I’m playing a campaign that’s LotFP plus slot based encumbrance house rules, and I’ve been disappointed in a lot of hexcrawling rulesets I’ve seen from the OSR. I particularly don’t like Black Hack type usage dice / the Necropraxis overloaded encounter die, and that seems to be where thought has coalesced, with Errant being an example of a game that goes all in on that.
So I was delighted to discover that 1e AD&D has a supplement with workable mechanics for temperature (including wind chill!), foraging, hunting, etc. I need to massage it a little to fit into the LotFP skills system because it comes with its own but on the whole I’m excited that I have a way to go inside hexes and give players meaningful decisions about how they dress, where they camp, etc.
What about y’all, what material have you been reading recently?
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I just got the second edition of Ultra Violet Grasslands and have been reading it a lot.
I’m planning to run it at some point, but I didn’t like the system it comes with (Synthetic Dream Machine - the new version of SEACAT). Have anyone used other systems to run UVG? Any recommendations or tips? I’m thinking of using Into the Odd/Bastionland, but still not sure.
Mostly re-reading Classic Traveller 3 little black books from 1977. Amazing how much of a complete game is there and yet an open framework for implementing just about any sci-fi setting you can imagine. That is, if you’re willing to do the work that 1977 RPGs expected from referees. Definitely not an “open and just run table procedures” type of game!
I just got Outcast Silver Raiders and went straight to reading their hexcrawl setting book, and I’m loving it so far. The factions seem well thought out, and there’s just enough info there to spark my imagination. It might be the first hexcrawl I run! Not sure if I’ll use their rules or OSE yet though.
I’ve been on a Castles & Crusades kick lately. It’s nice being able to break out all the old modules I grew up with without having to jump through a bunch of hoops to make them play “right.” Reading through stuff like Castle Amber, Needle, and Secret on Bone Hill has had my mind racing and giving me a huge push towards running games again. It’s been great!
Between that and Sandbox Generator I’ve been able to put together a mountain of content for my players to poke at as they see fit.
Mostly reading Dark Dungeons the source book that arrived last week. Blue Holme journamann arrives tomorrow and I just ordered the Gold and Glory source book. Lot of source books lately.
I’ve been reading Gygax’s novels for the first time. Halfway through “Gord the Rogue” and it’s actually much better than I’d imagined! Very picaresque and grimey in an old-school fashion. I finally feel like Greyhawk clicks for me in a way that reading through a bunch of 2e products had failed to convey.
