/osrg/ OSR General

>and start rolling their dice.
Thats not how it works, you as DM decides what and how they roll

Sort of? It's overland travel. The name comes from hex grids.
Which you use to better approximates outdoor terrain (better than square grids, at least).

You move some number of hexes/day (one, in most systems), roll for wandering monsters/encoubters, and can simple upon set-pieces.
Its got the same resource management as a dungeon crawl, but running out of food is slightly less dangerous (if you don't mind foraging/slower travel).

On a very related sidenote:
The 3rd LBB was Underworld & Wilderness Adventure.

You tell them, in character as the innkeeper, to pay up of piss off? They don't get to roll for shit if you don't let them.

Yeah, I didn't just let it slide. I said that unless they have proper leverage, that negotiations aren't really a thing.
But I'm currently wondering how others would have handled it.

Raise the price to 6 silver and they get the inn's worst room, the innkeeper is offended.

You could have done a reaction roll. If the innkeeper is friendly, he lowers the cost. If he's not friendly, he kicks them out.

Anyone played in or DMed A Red and Pleasant Land? I'm running it right now and I'm having a lot of fun with it. It's exactly the kind of setting I like, and the book makes it very easy to create fun and varied dungeons.

Any player using the Alice class? How is it?

What is the best OSR game (retroclone or otherwise) for a role-playing newbie?

Lamentations of the Flame Princess for ease and simplicity. It's just D&D Basic with a simple skills system tacked on.

Seems a bit too gonzo.

What does having different XP track or race-as-class accomplish in these games, anyway?

Most systems will play about the same as far as the players are concerned.

To make life easy for the new DM--
I'll second LotFP. The clarity of presentation is a big asset, as is ascending AC.

Ditto Basic Fantasy RPG.

Swords and Wizardry White Box is even simpler, and is a popular one. It has only one saving throw, which can simplify things if you haven't been eating and breathing TSR games since grade school.

In what way?

Gonzo comes from a setting, not a rulebook.

Of those, is SWWB going to be the closest to actually playing an old-school DnD game?

I tried getting through the actual PDFs of 0e, but I just couldn't keep track. I am simply not who that game was written for.

Yeah, one of them is. It works pretty well although they have to be careful and hide behind the stronger classes. They start becoming pretty useful around three or four levels in, but they're probably less so in places that don't have similar eccentricities as the Voivodja setting.

>race-as-class
In a generic rule system that's meant to be used with multiple settings, nothing. In a system that's only meant to be used with its own setting, it lets you mechanically reinforce flavour.

>different XP tracks
It lets you balance classes by making the more powerful ones take longer to level up. The tracks are usually so close as to render the exercise mostly pointless, though.

>different XP track
Characters get cool new shit at different rates. The thief is understood to be a rather weak class, mechanically, but he levels up faster than anyone.

The MU can get stupid powerful, but he levels slowly. It's a dubious way of balancing the game because not many characters make it to high level, but that's the rationale.

>race-as-class
Simplifies character creation, keeps clear archetypes, and makes non human player characters feel a bit more alien, rather than just a human with pointy ears and some bonuses suited for a particular class.

Whether these are virtues or not is a matter of opinion. I strongly prefer race-as-class because I hate it when new players spend twenty minutes flipping between options trying to figure out what they should take, or experienced players going "lol why would you play a half orc wizard".

0e is a pamphlet for wargaming hobbyists... it's rather poorly organized and lacks a lot of necessary context that would have been assumed by a 70's wargamer in that particular scene. Swords and Wizardry is an attempt to clarify that while keeping the spirit of the game intact.

I'll be playing AD&D, thank you, not your Muppet "OSR" game or whatever.

So, the OSR is just d20 fantasy heartbreakers for crusty neckbeards right?

...

Gr8 b8 m8.

Kind of. It's people working out that they can monetise their houserules.

>I am simply not who that game was written for.
It was originally a mod for a wargame, and was even used alongside it.
Within the war campaign, they'd go dungeon delving to help raise funds for their armies.

>I tried getting through the actual PDFs of 0e, but I just couldn't keep track.
Men & Magic -> Player's Handbook
Monsters & Treasure -> Monster Manual
Underworld & Wilderness Adventure -> Dungeon Master's Guide
That's not the most accurate of comparisons, but it's pretty close.

