Ugh! You're reminding me that I need to upload my Mansion of The Forsaken Necromancer dungeon! Cool to see you here, Todd. Been a hot minute since I did anything on the forums.
Hey Coach, thanks for the kind words! You know, it never stops feeling weird to hear somebody read my words out loud. 😂 You should wander over to our forum sometime and join us, we'd love to have you contributing material!
Yeah! I just downloaded all the adventures yesterday to see if I can find b stuff to steal for my Dolmenwood games 😁 Watched your Morgansfort video again.
Basic Fantasy is a great game - truly a labor of love for the game. I also carry my character minis in a holder just like that. I enjoy your enthusiasm for the hobby.
I’m very happy to have stumbled upon such a cool hobby. Perfect for a creative mind. I’m 41 lol I feel like I’m a little late to the party but I know I found it right on time ☺️
@@LegendsDiceCafe Just my opinion, OSR is the way to go, even (especially) if you're new to TTRPGs. The mechanics are typically simpler, the jeopardy and stakes are typically higher. There are so many great OSR systems out there, and this is one of them. And what a great looking mini! Before you know it, you'll wind up getting some paints so you can breathe a little more life into your figure. (A whole new aspect of the hobby that you can sink into as well)
I ended up buying the BECMI Basic D&D Player and DM Guide (Red Box) and printing them out and putting them in a binder. I don't use the book, but it was primarily used as an educational and inspirational experience. I use Old-School Essentials and Basic Fantasy RPG more than those as they're actually available.
I’m looking forward to grabbing old school essentials. I think the players tome will be the 1st one get out of them. Did your BFRPG 4th edition come it?
@@LegendsDiceCafe I did! The only part I was confused about was Ability Checks. I would recommend the Old-School Essentials Classic Fantasy Tome. That is closer to the B/X stuff. The Advanced Fantasy Player and Referee Tomes split race and class like AD&D but after that are largely the same rules. If you buy the physicals from Exalted Funeral, either the boxed sets or Tomes you get the PDFs. I kind of like the PDFs that reflect the box sets, but then you're swimming in PDFs as opposed to just one or two. There are some differences between Classic Fantasy and Advanced Fantasy sets though.
@@LegendsDiceCafe I got my BFRPG 4e book from Amazon as hardcover. It's a pretty sweet print. DriveThruRPG doesn't have 4e available AFAIK. So, 4e is in Lulu or Amazon.
@PhilipDudley3 I was hoping to get the book that was most similar to AD&D first. I would like the actually box set but I have to 1st lol talk to my wife about that 🥴 but honestly open to checking any of them out so I appreciate the suggestion ☺️. I’m definitely going to eventually grab OSE. I’m looking forward to reading it.
Subscribed! I stumbled across Basic Fantasy looking for something simple and customizable and it definitely fit the bill. Welcome to the hobby, I really dig your enthusiasm!
Good as always. You may be relatively new to the hobby, but I appreciated the advice you gave here, too. I still haven't looked much into BFRPG, but I've skimmed it and I love what the project does with free or at cost roleplaying material.
Hey, good review and glad you came up recommended. I can dig any channel that has passion about OSR systems. I'm also a huge enthusiast for the history of the RPG scenes, and a lot around D&D in general. Playing at the World and Dice Wizards are great books for the history of D&D in book form, and Secrets of Blackmoor and The Dreams in Gary's Basement are great documentaries focusing on the history of D&D and how it rose up. If you're interested in systems from the past, Old-School Essentials is a great update on the old B/X system, basically a word for word clone barring the text and manuscript errors, and some cleaning up on the phrasing. But that's a great look through a modern lens to a very well regarded transitory edition of the game. Definately subscribing, and looking forward to see more videos from you and watching your channel grow. Stay cool!
Thank you so much. I wrote the books down you suggested. I really appreciate it. I was having some trouble on where to start to learn more about the history. OSE is top on my list to grab ☺️ I’m excited to check it out. I REALLY appreciate the support. It’s means a lot 😊.
This is where I started. I've moved on to Rules Cyclopedia, but never forget where you came from. Looking forward to more stuff from you! Subbed. God bless!
Even if you're not going to play it, if you're interested in the history of D&D the hardcover Rules Cyclopedia reprint on Drivethrurpg is an essential purchase. It's wonderful.
