Is Lejendary Adventures any good?

[shadow]

I've been thinking of trying another system besides D&D for a while (yes, it's heresy). In many ways I've been a fan of lesser known systems. They may not have the support of a big company, so they're often a labor of love. I've been looking at Gary Gygax's Legendary Adventures for a while. Before I plunk down any more hard earned cash I have a few questions.

1. Is it any good? Are the rules too simple? complex? farly balanced?

2. What are the mechanics like? Is it an "old school" game?

3. What books do I need to play it? Can I run it with just the core book(s)?

 

[kenjib]

There are some quickstart sample rules here:

http://www.lejendary.com/la/downloads/LAqsRulesv106.pdf

I don't have the game and have only read the quickstart. So far, it looks great for an open, free-wheeling approach. I particularly like the way skills are handled under broad categories rather than focusing on the kinds of details d20 does. It seems to give a much more well rounded feel to the characters.

My impression is that d20 creates rules for anything and everything, whereas LA makes some broad guidelines from which to improvise. Rules heavy versus rules light.

 

[optimizer]

Howdy!

I have read the rules but have not ran a game yet. I hope to get my group to try it soon. It seems to me that LA has a "flavor" similar to OAD&D, although it is primarily skill-bundled based rather than class based. It does have a construct similar to classes, called Orders, but Orders are not required for a character.

The website www.lejendary.com is the main active discussion site if you would like to talk to others about the game.

Mike

 

[FunkBGR]

I like it!

Lejendary Adventure would be the game I would use if I could just convince my players to play something not d20. To me, it has enough going for it that it's SIMPLE (d% roll for most things, or a d20 for damage (usually)), it is VERY broad in what skills can do (the skill Weapons isn't just your melee fighting ability, it's also your ability to appraise them, etc.) and it lets the GM be VERY flexible. Plus - it's not level-based, which I like better, but to each their own.

I've only bought the core book that details character creation - because that's all I needed. It has lots of nice things that you can use for rules, but definitely don't have to. It's not for everyone though - definitely download the Quickrules and try a one shot with a group first - but definitely try it.

 

[Henry]

Lejendary Adventures (LA) is a quite popular game, and has quite a bit of support on its forums at www.Lejendary.com . I would also be remiss in not letting you know that www.dragonsfoot.org has LA forums with a quite active fanbase. Just beware that some d20 bashing may possibly occur in both of these forums, and I hope you can find some very useful resources in making your decision.

Another game to check into if you are into rules-lite at the current time is Savage Worlds by Pinnacle Entertainment Group. There is a whole set of Fast-play rules (a whopping six pages describes the basics of the whole system!) and can be had at www.peginc.com .

As with my Lejendary experience, I like the rules basics, but for my play value it leaves a few TOO many things open to GM interpretation, just as Original D&D did. If that works for your group, then it is a very worthwhile, and current supported, game.