/osrg/ OSR General - Turtle Shell Edition

>>52556775
>What's your favorite non-fantasy OSR game?

Could you turn the early eighties-editions of Warhammer 40k into an old-school dungeon crawler the same way D&D evolved from Chainmail? Space Hulk and shit like that?

If you could, that would be my favorite.

>>52557111
I think you could, especially after looking at WFB 1e. Hell, award character points for advancement, and you're already there with Rogue Trader I think.

It's missing all of the things that OD&D is missing system-wise. You'd have to put a game on it (the hard part with 40k is what do you the characters do?)

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>>52555997
>Is there an OSR system out there where thieves aren't terrible?
Continuing the non-sucky thief skill options (see >>52556254 and >>52556435), you could simply take the BECMI / RC thief and give him skill stats as if he were X levels higher (since they progress slowly, you won't max out all your skills before 14th level, like you would if you did something similar with the B/X thief). Pic is the RC thief skills at 7 levels higher than they're supposed to be.

>>52557111
There's Warband! from sword+1. Its rogue trader era slaves to darkness chaos marauders busting into spacehulks as dungeons. Haven't had time to play it, looks fun though.

>http://swordplusone.com/warband_print.pdf

>>52557267
Second edition Dark Heresy would work fine enough, you'd just need to make the roles more distinctive, add a bunch more psychic powers, maybe ditch some if notall skills.

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>>52556775
>>What's your favorite non-fantasy OSR game?

My guilty pleasure is Alpha Blue. Sexy times ahead.

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>>52557329
Hell, to make things easy, you could even do thief skills from RC at 10 levels higher. So for a 1st level thief, you'd look at level 11, for a 2nd level thief, you'd look at level 12, etc. It's crazy that this isn't completely broken. I guess it just goes to show how ridiculously terrible the thief skills are in BECMI / RC.

>>52557409

29. Instead of saying, "My bad"… this alien will
dislodge one of his eyeballs so that the critic or
offended individual or party may skull-fuck
him.

>>52557165
Just use 2e maybe?

Are there any decent classes for pcs who want to play as a non-biological golem or robot? Even a link to home brew is fine.

>>52552252

I'm gonna be honest, I run off-brand warhammer fantasy using B/X so I use all the books from WFRPG. They work really really well if for nothing else but flavor.

>>52558171
>non-biological golem or robot?

Isn't a biological golem or robot just a human

>>52558233

Flesh golems are basically Frankenstein monsters.

>>52556775
Proficiencies.
Class groups.
Higher incidence of ability checks.

For those who played 5e: How does it play, compared to B/X (beyond higher survivability, I mean)? Can you play OSR adventures just by bumping a few enemy hit dice here and there?

>>52559111
>How does it play, compared to B/X (beyond higher survivability, I mean)?

About the same as 3e to be honest.

>Can you play OSR adventures just by bumping a few enemy hit dice here and there?

Nope. Skills, feats, powerful spells, too much healing, and a bunch of other shite gets in the way.

>>52559111
There's generally a straight conversion system. For example, 1 HD monsters become 2HD, 2HD monsters become 5HD.

What do you do when PCs try to sell something that should be valuable, but you've either forgot what it was worth or never came up with it's worth to begin with? How do you decide it's worth in the moment?

>>52559406
By pricing at about the same cost as an item of comparable rarity, complexity, or magic?

It isn't rocket science.

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Does Forgotten Realms Adventures have the best treasure tables for 2e? The gems are awesome.

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>>52556775
>What's your favorite non-fantasy OSR game?
probably either Colonial Troopers or Hideouts & Hoodlums at the moment, although I imagine once Mutant Crawl Classics comes out it'll also be at the top

also on the topic of non-Fantasy OSR, I still want to make a Mecha focused OSR game

>>52559406
Opportunity for plot twist: An independent buyer NPC (traits: naive, impulsive, more dollars than sense) shows up out of nowhere and excitedly offers a ton of GP for it. If the PCs sell on the spot, the buyer returns later having found out it's a fake. And maybe he brings mercenaries with him to ensure he gets a refund.

>>52559602

FUCK YES! This is one reason why I'm accused of not being OSR, because I use it just for the sweet tables.

>>52559111
I know you said besides this but the higher survivability really is the main concern, assuming you don't have a problem with how skills are handled.
Maybe don't allow healing on short rests and reduce the healing on a long rest.

Also resource management is much less of a problem for casters. Banning damaging cantrips or limiting the number of times they can be used might be appropriate. In that situation you need to keep in mind that warlocks are much more dependent on them than others.

>>52559111
Someone made a list a few threads back about what you'd need to change in order to be able to play OSR on 5e.

It was a pretty long list.

>>52559568
What's comparable to say, a crystal orb containing the soul of a king?
A set of pens made of pure gold?
A key made of jewels from the moon?
A beating, silver heart?
The petrified body of the queen of horses?
An unbreakable piece of string?
Working porcelain eyes?
Insta-dragon, just add water?
A gun from 500 years in the future?
A spellbook woven from the dead body of a sphinx?

>>52559406
Imagine how much you personally would be willing to pay for it in real life.
Assuming your other prices make sense, convert that to your setting's currency.

Maybe scale back slightly, depending on how common-place magic is.

I guess I'll ask this here.

Is it just me or is the multiclassing in 2nd edition really overpowered?
At the point a mage reaches level 11, a fighter/mage would be level 8/9.
Seems like anyone who could become a fighter/mage would rather be one than a straight mage.

>>52560649
A multiclass mage can neither wear much armor not be a specialist wizard. Specialist wizards may be a bit less overpowered, but they're also fucking awesome.

Multiclass clerics are basically a bit more buff and tough but can't be specialist priests, and those are awesome as well.

Multiclass thieves... well, thieves suck anyway, so sticking them along with a fighter or a mage will only improve them.

>>52560054
Incalculable/1,000,000,000 GP
500 GP
500 GP (more if someone knows how/where to use it)
500 GP
20,000 GP (good luck moving it)
500 GP
1000 GP
2000 GP per HD of dragon created
1 GP to normies/2000 GP to mechanists, technomancers, or dumb nobles
As a normal spellbook but x2.5

>>52559602
>>52559775
I like the city generators in Calimport and the encounter tables in City System. FR has a bunch of cool little things buried under clutter.

>>52560649
Nah

Getting access to higher level spells ASAP is a really huge deal

Fighter/mages are nice because they're tougher early on and frankly cool but

them high level spells, mang.

>>52560704
>>52560695
As long as it isn't clearly gamebreaking in some way I plan to allow it, so I guess that's fine.

>>52560730
Also, in the unlikely scenario that your game manages to keep going to really high levels, the multiclass guy will eventually start lagging far more than just a single level.

>>52560697
Cool, thanks!
Would you mind going into more detail on how you decided upon those prices? I'm guessing that your go-to "interesting item" price is 500 GP, but why did you double it for the porcelain eyes and why is it so high for the petrified horse? Why is the king's soul in particular so highly priced?

What have you done with Halflings in your games?

I'm looking for ideas myself, but I want to keep the essence of halfling as it is. No tiny psycho cannibals please.

>>52559111
You can play OSR with 5e, but you need to change somethings:

>Ban feats and multiclass (they optional rules btw)
>Remove Death Saves (this is really what makes 5e have a higher survivability)
>Maybe reduce hp dice by one tier (reduce fighters HD from 1d10 to 1d8, wizards' from 1d6 to 1d4...)
>Most classes have a lot of features, if you like OSR by it's simplicity, you will probably ignore them

Zak S. has good post about 5e skills, you should read it:

dndwithpornstars<dot>blogspot.com/2017/01/5th-edition-skills-vs-old-school-skills.html

>>52559624
After War X was best gundam, those suits in that art just didn't get enough love.

>>52560795
I've removed them

Fuck Bilbo, Fuck Frodo, Fuck Sam, Fuck Merry and Pippin and the Gaffer too

You wanna be short but not gruff, be a 2nd-generation dwarf born to surface immigrants who became successful comfy villagefolk.

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Any advice on how to improve this Game here?

I know the psychic powers could use some work/combining the redundant ones, but I assume everyone here thinks the gunplay system is pretty good.

>>52560054
These are neat. Not >>52560054 but I'll try. I'm looking at B/X and I'm just going to wing it based on costs of making magic items, treasure tables and being inexperienced. Everyone feel free to tell me I'm fucking it up and why.

Soul of the Crystal King, depending on how long they've been dead for, what they have title to, who's looking, their family, their rivals, a necromancer trying to stage a coup, a psychopomp trying to send the soul to hades, etc. 5000gp and up, make an offer. I'd try and trade it for political position personally.

Mida's Calligraphy Set. 500gp. Its a well made cool thing. But its not magic.

Key of the Fallen Moon. I'm assuming its hard to get to the moon, and the key does something there. So its not really that valuable except to specific moon oriented people, otherwise its some nicely worked jewellery. 600gp unless a special buyer in which case much more. Seems like a better quest hook.

Lycanthropy Heart Transplant Cure. 1000gp, its magical and fascinating, but not super useful. Its cool though, and I'd try to have a rumour table about who's heart it is, maybe them wanting it back. 10000 to the Death Knight who lost it?

Horse Whisperer Statue. Do they know its a queen or do they think its a life like statue? Are there still horse people who want their queen back? 500gp for a statue or everything the horse people have for their queen. Lets say 10000, horse barbarians on call, etc.

Theoretical String. 100gp per inch. Not sure why, just seems about right.

Doll Eyes. 2500gp. Kind of like cure serious wounds, kind of like remove curse. Added an extra 500gp because they seem better than a scroll of 'regenerate eyes' in ways. Put them in backwards and see into your soul!

Instr-Dragon (already a cool name and I'm running out of ideas), depends on how we determine dragon type. They're treasure type H, which is suppose to average at 50000 so 20000 feels right. Its worth a lot. You can basically ruin anything's day with this.