Congrats on your mini! I just started taking another look at this game since i first looked into it a few years ago. I didn't really get into it back then because I had a full plate of OSR already. I'm curious though about how it has changed what's in B/X and BECMI D&D. I personally enjoy a mixture of randomly allocating starting equipment and getting to buy some in addition. I used to love buying weird equipment in character creation but I'm both more lazy and enjoy more randomness nowadays 😅 Thanks for another great rpg review! I'm gonna start reading the BFRPG book right now. Good luck with your 5e game!
Thank you and thanks for watching!!! I lol periodically pull out my mini and dice just to look at them. I’m looking forward to getting more minis made & possibly just looking into a 3D printer for myself 😃. I actually enjoy randomly picking my character & equipment sometimes.
@@LegendsDiceCafe That's cool! Btw the Carcass Crawler zine #2 for OSE has equipment randomization (other cool stuff such as a dungeon adventure, simplified encumbrance etc). It's created for OSE so it works pretty much as is for BFRPG and White Box.
Great video - I recently have started into OSR style RPGs. Waiting for my copy of Basic Fantasy to come in the mail. Going to check out all your other videos - fun stuff, keep it up!
Thank you so much ☺️!!! I’m just settling down for the night & was just about to pick one of my Basic Fantasy modules up to read thru it. I really really appreciate the support 😃. It helps my channel out ALOT!!!!
Hiya Coach Key, Loved your Review of Basic Fantasy RPG along with several of the other OSR games you reviewed. I have been playing TTRPGs since 1977 and after a while away from gaming started playing 5th edition. I got turned on to Basic Fantasy and some of the OTher OSR games last year and love their simplicity as I recall from my early days. I just wanted to say keep up the good work on your channel I love your style. HAPPY GAMING...
I see now how I can have so much fun without all those rules. Simplicity is key sometimes. I appreciate the compliment as well as the support ☺️. It really means a lot!!!!!!
You mentioned wanting to check out older D&D editions. What I would recommend if you want a free peek at the older systems are the various retroclones, as they clean up the organization and ambiguities. These three all have free PDFs and try to stick as closely to the originals as possible. OSRIC: AD&D 1st Edition For Gold & Glory: AD&D 2nd Edition Dark Dungeons: BECMI D&D Rules Cyclopedia Just an FYI, they are all going to be very similar. Up until 3rd Edition, all the previous versions of D&D were broadly compatible with each other. Anyway, I just randomly stumbled on your channel, and love to see the perspective of someone fresh to the OSR. I will absolutely be following your videos!
Its great to get the perspective of a new player on old school games! I really like Basic Fantasy which I use alongside D&D Basic because the modern streamlining is just better. Thanks for the detailed review!!
Thank you 😊!!! I like Basic Fantasy. I’m currently reading AD&D 1e. I’m enjoying OSR games/retro clones, but I’m also interested in reading those older versions those games were inspired by, just out of curiosity.
@@LegendsDiceCafe Of course :) So far I have played DnD, Brindlewood Bay, and starting up Delta Green this week. I have soooo many I want to play!! Sooo many...haha.
That is so tough that you highlighted your rule book! It means it's a tool to you and reminds me of a warrior's well-worn sword hilt. I wish I had the guts to do that. 🙂
@@LegendsDiceCafe I went to gencon way back in 91. PAX is every year here in Seattle and I have attended only once, due to the size of the crowds. I would love to hit up REAPERCON, and other smaller conventions. My first con was in 1984 in Atlanta, and then another in 1985 in Macon. So glad to hear you had a good time. I look forward to all your content. Please keep up the good work, it is appreciated.
I love Basic Fantasy but have not yet had a chance to play, though I have played many similar games like Old School Essentials, which is really the same thing. These are all modern takes on B/X DnD. Anyway, I love your videos and am excited to see what you explore next! Especially any live play games you might run!
I haven’t played this one yet. I will more likely play solo first before I’m able to get a group to play which is cool too. I’m not sure if the next game I’m going to check out is going to be dungeon crawl classics, index card rpg or old school essentials. Lol I would like all 3 but have to pick one for now. Thank you so much for taking time to check out my videos. I really appreciate it ☺️!!!!
I asked; how close is bfrpg to b/x etc. ? The answer is that Oe, b/x, & becmi, are so close to one another that bfrpg is pretty much b/x D&D. Just with an ascending armor class and separate race n class. That's it.
