My Favorite OSR RPG?
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- čas přidán 9. 05. 2021
- What's my favorite OSR Game and why? Let's take a look at the OSR game options out there and dissect them a little so that perhaps I can help YOU find one you'll enjoy.
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I'm a younger dude (25) so I have no nostalgic attachment to the OSR. Started playing 4e in high school (I actually liked it lol) and then moved to DMing 5e. For me, 5e was still a royal pain to run and bloated despite being the "lightest" edition in many years.
The OSR made play fast, and that was all I needed ✌💀
Nothing wrong with liking 4e, its different than other editions but still an ok game.
I started with a mixture of BX and AD&D Back in 1979. In those days we weren’t necessarily scrupulous about respecting the differences between the games, if we even understood them! When I tried to engage later additions I did notice that combat took an extraordinarily long time in the most recent versions of the game. It seems to me feats and additional classes have tried to codify things that we simply used to work out between player and DM. In my view the result has been unnecessarily and unpleasantly drawn out combat sequences and astonishing rules bloat.
@@SkHATEy Agreed. Very tired of 4E bashing, especially from people who boast about never having played it. It wasn't the best RPG every made but it was far from the worst. Its successor 13th Age showed that the 4E designers knew where the weak points were and (mostly) corrected them while adding some great new ideas, many of which are well worth cribbing for other game engines.
Good for you, Tom! My wife is on the younger side as well; 4e was her first version of D&D. Her favorite version of the game is Swords & Wizardry White Box, i.e. a clone of 0e. She also enjoyed 4e, which she has described as "analog World of Warcraft" (her favorite video game)... but she likes OSR games the most because of the speed, flexibility and simplicity.
@@aaronsomerville2124 Honestly 4e may have been the best possible entry point for me as someone with a purely video game background and no knowledge or understanding of what D&D even was. It absolutely had its strengths and weaknesses. Combat could get horrendously long at times and the character sheets were like tax forms, but man, we still had the definitive RPG experience of all-nighters in the basement throwing dice, laughing, cheering, and eating lots of snacks!
I'm glad I've found other games that work better for me as a GM, tho :)
What I like best about OSR gaming is that it returns characters to human, rather than superhero, power levels. It also makes players play smarter (if they are able) rather than just bullrushing through things on stats/hp/feats.
I agree with you. Striving to become a hero is fundamentally different from starting as a superhero. That different starting point significantly changes the nature of the game.
This all day.
The potential to *become* a superhero, though, I always thought that was a lot of fun. The idea of "name level" in BECMI/ (for me) D&D, where you take on new and bigger roles in the world. (Quite possibly it doesn't actually *work* that well on higher levels, though, we never got past the expert set more or less, and we didn't know anyone who did).
I think one thing that generation of old D&D got right over AD&D, was having some character roles start at that level. Things like a paladin, for instance: are you really all that similar to a knight of the round table, just starting out at level 1? Or even that "good"! Even alignments, at least the good/evil part of it, I see more of an ambition than a character trait at level 1. You haven't actually done anything grand deserving of being called good or evil yet.
Overdefining your character before having played it I think is one of the things old school steers clear of.
I do think there’s something to be said for specialized fighters starting as regular fighters then advancing, at least it’s a reasonable argument. However, since you mentioned Knights of the Roundtable, I think the tale of Percival refutes some of your argument. He certainly did not start as a noble/knight. however, he most certainly did start as a paladin from the very beginning.
There is a mechanical problem with the B/X approach in that if you really have to wait until level nine to become a paladin, well frankly, by that point many characters are retiring. How about a simple compromise and put it at level two or three before you specialize?
@@johnscotto5045 That depends on how you see a paladin, of course... I think you can't really be a paladin until you're knighted and recognized as a champion of knightly virtues (i.e, invited to join king Arthur at the round table). You can be a saintly young squire before that, but it's not necessary.
By what the D&D rules suggest (especially BECMI, but also its immediate predecessors) the game isn't *supposed* to be over by level 9, but yeah, I agree it seems like a big challenge to keep things interesting and balanced for the players.
I believe one of the few things Rules Cyclopedia actually changed, was capping the damage for fireball at 20d6, because if not, any wizard could one-shot any other wizard regardless of level and saving throw beyond a certain point. Like, had that JUST occurred to them? It's very, very clear that answers to such questions as "how many hit points should players get per level?" or "how much damage should this spell do?" or "what should playing a priest be like in the Planescape campaign setting?" were not exactly arrived at from extensive playtesting, and you're probably right that most people retired around level 9!
But the promise of that long progression, from unknowns to heroes, to superheroes and legends and even to immortals, I think is too cool to give up entirely.
AS&SH is a wonderful take on old-school D&D, which honors Gary Gygax and the roots of the game, while having a personality of it's own. In that manner, it stands out among the other "OSR" games. Plus, Jeff Talanian is the GOLD STANDARD of old-school RPG crowdfunding fulfillment. He is on-time, doesn't over-promise with ridiculous stretch goals, and the content, editing, and art is top-notch.