>>52560695
>so sticking them along with a fighter or a mage will only improve them.
Fighter/Thief is good, but even with their low xp tax Mage/Thief is just dragging down Mage.
Cleric/Thief is OK though, since their skillsets have so little overlap.

>>52561109
>Mage/Thief is just dragging down Mage.

Not really any worse than fighter/thief is dragging down fighter.

>>52560790
>why did you double it for the porcelain eyes
You said they were "working" so assumed they could not only be used as prosthetic but perhaps also as a spying tool. Pop out a spare eye and put it in a nook and you can visually spy on people.

>the petrified horse
Well, you said she's the queen of horses so I assume she's some kinda semi-divine creature. Having her could theoretically be a great boon to any organization if she can command horses.

>Why is the king's soul in particular so highly priced
Well, souls are actually pretty valuable in general in most D&D settings. Add the fact that it belongs to a king and suddenly you have an opportunity to disrupt a country.

>>52560795
>No tiny psycho cannibals please.
You're lame. I guess you could go with Shadowmoor Kithkin if you don't want to totally suck ass.

>>52560790
Not >>52560697, but I used the gems/jewellery random values to eyeball things like golden pens, hearts made of silver, etc. and added a bit if it was magical. The king's soul I put lower than the horse queen because I don't know about the king's actual value or context, but at least the horse queen had something I can work with. I did the eyeballs off making scrolls that would regrow eyes and added more because they're multiple use technically. I have no idea how to actually price the instant dragon, need more info on what kind of dragon, how big, etc. I just assumed it made a huge one and let it lose. Seems not right but its already pretty fucked up as is.

The gun from the future was going to get a price based on wands and the spellbook was going to be 2-3 times as much as a normal spellbook, probably depending on the wizard you were trying to sell it to/reaction rolls and salemanship.

>>52559406
You make up a number and move on, because selling shit isn't the fun part of the game and isn't what you should be worrying about.

>>52561213
>>52560697
Ah fuck, I just noticed that I wrote 1 billion. Meant 1 million.

>>52561260
>because selling shit isn't the fun part of the game and isn't what you should be worrying about.

I just got reminded of my first DM, who turned every fucking shopkeeper interaction into an awful 40-minute bargaining affair

Just let me subtract the GP and buy a fucking tent, Jack

>>52560649
>At the point a mage reaches level 11, a fighter/mage would be level 8/9.
At the point a fighter/wizard reaches level 8/9, a single-class wizard is only a little bit into level 10. So if anything, your example makes the single-class character look comparatively stronger than it actually is. Fighter/wizards in 2e, however, are considerably weaker than in 1e--and weaker than elves in Basic--as those fuckers can wear plate mail.

>>52560695
>A multiclass mage can neither wear much armor not be a specialist wizard.
Elven chainmail is a lot better than no armor at all.

>>52561378
>Elven chainmail is a lot better than no armor at all.

Agreed, but until you find some you're stuck swinging your sword basically naked, which if you ask me is worse than staying entirely out of the front lines.

>>52561431
>Agreed, but until you find some you're stuck swinging your sword basically naked, which if you ask me is worse than staying entirely out of the front lines.
I think you're better off avoiding the front line at that point anyway. It's just that you have access to good ranged weapons, and can inflict good damage in melee when a monster manages to get at you.

>>52560795
Made them into literal and figurative Gypsies.

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Hey, what is the name of that random creature generator with all those crazy ass tables to roll on for monster traits, looks, things like that? I'm wanting to whip some stuff up for my LotFP game.

>>52561659
You'll want Random Esoteric Creature Generator.

>>52560649
The bigger problem here is the wizard's power curve. Going from level 1 to level 2, a wizard gains a single 1st level spell. Going from level 10 to level 11, a wizard gains a 3rd level spell, a 4th level spell *and* a 5th level spell. That's an insane difference just in terms of gaining 3 spells rather than 1.

Anyway, being a couple of levels lower is a big deal for a wizard, so multiclass characters might not be as strong as they look. On the other hand, high-level wizards are ridiculously powerful on their own.

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>>52561685
THANK YOU! My brain just did not want to work today!

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So the party's going to get stuck in a snowstorm and need to explore a long-abandoned mountain pass for shelter.

Besides the obvious ancient barbarian tombs, guarded by the dead, what else are they going to find?

>>52561828
Dinosaurs frozen in the ice that come to life and bite the PCs.

>>52561828
Mummy mammoths.
Living kegs of ale.
A very angry robot wearing leather.

>>52560795
>What have you done with Halflings in your games?
They're effectively the fighter / thief racial class. Sort of. On the fighter side, they're sort of like rangers minus the explicit nature stuff (so scouts, basically, I guess). On the thief side, they're maybe closer to jacks of all trades. They're less focused than thieves, but have modest skill at just about anything you can think of. "Oh, shit! The navigator just died and we have nobody to guide our ship!" No worries. The halfling can do a passable job of it just from having watched him work for a little bit.

One of the only things preventing halflings from taking over the world is the fact that they're too easy going. They just lack large-scale ambition. They may have curiosity and ingenuity on their side, but not drive or persistence. And even their curiosity is muted. They want to know what's in that bag you're carrying, but they're cool with it when you tell them to fuck off. They tend to be really zen about life in that way. Of course, halfling adventurers tend to be a bit more driven than their everyday peers.

>>52561973

Don't forget good saves and the ability to vanish in wilderness (and the dungeon to a lesser extent) makes them hard to kill. A good choice for players who get attached to their guys, as halflings are the most likely to escape from a TPK.

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>>52559406
>>52559568
>>52560054
Selling magical valuables should never be a simple transaction in a shop.

The question of what something is actually worth isn't important. Remember that the value of something isn't inherent to the object. It's what someone somewhere is willing to pay.

If you have magical loots, but you're in some village in the middle of nowhere where nobody has more than 10 gp on them, then you can't realistically sell it.

Even if you have a magical item fit for a king, the only one who could possibly buy it is a king. Trying to sell something to the king can be an adventure in and of itself. Perhaps the treasury is somewhat tied up at the moment. Perhaps the king decides it's time to increase taxes on wealthy adventurers to do their patriotic duty. Perhaps the king offers to pay in land or title. There's no limit to the possibilities.

Of course, now that you've sold this kingdom some magical loots, you've also changed the balance of power in this part of the world. Enjoy seeing the consequences, both good and bad that develop.

>>52562299
>realistically
Opinion discarded.

>>52562299
Yeah, but that's annoying when the players just want to know how much experience they get so they can move with the actual game. Real economy doesn't really work anyway, if someone asks the PCs how much money they want for a treasure, they will always answer "enough to get us to the next level".

>>52562299
>Trying to sell something to the king can be an adventure
This is definitely the best way.

>>52562380
>they will always answer "enough to get us to the next level".
>not "enough to bump us up two levels"

Your players have no ambition. Shaking my head.

>>52562299

"Bigbys Hand of Jerking is not a spell for hedge mages old man." - Wandering Swordsman

"You slut." - Barbarian travelling companion

>>52562299
>consequences, both good and bad that develop

This, gentle anons is always the correct answer.

>>52562433
But a PC cannot level up more than once in a session.

>>52561828
>obvious ancient barbarian tombs, guarded by the dead,
Spruce it up. Guarded by the dead, but not the unread.

Corpses and Traps everywhere, but the only monsters are visitors.

>what else are they going to find?
Spooky atelier.
Snowed in merchants.
Goblins that blew in *on* the blizzard.
Ever-burning flame.
Snow blindness.
The Donner Party.
Ghosts with hypothermia.

Where can I find information about Pahvelorn?

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>>52562555
>dead, but not unread
I can still hear the theme song in my head

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>>52545960
>>52546977

Continuing my notes on the Summoner OSR class from last thread.

Are the entities below a) too overpowered for a level 1-character to summon for 1-6 hours per day, b) interesting enough to summon, and c) descriptive enough to be interesting?

Please bear in mind that your level 1 caster gets 2 entities and can summon one at a time, your level max caster gets up to 10 (but can only summon 4 at a time), and that the entities you get are randomly rolled on a d100 table.

ntities have 10 Attack, 10 Defense, and 10 HP unless otherwise noted. They automatically Save against magic and magic-like effects unless the caster knows their true name, in which case they automatically fail. If an Entity is reduced to 0 HP it vanishes, but it takes no permanent harm.

4. Rone, the Blade of Love

Enters silently and appears in your hand. A black dagger of stone and grey leather. Cannot speak or see, but can hear very, very well. Creatures injured by Rone feel no pain, only a curious sensation of pressure. If you hold it like a pen and use blood as ink, Rone will write the answers to any questions you ask, provided it has overheard the answers since you summoned it. It could transcribe a conversation in prefect detail or tell you how many people entered a room, what they said, and when they left. If anyone holds Rone against the caster's will, they must Save or take 1d6 damage, and Rone vanishes. If anyone holds Rone with the caster's permission, they must Save. If they fail, each morning they must Save against the desire to hold Rone again.

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>>52562819
11. Raspalan, the Urgent Guide
Enters by running in via a door or window. Appears as a thin human with a scraggly beard and no clothes other than sandals. Cannot stop running. Will lead the summoner to any destination they name, provided it can be reached by running at a breakneck pace and leaping over obstacles. Will attempt to warn the summoner of traps, monsters, jumps, spikes, and other hazards in time to allow a Save. If the summoner does not follow or falls behind, Raspalan will still run to the destination and then vanish when not observed. If trapped, manacled, or cornered, will come up with some means of escape that may also benefit the summoner. Cannot be persuaded to run into a battle, but often runs through them accidentally.

14. Quen, the Truculent Goat
Enters with a clatter of hooves. Appears as a six-legged grey goat. Has an Attack and Defense of 14. Loves to charge things. If Quen charges an enemy of 2 HD or less, the enemy is automatically knocked prone. Any gate or door less than 20' tall or wide and not protected by magic that is charged by Quen bursts open on a hit. Quen prefers to charge targets taller than it, targets with horns, or targets that look cheerful. If no targets are designated by the summoner, it has a 50% chance of charging a random target each hour.

