/osrg/

I pass judgment most of the time. If it's not only difficult but might have negative consequences as a failure, I ask to roll under d6 like a skill check, except the table sets the difficulty, with me having the last word (just in case, but they're pretty honest so never had to veto)

Maybe an attack roll? Seems like the sort of thing fighters should be really good at.

Agreed. This too is a good idea. I usually handle aimed attacks this way too, I just assign a higher AC depending on the difficulty to hit the target, and make a ruling for special effects when needed.

Definitely roll under or equal to DEX.

Not him but being partial to something means you like it.

Oh! Thanks!

Working on some combat rules for a semi-modern OSR game.

Basically whenever you roll a melee attack against a target in range, you simply roll damage and reduce the amount of damage by the opponent's physical armor. (Not modified by dexterity or anything)

Then when you make a ranged attack; you roll d20 vs enemy's AC- which is their natural evasion, cover, and armor bonus. If the gunshots hit, you deal damage dice with no reduction.

The idea of this system is melee damage is reliable but does weaker damage, where as guns are more random but deals bigger damage and has the obvious advantage of range.

Into the Odd should be useful to your work.

To inaugurate the new thread, here's some more "fill in the hexmap" questions:

What sort of treasures or encounters would you find at the top of a misty mountain? (being misty, it's not capable of being casually observed from the ground or the air).

I was basing the system off into the odd, but I somewhat dislike how it makes ranged combat too predictable or constant damage; with the whole armor thing.

The reason for making it separate is that it gives melee weapons a tactical edge. If you have multiple party members attacking a single nonthreatening enemy, why waste ammo when you could just stomp it to death? Or better yet, against heavily armored foes ranged weapons are better suited, but lighter armored foes would be more defended against bullets.

Yes I can see why you wanted to do things this way, that's an interesting idea. It also reminds me of how knives fights in Boot Hill are terrifying, because to *attack* someone who's wielding a knife, you need to succeed at a perception roll to even find an opening without hurting yourself. It emulates the whole "knifes are dangerous fuckers" idea well. Melee doing damage makes sense.

One thing that becomes confusing though, is the how and why of your rolls. In Into the Odd, the rules work as thus in play : damage that gets stopped by the armor is literally, your armor deflecting the blow. Damage that gets stopped by your hit points are light wounds, bruises and exhaustion. STR damage that doesn't put you out are really injuries, serious ones, but that don't leave you crippled, and STR damage that puts you out is a potentially deadly injury. Attack rolls become a bit redundant in this structure.

>A two headed giant in a hut. One head has found enlightenment and is teaching the other more belligerent head how to walk the 9-fold path.
>Ancient thrumming vault that the mist slowly pours from, corrupting and mutating as it touches.
>An impact crater with the skeleton of an angel like humanoid in it. A cult is trying to bring enough quick silver up the mountain to fill the crater and turn it into a massive scrying pool.
>Several tribes of mountain goblins, each built around a ladder totem, The different tribes areattempting to outdo the others and build the first ladder to the moon.
>A herd of wild goats the follows the party. Over time, the goat's voices begin to mimic the party members.
>A partially finished and/or collapsed magmaduct system designed to move lava from the heart of the mountain.

I really like that idea, and plan on stealing it.

Anyone have any good recs for generally spooky hexcrawl settings? That aren't Ravenloft

Native Americans protected by a Dragon

Ravenloft is absolutely tiny and doesn't lend itself to hexcrawls at all anyway.

Roc carcass being chewed on by jeweled beetles.

>A Gray Philosopher in a ruined monastery accompanied by twelve Malices
>A hidden village of Wind Ghosts
>The hermitage of a Vaati
>The hermitage of a rogue Vaati
>A strange cult dedicated to Yan-C-Bain
>A strange cult dedicated to Chan
>A 100-foot tall humanoid corpse of uncertain racial stock. The mist is leaking (bleeding?) from the corpse.

Trove playing up for anyone else?

trove's been taken down twice in the last couple of days.

Damn. How long before trove guy reuploads?

