Dipping a Toe in the Old School Pool
Since 2008, I've run a number of RPG sessions for the children of friends. Most of these sessions have been Fourth Edition D&D games: the boys have proven quite capable of handling that level of character detail without too much handholding. As a DM, though, I'm a bit worn out. I'd also like to move away from the battle mat and the token management that goes along with it. (When I put on my playing hat, though, I continue to love the tactical combat of the current edition.)
So I looked into the various retro-clones and simulacra of D&D for a game to run in place of Fourth Edition. I came into the hobby in 1980, receiving a copy of the Holmes Basic boxed set from my grandparents for my eleventh birthday. OD&D clones were therefore a non-starter: I had no real interest in attempts to replicate a game I never played. My background with AD&D prior to Second Edition was minimal, so I passed over those games as well.
In the end, my choice was always going to come down to one of the games based on Moldvay's B/X and/or Metzner's BECMI—the flavors of D&D that I played the most as a lad. There are some excellent BECMI clones out there, but I never really liked where Metzner took the game after level 14. Labyrinth Lord is a wonderful take on B/X, especially when Steve Zieser's atmospheric art is factored into the equation. But LL still preserves too many of the features that drove me away from D&D as a teen: level limits, race-as-class, energy drain, descending AC, and so on.
The last game standing was Chris Gonnerman's Basic Fantasy Roleplaying Game, a simulacrum preserving what I liked in B/X while jettisoning most of what I didn't like. I've put in an order for the hardcover edition of the book and am actively looking for a good low-level module that isn't a dungeon-crawl. Suggestions?
So I looked into the various retro-clones and simulacra of D&D for a game to run in place of Fourth Edition. I came into the hobby in 1980, receiving a copy of the Holmes Basic boxed set from my grandparents for my eleventh birthday. OD&D clones were therefore a non-starter: I had no real interest in attempts to replicate a game I never played. My background with AD&D prior to Second Edition was minimal, so I passed over those games as well.
In the end, my choice was always going to come down to one of the games based on Moldvay's B/X and/or Metzner's BECMI—the flavors of D&D that I played the most as a lad. There are some excellent BECMI clones out there, but I never really liked where Metzner took the game after level 14. Labyrinth Lord is a wonderful take on B/X, especially when Steve Zieser's atmospheric art is factored into the equation. But LL still preserves too many of the features that drove me away from D&D as a teen: level limits, race-as-class, energy drain, descending AC, and so on.
The last game standing was Chris Gonnerman's Basic Fantasy Roleplaying Game, a simulacrum preserving what I liked in B/X while jettisoning most of what I didn't like. I've put in an order for the hardcover edition of the book and am actively looking for a good low-level module that isn't a dungeon-crawl. Suggestions?
Good choice. That's my favorite iteration of D&D. It just doesn't get the love; shame that.
ReplyDeleteWhat I really love about Basic Fantasy Role-Playing is the extensive amount of supporting material for the game, which is predominately fan made and its all free. This probably sounds like an obvious thing to point out, but I would take a look at some of the modules they have up for download and see if any of them might work:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.basicfantasy.org/downloads.html
Welcome board! I totally agree with Shane, you will find great material at the Basic Fantasy website. After that, you can grab a few maps at Dragonsfoot, which also has modules and run with it.
ReplyDeleteDarned keyboard! I meant welcome aboard.
ReplyDeleteBFRPG is a great game. There are two supplements for it, as well. I also published Sword & Board for it, which is some house rules and new monsters. Free pdf, $3.17 in print. http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=88225
ReplyDeleteI've looked over lots of the stuff on the BFRPG downloads page, and I thought that "Shepherds of Pineford" was the closest to what I'm most interested: encounters that have a reason for being present, tons of atmosphere, a puzzle that doesn't require telepathy aimed at the DM's head. I'm now thinking that perhaps the PCs will be hired as guards aboard a barge transporting ore downriver--en route they make have to deal with river creatures and almost certainly an ambush by one of the goblin tribes in the Hobshaws.
ReplyDeleteOh and Dan, I have read Sword & Board and liked it very much.
ReplyDelete