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

[francisca]

I like RuneQuest 2e quite a bit as a change-up from D&D/D&-ish games. ( I never played the later versions). I also like the 1st edition of Stormbringer (1981), also from The Chaosium. And hey, since it is Chaosium's 50th anniversary, give them a look!

 

[Matrix Sorcica]

Isn't Against the Darkmaster supposed to basically be the same game with the Tolkien stuff scrubbed off?

It is not a clone of MERP, but more a spiritual successor. And awesome.

 

[Aldarc]

So I bought two RPGs. One of them is Dragonbane Core Set, the other is Draw Steel Heroes. Yes I'm aware that DS isn't "old school," but I've had my eye on it for a while and figured that having an "old school" and "new school" fantasy RPG to peruse would make for a good balance.

Good choices. There is a Dragonbane thread here in General Discussion if you have any questions.

 

[Crusadius]

- I.C.E's Middle Earth RPG is a classic of the era published in 1984. It uses simplified version of Rolemaster as base system. A d100 roll over system.

Middle-earth Role Playing - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

I have fond memories of MERP. I felt that it was a better game than Rolemaster (IIRC character creation was quite simple in comparison) and wished they had an expansion that carried on level progression past 10 rather than assuming people would pick up Rolemaster.

 

[Emerikol]

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."

I confess I do not like d100 games. Too much granularity for me. GURPS also falls in that category. It's been around since the 80's at least. GURPS 3e came out 1988.

 

[Libertad]

It's been over a month since I last posted here. Here's my update:

I finished reading Dragonbane. While it does look to have some neat stuff, it didn't overly wow me. The sample adventure seemed quite neat, although I'm not really feeling the idea of monster attacks being randomly-determined by die rolls, and I found some of the class choices to be a bit odd in terms of thematics if not necessarily by rules (the Mariner in particular). I would be interested in seeing how the rules work in actual play someday.

But! I picked up Tunnels & Trolls Deluxe 2015 Edition. Partly for its historical position in tabletop, partly because content is still being created for it by Ken St. Andre, and partly because it feels a bit on the lighter, wackier side in regards to themes from what I've seen out there for it.

 

[aramis erak]

Isn't Against the Darkmaster supposed to basically be the same game with the Tolkien stuff scrubbed off?

Not even scrubbed off; just given a fresh coat of paint. there are some mechanical changes, fairly minor.

It is not a clone of MERP, but more a spiritual successor. And awesome.

It's a clone, but it's not a strict retroclone, in that category of clones like DCC... the core is the same, the setting the same as far as mechanics go, but there are single edition level difference. I use Pseudoclone (a term I heard from others in the early 00's) for such.

Hell, it even clones the trade dress of MERP!!!

It doesn't keep the percentile values of the attributes - since MERP doesn't have the current/potential split of RM, the percentiles are there in MERP as vestige of RM. Going straight to the modifier value is a simplification. It uses the same method of each class has DP specified for each skill area, can transfer DP at 2:1, and how they're set is by class.
It has the same system of critical hits, but using names (Superficial, Light, Moderate, Greivous, and Lethal) instead of letters (A-E).
the General Resolution Table is slightly modified (75-99 instead of 74-90, and adjusting the adjacent).

It's far closer than a spiritual successor typically would be.