Here's a rundown on the rules:

Right now OSR is "not shit d20 system"

What setting does Gonzo come from then?

Well, to be fair, Basic Fantasy is completely free at least. That and most OSR games I've seen charge a fairly reasonable price.

If the PCs are consistently welching and being cheapskates then they should start to notice people refusing to do business with them.

Nah, it's "B/X clones with houserules" with a dash of "DUDE WHAT IF OD&D WAS ABOUT A DIFFERENT GENRE LMAO"

I guess I'll go with S&W White Box. Sounds simple enough, with a little bit of reading.

I plan on getting a game going. Skype is kbalanera if anyone wants in.

...

A friendly reminder to not take bait.

Is Adventurer Conqueror King a good OSR system to run for a newbie? I'm kind of miffed Druids and Paladins and the like aren't in it.

I really like it, it's pretty simple and I ran it with 12 to 16-year-olds. So definitely good for newbs.

What's wrong with gonzo?

Gonzo too often veers into randumb.

That totally isn't pretentious at all.

Gonzo isn't taking something serious and making it silly.

It's taking something silly and making it serious.

It's a joke

Perhaps, eh? Perhaps you're retarded. Like Gonzo.

With what I've seen of the Pundit, forgive me for thinking it was serious and reflective of the OSR.

I'd say it works pretty well, especially for people who's main experience is with the WOTC editions, also Druids and Paladins are in the Player's Companion supplement

I just made it because someone in the previous thread joked that "True AD&D" is a platonic form. I guess people are understandably pretty sick of those jokes though.

Well I see so much posturing from (in)famous people associated with the OSR who like to proclaim that old school roleplaying is 'true' tabletop roleplaying unlike those awful 'storygames' who are 'ruining the hobby'.

>Gonzo
>Retarded
>The original OD&D setting literally had Tharks from Edgar Rice Burroughs' Mars series.

Generic Fantasy Roleplaying Games are ruining the industry by diluting the worship that True AD&D requires in order to grant spells to its followers.

>Plato
>Chesterton's fence
>Gutei's finger
/osrg/ loves philosophy

We like sounding old and pretentious.

That explains the OD&D fanboyism :^)

>Gutei's finger
What's this?

Gutei raised his finger whenever he was asked a question about Zen. A boy attendant began to imitate him in this way. When anyone asked the boy what his master had preached about, the boy would raise his finger.

Gutei heard about the boy's mischief. He seized him and cut off his finger. The boy cried and ran away. Gutei called and stopped him. When the boy turned his head to Gutei, Gutei raised up his own finger. In that instant the boy was enlightened.

When Gutei was about to pass from this world he gathered his monks around him. `I attained my finger-Zen,' he said, `from my teacher Tenryu, and in my whole life I could not exhaust it.' Then he passed away.

So enlightenment is Stockholm Syndrome?

Read the earlier threads for discussion on what it means. Searching the archives for Gutei should do it.

Yes, and? Gygax siad that gonzo, scifi, and psionics were all mistakes on the cusp of 2e and that pure medieval fantasy is the True AD&D setting.

Gygax doesn't work for TSR, he was fired due to incompetence such as hating psionics. All that matters is that before he went, he published via TSR, as the author of the game, the assertion that only TSR has the ability to make rules for the game. After this his assertions are meaningless. Moreso after his firing.

Gygax said a lot of things and
>pure medieval
D&D is only medieval in it's loose trapping. If it was actually, accurately medieval, much more emphasis would be placed on social class.

I used it for a single session in my campaign, as a fun break.
It went well, but the players were glad that it was a brief interlude and not a whole campaign: nonsensical zanny sureslism gets annoying quickly.

Whitebox

Mind if I get some feedback advice or input on my post-apocalyptic hexcrawl I'm working on?

How does ARPL compare to Dungeonland/Land Beyond the Magic Mirror?

>incompetence
They got rid of him because he was in charge before a hostile takeover.
Then they drove TSR into the ground made questionable business choices.
>Gygax
>cusp of 2e
You know TSR only made 2e to screw Gygax out of royalties, right?

