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Is a halfling ape, a chimpanzee?

Simple solution, play Castles & Crusades from Troll Lord Games.

I wholeheartedly agree that it's easier to add additional dodads than to take things away. I'm going to run B/X at a gaming club soon and there has been a lot of positive response since I posted about it.

Someone forgot the blindfighting skill

I like hearing this review from someone with way more background in TTRPG'S. I only ever used 5e for a year before starting ShadowDark, and I love it more than 5e!

Glad to see you back Aaron! Take care of yourself! Looking forward to anything you do next!

was 'deligitamized' for good reason. even raggi has admitted he'd been accused of multiple sexual assaults in his history. both reprehensible, moronic humans

Zelazny's Amber series is indeed the greatest fantasy series I have ever read.

I discovered DCC a couple months ago, and Holy shit what an amazing system. I've made it a mission of mine to introduce more people to the joys of DCC

Let’s just play ffxiv bro

What's "pedantic" mean? Explain it to me!😜

This makes a great MCC adventure

Its funny that you say that the narrativist is just doing a performance: a narrativist may say "well okay, why are you watching a movie? Is Jock Wicks victory _earned_ or does it feel earned due to suspension of disbelief?" and so long as you can suspend your disbelief there is no "cracks in the matrix" so to speak, lest we wrestle with the biggest crack: magic and elves arent real

Thanks, this book looks like a good tool for my table

My list of things I hate about DnD: 1. Do / Don't resolution system. This is the root of many of DND problems. The philosophy that you succeed or fail without providing any degree for these two kills interesting story telling. 2. Magic isn't magical. Since the game requires tactical decision, magic needs to work like a tool. When you cast a spell you know that there are only two possible outcomes: Your spell either did something, or it didnt. Or worse, you KNOW you spell always does something, making it even more relliable than wielding a weapon. 3. Roll for everything: roll for initiative, hiding vs perception, attack, damage, the concentration check to see if you keep your spell on, CON save to see if you are poisoned, poison damage, concentration, 2nd attack, damage, concentration, roll to cast an attack spell, damage, new CON save at the end of turn, poison damage, concentration. What was that? A rogue with a poisoned dagger and a wizard with a concentration spell. 17 rolls for two TURNS. 4. Scalation: Pick point 3. and now consider that at higher levels there are more complex enemies, with more spells, with more HP, with more on-going effects. 5. Lower impact actions: Pick point 3 and 4 and consider that the more you scalate, the less impactful each of your action is. So the solution is to provide more attacks per round, more beams per cast, more enemies to balance the action economy. DnD is a snowball of time wasting that only worsens as your game continues.

Dont you mean.... becmi + ad&d?

To be fair to weapon speed, it was mostly used for tie breaking during cases of simultaneous initiative.

Old school gamer here…. I despise dungeons. Hated them when I was 12 in 1986….hate them now. Kinda has always weirded me out that ‘everyone’ “loves” dungeons….confusing to me. City and wilderness for me. I’d rather a very short ‘enchanted forest’ than a short or mega dungeon (I’d never ever be able to brainwork any dungeon anyway…) Yeah, I’m a lazy DM…and kinda stupid too. 😂🙄😂😕

Tried a gazillion things over many years. Once I settled on D6HD and first level utilizes fifth level abilities/skills, and on up, back over 20 years ago….never a problem since…. (No one who isn’t lying isn’t going to go above nor much above 10th level anyway…please! 🙄).

Also…. I ought mention that a long-running houserule of mine is: Thieves have d6 HD (because thieves ‘get into stuff’ and ought be a bit….scrappy…. To off-set the fact that every class can do everything they do…so ought thieves….so… 1st level thieves have the skill level of fifth level thieves, etc, etc. (No one is ever gonna go above 10th level anyway and even the tenth level skill abilities still grant a degree of failure…. I mean cmon!)

If ya only dig the mechanics….Spellzard! Clone of the game that Troika! grabbed its mechanics from. Enjoy!

Ok. Let’s sit still for a moment. Troika! by itself is nutty but cool. (I’m a rule-lite, B/X dude…) It’s based on the Fighting Fantasy Into rpg mechanics….expanded and it’s …stuff… ‘K? The FF intro rpg was cool but not enough, really. AFF was more but had issues. The new AFF is great but not as easy. Heh Spellzard! is an outstanding ‘clone’ of the FF intro rpg, expanding it in an extremely easy many without going full force into Advanved Fighting Fantasy. So….yeah… highly recommend Spellzard! for a fast, easy, lite, super super fun fantasy game.

Old vid, but I’m just here to shout: “Yes!”. Depending on mood, I may go more OD&D (for which I go with WB:FMAG). But B/X is SO solid and SO easily malleable in almost every way! You can give it older stuff, newer styled stuff….any stuff…and the dang thing just sits there and stays solid! I agree….easy to have an entire party of one class with some slight house rules and one can or the game can grant differences to facilitate those things! I love OSE, but I don’t use it only because I know where everything is in my B/X books are! Haha! (Also, I began gaming deep in the BEMCI/Mentzer era 1986, but bought the ‘old’ B/X books from a friend….so they were the first D&D books I owned. lol) B/X may limit or slightly stand in the way some lil times, but, it’s so very easy that that campaign’s house rules work, and so easily too! I’ve done trad D&D fantasy (obviously), sword & sorcery, all fighters campaign (with each being very distinct), fantasy-renaissance stuff, grimdark, Saturday morning cartoon stuff….all of it! (Indeed, most of my house rules end up being less than a single-sided sheet of paper, which says a lot as well!) B/X can! 🙂 Cheers, brother! Great video! Thank you!

