Remathilis
Legend
It came in the mail today: My shiny Hardback of Basic Fantasy RPG (Basic Fantasy Role-Playing Game) fresh from Lulu/Amazon.
I started with Basic/Rules Cyclopedia D&D in 1992 (At the tender age of 13). In 94-95, I moved on to AD&D 2e, then 3e and 4e. I always moved on in the spirit of innovation: 2e offered dozens of classes (and races) that the RC didn't. 3e codified my house-rules and cleaned up the sprawling mess of 2e. 3.5 did the same to 3e. And now 4e came and promised me exciting combat maneuvers, re-imagined races and classes, and whiter-whites and less shedding. Each edition was a revision and improvement on the next.
Yet, something was missing. I'd grown as a DM and my plots reflected that growth, but somehow these newer games and their plethora of options began to taste funny. Maybe it was game where no one was a "classic" race (human, eladrin, warforged, dragonborn, tiefling) or the one where no there was only one classic class (wizard, warlock, barbarian, monk, psion) or the outlandish builds, splat supplements, broken spells, and complicated combat rules. While I loved the wide options and craved the balanced play, I wanted something else also.
I wanted to go home.
I wanted a world again where elves, halflings and dwarves were the demi-human races. Where fighters fought, mages thew fireballs, thieves stole, and clerics healed. A world where combat was simple, but lethal. Where minis were an option. A world where dragons and giants dominated the hierarchy of hack, not demon-du-jour. Small spell lists, custom-designed magical items (without the concept of figuring out cost to create) and PCs fit on a single sheet of paper, not a 4 page booklet with supplemental side-deck.
Basic Fantasy was my destination.
Some criticize it for not remaining true to its source (B/X). Good, I say. I own the RC, if I wanted to play Basic D&D, I'd use that. I wanted something that felt like the game of yore, but took into consideration modern enhancements like race/class spit, level limits removed, and upwards AC. Its modular (the Olde Dungeoneer's Almanack has plenty of options if I want to expand my game with half-orcs and rangers) its easy to convert from Basic, AD&D, C&C, or 3e, or I can run it right out of the single core book (something I haven't been able to do since, uh, the Cyclopedia).
Now, don't get me wrong. I still like 3e and 4e, and have soft spots for 2e and Basic.This isn't replacing my current game, not yet at least, and probably not ever. I can't make it 1992 again, I can't return to the gleeful innocence of my mom's kitchen table.
But soon, I will dust off my first module: an old Basic module from 1992 called the Haunted Tower. I will convert it to BFRPG (really, a case of reversing ACs) and my group will gen-up some PCs the old fashioned way; with 3d6, not 10 sourcebooks or with laptops. And we will go home again for a little while.
It will be marvelous...
I started with Basic/Rules Cyclopedia D&D in 1992 (At the tender age of 13). In 94-95, I moved on to AD&D 2e, then 3e and 4e. I always moved on in the spirit of innovation: 2e offered dozens of classes (and races) that the RC didn't. 3e codified my house-rules and cleaned up the sprawling mess of 2e. 3.5 did the same to 3e. And now 4e came and promised me exciting combat maneuvers, re-imagined races and classes, and whiter-whites and less shedding. Each edition was a revision and improvement on the next.
Yet, something was missing. I'd grown as a DM and my plots reflected that growth, but somehow these newer games and their plethora of options began to taste funny. Maybe it was game where no one was a "classic" race (human, eladrin, warforged, dragonborn, tiefling) or the one where no there was only one classic class (wizard, warlock, barbarian, monk, psion) or the outlandish builds, splat supplements, broken spells, and complicated combat rules. While I loved the wide options and craved the balanced play, I wanted something else also.
I wanted to go home.
I wanted a world again where elves, halflings and dwarves were the demi-human races. Where fighters fought, mages thew fireballs, thieves stole, and clerics healed. A world where combat was simple, but lethal. Where minis were an option. A world where dragons and giants dominated the hierarchy of hack, not demon-du-jour. Small spell lists, custom-designed magical items (without the concept of figuring out cost to create) and PCs fit on a single sheet of paper, not a 4 page booklet with supplemental side-deck.
Basic Fantasy was my destination.
Some criticize it for not remaining true to its source (B/X). Good, I say. I own the RC, if I wanted to play Basic D&D, I'd use that. I wanted something that felt like the game of yore, but took into consideration modern enhancements like race/class spit, level limits removed, and upwards AC. Its modular (the Olde Dungeoneer's Almanack has plenty of options if I want to expand my game with half-orcs and rangers) its easy to convert from Basic, AD&D, C&C, or 3e, or I can run it right out of the single core book (something I haven't been able to do since, uh, the Cyclopedia).
Now, don't get me wrong. I still like 3e and 4e, and have soft spots for 2e and Basic.This isn't replacing my current game, not yet at least, and probably not ever. I can't make it 1992 again, I can't return to the gleeful innocence of my mom's kitchen table.
But soon, I will dust off my first module: an old Basic module from 1992 called the Haunted Tower. I will convert it to BFRPG (really, a case of reversing ACs) and my group will gen-up some PCs the old fashioned way; with 3d6, not 10 sourcebooks or with laptops. And we will go home again for a little while.
It will be marvelous...
