Kickstarter - Against the Darkmaster (Rolemaster Clone)

I was a fairly big fan of Rolemaster and MERP back in the early and mid-80s. There was just something about those critical tables that brough folks back to the table. With the Against the Darkmaster Kickstarter, what's old is new and Rolemaster gets cloned.

Heck, there is even a free Quickstart so you can check out the rules prior to backing. Against the Darkmaster Quickstart.

Against the Darkmaster is a traditional tabletop Epic Fantasy roleplaying game, inspired by great classic fantasy sagas and designed to bring heroic action and heavy metal combat to your table. 

If you put together works like The Lord of the Rings and The Wheel of Time, sprinkled them with a bit of Labyrinth and Dragonslayer, and put everything in a blender together with a healthy dose of classic Heavy Metal, you’ll get a typical Against the Darkmaster game session.

The game is built around a single simple underlying mechanics: you roll a d100, add your bonus, and confront the result on a table to see the outcome of your character’s actions. This makes the game quick and easy to master even for new players, without having to sacrifice detail. 

With 12 different Kins, 13 Cultures, 6 Vocations, and dozens of different Background Options, Against the Darkmaster doesn’t just let you make the character you want; it also helps you create a hero that will feel as if it sprang straight out of the pages of an Epic Fantasy Saga! 

19 bucks for the PDF. 55 for the Print plus PDF

Free RPG Day Pick #3: BLUEHOLME Prentice Rules - The Maze of Nuromen (Holmes Clone)

I'll make this a dual pick, with both the BLUEHOLME Prentice Rules and the introductory adventure The Maze of Nuromen available as "Pay What You Want" - so download them both, read them, play them - and if you feel the author deserves a few silvers, you can throw a handful his way.

It really is a nice clone of the Holme's Basic Rules and you can't beat the price...

Send in the Clones! - New Clone of Holmes D&D - BLUEHOLME

I've lost track of the current collection of classic clones (say that 5 times fast) of the different flavors of old D&D. I think I tapped out when the PDFs of Delving Deeper arrived in my inbox.

Anyhow, there is a new clone of the Holmes Basic Blue book - therefore, BLUEHOLME - Prentice Rules.

Sixty some odd pages covering levels 1 through 3.

It's actually a tidy presentation that's easy on the eyes with a nice assortment of public domain art. I'd do a comparison with my Holmes Basic Box, but that's currently in storage. In any case, I'm sure someone else will do so, as the BLUEHOLME basic rules are free.

There is mention of a full set of rules covering level 1 through 14, but that doesn't seem to be released yet.

Uhm, what else can I say about it?

Add another clone to your virtual drive or tablet. It's free ;)

From the blurb:

BLUEHOLME™ Prentice Rules is a table top fantasy roleplaying game that emulates the game play of the original basic rule book, popularly known as the Holmes Edition or simply the Blue Book. The rules in this book allow for characters of 1st to 3rd levels, and include everything the referee could possibly need to create and run a campaign in the Underworld: monsters, magic, treasure, and … well, what more do you need?

Because This One Goes to Eleven!

Has anyone put together a list of the D&D retroclones / derivatives and the like in order of relative rules complexity? I'm avoiding the "crunch" label so as not to offend sensitive readers.

I'm talking everything from Swords & Wizardry (all 3 flavors) to Hackmaster (2 flavors) and everything in between and beyond. Besides being a useful list of clones in general, a nice chart would help the prospective GM find a game that is right for his gaming style while still being familiar to those that grew up on Gygax D&D up though Pathfinder.

I realize that much of this would be subjective, and the complexity label might work better as a general banding system.

If it hasn't been done yet, would there be an interest in seeing one get completed?