?
So. AD&D. 2E, 1E, whatever.
What are there for useful bits those have that would be worth porting over to Basic?
>>48205844
There is DW in Trove, IIRC it's in Misc.
>>48206882
The other one had some stuff that's missing in the trove though
Someone in another thread mentioned playing OD&D using the AD&D PHB and Monster Manual. How would such a frankenstein work? Have any of you tried something similar?
>>48206841
Van Richten's Guides have some material to flesh out some monsters.
Earth, Air, Fire, and Water for Dark Sun has lots of elemental magic stuff that can be fun to use (both as a player and as a GM).
Ravenloft has Fear, Horror, and Corruption.
Birthright has kingdom stuff.
>tfw you stay up til 2 AM sketching out a rough dungeon outline because you suddenly had a flash of inspiration and are afraid that you'll lose the spark if you don't write it down immediately
I never asked for this.
>>48203917
I actually have this problem myself. I tend to stay away from having innumerable intelligent monster species for exactly that reason. It's hard to make any of them feel particularly interesting or memorable when every forest, cave, or clearing has it's own rabble of monstrous humanoid.
In the last couple years I've started taking the LotFP approach - most enemies are human, and the actual monsters tend to be fairly unique and horrifying. Of course, this is a totally different feel than the classic gygaxian fantasy world.
>>48203917
It can be hard to do so.
Your options are either to invest a lot of time in making them all different or cut back on many to focus on a few.
I tend to eliminate them based on themes. So for the "Tiny Bastard Race" there's a choice between Goblins, Kobold, Gibberlings, etc. Pick one that has the most appeal and discard the rest.
Thematic niches include
>Tiny Bastards
>Rough n' Wild Raiders (who part-time as Rent-a-Minions)
>Army of Evil (disciplined monsters like D&D Hobgoblins)
>The Evil Counterpart Race (Spriggans, Duergar, Drow, etc.)
>Inhuman Aliens (Beholders, Mind Flayers, etc.)
>Big Dumb Brutes (Ogres, Hill Giants, etc.)
>Big Smart Brutes (Cloud Giants, etc.)
>The Ancient Race that Once Ruled (Yuan-Ti, etc)
So gents, why are gary gygax's nation builder and cosmos builder so hard to find?
>>48207811
Someone gave me this advice and it has proven invaluble - make a note document on your phone or whatever you are likely to have with you frequently and jot down anything cool that strikes you.
Just don't be to brief (you might forget what you meant if its just 2 or 3 words) and regularly prune it for stuff which in retrospect isn't great.
Do you feel there is some similarity between OSR-ish gameplay and Minecraft?
Or is it completely crazy idea?
>>48209016
It just kinda caught me off guard is all. I was doing some late-night binging on tenfootpoole, then I had an idea for a dungeon room, then I realized it would be great character bank for a funnel, then I started sketching a dungeon, etc.
Fun but exhausting.
>>48209253
On the other hand, no. RPGs are about pattern-matching.
>>48208943
Gary Gygax's Nation Builder is under
> Trove\TSR\06 Gygax
Was unable to find Cosmos builder though. If someone does, let me know.
>>48209253
>>48209379
Minecraft.
> Going into unexplored territories
> Fighting monsters
> exploring dungeons and caves in search of loot.
> Bullshit deaths if you aren't careful
> Ultimately opening a portal to hell
> End boss is a dragon.
There are a ton of similarities, and I think a lot of OSR stuff will play more similarly to minecraft than later D&D games because the former tends to emphasize the exploration aspects more.
is there a variation of the B/X or Labyrinth Lord sheet that has visible dice pips for basic skills like LotFPs sheet does?
How derivative do you let your games get? I played Legend of Grimrock recently, and I think it's setting and premise is pretty much perfect for a campaign. The problem is, I just can't live with myself for running what would essentially be a videogame fanfiction with the serial numbers filed off.
>>48209482
It really depends on what you're deriving. Stealing a premise is fine. Stealing a setting is fine. Just don't steal the plot.
You can have your players be NotRebels fighting the NotEmpire in a space setting with NotJedi. You just can't have them turn around and then reveal a planet-destroying battlestation that can only be defeated by a trench run with fighter pilots and also the sub-boss is connected to one of the PCs in some important plot twist reveal way.
I tend to get around this entirely by running very very sandbox games that don't have a plot to worry about, but your mileage may vary.
>>48207651
Is this what you're looking for?
http://archive.4plebs.org/tg/thread/47768147/#q47777325
I've got more stuff than that guy. I need to sort my folder again, it's getting unwieldy.
