OSR Sale - Ambition & Avarice: 2nd Edition

It's Greg Christopher's Birthday Week, and he's put Ambition & Avarice: 2nd Edition on sale for 5 bucks in PDF (regularly $15). A&A 2e is one of the best OSR games on the market (and I'm not just saying this because Greg is a good friend, which he is). A&A 2e should be on every Grognard's game shelf, as the equipment charts Greg has included would be an asset to any OSR campaign, regardless of the ruleset.

Ambition and Avarice is an action-adventure roleplaying game with an easy-to-understand OSR chassis. The 2nd edition maintains focus on character classes and races that walk the line of respectability.

2nd Edition at a Glance:

- Simple OSR-style resolution mechanics

- 10 Races: Dark Elf, Dwarf, Elf, Gnome, Goblin, Halfling, Hobgoblin, Human, Lizardfolk, and Orc.

- 12 Classes: Brigand, Conjurer, Cultist, Elementalist, Enchanter, Knave, Ranger, Savage, Shaman, Witch, Veteran, and Zealot.

- More powerful low-level magic users + more powerful high-level mundane characters.

- Pre-built backpacks to grab off the shelf for quick character creation.

- The most comprehensive medieval fantasy equipment chapter in the RPG industry (I checked).

- Monster trophies to take after the battle and use as magic items; Cyclops eyes, Giant frog tongue, Nymph hair, and more.

- Catalysts: A spell component system that is actually fun to use.

- Clear and useful rules for hex crawling, managing retainers, and building your own barony.

- A complete customizable cosmology system with major/minor gods and demigods of your own creation.

- 596 spells: a mix of old favorites and reimagined wonders divided across six traditions: conjuration, elementalism, enchantment, primeval, salvation, and vexation.

- NPC design system mixing reaction rolls and attitude to determine exactly how far each NPC will go to help or harm you.

- A dungeon familiarity mechanic to allow the players to gather information BEFORE going down the steps into darkness.

- Full Bestiary of 182 monsters with a simplified combat stat block system for easy management.

- Monster entries include formulae for creating your own twisted undead.... if you don't mind dabbling in necromancy.

- Treasure chapter with rules on magic item creation and numerous treasure tables to stock your dungeons.

Each class features;

- Expertise in a class-specific task; like the Conjuror's binding circle ability or a Cultist's ability to sacrifice humanoids to curry favor with their god.

- Identification of something in the world; like the Witch's ability to identify sickness/disease or the Savage's ability to recognize familiar scents and follow them.

- Recruit followers to serve as henchmen; like the Knave's ability to recruit spies or the Conjurer's ability to create imps to serve them.

Six flexible magic-using classes have a varied selection of new and exciting spells. There are easy methods to create your own enchantments, raise unique undead to serve you, or craft cursed items to give to your enemies. The non-magical classes have their own rich choices and don't fade away in importance as the magical characters advance in level.

These classes can then be combined with 10 classic fantasy races; from elves and dwarves to orcs and lizardfolk. You can combine them however you wish, creating everything from goblin rangers to dwarven brigands. Your race is no longer central to your destiny, playing a marginal role in restricting your actions in the game world.

The entire package is designed to allow quick character generation and presented in a format that is clear and easy to read. The text is packed with explanations of not just the rules, but the reasons behind the rules. It is an ideal choice to hand to a new player who is looking to get into the great game, but turned away by dense technical rulebooks with byzantine organization. The adventuring mechanics are also OSR compatible and allow easy integration with a variety of old school campaign material. You can pick up this game, grab an old module, and get playing in a very short amount of time.

 

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New Release - Ambition & Avarice 2nd Edition (OSR Ruleset)

I will freely admit I am biased in favor of Ambition & Avarice, as I was involved in playtesting both the 1st edition and the 2nd edition versions of the ruleset. What can I say? I am blessed to be part of this amazing community of creative gamers. I also consider Greg Christopher to be a good friend.

That being said, Ambition & Avarice IS a very well thought out OSR ruleset. It feels very familiar, yet at the same time presents options that you don't normally get in an OSR ruleset.

Ambition & Avarice 2e is $15 in PDF and in $30.76 in Hardcover.

How best to comment on A&A? How about I paste the elevator pitch from the DTRPG write up, and comment as we go along?

Ambition and Avarice is an action-adventure roleplaying game with an easy-to-understand OSR chassis. The 2nd edition maintains focus on character classes and races that walk the line of respectability. (like I said above, it feels comforatable and familiar, and then its new and excitingly different)

2nd Edition at a Glance:

- Simple OSR-style resolution mechanics (check!)

