tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1412961723204442195.post4575972980259779918..comments2023-11-03T02:45:51.290-05:00Comments on nerdwerds: OSR comparison / reviewPatrick Mallahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04906639025904535922noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1412961723204442195.post-78697946476714538182015-03-10T12:16:47.845-05:002015-03-10T12:16:47.845-05:00Very nice write up!
I think the encumbrance in yo...Very nice write up! <br />I think the encumbrance in your ACKS example is too high though. By the rules you carry 9 pieces if small equipment so that counts as 2 (with some room for a weapon like a mace) and with leather and shield that ends up at 5. Cyril would therefore count as unencumbered in ACKS giving him full movement rate. :) Florianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12070303354998453280noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1412961723204442195.post-54398943669542359192014-02-03T14:36:36.073-06:002014-02-03T14:36:36.073-06:00Actually... I wrote Cyril up in DCC. A follow-up t...Actually... I wrote Cyril up in DCC. A follow-up to this post will be going up (sooner or later).Patrick Mallahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04906639025904535922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1412961723204442195.post-89826780094509849092014-02-03T09:04:48.860-06:002014-02-03T09:04:48.860-06:00Wot no Dungeon Crawl Classics?Wot no Dungeon Crawl Classics?Eadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12395614121333996756noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1412961723204442195.post-8194281340473038222014-01-07T02:11:50.259-06:002014-01-07T02:11:50.259-06:00It's been pointed out elsewhere that my math w...It's been pointed out elsewhere that my math was slightly off. However, the difference is only 1 point.Patrick Mallahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04906639025904535922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1412961723204442195.post-43869964425755014032014-01-06T22:06:11.749-06:002014-01-06T22:06:11.749-06:00But why not have both, an index for each individua...But why not have both, an index for each individual book and then also have a multi-book index pdf?Patrick Mallahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04906639025904535922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1412961723204442195.post-1525662763053721802014-01-06T20:30:25.373-06:002014-01-06T20:30:25.373-06:00Heh... I am ever the soul of tact. :-)
It's a...Heh... I am ever the soul of tact. :-)<br /><br />It's a fair point about the index, but I personally found the opposite to be true. I hated to have to look in two or even three indices to get all the references to a given question. Personal preference on that one, methinks.<br /><br />Two minor things, though. The tables for determining weight are in the section for race for a reason, as the second thing you have to do to create a character (after rolling your stats). It would seem that the only way you would need to "find the page" for it would be to skip over the section, and then need to double back.<br /><br />Also, I would point out that the two-tables-needed-to-find-your-to-hit-number comment is slightly misleading. You only need to consult the first table once, when you create the character, and then only update the result when you go up levels. Otherwise, just look at your character sheet to determine the attack column. So it's only one table, like the others, in regular combat.Greyhawk Grognardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13929743865700766901noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1412961723204442195.post-71258460843411566852014-01-06T17:27:05.798-06:002014-01-06T17:27:05.798-06:00see Willow's comment above
:)see Willow's comment above<br />:)Patrick Mallahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04906639025904535922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1412961723204442195.post-32772960592999690482014-01-06T17:26:29.619-06:002014-01-06T17:26:29.619-06:00I was actually surprised a how lenient some of the...I was actually surprised a how lenient some of the rules are for players. You'll notice that I did point out the player-favorable exception of LotFP's character creation rules. And as I said in my conclusion, this system is the most interesting.<br /><br />I do think the game is unforgiving if not outright brutal just based on the numbers I'm seeing. LotFP is the only system where Cyril has a 20% chance to hit his clone (17 or higher), the other systems all fall into 30% or 40% chances. I would call that unforgiving all by itself. But I also don't think that is a bad thing, just a style of play.<br />I've played through a few of Raggi's modules and those are brutal! (regardless of the rules)Patrick Mallahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04906639025904535922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1412961723204442195.post-35003708866183601732014-01-06T17:21:25.013-06:002014-01-06T17:21:25.013-06:00I grew up with the Basic and Expert rules, but I d...I grew up with the Basic and Expert rules, but I didn't really learn the rules while using those books. I remember looking at the equipment list a lot when I was 7 years old and trying to figure out what a water clock is (we didn't have wikipedia back then). <br /><br />As for S&W, they also have four different versions of their rulebook for sale up on lulu with little distinction between them. That's confusing all by itself. The Core Rules are billed as everything you need to make a character and play.Patrick Mallahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04906639025904535922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1412961723204442195.post-15478775936410165342014-01-06T17:16:08.026-06:002014-01-06T17:16:08.026-06:00I'm subscribed to your blog and I really enjoy...I'm subscribed to your blog and I really enjoy your writing, so I was worried you would take offense at my criticisms. Thank you for being so gracious!