As far as the OSR games, AS&SH is the only one I actually play. I have the major ones on my shelf, and many others in PDF, but as I have the original games (OD&D, BX, and 1e AD&D), and have no trouble finding players, I just roll with the original games. The greatest benefit I've personally enjoyed via the OSR is AS&SH, and some darn good adventures published by XRP (anything by Keith Sloan is not only truly authentic old-school AD&D from a guy who has been doing it for 40+ years - and leverages that experience, rather than being stuck in 1980 - but simply good adventures). As an aside, for the Leiber fans out there, I've run several one-shots using AS&SH, set in Lankhmar. I simply toss out the spell casters altogether, with the exception of the Ledgerdemainist, whom I give a scroll or two to (no doubt obtained from a dubious source, Mouser style). The full HD of healing overnight helps, but like the Twain, players must pick their fights carefully, with a premium on skullduggery and subterfuge.
I have to thank OSRIC (and the DM that ran the game) for rekindling my interest in roleplaying in general. More recently though, I've kind of found my groove with OSR-adjacent games. I've really enjoyed running a Forbidden Lands game with a group I started playing D&D with around 30 years ago. At least for me, Forbidden Lands strikes a balance between old-school feel, but with modern design elements. Everyone in this group loves the feel of D&D, but from late 2nd edition through to 5e, there was a gradually increasing fixation with character progress and mechanics that robbed many sessions of their magic. By using a system that is mechanically completely different to any version of D&D, the baggage all of us in my group have carried into D&D is gone.
One of the things I appreciate the most about OG games is the sheer achievement of levelling up. Even reaching mid-levels in AD&D was a feat, and I almost always called shenanigans on anyone who talked about a 15th level so-and-so they had. You genuinely had to problem solve as much as fight your way through things. The dream of being powerful and smart enough to challenge the Tomb Of Horrors, which was like an RPG urban myth, was an ongoing motivation.
OMG Yes!
This. In spades!
For Gold and Glory is my favorite OSR system. It' s clone of AD&D 2e.
I prefer OSR to modern games due to their difficulty and lack of super-heroes.
Captain Corajus, this was a great clip. Thanks for the guide. The Hyperborean Age hasn’t sounded as inviting since Conan stood by REH’s desk in Cross Plains and dictated his tales. Thanks for this!
Lol... Awesome description! Glad you enjoyed it!
Cap, I have a HEAVY swords and sorcery flavor to my games (maybe with a bit higher magic level) as Lovecraft, Lieber and Howard are my biggest influences. Love that flavor of haunting dread from beyond the stars and ancient magics from forgotten crypts and vaults to accent my games
Same!
Best value for money in print form and massively resourced by the community, Basic Fantasy rpg wins by a country mile. Best overall production values and organisation is Old School Essentials. Best one for some backpack friendly role playing whilst traveling light is White Box (or Knave rpg if super lite is needed). But i have really loved exploring the whole OSR ouvre, and they all have something to offer. ASSH looks really interesting in so many respects, nice video.
Yeah, I'm looking at White Box at the moment myself. :)
@@captcorajus White Box is great, sure you'll have fun with that, and would be nice to see a review from you on it.
@@hoogmonster Yes, I'm enjoying the read, and yes, I'll definitely be reviewing it in the next few weeks!
Here is my primary reason why i want to go more back into OSRs as a DM:
The single most annoying thing that got introduced with 3rd edition and everything that came ever after, was the concept of a "character build" in tabletop rpgs. Don't get me wrong. Modern editions made the game really well playable and sleek to use, but also prone to bloat. Even moreso than AD&D 2nd edition (which was already pretty bloated at the end of it's official cycle).
Pathfinder probably reached a peak there with like 150 archetypes and over 50 races. And i think 5th edition is well on it's way there too by adding new races/subraces and new subclasses with almost every release. That introduces so many permutations to the game that are broken or outright broken content. Players use this massive amount of options to make their characters "interesting", while missing the actual point of what makes characters really interesting and epic.
I'm sorry to sound that negative, but it's boiling in my stomach for a while.
OSRs take us back to a time where we had a handful of classes and two hand full of races with a few special things they could pull off. Roleplay becomes more important and your character becomes interesting not because of a mechanicaly interesting class/race/feat combo, but because on how much life you breath into it.
I tend to agree with you, Voom. 3e and Pathfinder were awesome for players with the amount of buildout that could be done with feats and skills. I ran a very enjoyable and successful Pathfinder campaign where the most enjoyable part was mapping out the PCs progressions but building NPCs and BBEGs got to be tedious thanks to the sheer volume of possibilities, and a bad build could get your boss baddie handled quickly despite your efforts. I returned to a 1/2e campaign run due to the ease of building and setup and for a less structured system for PC advancement. I pour my time and attention into more compelling storylines, unique magic items, and interesting and engaging locations.
I am with you. Builds annoy me. I'd rather hear about your character's edgy backgroud .
tbh, I think races are more important than new subclasses because say you're playing OSR, you have to homebrew to get ideas like a changeling bard, however I do like feats from the angle of "here's some mechanics so you can be a damn good cook and apply that to the story"
also definitely feels like Wizards is just afraid to update things which is sad, to me the system should be a few core classes (maybe some subclass to show specialization but going with no subclass is both viable and encouraged), race, background and a single feat and origin, feat being something you did or were known for, origin is how you can do what you do
example: you can have an elf warrior scholar who has an unearthly anger issues and is a damn good cook
the race-class-background is obvious but the anger would give you a rage ability rather than something like formal training giving something like a precision blow, and your culinary skills makes a feat everything there being to drive a narrative
I grew up as an 11 year old back in 1978 with the 3 little brown books then switched to the first three AD&D books , the 1st edition players handbook , the monster manual and the Dungeon Masters guide .
