OSR Looking for a set of OSR rules with more (more granular) combat options?

[le grand fromage]

One feedback I get from my group with most D&D variants (excepting 4E) is the lack of options they feel their characters have in combat "I roll to hit, next" so to speak .... There are so many OSR variants out there now I'm wondering which might give a "richer tactical challenge" "out of the box" i.e. without me as DM having to inject it in some fashion myself... My goal is to dust off some of my many 1/2E campaigns in a fashion that wont bore those of the group that treat the session more as a skirmish wargame than a roleplaying game...? Thanks in advance...

 

[Spellslinging Sellsword]

DriveThruRPG

www.drivethrurpg.com

Player's Option - Combat & Tactics (2e)

Should have all the options you need. All TSR versions of D&D are easy to mix and match rules.

 

[TwoSix]

Worlds without Number has a pretty robust set of combat options while still being OSR.

Generally, though, combat options push towards a set of enumerated options granted to the PCs, which conflicts with a lot of the OSR design ethos.

 

[SpellObjectEnthusiast]

Rather than an enumerated list of specific combat options, let players describe the actions they want to take and adjudicate accordingly. Assign penalties and bonuses ad-hoc. If something is too good, adjust. If something becomes a common tactic, codify it in your own campaign doc.

 

[overgeeked]

If you’re looking for codified tactical combat options in D&D, your best bet is 4E. Your players who treat the game like a skirmish wargame should be incredibly happen with that system.

The next rec would be Pathfinder 2E. I don’t know that much about it from personal experience, but it sounds crunchy and option heavy.

If you want to stick with something lighter and simpler than those, I’d start by looking at Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG. The warrior is capable of doing some of the most amazing things without all the rules headaches that normally come with those options.

If you want old school and proper TSR D&D, the already mentioned player’s option books for AD&D 2E are the place to look.

 

[CapnZapp]

There just aren't many good options if you want the OSR ethos and still like mechanical crunch.

DCC is one of the crunchier OSR-adjacent options out there, but unfortunately, most if not all of the crunch that separates it from the much more common D&D-light OSR games out there is completely random.

If what you like about crunch is to be able to make more involved decision regarding charbuild, then I'm afraid 5E is about as light as it gets, or maybe something really old, like D&D Cyclopedia. Running 5E with the options all turned "off" results in a fairly light play experience, but more importantly, it offers enough crunch to allow a player some "granular decisions" regarding how to build his or her character. Of course, D&D characters will always be more heroic with more player agency than what most OSR is about.

4E and PF2, on the other hand, is the absolute opposite of what I'd recommend someone interested in OSR. I can't think of a worse suggestion to give for the asked question. Both those games are highly regimented, very very crunchy, and almost impossible to use with the OSR ethos.

 

[le grand fromage]

Yeah, thanking ye all - I have had some success with DCC using it to run ASE (Anomolous Subsurface Environment) on the fly and that may be the way to go, I agree that it injects more "chaos than tactics", but it's fun & still by doing this breaks out of the "I roll to hit... next..." rut. I'll definitely get a PDF of Combat & Tactics to look at... We do play 4E & Pathfinder but as I mentioned the aim was to get some mileage from my collection of 1E/OSR etc. campaigns without having to convert them wholesale to 4E or PF - a non-starter, if only time wise.... I'll keep looking...

 

[overgeeked]

Yeah, thanking ye all - I have had some success with DCC using it to run ASE (Anomolous Subsurface Environment) on the fly and that may be the way to go, I agree that it injects more "chaos than tactics", but it's fun & still by doing this breaks out of the "I roll to hit... next..." rut. I'll definitely get a PDF of Combat & Tactics to look at... We do play 4E & Pathfinder but as I mentioned the aim was to get some mileage from my collection of 1E/OSR etc. campaigns without having to convert them wholesale to 4E or PF - a non-starter, if only time wise.... I'll keep looking...

Considering the locked down math of 4E, conversion to that should be a snap. Check out Blog of Holding’s MM3 on a business card.

But yeah, DCC RPG is fantastic.

 

[Mannahnin]

Considering the locked down math of 4E, conversion to that should be a snap. Check out Blog of Holding’s MM3 on a business card.

But yeah, DCC RPG is fantastic.

Converting stats is fine, but 4E isn't ideally suited to playing old school adventures due to the different resource management and encounter design philosophies. 4E isn't great for small, attrition-inducing random encounters, but it shines brightly with designed set piece encounters, especially with interesting terrain.

DCC does seem like a better fit for what the OP wants, because Mighty Deeds give the warriors some more interesting stuff, but the resource attrition parameters are a better fit for Classic or OSR modules and play.

 

[CapnZapp]

4E isn't ideally suited to playing old school adventures

That's putting it mildly.