Deal of the Day - Sword Weirdos (Old School Lite Skirmish Rules)

Do you want to play something like Warhammer Fantasy without all of the endless rules and need to have specific minis to put onto the field of play? Sword Weirdos might be for you. 

Coming in at 24 pages and a Mithral Best Seller at DTRPG, Swords Weirdos is Today's Deal of the Day, marked down to 2.99 (from 4.99) until tomorrow morning.

Sword Weirdos is the fantasy sequel to the surprisingly popular Space Weirdos. "When will you write a fantasy version?" people asked. So I did. Sword Weirdos is a skirmish wargame that allows you to build stats for just about any fantasy or historical model in your collection. Your model's class and weapons determine its special abilities. With 26 classes and 54 weapons and other pieces of equipment to choose from, the possibilities are...a lot. I'm not that great with math.

You’re wondering what makes Sword Weirdos different from other games. Not much! It takes what I like from other games and mashes it all together.

• Low model count: 5-10 models or so for each side.
• Use any fantasy/historical minis you have.
• Short but comprehensive. Everything in one 24 page zine.
• Minimal tokens, but still a few because I like them.
• No tape measures or rulers, all movement and ranges are measured with 5” sticks.
• Uses all your RPG dice (except the d20, d20's get enough love) because dice are fun.
• A points system, but you shouldn’t worry about it too much.
• Alternating activations, opposed rolls, Maneuver Points, and random tables mean everyone is involved and rolling dice all the time.

Also includes:

• A separate 4-page solo rules document.
• A pdf with tokens, hobby advice, and a warband sheet. 
• If you like minis games but giant rulebooks turn you off or seem intimidating, maybe give this a shot.

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Kickstarter - Sickest Witch (Old-School RPG)

I got to spend some time with Justin at PAGE 2, and I will say this flat out - the quality of his books - the art, the layout, and the paper itself- is second to none. I easily spent 100 on his Mork Borg material and have yet to run a session of Mork Borg. 

Needless to say, I put $99 into the Sickest Witch Kickstarter, as that level is, by far, the sweetest spot. What do you get for 99 bucks?

Sketch Edition + Original Art from Book

Sketch Cover Limited Edition Sickest Witch Core Rulebook +PDF. Each cover will have an original art ink sketch by Justin Sirois. No two books will be the same. Only 100 will be printed and sketched on. You also get a random original piece of inked art from the book. On top of that, you get the standard edition of the book as well and all physical and digital stretch goals.

Additionally:

Pledge within the first 72 hours (before Friday March 28 at 11am EST), and all physical backers get a free Blood Property adventure zine +PDF with exclusive cover and an exclusive Sickest Witch wood mini. 

Justin had a goal of $3k - he was at over $15k when I posted this, so this is funded at then some.

Curious about Sickest Witch? Maybe you like really dark games or maybe you love witches—or both. You might just like the name. Sickest Witch is a dar, low-fantasy system and series of adventures. There are no dragons or fairies. Demonology is prevalent among the poor common folk who populate the towns. Black magic, plague, and famine are routine. But this is folk horror with a twist. 

Nostalgia is not what Sickest Witch is going for. There are many old school systems that do that great. Even though this system borrows heavily from the past, it is not looking to recreate it.

This is what sets the Severed System apart from others. Firstly, Witches have to harvest body parts to cast magic. Piece by piece, you become more powerful as you hack up your enemies. Additionally, nearly all magic points are shared in a pool named the Cauldron. This makes for somewhat tense moments as your Coven discusses what to do next. 

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Bundle of Holding - The Nightmares Underneath (Old-school dark-dungeon tabletop fantasy roleplaying)

I do like a heavy dose of "dark" in my fantasy settings. Years later, I still feel that Midnight was one of the best FRPG settings ever. So, of course, I'm finding The Nightmares Underneath Bundle to be very tempting.