If there's anything in particular you're looking for, let me know.
>>48209433
>There are a ton of similarities,
Of course. There are similarities, but they are not that dominant thing that makes Minecraft Minecraft. At the end of the day, it's not about looting dungeons, is it?
Comparing CK2 to Minecraft, I'd say CK2 is more OSR, despite having little to no exploration. It's much better at creating of stories. Minecraft is laking in this aspect, despite all the freedom to do things.
>>48209555
If you get your folder sorted and it contains everything that the trove folder does, feel free to upload it and I'll just replace the one we have.
I can't be arsed to put much effort into collecting or organizing game folders for games I don't play or know anything about.
>>48209253
>>48209433
Please take you autism simulator talk back to /v/
>>48209576
>it's not about looting dungeons
Unfortunately. But MC plays like ass anyways, so it's no great loss.
>>48209596
Dare you define what makes OSR OSR by finding this elusive OSR-component in other media?
>>48209576
> Of course. There are similarities, but they are not that dominant thing that makes Minecraft Minecraft. At the end of the day, it's not about looting dungeons, is it?
I'd argue that it IS actually about looting dungeons. You just have to squint.
If you're playing minecraft in survival mode, most of your time is spent in the search and acquisition of resources. Most of the good shit winds up being in caves and the best grabs are actually in the actual dungeons.
So yeah. Most of the game is about going into dangerous places to acquire valuable things, particularly as you get far enough into it that you need to go into the nether and shit.
The other half of the game is about the survival aspect (which includes building) and that's the main point of difference.. though in most OSR you wind up doing similar things eventually anyway - building up your settlements and fortifications in the middle of untamed wilderness.
No one is making the claim that Minecraft is an OSR game. The question was "Are there similarities?" The answer is yes.
> Comparing CK2 to Minecraft, I'd say CK2 is more OSR, despite having little to no exploration. It's much better at creating of stories.
I'd argue the opposite. Crusader Kings 2 is all about politics creating a story. That's probably a good analogy for late-game OSR stuff, once the players have progressed from adventuring to politics, but the early level 1-3 game? I don't see it.
>>48209596
Don't be a cunt.
>>48209602
> But MC plays like ass anyways, so it's no great loss.
Agreed.
How do we fix druids? Hippy nature worshippers are shit.
>>48209903
Maybe read AD&D before assuming that later edition Druids resemble the early edition ones?
>>48210200
Yeah, OD&D/AD&D Druids are anything but hippy.
Unless hippies like forest fires. And murdering people who try to fuck with nature.
>>48209677
> That's probably a good analogy for late-game OSR stuff, once the players have progressed from adventuring to politics, but the early level 1-3 game? I don't see it.
Yes. Not the early.
But CK2 creates a story, while MC doesn't. FTL or Dark Dungeons are more OSR-ish for early-game stuff (they also create stories).
>>48210317
Actually, it depends on the hippy. You get one of them Dark Hippies and shit gets dangerous.
>>48210395
One could argue that OSR doesn't really care about story as a primary goal. Certainly many of the more (in)famous modules don't. What's the story in Keep on the Borderlands? Most of the material in the OSR scene is exploratory sandbox nonsense that's in a lot of ways randomly generated. Story is not an explicit focus, it's the byproduct. Story is that thing that comes after the action is over and you are trying to sort what the hell just happened.
I've seen a fair number of arguments that the reason Dragonlance and AD&D2e marked a shift away from OSR-style gameplay was it's explicit emphasis on storytelling over whatever. Even if we point at good, accepted OSR story-modules, at best you're dealing with the notion that story is an optional feature for OSR, not a required one.
>>48210200
I have just the article.
http://basicredrpg.blogspot.com/2014/01/druids-can-go-to-hell-class-of-70s.html
Basically; take DnD hippy druid, replace with edgy satanist druids from the satanic panic in the 70s. Coincidentally, when these OSR games first started coming out. They go really well together all things considered.
>>48210518
> Story is not an explicit focus, it's the byproduct.
Yes. My point is it's unavoidable byproduct. But it's not the case in MC.
Now, I'm not talking about making story an "explicit focus". Not the way storygames do. They practically rape you into story, while OSR seduces: the story gets created anyway via player decisions and random shit. You can't play Keep without characters doing memorable things and things ... well, happening. Not unless you decide to settle down and grow potatos.
I mentioned FTL and DD for a reason: there is no "plot" (not compared to most cRPGs), but you still get stories how everything went south and only half-mad survivor managed to crawl back to village.
