OSR - Setting Edition

>Trove -- mega.nz/#F!3FcAQaTZ!BkCA0bzsQGmA2GNRUZlxzg!jJtCmTLA

>Useful Shit -- pastebin.com/FQJx2wsC

Setting edition. What are your favorite OSR-based campaign settings?

Other urls found in this thread:

dyingstylishly.blogspot.co.nz/2016/05/metamorphosists.html
dnd.wizards.com/articles/features/vault-drow-walkthrough-poster
tenfootpolemic.blogspot.co.nz/2014/08/so-youre-running-better-than-any-man.html
twitter.com/NSFWRedditVideo

Lamentations of the Flame Princesses' historical setting takes it away by far for me. Shitty guns, strange spellcasting and the wierd world of the 1600's just makes me a happy camper.

Alright OSR, I have an...opposite question.

I'm only versed in OSR. LotFP, B/X and DCC are the only systems I've ever run. OSR is my preferred style of choice, but my group of players (who aren't tabletop gamers normally) I feel like they're going to feel restricted after a while if every fantasy themed game we play is the same 7-Class option. And I know for some of them, their character permanently dying all the time is off putting. They wanna create a PC and build it up over time. They want to be a Ranger or a Gnome and short of homebrewing rules for that into my LotFP game (and causing the one RAW-autist to explode), I can't provide.

What more 'modern' system would you recommend me? 5e? Pathfinder? Shadow of the Demon Lord? I need something that's relatively just as easy for a beginner to pick up as B/X or LotFP.

>They want to be a Ranger or a Gnome and short of homebrewing rules for that into my LotFP game (and causing the one RAW-autist to explode), I can't provide.
Specialist. And tell the autist to check his autism, because houserules are what makes the game fun.

I was going to do a ranger as follows:

RANGER:
use Halfling XP, Saving Throws and Bushcraft Advancement.
+2 Missile Attack (On top of DEX modifier; up to +5 max).
3-in-6 Stealth Skill.

Shit, after reading through the book again, I've realized the Halfling class is basically MADE to be a Ranger type. Advancing bushcraft skill, 5-in-6 Stealth, added DEX bonus...

I don't have any personal experience with 5e, but that might not be a bad choice as it would certainly mix things up, but while maintaining an air of continuity. Or at least it seems like that would be the case.

Sticking within OSR, Labyrinth Lord's Advanced Edition Companion is essentially B/X with AD&D's options tacked on. Or to put it a different way, it's AD&D minus the unnecessary clutter. Or at least that's the idea. I personally think it could be streamlined a bit more, but it is certainly less junky than AD&D. Anyway, it has gnomes and rangers and such.

Castles & Crusades might be another thing to look at, especially if you're looking to branch out a bit while still keeping a foot in OSR. There's a lot of stuff it does that I like, from basing itself on the universal d20 mechanic (one of the actual strengths of 3e, except that it screwed up the actual math) to using attribute checks as the basis for resolving everything (a sort of rules-light approach to skills). The way it does primary and secondary attributes is a bit odd, but the only thing that's really broken about the game are the saving throws, which never get any easier, making high level casters ridiculously powerful. However, to fix this, all you have to do is make one simple tweak: add only half a caster's level to their spell's challenge level (rather than their full level).

I may try LL:AE. Seems like the same natural progression as B/X to 1e (since it's pretty much literally that, hah.)

Speaking of, does anyone have a copy of the AE with art? Both in the trove are art-free.

It's designed to be compatible with regular LL (using the smaller hit dice scheme of Basic, for instance: d8 hit dice for fighters, etc.), so you can theoretically mix and match AD&D with Basic, having race-as-class characters in the same party with split race and class characters. Of course, in cases of direct overlap (race-as-class elf vs. elven fighter/magic-user), there's bound to be one option that's a bit better than the other.

>Speaking of, does anyone have a copy of the AE with art?
I thought I did, but I can't find it right now, so it's probably on one of my hard drives that recently crashed.

I wrote up a little class for Mad Scientists in LotFP. What do people think of it?
dyingstylishly.blogspot.co.nz/2016/05/metamorphosists.html

>Both in the trove are art-free.

Yeah, the "Art" and "No Art" versions in the Trove look to be the same file.

Thanks amigo.

> causing the one RAW-autist to explode
Let him die for the Motherland. Seriously.