Adventurer! This new Nightmares Underneath Bundle presents The Nightmares Underneath, the old-school horror-fantasy tabletop roleplaying game from Chthonstone Games. The physical world faces invasion by deadly "incursions" from the Realm of Nightmares that manifest as dungeons. To destroy the incursion, your fantasy adventurers must risk nightmarish curses, face the dungeon's monsters, and loot its treasures. Use your loot to improve your home community, making it more prosperous and helpful for your expeditions into the ruins from the Age of Chaos, where you may find items of great magical power to banish the nightmares.

The Nightmares Underneath, a standalone game by Johnstone Metzger (Class Warfare, Adventures on Dungeon Planet, Wizard-Spawned Insanities), creatively adapts the systems common to old-school fantasy RPGs, replacing hit points with "Disposition" and introducing new alignment and spellcasting rules. We presented the 2016 First Edition of Nightmares in the November 2017 OSR 5 Bundle. This new offer brings you both editions, plus many incursions, monsters, and hexcrawls, for an unbeatable bargain price.

For just US$9.95 you get all three titles in our Nightmare Starter (retail value $45) as DRM-free ebooks, including the complete The Nightmares Underneath core rulebook in both its First and Second Editions (plus the free edition); the straightforwardly named Dungeon Full of Monsters, written for Labyrinth Lord with conversion notes for Nightmares; and a 36-page book of dungeon incursions, City of Poison.

The Nameless Grimoire for The Nightmares UnderneathAnd if you pay more than the threshold price of $23.12, you'll level up and also get three Bonus Nightmares worth an additional $60, including the Nightmares spellbook The Nameless Grimoire; the large-scale wilderness sandbox setting Only Monsters Here; and The Metamorphica (revised edition), a system-agnostic resource to generate mutations for dark fantasy, horror, transhuman sf, post-apocalypse, and even superhero campaigns.

 

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Christmas Gifting - D&D Classic Collection: Monsters A-C (Painted Minis)

As we await the release of One D&D, WotC and its licensees need to find a source of income for the inevitable "dead time" between editions. Lo and behold and to the surprise of no one, we have the release of the D&D Classic Collection: Monsters A-C from Wizkids.

Now, is it really a "complete" collection of monsters from"A-C"? Obviously not. It is, however, a collection of iconic creatures from the letters of the alphabet covered, and certainly hits some notes for a grognard like me. I'm not so sure I'd buy it for myself, but if Rach needs some ideas for a Christmas gift or two for me, I don't think she could go wrong with D&D Classic Collection: Monsters A-C.

I must say, I really do like the cover art ;)

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OSR Bundle - 2022 Mega-Bundle Castle OldSkull - (OSR)

 

If you are an Old School Gamer, there is a good chance you have one or more Castle Oldskull releases. Castle Oldskull has some very solid old-school releases, and this is one hell of a bundle.

The current Castle OldSkull Bundle is originally $139.28, it is on sale with this bundle for 41.58.

For the completist, here it is at last. A colossal selection of over 50 titles from the Castle Oldskull, Hawk & Moor, and Old-School Essentials series!

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Crowdfunding - Down We Go | Infinite Edition (Old School RPG)

This is the first time I've looked at a crowdfunding project at GameFound.com. I may need to post on the various crowdfunding platforms folks can use to fund their gaming projects.

Back to the topic at hand. Down We Go | Infinite Edition supposedly "captures the heart of Old School tabletop RPG flavor with simple core rules. This globally-developed game includes procedures, adventures, hex crawls, and a new core setting. Venture to Infinopolis a twisting city that hungers for gold, jewels, and blood to keep it running. So grab a torch, grab a blade, and seek your fortune, as Down We Go!"

Sadly, Down We Go is following the recent trend of using text embedded in graphics for their funding page, and nothing looks shittier than a page full of graphical text on a blog. It uses d20s and d6s, so the basic mechanics should be familiar to most old-school gamers.

Softcover Zine plus PDF is 20 bucks. One page of the rules and a pdf of the said page is 5 bucks. Higher amounts for the hardcover. The fulfillment date is December 2021.

I'm likely in for 20 bucks. It looks interesting and I like to see the new releases.