But if there is no story getting created (not railroaded through, but - _created_ by players and dice), there is no OSR. And story requires things that people care about.
While I got distracted by this sandboxy feeling reminescent of OSR, I forgot that you rarely get emotional attachment to things. And MC falls short in this aspect.It needs Companion Cube, I guess.
>>48211515
>They practically rape you into story,
Show me on da doll where da big bad narrative mechanic touched you, little girl.
>>48210731
I'm stealing half of this.
has anyone experimented with the combat system originally intended for LBB OD&D, with the Man to Man tables and all?
>>48211713
Well can't blame him. People seem to be misunderstanding what these newfangled story games are actually doing, assuming story is bad and it's all railroady shit anyway.
It's ironic how both the forge and osr movements developed as a direct response to 3.X sullying the hobby for a lot of people, with both trying to bring meaning back to player choice and story developing as a consequence of play, but doing it in entirely different ways.
>>48213913
I think I'm exactly who you're talking about in some ways. The only games I play now are OSR games and "Story games" - DotV, Burning Wheel, Apocalypse World, etc.
They are two sides of the same coin. A push away from DM railroad plot bullshit and into gameplay shaped entirely around the decisions made by players.
For OSR, this is usually where you see things like player-skill being emphasized, and why sandbox style campaigns are so popular. For most story-games, it manifests as a push towards player-driven narrative. The PC's decisions, personalities, and motivations are what shape things.
Both sets of games are also very interested in -how- you play as much as what you play.
Do you guys have any good old school black and white images of Trolls ?
>>48214320
Labyrinth Lord question: the AEC turns the B/X rules into AD&D 1e right?
Can you transition from the Basic rules into the Advanced rules or is it more of a "one or the other" deal?
How does that compare with just running OSRIC?
>>48214320
I am not looking for how to build a hexcrawl, but does anyone have experience with how to deal with movement, travel, and random encounters while exploring the hexes?
>>48214436
Basic and Advanced are largely compatible as-is. You can run a game with a 0e Fighting Man, a Basic Elf, and an Advanced elven Thief and it'll all work okay.
LL's AEC just imports some of the (better) AD&D rules into Basic, so you get the popular parts of Advanced without all the clunky bits.
Does anyone know if Raggi ever will release this thing or is it a failed project?
>>48214436
>How does that compare with just running OSRIC?
I'm curious - has anyone actually run OSRIC? Unlike later retroclones its intention was less about providing a playable game and more being a legal fiction to publish 1E material without incurring lawyer wrath.
>>48214550
A sixth issue was printed, apparently.
http://www.gordsellar.com/2016/03/17/beyond-mere-lotophagi-in-green-devil-face-6/
>>48214464
Aren't those suppose to be Bugbears?
>>48214732
Shit, you're probably right. What about this? Could be a giant though.
>>48214964
That is a giant from Fantasy Craft, a playable race even. On that note, any of you know how to convince Fantasy Craft to do OSR?
>>48214990
God I suck at this. Maybe one of the things behind this dude is a troll?
>>48214990
>any of you know how to convince Fantasy Craft to do OSR?
Convince Fantasy Craft players, you mean? I dunno, it sounds like a hard sell to folks who like crunchy tactical combat like FC.
>>48195208
>how the hell Gygax got away with having his game rely on/recommend two products from two other completely separate companies
Well, it's not a coincidence that only the hobby-printed OD&D relies on them, and Chainmail was first and swiftly de-required.
As for the rest, yeah, he printed it with his own money (and Don Kaye's, and Brian Blume's), so he could do whatever the hell he wanted, including require a different game he also wrote, earlier.
>>48168405
Hey /osrg/
What are some ways I can make one-on-one duels between a PC and an NPC more exciting and duel-like mechanically. Its all very well spicing up the descriptions, but the actual rolling back and forth seems like it could do with some tightening up to better reflect more tactical and cinematic battles.
It would be cool if the mechanics could be system-wide rather than a seperate 'minigame', but any advice will help.
I already experimented with a Stance system which worked surpisingly well, but it didn't solve the issue I was after.
>>48215707
I'd say do it similarly to how DCC does it with Spell Duels.
>>48214548
Okay, thanks. I asked because I want to run something Old School for my group but there are so many games to choose from that I think paring down my options would be a good start.
>>48215383
>hard sell
You can say that again.