16. Doron, the Shield of the Righteous
Enters with a small thunderclap. Appears as a round shield of brass engraved with tightly packed combatants. Can be carried by anyone as a shield (+1 Defense). If you "sunder" the shield (reducing incoming damage by 1d12), Doron does not break, but instead reveals one of your sins or failings to all present in a disgusted tone. It will present your sins in the least charitable way possible. If you are attacked by an agent of the Authority (a paladin, an angel, etc.), Doron will still defend you but will reveal one sin every round.

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>>52562819
>>52545960
You've got the Sheeple, right?

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>>52563158
I do not have the sheeple.

Sheeple added.

Any good random tables for angels and/or demons?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmkySNDX4dU

>>52562819
Something that dies in effigy instead of the summoner might be neat.

>10 Attack, 10 Defense, and 10 HP unless otherwise noted.
It seems weird (but workable) for Rone. Pretty sure you should mention Doron doesn't fight though.
Or maybe not, but that would be preeeeeeeeetty~ gonzo.

>>52560795
Depends on where they are. I'm using our world as the backdrop setting circa 1640. Some halflings are your typical "git off muh land!" Hobbits, others are mystically inclined nomads, others are little bushwhackers.

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>>52563280
I like the effigy idea. I figure "is a dagger" and "is a shield" kind overwrite the stats bit, but that's fair enough. I'll make it explicit.

>>52563339
Doesn't need to be that one, but I'd like to see a summon that enters by getting vomited up.

>>52563212
1e DMG

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I've considered removing infravision from the abilities of demihuman races to necessitate the need for light sources in dungeons and to even out the disparity of humans vs nonhumans (to not have a need for racial class/level limits).

But then, if dwarves (or other subterranean races, like gnomes) can't see in the dark, how do they live underground? I like the idea of having a race of humanoids that live underground.

Perhaps they live in sections of the underground rife with bioluminescent fungi?

Son of a bitch, these threads move fast now.

>>52544341
>My only complaint is that his stuff is always so small. If love to see him do a proper sprawling megadungeon.
Didn't see anyone mentioning this in either thread, so: you really, really need to go back to Dyson's site and check out the MegaDelve.

>>52563568
Each dwarf is given a lantern as a coming of age rite, lit by the head of their clan. They must provide fuel and tend to that flame, creating a web of social connections, debts and favours amongst the clans as they struggle in the dark.

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>>52563568
I too think infravision is a little too common.

>bioluminescent fungi
Yeah, and lamps, fires, etc.

>>52563568
>>52563666
>the dwarves mine coal and burn fuckloads of it for heat and light underground
>their chimneys vent on the surface far above, creating a smog-choked wasteland for miles around
>the elves are assmad

>>52560795
I've cribbed off DCC and made them luck battery hobbits.

Unassuming good luck charms

>>52563656
I like Kingdom Death too.

So hey, I wanted a Second opinion on something that happened in my game.
I play DCC and we are having fun, Today several of the characters almost died as expected but one was reduced to 2 Strength, I wasn't sure on how to run it, I didn't want to just say he was impossible to use anymore as he survived his odds, So I made him Paraplegic the player was Ok with it, but I wanted to know what do you guys think?

>>52564077
That sounds fine to me as long as it's a forced retirement or they're a Magic-User.

>>52563568
There's honestly no good reason why elves have infravision, other than "elves are fancy and magic"
It's one of the most arbitrary traits they're consistently given in D&D materials.

>>52564172
>There's honestly no good reason why elves have infravision
I agree with this, though I've kind of gotten used to elves seeing well at night.

>I've considered removing infravision from the abilities of demihuman races to necessitate the need for light sources in dungeons and to even out the disparity of humans vs nonhumans (to not have a need for racial class/level limits).
I don't know that infravision makes that big of a difference when it comes to class balance, as you're normally adventuring with folks who don't have it and who therefore require a light source. And if you're using the 14th level cap with B/X, the maximum levels for dwarves and elves are probably about right, though they admittedly get there too quickly. If you really want to balance out demihumans, playing around with the XP they require is the way to do it, though I approve of the aesthetics of ditching infravison.

>But then, if dwarves (or other subterranean races, like gnomes) can't see in the dark, how do they live underground?
Lamps.

>>52564131
They are a Cleric, So they are still useful to have around.

>>52564067
Find the cheesecake really tacky personally. Does it do a thing with lanterns?

>>52564469
They lose a lot more by it than a MU would.


Next campaign, or after they've cycled all party members 2 or 3 times, the paraplegic beggar who shows up outside the dungeon to sell heals will be a nice touch.

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>>52560795
I've made them rabbit people. They live in burrows, farm, and ride giant snails along snail trails. They're fairly quiet, so their spoken language is done like a mix between semaphore or sign language. Their writing system is essentially morse code and is often called 'rabbit droppings' by the other races.

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Is 2e OSR? If not, why not?

In a fit of nostalgia I ordered pic related on ebay and now I'm in the mood for old school. I can recite the CD almost word for word.

>Random d10 table request: what is the old man doing in this temple of evil?

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>>52558588
What?

>>52561828
And a band of tiny snow elementals that are grey with dirt and dust (pic related) and need help returning to their natural state. Also desire to obtain the parties clean drinking water to help propagate.

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>>52565469
>Is 2e OSR? If not, why not?

More or less. It's a little bit borderline, but it fits. Some other anon's analysis in pic related.

Rolled 4 (1d10)

>what is the old man doing in this temple of evil? (1d10)
1. He stumbled in, drunk.
2. Delivering offering to appease/ward off the evil therein.
3. Delivering lunch to his son, the head of the cult.
4. Undergoing a trial by fire to clear his good name.
5. Investigating a murder. (1d4)
(1) Questions the PCs.
(2) Suspects the PCs.
(3) PCs ruined his crime scene.
(4) Investigating on behalf of the cult.
6. Plotting a murder. (1d4)
(1) Scouts PCs for help.
(2) After one of the PCs.
(3) After a cultist, joins party.
(4) After a cultist, but PCs are throwing off Old Man's groove.
7. Sent by the king, the cult is evading taxes.
8. Commissioning undead (1d4) from the cult.
(1) Skeletons, for a festival.
(2) Skeletons, to deal with the bandits.
(3) Skeletons, to help the bandits.
(4) Old man has a score to settle, wants to be a revenant.
9. Trying to join the cult, but they aren't recruiting.
10. Monster (open a book to a random page) disguised as an Old Man.

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>>52565469
The grog mafia will say no because muh Gygaxian prose and muh gold for XP.

It shares 90% of the same rules as 1e.

>>52565540
2e uses the proficiency system (which is different from OA's proficiencies). Sometimes in adventures having a random-ass proficiency in gem-cutting or pottery can provide a helpful clue.

2e has a class (save and attack tables) and sub-class (other bits) systems.
There are Warriors (Fighters, Paladins, Rangers), Priests (Clerics, Druids, Specialty Priests), Wizards (Mage, Specialist), and Rogues (Thieves, Bards). Sometimes the rules will refer to the broader class instead of the sub-classes.

"Roll 1d20 and if it's equal or less to your ability score then [good thing]" are relatively common in 2e modules.

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>>52563474
Yeah, I've got a few "ew" entries planned. Vomited up. Congeals from earwax. Inflates a nearby insect to gigantic size.

>>52565692
>2e uses the proficiency system
Okay? Am I missing some context? The post ( >>52558588 ) replied to the OP and gave that short list of mechanics. The question in the OP doesn't seem to relate to it.

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>>52558588
>>52565540
>>52565692
>>52565748
Opps, I was actually trying to reply to >>52557165 in the old thread.

Rolled 5 (1d10)

>>52565665
Rolling to know why

Rolled 4 (1d4)

>>52565782

>>52565798

>After a cultist, but PCs are throwing off Old Man's groove.

Today on OSR General, our feature presentation will be How Old Man Got His Groove Back.

>>52565857
Um, wrong. It's
>Investigating on behalf of the cult.

>>52565870

So it is! Welp, when I can't read tables straight anymore, then I suppose it's time for bed.

Alright /tg/, I need help. I'm looking for tables for weapon appearances and minor traits with a decent variety of options and I'm having zero luck with it.

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What OSR game would you suggest for running a Mass Effect style game? Things like strange races, FTL drives, crazy and somewhat gonzo planets and truly alien and odd enemies.

>>52566095

Define 'weapon appearances'. Do you mean by categories of weapons or something else? Like Axes, Swords, Maces all getting their own table of various descriptions, or mix and match many tables for it?

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>>52566174
Any system is fine. Nick the tables in Stars Without Numbers.

>>52566174
SWN would be fun. I've done one in Traveller Classic, but that was a bit fast and loose.

>>52566183
Mix and match would probably work best but I'll take either. Basically I'm running SWN and I want to be able to roll up more interesting guns for my PCs then "Generic Mag Pistol#243".I don't mind refluffing fantasy weapons for it as long as there's more then 5 options for each one.

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Got a little blurb about one of the cities in my game and two tables to go with it tonight; 1d100 store names and 1d100 weird trinkets to pick up in a weird marketplace.

http://www.occultesque.com/2017/04/the-endless-steps-1d100-stores-1d100.html

Rolled 83, 26 = 109 (2d100)

>>52566487

Rolled 48, 89 = 137 (2d100)

>>52566487
Wonder what kooky shit will occur...

>>52566593
>Tom’s Kebab Emporium
>Packs of freeze-dried noodle squares
We Balkans now?

>>52566593
Weird food to roast on a kebab.

>>52566593
>10% chance every store you run into is a kebab stand
>You find one that also sells ramen
Not the worst

>>52566607
I know, right?
>>52566616
We weeaboo Balkans now?

>>52565665
>7. Sent by the king, the cult is evading taxes.
>8. Commissioning undead (1d4) from the cult.
>(1) Skeletons, for a festival.
"Look guys, you can either pay your back taxes in gold, or you pay your back taxes in skeletons for bonefest."