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Deal of the Day - Warlock! (Inspired by Early Days of British Tabletop Gaming)

I loved the Fighting Fantasy solo game books and the Warhammer Fantasy RolePlay 1e ruleset. Both games were British and both oozed with flavor. I spent as many hours reading the WFRP rules and source materials as I did running it, and I ran a campaign of WFRP. It was a blast.

I own the Warlock! rules. I grabbed them last year when they were released. They are simple and fun. I really should mine them for some SWCL inspiration :)

Warlock! is today's Deal of the Day. Normally 14.10 in PDF, until tomorrow morning (5/16/21 @ 11 am Eastern) Warlock! is on sale for 2.77. All I can say is it is well worth the minimal investment for the pure joy you will likely get in return. There is a reason it is a Platinum Bestseller in less than a year's time.

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RPGNow Deal of the Day - Warlock! (Old School British RPG)

Today's Deal of the Day at DTRPG is Warlock!

If you are like me, you might react WTF is Warlock!? Well, it appears to have its roots in the Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks, which I always thought of as solo adventures (and greatly enjoyed) but apparently make a decent tabletop RPG too. The system is light, which I like, and revolves around D6s, which always aids in bringing in new players. I'm looking forward to digging through my copy and using the rules with my 10-year-old niece :)

Normally selling for 6.99 in PDF, until tomorrow morning Warlock! is on sale for 3.49. Hell, it's practically worth it for the cover art alone :)

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Free Classic RPG - What Price Glory?! (1978)

Huge thanks to Thad for tracking this down and providing the scan and links.

What Price Glory?! (1978) Was an early, self-published rules variant of OD&D. It is a complete, stand-alone RPG designed, written and self-published by John Dankert and Jim Lauffenberg while they attended Perdue University in the late 70s. Thomas Sprimont illustrated the game. Less than 500 copies were printed.

The rules are made available at the link below in the files section with Jim’s permission. There is also an errata and an NPC sorcerer class by Tom.

I’d like to thank Jim and Tom for graciously answering my many questions and providing materials from their personal collection. I’d also like to thank The Strong Museum of Play for their research assistance. - Thaddeus G. Moore

https://rpggeek.com/rpgitem/205686/what-price-glory

News - Troll Lord Games Steps in to Rescue the Ernie Gygax's Marmoreal Tomb Kickstarter

Now, THIS is truly a surprise.

Link to original.

Greetings from Troll Lord Games, 

If you are reading this, you are probably a backer of the Marmoreal Tomb Kickstarter. This kickstarter is a bit late, and in order to help facilitate its completion, Ernie Gygax and Benoist Poire, the principle co-authors, have partnered up with Troll Lord Games. With a little luck and determination, together, we’ll knock this thing out. 

A quick note of introduction, I’m Stephen Chenault, owner and CEO of Troll Lord Games. We’ve been in business for about 20 years publishing RPGs for d20, Gary Gygax, Castles & Crusades, Amazing Adventures, Victorious, a small host of others. We have an experienced staff of writers, artists, and designers. Tim Burns heads up all communication (and it’s with him you’ll probably be talking mostly). We’ve successfully run 30 some odd Kickstarters, are in the process of fulfilling one, with more gearing up to ship as the year plays out; and one, the NPC Almanac, live right now. We have a fully functional print shop for printing, etc., etc. 

In short, TLG has been in the business for a while and has a fairly good handle on the processes involved. 

You can find out all you want to know about TLG at our website: www.trolllord.com
Ernie and I are long time friends. We met way back in  about the 2000 and have been fast friends ever since. Ernie was the first ever guest at Troll Con back in 2000 or 2001. When it was brought to my attention (during the recent Gaxmoor KS) that Ernie’s own Kickstarter had not been fulfilled, I reached out to Ernie and Benoist to see if we could help. They both graciously accepted our offer and brought TLG on board. Hopefully we can help them wrap this up. 

I can’t make any promises on what is going to happen next. But here is the immediate plan of attack. 

Communications with backers will resume with the idea of keeping backers abreast of what is going on and where we are on the project. 

I will get a handle on all the components of the project so we can see what is actually needed. This part will take some time to sort and figure. 