Hey, have an idea for an OSR game
>Race-as-class but with each race having three subclasses for variety
>Humans have a core class and then a gain a specialization within said class
>Saving throws are Bodily Harm, Internal Harm, Mental Harm and Magical Harm
>Max level is 20 for each race and class, with immortality/deific ascension rules for truly epic play
>5e's Advantage/Disadvantage system
>BECMI/RC's Weapon Talents
>Spells have five effects - Failure and loss; Failure but no loss; Minor/temporary succes; Regular success; Critical success (not unlike DCC, but more narrow)
>Random Background Table to determine a number of things such as social rank, number of siblings, etc.
Thoughts?
>>48215760
How does DCC do spell duels? I am trapped in the land of the mobile right now and can't get a trove copy.
>>48215893
Sounds good in theory. Personally, I prefer roll-under ability checks to saving throws.
>>48215972
Lots of charts and rolls, plus a d20 to keep track of things separate from the rolls. It's like 5 pages worth of rules, examples and charts to check rolls on, not counting the spells themselves and their effects.
>>48215707
I've been on a samurai kick recently so I've been thinking of adapting Legend of the Five Rings' iaijutsu duels to OSR. Something like...
When two opponents square off for an iaijutsu duel, each may choose to roll under Wisdom. Succeeding means the character can learn the opponent's Dexterity, Level/HD or Wisdom. A 5 penalty modifier to the Wisdom roll can be applied to learn two of these facts, and a 10 penalty to learn all three.
After this is done but before anything else happens, one of the opponents may choose to surrender. Normally, acknowledging defeat without useless bloodshed is honorable, but this may carry other undesirable outcomes (in L5R, the most politically savvy clan also has one of the best dueling schools - surely if you feel wronged by their legal maneuvering, you also have the will to prove your honor by facing one of their elite duelists, right? Ah, you politely decline? Okay then!)
If the duelists decide to continue, then they both set their AC to 10. Highest Dexterity (or highest level, or highest Wisdom) calls for either "Focus" or "Strike." Focus means raising both duelists' AC in 2. After that, the opponent also chooses between Focus or Strike. Each duelist can Focus up to (Wisdom/5, round down) and when the duelist can't call Focus anymore, they call Strike. This means that the OPPONENT gets the first to-hit roll for the last AC that they pushed for. If the attacker fails this roll or doesn't kill the opponent then, the other duelist gets a strike of their own for the last AC they pushed for (which should be 2 less than what the opponent rolled against) Damage is regular weapon damage + 1d6 for each Focus.
If both opponents are still alive after the initial strike, they can proceed with a regular combat if they so wish (like in a duel to the death) or consider their honor satisfied if it was just a first-blood duel or a test of skill. Blunt weapons that deal subdual damage may be provided for friendly duels or sparring.
Could someone recommend me a city-based one page dungeon or very short adventure?
>>48217361
Haven't had a chance to use this. Looks pretty good though.
>>48208377
>Your options are either to invest a lot of time in making them all different or cut back on many to focus on a few.
>I tend to eliminate them based on themes. So for the "Tiny Bastard Race" there's a choice between Goblins, Kobold, Gibberlings, etc. Pick one that has the most appeal and discard the rest.
So, I'm trying to put together a setting inspired by Mazes & Minotaurs and Conan. Here's what I have penciled in:
>Tiny Bastards
Orkoi, basically goblins. Small, stupid, insane, and brutal. Usually primitive and hardscrabble, devolved into savagery after the fall of (ancient Empire that used them as foot-soldiers).
>Rough n' Wild Raiders (who part-time as Rent-a-Minions)
Gnolls, or maybe tragos (goat-people) ripped from M&M. Satyrs might be a playable race when I kick off the setting, and evil goat-people would be a good mirror.
>Army of Evil (disciplined monsters like D&D Hobgoblins)
'High goblins', a strain of goblin that hung onto enough dignity and smarts to do the 'kind'a-noble savage nomads' thing instead of going caveman when the Ancient Empire fell. They do the Tolkien-inspired wolf-rider routine because goddammit I never got a chance to do that back before it got worn-out and I like the image of hobgoblin Mongols on warg-back.
1/2, cont. below....
>>48208377
>>48218884
2/2
>The Evil Counterpart Race (Spriggans, Duergar, Drow, etc.)
'Light' Elves, complete with Norse trappings. The usual elves-are-superior-xenophobic-assholes schtick (think FR sun elves) gets cranked up to maximum: they see humans as vermin, pillage-rape-burn villages and towns for sport, and routinely raze any settlement that looks like forming the nucleus of a real human nation near their borders.