@@LegendsDiceCafe often players of 80's B/X would Frankenstein parts of AD&D into B/X. Since all those versions were close enough to one another, such modifications were common.
OSR style usually has players starting off pretty weak against a harsh world. Pretty much how all the great fantasy books start. The classic storytelling technique of the "Hero's journey", where the protagonist receives a call to adventure, has some growth or transformation, meets a mentor or receives some aid, faces death and possibly dies, and so on. Human beings love this kind of story, and variations have been retold thousands and thousand of times. And classic D&D and these retroclones and OSR are such a good fit for that kind of "monomyth" adventure.
I've been playing and running for around 25 years now. D&D and it's related games (Pathfinder and the OSR) are not really my cup of tea as I'm not really into level/class based games, but if I were going to run something in that vein it would definitely be Basic Fantasy! If you want to check out some other open and old school games of other types, I TOTALLY suggest Cepheus Engine (sci-fi, a open license recreation of Traveller) and OpenQuest (fantasy, an open license recreation of RuneQuest, sort of). Both are based on some of the earliest competitors to D&D (both hit around 1978ish) and both have completely different ways of doing things. I also recommend Shadowrun (4e is my fave, but a lot of folks like 3e), World of Darkness (my preference is for the 2004 edition, specifically Vampire the Requiem or Mage the Awakening), or the old West End Games Star Wars for some cool systems that use yet a different type of system, called a dice pool. No cheap options on those, however.
@@LegendsDiceCafe to quote a certain Galactic Senator "I'll be watching your career with great interest" lol. Great vids. Subbed and watching through your other videos
If you like old school D&D, then check out BECMI. Aside from the usual types of adventures, it also includes mass combat, maintaining a stronghold, attacking and defending a stronghold with seige combat, and pursuing immortality.
@LegendsDiceCafe The BECMI Berserker channel provides detailed information on that edition, and Mr. Welch provides details on Mystara (the default setting for BECMI).
Basic Fantasy 3rd Edition vs 4th Edition is almost nothing. 4th edition was mostly created to change the license for copyright reasons, not gameplay. The games are the same. D&D tried changing their "Open Game License", which allowed other writers to use their game rules without owing D&D anything since the year 2000 when D&D created the Open Game License. Well, they tried changing that early in 2023, but later did a full 180 after a few weeks due to a whole bunch of hate thrown their way. However, trust was lost, so the Basic Fantasy writers (and a lot of others as well) decided to cut ties with D&D, so they had to go back over their rulebooks to get rid of anything that could get them sued for "plagiarism" for terms that D&D invented. FYI, nobody can copyright rules, just how it is written using terms like "Dungeon Master" or "Beholder" monster. Other games can use Game Judge and Evil Eyeball instead. That sort of thing.
I heard it was just about the same as 4th edition. I appreciate the info as far as what can’t be copy-written & terms that can’t be used because I absolutely plan on creating my own TTRPG.
Your comment about finding out the DM path is for you is a tale as old as the game. People like you and me and all the others who are passionate enough to go out and make content about these games will always lean towards game mastering. If your anything like me, you pour over the pages of these books everyday you can and without being the DM, it would feel like your only experiencing 10% of what these games offer.
lol I have a little container I carry around the house with some of my books 📚 so I can sit and look thru them when I get time throughout the day. DMing allows me to truly be the creative person I am & I really appreciate that. I’m sure there is toxicity within TTRPG’s but I have found the community to be one of the most supportive that I’ve ever been apart of. This has been an amazing journey with RPG’s & it’s just the beginning!!!!!
I haven't played this yet but to me it seems a bit stuffy. I love the idea of open source gaming and old school rules but it is missing something. It seems to be missing that heart and soul of the original D&D classics. They have a few adventure modules out there but it doesn't seem to me that any of them work together as far as world building. I know they want to keep it basic and simple so that it is adaptable with other systems but they have been around many years now and they should really think about moving things forward over there. Think about original D&D and they were in this same funk for just 4-5 years when they realized this and started Greyhawk and Dragon Magazine and stuff like that to move the product forward. BFRPG has been around much longer and only have a few simple modules to show for it. I hope in the next edition, a bunch of them sit down together and hash out some detailed World Building sessions to get some movement with the game. I like how they started out with The Western Lands. Now, where is the Eastern, Southern and Northern? Add some more details, cities, regions, and lore to the game. GMs don't have to use that stuff but it is nice to have for some sense of cohesion between modules before too many independent modules are created. It is like a small company that has a great product but they struggle when growing from small to medium sized company. When you do that, you have to bite the bullet and just plow forward. It is time for change and to grow a little. They been around nearly 20 years now.
