What's the best system for a good old fashioned Sword &

>>53138164

DnD. No meme

>>53138389
>old school D&D is fantasy vietnam where you don't want to get in a fight if you can avoid it
Not very Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser-y.
>new school D&D is about the list of special powers you have and isn't tailored to exploring ruins and shit the way old school was
Also not quite Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser.

I love OSR, and I love pulp novels, but while a bit of the vibe comes across, it's not the same thing by a long shot.

1st ed D&D, both characters are statted in said system.

>>53138164
You could give GURPS a shot, with Basic Set + Low-Tech. GURPS Conan exists, which is somewhat in the same vein, but it's for a previous edition. It'll help you get the feel for the game, though.

GURPS. The "heroic realism" tone is a good match for the down-to-earth but still incredibly competent duo, and classless pointbuy means no getting pidgeonholed into a role. I also find GURPS low-tech combat to be some of the best around with a lot of fun and depth.

I'd say a good number of the less extreme cinematic rules would be turned on, and the PCs have about 250 points at the beginning to make them neither soft neophytes nor living gods but hardened adventurers.

>>53138389
>>53138862

Try "Old school D&D with Scarlet Heroes." XP-for-treasure encourages the kind of sneaky thieving you want, but the Scarlet Heroes means that when 6d6 orcs come around the corner and the reaction roll has them screaming for blood, our heroes are strong enough to kick some ass and take some names, and probably rout the bastards.
So it's more heroic than early D&D "die in a mudhole" play, but more gritty than new D&D's "look at all my superpowers" play.

Beware the gods of Lankhmar....

>>53138164
Barbarians of Lemuria. Hands down.

>>53138881
>>53138957

GURPS is also good in that a guy with a sword and wits can handle magic bullshit. It's not D&D where you get into a Lensman arms race over who has the most powerful magical bullshit.

Low TL combat is relatively brutal. A good hit with a sword can chop off limbs or kill, and even tough targets can be stunned or seriously injured by a few good hits. Taking out a man with a thrusting shot to the vitals hammers that home.

>>53142394
Seconding this.

Savage Worlds can also work.

>>53138164
BRP/Runequest have a Lankhmar setting. Barbarians of Lemuria is another good idea.

>>53138881
>>53138957
GURPS is a fucking cult

Try out Barbarians of Lemuria
It's simple, deadly if you fuck up and has a true Sword & Sorcery feel, with very few magic powers and high adaptability

>>53144833
Can confirm it's pretty fun. Haven't played much though.

Lemuria is very good. I wish the combat had more depth, though.

Gurps is also a really good option. You could bolt together a Lankhmar setting pretty easily:

>>53142683
Seconding this. Use Mythras 2E though. It basically excises Glorantha from the lore and mechanics, and includes basically every errata and rules-change for 6e.

>>53144919
>I wish the combat had more depth, though.

I usually just bolt on Strike!, whenever that need turns up.

Worked with PbtA games before.

>>53144963
Strike?

>>53144988
Yes, Strike!.

It's an indie game that has good grid based tactical combat, with a mechanics first approach, making it very flexible for refluffing. It uses a single d6, but it can be easily switched out, the only thing that matters is to have similar chances.

File: Strike!combat_example.pdf (611KB, 1x1px) Image search: [Google]

611KB, 1x1px

>>53145046
>>53144988

Strike! actually has some support for classic cutthroat dungeon crawl style games, but yeah, the tactics game is why you are here.

If you like the example, I can go into more detail.

Dungeon Crawl Classics is literally made for this.

>>53147607
DCC characters can die easy as fuck if a fight happens, which is something OP doesn't seem very keen on.

It could be good if you start at higher levels though (I never had a character that got past 3, personally, but I haven't been playing it that long).

Burning Wheel, perhaps?

>>53138164
You want to look up a game called Barbarians of Lemuria.

>>53138164
Dungeon World. Actually. Its pretty much for powerfantasy murderbros

BoL or Scarlet Heroes or B/X with the solo heroes rules that turned into Scarlet Heroes would work too.

>>53138164
I've heard Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser fit pretty well in 4e.