OSR If you were going to commit to one clone of older edition D&D going forward, what would it be?

[overgeeked]

Why retro clone, when you can just retro?

Because the retro you want to play is prohibitively expensive and/or not available in the format you want so you buy a retroclone that's an exact copy. Especially one that mixes in elements from your two favorite editions of the game. That's why I'm all in with Old-School Essentials. Moldvay Basic all the way, but I've played more AD&D than any other edition, so OSE Advanced Fantasy is just about literally perfect for me.

 

[Dwarf 007]

White Box, Fantastic Medieval Adventure Game:
.....which is based on Swords & Wizardry White Box, which is based on Original D&D.

And then as a Fall Back Resource:
Old School Essentials, Classic Fantasy Rules Tome. Just for any details I may wish to refer to, built around the same overall power level as White Box.

 

[CleverNickName]

Because the retro you want to play is prohibitively expensive and/or not available in the format you want so you buy a retroclone that's an exact copy.

I mean, maybe? It depends on the person, doesn't it?

For example, the retro that I want to play is BECM/Rules Cyclopedia, and it's available electrinically on DriveThruRPG for $10, or Print-On-Demand for $21. That is not "prohibitively expensive" for me...I could buy both formats for less than a single hardcopy of the current edition's Player's Handbook.

I mean no disrespect to OSE (which is free, and is an excellent product, and everyone should have a copy in their library). The point I'm trying to make is: if you want to play an older edition of D&D, you can play that older edition. You don't need to house-rule the latest edition, you don't need to sell your group on a completely new game. The older editions are still there, still playable, and still just as fun as you remember.

 

[overgeeked]

I mean, maybe? It depends on the person, doesn't it?

For example, the retro that I want to play is BECM/Rules Cyclopedia, and it's available electrinically on DriveThruRPG for $10, or Print-On-Demand for $21. That is not "prohibitively expensive" for me...I could buy both formats for less than a single hardcopy of the current edition's Player's Handbook.

I mean no disrespect to OSE (which is free, and is an excellent product, and everyone should have a copy in their library). The point I'm trying to make is: if you want to play an older edition of D&D, you can play that older edition.

You're right. It 100% depends on which edition you're talking about, your resources, and what you want re: product.

The version I want (B/X) isn't available POD from DM's Guild and I want it in print. So I'd have to track down 40-year-old staple-bound paper copies at collector's prices, hope they're not trashed, and pay silly prices to ship it to me. And I'm not buying the PDF and taking it to the local print shop to have it printed out. So instead, I can buy a brand new, mint condition, hardback print copy of OSE for less than the cost of getting the original. They also went through the trouble of clarifying the rules, cleaning up a few mistakes, and laying everything out in an easily findable way. And there's heaps of amazing art.

You don't need to house-rule the latest edition...

Though you will find infinitely bigger player base if you do.

you don't need to sell your group on a completely new game

For a lot of people older editions of the game will be new to them. I'm lucky that I still have most of my first D&D group from 1984, but literally none of them are interested in going back to B/X or AD&D. So I'll need to find new people to play with if I want to play older editions. Which means either playing B/X or OSE. So either the players will have had the originals, bought them since, or they're using OSE books. That's the benefit of having such an exact duplication retroclone. It's the same game, the name's just different and it's currently supported.

The older editions are still there, still playable, and still just as fun as you remember.

Yes, yes, and mostly yes.

A lot of the fun of gaming when you're a kid is gone when you game as an adult. Like watching a movie you loved as a kid when you get older. It's still the same, but you've changed. The world around you has changed. Etc.

 

[Aldarc]

4e, if that was possible.

 

[Ath-kethin]

Oops! I missed the poll.

If I had to pick one off the list, I'd go with Astonishing Swordsmen and Sorcerers of Hyperboria, which is just phenomenal. I also love Swords & Wizardry, and I was running games out of the D&D Rules Cyclopedia as recently as two years ago.

But for my money the best of the best is Dungeon Crawl Classics. It doesn't typically make these lists because it isn't a clone, its a reimagining of D&D's development. It's flavorful, tweakable, easy to learn, well-supported, and - importantly - the community is amazing. That starts at the top; the folks writing and producing the DCC stuff are just super friendly, approachable people who actively encourage and support the fanbase, even to the point of selling 3rd Party material in their webstore and showcasing their favorite bits.

 

[Volund]

Small sample size, but I'm surprised how little love S&W got. I use a lot of S&W material for the OSE campaign I'm running. If OSE didn't exist, I'd be perfectly happy playing and running S&W.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Just reread the title. Didn’t notice that simply sticking with an older edition was an option. So, given my previous posts, the obvi answer would be 3.5Ed.

 

[glass]

Then my choice would be Pathfinder.

That is what I would have voted for if I spotted the poll before Friday.

 

[Edgar Ironpelt]

If sticking to true pre-3e Old School, none of the above. There is a reason why I changed my then-main campaign to The Fantasy Trip once Advanced Melee/Advanced Wizard/In The Labyrinth came out.

Otherwise 3.5e, with my insistence as a DM on carving away anything that doesn't look like the campaign I want to run.

But then I'm a gray-bearded elder who is a dissident from Old School in some significant ways. And who is also willing to write heaps of house rules. (Maybe too willing...)