(The backstory assumes that the light elves are the elven nobility who hid 'elsewhere' during the cataclysm that destroyed their Ancient Empire along with everybody else's, abandoned the rest of the world and their own lower classes to their fate, then came back a few hundred years ago and want to re-establish their fallen empire like the X thousand years they spent 'away' never happened. Some of the abandoned lower-class elves survived and became the dark elves, who are like Forgotten Realms moon elves - humble, hard-working, helpful, and damned good neighbours, albeit with a ruthless streak. TBQH, I'm using the 'outcast' dark elves in the 'usual' role of PC race because I have a lot of FR material and I've always wanted to see a whole nation of surface-dwelling Eilistraeean drow in a game-universe. No angst or Drizzt clones allowed.)
>Inhuman Aliens (Beholders, Mind Flayers, etc.)
The usual Greek-themed suspects - lamia, medusae/gorgons, etc.
>Big Dumb Brutes (Ogres, Hill Giants, etc.)
Centaurs and Minotaurs. Centaurs mainly only get rowdy when drunk, but minotaurs are just dicks.
>Big Smart Brutes (Cloud Giants, etc.)
Lesser and greater Cyclops, duh.
>The Ancient Race that Once Ruled (Yuan-Ti, etc)
Yeah, yuan-ti for snake-people sound good. Makes a good thematic match for the lamias and medusae/gorgons.
Awesome and would play, Y/N?
(I'm not >>48203917, for the record. Hope he's still here to read this, though.)
>>48218884
>>48218924
I like the "Light" Elves, I've considered a similar concept for a monster-oriented setting.
Speaking of goats, you be interested in looking at a 3P Pathfinder splat called Animal Races: Clan of the Goat. It has fluff about pious and good-hearted Sheepfolk, hippy Muskoxenfolk, and 2edgy4u Goatfolk but it's pretty sparse.
Apparently I scavenged a very autistic-looking alternate magic system for AD&D in a plaintext file dating back to 1989. Would anyone want a PDF?
>>48197544
Bumping for this
>>48219605
Eh, why not. Let's see what you came up with in the Days of DOS.
Been plugging away at my homebrew. Trying to make ability scores separate from class. Here is my LotFP/DCC fusion idea for M-U & Cleric spells:
Cleric: Pick 1 spell at lvl1 and 1 new spell each level.
Magic-User: know 3 random spells at lvl 1, able to prepare [M-U Lvl] known spells per day. Learn new spells by research.
There are no spell levels. All spells are accessible at level 1.
Any spell may be cast once per day without penalty.
Thereafter the caster must make a Spell Check in order to successfully cast a spell multiple times. The check starts at 5-in-6 and goes down by 1 for each successive casting.
Failure means the spell fails and cannot be cast again that day.
Rolling a 6 causes Disapproval for Clerics and Corruption for Magic-Users. They must roll on their respective Disapproval/Corruption tables and suffer the consequences.
and those tables will probably be simplified d12 tables.
>>48215707
Freestyle it. Half the fun of OSR is the open-endedness, so just make things up as you go along.
>I hit him with a candle instead of my sword.
>He's on fire. He'll take 1d4 damage every turn until he spends a turn putting out the fire by succeeding a saving throw.
>You score a critical hit, but only do 2 damage.
>This is because you critically hit his weapon, knocking it out of his hands
Stuff like this really spices up the game.
>>48221113
it should be noted that clerics get healing and turning as separate class abilities rather than as spells (LotFP), so the 1 spell per level thing isn't crippling. Clerics can still be your healbot AND cast a spell.
A lvl1 M-U might know 3 spells but they only get to choose one per day.
>>48221113
>There are no spell levels
How's that gonna work? If all spells are equal, that could get pretty dull.
>>48221113
I think it's somewhat interesting but I somewhat dislike the ability to get a free cast of every spell once. It makes finding new spells more useful then anything else because you're guaranteed one spell a day, and have a pretty good chance at 1-2 more casts past that.
Also I don't like Corruption/Disapproval thing because I feel like its bashing magic users for doing what they are supposed to do. Let the Wizard be a Wizard.
>>48217967
Much obliged anon!
>>48221452
becomes more about building a good toolkit than getting progressively more powerful attacks.
Also, starting spells are random, so you might end up with 3 non-combat spells and have to use your brain until you get the money to research a new one.
The only limits (for M-U) to known spells is time and money. So a level 3 M-U might have researched (or stolen from other wizards spellbooks) 10 spells. They get to choose 3 of them per day to cast.
Higher levels means more tools to pick from.
