New Microlite20 thread

[joela]

why the jab?

Well said kensanata Couldn't have put it better myself.

I reckon you could simulate 4e by taking out all of the role-playing elements, putting a load of figures on a gameboard then moving them all three squares to the left each round. If two figures bump into each other they're "bloodied" and move 4 squares right instead. Rinse and repeat.

Yeh, that's about it.

Me? Cynical about 4e? Never!

uh, have you and kensanata played 4e? especially in a campaign setting? i run both 3.x and 4e campaigns and the role-playing is just the same: independent of the systems. if you have played 4e and don't find it to your taste, fine. right now, though, you both sound like parrots, mindlessly mouthing the anti-4e/wotc rhetoric.

i was considering demoing microlite20 to my 3.x and 4e players and at an upcoming convention (strategicon) but am reconsidering that decision.

sad. a fine system but i won't support such repellent sources.

 

[greywulf]

Actually I am a pretty big 4e D&D fan, and consider it the best version of D&D to date, after the D&D Rules Cyclopedia.

But I'm also not above poking fun at things I love. Heck, I've been known to take the p*** out of Microlite20 too, and I wrote the thing

If you're going to decide whether to play Microlite20 based on my sense of humour and ability to laugh at things then.... uh... fine. That's your call.

Shame though.

 

[Tagnik]

uh, have you and kensanata played 4e? especially in a campaign setting? i run both 3.x and 4e campaigns and the role-playing is just the same: independent of the systems. if you have played 4e and don't find it to your taste, fine. right now, though, you both sound like parrots, mindlessly mouthing the anti-4e/wotc rhetoric.

i was considering demoing microlite20 to my 3.x and 4e players and at an upcoming convention (strategicon) but am reconsidering that decision.

sad. a fine system but i won't support such repellent sources.

You are taking yourself far to serious for what you are talking about.

Hopefully you will relax a little. I won't support such repellent posting.

 

[joela]

then why?

Actually I am a pretty big 4e D&D fan, and consider it the best version of D&D to date, after the D&D Rules Cyclopedia.

So you do find the 4e supports role-playing?

 

[greywulf]

So you do find the 4e supports role-playing?

Good question, and (at the risk of spinning this thread further off topic), well worth answering.

In our group, we find that 4e has certain elements that positively encourage and improve the whole role-playing experience. Things like Skill Challenges, quicker and simpler encounter and monster creation and the way that the game puts the trust back over to the GM are the kind of things I'm thinking of. In short, we feel there's a darned find story-based role-playing system hiding between the pages.

But.

The disjoint between imaginative play and figure-based play creates a reality bump during play that's hard to ignore. One minute you're immersion role-playing, the next you're pushing plastic figures round a table. That breaks the role-playing experience for us. You go from Bob the Fighter being me, in my head to Bob the Fighter being this little plastic dude on the table. Bye, Bob.

We've accepted the bump and recognise that 4e D&D is basically two games in one - a role-playing game and a table-top figure-based miniatures game - and accept that's how it's played. Partly that's because we've never played using figures in any other rpg before. Never felt the need. With 4e, that's not really an option.

Would I ever make a 4e version of Microlite20? Nope. It just doesn't suit the kind of philosophy and design goals I had in mind when I shrunk d20/SRD. Anyone else is free to try though, of course. But not me.

I stress - this is IN OUR EXPERIENCE. "No, you're wrong" is not a valid answer to this observation.

 

[RandallS]

Microlite74 Version 2.0 is now available for free download. Over 2000 copies of Microlite74 version 1.1 have been downloaded since its release on October 6th last year. Microlite74 is dedicated to the memory of E. Gary Gygax and Version 2.0, which is even closer to that the very first edition of the world's most popular fantasy roleplaying game he co-authored over 30 years ago, is being released on the first anniversary of his passing.

While Microlite74 is designed as an introduction to "old school" play for players more familiar with modern rules systems based on the Primary Fantasy SRD, it is a rules-lite OGL based game system that old school grognards – especially those who cut their gamer teeth on "0e" – should find equally enjoyable. It is also easy to modify with your own house rules or rules drawn from your favorite edition of the world’s most popular fantasy roleplaying game.

The revised and expanded Microlite74 Version 2.0 features many changes and improvements made since the publication of version 1.1 of Microlite74 in 2008, including:

• The spell and monster lists have been rewritten to make Microlite74 much more compatible with 0e and 0e retro-clones.
• Many more monsters and a few additional spells are included.
• Stat, combat, and some other bonuses have been reduced from Microlite20 levels to levels more appropriate for 0e and Microlite74.
• Optional rules that remove demi-human class and level limits have been added.
• Spells lists are now alphabetical within each level.
• Many minor tweaks in wording or rules have been made to correct typos, to improve clarity, or to make GM rules modifications and future expansions easier.

Microlite74 Version 2.0 is available for download from the Microlite74 page of the RetroRoleplaying.com web site. You can download the standard version or the booklet version. The standard version is 10 pages of small print (Microlite20-style) and is a 170K PDF. The booklet version is 20 pages and has larger type, cover pages, public domain art, and is a 2.2 meg PDF. A special digest-sized version will be available in the future.

You can also download Microlite74 Version 2.0 directly from these links:

• Microlite74 2.0 Standard Download
• Microlite74 2.0 Booklet Download

 

[jaerdaph]

Okay, I'm *really* late to the party here but I only recently discovered Microlite20. I've read all the major threads here and at RPGNet, downloaded and read through a lot of stuff (including the message boars) at microlite20.net and I have to say, wow! greywulf, you have managed to extract the essence of the new (d20) and the old (1e) and boiled it down into exactly the rules lite tip of the hat to old school fantasy roleplaying system I've been craving for a long time. And Grimstaff's Expert rules only sweeten the pot! Well done, gentlemen, well done!

I'm psyched because I'm going to run Microlite20 for the first time this weekend for a small group of friends, some who haven't gamed in years, and this is just the right thing to whet our appetites. I'm going to be running through the first level of Greyhawk Grognard Joe Bloch's The Castle of the Mad Archmage. Microlite20 is perfect because the rules are quick to pick up and non-intrusive to roleplaying. I'm hoping this leads to more appreciation and enjoyment of the actual adventuring experience (including the problem solving and sometimes subtle, sometimes dark humor) that this Gygaxian megadungeon looks like it will provide.

I know that its easy to port/convert existing 3e/d20 material into Microlite20, but does anyone have any tips or suggestions for converting (perhaps even "on the fly") 1e/OSRIC rules with the same amount of ease?

 

[jaerdaph]

i was considering demoing microlite20 to my 3.x and 4e players and at an upcoming convention (strategicon) but am reconsidering that decision.

sad. a fine system but i won't support such repellent sources.

 

[RandallS]

I know that its easy to port/convert existing 3e/d20 material into Microlite20, but does anyone have any tips or suggestions for converting (perhaps even "on the fly") 1e/OSRIC rules with the same amount of ease?

You might check out my Microlite74 for some ideas of how easy this is. M74 is a "total conversion" of M20 for "0e." 1e would not be any harder, especially if you are just want to add some 1e stuff to M20 instead of doing an M20 version of 1e.

 

[jaerdaph]

You might check out my Microlite74 for some ideas of how easy this is. M74 is a "total conversion" of M20 for "0e." 1e would not be any harder, especially if you are just want to add some 1e stuff to M20 instead of doing an M20 version of 1e.

Heh - looks like the answer might have been right under my nose.


Thank you very much, Randall - downloading now!