I’ve put our layout guys at their disposal so that we can take that worry off their heads. When the time comes to lay the book out, with Ernie and Benoist’s direction of course (we don’t want to lose their vision), we’ll do the actual nuts and bolts so they can remain focused on other aspects of the Kickstarter. 

I’m very excited to dive into this, but a note of caution. We have our own Kickstarters that we are running and do not wish to have any of them derailed, so those, and the daily operations of the company, will take precedence. That said, there is more than enough of us here at TLG, or who are independent contractors, that we can manage both our own and assisting in this one. 

I will strive to have another update out in a few weeks, or as soon as I get a handle on what is in the overall project and how we can best help Ernie and Benoist. If you wish to contact us directly, please feel free to email us at productsupport@trolllord.com.
Thank you all and have a nice day! 

Steve Chenault

Announcement - Wee Warriors Comes to Precis Intermedia

You can read the press release directly here. - Tenkar

Precis Intermedia is pleased to announce that it has acquired the intellectual property rights to Wee Warriors and its products. Founded in 1975, Wee Warriors produced not only what is believed to be the first character sheet for Dungeons & Dragons, but also the first stand-alone adventure. Wee Warriors later went on to produce two more adventures, game accessories, and a number of small tabletop games, including The Embattled Trek and Labyrinthine.

Classic reprints of most of the product line are expected in both PDF and print formats, as are further development and new editions in the future. More information on Wee Warriors products can be found at the Precis Intermedia web site (http://www.pigames.net).

A classic reprint of The Vanquished Foe, a mini-boardgame, is now available in PDF and printed formats. With a low price tag, you no longer need to spend a fortune to find a rare original of this early dungeon-style game.

"As a vintage game collector, I am delighted to be able to bring back these largely-forgotten gems," says Brett M. Bernstein of Precis Intermedia. "These games and modules were created in a time devoid of today’s plethora of advanced software and print services. It is a testament to the creative spirit."

Incorporating one of the first electronic publishers of roleplaying games, Precis Intermedia is known for its diverse line-up, clear and concise games, and the return of vintage titles. Current lines include Shatterzone, Bloodshadows, Supergame, Two-Fisted Tales, Lords of Olympus, Man, Myth & Magic, Mean Streets, Warcosm, the Amazing 8in1 Die, Disposable Heroes Paper Minis, and much more.

Kickstarter - Dungeons & Delvers: Red Book

So, what would a modern rngin build of an OSR themed game look like? From the sounds of it, the Dungeons & Delvers Kickstarter might be that game...

What is Dungeons & Delvers 

In a nutshell: the World’s First Roleplaying Game how I’d do it. A hack that does what I always wished the game would do, that changes or discards the bits and pieces that always rubbed me the wrong way, while not overly complicating things and still delivering the same classic dungeon-crawler experience I’ve loved since I was a kid. 

Don’t get me wrong: I’ve enjoyed the game for over twenty years. I wouldn’t have kept playing it and writing about it if I didn’t. But everyone has their issues with it, everyone cooks up their own homebrew rules whether or not they end up using them at the table, or even bothering to fully flesh them out. I just ended up with enough that I felt collectively it justified a new game. 

People have described it as a more customizable-yet-simpler take on 5th Edition, something between 3rd and 5th Edition, and even a kind of modernized B/X or Rules Cyclopedia. Pretty much everyone agrees it fits the old-school aesthetic, which is good because it was intended to be a kind of homage to the "easy to master black box" that I grew up on. 

You can also check out a quick-start version of the rules and content by clicking here (this incorporates some of the changes that will be going into Red Book). It's a direct Google Drive link, so you'll just need to click and download, no other steps necessary!

Color me interested. 15 for the PDF. 20 for the POD plus PDF (estimated cost of the POD itself is about 10 bucks.

About 2 weeks left to fund.

Indiegogo - Solar Blades & Cosmic Spells (SciFi / Fantasy / Space Opera / Swords & Sorcery)

Swords & Sorcery & Space Opera? Oh my!

