iamtim

I have, yes. It is a good introduction. What I found, though, is that there are some... differences. Like, for instance, I bought it because I was joining a HERO game with a bunch of LOOOOOOONG time HERO-heads. The Basic book seemed like a good place to start - because I wasn't going to buy the set of encyclopedias which are the full HERO rules - and I created a character. Of course, the character had powers, and some of those powers had drawbacks. So, I created the powers using what was in the Basic book. But when the GM and the other players looked it over, I was... assaulted (LOL) with questions of "why did you do it this way?" "why didn't you do it this way?" "you're supposed to do that this way", and so on and so forth. It turns out that in making it basic, they've introduced differences... simplifying things and the like. So, if you want to get into HERO, and you want to give the Basic Rulebook a try, I would say GO FOR IT. It's a fun system if you like crunch and math and mechanics. But if you're going to play with the Basic rules, play with the Basic rules; don't integrate the Basic rules into a full rules game, unless the GM is willing to apply some handwavium and accept the differences, or someone is willing to do a few character updates to bring your character up to par with the full rules. I hope that makes sense. :)

Honestly? I would go with S&W Complete. It's very close to AD&D, just... simpler.

I played in a HERO 5th edition game for a long time. It's... a system, all right. The only way I'd consider it for a PbP would be if it were limited to the Basic Rulebook (a 138 page distillation of the two giant HERO books) and if there was some... pre-generation of powers and abilities by the GM.

I'm sure that I'm not unique in saying that I've been playing "OSR" since it wasn't old-school. I started playing D&D with Moldvay B/X D&D way back in like... '81. 2nd edition AD&D was my home for more years than I care to count. To this day, if I'm going to play D&D, I would much rather play B/X or AD&D 2E than anything which came after it (with exception to games like OSE or S&W, which have done a really good job of cleaning up, clarifying, and keeping interest in the old-school games). But I don't follow the OSR - as a community - any longer. There is a LOT of toxicity there. So now I just play what I like and what I enjoy. But yeah, if I were going to run a D&D game again, it would not be 5th edition, or 3rd edition (and while I own the 4th edition core books, I've never actually read them or played in a 4th edition game). It would be straight-up B/X or AD&D 2E (or, again, something like OSE or S&W). I'd certainly *play* 5th edition, but I won't run it.

Thanks for all the discussion. I've been dragging my feet on the game because I was having to really retrofit White Star to do the Force like I wanted, so I've decided to switch systems. I was originally going to run using the old WEG Star Wars system, but I've found a really cool streamlining/modification of that system called HyperspaceD6 I'm going to use. I'm working on getting the game up and running now, and will probably formally open it for players soon.

Aw, that's a shame. Personally, I love the Disney stuff, and I grew up on Star Wars. I saw Episode IV in the back of a Pinto wagon at a drive-in. :D   I was originally thinking of using Fate Accelerated. That would allow Force powers quite gracefully, I think. But I just finished running several TT FAE games, and I want something that's not Fate, LOL. White Star - being based on a 0E D&D clone - might be weird with Force powers. But I think with the situation in the game I'm going to run (set between VI and VII, Sith and Jedi are gone, but untrained Force users are still around) it might work out fine. You know, anyone Force-sensitive is learning and experimenting with the Force on their own, instead of being trained on specific paths, so it would be different. So... we'll see.    Woot! I'm putting the game together as we speak, will probably start recruiting soon.  

Star Wars. I've been dying to run a Star Wars game. I'm already setting the game up here, learning the interfaces and all that.   I actually have a Pop Vinyl Tim the Enchanter right on my desk next to me. :)   Awesome! One of my favorite editions of D&D is the Rules Cyclopedia (not the 4E implementation of the same name) that is pretty much the ultimate in BECMI D&D. Great stuff.  

  I am such a dork. Before I made that post I looked up and down the list of systems for Miscellaneous, Other, Custom, anything like that. I completely missed it. But now I see it, thanks for pointing it out! :D  

Hi there. I know I'm new, but I don't see an entry for White Star, a sci-fi OSR RPG based on Swords & Wizardry (published by Barrel Rider Games, under the Gallant Knight Games banner). I'd like to run a White Star game here, but can't set it up for lack of the system. If not that, maybe a generic "not listed" or "other" option, to be specified in the game description?  

Hi there. I'm looking to start up a Star Wars game, set between the end of Return of the Jedi and the beginning of The Force Awakens. Essentially, the Empire and the Sith have been largely destroyed (there are Imperial holdouts and warlords spread across the galaxy, but the New Republic generally has a handle on them) and the Jedi are all but non-existent (some hold out hope that they will return, but the last known Jedi has gone into hiding). It would be set initially on Batuu's Black Spire Outpost. Once a popular stopping point for those heading out to the Unknown Regions, the Black Spire Outpost lost popularity with the advent of hyperspace routes. However, eyes are starting to once again look to the Outpost as a very organized Imperial remnant calling itself the First Order has come out of the Unknown Regions and established itself on Batuu. The New Republic has responded by secretly establishing a base of "resistance" fighters on Batuu to keep an eye on the First Order and their activities in the Outpost. I'm a very "play to find out" GM, so initially I have no preset conceptions of the game beyond that. Players could be mercenaries, working for whoever pays the highest, they could be aligned with or operatives of either of the factions, they could be spies of one faction keeping tabs on the other, or something else I haven't listed here. My only caveat is that I don't want to deal with PvP. I would like to run this using White Star, a really cool, rules-light, old-school style RPG based on Swords & Wizardry/0E D&D. I don't see that in the game listing when I try to make the game, but I'll figure out what I need to do there. If I even can, LOL. Anyway, that's my pitch.

My name is Tim. I've been playing D&D and other RPGs since the early 1980s, starting with the Moldvay Basic/Expert D&D sets (the ones with cover illustrations by Erol Otus). It's been downhill since then, LOL. I've run an RPG publishing company, I've been an RPG podcast host, and I'm looking to dive back into the PbP arena again. I've run PbPs on other sites and on custom phpbb/ProBoards forums I've built for the purpose, and I'm looking at some other sites, but I really like what I see here. I do have a question about starting a new game, but I'm sure there's a better forum for that. Anyway, hi!