Interested in checking out non-D&D fantasy "old school" ttrpgs

[Libertad]

When I say "old school," I'm mostly thinking of the 70s to 80s, but at its broadest I can extend this to pre-2000s games.

While D&D is the top dog of fantasy ttrpgs, I've been more interested in checking out alternatives after getting more into Pathfinder. While there's quite a bit of newish games out there, I'm interested in older, well-established games that have been around the block. I'm also interested in the more recent Editions of said games if those are better-designed than the original versions.

Offhand, I'm aware of and am interested in Chivalry & Sorcery, RuneQuest/Glorantha, Tunnels & Trolls, the Fantasy Trip, and Ars Magica. Chivalry & Sorcery and Ars Magica are appealing for being closer to an "historical feudal fantasy" vibe, and RuneQuest/Glorantha has a very long-running community and I am already semi-familiar with the d100 BRP system. Tunnels & Trolls sounds appealing, both for its historical value as the 2nd ttrpg ever published, plus sounding like a rules-liter version of D&D. I admit to knowing the least about the Fantasy Trip besides it being Steve Jackson's take on "D&D-style fantasy."

One ttrpg I considered is Warhammer Fantasy, but from what I know of the franchise it's heavier on the wargame side than the RPG side, and I'm not that into wargames.

Fans of 'old-school' non-D&D fantasy, sell me on your favorite systems! What does it offer that D&D and other RPGs don't have? What's the coolest stuff from their lore?

 

[Tonguez]

When I say "old school," I'm mostly thinking of the 70s to 80s, but at its broadest I can extend this to pre-2000s games.

While D&D is the top dog of fantasy ttrpgs, I've been more interested in checking out alternatives after getting more into Pathfinder. While there's quite a bit of newish games out there, I'm interested in older, well-established games that have been around the block. I'm also interested in the more recent Editions of said games if those are better-designed than the original versions.

Offhand, I'm aware of and am interested in Chivalry & Sorcery, RuneQuest/Glorantha, Tunnels & Trolls, the Fantasy Trip, and Ars Magica. Chivalry & Sorcery and Ars Magica are appealing for being closer to an "historical fantasy feudal" vibe, and RuneQuest/Glorantha has a very long-running community and I am already semi-familiar with the d100 BRP system. Tunnels & Trolls sounds appealing, both for its historical value as the 2nd ttrpg ever published, plus sounding like a rules-liter version of D&D. I admit to knowing the least about the Fantasy Trip besides it being Steve Jackson's take on "D&D-style fantasy."

One ttrpg I considered is Warhammer Fantasy, but from what I know of the franchise it's heavier on the wargame side than the RPG side, and I'm not that into wargames.

Fans of 'old-school' non-D&D fantasy, sell me on your favorite systems! What does it offer that D&D and other RPGs don't have? What's the coolest stuff from their lore?

Try Warhammer Fantasy , its not Wargamey at all, but it is low powered, grim and has high character mortality. I've seen it described as playing a doomed peasant facing cosmic horror with a rusty sword, thats fair (and fun)

Pendragon will give you lots of Arthurian Court Romance and Chivalry with very low 'magic' (unless you lean in to the Faerie lore)

Palladium Fantasy was fun back in the day

 

[overgeeked]

I would suggest rethinking your stance on Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay. It’s based on the wargame, yes, but it’s absolutely its own thing and every inch an RPG. The setting is fantastically detailed and lots of it is quite cool. It’s darkly comedic and very British. It also has one of the more famous adventure paths, maybe one of the first, in the Enemy Within campaign. If you take the time, I’d suggest looking at 1E or 2E for the base game and the new version of Enemy Within from Cubicle 7.

The only other of those you list I have any experience with is Tunnels & Trolls. It’s a great light system with a fair bit more abstraction than most other games. Like WFRP above it has tongue firmly planted in cheek. It’s been ages so any detailed description I give of the system would be wrong.

Last I’d suggest checking out Dragonbane. It was originally a Swedish fork of RuneQuest but quickly became it’s own thing. I have no experience with the original Swedish version (Drakar och Demoner), but the Free League version is absolutely fantastic. Great system and wonderful art.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Offhand, I'm aware of and am interested in Chivalry & Sorcery, RuneQuest/Glorantha, Tunnels & Trolls, the Fantasy Trip, and Ars Magica. Chivalry & Sorcery and Ars Magica are appealing for being closer to an "historical feudal fantasy" vibe, and RuneQuest/Glorantha has a very long-running community and I am already semi-familiar with the d100 BRP system. Tunnels & Trolls sounds appealing, both for its historical value as the 2nd ttrpg ever published, plus sounding like a rules-liter version of D&D. I admit to knowing the least about the Fantasy Trip besides it being Steve Jackson's take on "D&D-style fantasy."

One ttrpg I considered is Warhammer Fantasy, but from what I know of the franchise it's heavier on the wargame side than the RPG side, and I'm not that into wargames.

Honestly, all of these sound at least worth a session to me.

I would probably also toss Pendragon on the list, although Chivalry & Sorcery obviously occupies a very similar space and you probably wouldn't want to play those two back to back.

 

[Laurefindel]

Pendragon, Ars Magika, and Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay each represent a different aspect of fantasy European feudal/imperial era. Each are worth playing IMO, and you’ll get a very different vibe out of each game.

Ars Magika is the most immersed in the medieval paradigm, despite all the magic, while Pendragon is a romantic representation of it, while WFRP adds a stronger fantasy spin to it.

BTW, Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay has as much (or as little) to do with wargaming as D&D does, even if both games have origins in wargames. The only difference is that unlike D&D, the Warhammer wargame still exists alongside the RPG and share a similar setting (though they’ve been hard at work to reconcile the two settings for years, I’m not up to date with the current state to Warhammer).

 

[Mark Craddock]

WFRP was published in 1986 so to me its not "old school". But that is just me.

 

[Laurefindel]

WFRP was published in 1986 so to me its not "old school". But that is just me.

Yeah, Ars Magica, Pendragon, and WFRP are all mid-eighties games. Whether that is « old school » is debatable.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Yeah, Ars Magica, Pendragon, and WFRP are all mid-eighties games. Whether that is « old school » is debatable.

You've got to be of a certain age to say "nah, that 40 year old stuff is too new-fangled for me."

 

[MGibster]

You've got to be of a certain age to say "nah, that 40 year old stuff is too new-fangled for me."

"My car gets 40 rods to the hogshead and that's how I like it!" I'm certainly not one to quibble too much on definitions, but I'd have to say if you've been around for nearly 40 years in a hobby that's only 51 years old at this point, you're probably old school.

 

[Thomas Shey]

It might be worth taking a shot at DragonQuest too. I had problems with some elements (particularly to do with how mages worth) but it was a system with some virtues.