/osrg/ - Old School Renaissance General

>Is yer fantasy tolkien serious, grim dark, or gonzo as fuck?
I like shit that's whimsical and surreal. Dreamlike, rather than the 'wacky' of gonzo. But it's probably closer to gonzo than the other three.
Then again, Wolfpacks was full Nature Red In Tooth And Claw grimdark, so...

Is there a reason not to just call them rigger and fixer?

Not their class names. DCC uses titles based on level and alignment.

But the names are all wrong.

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Actually, no wait, never mind, these ones are right.

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Checks out.

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>Is yer fantasy tolkien serious, grim dark, or gonzo as fuck?
Take a guess.

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>Plus, I come to OSR to get away from all the "lol nat20" stupidity of modern D&D.

Why do people insist on basing their entire lives around a strawman?

anyone got a pdf of the new Lotfp setting book?

Please refer all requests for files to the pdf share thread.

>lol nat20
My last group was the lol nat20 meme.
It's on the lesser trove in supplements.

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>Why do people insist on basing their entire lives around a strawman?
It's not a strawman. Without wanting to drag the thread into shitposting, I can say with conviction that between my Pathfinder group and my 5e group I have honestly gotten sick of the antics of modern D&D. In the former, someone will roll a 35 on an Acrobatics check and say they somehow jumped over someone's head and through a door without them noticing (since they were invisible), or that since they rolled a nat20 on a knowledge check they should know everything about some monster, or that they should be able to do X or Y or Z, and it's just gotten tiring. I've gotten sick of characters with ridiculous powers and abilities that turn the game into a meme-fest I can hardly take seriously. Fights don't have consequences, bad decisions don't have consequences. Some character would just jump through the dungeon setting off traps and soaking the damage because he had 100+ hp at level 7 and the traps could't hurt him without being made to instagib the other characters. They have no patience for anything. I don't even know what they want. At least my 5e group is slightly better because they are newer to D&D. But the pathfinder players just seem to want an excuse to wank their build all over everything.

> Thread
> Is ... fuck

Vanilla that alternates between serious and whimsical. So The Known World/Mystara basically. It's a niche that hasn't been filled by anyone else. OSR writers aren't really interested in fantasy played straight anymore.

Thread is kill
OSR is blood

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Grimzo af? We're all aware of how messed up the world is for the people in it, but its a game we play for fun.

But cavemen have a neutral alignment.

Ok, how many HD do Ankhegs have?

Everwhere else in the Monster Manual, creatures have HD in one of 3 formats:

1. Single number (e.g. HD: 3 for the Axe Beak)
2. Number+number (e.g. HD: 6+1 for the Basilisk)
3. Range (e.g. HD: 1-3 for the Barracuda).

On pg. 5
>HIT DICE indicates the parameters of the number of hit points a creature can withstand before being killed. Unless stated otherwise, hit dice are 8-sided (1-8 hit points). The indicated number of dice are rolled, and the numbers shown on each are added together to arrive at a total number of hit points. Some creatures have hit points which are less than a full 8-sided die, and this is shown by stating their hit dice as a point spread.

>Some creatures have additional points added to their hit dice; this is indicated by a plus sign followed by a number shown after the number of hit dice they have, i.e. HIT DICE: 4 + 4 (which equals 4-32 hit points +4 hit points, or 8-36 hit points).

So... does Ankheg have a mere 1d6+2 HP? Later editions give it tons and tons of HP and make it huge and tough and large, but was that the original intent? Was it some sort of ant glass cannon?

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You play with criticals on skill checks? Why would you ever do that?

>But cavemen have a neutral alignment.
Play Gods or Not Play Gods

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I understand that you're a growing group of contrarian asshats, so let me just nip you in the bud right now.

The reason why fantasy isn't "played straight" anymore is because there is nothing to play straight too. Yes there are tropes, but those tropes are vastly different in all different forms of fantasy that they've taken. Any change to your perceived formula of what "generic fantasy" is would offend your tender contrarian sensibilities of "why don't people have simple stories like rescuing a princess from a dragon anymore >:(" would mean you'd write it off as a "subversion" and not a legitimate "playing it straight" game.

Fuck off.

>houseruling in /osrg/

This, this all the way. The meme came because of a misinterpretation of the rules. I got lucky on this because the first time my players tried a "skill check," they had a natural failure. They'd only had combat up until that point, and were aware of the critical hit and fumble rules. So I got to tell them "Don't worry, that rule doesn't apply here." Really saved my ass with that instance.

At this point, I'd just say give it as many or as little HD as you want. Plus, ants traditionally have multiple castes of different sizes, so it's not like that would uncommon.

People are really weird, it's true.
No need to get hostile, user. We're all friends here.

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Not sure I understand your boggle. They have 3-8 HD, so roll 1D6 to get a spread from 3-8, then roll that many D8?