True, but firearms are a lot more random and unpredictable then melee weapon strikes for that reason. You need an attack roll for trying to hit a moving target, at range, possibly in darkness or with partial cover. The quality of your weapon and ammunition, as well as your shooting skill, could all be a huge impact on that.

He did reupload. He got banned.

>tfw lomion has also been experiencing weird connection errors recently

Well shit. What now?

well this from the last thread should be handy till Troveguy gets the official one back up again;

Hey famalams. Good news I guess. Sometime last week I copied the trove to a mega account to be able to make pdf related.
A few of the very newly added stuff is missing, but here you go: mega.nz/#F!oN9XQRaR!3IOuPLcjR9zBh_xvIvrwEw

Not sure how long I'll keep that open, since I tend to be a bit paranoid when it comes to copyright infringement, so let's all hope TroveGuy shows up soon, and imports it back to his account. That should be much faster than reuploading it all too.

TL;DR: Here is a temporary backup of the trove: mega.nz/#F!oN9XQRaR!3IOuPLcjR9zBh_xvIvrwEw

I'll DL everything tonight/tomorrow so we have another backup as well (as is I think I have 95% of everything from the trove but I had not updated in weeks.

I didn't make that Trove Backup, I merely reposted it from the last thread by copying the post in it's entirety

Uploading a new one already. Takes a bit to upload 40gb.

Do monsters need stats beyond the basics (HD, attacks, special qualities)? Does it *really* matter what an ogre's Strength score is? I'm starting to think it doesn't matter even a little.

No it does not, and they never should have stats unless it's actually useful. Games that give stats for monsters only do so for autistic completion sake- a much better solution is to create a HD based save system.

For example how I'm doing it is a player casts a spell on a monster that triggers a save, the monster rolls d20 under 10 +each monster HD + bonus -caster level.

So a level 5 caster casting a spell against a goblin would be roll under 6. Not very good news for the goblin.

But what is the bonus you ask? The bonus is something I would rule on the fly pertaining to certain monsters. For example; if a wizard cast an illusion spell on a stupid goblin, it would just be normal. But if the wizard cast an illusion spell on a blind prophet monster that sensed the environment around it based on cosmic truth flowing through it, it would get a bonus. Or trying to wrestle with an ogre larger with you, or trying to trip a spider. These creatures are more resistant to tricks relevant to their nature, and without having to spend all the extra time and lines of text to say what each and every one of their ability scores are.

I don't even give ability scores or class levels to NPCs, they just get bonuses if relevant. (Strong farmer boy gets +1 to damage, wise old hermit gets +2 to saving throws vs illusions)

Thanks, man. All your work is appreciated. Maybe if you don't put the link to the trove in the opening post, it won't get taken down so quickly?

I tend to note HD, armour/ac, attacks/damage, special qualities/moves, impulses/alignments, # and treasure.

Its handy to have a general reference for how strong they are compared to an average, but I don't find it really needs a number.

>ogre is much stronger than human 9/10 average
>goblin is weaker than human 9/10 average

If the players were fleeing an ogre pack and dropped a portcullis on them, it would seem reasonable to have the ogres lift the gate after a bit. The goblins would probably have to figure something else out.

Monsters generally don't NEED all 6 attributes detailed but it is helpful in certain situations, like figuring out an Ogre's Wisdom so you can make an attribute check to see if it spots the party.

Maybe something like AD&D's Intelligence but for all the other scores, perhaps separate from the main stats.

>Monsters generally don't NEED all 6 attributes detailed but it is helpful in certain situations, like figuring out an Ogre's Wisdom so you can make an attribute check to see if it spots the party.

That's what rolling for surprise is for.

Somebody make me start a goddamn blog.

I can never feel like my written work about my settings or ideas for characters and mechanics are good enough or 'worth my time' to write down on my computer.

Would it not be easier to just start a gosh darned blog instead?

Aw shit user. I was running that exact campaign a year ago, down to the meteoric iron swords.
I was using a heavily modified 5e rather than OSR specifically, but the general philosophy's the same.

Very rough initial draft I threw together for a LotFP class based around shapechanging. The angle I'm working off of is demonic possession, but it could be refluffed into therianthropy or the like pretty easy. I tried to make the shapechanging bonuses powerful but balanced by cumulative penalties after the transformation has ended.

