Well, it appears that Wizards didnt renew the Gangbusters trademark and a guy named Mark Hunt picked it up and put out a B/X Version of Gangbusters and supporting material.

I like Gangbusters.  Ran a campaign using Gangbusters 3rd edition and we had a lot of fun.   But the rules were sloppy.

I mean, the rules were a mess.  The driving rules were overcomplicated, the dexterity (cant remember if its called something else- don't have my 3e book with me) did most of the work and the rules for special skills were terrible.   You would basically roll 1d100 to find out what your specialty skills roll is and if you rolled a 90, you were great, where others might roll a 20.

3rd edition felt like it was done by people who really had no idea how to design a game.  Great setting, just poor mechanics design.

Well, now there is a B/X edition based on the D&D rules and I am reading it and it looks really good.   Mark Hunt is clearly a fan of Gangbusters and did a great job fixing the mistakes of the previous editions and making it work better.   Not finished reading but I like what I see.

Has anyone else read or played Gangbusters using the B/X edition?

My understanding is that WotC doesn't own the rights -- I think that Rick Krebs still owns the rights, or at least that's what he told me a few years ago. My assumption is that Rick allowed the B/X version to exist.

I have a copy of the game but have not played it. I agree with you that it seems quite well written and for my next Gangbusters campaign (whenever that may be) I will probably try these rules instead of the original.

I own B/X Gangbusters.  I love the simplicity of the rules.  The skills are saving throws.  For example, there is a "driving" saving throw.  It is a very interesting idea.

The way Armor class works is interesting as well: the more expensive your outfit is, the better (lower) your armor class is.  It doesn't make sense when yku aplly lovic, but this mechanic encourages people to dress in snazzy outfits so it has a great "cool" factor that encourages immersion into the setting. 

The great thing about B/X based games is they are easily modified to suit the needs of the referee.  So if you wanted to ditch the "better-the-outfit-better-the-armor class" rule you could come up with an AC bonus based on class and level, or sven just use a flat AC of 9 modified by dex and any body armor that the character might be wearing.

One other curious thing is the low hit points of the "Street Smart" character class only gets a d4 for hit points, while the "Educated" character class (think doctor, lawyer, architect...) gets a d6.  My opinion is that the Guy who grew up on the mean streets would have more hit points, but maybe not.  I would have to play the game and see how it all works out.

One thing you could do, is contact Mark Hunt.  He is very approachable.  I have spoken to him via Facebook many times, and I have no doubt that he would love to answer any questions about his game.  He seems like an upstanding guy. And he absolutely loves Gangbusters in all its forms.

I would also like to add that my favorite thing about the B/X Gangbusters books is the Forward, by the author.  It is truly inspirational.

Quote from: finarvyn on July 28, 2022, 09:31:18 AM
My understanding is that WotC doesn't own the rights -- I think that Rick Krebs still owns the rights, or at least that's what he told me a few years ago. My assumption is that Rick allowed the B/X version to exist.

I have a copy of the game but have not played it. I agree with you that it seems quite well written and for my next Gangbusters campaign (whenever that may be) I will probably try these rules instead of the original.

Well from what Mark Hunt told me (I am just repeating what he said) that he actually owns the trademarks to Gangbusters as Wizards let them lapse.   The game system cannot be trademarked or copywritten so he could have done a redo of the original rules, but instead he decided to do a OSR B/X version which is much more well put together than the original (I have 3rd edition and three supplements).

Quote from: Svenhelgrim on July 28, 2022, 09:38:13 AM

One thing you could do, is contact Mark Hunt.  He is very approachable.  I have spoken to him via Facebook many times, and I have no doubt that he would love to answer any questions about his game.  He seems like an upstanding guy. And he absolutely loves Gangbusters in all its forms.

I would also like to add that my favorite thing about the B/X Gangbusters books is the Forward, by the author.  It is truly inspirational.

I am actually in the Gangbusters Facebook page and yes, he is very approachable