I think it might help curb caster supremacy but still give them their niche to fill. That is the idea at least.
>>48221681
See above about toolkit.
Also the corruption/disapproval is meant to curb the all spells at level 1 thing. Stop an M-U randomly getting or fast-tracking a super powerful spell and spamming it as an "I win" button at low levels. Choose a variety of useful spells and be inventive. Higher level wizards get more tools to add to the swiss army knife.
I know most of OSR discussion boils down to various houserules and magic systems, so allow me to post about my proposed system for thieves/experts.
Basically at first level, they get two primary class features;
>Talent (starts at 8)
>Focus Die (starts at d4)
Every level they may either improve their talent by +1, improve the size of a focus die by one size or create a new focus die if there is no d4 sized die currently.
Talent is a roll under skill system that is used for ALL skills. Basically the mentality for this is, at least in my opinion, expert skills are like an on or off switch. You either know how to do something specific, or you don't. If you know how to pick locks, you can pick locks with a talent roll. If you know how to decode ancient riddles, then you roll under talent. Additionally, thieves may add their stat modifier to whatever skill they have, as each skill will have a relevant modifier. (Climbing is Strength, Pickpocket is Dexterity, etc)
As for the Focus die- they can be used AFTER you roll either a failed Talent roll or after a failed save. They are essentially like a luck resource the expert gets. They can only roll these for combat though if they are using something like an Assassination move on an unwilling target, but otherwise they kind of have a luck mechanic this way.
How do people feel about this method of doing Experts? Good way to make do anything specialists that don't feel as restricted as LotFPs?
>>48221452
>>48222062
To be a bit more clear re: dullness. M-U's have (imo) more reason to go out adventuring; to fund their research. Once a player realises they can turn in cash for spells, they'll want to get as much as possible as quickly as possible and pour it all in to new spells (money sinks are great for the DM). For most of the players I know, this is the opposite of dull.
This also makes scrolls and potions more important (another money sink).
Keep in mind there are no welfare level-up spells for M-U's (only spell slots) and even transcribing spells from looted spellbooks takes time.
some quick math:
assuming an M-U will cast each spell once per day, plus take a risk on one 5-in-6 re-cast.
In comparison to LotFP
Lv1 M-U: 2 spells per day vs 1 (lotfp)
Lv5: 10 spells per day vs 6 (3 2 1)
Lv10: 20 spells per day vs 15 (4 4 3 2 2)
Obviously LotFP actually gives you a bigger choice of spells to choose from, but most of the time people will slot up on repeat spells anyway.
>>48221192
I've been using stuff like this already - combat is one of the few things I'm actually any good at GMing - I just wondered if I could better recreate the snappy attack-block-attack-block feel of a duel, as I find that in OSR it only takes max a few turns before someone rolls high and takes a good slash out of their opponent.
>>48222482
Doing something similar myself, I can say that I wholeheartedly agree with all you've done here
Anyone know a good, powerful tool for making rollable random tables?
I play on roll20 and i cannot chain tables with each other so they're useless for fast generation, sadly
>>48223093
You could probably make something relatively easily with, I dunno, Excel, but that's probably not what you're looking for. I've got one for rolling up OD&D stuff on the backburner.
I'm unaware of any dedicated tools for that, though.
>>48222612
> Attack-Block, Attack-Block combat
This might be possible with a THAC0 system.
> Attacker rolls vs THAC0 and adds relevant modifiers
> Defender chooses to Block
> Defender rolls THAC0 - AC vs Attacker's Attack roll plus relevant modifiers
> High roll wins
>>48219905I was 0 years old when this dude wrote this.
>>48223986
That wasn't really what I was after, but thanks for the suggestion.
I don't think I was very clear - what I was after was a way to increase player durability in a fight by giving them tactical options and playstyles instead of just inflating AC. I would still like to maintain the quick pace of passive AC.
>>48180449
>Why was this a thing?
One of Gygax's friends insisted he add it in.
Gygax never used the system himself, which is part of why it was so poorly edited.
>Also, I think there's two versions of Dark Sun psionics?
You guessed the two systems right.
>Might be that it just hooks into Complete Psionics Handbook, though.
This one worked psionics like non-weapon proficiencies, but with mana.
>Also I think Skills & Powers might have had a system?
This worked psionics like a second combat system, but with mana as hitpoints.
>There's also that one Dragon Magazine issue that...
Just tried to expand the system.
>The history of psionics is kind of messy.
The biggest loss was the chnages to the power writeups from OD&D to AD&D.
Some really cool things were lost that day.
