this post was submitted on 02 Jul 2023
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Old School Revival

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Old School Revival - Classic Rules Table Top Role-playing and the OSR Hobby

Rules- The community is to tiny, we can be really rules light at this point.

  1. Don't be a jerk.

  2. Everyone is welcome.

  3. Try to stay kind of on topic.

New to OSR?

Here are three widely tested systems which offer free PDF rulebooks.

Basic Fantasy Created to be compatible with 3/3.5e, this is fully fleshed out OSE goodness written to be more approachable. Uses ascending armor class. Print options are sold at near cost and are very very inexpensive.

Old School Essentials Basic OSE is the most popular reproduction of the original B/X set. Uses descending armor class. With several different iterations at several different prices, this PDF is free and covers the basics. Enough to get a game going.

White Box : Fantastic Medieval Adventure Game A spiritual successor to Swords & Sorcery White Box. This is the complete OSR experience. Uses descending armor class, but contains alternate status for ascending. Like Basic Fantasy, the print version is under five bucks on amazon.

Other Recommended Boards:

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I'm playing a campaign that's LotFP plus slot based encumbrance house rules, and I've been disappointed in a lot of hexcrawling rulesets I've seen from the OSR. I particularly don't like Black Hack type usage dice / the Necropraxis overloaded encounter die, and that seems to be where thought has coalesced, with Errant being an example of a game that goes all in on that.

So I was delighted to discover that 1e AD&D has a supplement with workable mechanics for temperature (including wind chill!), foraging, hunting, etc. I need to massage it a little to fit into the LotFP skills system because it comes with its own but on the whole I'm excited that I have a way to go inside hexes and give players meaningful decisions about how they dress, where they camp, etc.

What about y'all, what material have you been reading recently?

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

Mostly re-reading Classic Traveller 3 little black books from 1977. Amazing how much of a complete game is there and yet an open framework for implementing just about any sci-fi setting you can imagine. That is, if you're willing to do the work that 1977 RPGs expected from referees. Definitely not an "open and just run table procedures" type of game!

[–] iamdigitalv4 3 points 1 year ago

I just got Outcast Silver Raiders and went straight to reading their hexcrawl setting book, and I'm loving it so far. The factions seem well thought out, and there's just enough info there to spark my imagination. It might be the first hexcrawl I run! Not sure if I'll use their rules or OSE yet though.

[–] poppiqt 3 points 1 year ago

I just got the second edition of Ultra Violet Grasslands and have been reading it a lot.

I’m planning to run it at some point, but I didn’t like the system it comes with (Synthetic Dream Machine - the new version of SEACAT). Have anyone used other systems to run UVG? Any recommendations or tips? I’m thinking of using Into the Odd/Bastionland, but still not sure.

[–] GHostLPs 2 points 1 year ago

I've been on a Castles & Crusades kick lately. It's nice being able to break out all the old modules I grew up with without having to jump through a bunch of hoops to make them play "right." Reading through stuff like Castle Amber, Needle, and Secret on Bone Hill has had my mind racing and giving me a huge push towards running games again. It's been great!

Between that and Sandbox Generator I've been able to put together a mountain of content for my players to poke at as they see fit.

[–] TigerClawTV 2 points 1 year ago

Mostly reading Dark Dungeons the source book that arrived last week. Blue Holme journamann arrives tomorrow and I just ordered the Gold and Glory source book. Lot of source books lately.

[–] Acamon 1 points 1 year ago

I've been reading Gygax's novels for the first time. Halfway through "Gord the Rogue" and it's actually much better than I'd imagined! Very picaresque and grimey in an old-school fashion. I finally feel like Greyhawk clicks for me in a way that reading through a bunch of 2e products had failed to convey.