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Swords and Wizardry from Mythmere supports 1st and Basic. I haven't seen any endorsements though.
Edit: Labyrinth Lord for just Basic.
Well, there's OSRIC, which is essentially an unofficial reprint of 1st edition AD&D. Though I don't know if it's endorsed by any TSR alumni.
I recommend this one due to the price of $zero.
Kvantum
(Pathfinder Adventure Path Charter Subscriber; Roleplaying Game, Campaign Setting, Companion, Modules Subscriber)
Well, there's OSRIC, which is essentially an unofficial reprint of 1st edition AD&D. Though I don't know if it's endorsed by any TSR alumni.I recommend this one due to the price of $zero.
Oh, and the one book is the PHB/DMG/MM all combined. The initiative system is quite good and makes use of some of those rarely used numbers from 1st ed. AD&D!
OSRIC vs. 1e vs. C&C Thread at PAIZO
I recently did some research (this year) with some help from the PAIZO community. I've become quite versed in the retro-clones and the first edition movement, which is on the rise.
If you're specifically searching for the Pied Piper, thats the publishing company of an old TSR old timer. Very credible, very talented, and publishing for OSRIC.
So, while you might be thinking of Robert J. Kuntz, President, Pied Piper Publishing...
I think you might be actually looking for OSRIC 2.0. It is the proud work of Marshall and Finch. It preserves the game gently for generations to come under the OGL. Its very credible, very authentic. It is a brilliant tribute to arguably the worlds greatest game, ever - ... first edition.
Enjoy.
P.s. Please let me know if you have any more questions.... (My knowledge check on this at the moment is running at +12) lol
I think the games already mentioned are what you are looking for. However, if you want to try something a little more rules light, I recommend Questers of the Middle Realms and Jaws of the Six Serpents.
Oh, and the one book is the PHB/DMG/MM all combined. The initiative system is quite good and makes use of some of those rarely used numbers from 1st ed. AD&D!Well, there's OSRIC, which is essentially an unofficial reprint of 1st edition AD&D. Though I don't know if it's endorsed by any TSR alumni.I recommend this one due to the price of $zero.
Free is a good price, and having the PHB/DMG/MM combined is a very good thing. Labyrinth Lord and Swords & Wizardry both look good, too.
"Sigh", now only if I could convince some of my gaming buddies around here to play it.
I recently did some research (this year) with some help from the PAIZO community. I've become quite versed in the retro-clones and the first edition movement, which is on the rise.
P.s. Please let me know if you have any more questions.... (My knowledge check on this at the moment is running at +12) lol
Okay! I've become more interested in the "retro" D&D movement. So, I'm interested to know how OSRIC and the other systems would handle something like T1-4: The Temple of Elemental Evil or B1-9, In Search of Adventure?
Dragonsfoot is my favorite site for vintage AD&D gaming!
This place is chock full of gaming goodness! In fact, I'm playing in a 2nd edition game right now and loving it, plus I'm considering running a 2E game in the fall. Most of my players are old timers like me and we still love 1st and 2nd editions.
Okay! I've become more interested in the "retro" D&D movement. So, I'm interested to know how OSRIC and the other systems would handle something like T1-4: The Temple of Elemental Evil or B1-9, In Search of Adventure?
I recently did some research (this year) with some help from the PAIZO community. I've become quite versed in the retro-clones and the first edition movement, which is on the rise.
P.s. Please let me know if you have any more questions.... (My knowledge check on this at the moment is running at +12) lol
IT would handle both exactly the way AD&D would, which is to say, perfectly for T1-4, and with just a minor tweak of the monsters for the "Basic" series.
;)
Dragonsfoot is my favorite site for vintage AD&D gaming!
This place is chock full of gaming goodness! In fact, I'm playing in a 2nd edition game right now and loving it, plus I'm considering running a 2E game in the fall. Most of my players are old timers like me and we still love 1st and 2nd editions.
Thanks for the info. Man, that site is fantastic.
Swords and Wizardry from Mythmere supports 1st and Basic. I haven't seen any endorsements though.
I just ordered a copy of of S&W, Knockspell Magazine #2 and the Tomb of the Iron God module.
I just ordered a copy of of S&W, Knockspell Magazine #2 and the Tomb of the Iron God module.Swords and Wizardry from Mythmere supports 1st and Basic. I haven't seen any endorsements though.
Jumping in with both feet...nice!!
Another possibility is the "1987" version of Mazes & Minotaurs, which purports to model 1st Edition D&D along ancient Greek mythology lines rather than Lord of the Rings.
I suggest Castles and Crusades as well. It has a 1e/2e feel but isn't a clone of those systems.