"What have your taxes ever done for us?"

"Roads, policing, protection from unsanctioned adventurers and education in necromantic law as a basic part of the adventurer registration process, an organised network of graveyards and funerary services for even the indigent that makes obtaining the materials you need easier and safer."

"...Bonefest's on the 23rd, yes?"

>>52566658
>"What have your taxes ever done for us?"
https://youtu.be/Y7tvauOJMHo

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>>52566487
Neat stuff. One complaint though. You're still using a serifed font for online purposes. Please consider switching fonts. It'll make your tables easier to read.

Oh shit, my dick just got erect.

What would people think of a west marches/hexcrawl style game set in the wilderness around Mordheim?

I had an idea years ago for a STALKER: Shadow of Mordheim game for WHFRP where the players are members of a tentative recolonization effort, managing a settlement in the middle of the Great Fucked Up Wilderness, but it never went anywhere.

Now I'm thinking it'd be sick as hell in a Hexcrawl game, probably using DCC's sexy-ass chargen rules for the WHFRP-style "your guys are random goons who got lucky and are adventurers now" aesthetic.

Mutated wilderness, wild magic, cultists and madmen, benis, wyrdstone hunters and vicious bandits, worse things. STALKER but fantasy.

>1d10 Anomalous Objects and zones

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>>52566868
Fund it.

>>52566851
Is using sans fonts a standard etiquette thing? I'm clearly not up on website design as I'm just plugging away at my dinky little Blogger-powered abomination.

Anyways, appreciate the tip. I'll go ahead and muck around with fonts.

>>52566449

Ahh, interesting. I didn't know you meant Sci-Fi.

Well anyway, I would really like to make something for you but I don't really know what weapons/types are used in SWN.

>>52566868
>STALKER Mordheim zone
yes

although the empire doesn't have canning, so you can't quite replicate the tourist's delight experience. plenty of sausage available though.

Suggestions for your further research: OSR product Lesserton & Mor, RuneQuest product Pavis & Big Rubble, perhaps Frostgrave as well for fluff inspiration.

>>52566868
>WHFRP-style "your guys are random goons who got lucky and are adventurers now"
>got lucky and are adventurers now
>lucky and are adventurers now
>lucky
*laughs in ukrainian*

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>>52566931
>Is using sans fonts a standard etiquette thing?

It's really just a usability choice, like not having red text on a blue background or something.

For print, serifed fonts are OK, because the little serifs are supposed to "guide the eye to recognize letters" or something. Anyway, in books, it's fine.

Problem is, on a screen, the resolution makes serifs look like noise. You have to work harder to read a serifed font than a sans-serif font. |

This is super annoying with blogger because the default font is TNR or something stupid. Guess they thought it looked "classy".

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>>52566964
>*laughs in ukrainian*

I introduced a new player to one of my games with, "You know all those stories your baba told you about the forest? They are all true."

>>52567011
Sounds like your monitor / SO has antialiasing problems. Windows is terrible with font rendering.
*Serif fonts do reduce visual fatigue
*Sans read better when big
>>52566851
This serif has a heavily modulated AND thinner stroke (meant for a bigger size fo sho). The sans also reads better because it's designed to be more open (more space 'within' letters). You are comparing common apples with mutant oranges.

http://www.identifont.com/differences?first=adobe+caslon&second=georgia&q=Go

>>52566487
Good work.

Is there any good dueling system available in any of the books? Something to make one-on-one combat a good deal more interesting than them just hitting one another like they do in regular battle?

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>>52567676
>You are comparing common apples with mutant oranges.

Motherfucker runs an apple pie blog.

Anyway, it's not just resolution/antialiasing, it's the text size and density of text. Who makes a d100 table in a serifed font, seriously?

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I'm making a modern fantasy OSR game that features a lot of 'decrepit old buildings as dungeons' and 'neighborhood-crawling' gameplay.

However I want to know how much I should make a hover-car cost. Should it really be the same as a horse? You'd think they have similar utility, but the cars could hold a lot more people/loot and would be less vulnerable to getting killed.

What changes needs B/X to feel modern and accesible (player-side) without touching the math or changing too much the feel?

I already use advantage, because I'm lazy to decide a modifier
I have 4 core classes (C F MU T) that players can reskin as any race they want. Extra, weirder classes (Alice...) are unlockable after your first.
I already have a 'proficiency', instead of weapon limitations (+base attack bonus when using those).
I'm planning on using AD&D hit dice, or at least give the Thief a d6.
Magic needs a boost for sure, nobody picks MU, ever. Clerics are veeery rare. Maybe simply casting as 1 level higher?
Maybe remove armor limits and make armor expensive af?
Skills are a no-no. I'm happy with the 1-6 chance, 2-6 if you're good at it. Pretty sure it'll slow down chargen, and probably play too, until they get used to 'the things my character can do'. I don't like rolling for each crap the PCs take, either.

Am I in the right track? What else? Maybe something to (superficially) differentiate classes?

>>52567948
You could just remove the thief entirely. You want to play a thief? Are you the type who stabs people, or the type who reads weird scrolls and knows all the mystic tricks, or the weird Keeper type who's part of a weird religious cult and recruited Garrett after almost getting pickpocketed?

>>52568057
Yeah, but at the end of the day Garrett is still -really- good at sneaking around. How else are you supposed to depict that than by being a thief?

>>52568057
>feel modern and accesible (player-side)
>remove thief
>add "weird"
???

>>52568064
High dex and light armour, and using the there's always a chance rules when he's doing something especially sneaky with his high dex score.

>>52568093
thief is a bad class and was a mistake

Perhaps the original thief class was good, but Gygax never saw that - he heard a description over the phone and wrote up his own version. Which was bad, and set the standard for later versions.

>>52568234
>High dex and light armour, and using the there's always a chance rules when he's doing something especially sneaky with his high dex score.

Have you even played the games? The shit he pulls off - is trained for over the course of many years - is way more than just high dex and light armor.

>>52567948
Also, can you use the 5e spell tables straight away in a B/X game? It doesn't look that inflated...

>>52568234
I'll call it a rogue then?
To be honest, I love the Thief and I plan to use it anyway, but thanks for sharing your opinion.
And remember that I'm asking for "modern and accesible", fuck whatever Gygax said.

>>52568271
Yeah, but it's way more than the thief class could even dream of, so either play a dedicated sneaky thief game (if you find a good one, let me know) or just play a fighter with some neat (magical) kit and 18 dex.

I'd say the thief class is inaccessible because it just doesn't function as advertised and screws up the game for other classes as well. That's why I'd remove it.

Drop thief/rogua, add specialist
DONE

>>52568362
Rogue* Fuck it's late, I can't even spell right now.

>>52567948
Ok, let's reconsider this.
I'm not asking for classes/houserules. I'm asking for few, simple changes to make BX *feel modern and accesible (player-side)*

I feel like my list of changes is already bloated, I'm asking for better alternatives. I don't want to load tons of options on my players, either; picking from a skill list counts as tons of options.

For ex. take B/X, but use 5e XP table -- everybody is 2th at 300XP, 3th at 900, 4th at 2700.
Can you do this without breaking the game? Will it play nicely?

>>52568322
>it's way more than the thief class could even dream of

Then that's what we should be fixing - making the thief class what Garrett is, rather than removing it entirely.

I think all the attempts at trying to make thief capable in combat - 3rd edition and later, many houserules - is missing the point. You never saw Garrett engage in combat. Even when the mage is throwing around fireballs, the thief should never show himself, instead sneak about and look for advantages before stabbing the enemy wizard in the back or some shit like that.

This requires fixing their skills and making backstab actually worth something.

>>52568600
>Can you do this without breaking the game? Will it play nicely?

You might as well just ditch the entire experience point system and have them level up as you see fit, then.

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>>52568362

Wrong.
False.
Opposite of what you should do.

Take what the specialist does, and name them Rogue, plus give them sneak attack and stealth bonuses.

Boom. You now have your skill monkey class that can actually fight a little bit and has more utility then just a much shittier fighter with an X in 6 chance to identify magic dildos or whatever. This is the correct way to do it.

>>52569279
That's a 3e thing. I like the Thief, and I like all the unique and specific notCantrips (Skills for you) it has.
d6 HD and some decent chances for its notCantrips will make it decent if you are into game balance (say, all start with 20%, and each level they get +5% each and you can swap 10% from one to another).

Specialists are bland, bland like the Skill system they are bound to. They are not a 'D&D' class, they are a 'can't stop houseruling somethingOSR pastiche' class.

Forget actual D&D and actual character classes and actual game mechanics for a moment.

What kind of adventurers do you want in a party?
We're talking general archetypes or job descriptions or specific non-game-jargon roles.
Like, build your dungeon delving, tomb robbing, dragon slaying, murderhoboing Ocean's 11 team.

The muscle, the face, the safecracker, etc.

>>52570643
Classes and mechanics notwithstanding, "fighter" and "mage" and "thief" pretty much have it covered.

>>52567920
A magic hovercar is a way bigger deal than a horse.

It doesn't care about difficult terrain or weather, holds as much as a waggon, it does what you tell it to all the time, its faster, and it has locks so its at least sort of better than just leaving your stuff laying around. It also doesn't shit everywhere.

You could make it complicated by having to feed it food/fuel/souls, or it having a personality though. Even then, much better than a horse.

Would it break 2e to allow characters to learn nonweapon proficiencies by means other than level ups?

As it is, high intelligence at first gives a borderline obscene amount of bonus NWPs to the character, yet doesn't contribute to anything at all afterwards.

I submit that the characters are allowed to "research" new proficiencies the same way wizards would research new spells: spend a week per proficiency point, a whole lot of money, then make a "learn spell" roll to see if you manage to figure the thing out.

>>52570643
Hugh Beefslab - The Big Guy (not for me); decked out in metal armor, shield, and 1h weapon. He kill stuff dead.

Sneaky McGoesfirst - Party scout, searches for enemies and traps.