For some reason "psuedo-divination by visiting alternate realities to see how your plans will have turned out" became "redundant astral spell, but with physical travel instead of a silver cord".
Also the blow to the english language from "Psionic" becoming a synonym for "Psychic", but that's another matter altogether.
>>48225234
Ah. Durability you say?
Perhaps an "action bank" of sorts. You take all the different types of actions and give them a point value. On any turn players can spend up to a point limit to perform different tasks. This is not too different from stuff like Full actions, Move actions, Standard actions, etc but it would make actions a little more abstract and probably more easily understood.
This could be taken further. You could create different maneuvers that cost more Action Points than others while others might score you a few back at a time. Different maneuvers could also sacrifice Action Points for extra Attack roll, Armor Class, Damage, etc and maybe vice versa.
Thief skills, magic spells, specific class abilities could be incorporated into this system too. Perhaps thief skills are damned cheap while spells are expensive. Different classes get a different Action Point score at every level, maybe even an Action Die.
That's an idea off the top of my head.
>>48224522
Mmm, dat BBS era. I can hear the 1200 baud modem noise now.
Oh man, this guy put a lot of work into this thing, and yet some of it seems baffling. Why 16 sub-planes, and why differentiate between "Earthy water" and "Watery earth?"
He seems to be presaging the stupidly complex systems of the 90s, though.
>>48222482
Seems like it adds and extra layer of stuff that isn't super necessary. Its like having more skill points that only work sometimes. It might encourage more back and forth narration between the player and the gm though.
>fail save, descriptor of impending doom
>roll focus, descriptor of attempt to avert doom
>still fail, doom comes to pass but the player feels like they tried
Might be what you're going for, but personally I'd rather a flat bonus to keep things simple, or just give them a re-roll if you want it to be luck based.
>>48225927
>>48225927
>why differentiate between "Earthy water" and "Watery earth?"
I assume one is "Earth-Water mix, Water dominant" and the other is "Earth-Water mix, Earth dominant"?
I've got some other stuff I could convert too, although I think most of it comes from a site called planetdnd or something like that.
>>48225983
>Seems like it adds and extra layer of stuff that isn't super necessary.
Of course it isn't super necessary, it's part of a homebrew, that's the point. I should also mention my homebrew doesn't include the race as classes so the super lucky halfling class/survival class doesn't exist in this game, so a way to make regular thieves like that is the plan.
>but personally I'd rather a flat bonus to keep things simple, or just give them a re-roll if you want it to be luck based.
Rerolls do not add any tactical depth and are the most boring kind of luck mechanic. There is no choice involved. Did you fail the roll? reroll it. That's it.
Instead, this mechanic means really shitty rolls may be doomed no matter what, but a really close roll (off by 1-2 points) can be salvaged by using one of your expendable resources, keeping with the theme of dungeon diving. Secondly it can be kept as a sort of push your luck mechanic. Do you use only a 1d6 against your roll that needs 3 points? Or do you want to be a little wasteful but almost assure it as a success by using your d6 and d4 together?
Also; it sort of is a flat bonus because each die has a minimum of 1, so a really high level Crook can just throw out a bunch of dice and always succeed that roll, it's just a bit wasteful.
>>48224522
I can just hear the dot matrix printer chugging.
>>48219605
>Here is the latest draft of the Mage-to-Mage Magical Combat System,
>the first (to my knowledge) system to make use of a comprehensive
>magical language to tie together all aspects of magic in a gaming
>environment. Since my last posting of the system, I have made minor
>syntax changes, added an operator (thanx to Brad Knowles), added a
>new class of mages, and integrated demonology and illusionism into
>the system. Still coming are the much sought-after biological and
>psychic set of effects.
I wasn't even at the preface, and I already lost.
>>48225702
That sounds like a really neat idea, actually, although I worry about having to track the points totals for all combatants and about balancing the effects.
What kind of granularity in point costs would you say is best? Having stuff cost 1,2,3 ect would be simplest, but values in the tens or hundreds might give better balance.
>>48228018
I'm not sure about values but I think smaller numbers would be in the spirit of OSR.
Let's say that a standard non-combat action (Movement, Thief Skills) costs 1 AP.
A standard attack action (swinging a sword, shooting an arrow, grappling, etc) costs 4 AP.
A magic spell costs 3 + (Spell Level) AP for any spell that takes less than a turn to cast.
You could start there and either modify those costs based on action descriptions or else create some sample maneuvers that modify these numbers.