I loved this book... then fell in love with the community of fans, artists, writers, and editors behind it. Now I write books for them.
That’s sooo amazing that you write books for them now!!!!!! I love BFRPG.
Ugh! You're reminding me that I need to upload my Mansion of The Forsaken Necromancer dungeon! Cool to see you here, Todd. Been a hot minute since I did anything on the forums.
And you do a good job, too!
@@kentuckyrex I know you've got a lot of other things on the go, including your own Channel. But we'd love whatever contributions you can share!
@@DMTalesTTRPG Thanks Wes. Your videos about the system are an amazing contribution.
Hey Coach, thanks for the kind words! You know, it never stops feeling weird to hear somebody read my words out loud. 😂 You should wander over to our forum sometime and join us, we'd love to have you contributing material!
lol 😂 I’m sure!! Really great game!!!! I absolutely look forward to contributing material soon!!!! Thank you ☺️
BFRPG is _such_ a good product! Really excited to see it get more coverage
I’ll definitely be doing more videos as I really get a chance to delve into it more.
I’ve run BFRPG for over two years and love it.
Yeah! I just downloaded all the adventures yesterday to see if I can find b stuff to steal for my Dolmenwood games 😁 Watched your Morgansfort video again.
I love it so far & definitely looking forward to running it soon.
Basic Fantasy is a great game - truly a labor of love for the game. I also carry my character minis in a holder just like that.
I enjoy your enthusiasm for the hobby.
I’m very happy to have stumbled upon such a cool hobby. Perfect for a creative mind. I’m 41 lol I feel like I’m a little late to the party but I know I found it right on time ☺️
@@LegendsDiceCafe Just my opinion, OSR is the way to go, even (especially) if you're new to TTRPGs. The mechanics are typically simpler, the jeopardy and stakes are typically higher. There are so many great OSR systems out there, and this is one of them.
And what a great looking mini! Before you know it, you'll wind up getting some paints so you can breathe a little more life into your figure. (A whole new aspect of the hobby that you can sink into as well)
I ended up buying the BECMI Basic D&D Player and DM Guide (Red Box) and printing them out and putting them in a binder. I don't use the book, but it was primarily used as an educational and inspirational experience. I use Old-School Essentials and Basic Fantasy RPG more than those as they're actually available.
I’m looking forward to grabbing old school essentials. I think the players tome will be the 1st one get out of them. Did your BFRPG 4th edition come it?
@@LegendsDiceCafe I did! The only part I was confused about was Ability Checks.
I would recommend the Old-School Essentials Classic Fantasy Tome. That is closer to the B/X stuff. The Advanced Fantasy Player and Referee Tomes split race and class like AD&D but after that are largely the same rules.
If you buy the physicals from Exalted Funeral, either the boxed sets or Tomes you get the PDFs. I kind of like the PDFs that reflect the box sets, but then you're swimming in PDFs as opposed to just one or two.
There are some differences between Classic Fantasy and Advanced Fantasy sets though.
@@LegendsDiceCafe I got my BFRPG 4e book from Amazon as hardcover. It's a pretty sweet print. DriveThruRPG doesn't have 4e available AFAIK. So, 4e is in Lulu or Amazon.
@@LegendsDiceCafe you might also enjoy reading and playing Index Card RPG Core 2e or Master Edition (Final). Great RPG and great community.
@PhilipDudley3 I was hoping to get the book that was most similar to AD&D first. I would like the actually box set but I have to 1st lol talk to my wife about that 🥴 but honestly open to checking any of them out so I appreciate the suggestion ☺️. I’m definitely going to eventually grab OSE. I’m looking forward to reading it.
Subscribed!
I stumbled across Basic Fantasy looking for something simple and customizable and it definitely fit the bill. Welcome to the hobby, I really dig your enthusiasm!
Thank you so much for the support and kind words. It means a lot ☺️!!!!!
I've been doing this for more than 40 years and your enthusiasm gets me excited all over again!