Sneaky McGoeslast - Similar to above but this guy trails slightly behind the group to pick up ambushes, etc.

Sneaky McSecondstring - Because it never hurts to have a spare.

Blasticus Magnficus - This guy also kill stuff dead (with spells)

Miscellania Magica - This girl (?) has useful utility magic but isn't a great blaster

Brother Healbot - Heals until he's out of spells, then he also kill stuff dead.

>>52571246
Have you read The Miracle Workers, by Jack Vance? That has a hovercar. It's not terribly useful, but it is priceless.

One of my favourite of his smaller stories, that one. Also got an excellent "magic system," and some good feudal lord on feudal lord army action.

>>52571575
I'll check it out. I've only read the Dieing Earth and Planet Of Adventure stuff.

>>52571733
You are missing out on so much. Lyonesse is an excellent fantasy series, The Moon Moth is a wonderful SF short story, and the Demon Princes series is a longer SF story of revenge and revengeance and all sorts of things.

And that's, like, a fraction of his work. The Dragon Masters!

>>52571803
>revengeance
into it

>>52567805
Hey, I appreciate the heads up - I don't know anything about fonts, layouts, whatever. It's a work in progress and I'm glad to have folks on here to let me know what I'm fucking up so I can fix it.

>>52567791

http://hillcantons.blogspot.co.nz/2016/09/dueling-rules-and-combat-options-for.html

How about every class can perform a sneak attack for 2x damage, but only a thief's sneak attacks scale up further in damage (x3, x4) as they level.

>>52572133
Sounds like a similar thing to allowing other classes to have thieving skills at basic level but only thieves can advance them further. Whether this works or not depends on how much you allow characters to sneak around even without thieving skills, and how borderline-supernatural and amazing the skills themselves are.

Personally, I feel +2 to hit from behind would be enough for non-thieves.

>>52562819
>>52562839
This is a mighty work you are undertaking. I will partake of it when you are finished and may the Devil guide your writing hand.

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Hey /osrg/, I'm looking for a table of things monsters can be doing instead of just standing there. Sleeping, fighting, eating, stuff like that.

I could make my own, but does one already exist?

>>52572333
http://goblinpunch.blogspot.fi/2013/05/wtf-are-those-goblins-doing.html

Can be applied to most humanoids, I'd say, with minor changes.

>>52572375
Exactly what I was looking for, thanks a bunch.

>>52567920
A hovercar is far more valuable than a horse, like 100x.

It's more akin to a Flying Carpet + Pegasus + Bag of Holding.

Kind of a game-breaking item for a "modern dungeon-crawling" game, IMO. I wouldn't even allow it.

>>52572401
How would you take it down to a dungeon, though?

>>52572213
I like that idea too actually. Every character should have a basic ability to do simple adventurer shit, but Thieves are the ones that specialize in it.

How do you sanitize B/X? Revamping the x-in-6 into a d20 roll? Unified saves? A skill list?

I don't mind 2d6 for turning or % for thieves, those are unique things. But everything else feels... floaty, disorganized, too DM-dependant.

I'm tempted to run a hacked-down 5e even if I tried it already and don't like it, and there's a fuckload more of rules to learn -- it just makes sense. Help.

>>52572413
>park flying car in cloud to avoid hooligans
>get chased by griffins who built a nest in your trunk while you were in the dungeon

having a car is a hassle

>>52573407
>floaty, disorganized
Can you expand on this? I don't find B/X to be that at all.

>DM-dependant
How is that a bad thing?

>>52573488
>park flying car in cloud to avoid hooligans
>ram into cloud giant's castle
>"oh so that's where my missile hoverskate went, thanks for bringing it back."

>>52573598
...missing hoverskate.

And really it should be "OH, SO THAT'S WHERE MY MISSING HOVERSKATE WENT. THANKS FOR BRINGING IT BACK, TINY ONES."

>>52573617
Missile Hoverskates do sound pretty cool though.

My players hate AC though love pretty much all the old school rules of B/X the same.

Is there any oldschool rules with no AC? Or am I going to have to suck it up and run WFRP again even though I personally find it clunky as hell (calculating all them bonuses and such is a pain in the ass compared to d20)

>>52573517
>floaty, disorganized
I mean at play. It has a solid structure, but most rolls feel arbitrary. It seems like everybody has a 1/6 chance at most tasks, and eficient blokes get 2/6 instead.
This things aren't in a list either, so if you have to fish them in mid session... like idk, elves being immune to a certain attack from a certain monster. Languages are... idk very important and at the same time glossed over completely?
I feel like you have to memorize the whole system, rather than learning a couple or mechanics then apply some exceptions here and there.
Then there's the saves... I don't even know. What I've been doing so far: everybody, even monsters, saves at 15, roll d20+level.

>>DM-dependant
>How is that a bad thing?
Because I am the DM, and I want to have fun, and Classic D&D has a fuckload of bookkeeping already.
I want dice to decide for me -- in a single, easy to adjudicate roll. I wouldn't be using them otherwise.

>>52573723
What's wrong with AC?

>>52573659
The giant accidentally triggered it and it shot right off their feet.

That's why Mount Fuckinggreatholeinthesidehowdidthatevenhappen looks like it does!

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>>52573723
Do you just object to armor reducing accuracy? If so, try this conversion.

>>52573752
My players think it'd be better to use normal AP rules since that would make stronger weapons more likely to puncture through the armor than weaker weapons. Of course, I told them the arguments for AC (attacking weak points in chainmail and such, bashing the armor head on wasn't exactly effective) but they still thought it was dumb.

I was thinking of just setting a normal AC for all attacks then. The Unarmored values are a bit too painfully easy as is though

>>52573747
Get your players to keep track of their saves and special things about being an elf.

It is a higher book keeping style game. Having a sheet with important shit about all the player's characters on it is a good idea. hp, saves, ac, special stuff.

Having a sheet with saves on it helps too. Most monsters save as a fighter. But it was designed with the intention of having the books on hand. That being said, if it works with you just winging a roll, do that.

The gm prep is part of the fun for a lot of people. It helps to be organized, lets you access the information you want quickly. GM screens have most of the shit you'll need. I tend to make notes on index cards and keep them in piles.

What do you want the dice to decide for you about languages?

Take a look at The Black Hack. It might work better for you.

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>>52573838
Some stats that show that the conversion keeps the average damage inflicted remarkably consistent.

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Does anyone have a random table of magical metals, substances & materials?

Orichalcum, blackstone, wyrdstone, that kind of thing?

Skerples, if you're reading this, just wanted to pass on that the GLOG actually has concentration rules. They're just hidden in the description of the "Doom Song" spell
(Remember that concentration spells end if the target moves out of range or line of sight, and that concentration ends if you take any damage or major distraction).

What are some of the best mutation/corruption tables out there?

How do you guys determine the value of gems and items?

>>52573845
>Most monsters save as a fighter
Except dumb monsters. Except undead monsters, that save as a F even if dumb. Oh and gargoyles...
But the thing is: as soon as you have to lookup a stat and then crossreference it in a table, you (well I) know something's wrong.

>cheatsheets, books, DM screens
Hmmm...

>languages
I've been tempted to make them a roll like in lotfp -- but what I meant is that they are not very explained in game terms. There's a fuckload of them, no idea how to use them. So far I've been making every intelligent monster have their own language, maybe common for humanoids, PCs only common -- and let them figure out how to communicate.

>The Black Hack
Ehh nah thanks. I'd rather play 5e.

>>52573987
>What are some of the best mutation/corruption tables out there?

I apply Tome of Corruption from WFRP, or Radical's Handbook from DH, for these.

>How do you guys determine the value of gems and items?

Forgotten Realms Adventures has a handy value for gems. The rest I usually roll randomly and values tend to be at the tables I use.

>>52573723

I plugged my homebrew rules in the previous thread (changes whole combat system) if you want to do a more realistic take on combat.

>>52573747
I'm guessing that you want something much simpler than Basic D&D then, if you find it to be too hard to handle. Have you checked out The Black Hack?

>>52571252
NWPs range from "flavor" to "essential."
You'll have no issues giving out extra flavor.
The ones that are actually useful (Blind-fighting, Tumbling, etc.) are fine as long as everyone gets them.

Really though, you should do away with NWPs.

>>52574119
>Really though, you should do away with NWPs.

I agree that fixing the way intelligence works on them would only scrape the surface on how shitty the system is.

But how would you fix it? How would you separate "flavor" and "essential" and give everyone about the same amount of both?

>>52574006
>Hmmm
Yeah, if you're not using them its understandable to feel flooded with stuff to track. The more you do it the faster it gets too. But the way it was made is gm heavy. You've just got to organize yourself so its easy. Cut the things that get in the way.

I don't roll random monsters as we're playing. I take care of that beforehand and write the important information down like saves, treasure, etc. Its still randomly generated, saves time at the table. But sounds like the way you've been doing saves works fine, so keep using it. Houserules are common and as far as I can tell, expected.

Sounds like you're using languages fine. Sometimes the players can talk to the humanoids, sometimes not, make reaction rolls accordingly. Let the players try to roleplay communicating with things as they see fit.

>>52573747
>but most rolls feel arbitrary.
Most rolls are arbitrary. Half the rules are common rulings that Gygax&co. nailed down because they kept having to make them.
That makes them kind of hard to remember, but it also makes them succinct.
If you don't like them, gut them. But you're better off making rulings than rules, at least until you find something that plays well.
>elves being immune to a certain attack from a certain monster.
A holdover from CHAINMAIL, where the number of monsters and special attacks were small.
And again, an issue of rulings. You're supposed to extend those protections to anything thematically appropriate.
Same deal with elves spotting secret doors, they actually spot things in general.
>Languages are... idk very important and at the same time glossed over completely?
Languages are setting specific. That's up to you.
>I feel like you have to memorize the whole system, rather than learning a couple or mechanics then apply some exceptions here and there.
You need the combat rules, the wandering monster rules, and the out-of-combat movement rates.
Everything else can be replaced by rulings. And should, if you don't know the rules offhand (never reference the rules during play*)
>Then there's the saves... I don't even know.
The exact order of the saves varies by edition, but here's a decent explanation: >>52413488

*If you make a ruling for something and you think there's a rule for it, check during downtime or after the session.
If there was a rule, try to use it going forward.