OSR is made for homebrewing. There is no reason to make RAW holy (unless your Referee is a 13 y.o. kid).


If you want reduced lethality, you can add some homerules (and change modules - because Old School is kinda lethal) to make people not to die too often.

Basic idea:
If character goes to 0 HP (can't go below) and is not explicitly dead (falling in lava, for example) - he is incapacitated/unconcious until the the end of combat and dies only if left alone.

Then Medicine check (add skill) should be made to prevent character from getting Injury. If check is failed - roll on table for some permanent debuff that has to be slowly healed.

Overall, I have no idea how it balances it out (I suppose that's what play testing is for), but it looks pretty interesting. It does seem like it's a bit weak compared to magic-users though. Procedures are time-consuming and expensive, and which ones you have is rigidly defined. Given the the inability to perform procedures on the spur of the moment, it seems like you'd end up playing a spell-less wizard a lot of the time.

In terms of proofreading, I noticed this typo:
>Regardless of the spell's duration when cast by a cleric or magic user, #the any# changes made by a procedure last indefinitely.

Also, you might want to put a space between your paragraphs.

>And I know for some of them, their character permanently dying all the time is off putting.
Don't have characters die at -3 hit points. Make -hit dice size, or -10 or something. Or maybe you aren't dead when you reach that threshold, but merely have to make a saving throw to see if you're dead.

And yeah, talk to your autist and try to make him see reason. The -10 hit point threshold is common to old school D&D though and is actually an optional rule in AD&D.

Well, LotFP does:
>0HP = unconcscious
>-3HP = Dying in ?d6 minutes
>-4HP = ded.
Which seems like enough of a buffer.

I've added a medicine skill. 1-in-6 plus INT mod. Requires a one-use medkit (20sp) and can be attempted once a day. Takes a full turn outside combat, 10 rounds in combat (ala firearm reloading).

Roll the attempt: a successful roll heals that number of pips in HP (ie. a character with a 4-in-6 skill rolls a 2, thus heals 2HP.) No penalty for a failed roll, but the kit is expended.

>which ones you have is rigidly defined. Given the the inability to perform procedures on the spur of the moment
This isn't quite the case. The relevant bit is this:
>A metamorphosist is not limited to only perform the procedures they have already learned. If they can justify in suitable techno-babble how they intend to go about the procedure, then (at the GM's discretion) they can give it a shot. As well as the possible Medicine skill roll, a Research skill roll must be made. If the Research roll fails, then - regardless of whether or not the actual procedure was a success - then Something Has Gone Horribly Wrong. It is up to the GM to decide what exactly this is. It could range from an angry mob of torch-wielding peasants, to an outbreak of a horrible new plague, to the patient becoming Horribly Wrong themselves - whatever the GM thinks would best drive home the metamorphosist's hubris.
which means that the metamorphosist can potentially pull of any mad surgery they can think of from level 1. The list of procedures known is the ones they can do /safely/, without the risk of Bad Shit Happening.

I do a very similar thing, but have it deal a wee bit of damage on a failed roll. On the other hand, you can keep on rolling as much as you like (since you always risk making things worse), and medkits work like specialists tools: 50SP to be able to say 'yeah, I've got the gear for that' indefinitely.

ACKS my man.

It has Domain rules like RC so there is something to build up to, and in the Players Companion class creation rules. Theres also just a good variety of classes between the main book and the companion.

Permanent death is still a thing though. That's just OSR.

Otherwise it's really too broad a topic for what you want out of a system. Check out Reign

You guys grant XP for turned undead?

> Which seems like enough of a buffer.
Some of the players clearly didn't think it is enough of a buffer.


Nope. I don't even grant XP for killing monsters.

>Some of the players clearly didn't think it is enough of a buffer.
Some players need to git gud.

Posting homebrew.

is this chart a roll-under-d20?

Does anyone have a PDF of SlaughterGrid? I've heard good things. It's for OSRIC, but not in the Trove.

Yeah. Subtract the scores from 21 if you want to make it a roll-over save.

Has anyone ever run Keep on the Borderlands with AD&D? I know it's designed for B/X, but I can do the conversions pretty easily.
I'm just wondering how well it works with the higher complexity of AD&D, and if The Village of Hommlet is a good substitute.

Speaking of which, is The Village of Hommlet a good module on its own, without the rest of ToEE? I'd like to run it, but it seems like without the rest of the campaign it'd be kind of pointless.