It’s science fiction, it’s fantasy, it’s space opera, it’s sword and sorcery, it’s post-apocalyptic. It’s all that and more, mixed up and packed together. In this game the party can be composed of knights of a mystical tradition, space pilots, cyber hackers, smugglers running from space authorities, barbarians from a primitive world, engineers and inventors, students of the lost and dangerous art of cosmic spells, or anything in between all this. In this universe, technology is advanced but the great accomplishments of it were lost in a glorious past. Sorcery is real and is wielded by terrible despots. It is also feared by most of the species, being the main reason why the old glorious days are over. Planets and sectors have many different cultures, most of them are now divisive and belligerent, led by these Sorcerer-Emperors. It’s sword and sorcery in space and with some cosmic horror thrown in.

The above pretty much sold me. Don't get me wrong, Diogo Nogueira does good work. Sharp Swords & Sinister Spells, upon which Solar Blades & Cosmic Spells builds upon, is an excellent ruleset. I just expect SB&CS to bring it all up to Eleven.

The gonzo artwork fits the premise perfectly. And of course, it has that Old School spirit:

Although not directly related to an old game, Solar Blades & Cosmic Spells was designed to be played with the same spirit and style. All the principles of the classic A Quick Primer for Old School Gaming by Matt Finch apply to this game (and if you don't know about A Quick Primer for Old School Gaming, you should google it), although this is not a proper Retroclone. It does take inspirations and is based on many games that are (and some that are not), and other actual Old School games. However, to avoid the controversy of calling itself an Old School Game, Solar Blades & Cosmic Spells calls itself a game with Old School Spirit.

PDF buy-in is $10. Soft Cover at cost coupon code and PDF is $15 (fulfilled by DriveThruRPG) Hardcover at cost coupon code and PDF is $20. There are levels for limited covers and multiple at cost coupons, but these are your sweet spots I think. Did I mention its already funded? Stretch goals include paying those doing the work more for the work they are doing, an admirable stretch goal. I'd like to see an artless free version myself ;)

Deal of the Day - Gloamhold Campaign Guide (System Neutral)

Today's Deal of the Day is the Gloamhold Campaign Guide from Raging Swan Press.

Its a setting. Its a mega dungeon. Its a mega dungeon setting.

Sixty pages. Normally $5.95 in PDF, Gloamhold is currently on sale for $1.66 in PDF. Its worth $1.66 for inspiration alone.

Glowering amid dark rumours and terrible stories of desperate adventure, death, betrayal and glimmering treasures squat the unutterably ancient halls of Gloamhold. This crumbling, benighted, haunted dungeon complex of unknown, but undeniably vast, extent is buried deep within the grim and brooding spray-drenched headland of the Mottled Spire. It is a place of legends, madness and death. Within this towering, wave-lashed shard of limestone lies the labyrinthine passageways and chambers of Gloamhold’s outer reaches and, beyond them, the benighted precincts and canals of the legend-shrouded Twilight City.

I love the idea that it was written with Old School Gaming in mind (its system neutral)

:

There's a NEW Podcast in Town - Dead Games Society - Texas Chapter - Old School Blues Podcast - Episode "Zero" is LIVE!

Something "Old" - an Old School Gaming Podcast

Something "New" - it's a "new" podcast

Something "Borrowed" - thank you to the Dead Games Society podcast for letting us share their name - you folks rock!

Something "Blue" - It's the Old School Blues Podcast!

Join +Vincent Florio , +James Spahn and me as we talk about time travel in gaming and just about every tangent we can think of. Actually, grab a beer, snag some chips and sit down for some Old School goodness.

There's an Easter Egg in the podcast BTW. I announce something that hasn't been announced yet regarding Swords & Wizardry and yours truly.

So, what are you waiting for? Go listen!

In this episode you will meet the three hosts of this show as they chat back and forth about the topic of Time Traveling in your fantasy games. The purpose of our shows is to provide that relaxed “around the table” listening feel of a podcast. We want to focus on D&D from the ’80s and OSR related products, but that doesn’t mean from time to time we will not dip our toes into other games from the era of TSR D&D. 

So still back and listen to Vince, Erik and James as they bring you the “Old School Blues” Podcast!