>>52573963
I was working on a scheme for magic weapons a ways back. Never quite got finished, but the idea is that instead of having a +2 sword, you'd have a moonsilver sword, or something like that. If you were just looking for ideas, here are some scribblings I made on the subject

meteor --> stargold (pure meteor weapon)
mithril --> moonsilver (pure mithril weapon)
adamant(ine) --> stygian / black / ebon / cinerous / caliginous / shadow (pure adamantine weapon)
sunsteel / heliacal / scintillant / scarlet / lambent / gloam
crystal / gem / hyaline (as in a gemsword)
witchwood

thalassic? or riverine? (metal found in deposits at bottom of sea / in river beds)

alloys? (just combining the names of stargold, moonsilver, black and sunsteel weapons)
blackmoon (blacksilver?)
blackstar
blacksteel / blacksun (eclipse?)
moongold
sungold
moonsteel / sunsilver

>>52573838
Huh, this one looks really solid, thanks!

>>52574060
Willing to give this a gander though, but if it's a bit too complex I may not use it for this game. Really trying to get that simple b/x feel since players are sick of really complicated combats that take ages to resolve.

>>52574179
Thanks, that was helpful. I can't use books/screens at the table, so I just use a one-page for common monsters, and use lots of mnemonic tricks. Like winging morale on a d6 and such.

Still, it takes a lot of processing power, the game is slow af and whenever I stop to look at the sheet / read a room description / monster stat, the game halts a bit. Just a bit, but at the end of the day it feels like inconsistent play.

So, any tips on how to simplify all those x-in-6 rolls into something intuitive?
Plus, it's a veeery low chance. The world is filled with things to be found and deactivated, and the most you get is a 2/6 chance? Hmm...

>>52574112
No thanks, read five lines above your post.

>>52574374
>elves actually spot things in general.
1st time ever reading something like this.
>Languages
I'd remove them. But if I do that, wtf is supposed to do INT?
>rulings
I'm actually runing the black box, that has like... half rules compared to B/X?
It's the rulings what's making me consider play something else, the fact that you're supposed to be familiar with the system and its internal logic ? AND its quirks -- before running it smoothly.

>>52574389
Interesting terminology. You should develop that into a cross-ref table for unique magic items.

>>52574392

here's the post in question:
>>52533676

it's pretty straightforward. The GM just makes a quick ruling on the relative fighting capability of the combatants and assigns a bonus, then you roll to see who wins the round. Armor is effective, but 3 hits = KO (unless wounded first), so combat ends pretty quickly.

>>52574617
>No thanks, read five lines above your post.
In that case I don't know what to tell you, because I have a much easier time running B/X than 5e. Maybe OSR just isn't your cup of tea?

>>52574617
>1-in-6
If you haven't, take a look at Lamentation’s skills and see if you can mesh it into your game? X-in-6 was pretty automatically intuitive for me, so it just worked out. Also keep in mind thief skills are super magical abilities. Like literally hiding in a shadow. Its a low chance because its magic. I get what you mean about b/x not being easily grasped through singular unified mechanics for sure though. That's just kind of how it rolls.

Even if you don't want a screen at the table or you're playing online or something, take a look at the various gm screens and handout, indexes and such. Printing them out, copying them, etc. and having them at hand to make notes in/on helps me a lot.

I like languages personally. Makes the otherness of humanoids and monsters more tangible.

>>52574894
>thief skills are super magical abilities.
Picking pockets and climbing walls is magic now?

>>52574773
What does being wounded do exactly? Do you instantly die or are you like about to get fucked next turn?

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>>52574894
>>52574915
I don't think they're literally magical, but they're all pretty much the sort of shit you have to train for a long time to get down. Moving without making any sound at all doesn't make you magic, but it is some low-level superhero bullshit for sure.

Still explains the low chance, though, and makes higher-level thieves about as close to ghosts as you can be without being intangible or dead.

>>52574968
>about as close to ghosts as you can be
Except with a 68% failure rate you're more likely to look like a pathetic idiot trying to hide behind a chair.

>>52574915
Everyone can climb a wall, the thief can try to climb sheer walls. I'm under the impression the intent was for them to be supernatural or exceptional skills.

>>52575028
And by that logic, what does the rest of the party have? 100% failure chance to hide, ever?

No, you can at the very least hide as well as the rest of the party - probably better because you're not wearing shiny heavy clanky full plate, or long robes to stumble on - and then there's a 32% chance of being just about literally invisible on top of that.

>>52574933

the GM decides on the severity of the wound. You could assign arbitrary values, but I like keeping my options open to prevent the player being randomly killed by something he had no chance to respond to.

With minions and other chaff, I'd expect the wound to be mortal, but tougher enemies might shrug off some hits.

Usually, if I need more arbitraty numbers, I go with "reduce the severity of the wound by 1 level from mortal, to serious, to light for evety 8 HP the target has, then reduce hp by 2/3rds for severe wounds, 1/3rd for light wounds", since I'm still using HP for traps and harmful spells.

>>52574119
>and give everyone about the same amount of both?
INT bonus NWPs are flavor only.
Double the initial NWPs (6 for Warriors, 8 for Wizards, etc.), but half are for flavor and half are for essential.
NWPs gained by leveling are for essential.

A quick skim of the NWPs gives the essentials as:
Appraising, Blind-fighting, Direction sense, Disguise, Healing, Juggling, Jumping, Survival, Swimming, and Tumbling.

You should also removed Rope Use, Mountaineering, and Riding, Landbased.


Also recommending you disentangle NWPs from attributes.
Pich an appropriate target numbers for each NWP and stick by them. +/-1 or 2 by attribute, if appropriate.

>>52574617
>before running it smoothly
Any system will run bumpy for the first few sessions.
Expecting you to make rulings actually /smooths/ the transition.
Won't shorten the transition mind you, but it does smooth it.

>>52574617
>I'd remove them. But if I do that, wtf is supposed to do INT?
It might be anathema to a lot of grognards, but I like the idea of giving people spendable points to boost rolls. I call them "talent" and you get a number of talent points equal to either 3 or 4 plus your intelligence modifier. They are replenished per day (per adventure or per level, if you want to be stingy with them).

If you want to make talent powerful:
--spend 1 point before a d20 roll to take the better of two rolls
--spend 2 points after a d20 roll to reroll (and take the new result if it's better)
--spend 1 point before rolling to hit to increase damage if you do hit, taking the better of two damage rolls +1 (or simply the best of three damage rolls, if you think that's a better way to do it)

If you want to limit the power of talent:
--spend 1 point of talent before a d20 roll to give you +2 on the roll
--spend 1 point of talent after you fail a d20 roll by a single point in order to succeed instead (so it gives you +1 after the fact)
--spend 1 point of talent before rolling to hit to increase damage if you do hit, taking the better of two damage rolls

I don't normally allow people to spend talent more than once on a roll. In order to keep people from hoarding talent just in case, I allow people who have depleted their talent to borrow talent from the future (the next time they replenish talent) at my discretion (though I try to keep the borrowing to a minimum). I use poker chips to represent talent points.

>>52575078
meant for >>52574171

>>52575078
>Pich an appropriate target numbers for each NWP and stick by them. +/-1 or 2 by attribute, if appropriate.

I believe Player's Option did that?

>>52575126
>--spend 1 point before a d20 roll to take the better of two rolls
>--spend 2 points after a d20 roll to reroll (and take the new result if it's better)

Rerolling is worse than taking the better of two rolls. It ought to be one point either way IMO.

>>52575350
>Rerolling is worse than taking the better of two rolls.
It's exactly the same given that it specifies "and take the new result if it's better".

>>52575330
Oh. Wow. It did. In the worst book of the product line, even.
Completely unplayable numbers too. Add 6 to all of them.

>>52575383

>tfw misread it as "take the new result"

Nevermind!

>>52575430
Even if you were stuck with the new roll, it'd still be more powerful than spending a point before rolling to get the better of two results. Maybe half the time you spend a talent to get the better of two rolls, you won't even need the second roll. And you're unlikely to spend talent to reroll unless you failed the roll, so critical failures aside, it really doesn't matter if you're stuck with your second roll.

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Has anyone here played Crimson Dragon Slayer?

It's OSR, isn't it?

>>52575657
Never heard of it

>>52575737
https://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/16/16434.phtml

>>52575657
>>52575737

Never played, but I just grabbed it off IRC.

>Crimson Dragon Slayer is a science fiction and fantasy paper & pencil roleplaying game for the Old School
>Renaissance. It is meant to be compatible with nearly every RPG derived from the first of its kind. Crimson
>Dragon Slayer (even more than my other books) should be considered a parody, joke, or spoof.

So yeah, it's OSR, and a silly OSR it seems. It appears to be delightfully goofy so far. I wonder if its author has one horn.

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>>52575811
>I wonder if its author has one horn.
Yes, he's a very strange guy.

>>52575872
Looks more like a spine.

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>>52575872

Wow, he's changed since the 80s.

>>52575872
>mfw when Hail Satan! Lord of the Pit! King of Hell! Ruler of the Earth! Master of the Abyss! I open the unknowable doorways and touch the violet flame, drink the revitalizing blood and break the skulls of those who cross Him or His brothers. I call upon the most vicious demons of Hell to intervene. From this night forth, you will be plagued by self-doubt, weakness, failure, hopelessness, hunger, pain, loss, insecurity, and envy. Nothing can save you and no one will come to your aid. All who have befriended you will now desert you in your hour of need. In the name of the Ancient Ones, I curse those who tear down Empire of Satanis! May Satan have no mercy whatsoever upon your miserable souls. Hail Satan! So it is done!

>>52575927
More or less edgy?

>>52575927
Is he still fighting Tiamat?