Thoughts/comments/ideas encouraged.

Blogs are a good way to concentrate your efforts into something tangible, so it could totally help.

A good way to motivate yourself is setting out how often you want to post something, which gives you a timeframe to work towards as well. You can always start off low and then release more as you build momentum.

It also seems like a decent way to engage with that facet of the OSR community as well.

Ran my first hex crawl (World of the Lost). I'm a go-to module kind of guy, so it was really fun to have to wing so many things and make the adventure come to life and fit.

well how about sharing a couple ideas you have first, and we'll let you know if it's worth starting a blog for

Custom setting content.
(multiple) homebrew rulesets
Custom races and classes
New monsters
New spells
Random tables
Session reports (if I ever get to play or run a fucking game)
etc.

I like all of those except session reports

I usually skip over session reports too, but the truth is I both know that A) at least one person reading will find it interesting and B) it's helpful to keep a 'up to date' account of your campaign story.

>Discord campaign
I am intrigued... Are you guys using voice or text for the game?

>Ravenloft is absolutely tiny and doesn't lend itself to hexcrawls at all anyway.
The setting itself can be pretty big.

Best OSR game for an East Asian themed campaign?

system I'm not so sure(although you could probably tweak most any OSR system to work for your needs pretty easily), setting goes to Yoon-Suin easily

The worst thing about waiting is the helplessness. I want to help but you can't help someone upload stuff. So here I wait and bump. Here, Let us gaze on Morgan Ironwolf. A woman so hard she pushes through chainmail.

Yeah, but... i don't know. I own the d20 Ravenloft book, the fan book that came out on gmsguild and all this... movement and trade between the different realms feels wrong somehow. Truthfully, the reason there's any trade between the realms is to torment the guy that wants to conquer everything. Feels really fancannon to me. So, in my unsolicited opinion, yes you could hexcrawl Ravenloft but it seems very against the genre.

Dedthread.

Guess that's a good thing though, means people are actually playing Veeky Forumss.

probably just people waiting to see how the whole Trove situation turns out(in my opinion the Trove is a huge part of what keeps these threads going)

So, while trove issue hangs in the air, I'm doing a thing. Would someone be interested in seeing trove cleaned up and ordered? I'm doing it anyway cause that's what I usually do with my stuff, but maybe it'll be helpful. I shuffled all the stuff in OSR Misc and GM Resources and other folders, categorized it as 'adventure' or 'supplement' or 'class' or whatever it is, deleted some duplicates, added some of my own stuff, the list goes on. I'll probably be ready in a few hours.

Should detect traps rolls be done in the open?

No. The player isn't supposed to know if they succeeded or failed if you tell them 'you find no traps'.

- A fissure from which the mist is constantly leaking. At close proximity to this source for an extended period a save is required or the exposed parties' respiratory system converts to only breath air saturated by the mist. Previous explorers who've suffered this fate lurk among the craggy peaks, reduced to cannibalistic scavengers by their spartan environment and well adapted to the limited visibility.

- A hot air balloon - one of the first of it's kind - crashed on it's maiden voyage across the mountains. Information regarding it's fate could bring a nice reward to say nothing of the potential salvage from it's wealthy and eccentric passengers. There might even be survivors.

- Sounds carry oddly at high altitude and sometimes you might notice sounds of other group moving about the mountain. Some are be menacing, others are friendly or concerned, yet more might discuss secret treasures and swap stories among themselves of their families back home. All of these sounds are generated by capricious spirits who will try to lure genuine travelers into precarious situations - crevaces, rockfalls, caves in which mountain predators hibernate. Surviving their attentions will garner respect from their kind and may even result in reward or aid, for a short time.

I like game reports best. They make stuff come to life and they can also tell you how well hourse rules and such work in play.

And I get to enjoy a game vicariously since I don't have one ;_;

Yes, they should roll for it themselves. They either see it or don't. Just because they don't doesn't mean it isn't there, well hidden.

Can I get some roll tables for violent descriptions of death in combat?

The crit charts from the Arduin Grimoire are pretty fucking gnarly.