- 10 Races: Dark Elf, Dwarf, Elf, Gnome, Goblin, Halfling, Hobgoblin, Human, Lizardfolk, and Orc. (non standard humanoid races for the win)

- 12 Classes: Brigand, Conjurer, Cultist, Elementalist, Enchanter, Knave, Ranger, Savage, Shaman, Witch, Veteran, and Zealot. (I love the take on classes - I need to play a spell caster next time around)

- More powerful low-level magic users + more powerful high-level mundane characters. (its a fine art to balance,and Greg gets it right)

- Pre-built backpacks to grab off the shelf for quick character creation. (I did this to a lesser extend with SWL - its simply a no-brainer these days)

- The most comprehensive medieval fantasy equipment chapter in the RPG industry (I checked). (woot! and you can steal use it for other OSR games too :)

- Monster trophies to take after the battle and use as magic items; Cyclops eyes, Giant frog tongue, Nymph hair, and more. (another thing one could easily steal for a different system of choice. It is very well done here)

- Catalysts: A spell component system that is actually fun to use. (didn't play a caster in playtests - can't say one way or the other)

- Clear and useful rules for hex crawling, managing retainers, and building your own barony. (solid stuff and a must read for all OSR gamers, regardless of ruleset)

- A complete customizable cosmology system with major/minor gods and demigods of your own creation. (more depth than I usually use, but good to have for the players tha "want to know")

- 596 spells: a mix of old favorites and reimagined wonders divided across six traditions: conjuration, elementalism, enchantment, primeval, salvation, and vexation. (I REALLY need to play a caster)

- NPC design system mixing reaction rolls and attitude to determine exactly how far each NPC will go to help or harm you. (built for improv stylr DMs like me)

- A dungeon familiarity mechanic to allow the players to gather information BEFORE going down the steps into darkness. (an interesting twist)

- Full Bestiary of 182 monsters with a simplified combat stat block system for easy management. (check)

- Monster entries include formulae for creating your own twisted undead.... if you don't mind dabbling in necromancy. (need I repeat mysef? I TRULY REALLY need to play a caster)

- Treasure chapter with rules on magic item creation and numerous treasure tables to stock your dungeons. (fun and inspiring as a DM)

Each class features;

- Expertise in a class-specific task; like the Conjuror's binding circle ability or a Cultist's ability to sacrifice humanoids to curry favor with their god. (this does a great job in defining the various classes and differentiatimg them from each other)

- Identification of something in the world; like the Witch's ability to identify sickness/disease or the Savage's ability to recognize familiar scents and follow them. (fun stuff)

- Recruit followers to serve as henchmen; like the Knave's ability to recruit spies or the Conjurer's ability to create imps to serve them. (this is awesome and again, highly yokeable)

Six flexible magic-using classes have a varied selection of new and exciting spells. There are easy methods to create your own enchantments, raise unique undead to serve you, or craft cursed items to give to your enemies. The non-magical classes have their own rich choices and don't fade away in importance as the magical characters advance in level. (check!)

These classes can then be combined with 10 classic fantasy races; from elves and dwarves to orcs and lizardfolk. You can combine them however you wish, creating everything from goblin rangers to dwarven brigands. Your race is no longer central to your destiny, playing a marginal role in restricting your actions in the game world. (I do love this aspect)

The entire package is designed to allow quick character generation and presented in a format that is clear and easy to read. The text is packed with expanations of not just the rules, but the reasons behind the rules. It is an ideal choice to hand to a new player who is looking to get into the great game, but turned away by dense technical rulebooks with byzantine organization. The adventuring mechanics are also OSR compatible and allow easy integration with a variety of old school campaign material. You can pick up this game, grab an old module, and get playing in a very short amount of time. (this is literally true. while not as quick as generating a SWL character, it is quicker than every other OSR game I've played or run)

All in all, and excellent ruleset AND resource for other OSR rulesets. Did I mention A&A has a hyperlinked Table of Contents?  

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I Legitimately Rolled 2 18's on 3d6 on Saturday Night - If You Call Roll20 "Legitimate" ;)

I've heard it said there is something not quite "kosher" with the Roll20 Diceroller. I do recall many a Roll20 session where Tim Shorts, he of Gothridge Manor, couldn't stop rolling 1's, be it on a D20 or a D6. It was so bad it was comical. Sorry, Tim ;)

This past Saturday night I was involved in a playtest of Greg Christopher's Ambition & Avarice 2nd Edition RPG. It's very much OSR and I still have my first edition printing of the rules, but I digress. Due to my serious lack of planning as I headed to The Poconos for the weekend, I didn't have the proper charger for my laptop, and I knew my time in session would be limited.

Rolled my first character. His total modifiers were negative 3 (with only one positive modifier), and by the rulebook, he was not a keeper.

Rolled my second character. No stats with a bonus, the total modifier was negative 1. Greg told me to reroll.

Right out of the gate I knew something was different:

17, 15, 18, 18, 16, 8

On 3d6 

I could have taken the rolls in order and Charisma would have been my dump stat, but as I was playing a Ranger, I figured I needed some kind of handicap, and as many of the Ranger's talents are Wisdom based, that is where the 8 went.

