hackmaster adventures vs "the normal" adventures

[rossik]

well, im waiting for my kobolds ate my baby (ALL HAIL KING TORG!!!), but im already thinking on my next buy.


what about hackmaster?
looks like a good killing game

have lots of references about old d&d modules, like Descent Into the NetherDeep...are they fun to play at all?

are the rules similar to d&D (or d20?)

and above all: are the adventures as fun to play as their original?

 

[Voadam]

The rules are a variant 1e/2e D&D with other house rules added in (honor, damaging armor, a bazillion critical hits). They give everything with more than a 1-1 HD +20 hp so you can stand around hacking longer and longer (depowers damage spells a little, makes save or die more important).

They have a huge parody element required by their license for the stuff that references old D&D material (PH/DMG/Hacklopedias, certain modules).

I own the B1 conversion and I like it a lot, but there are elements I do not like.



Adversarial DMing. I expected harsh but fair DMing advice leading to high body counts, not target PCs for harassment and humiliation style stuff. Unkillable magic mouth monsters who harass the party. 40 chambers of 5x5 room doors leading to nothing. Teleport traps designed to undetectably screw up mapping.

Potty humor. Lots of it. Poo flinging monsters, hiding treasure in sewage areas, etc.

Anachronisms and pure silliness. A drow advisor who wears cute little curling toe elf boots.

Some great things in there though.

Orc slaves find their masters are gone so they raid the armory, get militarized, raid the breweries and spend their time wandering around well armed, drunk, and hostile.

Neat backstories that can be discovered.

Great art.

 

[Philotomy Jurament]

I wasn't impressed with Hackmaster; I don't enjoy the HM humor/satire, and if you take that out, you might as well just play AD&D to begin with. However, Slaughterhouse Indigo is really good (it's not a re-hash/parody, it's an original). Sir Robilar's City of Brass is also good.

 

[QuaziquestGM]

Be prepared for a heavy dose of sarcasm.

hackmaster tends to go further for a joke.

 

[rossik]

Be prepared for a heavy dose of sarcasm.

hackmaster tends to go further for a joke.

what do you mean by that?