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

[TwoSix]

If it has to be a strict clone, than OSE would definitely win, simply because of the amount of support baseline B/X has.

If "variations on a theme" of older D&D is allowed, some combination of ACKS, Beyond the Wall, WWN, and 13th Age would be my choices.

 

[reelo]

(…) Beyond the Wall, some elements of which I may combine with OSE.

Let me guess: character generation?

 

[Cruentus]

Let me guess: character generation?

Yup. That's the major element. I also really like the magic system.

And while I like the way the characters can be interesting combinations of fighter/mage/thief, I think I prefer OSE and OSE Advanced for classes.

 

[Retreater]

I prefer Basic Fantasy to the ones listed above: free PDFs; at-cost print copies; cleric spells at 1st level; more survivable characters.

 

[Orius]

Never been particularly interested in the clones myself. It's like I said over on Dragonsfoot recently, they tend to come off as people's individual house rules for older editions of the game and that's very much a YMMV sort of thing. And WotC does have the originals available as well, though the clones tend to have better clarity and organization.

Right now, I'm favoring 3e though, which pretty much means Pathfinder as a clone, and I'm not a big fan of Pathfinder. PF's main use for me is supplemental material for a 3e game.

OSE doesn't look too bad, as it copies from B/X and has options for making the game something closer to AD&D. As much as I think that the classic D&D game from Moldvay to RC is more complete than AD&D, it does have a few things I don't favor: race as class, cleric casting delayed until level 2, and only 3 alignments. OSE looks like it can function as a hybrid game not dissimilar to what many of us did up until about the mid 90s when 2e was all that was left. I've also taken a look at ACKS because it expands on D&D's domain rules, and that's useful. I also like some of its ideas on campaign and world building, but that material seems harder to port.

 

[Musing Mage]

I wanted to say OSRIC... but if I'm being honest with myself - if I have to play a clone then OSE all the way. Much as I love AD&D, one thing I've learned is that it takes some doing getting other players into it and committing to the nuance... where OSE is an easy sell and much more new player friendly.

As a forever DM, I've also had more fun playing in an OSE game than I have had playing in any others in a very long time.

 

[GreyLord]

Castles and Crusades is not technically an exact clone, but that's what I'd probably go with overall.

If that isn't allowed though, definately OSRIC. AD&D would be my jam.

 

[John Quixote]

Now that there are print-on-demand Rules Cyclopediæ, the only purpose retro-clones serve is their original one — recognizable labels that indicate compatibility with a specific edition of The World's First and Most Popular Fantasy Role-Playing Game, Wink-Wink, Nudge-Nudge, 'Ello-'Ello, Hint-Hint.

But if I had to pick one (and it had to be one of the faithful-ish clones, and BFRPG and Iron Falcon and Dark Dungeons aren't even on the list), I've been pretty happy with Labyrinth Lord. It still has some advantages over OSE, like some truly kickass black-and-white art, a decade and a half of published content, and the superior Mentzerean rules for magic-user spell acquisition.

 

[CleverNickName]

Then my choice would be Pathfinder.

Yeah, same here. And I'd put the level cap at 6th. There is a lot about the PF1E system that I like, but I feel like the game gets really bogged down in math at mid- to high-level.

 

[FriendlyFiend]

I'm tempted to say For Gold and Glory, as that tries to do for AD&D2E what OSRIC does for 1E. Like others, if we're allowed to deviate a bit from strict clones, I'd definitely vote for Beyond the Wall. And I really must try Castles and Crusades.