On a side note, I'm enjoying the A&A playtest, uber stats not-withstanding. ;)

It is very much a sandbox-style game, and I plan to do a session report after my next session of play, when my dying laptop won't be giving me an untimely end to my game session...

The Tavern is supported by readers like you. The easiest way to support The Tavern is to shop via our affiliate links. DTRPG, Amazon, and Humble Bundle are affiliate programs that support The Tavern.  You can catch the daily Tavern Chat podcast on Anchor, YouTube,  or wherever you listen to your podcast collection. - Tenkar

Ambition & Avarice - Print Copy in Hand

I came home today to find my print copy of Ambition & Avarice waiting for me. Good stuff, especially as I've been involved in playtesting the system pretty much since it's earliest version.

Even better, the layout is nice and clean. Sure, I knew that from the PDF version, but it's still nice to see it in print ;)

Ambition & Avarice is Now Available in Print!

I really like Ambition & Avarice, but I've never reviewed it. Why? Because I playtested, proofread, helped edit and have a mention in the dedication. I can't do a review of it and be impartial. Simple and honest truth.

That being said, I do believe it's one of the more unique takes on an OSR ruleset that I've read, remaining true to it's source material and gaming ancestors and yet taking on a new direction of it's own.

PDF is 7 bucks.

Print + PDF is $12.42 (if you already ordered a PDF copy of the rules, there should be a coupon coming your way later tonight for 7 dollars off).

I plan on running a game session of A&A using +Greg Gillespie 's Barrowmaze in late September via G+ Hangouts, and I'll put out a call for players as the time gets closer. If all goes well, I'll make it a monthly event.

I raise my tankard to +Greg Christopher for a great game now in print.

Huzzah!

Some Thoughts on Using Ambition & Avarice With DCC and Other OSR Systems

I did some serious reading of the new Ambition & Avarice release last night, which is a much different experience than reading different sections as stand alone pieces while trying to proofread. It struck me that in addition to being an excellent OSR ruleset on it's own, it makes for an extremely useful DM's tool or supplement for other OSR rules.

Case in point. I'm looking to kick off a DCC RPG campaign this summer, with the plan to use both published adventures and my own scenarios mixed together. The PCs classes (and "savage" or humanoid) races would make for some excellent NPCs or adversaries for use in DCC.

I can just see using a goblin cultist and his minions in an adventure, using the A&A spells with minor alterations. No one says that NPCs and monsters have to be created using the same rules as the game you are running.

It's a great tool to keep your players on their toes and keep everything fresh.

Well, except for the fact that +Greg Christopher is one of the players in my gaming group, as is +Craig Brasco , the cover artist. Or the fact that our group playtested the rules. But that's okay, as they will get a chance to playtest the mish mash of rules I'm talking about above this summer ;)

Anyhow, here's a bit on the Cultist in A&A. I think it's a perfect fit as an adversary in DCC:

Cultists are able to perform sacrifices to capture the life force of their victims. The sacrifice must be a humanoid. The subject must be bound in a ritualistic manner on an altar or in an open area of at least 10 square feet. They must also be healthy (no toxins, no diseases, etc.) and possess over 50% of their maximum hit points. 

The sacrifice kills the subject and transfers their life energy into the escaping blood, which can be stored for future use. For every hit die possessed by the subject, a pint of infused blood (16 ounces) can be captured. Consuming a pint will recover 1d6 hit points or heal 1 points of attribute damage. It remains potent for up to a week.

Ambition & Avarice: 1st Edition Releases in PDF (OSR Ruleset)

I'm very excited to see the full version of Ambition & Avarice released into the wilds, not least because I game with the writer and one of the artists ;) I've been playtesting this, and it is good. It's takes some of the usual tropes and twists them a bit, but it is solidly OSR.

I'm working off a Chromebook, so grabbing a copy will have to wait until I get home.

I know what I'll be reading before tomorrow night's game session ;)

From the blurb:

Ambition and Avarice is an action-adventure roleplaying game. It provides a rich tapestry of choice for the player while remaining light and fun. The adventuring mechanics are OSR compatible and allow easy integration with a variety of old school campaign material. You can pick up this game, grab an old module, and get playing in a very short amount of time.

The characters are rough and dangerous adventurers. No more clerics wagging their moralistic fingers at thieves. You are all thieves in some sense of the word, having come to feed on the treasured corpse of the past. There are 10 races and 10 classes that each bring a unique flavor to the classic dungeon crawl. The five magic-using classes have a varied selection of new and exciting spells. The non-magical classes have their own rich choices and don't fade away in importance as the magical characters advance in level.

The entire package is designed to allow quick character generation and presented in a format that is clear and easy to read. It is an ideal choice to hand to a new player who is looking to get into the great game, but turned away by thick rulebooks with byzantine organization.