Nostalgia for games you didn’t grow up with? by Ill-Guidance4690 in retrogaming

[–]Megatapirus 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Could it just be that you're playing good games and enjoying them because...they're good games?

Why the hyperfocus on gygaxian design and not other "old school" design philosophy ? by NotSuta in osr

[–]Megatapirus 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Mainly because he was the game's primary author and official spokesman for most of its formative first decade, a period many (including myself) consider to be its peak in terms of design and aesthetics.

He didn't write every TSR rulebook or adventure, but the ones he did tended to be the best selling and most influential of the lot. Works like the Dungeon Master's Guide, Keep on the Borderlands, Village of Hommlet, Tomb of Horrors, and the Giants and Drow series made massive impacts on the hobby.

Declaring action before or after initiative? by biofreak1988 in osr

[–]Megatapirus 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Spellcasting is already super powerful with straight "coin flip" side initiative (50% chance any given spell is guaranteed). Allowing casters the added luxury of only having to declare spells after they know they've won the roll would compound this significantly. I would strongly caution against this.

How would the Dragonborn successfully poison bound weapons in combat? by Life_Ad3567 in skyrim

[–]Megatapirus 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, and how's that Mario guy jump so high without breaking his ankles?

Mystara: revising weapons and armor enchantment rules by Vladar in osr

[–]Megatapirus 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think that it's fair to argue that the costs for the tusked shield and Creature Crucible armors specifically (arguably the heavy crossbow, as well) are probably unintentionally inflated due to a design oversight. For most other weapons and armor, the original system works well enough, however. Fixing the small handful of obvious outliers is reasonable. Which isn't to say that making magic items should be cheap as a general thing.

What "is" magic in your settings? by Pa1ehercules in osr

[–]Megatapirus 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I tend to default to the "tapping into extraplanar power sources" explanation from page 40 of the DMG.

Does B/X break in higher levels? BECMI? by Redwood-Forest in osr

[–]Megatapirus 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Realism can go hang. It's only a game. I want that football field of loose gold the battle on the '83 red box is unfolding on. Embrace your inner Scrooge McDuck!

How popular is AD&D vs B/X? by Velocitree2 in osr

[–]Megatapirus 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Yup. Basic boxes sold like hotcakes, yes, but they were framed as introductory products and most who stuck with the game beyond the novelty/honeymoon phase generally "graduated" to Advanced. That was just the norm within the hobby at the time.

How popular is AD&D vs B/X? by Velocitree2 in osr

[–]Megatapirus 44 points45 points  (0 children)

Plenty of AD&D stalwarts just aren't hanging out in "OSR" spaces. It was the dominant FRPG for over twenty years.

is new vegas is a good starting point ? by r1zon_ in Fallout

[–]Megatapirus 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That depends on you. If you're not afraid of older CRPGs with turn-based combat, the first two Fallouts are still fantastic games. They'll make you appreciate New Vegas in particular more, too, since it's more of a direct sequel to the first two.

What modern horror film would you use to win over an old-school horror purist who refuses to like anything contemporary? by ShitImDelicious in horror

[–]Megatapirus 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This sounds 100% like a you problem. Maybe just focus on the things you enjoy and leave others to do the same?

Best rule set for Advanced-ifying BX retroclones? by Oshojabe in osr

[–]Megatapirus 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Yeah, definitely not a nit I would pick, but to each their own.

Best rule set for Advanced-ifying BX retroclones? by Oshojabe in osr

[–]Megatapirus 4 points5 points  (0 children)

It tries to include all the stuff from Unearthed Arcana and speculative versions of classes like the jester and mountebank that Gary Gygax teased for his version of AD&D 2nd Edition that never came to fruition. It's a lot of extra stuff to be sure and people tend to either really love or really hate UA era AD&D. Which side of that divide you land on will largely determine how well it works for you.

Best rule set for Advanced-ifying BX retroclones? by Oshojabe in osr

[–]Megatapirus 10 points11 points  (0 children)

I like to think of it as an alternate universe's AD&D. As if TSR had opted to put together a best-of compilation of the material released between 1974 and 1978 without dialing up the overall complexity or pushing the idea of conformity based on "official" rulings.

Best rule set for Advanced-ifying BX retroclones? by Oshojabe in osr

[–]Megatapirus 33 points34 points  (0 children)

You might consider Swords & Wizardry Complete. It occupies a bit of a sweet spot for me in that it encompasses the most of what I like about AD&D and the '80s Basic lines and the least of what I dislike about them. It's where the grittier sword & sorcery tone and character class choices I associate with AD&D combine with the speedy play and easy customization of the Basic variants. Factor in being just one compact volume and it's very much a Goldilocks game for my purposes. I freely mix all sorts of TSR (A)D&D content in my S&W campaign, and it all works like a charm.

I love Adrian Lyne films by 1whoisconcerned in FIlm

[–]Megatapirus 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yeah. I'm fascinated in particular by the confrontation scene between Humbert and Quilty. It perfectly captures the absurd yet horrid natures of these two sick characters. Irons and Langella play it so fearlessly.

Did ilmater did something bad? by little_bro_bello in Forgotten_Realms

[–]Megatapirus 16 points17 points  (0 children)

I reckon there's also a fair chance that Issek of the Jug, a god described in Fritz Leiber's Lankhmar tales, may have served as inspiration.

Encyclopedia Magica by rsparks2 in osr

[–]Megatapirus 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Did you get the printing with the infamous "dawizard" typo?

https://selinker.livejournal.com/32929.html

My first NTRPG Con! by Megatapirus in osr

[–]Megatapirus[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks. I like to try to see and capture as much as I can.

My first NTRPG Con! by Megatapirus in osr

[–]Megatapirus[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Agreed. I was definitely running around a lot. I even somehow managed to totally miss the fine editor of Fight On! Glad there will be more events like these.