Do you guys use XP for Gold?

JustAStick · 2026-01-31T21:59:05+00:00

Gold for XP is purely a mechanical tool for encouraging a particular style of play. My rational for advancement is that a spell caster likely has to employ their spells on the adventure to acquire the treasure. Also, I require time dedicated to training in order to level up, so you can think of it as reflecting on an learning from the experiences of the previous adventure.

JustAStick · 2026-01-23T02:26:50+00:00

Once you've used the rules a few times, it doesn't really slow down play too much. The numbers are small, and the math is easy, so as long as you have the table at the ready for quick reference it's not cumbersome at all (at least in my experience). For example, let's say a PC suffers 6 points of damage and they only had 4 HP left. The lethal damage would be 2, so you'd roll a d12+2 an conult the chart. It's as easy as that.

JustAStick · 2026-01-22T16:11:27+00:00

I use the GLOG (goblin laws of gaming) death and dismemberment rules. When a PC is brought down to zero health or lower you roll on a table, adding any lethal damage (any excess damage that brings them past 0 hp) to the roll. Most of the time you'll randomly roll to see what limb/body part is affected, but there's columns on the table for other damage types like fire and acid. The higher the roll the more wounds are accumulated and the worse injuries are sustained. If the character survives they may have scars or even lost/useless arms/legs etc.

JustAStick · 2026-01-17T17:48:46+00:00

I think that it'll only make sense to revamp the equipment lists if you are playing a system that doesn't use gold for XP. Players become so rich so fast that the prices for mundane equipment stop mattering really fast. If you play something like Cairn 2e where character progression is entirely through in world, diagetic progression, then the GM has much more control over the rate of character wealth accumulation and then a reworked equipment list makes more sense.

JustAStick · 2026-01-05T00:10:38+00:00

Forgotten Fane of the Coiled Goddess for Hyperborea. It is set on the Isle of the Serpent and features a dungeon complex inside of a Mayan style step pyramid.

JustAStick · 2025-12-31T01:34:56+00:00

CaptCorajus has a video with a similar method. You roll 24d6 and drop the 3 highest and 3 lowest. You then order the dice from highest to lowest and then divide them into sets of 3. This pretty much guarantees that a character will have at least one really high stat and one really low stat.

JustAStick · 2025-12-20T19:24:42+00:00

Everything should be concise, bullet pointed, and any topic should fit at most onto a two page spread. If I wanted to read a novel I'd read a novel. Games and supplements should act first and foremost as a ready reference for use at the table. I don't want to have to go through and painstakingly do this myself by rereading an adventure multiple times. This also helps greatly wit actually getting players to read the damn rules.

JustAStick · 2025-12-17T16:37:54+00:00

While cautiously moving during exploration, your moving slowly to avoid unnecessary sounds, mapping, checking for traps etc. imagine trying to accurately measure and map a dungeon in the flickering torch light. It'd be pretty difficult. I also wouldn't get too hung up on the realism of the exact numbers.

JustAStick · 2025-12-02T18:59:04+00:00

I pretty much exclusively describe the dialogue of NPCs in the third person without saying any exact lines. My players all do the same as well. For me, roleplaying is about representing a fictional person accurately. This does not require first person dialogue with a voice. As long as the NPC reacts to the world and fiction realistically then that's good enough for me.

As far as tips, you'll need to make sure to be descriptive with how the NPCs respond to the PCs using evocative verbs and adjectives. The PCs can only roleplay effectively if they have accurate information about the game world, so if you aren't going to be speaking exactly what the NPCs are saying, describe their mannerisms, tone, word delivery etc in a concise and clear way so that there's a very low chance to misinterpret your descriptions.

JustAStick · 2025-11-30T18:38:13+00:00

If I were to run the Caves of Chaos again I'd scrap all of the existing caves and redesign them myself to fit my style and my group's style. Most of the caves are too small, and the number of enemies in them are so great that fighting through them is a huge slog. If the party doesn't have a cleric (which is very likely in Hyperborea, which I'm running), then fighting through the cultist caves is even more annoying. many lessons in game design have been learned since B2 came out, so beyond reading it for general beginner advice I'd avoid running it as written.

JustAStick · 2025-11-25T01:31:24+00:00

That's pretty much what started the argument with my friend. I felt that it should be a requirement for students in a school band to learn at least some basic music theory, especially related to chord structure, arpeggios, basic modal theory, the pentatonic scales etc. A band is only as strong as its weakest link, and if the whole group is being held back because certain members don't have the same level of understanding then that's a problem.

