Quote from: AmbitiousGM;952064What does B/X stand for?  I'm not familiar with that one.

B/X stands for Basic and Expert D&D, two sets of Dungeons & Dragons published around the same time AD&D was coming out. B/X is grown from the soil of Original D&D, and thus a separate beast from AD&D.

Quote from: AmbitiousGM;952064Also, I think I'll have an easier time selling my current gaming group on a system they haven't heard of before than an older edition of D&D.  Most of them didn't experience anything TSR produced and have developed some negative associations with the brand.  I hope I'll be able to get them to try it eventually, but an intermediate step will make things easier.

With that in mind you might want to check out Lamentations of the Flame Princess. It is a terrific adaptation of B/X D&D... and significantly it is very different in tone and ambition than previous D&D products.

By that I mean it is not influenced by Tolkien or other high fantasy at all. It bills itself as Weird Fantasy Roleplaying and its default setting 17th Century Europe. But the rules are pretty much exactly those of B/X D&D, but it's about weirdness and horrors and unique monsters and strange magic.

Most of the "Weird Fantasy" is found in the art in Rules & Magic Book and a few of the spells, in the Referee Book (which has no rules but is full of great advice about how to bring out the weird fantasy), and the modules (which I have found to be uniformly terrific. I'm sure there are clunkers. I haven't run into them yet).


You can get a FREE version of the Rules & Magic PDF here (but it contains none of the art).

You can get a FREE version of the Referee Book PDF here.

Here are adventures available in PDF.

Here is the LotFP website.

I've run about six months worth of play with the rules, modules, and adventures of my own design by stitching together the modules into a sprawling campaign.

The players are having a blast. Their PCs have recently acquired a three masted ship that can travel between alternate worlds and are heading off to a horror fantasy version of southeast Asia to get the materials required to stop an invasion of earth from the world of Carcosa led by The Yellow King. (I'll add here they've taken this mission upon themselves. I simply provide them with obstacles and opportunities. They go where they want.)

In terms of "brand" it is a completely different kettle of fish. As one of my players said, "I know we're playing D&D. But this isn't like any D&D I've ever played. There's no orcs, no goblins. We seldom go into a dungeon. And when we do its filled with some nightmare none of us have ever encountered before."

Given that you can check out the Rules & Magic and the Referee Book for free, it seems like it might be worth at least a look.

Quote from: Armchair Gamer;952472And you can get a chance at a cheap copy by backing their 7th printing Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/676918054/castles-and-crusades-players-handbook-7

Just curious, is there a compelling reason to purchase new printings if you have 4th printing copies?

Lots of good suggestions... OSRIC for 1e AD&D, For Gold & Glory for 2e. Castles & Crusades for a sort-of 3e lite.

I would recommend Fantastic Heroes and Witchery as a very nice compilation of OSR variations.

Dark Dungeons is a great BECMI/Rules Cyclopedia clone.

Quote from: Angry_Douchebag;952769Just curious, is there a compelling reason to purchase new printings if you have 4th printing copies?

I have the 1st printing and I've flipped through the various later printings and I haven't seen any reason to update.

I hear they have a new book coming out with new classes, new spells, new races if you want to give them some cash!

Quote from: Opaopajr;952715For Gold & Glory, the 2e retro-clone, is your answer. 2e is fast chargen, fast combat, everything additional is optional crunch to your salad.

What makes G&G a better clone than the others?

What does it do chargen and combat wise that others don't?

Slightly off-topic, but to the OP, what kind of campaign do you want to run? That may help you determine a good OSR system for you.

As much as I love Basic Fantasy, Delving Deeper, Microlite74, and Swords & Wizardry White Box, I will freely admit that different OSR games fit certain niches better than others. For example, I am planning on running a Sonic The Hedgehog/OD&D crossover campaign (It's an old-school Medieval Fantasy AU) and I really want that old-school OD&D feel. So, in all honesty, my best bet would be Swords & Wizardry White Box or Delving Deeper, though Basic Fantasy and Microlite74 Basic can also work in a pinch depending on how light and easy I want the mechanics to be.

If you're looking for something that has the 2e AD&D feel both thematically and mechanically, I will second the recommendation for Gold & Glory.

Quote from: Spinachcat;952784What makes G&G a better clone than the others?

What does it do chargen and combat wise that others don't?