When we first started creating characters we didn't have elaborate backstories for our character because we knew they were nobodies looking to make a name for themselves by adventuring and our campaign was what ever setting the DM ( me lol ) created .
Now the players have to have backstories that th3 DM must include in his campaign is long drawn out adventure where everything has to be tied together into one giant adventure with a major boss battle at the end .
I hate that mmo terms is used for d&d today in everything from classes is the tank to all the over powered feat combos.
Players no longer play their characters they play the character sheet looking for the best combo to use in any given situation .
The use of imagination is just about null and void with this version of a generic fantasy superhero rpg named d&d .
It doesn't have the same feel as it was original intended but now feels like a cheap far to easy version if the game .
I play a hybrid of 1st & 2nd edition AD&D with house rules for things I want in my campaign setting like new class abilities , new races and the addition of more levels based on ability scores .
I did steal 3.0s experience chart of all classes and how it handles multi classes .
Level limits for non human races are modified based on ability scores 10 with each point past 10 giving a bonus of +1 level so an elf with a 16 intelligence would add +6 levels to the level limit of the magic user class and I did bump the minimum level for all non human races up to level 10 minimum .
I'm also using the skills and powers book and have only 4 classes in my game , fighter , magic user , Cleric and thife but have combined the class abilities from each class with its root class so all fighter , Paladin and Ranger class abilities are open for the fighter class so players can customize their character class .
I did keep the race class restriction such as no dwarves magic users and no Halfling magic users along with ability score min/max for the races and humans now get a +1 to one if their ability scores based on their culture so a human from a desert culture would get a+1 to constitution while a hunan from a city culture would get a +1 to intelligence it makes more giving the races bonuses based on their race and/or culture then just giving everyone a flat +2 to any ability they want
It’s not exactly OSR, but Dungeon Crawl Classics remains my favorite rpg of all time.
As for what I like about OSR games, it’s the lack of complexity and character abilities. I have grown to despise 5e, where characters get like eighty abilities at first level because they’re “supposed to be powerful”, and then you have to take notes about basically everything your character does. The abundance of complex spells adds to this: there are WAY TOO MANY SPELLS. Games like DCC or S&W don’t have a ton of different abilities or spells, and they’re simple to explain.
I’ve always hated how people note 5e as being the “lightest edition” when you get like ten different abilities you have to remember just from race alone.
DCC is most definetly OSR. OSR is not exclusive to retroclones
Dungeon Crawl Classics takes the seven classes from Moldvay Cook BX and enhances them.
I really love Kevin Crawford’s work (Stars Without Number, Godbound, Worlds Without Number) his world building tools are peerless in the usefulness and his game system ain’t bad to boot. Man knows how to make a Hexcrawl game.
Sounds interesting. Have to give it a look!
Yeah, Stars Without Number is awesome. I'm not as enthused by Worlds Without Number but I think I need to give it another look. But SWN is basically exactly what I wanted from a Sci Fi game.
Scarlet Heroes cant be beat for heroic 1-on-1 or soloplay.
@@captcorajus Crawford's stuff is at "Just put down what you're doing and look at this!" level. He gives a GM some of the best tools you'll find anywhere, useful in almost ANY system. And spend a little time with his faction system. It's amazingly useful.
Lamentations of the Flame Princess is my favorite B/X retro-clone. Like Labyrinth Lord it made small changes that improved the game, such as the Specialist (Thief), Elf, and Encumbrance.
Fan of Hyperborea also, but in regards to OSRs, I prefer Basic fantasy RPG.... if were not including the POD versions of the old rules. Its inexpensive cost allows me to buy all the books necessary for all my players at once.
Thanks for the code, ill be getting my hands on a physical copy soon, and hopefully the map!
Great to hear the Kickstarter’s coming soon!
Castles and crusades sticks out for it's simplicity and mana point system which I use over slots. Though I will give this pulp goodness a look over.
Yes, yes, when I ran it we used the Mana point system and that was awesome.
I have to say, the Retro Clones are a great ADD ON to the official rules. The older editions are definitely dense and not clear, so having a book, say, OSRIC to clarify a rule, helps out so much! Personally, just strictly OSR I have to say, OSE is my favorite. Easier than most to understand, clear information as bullet points, and just a pick up and play of B/X is really fun. Running a Keep on the Borderlands with OSE and my players are loving it!
OSE Is awesome and the advanced options add in additional player choice, and for those coming from new editions, you can even invert the ACs.. so yeah, OSE is a great OSR Choice.
@@captcorajus 100% that was the biggest praise from my players, they were worried that the old school rules were going to be confusing, but they picked it up so well! Some of them even went with the THAC0 chart and thought it was cool, but went back to ascending AC. 😂
Also take a look at Crypts & Things.
