There Can Be Only One: Best Old School Inspired Fantasy TTRPG
- Thread starter Reynard
- Start date
schneeland
Hero
Being able to choose multiple games does makes it easier, but I'll still limit myself to two:
On a second though: a few things could be added.
[d20 lineage]
- Old-School Essentials - because presents the B/X rules very well, offers a compelling setting book with Dolmenwood, and also brought a number of great adventures in its wake. This is my go-to rules for classical adventures with classical rules.
- Dungeon Crawl Classics - because it reimagines old-school play on a new engine and fully embraces the joys (and woes) of randomness; and its compact adventures that received a lot of playtesting are great resource for anyone who wants to run the game. This is my go-to for dungeon (and house) crawls where everybody is not only okay with, but actively looking for things to go wild and weird.
On a second though: a few things could be added.
[d20 lineage]
- Into the Odd (potentially including its offspring Electric Bastionland and Mythic Bastionland) - bastionland.com
- Cairn - cairnrpg.com (2e was crowdfunded and should be out relatively soon)
- Mausritter - mausritter.com
- Forbidden Lands - freeleaguepublishing.com
Last edited:
R_J_K75
Legend
DCC, didn't they make short adventures (8-10 pages) in a pamphlet sized format in the early 3E days before they became their own game? Or was that AEG? Its been so long since I ran the few that I did that I can't remember. But regardless of who made them they were pretty good and had an old school feel to them.
payn
I don't believe in the no-win scenario
After DCC, this is my favorite neo-old school RPG. Polar opposites though in that DCC is all randomness and tables (oh my god the tables) and FL is more streamlined get to the point which I also appreciate.
overgeeked
B/X Known World
Of those, OSE and DCC are my top two. For many of the same reason already posted.
OSE for old-school mechanics and ease of conversion with old TSR-era D&D stuff. Nice, simple, and elegant. Great modules, both new and old. Top of the list, but second place.
DCC for the utter gonzo mayhem that is Appendix N roleplaying. Not hard to convert stuff, but a bit more work than OSE. Absolutely pitch perfect modules and some great licensed settings, like Lakhmar and Dying Earth.
OSE for old-school mechanics and ease of conversion with old TSR-era D&D stuff. Nice, simple, and elegant. Great modules, both new and old. Top of the list, but second place.
DCC for the utter gonzo mayhem that is Appendix N roleplaying. Not hard to convert stuff, but a bit more work than OSE. Absolutely pitch perfect modules and some great licensed settings, like Lakhmar and Dying Earth.
Added
Whizbang Dustyboots
Gnometown Hero
Do people run traditional old school fantasy adventures in Mork Borg? It's a hot rod of a system, but I'm not sure if it actually supports a traditional fantasy campaign the way the others do.
I only included it because it seems to be a darling of the OSR community. I have never actually played it.
Whizbang Dustyboots
Gnometown Hero
It is really closely interwoven with its setting, although I believe there's a third party product out there with traditional D&D monsters for it. But it'd also need all the traditional classes to play. At a certain point, it's probably no longer Mork Borg any more.
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