<br /><br />Alas, I only own the Player's Manual, and I was trying to mimic just being handed the physical book and asked to write up a character. I limited myself to only go searching pdf versions if I really couldn't find what I was looking for, which only happened with S&W during this exercise. <br /><br />I think having an index for each individual book is better than a universal index because I don't know too many gamers who are collectors. Patrick Mallahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04906639025904535922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1412961723204442195.post-88498196081725737602014-01-06T17:13:14.657-06:002014-01-06T17:13:14.657-06:00Yes, I also appreciate your level of detail in the...Yes, I also appreciate your level of detail in these comparisons. Very helpful when considering the merits/flaws of each.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16926031212446367281noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1412961723204442195.post-57091991940080556872014-01-06T17:10:47.578-06:002014-01-06T17:10:47.578-06:00The rules for torches are in the book, but I had t...The rules for torches are in the book, but I had to use the search function in the pdf to find it and this was not something I did while writing the character. (I've been sitting on this blog post for three weeks, but I wanted to wait until the new year before I scanned in my character sheets.) My exercise was meant to emulate what it was like to just be handed a rulebook and make a character. Patrick Mallahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04906639025904535922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1412961723204442195.post-89892259070525371762014-01-06T16:44:46.268-06:002014-01-06T16:44:46.268-06:00Great comparison!
Rules for torches are found und...Great comparison!<br /><br />Rules for torches are found under "Light and Vision" on page 37 of the LotFP Rules & Magic bookFhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02312051861535106381noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1412961723204442195.post-18394793137720049052014-01-06T09:59:32.097-06:002014-01-06T09:59:32.097-06:00Nice write up, I've played a few of them and I...Nice write up, I've played a few of them and I find I like LOTFP a lot for ease but its fixes are rather easy to shift over.<br /><br />One thing I would say is that LOTFP is less deadly then it wants you to think. It has pretty forgiving death rules for one. Sure the modules are killers, but most of that is not mechanically enforced (it's player choice not monsters that lead to deaths). With homebrewed or other modules the danger level would fluctuate wildly.<br /><br />Despite its death metal look/feel LOTFP isn't really that unforgiving - especially compared to B/X. It just pretends like it's hardcore.Gus Lhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14872819206286105195noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1412961723204442195.post-87374596020865928332014-01-06T08:41:26.046-06:002014-01-06T08:41:26.046-06:00Surprised you couldn't find rules for torches ...Surprised you couldn't find rules for torches in Lamentations, since pretty much every adventure for that system says "the referee should make sure the rules for torches are strictly enforced" or something along those lines.<br /><br />Also, I find it amusing that in many games your 5 str weakling can lug around 100+ pounds of junk at no penalty.Willowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17008349798173954627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1412961723204442195.post-4615644083025314092014-01-06T08:30:19.586-06:002014-01-06T08:30:19.586-06:00Excellent write up and very informativeExcellent write up and very informativeKergillianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01682103438938372364noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1412961723204442195.post-14685207171329499702014-01-06T08:07:27.821-06:002014-01-06T08:07:27.821-06:00Swords & Wizardry Complete has an index, a lot...Swords & Wizardry Complete has an index, a lot more classes and more options, and is generally a better edition for comparison than Swords & Wizardry Core which you evaluate here. There are things missing from S&W in play, the most glaring of which for me is a morale system since that's an important part of how I run D&D and similar games.<br /><br />Labyrinth Lord's layout basically mimics that of the 1981 Basic and Expert sets, with the obvious difference that LL is one book while Basic and Expert are two separate books. So people familiar with B/X will know their way around LL immediately, while those accustomed to something else will find it takes a bit more getting used to.Wayne R.https://www.blogger.com/profile/04118962136054206381noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1412961723204442195.post-83607423493368486992014-01-06T07:35:14.864-06:002014-01-06T07:35:14.864-06:00For Adventures Dark and Deep, you'll find all ...For Adventures Dark and Deep, you'll find all of the weapons info on a single page, on p. 247. It's intended for folks who want to photocopy it to have all the combat tables handily available.<br /><br />A comprehensive index for all three of the core rulebooks is coming soon as a free download. It obviously wasn't possible until all three books were published. :-)<br /><br />You're actually the first person to complain about the organization of the Players Manual. The book, as you intuit, follows the structure of the 1st edition AD&D Players Manual by design, but if you have some concrete suggestions, I'd be happy to take a look. <br /><br />Thanks overall for the review, even if ADD didn't end up looking too good in your eyes.Greyhawk Grognardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13929743865700766901noreply@blogger.com