A surprise to be sure, but a welcome one.
ACK's is my number 1 go to game.
Astonishing Swordsmen and Sorcerers of Hyperborea 3E has become my favorite thing ever and this video had something to do with that.
Thank you.
The Leatherbound edition is GORGEOUS
I decided to dig into a few of the OSRs and have been pleased. I got the Basic Fantasy RPG books, the White Box RPG book and For Gold & Glory. All are great! BFRPG is especially awesome due to the clean layout combined with incredible value.
BFRPG is my favorite, but I haven't been able to play it as much as I'd like...
Isn't that always the biggest problem?
@@captcorajus You know what? The only game that I've been able to absolutely get my fill of lately, is Scarlet Heroes. It's the best way to play solo OSR games.
I love hearing more and more of your personality shine through. Happy to be here Captain.
The strangest thing - I spent my drive back from work wondering if any of the OSR youtubers had an overview of several of the systems after seeing the crazy prices for AS&SoH and figuring to grab a different book I could have physically at my table. Not only does this video drop, but has news of AS&SoH getting a new print-run, and to my shock the vid dropped on the same day. The stars have aligned ! Haha.
Swords and Wizardry looks great. Ive Always wanted to go to the original booklets.
Our group of Grognards left 5E for a Labrynth Lord-ish system. It's much more like old school d&d - very deadly. Most of us started with the Holmes or Moldvay boxed sets back in the day. Thanks for the Hyperboria tip, will check it out!
Not surprised you picked ASSH given your interests. Very excited to hear about an upcoming 3rd edition.
My personal favorite OSR right now is probably Adventurer Conqueror King, but these days I am really into the technically not OSR (but somewhat adjacent in some ways) Shadow of the Demon Lord.
For my subs who've been with me for a while, probably weren't too surprised. Like I said it was my SUBS that kept hounding me to check out the game. I love you guys and gals!
Shadow of the Demon Lord is a great system. Simple d20-like dark fantasy, but with the added benefit of class/role customization while leveling, a bit reminiscent of WFRP but more straightforward.
Great video. I've been playing since 2e. We move to 3e, skip 4th and played a lot of 5e.
I have been interested in OSR 2y ago when I discovered OSE by chance. It was fun to read the B/X rules and the presentation was amazing and refreshing. It was simple, each class had a clear role. Not every was casting and the danger was real. You don't heal easily. I got curious and when down a rabbit hole of discovery. I started to buy and read the other OSR rule set: BF, S&W, S&W; Whitebox, Beyond The Wall, Hero's Journey 2e, and this week I got OSRIC. In OSR, I really like the concept of rule lite but 1st has enough crunch to be interesting for a nerd. Now, I'm looking at bringing my kids and wife to table, and OSR is the perfect introduction to my favorite hobby. I may go with a mix of S&W/Beyond The Wall.
I have not been able to convert my GM: he sees OSR as a step back since he played the B/X and all the editions after that. I may be able to convert him to Shadowdark!
You channel helped pick and choose new books and modules. Thank!
Always look forward to watching one of your videos when they come out. Seeing a new video in my notifications definitely brightens my day. I'll admit that when the old school revival hit, I wasn't really into it since I started gaming in the late 1970s and had already experienced the various game mechanics from that era onward. Watching your videos with the overviews on these new versions has really opened my eyes and gotten me to snag a few and add more to my list of "must get" those. Thanks again for doing these videos. :)
I run my own home system, but I play OSE and DeathBringer (Professor Dungeon Master's Game)
The Lovecraftian creatures and Gods sold me on the game. I love Peter Mullens art in the book also. He has a really unique style that portrays the world perfectly . He did some art in Mutant future or another Gamma world esque game . Maybe do " Mork Borg " lol
I'm going to be running a Hyperborea 3e game starting in January 2023. It's pretty much because of this video. Thanks for introducing me to something cool.
That's so cool! Let me know how it goes. My players all came from 5E and they love it!
I never played D&D until i was nearly 40 and thus far, only 5e. But of the many (many many many) CZcamsrs I subscribe to, Professor Dungeommaster at DungeonCraft was the first that I remember describing the simplicity of a "rules light" system. The idea that the players hav emore freedom while the DM has more authority and the dice say what you need them to instead of what the book says that they say has been very appealing to me.
One aspect I absolutely love in some OSR now is when they link the Basic value of the Attributes to each of the other elements of the game. IE: the value of your CON score is your base Hit points value, Your STR score is your base attack value etc...
I also love the fact when the basic attributes gives the player some unique advantages when they actually have a class that intertwine with the values. I got this because I love old games from Europe in the 80s (which I still play to this days; 1e The Dark Eye (Das Schwarze Auge), 1e Dragon Warriors etc...)
Simple character sheets with the values, items and magics. That's a winner for me.
Hackmaster 4th is my favorite old school RPG. It's mostly just hilarious 😆
It is absolutely hilarious. I might have to break out my '4E Hackmaster' books and do a review on them.
This is the first OSR game.
Great overview Captain. I will recommend this to anyone thinking about trying OSR gaming. My fav is Old School Essentials. I think it set a new standard in ease-of-use, inspirational artwork and adventure modules!!