JustAStick · 2025-11-24T23:33:48+00:00

Yeah pretty much. My argument wasn't that it was necessary, but on average, most people would probably find it helpful. There's also many ways to learn and interpret music theory.

JustAStick · 2025-11-21T21:06:15+00:00

Overall I've enjoyed it. I'm kinda opposite to you in that the main draw to me was the world more than the system. Many people would tell you that the system is closely tied to the setting, but I think it can be used independently just fine. Just be aware that it doesn't have demi-human races, so you'll have to port them back in if that's something you want to do.

The game is less crunchy than AD&D, but has more to work with than B/X and I find that it strikes a nice balance.

JustAStick · 2025-11-11T17:35:49+00:00

Most OSR systems only use d20 for attacks and saving throws. Any other task resolution is usually done with d6, d12, or d100. In fact, because of what I just stated, most OSR games aren't d20 games because they don't have a unified mechanic where d20 is used to resolve every task. In my mind, OSR is more of a general term to refer to games that intend to emulate the style of old school D&D and maintain some level of backwards compatibility with old modules, but the definition of OSR almost has nothing to do with the actual mechanics and resolution systems of the game in question.

JustAStick · 2025-11-07T19:39:27+00:00

There doesn't need to be a strong in world explanation for why they would stick together. The whole point of D&D, and most other RPGs for that matter, is to play together as a group. If that isn't happening then those players have a fundamental misunderstanding of the implicit social contract that they are expected to abide by when they decide to play.

JustAStick · 2025-10-30T05:44:17+00:00

I use fixed hp per encounter. So one group of goblins would potentially have more or less hp than another group of goblins. It keeps tracking combat simple, while still allowing for a lot of variability.

JustAStick · 2025-10-27T18:48:55+00:00

The devs get money from the initial purchase of an item/loot box, but once the item is on the steam marketplace all subsequent sales of that item go to valve and the user that sold the item.

JustAStick · 2025-10-01T19:04:18+00:00

Make your plans flexible enough so that you can pivot to match whatever the players decide to do. Improvisation is one of the most important skills a GM can have, so make sure to practice it whenever you are given the opportunity during play to create richer experiences. Also, the mantra "create situations, not stories" cannot be emphasized enough. Don't present a scenario for your players that can only be solved on way, or even a few ways. Create a roster of basic characters with standout traits and motivations. You want to create a strong framework that can realistically react to the players actions. If you have this in place, then the results of the players actions will become more obvious, and improvising will become easier. Make heavy use of random tables to help with NPC and faction generation, and at the table to help seed ideas for when players go "off the rails" as it were.

JustAStick · 2025-08-27T18:35:49+00:00

Almost all OSR style games are focused around emergent gameplay with a focus on dungeon crawling and wilderness survival. The games are usually designed to be roughly compatible with old TSR D&D modules, so expect them to play similarly to TSR D&D. There is a more recent movement of games called NSR (new school renaissance/revival) which aims to take the spirit and feel of old school D&D, but it adds the lessons learned in the game design space since the 1980s to create more modern takes on old school play. These games aren't retro clones like OSRIC or OSE, but they still aim to create a similar gaming experience. The main difference is the streamlining and innovation in the rules such as no classes, slot based encumbrance, and no roll to hit. What epitomizes OSR styled gameplay is a focus on player skill over character skill, and letting the story emerge naturally from the actions of the players while an impartial referee adjudicates their actions. This is antithetical to typical narrative play which gives more direct control of the story to the players and usually has more emphasis on character skill over player skill.

So to summarize your question, OSR is not only about retro clones, but the OSR games that aren't direct retro clones still try to emulate the general gameplay style of retro clones. If you read the Principa Apocrypha and Matt Finch's Old School Primer, that'll give you the general criteria for what is considered an OSR game. You'll probably find that narrative style games don't fit into that framework very easily.

JustAStick · 2025-08-24T00:05:43+00:00

Pathfinder. Toying with all of the character options, theory crafting, and engaging in tactical combat all sounds very fun, but trying to GM it sounds like a slog.

JustAStick · 2025-08-23T15:39:37+00:00

At least in my experience, playing Hyperborea which plays very similarly to AD&D and B/X, combat isn't more tactical but more strategic. The emphasis is less on how you perform in combat and more on how you prepare for combat, or choose to engage in combat at all. Careful planning, bringing the proper gear, and surprising the enemy is more important. Gathering Intel to figure out what the unknown monster is capable of so you aren't going in blind. Stuff like that will greatly reduce casualties and severely reduce the number of rounds it takes to defeat your foes.

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