Interest check in old-school D&D game

[Libertad]

I wish to set up a Play-by-Post game here on Min-Max, with me as the DM.  I own many retroclones with interesting and unique spins on traditional D&D, but I have yet to play any of them.

Due to the relative interchangeability of many of the rulesets (think 3.5 and Pathfinder), I'm not stuck on any one and would like to offer a few of them, and we can decide which sounds the coolest.


Adventurer Conqueror King System: Retroclone with an emphasis on "rages to riches," where the PCs start out as small-time adventurers, but eventually become regional powers in their own right.  In addition to ruling regions, provinces, and eventually entire nations, each class has their own unique abilities and shticks.  Fighters are accomplished warlords and can cleave through hordes of enemies, thieves can do sneaky stuff and run their own guilds/crime syndicates, magic-users can perform arcane research and breed new monsters, and more.

Available for $10 on Drive-Thru RPG.


Labyrinth Lord: A Basic D&D retroclone, currently the one with the most 3rd-party support and settings on the market.  Available for free as an artless PDF on Goblinoid Games and Drive-Thru RPG.


Swords & Wizardry: An Original D&D retroclone with streamlined house rules for faster play, such as a single saving throw and weapons doing the same damage.  Current version is "Swords & Wizardry Complete," which incorporates some 1st Edition concepts, and is available for free legally here.


Lamentations of the Flame Princess: Basic D&D retroclone which draws elements from weird fantasy and horror.  Less high-fantasy and much more lethal than other retroclones.  Art-free version available for free on Drive-Thru RPG.


Spears of the Dawn: Retroclone which is sort of its own, draws heavy inspiration from the myths, history, and folklore of medieval Africa.  PCs are part of an organization dedicated to fighting the remnants of the Eternal, the undead forces of a long-fallen civilization which threatened to overwhelm the Three Lands long ago.  Available for $10 on Drive-Thru RPG, and the character creation section of the book is available for free.

I can tell you more about the specific rules and differences between the games if anyone asks.

So, any takers?


PS Free PDFs:

Labyrinth Lord, 2009 release (current version's not free)

Lamentations of the Flame Princess, Rules & Magic Free Version

Swords & Wizardry Complete

Chapter 1 of Spears of the Dawn

[Raineh Daze]

Potentially interested, I'll get back to you once I've had some time to actually look through these. Definitely more interested in the free ones, though; buying things I might never use/not like is something I can't really afford right now.

[oslecamo]

I'm also interested on trying one of the free ones. Lamentations of the Flame Princess seems particularly interesting to me.

[Raineh Daze]

That's the one I have the least interest in; I like high fantasy.

[Libertad]

Here are some free versions as PDF links:

Labyrinth Lord, 2009 release (current version's not free)

Lamentations of the Flame Princess, Rules & Magic Free Version

Swords & Wizardry Complete

[oslecamo]

That's the one I have the least interest in; I like high fantasy.

Just check out the illustrated sample adventure!

[Raineh Daze]

That's the one I have the least interest in; I like high fantasy.

Just check out the illustrated sample adventure!

But it's looking like only the magic free version is... uh, free. And that makes me sad.

[Libertad]

@Oslecamo: That's actually a separately-sold adventure module, but one of the more notable ones.


@Raineh Daze: LotFP proper is separated into 2 books: the Rules & Magic version, and the Referee Book.  Originally both were sold as part of a boxed set, but the creator stopped selling it to update the game.  Currently the latest Rules & Magic booklet is out (and free), but not the Referee's.

[oslecamo]

The free version includes magic rules, I'm reading it as I type this. Clerics get spells up to 7th level, elves and magic users up to 9th level.

And they also have this for free, promising even more magic!

[Raineh Daze]

Oh, so as in 'Rules and Magic', but free, not 'rules but no magic'. XD

Still, it's low fantasy, as it seems to be very... catholic Europe-y?

... Still not interested in the most lethal thing; I've had a character get poisoned, attacked by warped badgers, and nearly drowned twice tonight. @_@

[Libertad]

LotFP orginally started out as setting-less, but over time more and more of its supplements had a Renaissance Europe backdrop.  There's more than a few adventures set in a pseudo fantasy land, but most of those are the early books.