>caveshaman, no sense of right or wrong
Flipping through WPatWS confirms this.

I don't. The memejuice has flowed through them. Also the autistic excitement over getting a 20. I mean, don't get me wrong, I like it when the dice favor me. But it's gotten to the point where I just cringe. Not to mention most skill checks suck in general because a DM ruling makes more sense in 90% of cases.

But that doesn't seem to be an option given in the MM. I mean, it makes the most sense given their abilities, but it's just a weird oversight in the rules text.

Also, how do you roll Beholder HP? it's listed as 45-75 HP? Just 45+3d10?

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>but it's just a weird oversight in the rules text
A lot of HD/HP in early d&d, or just rules at all, involve a bit of sorting out. The option of using a D6 to make 3-8 wasn't explicitly stated as an option, probably just assumed to be intuitive by the writers. Keep the platonic solids near by, they'll help you sort it out.

The Beholder is goofy. I haven't ever rolled one up, but I'd probably cheat and keep it easy to divide so I can allocate hp to the 11th eye, so roll a D3, 1=45, 2=60, 3=75. Works well with my autism.

You mean lawful cavemen, or the comic? 'Cause I can see that.

>me am add FRW saves!
>you are go too far!
>no! am progress! make improvements!
[gets zapped by SOD wizard spell]
>me go too far!

>Also, how do you roll Beholder HP? it's listed as 45-75 HP? Just 45+3d10?
No. That would give you 48 to 75. You want 6d6+39. 10d4 would also give you the proper range, but fuck that shit.

>I'm mad with cosmic power!
>Oh No!
Honestly magicians in wolfpacks are basically dark heresy levels of walking timebomb. It's hilarious.

The rules only except addition and that is very clearly a range.
It has 1d6+2 HD, so (1d6+2)d8 hp. anydice.com/program/f1e7

>me am add story xp!
>you are go too far!
>no! am smart! reward players!
[caveman gm drives a foot-powered train over a stone railroad]
>ME AM PLAY GODS

>10d4 would also give you the proper range
10d4+35, that is.

>You want 6d6+39
I promise you, I do not want that.

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>I promise you, I do not want that.
Okay, fine. Math wants it.

Alternately, 2d16+43, if you have funky dice, but that's not much of a bellcurve.

>me am make own rules
>you go to far! No know where rules end
>no! am custom, streamline
[sleepless and exhausted caveman completely surrounded by stone tablets, fragments, stone tools]
>me am play gods!

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Interpreting 3-8 as "3 to 8" makes more sense than making a huge-ass bug weaker than a gnoll.

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youtube.com/watch?v=ME1ptaZgFi0

And remember, it has a shit ton of hp pools!

Don't underestimate gnolls. One of them killed the president. I think it was druid too.

>me give players narrative powers
>your grasp exceed grasp!
>no! am wise, we adults! can talk things out!
[brutish caveman players beat up caveman gm with clubs labeled AGENCY]
>ME AM PLAY GODS

>Alternately, 2d16+43
Or 1d20+1d12+43, if you're okay mixing dice.
Or 3d8+1d10+41
Or 5d8 (reroll 8s) +40

See? Simple.

>me am write class with power explode if not safe used
>you are go too far! Players no trusted to safe
>no, me am sure players preserve selves
[panel with player in wizard hat]
[panel 2, second later. Everything is on fire. Screaming demons rain from the sky. Dinosaurs panic and mutate]
>Me go too far!

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Oh god, I know this one from firsthand experience.

>Me am make thinky complicated combat mechanics.
>you go to far! Is too strong!
>no! am make tactics!
[caveman posting on clubtimization forums]
>ME AM GO TOO FAR

this and have me in stitches. I like this thread tonight

>me am carve miniatures
>you go too far!
>no, am visualize
[caveman buried in an avalanche of unfinished stone figures]
>ME AM GO TOO FAR

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>me am increase hp values, remove save or dies
>you go too far!
>no! am merciful gm, not kill pcs easily!
[caveman players are shown laughing with barely touched bloated HP counts on their stone tablet sheets while caveman gm despairs at ruined modules]
>ME AM GO TOO FAR

better

>me am increase HPs, make no saves or dies
>you go too far!
>No! Am merciful. Work together for fun, not kill easy.
[cavemen are show stabbed, bludgeoned, burned, and impaled but walking around without impediment]
>Me am play gods!

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>Beefboy having d2 for hp
>Fucking BEEFboy
Something is seriously wrong with this class generator.

He's ground beef. Soft and squishy.

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You know you have to post soyboy now ...

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I think I remember this generator, got a link for it?

>Fighter, Elf, Magic-User, Thief, Cleric, Dwarf

What level do you think they were? They were able to kill a full-grown dragon in the first episode. Stat em in BECMI or the OSR game of your choice.

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Email Ryo Mizuno and ask.

