Quote from: rkhigdon on August 02, 2022, 10:48:29 PM
3E is probably the better game, but for whatever the aesthetic of 2E just sings to me.  It's a book I constantly pull off the shelf and just page through and immerse myself in.

Yeah, a lot of the new art isnt up to the quality of the old art, but at least the old art is still there.

Quote from: mudbanks on August 02, 2022, 10:45:41 PM

Quote from: Chainsaw on August 02, 2022, 07:26:53 PM
Glad to hear it, man. I wrote the Brazen Bull. 

The starting reminds me of Shadows in Zamboula, then quickly descends into a dark and bloody dungeon romp. I actually adapted the meat hooks idea in one of my sessions (but modified it to suit the theme). Thank you for the wonderful module!

Nice. I originally located Brazen Bull in Khromarium (aka Commorium), but I have run it in Xambaala (aka Zamboula) in my home campaign and at conventions. Very flexible little trio of low-level urban adventures in that module that could work in most any city or town.

How does the setting for this compare to World of Xoth or Primeval Thule?

I liked both of those quite a bit.

Quote from: Thornhammer on August 06, 2022, 09:07:49 PM
How does the setting for this compare to World of Xoth or Primeval Thule?

I liked both of those quite a bit.

Its a bit weirder than Xoth and unlike Thule has no demihumans. I like it more than both myself.

Quote from: rytrasmi on July 29, 2022, 11:27:40 AM
There is a declaration phase in each round of combat where PCs and NPCs state their intent for the round, one of the few games that I know of that does this. Declaration is done prior to rolling initiative, which is also rolled each round and is side-based.

Wouldn't that cause an issue with players wanting to 'declare' their intent for the coming combat round after the DM stats what the Monsters/Enemies will do? Since it would be to the players advantage to choose what they'll do after knowing what the Enemy will do. Sure they still have to roll initiative and may have to go before or after the enemy, but it's a bit of an advantage IMO. (Prap's I'm just a harsh DM ;-p)

Quote from: Jaeger on July 29, 2022, 07:54:59 PM

Quote from: rytrasmi on July 29, 2022, 11:27:40 AM
...
There is a declaration phase in each round of combat where PCs and NPCs state their intent for the round, one of the few games that I know of that does this. Declaration is done prior to rolling initiative, which is also rolled each round and is side-based. There are several pages of optional combat actions beyond what you typically find in d20 systems, such as horse charge, and a what looks like a decent set of brawling rules.

There are 4 classes (fighter, sorcerer, cleric, thief), which are quite are distinct. There are 22 sub-classes that add subtlety and blur the lines between main classes.

The Referee's book has a lot of setting detail, advice on running long and short campaigns, treasure tables and magic items, as well as a respectably large bestiary.

Anyway, that's my first impression. If you have it or play it, share your thoughts! Or if you have any questions, I will try to find the answer (still reading through the books).

Here's the publisher: https://www.hyperborea.tv/

That all looks supercool and something I'd like to look into.

Quote from: rytrasmi on July 29, 2022, 11:27:40 AMThe system is d20 with descending AC. There's no THAC0, but a matrix instead or you can just memorize the formula.

Really? Why?

Are there a bunch of other roll under mechanics in the game?

Probably just a nod to TSR era D&D / AD&D?

Quote from: HMWHC on September 20, 2022, 02:28:31 PM

Quote from: rytrasmi on July 29, 2022, 11:27:40 AM
There is a declaration phase in each round of combat where PCs and NPCs state their intent for the round, one of the few games that I know of that does this. Declaration is done prior to rolling initiative, which is also rolled each round and is side-based.

Wouldn't that cause an issue with players wanting to 'declare' their intent for the coming combat round after the DM stats what the Monsters/Enemies will do? Since it would be to the players advantage to choose what they'll do after knowing what the Enemy will do. Sure they still have to roll initiative and may have to go before or after the enemy, but it's a bit of an advantage IMO. (Prap's I'm just a harsh DM ;-p)

Only the players have to declare their intent. 

I missed out on 2E but I have the 1st E boxed set. Is the game substantially different now?

Quote from: rytrasmi on August 01, 2022, 02:06:26 PM

Quote from: mudbanks on July 29, 2022, 08:19:28 PM
Oh man oh man! I just want to run Hyperborea some day. I've been supporting Jeff's games since 1e,and while I never got to play or DM, I've mined his modules for a lot of ideas. Certainly more inspired than those from other modern OSR games, but then that could just be my bias as a Howard fan.

How are the modules? I haven't picked any up yet, as I wanted to see what the system was like before I went all in. Are there any you would recommend?

Also, to the others here with PDF only, the quality of the hard copy is pretty damn fine. It's an off-white matte paper. They're very nicely printed and seem sturdy. The binding is stitched and glued. Made in USA.

The modules are all flavorful and can be pretty deadly.  We ran a campaign in 2e using all their published modules but it ended when the party lost all but one character (a pyromancer) at around 7th-8th level.  Ported him over to our Swords & Wizardry campaign and he died in the next adventure, fittingly in a Temple of Tsothaqqua.  But the Gnome illusionist from that party still carries the mi-go laser pistol he inherited from the pyromancer.

