Tenkar's Tavern: Lessons Learned - This Weekend I Will DM By My Own Book ;)

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Lessons Learned - This Weekend I Will DM By My Own Book ;)

The last 2 weekends I tried to run the sessions "by the book", both in regards to system (Ambition & Avarice Beta) and adventure (Dwimmermount). I think I've learned that adventures aren't a good fit for BTB, at least for me and my players. It was an interesting attempt if nothing else.

This weekend will be the third session of A&A that I'll be running. The adventure itself, a dungeon crawl, is also in an unreleased beta form (extremely polished) and has already been revised since I started my reading (Greg, if you are reading this - no more changes before game time please ;)

I'm willing to tweak things from what's written if it makes things work better for the session, which was part of my failure the last two sessions - by the book can certainly be a recipe for failure.

At least I have no problem with killing PCs - I think I've dropped 3 over the last 2 sessions. I haven't lost my Old School DM cred yet ;)

No comments:

Why "Swords & Wizardry?"

Believe me when I say I have them all in dead tree format. I have OSRIC in full size, trade paperback and the Player's Guide. I have LL and the AEC (and somewhere OEC, but I can't find it at the moment). Obviously I have Basic Fantasy RPG. Actually, I have the whole available line in print. Way too much Castles & Crusades. We all know my love for the DCC RPG. I even have Dark Dungeons in print, the Delving Deeper boxed set, Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea. BOTH editions of LotFP's Weird Fantasy and some dead tree copies of the Greyhawk Grognards Adventures Dark & Deep

I am so deep in the OSR when I come up for breath it's for the OSR's cousin, Tunnels & Trolls

So, out of all that, why Swords & Wizardry? Why, when I have been running a AD&D 1e / OSRIC campaign in Rappan Athuk am I using Swords & Wizardry and it's variant, Crypts & Things, for the second campaign? (Actually, now running a S&W Complete campaign, soon to be with multiple groups)

Because the shit works.

It's easy for lapsed gamers to pick up and feel like they haven't lost a step. I can house rule it and it doesn't break. It plays so close to the AD&D of my youth and college years (S&W Complete especially) that it continually surprises me. Just much less rules hopping than I remember. (my God but I can run it nearly without the book)

I grab and pick and steal from just about all OSR and Original resources. They seem to fit into S&W with little fuss. It may be the same with LL and the rest, but for me the ease of use fit's my expectations with S&W.

Even the single saving throw. That took me longer to adjust to, but even that seems like a natural to me now. Don't ask me why, it just does. Maybe it's the simplicity of it. At 45 52, simplicity and flexibility while remaining true to the feel of the original is an OSR hat trick for me ;)

Swords & Wizardry Light - Forum

RPGNow

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Lessons Learned - This Weekend I Will DM By My Own Book ;)

No comments:

Post a Comment

Blogs of Inspiration & Erudition