I'm an experienced gamer looking to explore OSR. I started with AD&D 2E, which I understand is the earliest edition that everyone agrees is not old school.  Aside from a very brief dalliance with Fantasy Trip, that is also the oldest system I've played.  Can anyone recommend a good starting point system or two?

Basic Fantasy is good and completely free. It is what I prefer, although Swords & Wizardry is good too.

Quote from: Doc Sammy;952004Basic Fantasy is good and completely free. It is what I prefer, although Swords & Wizardry is good too.

Ditto

Thank you.

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

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?

DCC is a new system that tries (and by most accounts succeeds quite well) to capture the OSR flavour without directly copying a former edition of D&D. Arrows of Indra is a an adaption of old-school D&D to a setting based on the mythology of India rather than the atypical Western European pseudo medieval setting

BFRPG is a very good pick. Labyrinth Lord also which is mostly the same experiance if one wants something a bit closer to actual B/X, but I'd pick BFRPG anyway.

Swords&Wizardry Complete or Swords&Wizardry White Box. Both also free and Complete got a SRD page.

Why 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.

If you want a 'modern' OSR system Beyond the Wall, The Black Hack and White Hack are the best by far.

BtW doesn't do anything too radical with its stripped down B/X system but it has excellent chargen and scenario/setting material and its magic system is the best example of real 'low magic' in D&D that I've seen.

TBH and WH are more radical rewrites of the rules but are both very well done, well written, play fast and have that ever elusive design ideal 'elegance.' TBH also has the advantage of being very popular by OSR standards and people are making new material for it all the time.

Kevin Crawford's Godbound is typically great from the most reliably skilled designer in the OSR.

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?

Mostly curiosity.  I have found that what a group of gamers changes (or preserves) in a system can tell me a lot about what they value and how they play.  I want to understand the community as well as the systems.

Also, 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.

What does B/X stand for?  I'm not familiar with that one.

IIRC, Basic Fantasy RPG is the third most played fantasy RPG on Roll20, below Dungeons & Dragons 5E and Pathfinder.  So it's popular, the PDFs are free, and the physical books are cheap.

B/X stands for the Dungeons & Dragons Basic & Expert Sets, released in 1981 IIRC.

I highly suggest checking out MAZES & MINOTAURS

It's free and has a mountain of supplements!
http://storygame.free.fr/MAZES.htm

M&M is Greek Mythos via Hollywood OD&D - aka Clash of the Titans, 300, Ray Harryhausen goodness.

I've run it many times and it does great with new players.

Basic Fantasy RPG is a great starting point, being printed at-cost. Most of the adventures are good (esp JD Neal's work) and can support years of play. http://basicfantasy.org/downloads.html

I've had a lot of success with ACKS (Adventurer Conquerer King System), as my signature attests. They have a great community and a solid line of products as well. Although I'm shilling for them so much lately I'm considering asking to be on their payroll...

You could try using Swords and Wizardry with my Majestic Wilderlands supplement using the Scourge of the Demon Wolf adventure
http://www.batintheattic.com

Of course that would be sounding my own horn. On a more serious note Swords and Wizardry, Labyninth Lord, OSRIC, Basic Fantasy, ACKS, Loftfp, all work well as a intro to the OSR.

Quote from: AmbitiousGM;952064Mostly curiosity.  I have found that what a group of gamers changes (or preserves) in a system can tell me a lot about what they value and how they play.  I want to understand the community as well as the systems.

Also, 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.

What does B/X stand for?  I'm not familiar with that one.

Forget the brand, old school is about more what you as the DM/GM bring to the table.  B/X or better yet the Rules Compendium couldn't be a better old school start.  The new stuff is just reskinned TSR and someone else's home version of B/X etc.  

If the negative association is really with the brand on the box and not the rules, that is some pretty narrow minded thinking, if it is with the rules, well a lot of the OSR doubles down on the mechanics that many were not enchanted with.

You played AD&D 2e, so doing 1e would not be much different and falls in the old school camp.  Likewise, you can't get much more old school that The Fantasy Trip and there are "OSR" versions of it. TFT also has a very different vibe than TSR products.

Other old school games outside the TSR orbit are Tunnels & Trolls, and Dragon Warriors.  I'd highly recommend looking at Dragon Warriors, great art in the last edition (same rules from yore just put together nicely), a class system but with skill-like flexibility and a better treatment of armor.  Lastly Castles & Crusades is OSR I believe, even before OSR became an acronym.

Quote from: Xanther;952115If the negative association is really with the brand on the box and not the rules, that is some pretty narrow minded thinking, if it is with the rules, well a lot of the OSR doubles down on the mechanics that many were not enchanted with.

The association is with "Dungeons and Dragons", as they tried three different editions of it (3, 4, and 5) and had consistently negative experiences.  While I know from personal experience that TSR produced a very different game from any that WotC did, after 3 strikes "here's another D&D" isn't likely to get a great response.  I'm hoping I can run something successful first, then introduce an older edition as having more in common with the game they just played and liked than the WotC ones they didn't.

Are The Fantasy Trip pdfs available for sale anywhere?  I'd love to pick up a set but haven't been able to find them.

Thanks again to everyone who shared recommendations; everything I've looked at so far seems promising.