(HackMaster) The Hacklopedia of Beasts - the most awesome monster manual ever

Reading this thread has me interested in Hackmaster itself now.

Could anyone here who has played it compare the experience to something other than 1e/2e? I have zero experience with those editions other than paging through a friend's older PHB, but our group does play alot of e6/e8. Is the "vibe" similar to that?

For reference, we mainly stick to d20 systems (not for any real reason, it's just what we all seem to own boatloads of). Fiddled with Burning Wheel a smidge as well.
 

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Reading this thread has me interested in Hackmaster itself now.

Could anyone here who has played it compare the experience to something other than 1e/2e? I have zero experience with those editions other than paging through a friend's older PHB, but our group does play alot of e6/e8. Is the "vibe" similar to that?

For reference, we mainly stick to d20 systems (not for any real reason, it's just what we all seem to own boatloads of). Fiddled with Burning Wheel a smidge as well.

It's similar in the sense that there's a higher mortality rate than what you'd see in later editions of D&D.

It definitely has an old school feel, but because the game is Count - instead of Turn - based, the combat is unlike anything I've ever seen. Rather than sit around and wait for your turn (which used to bore me to tears, especially in large parties) you can move/do things each second. Combat goes quickly and is very, very exciting (mostly because no matter how good you are, no matter what level you play, there's always the chance that your character is going to enter into a world of hurt no matter who you're fighting).
 

It's similar in the sense that there's a higher mortality rate than what you'd see in later editions of D&D.

It definitely has an old school feel, but because the game is Count - instead of Turn - based, the combat is unlike anything I've ever seen. Rather than sit around and wait for your turn (which used to bore me to tears, especially in large parties) you can move/do things each second. Combat goes quickly and is very, very exciting (mostly because no matter how good you are, no matter what level you play, there's always the chance that your character is going to enter into a world of hurt no matter who you're fighting).

This. Plus, the skill system is very robust and not restricted by level. Want your 1st level mage to be a master of historical facts? Go ahead and spend all of your BPs to have your skill level 90% or above. Want to play a fighter who was raised by mages? Awesome idea. Now purchase Arcane Lore a few times for him so that his skills reflect his background. In other words, skills are not restricted by class either.
 

What KJSEvans and Falstaff said...

Combat isn't attack vs AC, either. It's attack roll vs defense roll. Armor reduces your defense roll but reduces your damage taken. Shields, on the other hand, increase your defense AND can reduce damage taken.

Mages use a combination of spell points and spell memorization. You can cast any spell you know even if it isn't memorized! Casting memorized spells costs 'x' amount of points depending on the spell level. Casting spells NOT memorized costs twice as many points.
You can put more points into the spell when you cast it to increase its effectiveness as well.

ANYONE can specialize in weapons. The cost to do so varies by class with fighters being cheapest and mages being most expensive.
Sure, your mage can specialize in that longsword, but it's going to cost plenty of building points that are likely better used elsewhere.

All in all, it's a great blend of skill-based and class/level based systems.
 


It also has random chargen but you don't have to accept it, if you do you get more points to add skills etc, it is a neat compromise. And I will re-iterate the combat, when I first read it I thought the counting of every second would be incredibly clunky, but having run a few test combats (I haven't run the game) it is fast and fun and very immersive... all players and the DM are 100% involved.
 
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It also has random chargen but you don't have to accept it, if you do you get more points to add skills etc, it is a neat compromise. And I will re-iterate the combat, when I first read it I though the counting of every second would be incredibly clunky, but having run a few test combats (I haven't run the game) it is fast and fun and very immersive... all players and the DM are 100% involved.

Not to mention fans (such as myself) have made single-sheet count trackers that help GMs keep track of combatants - particularly NPCs.
 


Not to mention fans (such as myself) have made single-sheet count trackers that help GMs keep track of combatants - particularly NPCs.

You should be able to download it here (link to the Kenzer & Co forums - don't worry, everybody is welcome there)

I believe it's self explanatory, but here's what I did, and why:

On the left hand side, there's room for 6 PCs and up to 20 NPCs. For the PCs, I only listed initiative, weapon speed and reach, because actual to-hit and damage info should be managed by the player (in fact, it all should, but this allows you to hastily figure out how soon and how often they can attack). I'll explain more on why I included those for the PC section in a second.

For the NPCs, there's recordable space for every category that's important to combat - you'd fill all that in in order to give you a handy 1 page reference guide to anybody who might be involve din the battle.

On the right hand side, there are boxes for the first 30 seconds of combat. They are big enough so that, as a GM, you may record when PCs or NPCs attack, as well as any pertinent in-combat information (such as if a ToP occurs, resulting in somebody writhing around on the ground for a long period of seconds). You can then simply use a die - or anything else you want - to advance the count, while keeping easy track of who gets to attack when.

As for why I only listed Init, WS and Rch for the PCs, it's because they are the essential information that a GM should know while in combat. In HM, you are considered "surprised" until your Initiative is reached or you are hit by an enemy (you only roll a d8 for defense while surprised), if you aren't surprised and somebody moves in to attack you, then he with the longest reach gets to attack first, and weapon speed obviously tells you how long you have until you get to attack again. (If you defeat your opponent or disengage from combat, however, your attack resets based on your "minimum weapon speed")

Hopefully you like and it helps with any combat you run in HackMaster. :)
 
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