Definitely a cool game with great subclasses and fun spell lists that add a lot of flavor not found in other OSR offerings.  I would have preferred that they kept a single volume option, but this edition is well-made and the separate gazetteer booklet is excellent.  We just took the setting and made it the North Pole of my homebrew campaign so you can easily integrate it into other settings if you don't want to go full-bore into their weird fantasy style.

Quote from: Slambo on August 03, 2022, 09:57:26 AM

Quote from: rkhigdon on August 02, 2022, 10:48:29 PM
3E is probably the better game, but for whatever the aesthetic of 2E just sings to me.  It's a book I constantly pull off the shelf and just page through and immerse myself in.

Yeah, a lot of the new art isnt up to the quality of the old art, but at least the old art is still there.

Agreed.  In particular I think the old art for the character classes was markedly better.

How Sword and Sorcery is the game? The setting sounds good, but from what I see of the rules, the four core classes include magicians and clerics. Is it still D&D at heart, or would characters stand a chance if they lost all of their equipment?

Quote from: Krazz on September 21, 2022, 12:24:21 AM
How Sword and Sorcery is the game? The setting sounds good, but from what I see of the rules, the four core classes include magicians and clerics. Is it still D&D at heart, or would characters stand a chance if they lost all of their equipment?

Oh, it's definitely D&D, just with a bit of hi-tech, and lots of Lovecraftian, CAS, etc. monsters.  We pretty much play it like straight up 1e.  Character classes feel like more flavorful 1e or 1.5 era classes.  Personally, I like the sub-classes and their little tweaks and abilities.  Cryomancers, pyromancers, witches, and necromancers all have their own spell lists, though there's some overlap, which I think adds a lot of flavor.  The various fighter classes have different skills and there are a bunch of hybrid classes, like the Warlock, which is a fighter-mage combo, that stand in for multi-classing.  You can customize by picking what kind of mage you want to draw from.

One complaint is that the monk's unarmed damage gets nerfed a bit, topping out at 4d4, but you can house-rule that in.  They do give monks d8 for hit dice, sort of like the bump they get in Castles & Crusades, where the monk gets a d12 for hit dice, but unarmed damage is way nerfed.

Quote from: Persimmon on September 21, 2022, 09:14:26 AM

Quote from: Krazz on September 21, 2022, 12:24:21 AM
How Sword and Sorcery is the game? The setting sounds good, but from what I see of the rules, the four core classes include magicians and clerics. Is it still D&D at heart, or would characters stand a chance if they lost all of their equipment?

Oh, it's definitely D&D, just with a bit of hi-tech, and lots of Lovecraftian, CAS, etc. monsters.  We pretty much play it like straight up 1e.  Character classes feel like more flavorful 1e or 1.5 era classes.  Personally, I like the sub-classes and their little tweaks and abilities.  Cryomancers, pyromancers, witches, and necromancers all have their own spell lists, though there's some overlap, which I think adds a lot of flavor.  The various fighter classes have different skills and there are a bunch of hybrid classes, like the Warlock, which is a fighter-mage combo, that stand in for multi-classing.  You can customize by picking what kind of mage you want to draw from.

One complaint is that the monk's unarmed damage gets nerfed a bit, topping out at 4d4, but you can house-rule that in.  They do give monks d8 for hit dice, sort of like the bump they get in Castles & Crusades, where the monk gets a d12 for hit dice, but unarmed damage is way nerfed.

Agree with this: it's essentially Jeff's vision of a house-ruled 1e with a weird (in a good, flavorful way) setting. As far as the Monk goes, they do get 2 unarmed attacks/round from 1st level, so there is that.

Quote from: Persimmon on September 20, 2022, 10:11:22 PM

Quote from: Slambo on August 03, 2022, 09:57:26 AM

Quote from: rkhigdon on August 02, 2022, 10:48:29 PM
3E is probably the better game, but for whatever the aesthetic of 2E just sings to me.  It's a book I constantly pull off the shelf and just page through and immerse myself in.

Yeah, a lot of the new art isnt up to the quality of the old art, but at least the old art is still there.

Agreed.  In particular I think the old art for the character classes was markedly better.

Thirded on the art. While I do rather like Solar Blades & Cosmic Spells, I feel that Diogo's art is not really as good as 2E's character art.

I've been a fan of Jeff's work since he worked with Gygax. I've supported all of his KS to date except the one for the dice and have been kicking myself for that since. I picked up the dice on his site but did not get the pouch yet which does look awesome. At the rate I am going financially these days, I may miss out on the opportunity to get the dice pouch before it's gone

I'd like to play it soon, but I'm not going to get much of a chance to for 3+ months unless there's a play by post somewhere (or I start one up). Traveling for work, and internet service in these RV parks is proving pretty sketchy.

Quote from: Dropbear on September 22, 2022, 07:40:23 PM
I've been a fan of Jeff's work since he worked with Gygax.

I find that hard to believe (and I don't mean it in a sarcasatic way). The man looks so young!