Awesome. That was the reason I did the video, was to provide a general overview for the OSR.
I'd kill to get a proper campaign going in Hyperborea. Only busted out the book for a one-shoot a few years ago.
I never played it if you are open to running a game over discord I'll play
I have it and used to run it for a face-to-face group for a while.
Love the T-shirts. I love James' character sheets.
Thanks! Yeah, I do too. Big fan of his work and was thrilled that he was able to make that for me. A true artist. I gave him a basic description of what I was looking for and what I was going to do with the artwork, and within a few hours he had the basic sketch for me.
My favourite things about OSR games are the lethality, resource management and DM adjudication of rules.
For AD&D I use OSRIC and for Basic D&D Old School Essentials is the best.
AS&SH definitely has a cool pulp vibe and the big hardcover is awesome. For gameplay I think I prefer the more derivative (as opposed to "cloned") Dungeon Crawl Classics, used as a homebrew toolkit to avoid some of the gonzo weirdness present in the published adventures, but keep the dangerous pulp magic, high action, and handy beastie customization. Of course, the DCC book is also beautiful in that classic way.
I'd say that's the OSR and derivatives' biggest advantage; being easy-to-use toolkits for homebrew fantasy campaigns and themes. Plenty mechanical resources, but leaves so much up to narrative presentation easily divorced from the mechanics.
Hyperborea 3e. Geez, this is the best for me! Love the nostalgia and love the pulp! It’s one of the absolute best out there!
One of my groups has played all these, Swords and Wizardry, OSE, labyrinth lord and OSRIC. The only downside to the group is they either get burned out and start talking about a new campaign using one of the OSR lines. I’d like to get to level 5 in one of these before we keep changing. I’ve enjoyed them and and enjoy the Capt. channel!
Another fantastic video!
For me it's a combination of the same pulp weird fiction influences you brought up, plus the flexibility. The whole "the answer is not on your character sheet" approach to solving problems and facing challenges.
Yes, indeed!
My favorite is Old School Essentials. I like the presentation, the world setting and the modules - I just wish there were more of them. I always end up with lots of home brew, so a basic system is good for building on. I like 2nd edition though, and Astonishing Swordsman sounds really good. I have the PDF rules but I hope to get a proper physical tome one day.
Totally agree! OSE is great for its to the point detail and presentation. AS&SH is simply amazing for the setting, and the way the classes and rules have been integrated to go with it.
Old School Essentials is also definitely my favorite as well though I've rewrriten it and don't play it raw at all anymore a d streamlined the wonky rules, most rolls are made on a d20 roll over DC for talents against ability modifier, adding advantage and disadvantage plus some other thing, it totally works and doesn't break the game and works perfectly with all existing B/X modules. Speaking of which if you're playing OSE you don't need more modules because there is almost 50 years of material compatible with the rules set
Some of my fondest memories of 1st ed. AD&D, Gamma World, Traveller, etc., revolved around the rules being slightly ambiguous or conflicting. We would spend an inordinate amount of time arguing and pleading our cases as to why something should be done a certain way. That may not sound like fun to today's RPGers, but in 1982, it went with the territory---and we had loads of fun in the process. It was all part of the charm. Looking back on it, I guess you could say that it helped us develop certain debate skills that proved useful later on in life. In my opinion, too many rules can curtail the imagination and sense of improvisation, both of which were a big part of the appeal of these games all those years ago.
Agreed!!
S&W Complete is a spectacular piece of work. It would probably be my favorite if I had a personal attachment to the '74 rules. I don't go back quite that far, though. My own history starts with the Moldvay Basic rulebook, supplemented with as much of the AD&D 1E hardbacks as I could figure out. ;) I tend to use Advanced Labyrinth Lord as my go-to rulebook these days, since it hews pretty closely to that same approach. It feels like home.
S&W allows a DM to pretty much slay a 1st level party with sleep... lol. But yeah, I like it too.
It was only once I started watching this channel that I realized that maybe all those home-brew versions of D&D out there could be called OSR games (just amateur unpublished ones). My own game draws on the D&D Basic Set and AD&D Second Edition for no better reason than both are in my possession, along with concepts that have come my way now-and-then.
Role-playing in the late 80s, it very quickly became apparent that, once you knew how an RPG works, you could devise our own adventures, thus freeing yourselves of the need to spend money on modules, assuming of course you had the time to create. My focus was on my fantasy setting but, over time I tailored it alongside rule changes in such a way that both the setting and the game justified one another. My world is more Tolkien than Howard or Lovecraft but also more cosmopolitan and mercantile in character than Middle Earth seems to be. Cosmic horrors do occasionally creep into the world, but even its native villains are keen to vanquish them, preferring to be the top terrors there, and so the pragmatics of former rivals working together becomes a theme for me.
You say that the OSR games take the old rules and make them more user-friendly and I wonder why that was not always the purpose of new editions anyway. Why they have diverged as much as they have could be an interesting sociological discussion. If I were to get one of the games discussed, I'd gravitate towards Dark Dungeons, not just because of the joke, but because a mix of D&D with Spelljammer stuff taken from AD&D 2E sounds like a good fit for my past experience.
