X1: The Isle of Dread

[Eric]

So, I said I was going to run a module next, and so I shall. I have retrieved X1 from my archives; it's a wilderness/hexploration adventure where the party follows the clues from a dead adventurer's log to seek treasure on the forbidden island.

While the module (as you can tell from the 1983 cover) was originally written for Basic D&D, and I'll gladly pick up that system any day, I am considering other rules-lite options as well. So, stout adventurers, who's interested? And what would you like to play? Vote in the poll, and explain yourselves below!

[cailano]

I voted for Basic D&D. Despite its quirks, I think it's among the best systems ever created for Fantasy RPGs.

My favorite systems take their engines from Basic and add more character options. Basic Fantasy is a great example of that sort of game.

But not everyone thinks the character options are important, and they have some good points. So, Basic is just fine with me. B/X or BECMI, really doesn't matter.

[matt_s]

my big gripe with basic dnd is that the red box book seems really poorly laid out in terms of structure which is rough when you have to constantly go back and check mechanics and such given the intermittent nature of pbp.

I also like ascending AC but that's a soft preference. BFRPG is both free and fairly well structured. Labyrinth Lord is also free.

although i'm in a bunch of games rn so don't know if I can commit to another.

[Mindcrime]

I'm interested, though not familiar with the basic D&D rules (or any of the others for that matter), having played nothing before 1e, but I'm certain that it would not be hard to pick up. I usually like to play either fighter or cleric types.

[cybersavant]

i would love to play that module - not crazy about Basic [ i don't like race as class, or homogenous classes ] and i don't know that other systems listed

[Eric]

I guess I should write a bit about my GMing style, since that could influence players' feelings about the systems 😀

With Basic D&D, I view the system as the framework for fun. I fully support taking the mechanics while changing the fluff; as an example, in my ongoing Red Box adventure, one of the characters is playing a human scout using the mechanics of the halfling class. The most important part of the game is giving everyone something that makes it fun.

I like Warrior Rogue & Mage for its simplicity. The whole rulebook is 30-ish pages, and it's polished off some of the rough edges of the basic fantasy genre while retaining the element of danger. Porting existing challenges from the module is fairly simple.

I added Risus because (a) it's the everything RPG, and (b) it's got vast amounts of flexibility while being practically as rules-lite as you can get without going to rock-paper-scissors resolution. There'd be more work on my end to handle the potential variety of capabilities the group might end up with, but it's simple enough that I can do a lot of that on the fly.

Ironsworn is on my list because it's entirely different, and I want to learn it. Ironsworn is a much more narrative system than any of the above, but I feel it fits the theme while potentially simplifying one of the most difficult challenges of a hexcrawl: the pace of exploration. It's freely available, and Vladim has shown me it's a pretty easy lift to incorporate into other settings (for instance, The One Ring).

 

As for me, personally... I'm a 16-year veteran of the site, and as one of the admins I'm kinda committed (committable?). You'll see me around pretty much all the time, either on the site or on the Discord server. On occasion things get a bit busy with bugs, but generally I aim for three to four posts a week in each game. I like spinning stories--with dice or without. I like incorporating new players into games, whether as a teacher or mentor or fellow player.

[Basil_Bottletop]

I voted for RISUS because Eric and RISUS are like PB&J. But Ironsworn is an interesting option too. I ran a very short-lived game with Vladim recently, but I was admittedly a bit out of sorts enough that I wasn't able to give a new system the full explorative requirement. Maybe learning something in a team setting would be a better way to do it.

I left THAC0 in your mother's basement where it belongs.

Edited April 29 by Basil_Bottletop (see edit history)

[roryb]

If it was WR&M, I'd throw my hat in. I'd consider Risus too. Any other alternatate indies you'd consider?

[Eric]

If I had Legend in the Mist available already, that'd definitely be on the list. But since the KS just wrapped a few weeks ago, it's not 🤣

 

[Vladim]

I voted for Ironsworn because of course I did; that being said, maybe I shouldn't have had, because I feel like I'm at capacity for games. That also being said, if something... eh... unfortunate... were to happen to Thorkell, then perhaps this would naturally create an open game slot for me. I don't know why that could possibly happen, and it would surely be a terrible fate for Thorkell, but I think he just happens to have only 2 hit points left... I think.

Joke-not-joke aside, I'm happy to spread the love for Ironsworn (even if I am not always successful, lol :) ) so even if I don't play the game I'm super happy to help with getting a handle on the system. Though it is pretty straightforward, so I doubt you'd need my help!

[prophane]

I'd love to play X1 using Basic DnD! What fun!

[Eric]

11 hours ago, Vladim said:

I voted for Ironsworn

Wait, Vladim voted for Ironsworn? What a shocking and unexpected turn of events...

Actually, the expressed preferences look quite balanced. Perhaps I underestimated the siren call of: "That T-Rex looks awesome and I want to play fantasy with dinosaurs" 😆

I had a crazy shower-thought about running the same group, each with one character in Basic D&D and Ironsworn--a sort of simul-play. But clearer-minded me realizes that would end up being problematic since the groups might need to make different decisions based on the outcomes of a given encounter.

Decisions, decisions...

[Feirgon]

1 hour ago, Eric said:

Wait, Vladim voted for Ironsworn? What a shocking and unexpected turn of events...

Actually, the expressed preferences look quite balanced. Perhaps I underestimated the siren call of: "That T-Rex looks awesome and I want to play fantasy with dinosaurs" 😆

I had a crazy shower-thought about running the same group, each with one character in Basic D&D and Ironsworn--a sort of simul-play. But clearer-minded me realizes that would end up being problematic since the groups might need to make different decisions based on the outcomes of a given encounter.

Decisions, decisions...

You could just run two separate games...

 

Oh, hi. I was lurking. I voted for Ironsworn because it looks cool and I love learning new systems.

[Eric]

Running two games has crossed my mind, and five interested parties was my arbitrary threshold of "enough interest". I couldn't do four games, of course 🤣 So with regrets to the WR&M and Risus contingents, I really only have enough bandwidth to do one refactoring of the game into another system, and I'm really intrigued by Ironsworn.

If you're interested in jumping on board before advertising commences, here are the respective links:

X1: The Isle of Dread (BECMI)

X1: The Isle of Dread (Ironsworn)

 

[Kalidas]

If you are happy to have a new player, I will be happy to join. I am actually very familiar with Ironsworn because I played it solo a fair bit and I have recently been into OSR stuff, so Basic would be fun too. I don't mind slotting into whichever needs more players.