And for those here who enjoy the system, I set up a Google Group for fans of C&C. Everyone is welcome:
why not actually play ad&d? instead of some knock off?
the books can be bought for way cheap anywhere used games are sold, and all you really need are the phb, dmg, and mm.
i wouldnt recommend od&d. there is like a page of combat rules in it, and i think its just a table. it relies mostly on the chainmail minitures combat rules. its a somewhat poorly written dc 55 understand english role to get the information about combat.
then why not just make up the rules as you go along? its really just about the beer anyway.
old school dnd: roll a d6, on either a low roll, or high roll, which ever the group decides, or just say the door opens, becuase eventually everybody will try. kill the monster, take his stuff, go to the next room, open the door, fight a monster that has no more reason of being there then the first monster, kill it, then take its stuff.
running an old school game feel is actually pretty easy. just use random charts, and outsmart the pcs, and kill them as often you can.
oh, and say no, the rules dont cover that.
then why not just make up the rules as you go along? its really just about the beer anyway.
old school dnd: roll a d6, on either a low roll, or high roll, which ever the group decides, or just say the door opens, becuase eventually everybody will try. kill the monster, take his stuff, go to the next room, open the door, fight a monster that has no more reason of being there then the first monster, kill it, then take its stuff.
running an old school game feel is actually pretty easy. just use random charts, and outsmart the pcs, and kill them as often you can.
oh, and say no, the rules dont cover that.
Yep, them's the bits I like.
Seriously however, what are "modern adventures" other than find bad guy/monster kill them/it and take their/its stuff? Put spoilers and fluffy dice on a 1998 Hinda Civic it's still a 1998 Honda Civic if you get my point. Read the free start adventure for 4e D&D you may find things haven't changed that much. Complex fruity stories will always be overshadowed by the PC's need to kill things and take their stuff in fantasy RPing.
S.
its the finding the monster thats different.
that, and the gm has to explain why the orc is living next door to the mindflayer. or otugh (sp?).
i never used minitures when i played basic and ad&d. maps were drawn on 4 square to the inch graph paper, and i never had any clue where anybody was. all the pcs and all the monsters were in one large scrum hitting each other until all the hps of one side or the other was gone.
it wasnt a game of manuever. it was a game of survivor: out wit, out play, out last.
its the finding the monster thats different.
that, and the gm has to explain why the orc is living next door to the mindflayer. or otugh (sp?).
That's an easy one. Orc hired (or controlled) by Mindflayer. The Oytugh (spelling also?) is a classic dungeon garbage disposal unit, I'd want one in my dungeon.
In a fantasy world many things can be explained away and this isn't a bad thing. Why is an Orc living next to a Mindflayer anymore unbelievable than say a Elf casting a Fireball?
S.
Tharen the Damned
(Pathfinder Adventure Path Charter Subscriber; Campaign Setting, Companion, Modules Subscriber)
vampires casting anything is another thing you will have to give up to play old school d&d.
monsters were monsters. you couldnt have a goblin with monk levels.
not until ravenloft i did monsters get any character levels, and to my knowledge there were no mechanics to back up the character levels. so, if your in one of those games that have to have a fully stated "legal" monster (intelligent assassin vine...im looking at you), you wouldnt have that option.
i was paging through od&d book 3 last night, hehe...kinda funny what was important in 1974. draw a map, roll some dice to populate your map, roll some more dice for treasure. wandering monsters were also very important in 1974.
vampires casting anything is another thing you will have to give up to play old school d&d.
monsters were monsters. you couldnt have a goblin with monk levels.
Well, that depends on the DM. The AD&D Monk class is reserved for humans, but there's a big gap in the rules for reincarnate. The examples in "Rogues Gallery" implied that the early Lake Geneva campaigns were indeed allowing reincarnated characters to keep their levels in classes that were closed to their new species.
As for monsters-with-classes in general, they seem pretty common in the early modules. Liches, and some vampires, come with their spellcasting levels built-in.
Early D&D is pretty free-wheeling in many ways.
Well, that depends on the DM.
Bingo. I never used a random table to make any adventure I penned. Usually a quick glance at the AD&D MM to find my BBEG and then start thinking about what critters he/she/it would have about the place and away I would go. Random tables were there but for me they had little importance other than the traits table. That thing rocked for making NPC's. That table I miss.
Having said that the random dungeon generator could be helpful if you were all out of ideas architecturally speaking.
As for monsters with levels - as DM you gave them levels, only they weren't levels really, they were the extra powers you wanted them to have. As DM you didn't have to mechanically justify such things and you didn't have CR (or whatever) you had experience as a DM to sort out balance. Of course if your balance wasn't quite right you then had "fudging". There seems to be the opinion AD&D was about DM's killing PC's, I never found that and never DM'ed that way. That, as the astute Mortika points out, is a trait of individual DM's and isn't edition specific. No where does Gygax say in the DMG that a total party kill is the aim of AD&D.
S.
I'm a big fan of Labyrinth Lord. It's close to being a Rosetta Stone of D&D retro-clones. The base game emulates Basic D&D (Basic, Expert, and a bit of Companion sets). Adding on the Original Edition Characters supplement emulates OD&D (the original 1974 version). And the Advanced Edition Companion supplement adds 1st Edition AD&D emulation.
From the message boards, theres already a few people trying to convince the creator to work on a 2nd Edition AD&D supplement, and I recently suggested one that would expand the emulation to include Basic D&D's Companion, Master, and Immortals set (although if the left out the immortals stuff it wouldn't bother me).
If you support these ideas, please support them on Goblinoid Games message boards. Thanks!