The Most Straightforward Modern OSR Game Available?

OSR fans might find The Black Hack from David Black interesting. Based on the original edition of D&D in the 1970s, it claims to be "the most straightforward modern OSR compatible clone available". It's short - 20 half-sized pages - and is on Kickstarter right now, already funded. David has kindly sent me along an exclusive preview of the game!

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You can find the Kickstarter here. If fast and streamlined is your thing, this is certainly an option. The rewards seem very generous - £1 for the PDF, or £5 for the print version - and bonus stretch goals like printed character sheets, a micro-setting, and a GMs screen have already been unlocked. Given the low buy-in, it seems like a no-brainer for fans of this style of game.

 

[Psikerlord#]

Yep, the roll under stat (for various things) has been around since at least the early eighties... and probably since the seventies.

I personally think the roll under stat (with modifiers) is a much better system than making up easy/mod/hard DCs.

 

[Lucas Yew]

And you sold me this rules. I backed a few minutes ago. But I do have some more questions on this...

1. What kind of copyright license governs this ruleset? (like the OGL, CC, etc.)

2. Is the PDF finished already, ready to be sent when the project succeeds?

 

[DavidBlack]

The project uses the OGL

The pdf is finished - i'm just putting the finishing touches to the GM screen (3rd stretch goal)

 

[Neonchameleon]

Not to sound overly snarky or harsh, but how many OSR clones can the hobby support? There are so many of them out there now and I wonder how many are actually played by more than a few dozen people.

Why does that matter? I don't expect some of the games I've written to be played by even a few dozen people. This doesn't mean I consider it time wasted. Game design is itself a rewarding thing to do.

I had somethings very similar to usage dice in my earlier drafts of WOIN. It proved pretty unpopular in play though. Flukes or bad luck meant you could stock up on arrows and yet still run out 3 shots later. It didn't sit well with players and it got removed in playtests.

This version looks to have a but more buffering inbuilt, so might avoid that issue.

Also there's a tone-mismatch between that sort of mechanic and WOIN; I don't think you'd disagree with me saying that WOIN has relatively detailed and predictable mechanics and is intended for planning. Randomness of that sort doesn't really fit the way it does in a game where you can fit character sheets onto post-it notes and the whole thing works on a wing and a prayer. Not all good ideas work in all games.

I wouldn't have said that the OSR fit naturally into the sort of game that wanted usage dice (no game with 10 foot poles as trapfinding equipment does) but this might be a light enough game where it works.

 

[Lucas Yew]

So about 3 days left before I get my PDF first. I recently got hooked up with roll-under bell curve style systems, hence the backing. Let's see what the end result be...

 

[DavidBlack]

The PDF has been released - any KS backers should already have it - if you'r not a KS bacer and curious, you can pick it up over at OBS/RPGnow for like $2.00?

Happy to answer any questions anyone has.

 

[Asaki]

The Roll under (and not equal) is a bit unusual, but the system looks extremely easy and fun.

That's how I houserule B/X, I like it a lot better than having a huge list of skills to manage...but different strokes for different folks.

Pretty sure I read it in another rule book, but I can't recall off the top of my head. Might've been Rules Cyclopedia or DCC or something.

Also spellcasting and the usage die mechanic sound fun...

Yeah, I really like the sound of it, especially for those who are too lazy to keep track of that sort of thing (me).

Last Night on Earth has a similar mechanic, albeit more dramatic. It's all d6 based, and depending on the weapon, a roll of 1 or 2 means "click". Really makes for some tense moments.

On the other hand, d20 Modern handles expenses in a similar way, and it makes very little sense.

Not to sound overly snarky or harsh, but how many OSR clones can the hobby support?

People are always going to make house rules. If you're going to go through the trouble of organizing everything digitally, it doesn't really hurt to share it with the rest of the Internet.