>This chart will put realism into the game like nothing you have ever seen, unless you have ever been to a society tourney
>Hargrave was an SCA shitter
>this disillusions the Anonymous

>Would someone be interested in seeing trove cleaned up and ordered?

Who wouldn't.

So, do you all tend to exclusively play OSR, or do you play other stuff too? If the latter, what else?

I'm curious what, if any, non-OSR systems are popular among people who like OSR.

I'd support this

Our group plays LoftP, Savage Worlds, 5e, and 3.5. We've also played some Pathfinder, and we plan on playing other games in the future.

I've played some 5e and enjoyed it well enough. I was introduced to RPGs with 4e and didn't enjoy it very much.

Since then, after getting more into the hobby, I've only been a DM and only ran OSRs, particularly LotFP and DCC. I have about a million systems downloaded and wanna try them out, but only have one group and don't want to keep changing games on them.

I'm the foreverDM and nobody I know has stepped up to DM another game, and I haven't been invited nor am I seeking out other games.
So it's mostly OSR in our group. There are a lot of games I want to try out though, like Vampire, Dread, Fiasco and 5e, but I don't want to be the DM for them.

Cool. I haven't DMed anything in quite a while. I'm in two 5e games right now. Looking to run a game using OSR or GURPS, depending on what kind of game I decide I want. Either way, OSR is fucking awesome and I'm definitely eventually adding S&W Complete to my physical collection.

I play lots of other things. I play more modern versions of D&D, as well as Call of Cthulhu, Warhammer Fantasy RPG, Fallout PNP RPG, White Wolf, Zelda RPG, BESM, and numerous one-shots with systems like GURPS, d6 Fantasy, Warhammer 40K RPG (Dark Heresy), Paranoia, FATE, A Song of Ice and Fire RPG, HackMaster, The One Ring RPG, Legend of the Five Rings, Pathfinder (one-shots nowadays, I used to play it regularly before the bloat got ridiculous), RuneQuest, Star Trek, Star Wars Edge of Empire, and a few homebrew systems.

>I'm curious what, if any, non-OSR systems are popular among people who like OSR.
I mostly do homebrew shit. Once you've GMed for thirty years, you start to get a really good idea of what you want in a system, and it's pretty easy to just say, "Fuck it; I'll do it myself." These days, when I say I like a system, it tends to be because I like ideas it has, or a general approach it takes more than I think it necessarily outshines other games played completely as-is, rules-as-written. Barbarians of Lemuria is pretty neat though.

As far as OSR goes, aside from familiarity and nostalgia (it's what I grew up playing), I mainly find it appealing because it's simple, easy to mod, and everybody knows it, eliminating the conversational barrier you might otherwise have.

>anyone on Veeky Forums
>actually playing games

dohohoho

I'm into GURPS, M&M, and Unisystem Classic.

I'm becoming more and more OSR-exclusive as I realize that this is the play style I really want out of tabletop roleplaying, but some of my other remaining favorites are Ryuutama and 4e.

I would probably also have loved a Victorian/steampunk game and a swashbuckler game if I'd ever found one where the rules weren't shit (and in the case of steampunk, where they didn't try to add in some shitty punk element because BLUHH MUH LITERALISM).

Mostly 5e lately, though I've been looking into the D6 system. Have also been interested in Gumshoe, Ryuutama, and Ironclaw.

I like 5e because it scratches my fancy combat / character options itch while not gouging my eyes out with its rules tower and statblocks. It's also really easy to knock it back to oldschool.

I played some Call of Cthulhu, probably will run at some point since my friend who ran it before now does LotFP campaign for us. It's fun to use for any kind of thriller / horror adventure in practically any time period, not necessarily lovecraftian.

Unknown Armies and Night's Black Agents make me want to run them too.
Also Numenera and The Strange. If I have time to really get into the settings, I might run one or another.

I'm past the point when I thought *W-games solve all problems but some stuff looks interesting still, like Headspace or Blades in the Dark (which is Dishonored the TRPG and I approve)

Sorta have this wish to play in a proper Shadowrun game. Also to try out some storygames for an evening or two.