If you meet Gygax on the road, tell him he's a wanker and not invited to your table.

>You know TSR only made 2e to screw Gygax out of royalties, right?

>he doesn't know that Gygax had been planning his own AD&D 2e
>he doesn't know that Jim Ward himself has confirmed that Gygax still got royalties from 2e

>he doesn't know that the pyrologist is an OD&D class
>he doesn't know that hobbits can multiclass as thief/druids in OD&D
>he didn't get the Len Lakofka Diplomacy fan magazine containing these rules, writ by Gygax himself for the OD&D game

I've said it before and I'll say it again, Buddhism often just feels like a "faith" for selfish sociopaths

I like it. I'm currently running a Ruinations game. I'm sure I could squeeze this in.

Hell yeah. Hows that going for you by the way? I always like getting feedback on playtesting.

Is this thread really going to end up with every user taking the bait again?

Not really, but one can see where it overlap with nihilism and postmodernism for the western world assholes who claim it as their own as some sort of excuse to look deep while being uncaring or even malicious. Buddhism has much deeper, more complex root but the western buddhist are heavily tied to 'self help' books and hipsters.

Let me unsee that shit.

Buddhism is some really deep fucking lore and it's definitely more than just sitting cross-legged and saying pithy lines. In fact, there's lengthy Buddhist writing warning against that kind of do-nothing religion fascinated with the trappings of wisdom, and encouraging selflessness and helping others in this world- definitely not something for sociopath hipsters.

Still working on this baby.

Why?

> Gutei raises finger while giving explanations
> attendant raises finger as if it needs no explanation
> Gutei cuts off attendant's finger
>"Aghh! Why did you cut off my finger!"
> Gutei raises finger as if it needs no explanation
Cheeky.

>Gutei raises finger while giving explanations
It doesn't say that.

Of course it is, I'm just pointing out that it's been used as some misguided shorthand for "I'm being a fucking asshole but I'm deep and shit, man" by jerks. That said, buddhism has a lot of wisdom to offer even to a non convert, which is why I like it...but I'm fully aware that buddhism 101 doesn't make me a buddhist and it would be foolish to claim to be one.

In many countries, buddhist monks are very implicated with their communities and helping them, which is very different from this image of uncaring hermits. There is a difference between detachment and tranquility and doing fucking nothing while feeling deep about it.

Also buddhism has a lot of rules and nuggets about the treatment of others and none involve acting like an asshole. Quite the opposite, really. It's a lot more complex than it look and certainly NOT nihilistic.

>When anyone asked the boy what his master had preached about

And the boy raises his finger. Since the story doesn't say that Gutei actually said anything when asked about things Zen, that may be a completely accurate depiction of what his master had preached about.

>all that drama gossip on the first few pages

lol(?)

>That said, buddhism has a lot of wisdom to offer even to a non convert, which is why I like it...but I'm fully aware that buddhism 101 doesn't make me a buddhist and it would be foolish to claim to be one.
That's how I feel about it too. I definitely couldn't say I'm a Buddhist but damn if I don't find Hakuin's life story inspiring.

You know that's bullshit.

Not at all. It's a tale of one man's vigilant protection of his IP. Very predictive of the modern corporate landscape.

The idea is that Gutei starts using the "finger-zen" after his (much more enlightened) master shows his finger. But Gutei has trouble reaching enlightenment because he is stuck with the finger-zen. He didn't want the same thing to happen to the kid so he cut his finger off.

Where do I find cool Cleric rules? Like benefits and restriction to worshipping a specific deity? Supplement IV is just a fucking bestiary

>benefits and restriction to worshipping a specific deity
Faiths and Avatars, though FR-specific, can give you some ideas.

Monster Mythology is also nice.

What qualifies as a "sneak attack" in your game?

Free + pay what you want (with suggested donation) or fuck off. If it's any good, someone is just going to buy it and share it here anyway. Setting a price on a freely available digital good is just restricting possible donation to a specific price point. Though maybe you can get away selling it to cucks on reddit or something, nothing wrong with fleecing retards out of a buck.

Piracy is predominantly a service issue.
Most pirates wouldn't buy the things if copyright infringement weren't an option.
Setting the price to $0+donations is going to most of the people who *would* buy it pay nothing.