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

[Voadam]

Also be aware that if you go for the Mongoose Runequest interim editions (which have SRDs) know that lorewise it is set in a prehistory of the other Runequest Glorantha settings with a major Dragon empire and god learner ones heading to catastrophe conflict. The current RQ:AIG has huge statless lorebooks that would be useful whatever edition you were checking out.

There are a bunch of non Glorantha things built off of the Mongoose Runequest rules sets as well, Clockwork and Chivalry, Raiders of Ryleh, and Mongoose had an Elric series. Mythras has also done a bunch of non-Glorantha setting stuff.

 

[dbolack]

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.
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?

The only things that pop into my head after hitting the end of this list are a little weirder/off the path, like Swordbearer or Bushido.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

I finished reading Tunnels & Trolls Deluxe Edition. Overall, I like it and would be open to playing it. I like how it has a less serious feel than D&D, but not outright parody like pre-4e HackMaster. The spell names are not entirely to my liking, though. I like the streamlining of combat into combining damage dice values where both sides roll off against each other, although I am concerned that rolling bucketfuls of dice can get cumbersome unless someone uses a VTT macro for calculating results. Given how important dice values are, to my initial reading it does look like it favors using bigger and bigger weapons like two-handed swords and such. I dunno if using smaller weapons such as daggers and shortbows would be suboptimal to continue using past low levels.

Tunnels and Trolls is a lot of fun. But yeah, some of those spell names have not aged well. The way it abstracts combat works, but requires a different way to approach the game conceptually.

As for rolling buckets of dice, I feel like for some games it's a feature, not a bug (see also Shadowrun).

1. Arduin Trilogy: not solely fantasy in genre, but most of the content is geared towards that genre. Could be interesting to see how someone's set of D&D house rules developed into its own game. The most complete version looks to be this one in collecting all three books of the trilogy.

Arduin is wild. It's got a unique flavor that in a lot of ways flies in the face of the standardization of fantasy that followed in the wake of D&D's release.

I do really like the optional rules in it that flatten HP acquisition. You get more at the start, but gain very slowly from there on out as you level up. It makes lower level characters sturdier while decreasing HP bloat.

 

[Voadam]

The spell names are not entirely to my liking, though.

Take that you fiend!

 

[The Soloist]

I've learned to appreciate and love the Tunnels & Trolls system via The Lair of the Leopard Empresses RPG by Mindjammer Games. It's very well written and explained. The setting is detailed and rich. Very good for soloing, which I'm doing with a fighter on a quest from a mysterious woman wearing a silk veil.

 

[The Soloist]

The Fantasy Trip: the fact that the game is split up into shorter, simpler rulesets before moving on to the fuller product should make for some speedy reading. I imagine it'll be easier to digest the rules than Chivalry & Sorcery or Arduin.

Melee and Wizard is fun as an arena gladiator combat game. While the rules are short, it's a rather complex combat system that takes time to master and play well. I found that the granularity of possible combat actions slowed down the RPG too much for my taste.

 

[darjr]

I had this until I gifted it to a friend. Funny thing is I think it was originally brought over from England and as a gift it went back!

Half of it is indeed a wargame, the other half is the rpg.

 

[Parmandur]

Seems thisnthread has mostly focused on fantasy old school games, but one of the elder games of the medium, Traveller, has the original old school rules available for free st DriveThru, which has everything needed for tons of play:

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/355200/classic-traveller-facsimile-edition

And if that appeals, the current edition from Mongoose is pretty dang Old School still, very compatible with older material.