Well, I'd play anything really, but foreverDM.

My favorites are OSR, the first couple editions of Shadowrun, Earthdawn, Classic Traveller, and unicorn systems like The Mountain Witch and Cat RPG that are only capable of doing one thing but are inventive within their niche.

Anyone wanna be the tiebreaker for my question?

this one

Plugging the following gem once more:

rpgnow.com/product/190631/White-Box

A reiteration of Swords & Wizardry White Box, adding more stuff form Underworld & Wilderness Adventures (monsters, stocking tables, treasure tables, etc.) as well as some common adventuring rules like how to handle torches, finding secret doors, etc.

The GM should roll it and hide the result.

How do you all handle domains?

The most well known solutions are either to use An Echo Resounding (3rd party Labyrinth Lord supplement) for an abstract method of domain management, or Adventure Conqueror King for a more book-keeping heavy approach (pic related is an alternate system for ACKS posted by the books' authors).

Another hexmap seed question - What's in the abandoned mine? (type of mine and former owners is up to you).

Working on something, and I was just curious if people would even be interested in the concept before I start writing it up properly.

> OSR set up to be pulp sword & sorcery
> 3 classes - Fighter, Magic-User, Thief
> Takes a lot of cues from LBB OD&D.
> AC for any man-like creature is directly linked to armor quality.
> Weapons all do the same base damage, though they have different performance against armor and secondary characteristics (daggers can be used in a grapple, spears can attack from the second rank, etc)
> Combat system set up in a fashion similar to chainmail, with a three options for different types of combat.
> Skirmish combat runs in pools of d6s to handle 1HD creatures, hirelings, letting you settle large melees with hirelings relatively quickly and without a lot of book-keeping. PCs get a number of D6s to throw based on their class/level.
> Refinement of Man-to-Man as a dueling system, comparing armor-to-weapon-type as above. The number of dice you get to roll (and thus number of attacks) scales with your HD, so even high-level opponents tear each other down fairly quickly.
> Combat against completely inhuman monsters (Giant beasts, dragons, whatever) works in a way similar to the alternate combat system (normal OSR combat) but with some hints taken from Fantastic Combat)
> Spellcasting works in a way aped from chainmail, with an expendable die-pool representing magical resources.

On the one hand, the more I tinker with it, the more it seems like it would be fun. On the other hand, I also kinda worry it's so far off the OSR path that no one would actually play it.

> I'm curious what, if any, non-OSR systems are popular among people who like OSR.
When I'm not playing OSR stuff, I'm playing indie-nar bullshit. Mostly Apocalypse World, The Riddle of Steel, Burning Wheel, etc.

Why Fighter, Magic-User and Thief? You realize that going off of OD&D the original classes were Fighter, Magic-User and Cleric right? Thief wasn't added until the Greyhawk supplement (I think).

You're right. Also, the thief class is the first step towards what would become an unwieldy mess. Fighter, Cleric and Magic-User is all you need.

I actually think F/MU/T makes more sense for an amoral sword and sorcery game. Clerics are very wedded to sort of an organized crusading religion and Magic Users can represent evil mastermind high priests and the like much better. Alternately you could do just Fighters and Magic Users ala Carcosa or the like, or perhaps just have the third class be a Fighter/Magic-user hybrid gish.

Absolutely not. The only skill a DM should ever roll for the player is Stealth. If a player rolls badly on Find Traps, it means their character didn't spot anything to indicate a trap (which may or may not even exist.) If they roll and succeed, they know without a doubt whether the room is rigged. Their is no reason to keep it hidden and take rolling away from a player.

>have the third class be a Fighter/Magic-user hybrid gish.
That's a Cleric class right there.

Yeah but Clerics are
1) unfocused garbage
2) can be rolled into the M-U archetype

Don't you mean the Elf class?

I disagree, rolling poorly will affect the player's behavior very differently from the DM telling him he checked thoroughly and couldn't find any traps. The same goes for opening doors, searching for secret passages, listening, etc. You can't avoid some (unintentional) metagaming when a player has to deal with a shit roll.

Oh, I thought we were talking about something OD&D based here.