I'm a late comer to the OSR and a younger player in general (at 26), and i gotta say i adore your work, nothing better than catching up on nearly 50 years of history by binging your reveiws and other content, you have such a calming presence. Hoping to release my own little system one day and this video is fantastic inspiration on what to plunder >;D Keep up the good work Capt!
cap i live close to Manhatten. Its a quick train ride from queens into the city. as a kid my older brother i begged him to take me into the great hobby store called "The Complete Strategist " Back in the early 1980's the store would set up his window like a display of a great battle with his figures. This was the big store
The Complete Strategist is the best game shop in the Northeast. Pretty sure it's still there. My group & I used to take Metro North down just to go to The Complete Strategist. We wouldn't do much else, we'd check out the store & head back upstate.
A worthy choice. I love AS&SH, but I also love my demi-humans. So I just said that Hyperborea is the North Pole area of my homebrew campaign world. So the monsters, classes, etc., sometimes show up in the "main" world and characters there can go into Hyperborea.
And of course the best thing about these OSR games is that most of them are pretty compatible so you can easily port stuff from one to another. In our current Castles & Crusades game, for example, we're using the AS&SH Runegraver since I like it better than the C&C Rune Mark class.
I just keep swapping OSR games every few months. Our AS&SH campaign ended when all the characters died over the course of three adventures, sort of an extended TPK. So we've recently pivoted back to C&C because the siege engine is so flexible. I've even come to realize the value of ascending AC, which I used to loathe, because it's much easier to teach new players and we've just added a new guy to our group.
That's right! If you like them, just ADD them back in!
Thanks for the discount code! I ordered it right away. Keep us posted on the Kickstarter please!
Awesome! Sure will. Big news coming soon.. :)
I love 5th edition, but every fantasy game has something to offer my campaign. I often use random tables, monsters, and magic items from all of the above and more. Those random tables in the back of the AD&D DMG are particularly fun, and I finally got to roll on the random prostitute table a few sessions ago!
AS&SH is probably my favorite OSR game too. I am a proud backer of the 2nd edition Kickstarter game. It’s stellar! I’m so ready for the 3rd edition game come June. 🤘💀⚔️🔥
Any OSR ruleset that re-creates/emulates the AD&D 1e/Basic/B/X flavour and style is my personal jam - OSRIC, LL, Basic Fantasy, Dark Dungeons - Definitely Swords and Wizardry/Blueholme and related books (OSE). Out of all of it LL and SW are my go to rules with Basic Fantasy too.
That's the Isle of Dread re-imagined. That's awesome!
Very interesting video, even though I am use to playing and started in the new school era, the old school era is very interesting and insightful. I feel like I need to till up my reading stack and add in more Pulpy stories of the old masters and start planning a sword and sorcery game for my players.
There is something really cool about AD&D that I feel like is kind of lost due to the medium that is surrounding the hobby now adays. I played in a game of AD&D a couple of years back and the feeling around the table was interesting. I kind of wish I could reproduce that same feeling one day with a game where that energy can float around the table.
Been watching this channel for a long time and so awesome to see the growth. Love your reviews and advice, keep 'em coming! I'm al old Moldvay guy, got it when I was 9 and figured it out at 10 LOL. Just about any art from that ed deserves a shirt!
you're so right! Seen a few of them, but never pulled the trigger on them as I'd seen some poor quality ones.
yes! props for mentioning the great Clark Ashton Smith. and of course Robert E Howard
I love OSR products. The imagination on display is far more creative.
Notable rule sets of mine:
OSRIC (for 1e)
For gold and glory (for 2e, what a beautiful book, I wish I could find a copy that's not just pod)
OSE (basic expert, but also with a beautiful advanced option)
Necrotic Gnome has so many good things...
I own the black and white box set of AS&SH but have never tried it. You're making me wanna try it! Love the covers of the modules.
Im an avid PF1 DM, but that is alright, all is forgiven 🤣
I love the OSR and am trying to persuade my players to give it a shot
The only osr style game I play is Troika. However it is amazing in just how bonkers and bizarre it can be.
Try S&W White Box + White Box Gothic + S&W White Star + Star Sailors for White Star + S&W Alice Class + White Lies for S&W = Mad Gonzo
Nah, I think I'm good. There are too many things about old style dnd that I've moved on from. I don't need a dnd retro clone.
Wow, I'm surprised that was your pick considering what you've been focusing on for the channel. For me, what draws me to OSR is simplicity, nostalgia, and freedom. I would say my favorite is Swords & Wizardry, although I've yet to have the chance to run it! I've mostly been running PbtA games because they satisfy the simplicity and freedom parts, at least. Hopefully when the group I'm playing 5e in finishes up the current campaign, I can convince them to give S&W a try...
Fair enough! But for me, its only been about a year since I discovered it. After that I didn't get to actually play it.... and THEN it moved into my spot. :)
I had a great time with AD&D 1st edition homebrew. Love world building.
AS&SH is awesome.
I wish Norh wind daventure would keep the hardcover in print. Availability is the main issue of some of those systems.
My most used system is DCC and the main reason is "rule over ruling". Rules and published material are welcome as long as they are fun and useable.