New Old School Podcast in the Works and I'm Giddy as a Schoolgirl

There's a new ""Old School" podcast in the works.

I can confirm that I am involved in it, both as a host and in working out it's format.

I can not give its title (although it has a website reserved) - yet

I can not say who else might be involved in it - yet

I can say I am excited as all shit, because "Old School" is my wheelhouse and I really like the format we are talking about.

Soon, my precious. Soon.

Kickstarter - The Complete "The Oracle"AD&D fanzine reprint, 1982-1983

I cut my gaming teeth in 6th grade, so that was '78 or '79. I didnt get my first gaming magazine until Dragon issue #66 in late '82 and somehow thought to stick to only "professional" gaming releases in the years later, so I missed out on fanzines and Judges Guild and all the rest in those early years.

The Complete "The Oracle"AD&D fanzine reprint, 1982-1983 is just what is says on the tin, a reprint of a fanzine from the early 80's. With 27 days to go it's already past $3400 (with a goal that was at $1500) and well on it's way to being a successful Kickstarter.

Tim Hutchings, the creator behind this Kickstarter (but not the creator of the original work) was kind enough to share the PDF with me (it also means the project is ready to print once the funding is complete) Hopefully I'll find the time to fully read it and review it before the project reaches the end of it's funding period. From my quick perusal, it is very much a product of the time it was originally published in and that fills me with nostalgia :)

If you don't know Tim, he's also the main man behind The Play Generated Map & Document Archive or plagmada.org. Spend some time exploring your childhood in the archives. It's a good place to be and doesn't get nearly enough of the attention it deserves.

In any case, The Oracle is scratching my nostalgia itch. If I only knew in my youth what I've learned over the past few decades. Alright, time to catch up with my past that could have been,,,

A Call to Arms! - OSWARP is Looking for DMs (East Coast OSR Con in July)

Man, it's almost surreal. My last gaming con was Gen Con 93 - over 20 years ago. Now, in 2014, I'm attending two Old School RPG Cons - North Texas RPG (NTRPG) Con in June and the Old School Wargaming and Role Playing(OSWARP) Con in July. Pretty exciting.

While NTRPG was it roots well set, OSWARP is the new kid on the block, and is technically a "Con within a Con", as it it happening in conjunction with DexCon in Morristown NJ, a fairly large east coast gaming con with a long history.

OSWARP is happening on July 4th and 5th -  a Friday and a Saturday.

I'm loving the idea of an east coast OSR centric con and it will be exciting to be there for the inaugural one. Not sure what I'll be running, but I doubt +Joseph Bloch will let me in the doors before committing to running something.

Currently they are looking for DMs (the following is from +Joseph Bloch 's Greyhawk Grognard blog:

We're looking for you to run a game! If you volunteer to run enough games (64 player-hours' worth if you're getting the special OSWARP membership), you get comped into the convention altogether. Types of games we're looking for: 

- Old-school RPGs (Basic, AD&D, White Box, BECMI, Metamorphosis Alpha, Boot Hill, T&T, Runequest, Traveller, C&S, FASA Star Trek, etc. etc. etc.) 

- OSR retro-clones and associated games (OSRIC, Labyrinth Lord, S&W, C&C, DCC, Barbarians of Lemuria, etc. etc. etc.) 

- Wargames (hex and counter types and others, like Afrika Korps, Third Reich, War in Europe, Campaign for North Africa, Kingmaker, Starfleet Battles, other AH/SPI/Victory Games/etc. - doesn't have to be from the 80's) 

- Miniatures (historical miniatures from any era, Chainmail (with or without the fantasy supplement), Battlesystem, etc.) 

- Anything else you think would be appropriate for an "old school" convention

You'll find the game master submission form right there on the DexCon registration page. (DexCon is happening July 2-6, and a DexCon membership doubles as your OSWARP membership.)

Make sure you select OSWARP in the "type of game" section in the form when you fill it out. And when you do send in a game proposal, let me know (this means Joseph Bloch) either in the comments at the original post or by email, so I have some idea of what's coming. I'll be doing regular updates as games come in, so as to drum up interest, and have some ideas for stuff at the con that requires I know what's on the horizon.

