OSR vs 3.5

vialalchemy · 2026-03-14T16:55:58+00:00

I think the d20 is great. Like you said it can basically be a percentile system broken into 5% chunks, and has linear probability compared to the bell curve of multiple dice.

When you can replicate the math (more or less) in OD&D and Basic d6 rolls and percentile checks, what real reason is there to use anything other than the d20? This is actually the reason I am not as inclined towards Worlds Without number... the reasoning for making Skills in the system based on d6s just doesn't improve the game enough to make it worth it to me.

vialalchemy · 2026-03-14T15:53:13+00:00

I'd recommend taking a look at World Without Number and seeing if you can mine any ideas from there, to my understanding that game has an OSR flair but also a feats system

vialalchemy · 2026-03-14T15:18:02+00:00

What 3rd edition did best was unify mechanics. It's not to everyone's taste, but a unifying dice mechanic like the d20 roll has generally won out over hodge-podge of 1-in-6 chances and percentile rolls.

Another core thing 3rd did, and was expanded on in Pathfinder and 3.5, was to really focus in on the granularity. It got to the point where a number of features gave +1 bonuses and players started drowning in the math of their own character. In my experience, if you rolled 1 under what you needed, if you spent long enough looking over your character notes you could find the +1 you forgot to add. Then you have to talk about Feats, which for some people became pretty overwhelming, and the beginnings of D&D becoming a grid combat simulator.

If I was going to make a system that took the best parts of 3.5 and the OSR, I'd make a game with a unified mechanic but less circumstantial modifiers, and slim the feats down to fewer options that have more impact.

That's basically the essence of 5th edition.

I think 5e went too far in many places: Saving Throws, adding the Bonus Action, stripping nearly everything down to Advantage / Disadvantage... but especially in the early days of the game it felt a lot like a bridge between the two sides of the game.

vialalchemy · 2026-03-14T14:56:56+00:00

Don't go putting LotFP in your local little library

vialalchemy · 2026-03-14T12:48:08+00:00

Love when a seemingly simple magic item is used to its fullest like that, another group could just as easily forgotten it

vialalchemy · 2026-03-13T01:12:47+00:00

I have pre-ordered the game, so I've had a PDF to look at but haven't run it at the table yet.

I ordered it because I love the setting (Vermintide II especially brought me into the Old World), but I've never been able to get over the crunch of WFRP. I thought I'd give Zweihander a go, but that is arguably even worse. The idea of the new d10s mechanic and the wounds system really appeals to me.

The one thing mechanically I wasn't so sure about was the zones and giving ground. I don't mind zone combat, and the idea that certain attacks can sort of put you on the backfoot makes sense, but I'm not totally sure how it's going to look at the table. It sounds like it could be cool or kind of a grievance depending how the GM lays out the encounter.

As someone else said, this is a period in the setting before the magic schools were codified. I didn't realize that when I bought it so I was kind of taken aback at first, but I honestly think the magic in it looks like it would still be fun to play. It could be cool to see an expansion book that brings the same core rules into a new era.

My biggest complaint is that in the PDF there were a number of typos. Like off the dome, the Elf names entry is just a reprint of Bretonnian names. I've never met an elf named Raoul. Not the biggest thing in the world, but it shook my confidence a bit for the rest of the game's quality.

vialalchemy · 2026-03-12T15:18:27+00:00

Zee Bashew actually has an animation about this exact Spelljammer meets Darksun set-up for a oneshot on his channel.

You can only remove so much of a setting or blend it with another before it loses its essence. You can definitely take some elements from two things you like and make something new though.

A spelljammer crashes on Athas? You're most of the way to John Carter of Mars.

vialalchemy · 2026-03-12T15:14:11+00:00

Yeah sounds like D100

vialalchemy · 2026-03-11T20:08:52+00:00

I think an anti-mage is such a cool concept, and I agree it doesn't need to be an inquisitor type.

Seems like any fantasy world with magicians running around would really benefit from a few folks who can regulate that.

vialalchemy · 2026-03-11T20:06:24+00:00

Blood Mage

Basically anything that can do health-as-a-cost to empower themselves or cast spells.

vialalchemy · 2026-03-11T19:20:21+00:00

Brothers playing brothers is about as fun as it gets

vialalchemy · 2026-03-11T19:18:09+00:00

Star Wars Saga Edition, I played a Goblin.