The fragility of player characters is paramount for me. This leads to "real" play and not the free for all gonzo idiocy that ensues in most new editions. Players have no fear of losing their character due to the million death saves and easy healing, so the game degrades into an exercise in silliness. Any of you who have trouble getting a group together or more likely, keeping a group together, may want to change the game you're playing. ORS groups tend to stay together, where 5e groups are a like herding cats.
5e is more about fulfilling a power fantasy for many players. And for some, a narrative fantasy too. They'd be horrified at the death rates. It's possible to play 5e in a more brutal fashion, but with many groups it probably wouldn't be popular, and you certainly have to ignore the encounter building advice they give!
I think there's room for serious wounds to happen after hit points run out, as long as low-level healing magic/prayers don't make them vanish. If instead of 'cure light wounds' you have the equivalent of a monster or nos energy drink, and hit points are damage-avoidance. Haven't seen any OSR games really take this route, though.
@@albertnorman4136 2nd edition actually has a specific injury mechanic that work quite well. I just don't see the point to go to OSR since it offers less than the original materials. I can understand why for OD&D before BECMI and 1st edition, they were a mess.
@@craigtucker1290, do you mean the Combat and Tactics system?
@@albertnorman4136 PO:C&T and PO:S&M, yes. Been using that system for decades.
Some of the injuries could end up becoming permanent, including partial paralysis, ruined/missing limbs, and possible reduced stats.
I am running Old School Essentials because it is B/X laid and and explained well. My players are having a great time.
Have a look at Kevin Crawford's "Worlds Without Number". It is also a B/X basis, tweaked, with a skill system added that is very easy to use and similar to Traveller's system. Set on a far, far, far future earth where nothing is as it currently is. You can get a free pdf on drive thru rpg that contains about 95% of the full rule set.
ASSH is fantastic. I've not bought into the second edition, 1st works fine for me as an idea mine for my own OD&D/S&W mashup. I agree Jeff has done a fantastic job with with his mechanical tweaks and common sense expansion of existing AD&D mechanics. The modules are great as well. Especially had a blast with Charnel Crypt of the Sightless Serpent.
My group recently has gone back to playing 1e (three books only, no UA). 5e (even just the PHB and DM guide, no extra books) was just too much of the players playing their character sheet instead of the environment and the game. While not an OSR in any sense, we are taking 40 years of us playing and taking that into account.
The game is so much faster and more exciting vs going "well, I have no bonus actions any more, I guess I cannot do *anything*. I just stand there".
As soon as I saw that you uploaded a new video, I automatically thumbs up. This one though, man Captain, there's not enough thumbs. I have bought copies of Labrinth lord both the basic and advanced versions along with O.S.R.I.C. and For Gold and Glory to use along with the original first and second edition ad&d rules books. As always, an awesome and excellent video.
B/X is my drug of choice. Probably why I’m enjoying Shadowdark so much.
You just sold a copy. I'm looking forward to trying it out. At a glance it looks pretty good!
Grew up with ADND 2nd Edition and was a HUGE fan of hte lethality, especially Dark Sun. Moved to 3.5 which was great. Fell off after that chasing others: 3rd and 4th edition Shadowrun, Traveller...but I came back to 2nd Edition DND running it for my son and his friends. Now there's this huge resurgence of OS which is just awesome! Planning on picking up Hyperborea!
For me, it begins and ends with OSRIC. But what keeps me coming back to older style games is that you can pick up and figure out the rules in one sitting. You don't need mountains of skills and abilities: if the party has time/resources, they pretty much can automatically succeed at something
I think you covered what I love about old-school games, at least mechanically. For me, it's also the implied setting of these games. While new editions seem to be grab bags of everything being shoehorned into the game, the older games are more focused in their tone and style. I picture and describe the games I run as Larry Elmore-style fantasy vignettes.
To me, it seems the new editions want to allow everything without limit, penalty, or saying no. There is no race in the new edition that has any penalty of any kind, at all. The ones that did, just went through a revision that erased those penalties.
This is a great video. It should be watched as OSR 101 and serves me as a great reference for which version of what rule set derived from what source. I've got most of these, but can't seem to find my For Gold & Glory copy. It's driving me crazy, since watching this video again reminded me how much I wanted to play OSR 2nd edition again. I think after watching this for the third time, I need to re-evaluate why the heck I'm not supporting you on Patreon yet. This should be rectified shortly!
Wow, thank you!!
Not OSR but gritty + gonzo, I'm running two Gamma World games on roll20 using d20 Modern mechanics and the Sword & Sorcery take. Love the OSR stuff because it seems to be some of the cleanest gaming even after all these years. Simple is better!
The old school blue box is where I started back in the late 1970s. Crazy.
Hard to believe its been that long!
Nice little summary Capt. You couldn't be more right about which one to choose. It all comes down to preference. If you & your group are in the mood for a more rules-light interpretation of fantasy RPGs then any of these would be a great choice.
We're in a game nirvana as far as selection goes.... so really, with this many choices its just a matter of finding something that tickles your fancy.
Woo I’m finally on time!
The Kickstarter for Good Guys Finish Last is fully funded. This game has not been in print since 1993. Still the best super hero game of all time.
