One thing I loved about Holmes and Moldvay /Mentzer red boxes was having a set of rules that didn't overwhelm new players with lots of material that they won't need until later.

I know that most osr games are rules light enough that it isn't too much, but I was wondering if there are any systems out there that seperate out the 'basic' and 'expert / advanced' levels like that?

A particular peeve of mine is that spell descriptions seem so often to be presented alphabetical so that the 10 spells that might matter are lost in a bunch of pages. But even just class descriptions or saving throw tables that cover the whole range make level 1 look like a stepping stone, rather than a satisfying place to play many an adventure!

Any suggestions?

cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/2157285

Last night I ran a one-shot based on one of the scenarios from Kavlov's Sanctuary! Everybody had fun (at least that's what they told me so it must be true, right? 🤐 🤣) and it was nice to finally do a live play-- though I absolutely had some nervousness going on. If you're interested in any of the prep that I did, I streamed some of that earlier yesterday.

I created a simple stat roller for OSR/D&D with support for several different methods of dice rolling in Pico-8. It supports:

• 3d6
• 4d6 drop lowest
• 3d6 reroll 1s
• 4d4+2

Run it here! https://www.lexaloffle.com/bbs/?uid=56330

cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/1866866

Been thinking about loot for xp this weekend.

If you aren't familiar with Pico 8, the programs code is embedded in the image. Just find a pico8 player and you are good to go!

7/19/2023 CHANGE LOG -Changed it so each tool will retain its values as you scroll through the tools. -Clearly defined text positioning to fix compatability with pico-8 players. -Made POI's more prevelant in hex generator -Added some error handling to the dungeon room generator. -Character stats are now only held when you press the button with the generator up. -Added a sound effect for holding the stats. -Added place holder page for NPC generator. -Added the navigation ball to make it less confusing to flip between tools.

I was shocked but PDF+POD book is 7.92. I was able to order one shipped for just under 12 bucks.

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17010/Chainmail-Rules-for-Medieval-Miniatures-0e?manufacturers_id=44

It features very well written and designed PDFs for:

• Genre Rules
• Dungeon Master’s Guide
• Psionics and Magic
• Monster’s Manual
• Character Sheet

Cairn, by Yochai Gal, is getting a 2e and the playtest doc is linked in the announcement post. Among other changes, it contains some really cool new character backgrounds similar to Electric Bastionland. Check it out!

Personally I've played 1e and very much enjoyed it, but wished it had just a tiny more going on in character advancement and mechanics for running longer campaigns. Seems like I'm getting just what I want with this new version.

cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/1061234

Part of the charm (torture?) of old school D&D is gleaning at hints of play that appear in various nooks and crannies of rulebooks, supplements, and adventures. Here's one that I randomly ran into while reading module X1, "The Isle of Dread".

I'm trying to get back into blogs and rss feeds after a many year hiatus. But I'm finding it hard to find active rpg blogs, so if anyone's got any good recommendations please share! (tbh, doesn't even need to pure old-school, but I'd rather avoid a "WOTC awesome new dice set!" sites).