They should advertise the DCC Reference Booklet right next to the core rulebook. Makes life so much easier

I disagree with your reasoning in the beginning. I think the OSR prefers BX because it likes simplicity, something AD&D lacks. Hacking rules is much easier when you don't have the DMG sitting in the background. And you can't remove the DMG from AD&D. Also people would miss their high gygaxian, who is there to emulate it?

Interesting points. I have played all DnD editions in 40 years except 4e abd played 5e for three years. It is interesting, because I dislike 5e mostly for other reasons, but it boils down to most people either like the older DnD editions OR the new, because the entire atmosphere of the game changed substantially. Classes were very unbalanced with specialists who could do things no one else could, and you could die in every combat if not carefull. I believe 5e and the new 5.5e have a player group who love this uncreative superhero stuff, but I like the older games.

phew.. thank you... for starting to explain Vancian magic using the term "prepare" and not "memorize".. this is where the whole misunderstanding and debate started...

As a disabled person, to me this is some overcompensatory nonsense. Fantasy for me is an escape, I don’t want to carry my health deficits around with me everywhere and don’t need to see myself represented to relate to and play a character. I’d rather be “free” of my ailments in any character I RP as.

I wouldn’t even go that far. I’d have everything based on how you roll play. A Fighter with a high Charisma can be a Bard (or Skald). One with higher Wisdom can be a Ranger. Higher Constitution could be a Barbarian. Just role play the singing or poetry, the tracking or brutish hatred of magic.

I played this adventure at my LFGS. I’m HOOKED.

I started with B/X, when I could afford it I bought the PHB for 1e. Later I picked up the MM and DMG. Played 8 years using ADnD but basically with the B/X rules. Looking back B/X was actually better than 1e, although lots of good stuff to borrow from its more "adult" version

Completely agree with the Power Gaming comments. I'm OK with Min Max. Power Playing is why people don't want to DM. So many D&D players go in, spells blazing without a care in the world. In other systems, players think and strategise. It makes a big difference to the GM.

Yep, serve up my helpin' of D&D with some extra AD&D crunch liberally coated with sweet, sweet splat.... Yep, 2nd and 3rd went there so the rest of you rules light folks can foo-foo all those pesky, in your way of actually playing the game. heh.

This video rules. I love the approach, you didn't even got into if it's good or not, you wanted to make a marketing analysis and you seem very unbiased about it

Awesome vid, and some great ideas in here, I’m hoping to DM this module for my 5e group (in which I am a player) and I’m super excited! Thanks for the tips and tricks my guy

Hey Aaron. I appreciate that you have shared this. it takes a lot for a person to explain the anxiety and mental health trouble they are having. I will continue to watch your videos. I enjoy listening to your content.

Thanks brother. Enjoyed your old work and will enjoy the new, whenever it comes

Hey Aaron, I can totally understand that. My anxiety was more social based and as with all anxiety... irrational, life altering, and deeply frustrating. I'm glad you are looking after yourself and changing things to reduce the demands placed on yourself, and if you ever need a chat, please reach out. I've dealt with a lot of mine by changing things about my life, which is also hard to handle too, but necessary to focus on yourself. Look after yourself and do what you want, enjoy and need to do, not what other people would like you to do :)

Life, huh? Grace to you, gentle.

I was wondering why I haven't seen you at North Texas RPG Con the last couple years. Take care of yourself friend and hope to see you at NTX in the future.

Glad to see you back! Its good to see you in any case. Best of luck in your life

Hug. 100% suport you. Look forward to the next chapter

Hi asron I missed you

Glad to hear from you. Why not try more Solo RPG :) It might be a healing experience.

Aaron. It is time...FOR HYPERBOWL!!!

Good to see you upload again aaron, I miss you buddy & I'm glad to know you're doing better, anxiety can be tough to deal with and I'm sorry you had to go through that shit so it's good to hear you're doing better now, me and the other 2 from the Wednesday group miss you but it's good to see your again, if I get the free time I'll def try to keep an eye out for your uploads, lots of love from your friend ronnie🫶

Makes a lot of sense. Stepping away from teaching should show you amazing results for your mental health etc.

Your candor is a public service for which you should be lauded. "The things we don't talk about...". Looking forward to your new content. Peace and health!

Who is this guy!? *Edit:* Very interesting about the food thing. My work made me get a vaccine as well (but they didn't force me to get mRNA so I got a non-mRNA one). As soon as I had the vaccine it felt like I had a golf ball in my throat. Antihistamines didn't help (it wasn't an allergic reaction). However, I suddenly became paranoid about anything that is normally an allergy for other people (peanuts, cashews, shellfish etc.) and any food I had not eaten in a long time. I inadvertently became a carnivore (which had its own health issues I am still dealing with). I didn't quite get to your level but I was second-guessing myself at every meal - even though I was 80% sure the lump in my throat was not related to some kind of allergy. This went on for months until I got to see an ENT who said there was nothing physical there, it's psychosomatic (muscle in the throat tightens due to stress and it FEELS like something is there but there is no blockage at all). He also said this was suddenly very common post-lockdowns. I just had to relax. I ended up just going for walks, doing breathing exercises, and listening to ASMR/mediation-type sounds. But even knowing it was psychosomatic it still took me a few more months to finally get rid of the lump entirely (and it has not returned since).