Because it's a cleaned up editing of 2e, and not much more. Quick and easy 2e initiative, grapple, etc. rules with all the toolbox options you remember, now in a faster reference document, .pdf, with tighter editing. And the DMG & MM is incorporated by now, IIRC (pretty sure MM is).

Barebones 2e core is extremely fast chargen and combat. It's easy to forget how much was truly optional.

Quote from: AmbitiousGM;952012Thank you.

Can anyone comment on how Dungeon Crawl Classics and Arrows of Indra compare and/or fit in to the ecosystem?

Arrows of Indra is D&D remade to fit an Indian setting.  Probably not the best place to start if you want something very traditional, but if you want something a little exotic I'm sure you'd like it.

If you want to check out source material, you can head to DriveThru and look at the older material. I recommend checking out the B/X rules as well as the Rules Cyclopedia. The Rules Cyclopedia is great because it really has pretty much everything you need. I quite enjoyed the BECMI boxed sets as well.

Labyrinth Lord is probably my favorite OSR. It can work as a stand alone came emulating B/X. There is a supplement for it called the Advanced Edition Companion, which is kind of what AD&D 1e would be like if it was made to be compatible with B/X D&D. I use it with the Rules Cyclopedia because I have no problem more options. I believe you can get the PDFs for free.

Dark Dungeons was mentioned as well as being kind of BECMI/Rules Cyclopedia. It also has some homages to Spelljammer with the serial numbers filed off. I think the PDF for this is also free.

OSRIC is the book I carry when I want to play/DM AD&D but I don't feel like lugging several books across town. It's an AD&D clone and also has a free PDF.

DCC is a really big book and kind of it's own thing but it's well made and the price of the print copy is low. If you happen to be in an FLGS I'd recommend picking it up.

Astonishing Swordsmen and Sorcerors of Hyperborea is kind of AD&D 1eish. I like to describe it as what Unearthed Arcana could have been if they dispensed with the Tolkienisms.

I'd say start with the free stuff, try and read through the originals.

Quote from: ChristopherKubasik;952752You can get a FREE version of the Referee Book PDF here.

Huh. I picked up a LotFP Bundle of Holding a while back that included that Characters and Magic book, and I just assumed that was the whole core. I really like the mechanics, but it did seem a little light on the GM end of things. I guess this explains why

It never really bothered me, as I was mostly interested in harvesting it for parts to add to B/X. I was a little surprised that, art aside, I wasn't seeing much of the horror tone the game is famous for. I thought maybe it was a case of a game having its tone explained purely through its adventures, which is an entirely viable approach. Having perused the referee book now, this game really does live up to its reputation just in the core.

Quote from: Angry_Douchebag;952769Just curious, is there a compelling reason to purchase new printings if you have 4th printing copies?

I'd say if you have the 4th printing, there's not much of a reason to.  For nothing else than the 4th printings are B&W and much easier to read than the color printings.

Quote from: Opaopajr;952844Because it's a cleaned up editing of 2e, and not much more. Quick and easy 2e initiative, grapple, etc. rules with all the toolbox options you remember, now in a faster reference document, .pdf, with tighter editing. And the DMG & MM is incorporated by now, IIRC (pretty sure MM is).

Barebones 2e core is extremely fast chargen and combat. It's easy to forget how much was truly optional.

Another hell yeah for For Gold and Glory.  GREAT 2nd edition clone.

I'd recommend BFRPG or Osric. IMO, both are tightly written and better organised than their historical inspirations.

Quote from: Malrex;960373Another hell yeah for For Gold and Glory.  GREAT 2nd edition clone.

What's the difference between 2e and a clone of it?  All the kits and specialty classes that came on at the end of 2e?  Genuinely curious.

Quote from: Voros;952025Why do you feel the need to check out the OSR systems instead of just picking up the original OD&D, B/X or 1e books which are now all available online? If you're familiar with 2e S&W will be super familiar, as it is essentially 1e/2e with some minor 3e tweaks.

This.  Most of the older official D&D releases are available!  Why bother with someone's amatuer hour work?

Quote from: Christopher Brady;960453This.  Most of the older official D&D releases are available!  Why bother with someone's amatuer hour work?

I hope to god this is not an honest question. But here you go:

Many are better organised and have made tweaks to the rules. I vastly prefer S&W Whitebox to OD&D for example.