80s Old and Simple RPGs (Not OD&D or D&D BX)

[Fenris-77]

I have to revisit that one. Didn't catch with us when it came out and we never played FASERIP.

Me neither, not really, but I have some buddies who are truthers.

 

[darjr]

I have it and didn’t like it so never ran it. Too simple! Lol. Now my tastes have changed and a friend of mine is a faserip super fan. So this went on the list.

 

[Fenris-77]

I have it and didn’t like it so never ran it. Too simple! Lol. Now my tastes have changed and a friend of mine is a faserip super fan. So this went on the list.

I feel like I need to at least give it a deep read. I haven't even cracked the cover since, hmm, maybe the early 90's, so I'm not exactly current on the details.

 

[sevenbastard]

Gamaworld was pretty basic in the early edtions.

 

[MGibster]

Call of Cthulhu is pretty darn simple and I think it came out in 1981

 

[Fenris-77]

Call of Cthulhu is pretty darn simple and I think it came out in 1981

Here we need to try and decide whether complex also included long lists of things like skills and action mods. CoC is pretty simple in some ways, but not in others.

 

[LordEntrails]

Star Frontiers Zebulons Guide might count. It was a conversion of SF to a system using the FASERIP resolution table.

Noooo Zeb's doesn't exist! It was a hallucination... A bad dream...
(Except for the equipment, it was a good equipment update to Alpha Dawn)

 

[Thierry-Advent]

The original alt.D&D, though, is obviously Tunnels & Trolls. It was also designed with the goal of being both more accessible than D&D, but also appropriate for use with PbM and Solo play.

I saw the ads in the Dragon magazine back then, but sadly the name of the game (T&T) made it sound like a parody of D&D, and I wasn't interested in that. For the longest time I avoid reading about it. It's only in 2023 that people talked about it on our Solo RPG FB group that my interest was piqued. The T&T quick start rules didn't impress me. Visually they look amateurish.

But after reading some reviews, I took a chance and bought Lair of the Leopard Empresses. Sarah Newton did a stellar job. Love the system and the book.

 

[Desdichado]

I saw the ads in the Dragon magazine back then, but sadly the name of the game (T&T) made it sound like a parody of D&D, and I wasn't interested in that. For the longest time I avoid reading about it. It's only in 2023 that people talked about it on our Solo RPG FB group that my interest was piqued. The T&T quick start rules didn't impress me. Visually they look amateurish.

Yeah, that's par for the course in that era. I mean, OD&D is super amateurish too. That was especially true for games in the 70s. By the 80s, most people who wanted to be taken seriously had their act together a bit more, although some still look pretty amateurish by today's standards.

But after reading some reviews, I took a chance and bought Lair of the Leopard Empresses. Sarah Newton did a stellar job. Love the system and the book.

Cool!

 

[Doctor Futurity]

Games I played back then that were pretty simple, aside from T&T 5th edition were Star Ace, Chill, Gamma World, V&V, and original Fantasy Trip. I think the original BRP in Worlds of Wonder counts as well. I'd include classic Traveller today but back then I thought it was very complex and wouldn't have included it. Star Frontiers though yes.