Oslecamo, your enthusiasm is palpable and appreciated, but I don't have plans to run either of those linked adventures right now.

[oslecamo]

Still extremely interested if the adventure you have planned includes summons with tentacles.

[zook1shoe]

The first interests me the most, the PDF appears to be free, the hardcover costs $

I like the idea of possibly ruling a kingdom. I was working on that idea in High Arcana before it died out

[Libertad]

The first interests me the most, the PDF appears to be free, the hardcover costs $

I like the idea of possibly ruling a kingdom. I was working on that idea in High Arcana before it died out

Adventurer Conqueror King's PDF is not free, and it does not have an online SRD (unlike Labyrinth Lord and Swords & Wizardry).  It has the OGL, so I can check to see how many of its rules are Open Game Content.*

ACKS' two major online retailers are Game Salute and Drive-Thru RPG.

There are domain management rules in the other games, but they're nowhere near as well-supported or engaging as ACKS (which is widely considered the best in its area).

*Edit: Found the text.  Looks like all of the game mechanics are Open Game Content:

DESIGNATION OF PRODUCT IDENTITY

The following is designated as product identity: All trademarks, registered trademarks, proper names (characters, deities, etc.), dialogue, plots, storylines, locations, characters, artworks, logos, symbols, graphic designs, and trade dress. Autarch™, Adventure Conqueror King™, Adventurer Conqueror King System™, ACKS™ are trademarks of Autarch™. Auran Empire™ is a trademark of Alexander Macris. The Auran Empire™ brand and all proper names, dialogue, plots, storylines, locations, and characters relating thereto are copyright 2011, Alexander Macris and used by Autarch™ under license.

DESIGNATION OF OPEN GAME CONTENT

All text and tables, with the exception of material specifically excluded in the declaration of product identity, are open game content.

[zook1shoe]

I guess I didn't realize it was a free PDF WITH a purchase of the game

oh well, yeah free stuff = good

next, I think the goblin one sounds fun

[Libertad]

Well, we've got 3 potentially interested players.  I'd like 1 one more, but 3 should be enough at a minimum.

I live on the East Coast of the United States for time zone purposes.  I get home from work around 5 to 6 PM weekdays, and go to sleep around 1 AM.  Meaning that my most active times for PbP should be between 6:30 and midnight.  We all don't need to be on at the same time, but that could potentially speed things up.

Regardless of the retroclone we pick, I plan on designing a homebrew setting instead of using an established one.  Basically I'll make up and expand details as the campaign goes on, and you can have limited input within reason if you've got a neat character concept or backstory (just don't be egregious with this liberty).  In true old-school fashion it will use a hexcrawl map.

[FlaminCows]

If you need one more, then I could easily fit the bill, and if there's a vote for which one of those we play, I vote for Spears of the Dawn.

[Libertad]

If you need one more, then I could easily fit the bill, and if there's a vote for which one of those we play, I vote for Spears of the Dawn.

Oddly enough, that book doesn't have an OGC, so I don't know what parts are okay to use.  But the art is all part of the public domain, which is cool.  I don't think that the author would have a problem with me posting some of the core game mechanics for other players here.

Anyway, votes are a good idea.  I figure Oslecamo wants LotFP, and zook1shoe wants Labyrinth Lord.

[Gazzien]

If you need one more, then I could easily fit the bill, and if there's a vote for which one of those we play, I vote for Spears of the Dawn.

Oddly enough, that book doesn't have an OGC, so I don't know what parts are okay to use.  But the art is all part of the public domain, which is cool.  I don't think that the author would have a problem with me posting some of the core game mechanics for other players here.

Anyway, votes are a good idea.  I figure Oslecamo wants LotFP, and zook1shoe wants Labyrinth Lord.

I'm not even looking to play and I vote for LotFP, just because the "Summon" spell is ridiculous and wonderful.

[zook1shoe]

I'd be fine w Spear (if only it were free) or LotFP