Lancelot
Adventurer
Some differences from D&D:
1) Armor doesn't reduce your chances of being hit. Instead, it can negate blows that hit. Each attack needs to make a simple "Armor Bypass Roll" to see if it gets past the armor.
2) The ruleset is reminiscent of OD&D Rules Cyclopedia. It doesn't have the complexity of AD&D, let alone 3e or 4e. Having said that, it's elegant and self-contained. The one book is enough to run a surprisingly extensive campaign / game world.
3) Like OD&D, martial classes start off as the most durable... but are quickly overshadowed by the arcane classes. Most arcane classes use "magic points" rather than Vancian memorization, and can cast any spell of a level that they can access. Mystics have a unique mechanism where they can cast an infinite amount of spells... until they fail a casting roll and are thereafter "psychically fatigued" for the rest of the day.
4) All classes are much more fragile than their D&D equivalents, as HP do not increase quickly. Further, there is no level where you are "safe" from lower-level creatures. Half-a-dozen men-at-arms will still be a serious threat to a high-level knight, as he'll have to split his defense (AC) to defend against each one... and he can still only take 3-4 hits before going down.
5) The world is gritty and very Olde English. Most potential employers have ulterior motives. Even the "good" lords are capable of heinous acts, and tolerate no disrespect from their servants. Elves are soulless ratfink bastards who will murder people in cold blood if they feel like it. The crusades are huge, and there are no white hats - the Knights Capellar are corrupt, their Ta'ashim opponents are maniacal, both sides readily use the Marijah Assassins, and a lot of innocents get caught in the crossfire.
6) For me, the campaign fluff and treatment of "realistic" medieval situations is the main draw. The rules are entertaining in a nostalgic way, but the adventures and world-building are truly evocative and can be applied readily to other rules systems. For example, pages of detail on how languages relate to each other, or how medieval justice works, or adventure seeds which have a basis in real world history... but ever so slightly "fantasized".
1) Armor doesn't reduce your chances of being hit. Instead, it can negate blows that hit. Each attack needs to make a simple "Armor Bypass Roll" to see if it gets past the armor.
2) The ruleset is reminiscent of OD&D Rules Cyclopedia. It doesn't have the complexity of AD&D, let alone 3e or 4e. Having said that, it's elegant and self-contained. The one book is enough to run a surprisingly extensive campaign / game world.
3) Like OD&D, martial classes start off as the most durable... but are quickly overshadowed by the arcane classes. Most arcane classes use "magic points" rather than Vancian memorization, and can cast any spell of a level that they can access. Mystics have a unique mechanism where they can cast an infinite amount of spells... until they fail a casting roll and are thereafter "psychically fatigued" for the rest of the day.
4) All classes are much more fragile than their D&D equivalents, as HP do not increase quickly. Further, there is no level where you are "safe" from lower-level creatures. Half-a-dozen men-at-arms will still be a serious threat to a high-level knight, as he'll have to split his defense (AC) to defend against each one... and he can still only take 3-4 hits before going down.
5) The world is gritty and very Olde English. Most potential employers have ulterior motives. Even the "good" lords are capable of heinous acts, and tolerate no disrespect from their servants. Elves are soulless ratfink bastards who will murder people in cold blood if they feel like it. The crusades are huge, and there are no white hats - the Knights Capellar are corrupt, their Ta'ashim opponents are maniacal, both sides readily use the Marijah Assassins, and a lot of innocents get caught in the crossfire.
6) For me, the campaign fluff and treatment of "realistic" medieval situations is the main draw. The rules are entertaining in a nostalgic way, but the adventures and world-building are truly evocative and can be applied readily to other rules systems. For example, pages of detail on how languages relate to each other, or how medieval justice works, or adventure seeds which have a basis in real world history... but ever so slightly "fantasized".
