Tenkar's Tavern: Budget Gaming

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Budget Gaming - An OSR Specialty

When you think about it, gaming on a budget is something that the OSR is made for.

Most of the rulesets are available for free (usually artless versions) in PDF, and really, everything else is optional.

This is, however, the week of Thanksgiving, which also means the week of Black Friday. I'm expecting lots of bargains over the next month or so.

Troll Lord Games always runs a nice promotion, as do many of the PDF vendors at the OneBookShelf sites. But I wan't more.

So, my goal is to get a small post up each night until the end of the year, showcasing a free RPG ruleset, products, art pack - whatever strikes my fancy and hopefully yours.

Time to see what my eye spies...

2 comments:

The Happy WhiskNovember 22, 2011 at 3:26 PM
Happy Shopping.
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BlUsKrEEmNovember 22, 2011 at 4:20 PM
That's a nifty idea. Good luck with it.
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Why "Swords & Wizardry?"

Believe me when I say I have them all in dead tree format. I have OSRIC in full size, trade paperback and the Player's Guide. I have LL and the AEC (and somewhere OEC, but I can't find it at the moment). Obviously I have Basic Fantasy RPG. Actually, I have the whole available line in print. Way too much Castles & Crusades. We all know my love for the DCC RPG. I even have Dark Dungeons in print, the Delving Deeper boxed set, Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea. BOTH editions of LotFP's Weird Fantasy and some dead tree copies of the Greyhawk Grognards Adventures Dark & Deep

I am so deep in the OSR when I come up for breath it's for the OSR's cousin, Tunnels & Trolls

So, out of all that, why Swords & Wizardry? Why, when I have been running a AD&D 1e / OSRIC campaign in Rappan Athuk am I using Swords & Wizardry and it's variant, Crypts & Things, for the second campaign? (Actually, now running a S&W Complete campaign, soon to be with multiple groups)

Because the shit works.

It's easy for lapsed gamers to pick up and feel like they haven't lost a step. I can house rule it and it doesn't break. It plays so close to the AD&D of my youth and college years (S&W Complete especially) that it continually surprises me. Just much less rules hopping than I remember. (my God but I can run it nearly without the book)

I grab and pick and steal from just about all OSR and Original resources. They seem to fit into S&W with little fuss. It may be the same with LL and the rest, but for me the ease of use fit's my expectations with S&W.

Even the single saving throw. That took me longer to adjust to, but even that seems like a natural to me now. Don't ask me why, it just does. Maybe it's the simplicity of it. At 45 52, simplicity and flexibility while remaining true to the feel of the original is an OSR hat trick for me ;)

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Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Budget Gaming - An OSR Specialty

2 comments:

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