I want to run a Wizardry 1 style campaign...

I want to run a Wizardry 1 style campaign. Entire campaign is West Marches style focused entirely on one single mega dungeon. People can come and go, and what they do inside the dungeon is persistent between groups, with the idea that most groups will be different upon entering, etc, etc. The design of the dungeon isn't the problem though, the problem is the system. D&D seems like the obvious choice, but:
>OSR
-Insanely lethal
-The main method of XP is gold, meaning that if a group clears out the first floor, lesser levels players later on might get screwed unless I restock the dungeon. If I restock the dungeon, that's fine, except it makes the design process much, MUCH more complicated on my end. Willing to do this, but want to leave the option to avoid open
>5e
-PCs are a little too unkillable
-Skill system is built in pretty hard to character design. I want all puzzles in the dungeon to be player skill, not left to rolls and DC checks
>4e
-Level disparity might be too high
-Battles would become a slog to work though
>Dark Horse Options
-Considering using Retro Phaze, but it's limited in theme specifically to Final Fantasy 1; would have to homebrew EVERYTHING from scratch.
-Considering using Final Fantasy RPG 4th Complete Edition, but again, little too FF focused.
-Japanese system like Ryuutama, but none that are translated well enough do high fantasy. Only the gimmicky settings have been brought over.

Anyone have ideas or have experience with this kind of thing?

Just use ODnD

Maybe try out TorchBearer?

Use like RQ or GURPS. They do dungeon crawly mid fantasy well

From the MouseGuard team? Sell me on it. I haven't played Mouse Guard but I've heard good things.

You can design all kind of XP systems and reduce lethality in an OSR game easily.

Making 5e more lethal is also trivial and skill system isn't actually built in hard. You can use class / background for all of the checks and use passive perception value only. Rapidly reduces the amount of rolls.

Torchbearer is interesting procedurally, but it's super mechanical and doesn't really simulate the tactical freedom of a good dungeoncrawl.

All in all, I fail to see the problem of using D&D versions you mentioned except 4e simply because yes, it's designed for sluggish meaty fights and Wizardry game should have a bunch of other things.

Mutants and Masterminds 3e, around PL 4 with strict restrictions on what options are available to players.

Its a very granular type of RPG based mainly around dungeon crawling like the TSR boys used to do. Imagine a game that combined some of the psychological effects of dungeon delving that Darkest Dungeon had with a very logical way of doing encumberance and damage.

It's got a bit more of a focus on equipment to make your character stronger instead of XP (altough its still there) and risk vs reward. You could use your cash to be better prepared but then you would have a whole lot less place to put your loot, for example.

Wizardry 1 is a riff on Bx, actually.

Though while we're in that mindset
REALLY antiquated played almost exactly like old text-based adventure games.
It's surreal how well they capture the "10... 20... 30 feet. door to the west, hall curves to the east" "we go east" "10... 20..." experience.

the wizardry series is very good at killing charas. What are you bitching about, OSR is the way to go

also, the main drops are relentlessly grinding encounter rates. So gold peaking isn't a problem

I have a few ideas already about modding BFRPG, but my motto is "why mod what someone already made and made it better?" I don't want to tinker with rules if someone has a better idea or a system that runs this better.

Hmm, psychological effects. Didn't really think about that before hand. I wonder how it would fair in game.

>also, the main drops are relentlessly grinding encounter rates. So gold peaking isn't a problem
I would prefer not to just turn it into a combat fest. Especially since if you do the math, 4 level 1 characters need to kill roughly 400 orcs and goblins to level up in most flavors of B/X.

Well late to the party but I don't think you're going to get what you're asking for without doing it yourself.

inflate the experience gains. I've played wizardry, and it is relentless grinding. Why else would you use this as a template? But fine, fine

Just because I want to do something LIKE something else doesn't mean I want to copy the flaws. Especially the horrifically bad ones that lead to killing 400 goblins to reach a level where you might not die on first hit. Maybe.

why would you chose to emulate wizardry if that's pretty much all the game is, though?

Because there's more to wizardry and wizardry type games than combat? If you disagree, than don't bother posting because you and I won't see eye to eye and I'm not here to get into /v/ discussions.

What makes Wizardry isn't deadly combat (most of the time, that infamous screenshot comes to mind), but resource management. Give them useful stuff, but make it so they can't hoard it. Also have them need to resupply on food and such. Personally I would tie their level with the deepest floor they reached, so they'd have to choose to either rush to the exit, or risk it and try to get some loot. Either they wouldn't be able to come back to the floor because magic, or I'd make a list of the items they can get and scratch off the more powerful or useful ones in order each time they gain a level.

Dunno how it sounds, but that's my two cents.

Also BFRPG is totally worth it, use that and mod it to your taste. It's a lot of fun.

For OSR escale the hit die one up, and give full hp at first level, also death at -10, you can use 2e or its retroclone for gold and glory

5e there are a few options for lethality in the dm or change as you like

I used rethrophaze a while ago and i like the system but i ended changing a lot of things

you can try using mythras classic fantasy

I would really like to see a osjrpg style system

Have you tried not playing dnd?

Andrew Greenberg and Robert Woodhead hadn't.

In OSR, you're expected to gradually restock (and even rearrange!) "cleared" bits of dungeon, on account of not wanting it to be boring when everyone has to trek through it twice each session.

One-way shortcuts (or traps) down to lower levels are also popular, for similar reasons.

I would recommend running OD&D without being familiar with Holmes Basic (since nothing is fleshed out properly), but maybe check out the dungeon design bits of Underworld and Wilderness Adventure?

>would
*wouldn't

I'm on the fence about 2e. I like the idea of using OSR and max HP, but I was thinking about stealing the idea from 5e to use the average hit point roll as a static per/level deal.

>I would really like to see a osjrpg style system
Me fucking too. I wish the translations of Alshard and Sword World weren't so spotty.

That's literally what the thread is about, stop memeing and suggest something decent for me to look into.

>One-way shortcuts (or traps) down to lower levels are also popular, for similar reasons.
Yeah, I was thinking about including things like elevators and teleportals down to lower levels so more experienced players can skip it. I was even going to put an adventurers market place in a safe spot somewhere 4 layers down where they can spend gold and rest for higher level adventurers. Maybe even make it a black market deal.

...

If you want something deadly, what about some Blade of the Iron Throne?