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Friday, February 8, 2013

What is Your Favorite OSR Release?

I know there are hundreds of OSR releases over the last few years. Rules, adventures, supplements, monsters, classes, etc, etc, etc...

It is really hard to choose.

So I'm going to choose to. One classic and one recent.

The classic choice for me is Barrowmaze. It's an exciting tweak on the classic Megadungeon set up, and really begs to be used. I also want to learn more about the world of Barrowmaze.

Recent has to be the Terratic Tome. It really is a most amazing monster supplement. I want to know more about the world these monsters inhabit.

So, what are your favorite releases?
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21 comments:

  1. Wayne R.February 8, 2013 at 9:26 PM

    Probably still the Dungeon Alphabet. It's a book of tables, which I love, with great art and illustrations.

    I've loved Fight On! because it's a tremendous community project and I'm a small part of the community. I liked Monsters of Myth, Pod-Caverns of the Sinister Shroom, Stonehell, Anomalous Subsurface Environment, Many Gates of the Gann, and Realms of Crawling Chaos. Haven't read enough of Barrowmaze I and II to have a solid opinion yet. An Echo, Resounding seems really cool from what I'v eseen.

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  2. ravencrowkingFebruary 8, 2013 at 9:27 PM

    You are bang on when you say Barrowmaze, which is one of the best rpg products in recent years.

    Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG is my other favourite...that game, and anything to do with it.

    Barrowmaze run under the DCC rules? Pure gold.

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  3. Gothridge ManorFebruary 8, 2013 at 9:42 PM

    Tome of Adventure Design or Tome of Horrors are both up there. But I think I would have to pick Magical Medieval Society: Western Europe by Joe Browning. I believe it was one of the first things I bought in my return to old school gaming and a book I frequently return to.

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  4. maasenstodtFebruary 8, 2013 at 9:51 PM

    Tough question given all the great stuff out there...

    Adventure-wise, I'd say Tomb of the Iron God is as close to perfection as I've seen.

    Campaign setting-wise, I find that The Isle of the Unknown calls out to me in a way that no other setting I've read does.

    Monster-wise, Exquisite Corpses just edges out the Random Esoteric Creature Generator.

    Rules-wise, Swords & Wizardry: Complete probably comes out on top.

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  5. Black VulmeaFebruary 8, 2013 at 9:59 PM

    Backswords & Bucklers Tavern Trawling supplement.

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  6. JoethelawyerFebruary 8, 2013 at 10:19 PM

    LOTFP

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    1. ravencrowkingFebruary 9, 2013 at 9:08 AM

      Doh! How could I not have mentioned that every James Raggi product is also bloody excellent?!?!!?

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  7. Digital OrcFebruary 8, 2013 at 10:31 PM

    Labyrinth Lord.

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  8. Timothy S. BrannanFebruary 8, 2013 at 11:29 PM

    Labyrinth Lord or Basic Fantasy.

    The Terratic Tome is also really nice.

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  9. Doctor FuturityFebruary 8, 2013 at 11:31 PM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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    1. Doctor FuturityFebruary 8, 2013 at 11:32 PM

      Pars Fortuna. J.M. Stater's finest creative work on NyQuil. Seriously...this book is to S&W is what EPT was to OD&D.

      (Sorry, no edit option in bar and too tired to type without typos)

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  10. Geoffrey McKinneyFebruary 8, 2013 at 11:46 PM

    I of course like my two books, since I write what I like! Of the two, I like Isle of the Unknown more.

    But if I exclude my two books, my favorite OSR publication is James Raggi's Random Esoteric Creature Generator. It totally revolutionized the way I look at monsters, and it has restored a lot of the newness and wonder I felt when I first started playing D&D back in 1980.

    Honorable mention: Matthew Finch's 30 spells in Eldritch Weirdness. Those are the best D&D magic-user spells I've ever seen (along with some of the new spells in the LotFP game).

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  11. Ken NortonFebruary 8, 2013 at 11:49 PM

    Favorite system: Labyrinth Lord.
    Favorite adventure: Anomalous Subsurface Environment

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  12. faoladhFebruary 9, 2013 at 12:05 AM

    Probably my favorite system to come out of the OSR is ACKS. Or S&W:Whitebox.

    I really like Many Gates of the Gann, but ASE is probably my favorite adventure so far (and I still haven't seen Barrowmaze).

    Carcosa is the best setting, even though I doubt that I'd run it alone (as a "world beyond the magic gate", though, it will probably see use).

    Vornheim is the best GM tool.

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  13. ljFebruary 9, 2013 at 1:10 AM

    1)Tome of Adventure Design
    2)S&W:Whitebox
    3)Everything that Basic Fantasy has put out.

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  14. Andy BartlettFebruary 9, 2013 at 2:59 AM

    It'll change from week to week. At the moment, DCC RPG and/or the Dungeon Alphabet top the list.

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  15. Tim SniderFebruary 9, 2013 at 8:04 AM

    Favorite OSR game system: Mutant Future. Why? Because it's Gamma World with the OGL.
    Favorite supplement: Gotta be ASE 1 and 2 for the sheer WTF of the setting.
    Runner up: Terratic Tome. An amazing book. My jaw literally dropped when it arrived.

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  16. Guy FullertonFebruary 9, 2013 at 11:53 AM

    Tomb of the Iron God
    Pod-Caverns of the Sinister Shroom
    Death Frost Doom (incl. The Tower)
    Cairn of the Skeleton King
    Operation Unfathomable (from Knockspell #5)
    Swords & Wizardry ("I don't often play retro-clones, but when I do ...")

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  17. Guy FullertonFebruary 9, 2013 at 11:54 AM

    Forgot one:
    PPP's Dungeon Maps #1 and Dungeon Maps #2

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  18. Guy FullertonFebruary 9, 2013 at 11:58 AM

    Gah! I forgot yet another great one that I use all the time:
    CDD#2 Old School Spells Reference

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  19. NathanielFebruary 10, 2013 at 12:33 AM

    It'd be hard to choose between Kevin Crawford's stuff.

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