>>52576001
He was sacrificing his pregnant wife to Cthulhu last I checked, so it seems he's moved on.

ps: don't google that, you'll regret it

>>52575811
>just grabbed it off IRC.
Care to post it? Or add it to the Trove?

>>52576302

Well, adding it to the Trove will be up to whoever's running it these days, but I can post it at least:

http://www.uploadmb.com/dw.php?id=1491512890

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>>52576036
Duly noted.

>>52572401

It's just a car that can hover a few inches off the ground nigga. I mean it can carry a bit more stuff and be harder to break into, but I don't really think it's equivalent to a 'game breaking' magic item.

>>52576618
Fast as hell, though? Would basically make all random wilderness encounters a nonissue? It'd still be a bit of a game changer.

>>52576636

Just the fact that it doesn't get tired and need a few days rest before you can carry on is a big deal.

>>52576636
Not that different from a non-hovering car.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯

>>52576734
It also wouldn't need any roads, couldn't break a tire, and going by what I know of future tech, would be a lot faster all-around.

>>52576636

Well this setting is in a modern fantasy setting. There aren't any 'random wilderness' encounters except if you piss off some gangs, and they probably have cars too. Cue sci-fi car chase.

Personally I'd make the car pretty expensive to buy, expensive to maintain, and maybe give it some restrictions on what roads it can go on like you said, beyond just physical pathways.

I personally would like it if one player treated the car as his baby, while the others spend all their cash on weapons or enriching their mafia empire or booze, one person just keeps that damn car running and purring like a kitty.

>>52576387
Thanks!

>>52575872
John Harper?

>>52576618
>travel 6ish 3mile hexes a day
>travel at many mph ignoring many terrain types

Its kind of a big deal. I'm not even against it. But it'll change how a lot of stuff works. Basically it makes the party's life a lot easier and more convenient.

Its in a modern fantasy setting though, so its pretty easy to make those conveniences complicated with licencing, repairs, storage, parking tickets, hover-car jacking, rising black earth blood prices due to conflict in the eastern deserts, stuff like that. Also other people have them.

>>52577104
Venger Satanis. Yes, he changed his birth name and now that's his official name.

>>52573747
>This things aren't in a list either, so if you have to fish them in mid session... like idk, elves being immune to a certain attack from a certain monster. Languages are... idk very important and at the same time glossed over completely?

How is that any different to 5E? You look under Dwarf and it has a list of Dwarf Traits, one of which is Darkvision (with a brief explanation of how it works).

In Basic, you look under Dwarf and it has a paragraph of Special Abilities, one of which is infravision (with a brief explanation of how it works).

Same goes for languages: in 5E they're listed under races with a separate section later on additional languages you might know. In Basic they're listed under classes with a separate section later on additional languages you might know.

The dice aren't all d20s but it's not hard to make a few quick notes about special abilities and special skills. 5E has a lot of situational traits with rules scattered around the books, e.g. Lightfoot Halflings can attempt to hide even when they are obscured only by a creature at least one size larger. At a minimum, that's three different pages of rules you'd have to know.

>>52566868
Yes. YES. Make this happen. I want to shoot bloodsuckers with a blunderbuss.

OSR Sword & Sorcery style magic items anybody? Stuff that makes magic seem alien and dangerous, more interesting than +1 Longsword stuff.

I'll start with one I'm using in a DCC adventure:

Tooth of the Liar:

Gorgo the Liar is the lesser god of treachery, wealth, and greed, who loves to see mortals sell out their friends and values for material gain. A shrine to Gorgo consists of a fat, toadlike stone statue with a golden grin (actually just pyrite) and emerald eyes (worthless glass), along with an altar invariably piled with wealth.

If a character impresses Gorgo before the shrine, such as betraying his friends for the gold on the altar, the idol will come to life and pluck one of its pyrite teeth as a gift to the knave. The tooth has the following properties:

1. The turpitude required to impress Gorgo irreversibly turns the character chaotic.
2. The tooth grants a bonus of +2 to luck.
3. For better or worse Gorgo is now watching the bearer, and will reward them for acts of treachery and deceit, usually by restoring burnt luck. Other rewards at Judge's discretion.
4. The tooth loses its powers forever if it's lost, discarded, destroyed, given away freely, or sold (but see below), or if the character disgusts Gorgo with a particularly selfless deed.
5. A character can pass the tooth off as gold with an opposed check (Personality vs intelligence) and sell it for a princely sum. If sold in this way the tooth loses its powers and the buyer realizes his mistake after 24 hours. Gorgo finds this hilarious, and allows the conman to keep the +2 luck bonus as a reward. A deactivated tooth is obviously pyrite and no one will buy it for even a penny.
6. If the tooth is stolen from its owner or otherwise treacherously obtained (Judge's discretion) it retains its powers and transfers them to the new owner.

Teeth stolen from the idol have no powers; Gorgo doesn't mind thieves but it'll take more pizzazz than that to win his favor.

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Was the RPGA a mistake?

>>52578126

In hindsight, I think it was. TSR was trying to figure out what to do with this thing they'd invented, and organizing tournaments seemed like a possibility. But nope, turns out the smart money's on printing endless splatbooks and adventure modules.

>>52578118
Hitman's Ring

Just point at a guy, and the lawyer daemon living in the ring will call up some of his friends in the lower planes, rub some shoulders, make some deals, calculations, then whisper back an estimation of bounty. Kill the guy you pointed and your purse immediately feels heavier as the bounty is delivered out of nowhere.

The reward depends on the mark's level, alignment (good and law are more valuable), how much shit will hit the fan by them being killed, and whether you were going to kill them anyway.

>>52578126
That sounds good in theory. I like the idea of tournament play and hitting those five beats. It's like an imaginary version of The Crystal Maze or those escape-the-room games that have become popular recently, with the added bonus/challenge that you have to work well with strangers.

But if it was anything like the boring, linear adventures that make up organized play today, then I wouldn't be interested.

>>52577267
What.

>>52578126
Because of the difficulty of finding a group a lot of players have only ever played living campaigns, from a purely business perspective companies don't focus or invest heavily enough into them; look at the difference between Paizo and Wotc, guess which one can still support 50+ full time employees and which one can only support 4-5 part-time employees and a couple of full time ones.

>>52578391

I know, right? It's like we've found the guy that certain posters here seem to think James Raggi is.

>>52578577
This is what I was thinking, but then I started reading his blog and he seems entertaining enough.

I suppose I'll never understand the metal/violent/sexual bent of these people, but I'm grateful when they put out good content.

>>52578678

Ah, one of these days we'll find an actual Glenn Danzig-tier edgelord who's totally serious about it.

http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/195355/The-Nightmares-Underneath?src=hottest_filtered

Has anybody had a look at this yet...and is it in the treasure chest?

$_$

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>>52572279
It's not so bad. Just got to do it 1 entry at a time.

>>52578775
I was excited when I read SlaughterGrid, which is a dungeon crawl set inside a vagina, complete with rape monsters, piss wine, and penis-men.

But then I watched a video of the author running it, and he actually toned it all down for the audience.

Where are the crazies, damn it?

>>52573407
>But everything else feels... too DM-dependant.
I try to never say this kinda shit, but I don't think OSR is for you.

>>52573987
>How do you guys determine the value of gems and items?
Did you... not find the value tables for gems and items? There are tables.

>>52579131

Varg.

Like everything else, genuine insanity isn't as cool as pretend.

>>52574617
>It's the rulings what's making me consider play something else,
>the fact that you're supposed to be familiar with the system and its internal logic
Um-wot-m8??

You've three tools to determine the outcome of events:
ARBITRATION: If someone does something reasonable and non-chance based, or something obviously stupid, just narrate an outcome.
RULINGS: If someone does something chance based and there is no rule for it, pull a chance out of your head then ask them to dice it.
RULES: If something is chance based and frequently performed, remember (or make) instructions on how to find the outcome.

Only rules ask the referee have system mastery.
Arbitration is common sense and Rulings are gut feelings.

>>52579705
Varg isn't insane.

Check out Terry A Davis If you want to witness truly uncensored and real insanity.

>>52579828

Nah, I'd agree with the other guy, Varg shows plenty of signs of being mentally ill. He's just a boring, everyday sort of mentally ill. Apart from the multiple stabbing and the church burning, anyway.

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This might be my favorite OSR book cover yet. I especially like the inverted Atari logo arrow thing he came up with, and how it suggests a bunch of games all coming from the same root and going in their own directions.

>>52580188
>inverted Atari logo
MumboSSK is on point, too.

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So my wife's friend is over and they're having a proper stitch-n-bitch. I shouldn't care because I get sweaters out of it, but damn, these women are turning into their mothers at a record pace. I tried putting food in their faces but they kept bitching as they ate.

Anyway, what are 20 incredibly petty, stupid rumours from the local village? Hint hint, Occultesque.

>>52581096
>Opina didn't invite Lachrymadia to the Fenning Ball this year because Lacky mentioned Opina's bone ritual only used the small neck bones and not the marrow-rich big ones. Really.

>>52581096
1 The bartender fucked the barmaid
2 The mayor fucked the barmaid
3 The groundskeeper fucked the barmaid
4 The gravedigger fucked the barmaid
5 The farmer fucked the barmaid
6 The guard fucked the barmaid
7 The wizard fucked the barmaid
8 The town drunk fucked the barmaid
9 The king fucked the barmaid
10 The queen fucked the barmaid
11 The schoolteacher fucked the barmaid
12 The bard fucked the barmaid
13 The priest fucked the barmaid
14 The fisherman fucked the barmaid
15 The milkmaid fucked the barmaid
16 The goblins fucked the barmaid
17 The cheesemaker fucked the barmaid
18 The brooding loner in the corner of the tavern fucked the barmaid
19 The adventurers fucked the barmaid
20 The barmaid fucked the barmaid

>>52581372
>no roll twice option

>>52581372
I'm starting to see a pattern here...I got it! All your sentences start with the word 'The'!

