Experiences with Basic Fantasy RPG

[Remathilis]

I'm going to shock some of you...

When my 3.5 game ends later this year, I may NOT be going to 4e. The is building opposition (rather than the initial apathy) to it, and I'm not sure I'm willing to sacrifice my players (and friends) for my choice of game system.

While (heavily modified) 3.5 and/or Pathfinder remain options, of late my eye has wandered toward Basic Fantasy RPG (Basic Fantasy Role-Playing Game). It reminds me of my days playing BECMI (Rules Cyclopedia) D&D with its simple mechanics and general tone, but also feels modern (or at least improved upon) in certain mechanical areas (no level limits, race/class split, upward AC) and has room to incorporate some of my old 2e/RC house rules (crits, non-weapon profs) as well as a plethora of expansion material (the Dungeoneer's Almanac and playtest classes seem full of crunchy goodness to pillage etc)

What I'm looking for is some road experience with the system. Is there any areas where the system lacks (I'm especially interested in the lack of high level spells for wizard/clerics and how that affects high-level play, as well as thief skill ranks seeming awfully low) and how easy is it to convert other D&D material to it (easy by appearance, but are there pit traps to be wary?)

Anyone who can comment on how well it plays (esp at higher levels) and converts (at any level) as well as anything else, feel free to add.

 

[Shades of Green]

I've recently converted from D&D 3.0E to BFRPG. So far I've gotten to levels 6-7 and it plays like a charm. The best thing about it is the ease of prep, taking far less time than D&D 3.0E and being quite enjoyable. The game itself runs very smoothly as it is relatively rules-light, so once you know the rules well you don't have to thumb through too many pages during play.

The rules combine old-school simplicity with a few new-school convenient features (especially AC going up rather than down) and play very well. Regarding high-level spells, while the main BFRPG book only has six levels of spells and the (free) Old Dungeoneer's Almanac supplement has level 7 spells, adding more spell levels should be easy; BFRPG is very moddable.

Regarding the thief skills, they should be modified according to the situation's difficulty; low-level thieves should usually try to overcome low-grade locks and sneak in favorable conditions; attempting to deal with better locks or less sneak-friendly conditions will be a challenge.

One thing that you should keep in mind is that BFRPG combat is quite abstract (especially in comparison to 3E/4E) and thus a lot of DM and player creativity and narrative are needed to spice it up.

 

[S'mon]

Humans seem underpowered - I'm not sure the 20% XP bonus is enough of an advantage.

 

[ruemere]

Try Savage Worlds. Recent Explorer's Edition reads like d20 with much, much more convenient resolution mechanics, easy to grasp rules and furious action.

Regards,
Ruemere

 

[Solomoriah]

Humans seem underpowered - I'm not sure the 20% XP bonus is enough of an advantage.

10% actually. The beauty of it is, it's just a number. If you don't like it, change it.

 

[Mythmere1]

Excellent game. Another hidden benefit - it's compatible with all the Swords & Wizardry modules, it's compatible with all the Labyrinth Lord modules. It's compatible with all the Moldvay Basic modules (need to flip the AC, though). There's a huge body of materials for it.

(obviously, I somewhat prefer Swords & Wizardry, but since I wrote it, I'm about as biased as you can get on that).

If you're looking at BFRPG and it looks right, then grab it. It holds up, and you'll find that the free-form approach lets you create awesome campaigns up to whatever level you want.

(the amount of playtesting on BFRPG is mind-boggling - it has gone on for YEARS at DF).

 

[Spinachcat]

I play both 4e and retro D&D. They are both great fun and offer different play experiences for both the GM and players.

The Nice Thing about Basic Fantasy, Labyrinth Lord, OSRIC, AD&D 1e, 2e, C&C and the great and mighty glory known as Swords & Wizardry is that they are all 90% compatible so whatever was written for one system can easily be used for any of the others with very minor tweaking.

But the Best Thing is how fun and easy these old school games are to customize to whatever fantasy you desire. Of the D&D clones, I use Swords & Wizardry as my basic toolkit. From there, I change, tweak, add, subract and do whatever I feel is best to create the "D&D" that I desire. The Do-It-Yourself philosophy of the Old Schol model is tremendous fun, especially in the internet age.

Don't forget to check out Knockspell magazine and Fight On! magazine!

And since I pimp Mazes & Minotaurs on almost any thread about Old School RPGs, here's the link to my favorite "retro" game.
M&M

 

[danbuter1]

I really like BFRPG. I do think Thief skills could use a slight bump at early levels. I also use the optional "similar to 2e" way of increasing them. Humans work out ok, as they level faster than everyone else.

 

[Maliki]

BFRPG is one of the best systems I have seen. The core book is very basic and rules light, while the supplements add a ton of depth to the game. Everything is pretty modular, anything you don't like is easy to change.

Most older editions of D&D convert well enough with a flip of he AC. Later editions need to be toned down a bit, but still can be done.

 

[smootrk]

BFRPG is my game of choice nowadays. I have written material that has become supplements for the game also. While it plays 'old school', it really is a good system where one can incorporate anything - truly anything one likes from any edition.. with ease. And after DMing for it, I cannot comprehend going back to 3.x or 4 again... I might play the new stuff, but the prep time for 3.x burned me out.

Has anyone mentioned the fact that the PDFs are free, and the books are sold through LULU without profit?