Short post, but still part of the last few months' ongoing theme of "mulling over what games I want to play."
First off....sticking to VTT and Roll20 in particular means that anything I do will need to comport to the medium of transmission, which in this case of course is Roll20. I have Foundry but it looks a bit too much for the level of time/energy I have to invest; a friend of mine who also grabbed it wants to collaborate on figuring it out, so who knows, though....we may crack that nut sooner or later.
I like OSE because its restrained, mechanically, to the style of old school progression I am comfortable with, but also doesn't limit itself to the boundaries of old school options. Unlike B/X D&D or AD&D ca. 1978 you can play other things in OSE like drow, knights, duergar, svirfneblin and much, much more with additional supplements. The rules for OSE are comfortable with this and know that there is a large group of OSR fans like myself for which the conceptual space of OSR does not mean that players must lack choice; I burned out on the sacred quartet of dwarf, human, elf, halfling as the only allowable species for players a long time ago, and I was never on board with "class as race" so the hybrid "do both B/X and AD&D" approach of OSE is really cool, and lets everyone have their preferences.
That was a long paragraph to basically say that I looked in to the latest edition of Basic Fantasy and while the system looks nice and tight, it lacks the variety that OSE supports right out of its core books....Basic Fantasy is, peer its name, exactly what it intends to be. I am not looking for that, unfortunately; I want a system with more robust variety. I know my players well....they would be bored and dissatisfied with BF in short order (as would I). So OSE still reigns as king for me right now, an old-school system which supports a more modern range of options for characters.
Despite toying with the idea of OSE I haven't really engaged with it, though. Instead I ended up once more thinking about how the level of complexity (both in character options and tactical combat) that I find most satisfying is still best supported by either sticking with Pathfinder 2E (which is the game my group is most invested in on Saturday), or D&D 3.5 (which is the game I find myself most deeply interested in, having realized it is evoking the most nostalgia for me right now).
So....still pondering, but I do know that my next planned fantasy game (outside of the ongoing D&D 5E game) will be further down the road. I want to let it lie "fallow" for a while so that my interest and desire to run new campaigns can come to fruition better.....and give me some time for a little while to properly explore other games and genres (Traveller, Cypher, Call of Cthulhu, etc.).
Re: Basic Fantasy. Sorry it didn't quite do it for you. There are many small (and free!) supplements that extend the classes, races, spells, etc. And while I personally would prefer the seams of the core book be let out a bit with respect to breadth, the author has been very forthcoming about his desire to keep the basic rule lined up with B/X (which I respect).
ReplyDeleteAt the very least, however, I think the system's popularity might greatly benefit from a print compilation of new classes, races, spells, etc. Such a volume could provide a convenient common foundation for those who want more options (kinda like Xanathr's seemed to do for 5E). In theory, anyone could do this themself -- the author is super open about such things as long as they respect the license -- but that's just not the same as something "official." On the other hand, I don't know that increasing the system's popularity really even *matters* to the author.
In any event, one thing I really like about Basic Fantasy is that, for me, it brings in exactly the right amount of "modern" to fix what I personally feel are basic's biggest proud nails: Things like ascending AC, separating race/class, solid options around managing PC death, a level-based universal resolution mechanic, etc.
I think an expansion book would be a great idea...I think being able to integrate more of the classic D&D stuff (as I think of it...paladins, assassins, etc.) into BF would make it sell easier to my group. I do like the presentation though, like OSE it is very clean and readable.
DeleteAnother system you might try is Castles and Crusades. While it's more of an AD&D clone, it offers a wide variety of classes, etc., plus the latest printing in particular has really top-notch art (imo).
ReplyDeleteI ran C&C back when it was in its 2nd or 3rd printing and really enjoyed it. I will have to go see where it's at these days...it actually had a very nice feel to the gameplay that felt very close to my old 1E/2E AD&D days.
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