And don't forget, when you pre-register for the convention, use the code OSRDX17PX30, and you'll get a $30 discount off a complete membership. To take advantage of this deal, you must sign up for 4 Oswarp-labeled events once the schedule is posted, or two OSWARP events and the OSR Team Dungeon Crawl. (Which, if you're reading this blog, you were probably going to be doing anyway, but just in case...)

That means you get into Dexcon, and can play as many RPGs, board games, video games, LARPs, miniatures games, and wargames as you can put into your schedule over 96 hours for just $40, including all the OSWARP games you can handle. That's pretty damn good. (If you're just planning on coming for the Friday/Saturday OSWARP programming, that's still the best option to choose, in terms of price.)

And Now For Some New "Old School" of a Different Type :)

Twelve hour day at work, then dinner at the pub with the wife and kid - and still had some last minute stuff to move before the work begins tomorrow on the wall length closet behind me.

Yeah, the rest of the round one winners are going to have to wait until tomorrow. Shit, retirement can't come soon enough - I could blog full time ;)

Enjoy the musical interlude, an "Old School" rendition of GnR's Sweet Child of Mine:

Thoughts on Why Old School Is So Good

I've mentioned in the past that I'm open to posting articles from guest authors. The following article was written by +David Przybyla , one of the regular players in my Saturday Night Swords & Wizardry game.

Thoughts on Why Old School Is So Good

By Dave Przybyla

For many years I have been part of a regular Thursday evening roleplaying game. The group’s current
incarnation has been together about 3 years and has mostly played Savage Worlds. Then last summer I convinced them to try DCC. We played almost twenty sessions of DCC over the next five months. While I enjoyed DCC, I wanted something with less volatility of results. I decided to really go Old School and suggested we try an old TSR adventure with the Swords and Wizardry rules. Most of the group had never played RPGs during the 80's heyday of TSR; some weren't even alive in the 80’s.

I chose Swords and Wizardry for a number of reasons. First, I am familiar with it. Second, it is a well done set of rules that I can distribute in PDF for free. Third, the rulebook is not long, and prospective players can quickly learn what they need to know.

I pored over my collection of old TSR modules and picked N1: Against the Cult of the Reptile God. The premise is simple. A naga is expanding her cult by charming the people of an isolated farming village and the characters arrive to defeat her.

The module describes a number of adventure areas, including the Village of Orlane, a temple, and the swamp lair of the naga. There is some information on how the villagers, cultists and innocent alike, might react to the characters, but little guidance on how the characters should proceed. That was the first thing that struck me about the module and set it apart from most adventures I have purchased over the past 20 years. Even though there was a goal, the situation was set up more like a sandbox where the characters were expected to find their own way.

The players bought into this and enjoyed meeting the villagers and trying to figure out what was going on. But then they ran into the second Old School feature: there are no Challenge Ratings! Even though the adventure is designed for Levels 2-4, that does not mean the characters can go head-to-head with everything and expect to win. This was driven home in the first session, when they picked a fight with the constable and his deputies, and then promptly had their asses kicked. A dead PC is a tonic that cures so many ills.

This led us to a third Old School feature: characters can’t fall back on skills or other rules that will hand them information via game mechanics. They had to plan, conserve their resources, and carefully seek allies. Half of the second game session was spent planning how to get one of the constable’s men alone and ambush him. And the plan worked! It was like watching a light turn on as I saw the players find an amazing new way to enjoy the game. At that moment, I knew they were sold. They saw their efforts bear spectacular fruit and were excited as Hell.

Here is a corollary of planning: the players stretched their minds and what they conceived as possible within the game. They did not look for rules to bail them out. Sometimes, defining more possibilities through more rules actually creates a noose that strangles creativity.

As of this writing, we've played 5 sessions and I expect 2 more before we're through. TSR packed a lot of adventure into those 32 pages. The players love it and expect to take these characters through other adventures. These don’t have to be old adventures. But they will be Old School.