>is The Village of Hommlet a good module on its own

yes

am I doing AC for LotFP right. Lets say we have a Cleric with +1 DEX mod, Leather Armor and a shield:

>Melee: 14 (leather) + 1 (shield) +1 (DEX) = 16
>Ranged: 14 (leather) + 2 (shield) +1 (DEX) = 16
>Without Shield: 14 (leather) +1 (DEX) = 15
>Suprise: 14 (leather) - 1 (shield) -1 (DEX) = 12

right?

>Ranged = 17, not 16.

am I doing AC for LotFP right?
Lets say we have a Cleric with +1 DEX mod, Leather Armor and a Shield:

>Melee: 14 (leather) + 1 (shield) +1 (DEX) = 16
>Ranged: 14 (leather) + 2 (shield) +1 (DEX) = 17
>Without Shield: 14 (leather) +1 (DEX) = 15
>Surprise: 14 (base leather AC) -2 (penalty) (no shield or DEX mods) = 12

Yeah, well done.

I love this guy's stuff, but I had no idea he did T1. Is this recent?

cool. i've seen pictures of some character sheets online that made me question if I was doing something wrong.

I think its about a year old actually.

latest one he did IIRC was for Out of the Abyss for 5e a few months back

I had to upload a smaller version (8.05 is too big for Veeky Forums)

no wait

Vault of the Drow is the newest one from this January

dnd.wizards.com/articles/features/vault-drow-walkthrough-poster

Hommlet is a great base for players, very reminiscent of the Keep in style.
The Moathouse and it's connection to the Temple of Elemental Evil is a bit weaksauce tho.

bump

So Rules Cyclopedia is a complete edition of BD&D but it's missing 100s of pages of monsters and rules, including all Immortal level rules?

Doesn't sound very complete. Doesn't even have Crucible races or Gazateer material.

what do you guys think of Godbound

How does one add to the trove?

I have a copy of TSR 2018 Oriental Adventures

>tfw once had the 14gb of TSR D&D torrent
>tfw machine died with no backup

JUST

>TSR 2018
It's only 2016, and didn't TSR go under?

Fell through from an alternate timeline?

>I don't even grant XP for killing monsters.
Your players actually manage to kill something, at considerable risk to their characters, and you don't even give them anything for it? Disgusting.

>Doesn't even have Crucible races or Gazateer material.

Are you stupid? It's just a single volume why would it have all the Gazetteer shit reprinted?

>Has anyone ever run Keep on the Borderlands with AD&D?
Examine the 2e module Return to the Keep on the Borderlands. It's not exactly the same, being set a significant time after the original, but it's pretty close.

>Giving monster XP

Next you'll tell us you don't do XP for treasure.

>Rules Cyclopedia is a complete edition of BD&D
No. It's a compilation and re-editing of most of the BECM core rules. Supplementary shit isn't there because it's supplementary, and I isn't there because who plays I?

>OD&D: Book I, p1
>Holmes: p11
>B/X: B22, X22
>BECMI/RC/AD&D: monster description
Do you have a problem with me following the rules of D&D?

That should be
>OD&D: Book I, p18
Accidentally deleted the 8.

Working on a setting where my bread and butter are going to be some of the less iconic monsters from the Fiend Folio and Monster Manual 2.

God help me

Sharing cause some wonderful asshole hooked me up in the PDF thread.

> Vault of the Drow is the newest one from this January

OSR threads seem like they're dying.

What's the single shittiest houserule you've ever been under?

Maybe it should be weekly rather than eternal?

It's been tried, and it doesn't help. All there is to do is accept that sometimes it ebbs and sometimes it flows.

>What's the single shittiest houserule you've ever been under?
demons & devils could teleport multiple times per round, meaning bone devils could pop into existence behind you, attack with a backstab benefit, then teleport away to god-knows-where before anybody could react. Wouldn't have been such a big deal if there weren't so many evil sorcerers summoning devils willy-nilly in the game.

I just lurk usually

I think so. Or at least we should post new threads proportionally to the traffic they're getting rather than always trying to keep one going so that they lumber on without the vibrancy and enthusiasm they might otherwise have. It'll never happen though, because somebody will always come along and post a new one, and we'll continue to be spread too thin.