Are the terms Retainer, Hireling, Henchman the same thing or do they have different meanings in the context of OSR play?

>>52581446
They have slightly different meaning. But the meanings vary slightly from edition to edition.

>>52581408
Okay, let's make it a d30 roll.

21 The baron fucked the barmaid
22 The mermaid fucked the barmaid
23 The dragon fucked the barmaid
24 The captain of the guard fucked the barmaid
25 The barbarian fucked the barmaid
26 The farmer's cat fucked the barmaid
27 The vampire fucked the barmaid
28 The werewolf fucked the barmaid
29 Roll twice
30 Roll thrice

Rolled 9 (1d30)

>>52581446
>>52581469
Hirelings (Henchmen, in some systems): Eccentric employees. Either lunatics from nthe surface or monsters form the depths. Willing to enter the dungeon with you.
Retainers (Hirelings, in systems with Henchmen): Dudes on your payroll, for whatever reason. Will not enter the dungeon, do not pass Go, do not collect $200.
Followers: Groupies who heard you were awesome name level and decided to mooch off your estate. May or may not enter the dungeon, but certainly not all at once.

>>52581476
>

>>52581556
>Retainers (Hirelings, in systems with Henchmen): Dudes on your payroll, for whatever reason. Will not enter the dungeon

So what the hell are you paying them for then?

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>>52581096
>>52581372
>>52581476

This table seems like a subtable you get to by rolling "I heard that [see next table] fucked the barmaid" on a larger table
And meanwhile, the barmaid, who blushes every time she thinks of trousers, let alone their contents, and hasn't touched anything more suspicious than a curiously shaped root vegetable, is completely ignorant of these slanders.

>>52581565
Maintain your estate? Tell people how great you are? have 50 swords made by the time you exit the dungeon? Delicately explain to the King's barrister how your party hasn't been paying taxes? Etc, etc.
There's plenty of reasons to hire people, besides carrying your torches and loot.

>>52581565
Depends on their job.

How do you guys handle grappling?

>>52581696
>handle
>grappling
Good one.

>>52581696
By warning the player, "Don't you fucking do it."
Then he does it anyway and time slows to a goddamn crawl.

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>>52581350
>>52581372

1. Gretrude gave me such a look yesterday at the well. I wonder what's eating her? Probably her corns. I saw her feet once. Looked like a gravel path in the rain.

2. Evaline is expecting again. They're going to bury her in a Y-shaped coffin at this rate.

3. You just can't get good wool anymore. Either the grass or the sheep have gone strange.

4. The priest has been up to his usual tricks again, I hear. One of these days he's going to get himself stabbed. I bet we could nip down to his cottage and get his tea set before the lynch mob finished with him.

5. The barmaid....>>52581372
>>52581476

6. Never trust a toadling, that's what my mother always said. Can't trust a race that does the deed of shame out in the open, in a bog.

7. Martha didn't tuck up her skirt when she went to the privy yesterday, and made a terrible mess all down the back. Didn't notice until halfway through the sermon. I'm thinking of sending her a commiseration gift. Perhaps some incense.

>>52579828
>Terry A Davis

Who?

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>>52581820
8. Francis the woodcutter sold me some bad firewood the other day. It was rotten all the way through. He's a cheat and a liar. I'm going to tell his bride that next time we meet - and plenty more besides.

9. I bet if we told that stinking band of adventurers that I knew of a secret treasure buried in the Loathsome Hills they would leave us alone. Here, help me make a convincing map.

10. The baker's daughter asked me for advice on curing her father's gout. It told her to piss in his kettle by the light of a full moon. Serves him right for selling such undersized loaves.

>>52581556
Aren't Henchmen leveled guys who get shares of the treasure and XP, Hirelings the general weirdos who'll follow you into the dungeon but who are just men at arms or do menial stuff like carry treasure and torches, and Retainers what you said?

>>52582436
Whether henchmen advance and whether they take shares or wages is dependant on your edition, but they are the only the "weirdos who'll follow you into the dungeon"
You also have a cap on henchmen, based on your charisma. Retainers, meanwhile, are as unlimited as your funds (and the local workforce, I suppose)

Does anyone remember the name of the module where you have to stop an iron giant? You're in a kingdom, and the circus is in town, and one of the attractions is some giant iron man. And someone has taken control of him or something. So you have to fight your way up the inside of a giant piston and clockwork machine. I think it's a 1980something module.

>>52583157
Earthshaker
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earthshaker!

>>52583183
>Zeb Cook
Good stuff.

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What kind of demographics does your setting have for higher-level characters?

I like how ACKS does it, but given that I generally use 2e, I find it a bit difficult to figure out how levels 15 and beyond fit to this. I suppose they're the sort of unique cases that break the demographics altogether and rarely show up at all.

>>52566881
>tfw I work in a store where people regularly open up packages of items not meant to be sold individually or pull apart six-packs of beer
I hate humanity.

All right, so we hate Forgotten Realms for - among other things - being too full of established background to fit anything of your own in it, and too full of high-level characters and factions for the players to do anything different.

I submit, however, that the borderland areas are some damn good places for adventure.

All the established bullshit is left far away, but you can still tap those areas for PC backstory and plot hooks. And you get to use the treasure tables, the stuff about gems and alternative currencies, and the pretty decent pantheons. And hey, if you want Drizzt to show up in a quick cameo for some reason, you can do that.

I've run a bunch of games in the Savage Frontier and it's been a blast.

>>52584682
Mulhorand and Unther is where it's really at, anon.

>>52584843
So long as it's as far away from Waterdeep and its ilk as possible, y point completely stands!

Where's the best reincarnation table?

>>52584161
I like the one in DCC.

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How would I make this villain, with an eye for eventually turning him into a Class.

>>52584851
>>52584843
>>52584682

So let's say I've lost both my mind and my good taste, and want to start reading up on FR. Where would I start? No novels please.

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>>52585132

>>52585135
Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting (1085) and Forgotten Realms Adventures (2106) give a pretty solid overview on the world. The latter has the awesome gem tables on it as well.

Try and play the Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dale games too.

>>52578805
It's really good, I can definitely say that. It's got enough to run as its own game, or you can use the really cool setting and dungeon stuff with your OSR game of choice.

There's also a free edition: http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/196352/The-Nightmares-Underneath-Free-Edition You don't have to pirate anything! (but it helps) (buy the hardcopy, it's worth it)

>>52581565
Sometimes you don't want to carry all your shit down into the dungeon, or carry all your loot back home. Other times you might want to finish up the day's dungeon expedition and return to your base camp and have someone all ready with a hot and not entirely awful meal.

>>52585206
Retainers have it made if you think about it from the perspective of your typical dirt grubbing peasant. You're basically being compensated just to go camping and maybe do some light chores, with only a the slight chance of being slaughtered by a wandering monster or a rival band of adventurers.

>>52579131
Link to vid?

What're the ability score modifiers beyond 18 in B/X (and derivatives, such as ACKS or DCC)? How strong am I if I magically increase my strength to 20?

>>52585135
If you've never truly read of Forgotten Realms, how can you conceivably say it's terrible? Do you merely parrot what you've heard on /osrg/, with nary an individual thought or opinion on your part?

Read on it. Make up your own mind.

3rd edition has some pretty decent Forgotten Realms sourcebooks.

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>>52585135
FR Adventures and the Grey Box are probably closest to OSR and the author's original intent.

2E had the ridiculous melodrama of the Time of Troubles and too much god shenanigans, 3E made magic items and wizards far too commonplace, 4E fucked everything over and was generally an apocalyptic shitshow and 5E is basically trying to restore it to pre-4E status quo.

>>52585909
Because assmad FR fanboys like you tended to kill my interest before I even began.

>>52586534
I'm no fanboy. I fully acknowledge the setting has serious flaws. I just think it has some merit to it regardless.

>>52581565
>So what the hell are you paying them for then?
None of the other answers has pointed this out, so I guess it falls to me, then: most of your actual soldiers if you have any will be retainers. They're perfectly happy to fight battles for you, say combating a village of orcs or 30d10 goblins that you meet while hexcrawling. They just don't want to go into the horrible underground deathtrap, because they're not insane or desperate.

>>52587081
The bravest toughest baddest motherfucker in your shieldwall, who has fought beside you on a dozen battlefields and not once broken, will laugh in your face if you ask him to join you in the murderhole.

That shit's for crazy people.

>>52587261
Of course! He's brave, not foolhardy.

Here you nerds are, a ton of monsters for you.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/rhotil8im7n5nrw/MonsterRefSpreadsheet10.xls?dl=0

>>52587261
A bunch of bandits or goblins may be dangerous and lethal, but it is a known danger that a sane human mind can more or less deal with.

But in a dungeon, all bets are off. That shit is balls-to-the-wall crazy and there's nothing they can expect or understand about it.

>>52587366
Coooool thanks!

Why is the AAC lowered by one? 5->14, 0->19

>>52587441
>balls-to-the-wall crazy
Wall? You don't even know the walls are safe, man. You look at the wall, it's stone, you turn around and it's a fucking monster or an illusion and you try to get away but the stairs are trapped and turn into a smooth slide and send you straight into a yawning pit that leaves you two hundred feet underground and then you realise the room's starting to flood, the water's an inch deep already, but the water's on the ceiling instead of the ground and it's flooding from the top down and it doesn't make any sense and then something just straight up eats your torch, man, and it's dark and wet and you see lights in the distance and run towards them and it's a band of goblins and you fall upon them, begging them to have mercy and take all your food and weapons and gear if they'll just get you out of there, and somehow, for some insane reason, they do.

You know.

Hypothetically.

You learn things, a thing like that happens. Always carry a knife. If you're wearing armour, make sure you can still get your knife to your throat or your heart, fast, just in case. And if you're going somewhere, going anywhere you can't get a drink, take along a bottle of the strong stuff, to put you out at night.

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>>52587366
Very nice, thanks anon

>>52587526
BX uses a base ac of 9, not 10, so the conversion starts at 9(DAC)->10(AAC)