> Power Attack: Add Damage Bonus equal to Str Mod; Costs Str Mod AP to perform
> Quick Attack: Subtract up to Dex mod from Damage; Attack costs 4 - Dex mod (minimum 1)
Then there's the matter of how many AP do classes get. I like the idea of a Hit Die kind of mechanic.
Thieves get an Action Die of 1d6 + Dex Modifier to start, +1d6 per Hit Die, and then get +2 per level once they hit maximum HD.
Fighters get 1d8 + Con Mod at first level, +1d8 per HD, and +2 AP after hitting max HD.
Magic Users get 1d6 + Int Mod at 1st level, +1d6 per HD, and +1 AP per level after Max HD.
Priests/Clerics get 1d8 +Wis Mod at Level 1, +1d8 per HD, and +1 AP per level after Max HD.
Of course, I've gone on and on about this whole system but it begs a question: what happens when you run out?
And I'm not sure of the answer.
>>48229046
Thanks for your input, this is some pretty neat stuff.
I think it would be better for flow to have a streamlined system, so I'm not sold on having the values of moves affected by stuff like Strength outside of stuff like in your example (I particularly like the quick attack), but I love the concept of being able to go on the defensive for a few turns, stacking up AP, then switching and unleashing a flurry of poweful strikes. Its exactly what I had in mind.
The system I hope to attatch such a system to is (tentatively) classless, but I will keep in mind your values in case that changes for whatever reason.
>>48216141
Call me weird, I prefer saving throws that are roll for target number.
>>48230851
different anon.
I've always hated target numbers. As a DM, I hate them because I have to be very careful in how I set them, and it's one more thing I have to think about/balance/measure as I'm going.
As a player, I hate them because I never actually know what my chances are. If it's a roll under or roll over setup, I always know roughly what my chances will be.
>>48231034
To each their own I guess. I'll fiddle it a bit and see about a roll-under system for the four saves and get back to you all on it.
>>48231323
Yeah, I'm not saying they are objectively bad or anything. I've just never been a fan, personally.
>>48231427
Well I'm using them and you better damn well like them!
>End sarcasm
I hear ya. I prefer Target Number but ain't nothing wrong with roll under. This is still concept stuff, so if a roll under mechanic works best, I'll use it.
>>48231034
The reason why myself and many other Anons don't like roll under stat saving throws is be a use they make stats too valuable and secondly they make party members too variable.
For example; character has 18 Con and another has 10. Both are subject to poison gas- in roll under the first character had a 90% chance of success, where as the second only has 50%. In a regular target number the difference is instead a +3 or 15% difference, much more fair.
>>48231791
> The reason why myself and many other Anons don't like roll under stat
I didn't say roll under stat. My argument was about target numbers vs roll under/over. I don't care what you're rolling under or over. Ability scores aren't part of what I was talking about.
>>48231791
I thought "intraparty balance" was one of those modern pansy design ideas that the OSR was antithetical to?
>>48231791
I'm actually okay with somebody being nigh impervious to something that could easily kill somebody else. It makes sense that some Heracles-type tough guy would be able to shrug off a dose of poison that would instantly kill several lesser men if split between them (even if the tough guy in question doesn't quite have Heracles's demigod status). It does, however, demand a more level playing field as far as attribute generation goes. But then I've never been fond of the idea that attributes should be minimized to keep character imbalances from getting out of hand. Clearly the issue there is the method of stat generation. It also bears mentioning that the stats, themselves, could be altered to produce a range more in line with the sort of variance you desire (maybe going from 6-15 rather than 3-18, for instance).
>>48231922
I heard Ron Edwards and the Forge invented it, then Blue Rose codified it.
Pitch OSR-appropriate campaign ideas. I have people wanting me to run something, and I need creatively unstuck.
>>48232688
The PCs are all the bastard children of some old lord. They can claim his abandoned castle if they can clear out the monsters within.
>>48232688
Ok, you group are a type of people who brave unsafe areas for treasure, lets call them adventurers. They are probably wanders and vagabonds with no problem with stabbing people, so we could call them murder hobos.
Your campaign consists of them raiding tombs, crypts, and highly fortified underground fortresses. They will also probably have the odd murder, highway banditry, piracy, hijink, and assholery.
>>48232688
The party is in a port city, real seedy place with negligible enforcement of laws. They are contacted by a strange fellow in a somewhat dashing outfit to join him on a sea voyage to a mysterious island rife with ruins they are certain must be filled with treaures.
>>48232688
Your group must travel into the heart of darkness itself to collect a magic item that will save the world. Then they must bring it back.
