Hackmaster

[Korgoth]

Interesting example. It looks a bit more complicated than I thought for a basic version, but hopefully I'll be able to judge for myself soon...

Looks complicated to me, too.

I have one on order with my ILGS (Incompetent Local Game Store) on the strength of the cover alone.

 

[Agamon]

Complicated was my first reaction, too. Some cool ideas, but there seems like a lot of stuff to track and know (I suppose a DM screen with a lot of needed om-the-fly charts would be handy).

 

[neg]

Hmb

Received the book on Monday, had our first session on Tuesday. My GM is efficient like that.

The system is not as complicated as it first seems, combat and the opposed roll makes for a very fast paced combat and lots of excitement and held breaths.

Without getting into edition wars and comparisons, I would say that I have had the most fun with this system than any other system since 1E. I have played 1E, 3E, 3.5E, 4E, the previous Hackmaster system, and three months before HMB came out I spent $300 dollars on Castles and Crusades materials. HMB is a better system than all of them in my opinion.

The amount of play testing they did really shows up in the game. Combat, weapondry, and armor makes sense. Shields are a big part of the game. Missle weapons are game breakers, and combat is incredibly deadly. One wrong dice roll at low level can really shift things. We seemed to have a few instances where the attacker rolled a nat 20 (double damage dice, which considering a battle axe does 4d4 and a long sword does 2d8 normally is huge) and the defender rolls a nat 1 (resulting in the attacker getting an additional attack the very next second). Those can turn your party ambush from a surprise attack into thanking the Gawds that you created a human who can outleg the halfing when you flee.

I encourage everyone to take a look at the system. It is highly enjoyable, a great change of pace, and well thought out. And only $20 too...

-neg

 

[Korgoth]

I like the look of the deadliness of it... if I run Hackmaster it will be to explore a muscular, adversarial style of gaming. I was just worried about it being to complicated and "rulesy"... I'm a rules-lite type of guy.

 

[Ulairi]

I like the look of the deadliness of it... if I run Hackmaster it will be to explore a muscular, adversarial style of gaming. I was just worried about it being to complicated and "rulesy"... I'm a rules-lite type of guy.

HMb isn't that rulesy at all. Also, most of the rules make sense and they are very logical. There are a lot of "rules" that games like D&D 4E and other systems do not have, such as honour but the honour rules aren't complicatedl

 

[Falstaff]

Well, to be honest, if you are a rules-lite type of guy, then HMb probably isn't going to be much fun for you. I have the book and have read most of it so I can say without a doubt that even though it says "Basic" on the cover, don't be confused by thinking it is Basic in the sense of Basic D&D. This game is crunchy.

I should mention that I LOVE this game. It has now become my all-time favorite fantasy RPG - even over AD&D, and for me, that's saying a hell of a lot.

It is old-school gaming built with modern game design techniques - to quote a section from the introduction.

All I can say is that HMb is a hard and difficult climb to the top. It is truly something to brag about if you can claim you have a high level HackMaster character.

HMb isn't for everyone. It is hard hitting, old school gaming. If you don't like the realization that it is a deadly business to go traipsing around in monster filled dungeons and that your character can most assuredly die UNLESS YOU PLAY SMART, then HM might not be for you. If you like your characters to be powerful heroes right outta the gate, HM might not be for you. Victories are harder to obtain, but because of that, they are all the sweeter and more meaningful.

HM requires smart, creative play or you will constantly be rolling up new characters. It doesn't coddle to wuss players. There's no crying in HM.

 

[Nikosandros]

HMb isn't that rulesy at all. Also, most of the rules make sense and they are very logical. There are a lot of "rules" that games like D&D 4E and other systems do not have, such as honour but the honour rules aren't complicatedl

All the rules for advanced combat in GURPS make a lot of sense and are extremely logical, that doesn't make them simple.

 

[SteveC]

Illustrated combat example:

Kenzer & Company Discussion Forums

I think taking a look at this example is a good idea to see if Hackmaster is the right game for you. I have a good friend who absolutely loves HM and is very stoked about the new system. After reading the example combat, I think I'm going to pass. I love crunch, but there is way too much of it here for what is essentially a routine combat between three PCs and four minor monsters.

Not for me, but take a look at it: I have no doubt that this is exactly the sort of thing that many folks will enjoy.

--Steve

 

[AnthonyRoberson]

The real measure of popularity for the new edition of Hackmaster of course will be how fast the book shows up on the torrents...

 

[Korgoth]

Well, to be honest, if you are a rules-lite type of guy, then HMb probably isn't going to be much fun for you. I have the book and have read most of it so I can say without a doubt that even though it says "Basic" on the cover, don't be confused by thinking it is Basic in the sense of Basic D&D. This game is crunchy.

I should mention that I LOVE this game. It has now become my all-time favorite fantasy RPG - even over AD&D, and for me, that's saying a hell of a lot.

It is old-school gaming built with modern game design techniques - to quote a section from the introduction.

All I can say is that HMb is a hard and difficult climb to the top. It is truly something to brag about if you can claim you have a high level HackMaster character.

HMb isn't for everyone. It is hard hitting, old school gaming. If you don't like the realization that it is a deadly business to go traipsing around in monster filled dungeons and that your character can most assuredly die UNLESS YOU PLAY SMART, then HM might not be for you. If you like your characters to be powerful heroes right outta the gate, HM might not be for you. Victories are harder to obtain, but because of that, they are all the sweeter and more meaningful.

HM requires smart, creative play or you will constantly be rolling up new characters. It doesn't coddle to wuss players. There's no crying in HM.

A lot of its aspects sound good to me. I am going to try it, even though it's not rules lite. I don't have any expectation that it will replace OD&D or B/X as my go-to games. Of course, if it's too crunchy I may never run it at all (outside of a one-shot). But I'm looking forward to reading it.

There's no crying in OD&D, either.