Basic Fantasy RPG is fantastic and incredible value.
I love all your OSR focused videos! I've been part of an active 5e group for the last 3 years (we're all in the 20's-30's age range) and I'm finding myself increasingly uninterested in the "Marvel super heroes" level of durability and reality-shaping power of the PCs past level 10. I also don't enjoy the way that the bloat of customization can encourage players to see their character as a "build" on a sheet instead of a living person, in a living world. Primarily I want a game that helps encourage the group to think creatively and interact with the world to solve their situations, rather than worry about what their character sheet says they're "allowed" to do.
We rotate the GM role occasionally, and I've considered running my next campaign as a 5e game with a level cap, but I can't help but think there's already an OSR product that sits the PCs at a power level that is still extraordinary, but the threat of death is never reduced to just an inconvenience. Maybe AS&SH might be the ticket!
I really love a french rpg called Coeurs Vaillants. It has an english version of it on drivethru called Gallant and Bold. A similar looking type of mechanic from those old games but with twists that makes it valuable.
I've honestly never tried any OSR RPG game. I've got multiple copies of every major AD&D 1E & 2E book as well as copies of the boxed sets of BECMI. Don't call it a comeback, D&D never left for me!😎😁 Still, I think I might pick up For Gold and Glory. It looks like a nicely condensed and reorganized 2E book. Might be handy for everyday gameplay as my old books are sadly getting to be pretty expensive & valuable in the secondary market!😲
You nailed it!
If you want to be a hero, play DnD 5e.
If you want to be a mortal against the odds, play OSR
I'm a fan of Against the Darkmaster, which is an OSR game of MERP (Middle-Earth Role Play), which is one of the rare few OSR games not based on D&D.
I also really like AS&SH 2e, ACKS, and anything by Kevin Crawford.
While I am looking forward to AS&SH getting a 3rd edition, which is being renamed Hyperborea 3e, I am not a fan of the removal of the combat phases from AS&SH's combat system.
I started with MERP and quickly moved to Rolemaster 2e. The critical system and magic system have always been my favorite, and as a GM I’ve always been proactive in dumping any rules-bloat that got in my way (& RM was practically a collage of optional rules).
In recent years I’ve run Against the Darkmaster & HARP, which are MERP/RM descendants, which have really worked well.
Rolemaster has recently release the (forever in development) 5th Ed Rolemaster Unified.
I’ve yet to try it; it does seem to have a good bit of bloat & the art work isn’t to my taste. But I’ve purchased the core books and look forward to giving it a go!
For me, a rules light system is a must so hyperborea, osric and dcc are out of the frame
Understandable. DCC is a bit much for me, even though I like it.
ASSoH is great, I do not have the full book in print so I'll be on the lookout for the new KS. However, I play at the altar of Crawford, Stars Without Number, Worlds Without Number. Easy to tun, with options for players to customize their characters, a simple skill system, lots of tools and ideas. Those are my OSR-adjacent go to games.
Happy to report hyperborea 3e got announced it will launch sometime this July. Currently gathering 2e material for a game this weekend for some man eaters of xambaala. Can't wait.
I hope you reminded him to include an index this time! ; )
The player's manuals have indexes. So MAAAAAAYBE.
What about Basic Fantasy? You didn't put it in any category! :)
Hahaha! Fast forward to a new year and I've played Old School Essentials and have a running Basic Fantasy RPG game! While I still prefer our local AD&D 1e game the OSRs are nice dose of old-school flavor.😎
I am currently adapting Lion & Dragon for my GM’ing enjoyment.
i’m new to DMing and I like OSE quite a lot
I got my start playing Basic Dungeons and Dragons, so I have a lot of nostalgia for OSR's. My favorite part is that the player characters don't come off feeling like super heroes with all the stuff they get in more modern games. The modern games also get rid of almost all of the death from the equation, which also kind of makes the newer editions a lot less exciting for me.
Good coverage, but you only touched on the retro-clone side of the OSR, and then only of D&D. There is a whole other family of games under the OSR banner that are either unique original rules (but trying to keep the old-school design aesthetics of gritty deadly play & simple rules), as well as retakes on other, non-D&D old-school TT-RPGs.
Standouts in my mind:
* Into the Odd: has an interesting take on character creation, where lower-hp characters get more interesting/powerful equipment. Relies heavily on tables, and has it's own lineage of clones & imitators
* Whitehack, Black Hack, & ICRPG: these games are all arguably D&D variants, but hack the rules to the point where you could argue they are their own stand-alone editions. They mess a bit with things like the dice roll mechanics, HP, how class/race is modeled, etc etc... while still being clearly descended from the original game. Black Hack is the most popular but IMO the worst in terms of rules quality.
* British clone games: Britain had their own unique take on early RPG games... standouts here are Troika, which is the Fighting Fantasy ruleset recast into a planescape like meta-setting, and Warlock, which pulls from a Dragon Warrior/Warhammer Fantasy style ruleset.
Admittedly, some of the games above may stretch the definition of 'old school' to the breaking point, but realistically they are under the OSR banner so far as the public stream of consciousness is concerned. And they offer interesting innovations & styles of play which may appeal to people more than straight retro-clones (or only D&D retro clones)