>It's been tried, and it doesn't help.
It really hasn't. We occasionally had a day or two between threads and when we didn't see a sudden surge in traffic, some people concluded that it didn't work, but it takes a while for people to get over being burned out, and it wasn't a sufficient amount of time. If we let a full week go by without an /osr/ thread and then posted only one a week, I'm willing to be we'd see a marked change.

>All there is to do is accept that sometimes it ebbs and sometimes it flows.
It does ebb and flow, but that doesn't mean there aren't larger trends. If we had threads less often, we'd have more to say.

>OSR threads seem like they're dying.
I lurk here everyday but I only post if I have a legitimate question or can give a good answer.

>What's the single shittiest houserule you've ever been under?
I was the DM so it's my fault, but I used ten foot polemics LotFP weapon houserules which had shit like axes doing double damage to anyone with AC14 or less. Had to nerf it, rebalance the whole dungeon and then finally remove it. The players loved it though.

>OSR threads seem like they're dying

I constantly try to bump them by contributing my homebrew writings and materials, but they tend to generate little discussion.

In the meantime; anyone have any requests for encounter lists/random tables I could write up? Got 4 days off coming up here, would be nice to have something creative to do during it.

How about some dragon-infested mountains?

>I constantly try to bump them by contributing my homebrew writings and materials, but they tend to generate little discussion.
Same here. When the threads are going stronger, folks tend to be more responsive, though stimulating interest in anything in particular is always a crap shoot. I try to respond to people when they post homebrew stuff, but it can become a chore when the thread isn't popping, and I'd rather not give a forced response.

>anyone have any requests for encounter lists/random tables I could write up?
Maybe random loot like jewelry, gold cups, silver coffers and so forth? Not sure exactly what you'd call that, but non-utility valuables (so no weapons, armor, tools, magic items, etc.) that aren't simple coins or gems.

Or maybe a table of funky magical arrows, like: lightning arrow (becomes lightning bolt when fired, as spell cast by 5th level magic user), arrow of remembrance (reappears in hand after it strikes target, gains +2 to hit and damage the last target it struck), ghost arrow (arrow ignores armor), etc.

Alternately, a simple table of wounds a PC might take when critically hit or instead of dying, etc.

I still have the files if that would help.

Got some examples on what you are eyeing? I'd like to steal some ideas, bro

Encounter list for ASE/sci-fantasy gonzo settings?

For some reason I was just overcome with the urge to play a 1E Forgotten Realms game. I know the setting has acquired a bad rap over time but I've always had a soft spot for it. I've never understood the implication that you have to constantly throw high-powered NPCs around to solve everything or it's not really FR; it's a perfectly serviceable and well-detailed rugged fantasy world otherwise.

>constantly throw high-powered NPCs around to solve everything
The high-level NPCs are supposed to be too busy dealing with all the other high-level NPCs' plans, so they're not supposed to come into play beyond giving your players things to do occasionally.

Hallelujah!

Am currently implementing a hack to make the entire game resolve around an unified d20 roll-under system.
How bad of an idea is this?

Is there a reason elves take so much xp to level up other than the fact that they can both fight kinda good and know spells kinda good?

I'm mostly talking about LotFP right now but it seems to be a thing in most retro clones and old school D&D.

>Is there a reason elves take so much xp to level up other than the fact that they can both fight kinda good and know spells kinda good?
That's pretty much it. They get OP stuff so they level slower.

Rolling to attack an ally if you missed an attack on an enemy if they were close or whatever reason the DM decided.

Critical fumble tables that included stabbing yourself or an ally in the ass for full damage on a 1 to hit.

Are there any guides to race creation in OSR games or do I have to wing it?

For LotFP, can anyone think of a disadvantage one could add to the medium weapon? Right now there is no reason not to get it over a small weapon unless you're a halfling.

Inability to sleight-of-hand prep/hide it.
Negative to-hit if thrown.

I bet you hate DCC.

ACKS Companion has some rules.

Hey guys, I bought Better Than Any Man (including some other, nice books) from some stranger at a market, but I am not too keen on running historical settings. How would you guys recommend changing things around so they're detacthed from our history?

Just change the names of the nations and places? Something else?

> Just change the names of the nations and places? Something else?
You can make the invaders Dworfs, but keep the religious vibe going - they worship All-Father or something in a specific way.

