OSR Red Box, but like modern I guess?!?!?

[Arilyn]

Or putting your level zero characters thru the metaphorical blender before they achieve level 1.

That and the more unusual Dice like D3s and what not.

Sometimes we do the 0 level culling, sometimes we don't! I'm not actually fond of all the extra dice, but you can manage without them.

I enjoy the game's other quirks, however. It's silly fun.

 

[zarionofarabel]

Well I picked up Dark Dungeons. It looks like what I am looking for, though Old School Essentials also interests me. I will definitely read up on the other systems that have been listed. That you for the additional suggestions!

 

[CubicsRube]

I'll third into the unknown. It captures the red box flavour with streamlined 5e rules. Imo, the best combination.

 

[CleverNickName]

If you want all the old school stuff with the modern ways of doing things....

Just play 5e with these limits:
Humans - can be Fighters, Clerics, Rogues, or Wizards.
1/2lings - can only be Fighters
Dwarfs - can only be Fighters
Elves - can only be be MC Fighter/Wizards. They must meet the MC restrictions at 1st lv, they begin with both classes at lv.1, and as they advance they must divide their xp in two & split it between their two classes (essentially it takes an elf double the xp to lv up as they're supporting two classes)

There are no other classes, there are no other races, there are no other race/class combos and other than with Elves there's no MC allowed. And Tasha's is not allowed.
No other changes to 5e.

There, I've saved you from having to read through about a dozen things all trying to copy the old stuff. Or having to rewrite the attack & save charts if you just pulled out the actual old stuff.

Purists might complain about the lack of a Druid, Paladin, or Monk (aka "Mystic") etc., but this is a pretty good start.

Purists might also want to restrict the subclasses a bit, so that there are no Eldritch Knights or Arcane Tricksters and so forth.

The old B/X sets also had rules for mass combat, sieges, ruling dominions, and building strongholds, but I imagine that stuff could probably be lifted whole-cloth from the Rules Cyclopedia without too much trouble.

This sounds like a fun project. Maybe I'll hammer it out in a formal document one of these days.

 

[Weiley31]

And just for the heck of it, just like how Swords and Wizardry is 1E in all but name and Ascending AC, For Gold and Glory is 2E in all but name too with Ascending AC if I believe so as well.

Truth be told, those would be what I would use. I was always curious about trying 1E and 2E, with some house rules, with those two.

Castle and Crusades is pretty much another one that follows on what supposedly Advanced Dungeons and Dragons 3E could've been if Gygax was still in charge, from what I read.

As for DDC, I'd try it, but if I was GMing it, we're using the ABC book with it because the character options are crazy fun in there.

There's alot of options though.

 

[teitan]

And just for the heck of it, just like how Swords and Wizardry is 1E in all but name and Ascending AC, For Gold and Glory is 2E in all but name too with Ascending AC if I believe so as well.

Truth be told, those would be what I would use. I was always curious about trying 1E and 2E, with some house rules, with those two.

Castle and Crusades is pretty much another one that follows on what supposedly Advanced Dungeons and Dragons 3E could've been if Gygax was still in charge, from what I read.

There's alot of options though.

Excellent points but I must protest the bit on S&W. It is 0e with the LBB and not 1e. Only the three original alignments and the races available in 0e. It’s primarily the 0e with Greyhawk and Strategic Review. It’s completely compatible with the 1e Monster Manual as it was the first AD&D book and had a lot of influence from 0e, in fact AC etc works like 0e in the MM.

 

[Weiley31]

Excellent points but I must protest the bit on S&W. It is 0e with the LBB and not 1e. Only the three original alignments and the races available in 0e. It’s primarily the 0e with Greyhawk and Strategic Review. It’s completely compatible with the 1e Monster Manual as it was the first AD&D book and had a lot of influence from 0e, in fact AC etc works like 0e in the MM.

Ah okay. I'll be honest that, while I know very little bout the boxed sets and 0E and 1E, I never played any of the original DND except for 5E starting last year.

But the OSR retro clones seemed interesting.

 

[Weiley31]

Did anybody mention Labyrinth Lord? I believe that is another 1E retro clone.

 

[teitan]

Did anybody mention Labyrinth Lord? I believe that is another 1E retro clone.

BECMI i believe.

 

[Monayuris]

If you want all the old school stuff with the modern ways of doing things....

Just play 5e with these limits:
Humans - can be Fighters, Clerics, Rogues, or Wizards.
1/2lings - can only be Fighters
Dwarfs - can only be Fighters
Elves - can only be be MC Fighter/Wizards. They must meet the MC restrictions at 1st lv, they begin with both classes at lv.1, and as they advance they must divide their xp in two & split it between their two classes (essentially it takes an elf double the xp to lv up as they're supporting two classes)

There are no other classes, there are no other races, there are no other race/class combos and other than with Elves there's no MC allowed. And Tasha's is not allowed.
No other changes to 5e.

There, I've saved you from having to read through about a dozen things all trying to copy the old stuff. Or having to rewrite the attack & save charts if you just pulled out the actual old stuff.

This is similar to some ideas I've had about making an OSR 5E.

I would add...

Eliminate cantrips. Light becomes a 1st level spell that allows blinding a foe.

I've also considered the idea of taking 'advanced classes' and redesigning them into subclasses of the core. For example Ranger becomes a Fighter subclass.

Honestly, though. It is better to start with a ruleset closer to what you want. You can hack 5E down and throw out 80% of the game to get what you want. Or you can start with a game that is 90% there and add a few tweaks.

In the end I've reached the conclusion that old-schooling 5E is a lose-lose proposition.

1. It takes a considerable effort to take 5E and modify it to suit an old-school style play. The base assumptions of how spells work and many other elements are completely different than an old-school game. There is a lot more than just limiting classes and races. You have to look at game rules, death and dying rules, spells, abilities as levels advance and apply changes to suit the old school style.

2. At the same time, you are changing 5E to the point that it is barely recognizable. You can sell your Old School 5E to potential 5E players, but what you end up presenting can be so far from what a 5E player expects that you are falsely advertising. The ONLY reason one would want to make 5E old-school is because one wants to attract 5E players. But in making 5E old-school one presents a ruleset that would not appeal to the 5E player.

The better solution, in my opinion, is to just offer to run an old school game. Advertise your old school game to 5E players. You'll probably get a hard-pass, often, but you may also get some people who are into it and you may get some interest from those who are curious.