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Sunday, February 18, 2018

Kickstarter - Vagabonds of Dyfed RPG: OSR meets PbtA


"An unholy union between OSR principles and PbtA mechanics. A modern take on fantasy rpgs compatible with the classics."

Let me state this up front - I am not a fan of Apocalypse World. That being said, I am intrigued by the potential hybridization of OSR rules with Apoc World or Dungeon World promised by Vagabonds of Dyfed.
Our design goals were simple: make a game that's mechanically compatible with OSR retroclones (and their mountains of content) while leveraging the compact but non-binary PbtA system.
  • A single PbtA "move" core: 2d6 + mod, tiered results
  • Player-generated character traits instead of predefined playbooks or attributes
  • High character lethality
  • Strong GM authority
So yeah, intriguing.

How 2d6 as the core resolution check will be "mechanically compatible with OSR retroclones" should be interesting to see.

Heck, you can even download a draft of the rules now.

There is only one backer level:

Goal of $4k. Its at $4,500 with 17 days to go. Not too shabby. For 10 bucks I'll roll 2d6...

6 comments:

  1. Interesting but I agree with you on not being a fan of the PbtA engine. I’d look at Index Card RPG (ICRPG) before this after reading the rules doc you linked to.

    That said if you are familiar with a system it shouldn’t be a big deal to convert any module to it. I can see an issue with systems where you have to build bad guys as full characters but for most systems conversions shouldn’t be a big deal.

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  2. I took a look at it and have yet to notice any OSR rule influences or see an innate compatibility. Mostly in favor of various story games (PbtA, Fate, BitD).
    Maybe I missed something?

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    Replies
    1. "An unholy union between OSR principles and PbtA mechanics. A modern take on fantasy rpgs compatible with the classics."

      I think the key distinction here is OSR principles but PbtA mechanics. There is no easy out of the box compatibility here with TSRs back catalogue. Yes a competant GM could make it work, but for those already comfortably within the OSR, there's little incentive to. A thought experiemnt I don't require.

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    2. Unlike Dungeon World, there's no real need to port the standard modules' Maps, monsters, or the like. It's definitely easier to run a 1-2e, Basic, or even 3.5e/4e module directly in this system than it would be in "classic" Dungeon World. The "Converting Monster" section is 3 pages, but could probably be shorter with some tighter editing.

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  3. I came at Dungeon World a different wayu when I created the PWYW/Free Microlite74 3d6 Edition. It uses a die roll mechanism and partial successes similar to DW with a version of 0e. I used 3d6 instead of 2d6 to allow "space" for a modifier based on the character's level -- needed because level is TSR-based games are handled much differently than levels in DW. The Microlite74 3d6 Edition doesn't attempt to be PbtA compatible, but it uses (what I think is) one of the better ideas from PbtA games.

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  4. The 2d6 mechanic of PbtA games is stolen from Chainmail's magic, so from that Point of View is at least "old schoolish".

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