Maybe this blogpost will help? tenfootpolemic.blogspot.co.nz/2014/08/so-youre-running-better-than-any-man.html

Also, since you have the physical copy, would you say that BTAM in book format is in high quality or is it very cheaply made?

I would recommend going for the PDF, the paperback version is fine quality but as new, it's expensive.

>fighter infuriates gnolls by misgendering them
kek

>I'm mostly talking about LotFP right now
The LotFP Elf's super wonky because Raggi pulled the Fighter's greatest benefit (to-hit gain) from the Elf class and cut their advancement requirements by I think 25%, compared to B/X. This hasn't ever struck me as balanced the way he seems to think it is. But for *every other Basic clone*, where they keep the principle of the Elf being literally the Fighter and Magic-User mashed into one man and with averaged-out HP, yes, what you said is the exact reason. They're top-tier fighters and also top-tier wizards (neither of these is "kinda" in standard B/X; they can cast spells in plate, for instance), so if they didn't advance hyper-slowly they'd just be shitting all over the humans.

>Setting edition
Okay, lemme run an idea for a setting past you guys.
So, a bunch of christians believed that the end of the world would start in 1033, 'cos that was a thousand years after the crucifixion. The idea is to take that and make an 11th century apocalyptic setting with it. The dead walking the earth, angels battling demons, strongholds of humans trying to survive and stuff like that. Really play up the medieval craziness.

That's good to know, I might just rebalance the classes a bit to make it fit B/X more then. Is it the same case with dwarf and halfling?

Elves (like dwarves) still get access to fighter maneuvers. That +2 to hit or +2 AC can still make a real difference when no other class gets ANY ability to improve in that way.

That's... Pretty cool actually.

>We occasionally had a day or two between threads

We had spaces where we were without an OSRG for a week or two in the past. Sometimes the next general would run well, just as often it would die on the vine with only a handful of posts.

Worse, I've seen other threads try this kind of thing out, and subsequently die because not being around meant people moved on to other threads and lost interest.

And all this meta-thread strategizing is pointless. You can't make other people refrain from posting anyway

What are your house rules? For LotFP, I:

allow lv. 1 Magic-Users and Clerics to have a prepped (ie. Already had used Read Magic on it before) spellscroll on hand in addition to their 1 spell.

Max HP at lv. 1

Offhand weapon gives +1 melee AC.

Medicine skill.

hey does anyone have a pdf for the Night Below campaign module for AD&D 2e? i can't seem to find one anywhere

I think Trove had it, no?

>Basic Fantasy RPG
Max HP at level 1.
Clerics get different weapon/armor restrictions depending on their deity. For example, druids would be allowed any one-handed weapon, bows, and slings but no metal armors.
Magic-Users are allowed crossbows.
Save vs. Death, less immediately lethal poisons, spend gold for XP, and ability rolls from the optional rules section are used.
Halflings are rabbit-men. They use giant snails rather than horses for mounts.

>Offhand weapon gives +1 melee AC
This is literally the first case of properly used off-hand bonuses I've seen.
In my case, I treat it as a versatile weapon that halves the penalty of fighter/dwarf/elf stances.

Swords & Wizardry Complete:
Changed all Ability Scores to be a more lenient variation of B/X. (13 and up gives bonuses)
No weapon restrictions per class.
Max HP at Level 1.
Hit Dice are all rerolled at level up and the higher score is kept.

It's not a bad idea at all. It's what I've typically done. It's how my newest homebrew started out until the range of numbers turned out large enough that it proved easier to use "the d20 mechanic" (d20 + bonus vs. target number) to resolve things. Overall, I prefer the "roll under" approach though, which has always seemed intuitive to me, with everything working like an attribute check. I was using "roll under" way back in the eighties to consolidate the way things worked and never much cared for the way to-hit and saving throws are supposed to work, with lower scores being better. Roll under also makes the math easier to do: halve the number and move the decimal point one digit and you have your percentage chance of success (13 divided by 2 = 6.5, move the decimal point and you have a 65% chance of success). There's a retroclone called "There's Always a Chance" which uses a unified "roll under" system.

Another LotFP question here, this time regarding the firearms rules

Are there any advantages to using the musket over the arquebus? They have the same range and the same penalties, except the musket is oversized and requires a stand to be able to use without to-hit penalties. The musket also costs more.

Is this Raggi forgetting something or did he just add the musket for historical purposes and just made it completely pointless?