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To my mind, both of those meet the criteria of unequal power, resource exploitation, and Britain having no historical claim to either place. Plus, Britain wasn’t trying to conquer the whole world and make them citizens (Pax Romana style), so much as simply extract resources for the home country...

As ezo noted, the only wonky thing is what happens when you need a score lower than 1? Does Hercules have a strength of -5? 🤨 I may try Dragonbane and see how badly roll under bugs my players. I do think it’s a pretty nifty system otherwise.

Oh, I wasn’t trying to conflate roll under and THAC0. There’s nothing wrong with roll under, but a kludgy system (like old D&D’s) involving bonuses that sometimes raise something and others lower a different thing is definitely messy. D&D AC woulda been more logical if you just had to “roll a...

To me, there is a world of difference between colonialism and conflict. Not everyone views it similarly, but here’s my distinction. “Colonialism” is the exploitation of an indigenous people (or their land) by an imperialist power on a quest for resources, usually a technologically superior...

Why is it terrible? Why are you okay with “rolling 1’s is good,” but not okay with “a 3 strength is better than a 14?” My point is that it doesn’t have to make complete sense.

I always referred to it as “comprehensible, but confusing.” I got it. But I definitely had issues explaining to new players why a “+2 shield” lowered your armor class, and how that was a good thing. It’s not that it doesn’t work, it’s just odd.

By the way, this was the reason we had descending AC in the first place. “1st-class” armor is better than “2nd-class,” is better than 3rd, etc. It makes sense, I just don’t like “Ooo, I rolled a one!! 🤨

I’ll observe it’s also incredibly easy to flip. “D20 roll under,” can be flipped by “Get new score by Subtracting ability score from 20.” Now you roll high. How would you feel about an 8 strength being better than a 14? And if that hurts your brain, you now understand why roll under can...

Except that they aren’t. The virtue of firearms is/was that 90% of them are simple weapons. Point and shoot. A few take some training, and many can be improved by extensive training, but a child can kill someone with a gun. Keep firearms simple weapons. You could stick with the damage dice in...

The cost is that typically in DCC, Deed dice add to damage as well as attack rolls. If you choose to perform a Mighty Deed, it might not happen (2/d chance), but you give up the extra damage regardless. So it’s not a high cost, but it’s not no cost.

I don’t feel the need to defend or explain further, and we’re way off topic, which is “Why do you prefer a medieval milieu?” The OP specifically asked people not to discuss why they don’t

As I said, there’s a lot about Dragonbane I like. My point wasn’t that “d20, roll high” is the only acceptable “modern” mechanic, but the notion of a universal resolution mechanic, something older editions of D&D don’t have. Dragonbane is always “roll low,” which is fine, modern and streamlined...

Two imperial powers trying to assert dominance over one another by battling over land disregards one of the biggest reasons colonialism is problematic. Who are the indigenous people whose resources and people are being exploited by these Imperial powers? And that’s why it’s different.

Like Advantage/Disadvantage, it’s one of those things that sounds fiddly, but is very simple in practice. Switch out part of your bonus for a die that roughly hits that average, and if the die result is a 3 or higher (and the attack hits), the stunt works. Simple. Flexible.

The discussion of what the "sweet spot" of a skill list looks like is a tricky one. I was browsing through my Survival Guides the other day, and I had almost forgotten how finicky the skill selections got. Which was REALLY finicky; like fire-building was distinct from herbalism, was distinct...

Mostly accurate. :ROFLMAO: Also no "racial classes," which was one of my earliest gripes with B/X. That being said, I think I've mentioned it before, but I really like DCC's "Deed Dice" and will probably port them over to Shadowdark. I'll try it with Fighters first, and I'm planning to make...

That is quirky, but it also seems like a fun class. As an aside, I do love what I've seen of OSE/Dolmenwood, and I am firmly of the opinion that "Dungeons & Dragons"-based games should stop at 14th-level (or sooner). Shadowdark (which is where I'm leaning at present, although my gaming group is...

I’ll do my best to give my answer to these as briefly as I can. In order: Every exception is a rule. B/X had fewer class powers, and fewer species abilities. The hit point cap was lower. The game didn’t have Actions, Reactions, Bonus Actions, Minor Actions, Attacks of Opportunity, etc. The...

Awww, I miss him. Sorry he’s not around anymore, but I’m glad to hear you think this thread might resonate with him.

And yet, they wonder why the game has a DM shortage problem. 🙄