Best OD&D system?

[Hairfoot]

...apart from OD&D, of course. I just can't deal with the scrappiness of the original books, and BECMI/RC is too prescriptive for the rules-light game I want to run.

I checked out Swords & Wizardry, which seems fairly faithful to the original - plus some good tweaks to the rules.

What other systems would you recommend for running a campaign in the old-school style?

 

[grodog]

Ad&d? :d

 

[Agamon]

Rules Cyclopedia, hands down. If I'm not playing 4e, I'd play RC, otherwise it's be a non-D&D game.

 

[justanobody]

Stupid forums software! RC does not need the c in lower case!

RULES CYCLOPEDIA!!!!!!!!!

 

[Treebore]

...apart from OD&D, of course. I just can't deal with the scrappiness of the original books, and BECMI/RC is too prescriptive for the rules-light game I want to run.

I checked out Swords & Wizardry, which seems fairly faithful to the original - plus some good tweaks to the rules.

What other systems would you recommend for running a campaign in the old-school style?

My answer to this was Castles and Crusades. I was willing to do house rules though, to enable me to take rules I liked best from each edition, including 3E.

Then again I have most books of each edition, so it was a big bonus for me to be able to use stuff from each edition.

 

[S'mon]

I like Labyrinth Lord the best, which is based on Moldvay-Cook/Marsh B/X. The Mentzer BECM series is great too as long as you don't bring in the CM accretions like Weapon Mastery and Mystics into low-level play. The Companion set War Machine and Dominion rules are great and work for any edition of D&D (though Domain income may need tweaking/reducing).

 

[Korgoth]

...apart from OD&D, of course. I just can't deal with the scrappiness of the original books, and BECMI/RC is too prescriptive for the rules-light game I want to run.

I checked out Swords & Wizardry, which seems fairly faithful to the original - plus some good tweaks to the rules.

What other systems would you recommend for running a campaign in the old-school style?

"Scrappiness"? I'm not sure what you mean. Going on the assumption that you mean "rough and open to interpretation"... but you still want to make a fair amount of judgment calls as DM and want more freeform action resolution (i.e. no skill system, etc.), I would indeed suggest Swords & Wizardry. It basically seems like a version of OD&D edited for more modern sensibilities (I mean, if you must!).

In addition to Swords & Wizardry core, which incorporates some optional rules inherited from Greyhawk (variable weapon damage, variable monster attack damage, more spells, etc.), there will be a Swords & Wizardry "White Box" edition which supposedly will not incorporate those later elements.

Definitely worth giving a look.

 

[Darrin Drader]

Labyrinth Lord certainly has the most impressive layout, though it's a llittle light on classes. I've checked out ISRIC 1 and a preview of 2, and I have to say that I'm quite impressed by 2.

I should also put in a word for Castles and Crusades, which is kind of a hybrid system. You don't have skills or feats, though some of the abilities look a tab complicated. AC is expressed as a positive, thief skills are not percentages, and everything is handled through a common system called the SIEGE system. What I like about the way it's designed is that it's easily compatible with anything from any edition.

So it really comes down to whether you want a best of both worlds game, or a game that stays true to the original original. I think they're both well done and worthy of mention.

 

[Plane Sailing]

my preference for od&d would be white box plus greyhawk, but I'm not sure what contempory system best mirrors that.

 

[Philotomy Jurament]

I'd go with Swords & Wizardry.

Holmes Basic + the Holmes Companion (or the new Holmes expansion) is also very similar to original D&D. In fact, I'd group Holmes Basic with OD&D, rather than with the other Basic sets. AD&D 1e is also very similar to OD&D + Supplements, although perhaps more "defined."

If you're looking for a system similar to Classic D&D (e.g. the Basic/Expert sets from 1983 or later), then Labyrinth Lord is a good choice.