I feel like we need more very specific design talk about specific systems. This thread is a breath of fresh air in that regard.
I'm glad to help out. Specific design talk was the main reason I started posting regularly on ENworld around 15 years ago.I feel like we need more very specific design talk about specific systems. This thread is a breath of fresh air in that regard.
This is not the thread but since many here are TB fans - I'd thought I'd ask. I have not played TB but do have the 1st edition of the rules and have skimmed them and I like what I have seen so far. I do intend to play some time soon. Do you recommend I get the 2nd edition rather? Are they quite different from 1st edition?
I had looked at the original Torchbearer once or twice but it never really grabbed me - although I'm a huge BW fan.The easy answer to this is, while 1e was overwhelmingly homage to B/X (while being turned up to 11), 2e has been much more Burning Wheel-ified.
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If you're looking for a leaner, more dark and brutal B/X game on the Mouse Guard engine, go TB1. If you want a thematically heftier, more heroic, more Tolkein-ey version of TB (with a LOT more rules options)...go TB2.
This is what I've been experiencing. In the sessions I'm running, I'm finding that the skill system, and the conflict system, make dungeon situations interesting and entertaining that I would have struggled to bring to life using classic D&D or Rolemaster.For my tastes, a module like The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh, which has a sort of Scooby-Do mystery vibe to it, has actually been more entertaining in Torchbearer than B/X D&D because there's a lot to do an investigate that plays to Torchbearer's skill system.
@Thor
Thanks for dropping into the thread!
This is what I've been experiencing. In the sessions I'm running, I'm finding that the skill system, and the conflict system, make dungeon situations interesting and entertaining that I would have struggled to bring to life using classic D&D or Rolemaster.