So what's the verdict on Frostbitten and Mutilated? Is it as pretentious, incoherent and unworkable as Zach's previous works?

Zak S books are pretty consistent. You like his previous work, you'll like this. You don't like it, you won't.

anime is blood

If the Devoured Lands are in Norway, where’s Vornheim on Earth?

Canada

Yo could you shed some light on Neanderthal Apothecaries? I fail to understand how the line in pic related meshes with the medicine checks and rolling for active agents/mediums for potions. Do they still do the whole medicine check -> shift around result if success thing?

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Mostly Tolkien serious and pretty dark (ogres will eat people, orcs will rape people, goblins will torture people) but not full grimdark or nofunaloud. If you go into deep dark holes where the sun has never been, you might encounter pretty nasty things.

Magic should be rather rare and mysterious, and superstitions common and strange.
Humor should be natural and spontaneous, and can certainly be a memorable highlight but shouldn't be a goal. As soon as people try particularly hard at making others laugh they're no longer focused on the roleplay or the setting.
The players aren't the chosen ones, they're just random schmucks who have a bit more curiosity, drive, and ambition, making a living. If they're smart and if they're lucky, maybe they'll even become heroes with stories told wide and far about them.

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What's the farthest away you can get from D&D, thematically and/or mechanically, and still be considered OSR, in your opinion?

the fuck is that image

Stars Without Number

I would say Traveller but I find the lack of leveling progression excludes it from OSR.

>thematically
There isn't a hard limit, however I don't think OSR is the best tool for certain themes/campaigns.

hey /osrg/ why do you prefer levels and not point-buy?

Because point buy encourages more character building and less on randomized characters, and it discourages team-based play by removing set strengths and weaknesses between classes.

I say this as someone who has homebrewed and ran a point-buy game before for high fantasy adventure. It's just not the right fit for a game specifically about team based dungeon delving.

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Point-buy encourages gimmicky character building.

People quickly learn the optimal way to build a class and then build it with those stats

Fighters will take high STR and CON and then dump int and charisma all the time. Then every fighter just becomes a caricature of the fighter type.

>not everyone needs to build optimally in point buy
But most do because the game encourages it

>pointbuy

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understandable
what do you mean by gimmicky?
(you)

I take it you mean levelless AND classless (skill-based) systems with point buy for your stats and skills.
Well, for starters, XP in those is usually earned by actively using a skill or training, making classic OSR advancement of 'get treasure -> optionally spend it -> get level' more complex. Then there's a matter of working out with the hand you've been dealt and point buy takes a lot of that out, plus it's a strain on the speed of character generation.

At the same time, there's stuff like Hackmaster, featuring random stat generation, augmented with building points and skills trained indepently from the level progression... but probably not what you'd choose for the standard OSR game, or any game, really. Very specific thing.

well I'm not just interested in discussing OSR games, I rather want to hear opinions of advocates of their favorite style of play.

Pure point buy systems are fine when you want strictly balanced characters with mechanical complexity and customization, and none of that is really true for the majority of the OSR playerbase

Picked up this lot for a hundred dollarydoos yesterday
feel like I could've gotten it for 80 though

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lolwut

I like classes (and levels) because I like strong archetypes, same reason I do not like the way WotC D&D does multiclassing

what the fuck is this

>Player's Option

Oh jeeze

Monstrous Manual is pretty good.

>each time you gain a level, players may retool two stats (3d6)
>if the new roll is higher than the original, the original is raised 1 point

Would you guys allow this?

>Ugg the Fighter goes from Int 5 to Int 18
>Weeko the Wizard goes from Con 8 to Con 18
nah

>raised 1 point
learn to read, newfriend

Street Samurai Titles

Lawful:
1 - Ashigaru
2 - Kenshi
3 - Hatamoto
4 - Samurai
5 - Shogun

Chaotic:
1 - Thug
2 - Rebel
3 - Vagabond
4 - Ronin
5 - Ninja

Neutral:
1 - Punk
2 - Nomad
3 - Solo
4 - Bushi
5 - Daimyo

Love it so far user, keep it up

If you're playing basic or OD&D, bonuses are so scarce and far between that this would be mostly pointless.
How do you fail to read a 3 sentence post?

>If you're playing basic or OD&D, bonuses are so scarce and far between that this would be mostly pointless.
That was mostly my thoughts on it
unless you were on the precipice of actually gaining a benefit all in all it'd probably amount to little. Especially for stuff that's really only handing during character creation like INT for non Wizards

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>handing
handy*

Can't say I disagree with it.

Anyone have any good resources from running things in the jungle? I'm doing Yoon-Suin soon, and I have some material (Isle of Dread, Red Tide, Lost City, Hot Springs, etc.) but could always use more.

I also contributed fluff to a monster thing like a year ago, with derelict volcanic snake gods and tiger demons; which if anyone has I'd be appreciative of.