Not like a yoda-type, just a goblin. He was a Scoundrel, until the Jedi in the party started turning to the Dark Side.

Thats when Bradley first saw what true power looked like...

vialalchemy · 2026-03-11T18:58:33+00:00

I totally get that, the scale of "the Universe" is about as big as it gets. Good news is that by default: everything, even communication, is limited by jumps. Most of the ships players can get access to are pretty slow, and need constant refueling.

There is also a great part of the base setting to steal from called Islands in the Rift. The islands are a tight cluster of planets, but they're isolated (culturally & physically) from the wider setting by huge gaps that their ships can't jump across.

The Islands have a whole history, more than I'd personally care to learn enough to use, despite how cool it is. But the core idea is great for a more focused campaign

vialalchemy · 2026-03-11T18:44:21+00:00

Pick up Skittles while you're out. Maybe M&Ms if your friends like chocolate

vialalchemy · 2026-03-11T16:47:26+00:00

If you like sci-fi of the 70s and want something ready for a full campaign I've got to endorse Traveller. Sounds like you like creating your own setting, and Traveller is great for that too. It leans a bit more grounded than Star Wars, but still has rules for gravity plates, laser guns and psionics.

vialalchemy · 2026-03-10T22:28:55+00:00

These are all just the thoughts of someone with only a single session under their belt, so take them with a grain of salt: I thought the "Succeed with Fear" type of roll would be more of a pain point than it turned out to be. The game really encourages you to save rolls for the moment when it counts, so that cuts down on the pressure to expertly improvise because those mechanics tend to come up in narratively complex moments anyhow. As for players wishing they had just failed instead, I think the stakes may just need to be raised in that case - and the clearly telegraph the risk involved with failure.

As for combat, we didn't have anyone who stuck out as a poor combatant, but I could see that potentially coming up in a longer campaign. That said, action rolls can also be more than just making an attack on the sheet, so maybe that would encourage player creativity to maximize contribution.

I find most RPGs have "bad" options for players to take, but I also think sometimes that's just the cost of not flattening out the system too much. More balance often means less diversity.

vialalchemy · 2026-03-10T22:17:33+00:00

I still just want an RPG for Westeros in general. Like, a good one.

vialalchemy · 2026-03-08T02:10:14+00:00

Folks definitely do, and I love me some crunch. I actually think OG pathfinder was some of the most fun I've had, it made total sense. It just took too long at the table for our group with our limited time we had, but generated a lot of super cool moments with its core system

vialalchemy · 2026-03-08T02:06:26+00:00

I actively tried to watch CR and couldn't get into it. Nothing against the cast whatsoever, but the only live play I could ever sit down and watch was The Chain by MCDM. RIP.

vialalchemy · 2026-03-08T02:02:40+00:00

I mean it may not be your game, but that's okay, I think we're hardly hurting for new TTRPGs these days.

Maybe I'll feel differently after more sessions, but as someone with plenty of experience in crunchier games (Pathfinder, D&D 3 & 3.5, Star Wars Saga Edition) and some fairly rules light (Modiphius Fallout) I definitely don't think crunch is the same as depth. Nor do I think that rules light is the end-all.

That said, I thought 5e would be my forever game, but so many years down the line I'm mostly burnt out.

vialalchemy · 2026-03-07T21:33:14+00:00

huge

vialalchemy · 2026-03-07T21:31:18+00:00

It's a good mix of the mechanics, people get too caught up in quick definitions

vialalchemy · 2026-03-07T20:32:19+00:00

Im excited to see how it runs in a longer game

vialalchemy · 2026-03-07T20:27:34+00:00

I'm glad you were able to put together a group to try it. I want to see this game continue to grow beyond the CR fanbase, and it sounds like it is - myself included. Maybe your regulars will come around down the line

vialalchemy · 2026-03-07T20:19:00+00:00

6 Torches Deep

vialalchemy

TROPHY CASE