Wow 🤩 thank you so much ☺️!!!!!
Good as always.
You may be relatively new to the hobby, but I appreciated the advice you gave here, too.
I still haven't looked much into BFRPG, but I've skimmed it and I love what the project does with free or at cost roleplaying material.
I really appreciate it ☺️!!!!! Great book and seems like a great community as well!!!
Oooh, you earned another sub. I will watch your career with great interest
Thank you so much ☺️!!!!
Awesome video, and that's a cool mini!
Thank you ☺️ I appreciate you taking time to watch!!!!!
Hey, good review and glad you came up recommended. I can dig any channel that has passion about OSR systems. I'm also a huge enthusiast for the history of the RPG scenes, and a lot around D&D in general. Playing at the World and Dice Wizards are great books for the history of D&D in book form, and Secrets of Blackmoor and The Dreams in Gary's Basement are great documentaries focusing on the history of D&D and how it rose up.
If you're interested in systems from the past, Old-School Essentials is a great update on the old B/X system, basically a word for word clone barring the text and manuscript errors, and some cleaning up on the phrasing. But that's a great look through a modern lens to a very well regarded transitory edition of the game.
Definately subscribing, and looking forward to see more videos from you and watching your channel grow. Stay cool!
Thank you so much. I wrote the books down you suggested. I really appreciate it. I was having some trouble on where to start to learn more about the history.
OSE is top on my list to grab ☺️ I’m excited to check it out.
I REALLY appreciate the support. It’s means a lot 😊.
This is where I started. I've moved on to Rules Cyclopedia, but never forget where you came from. Looking forward to more stuff from you! Subbed. God bless!
Thank you so much ☺️ & I appreciate the support!!!! I’ve been wanting to grab the rules Cyclopedia. I’m looking forward to checking it out.
Even if you're not going to play it, if you're interested in the history of D&D the hardcover Rules Cyclopedia reprint on Drivethrurpg is an essential purchase. It's wonderful.
Great video. Love your presentation. Subbed
Thank you so much & thanks for the support!!!!!
Congrats on your mini! I just started taking another look at this game since i first looked into it a few years ago. I didn't really get into it back then because I had a full plate of OSR already. I'm curious though about how it has changed what's in B/X and BECMI D&D.
I personally enjoy a mixture of randomly allocating starting equipment and getting to buy some in addition. I used to love buying weird equipment in character creation but I'm both more lazy and enjoy more randomness nowadays 😅
Thanks for another great rpg review! I'm gonna start reading the BFRPG book right now. Good luck with your 5e game!
Thank you and thanks for watching!!! I lol periodically pull out my mini and dice just to look at them. I’m looking forward to getting more minis made & possibly just looking into a 3D printer for myself 😃. I actually enjoy randomly picking my character & equipment sometimes.
@@LegendsDiceCafe That's cool!
Btw the Carcass Crawler zine #2 for OSE has equipment randomization (other cool stuff such as a dungeon adventure, simplified encumbrance etc). It's created for OSE so it works pretty much as is for BFRPG and White Box.
Thank you!!!! I’ve been looking into OSE, just trying to figure out which book to start with 1st.
Hey Coach, thank you for a positive breath of fresh air in RPG UA-cam!
Wow such an awesome compliment ☺️!!!! Thank you soooo much 😊!!!!!!!
Enjoyed your video. Wish you the best of luck playing RPG’s.
Thank you ☺️ & thank you so much for watching!!!!!
Great video - I recently have started into OSR style RPGs. Waiting for my copy of Basic Fantasy to come in the mail. Going to check out all your other videos - fun stuff, keep it up!
Thank you so much ☺️!!! I’m just settling down for the night & was just about to pick one of my Basic Fantasy modules up to read thru it. I really really appreciate the support 😃. It helps my channel out ALOT!!!!
Hiya Coach Key, Loved your Review of Basic Fantasy RPG along with several of the other OSR games you reviewed. I have been playing TTRPGs since 1977 and after a while away from gaming started playing 5th edition. I got turned on to Basic Fantasy and some of the OTher OSR games last year and love their simplicity as I recall from my early days. I just wanted to say keep up the good work on your channel I love your style. HAPPY GAMING...
I see now how I can have so much fun without all those rules. Simplicity is key sometimes. I appreciate the compliment as well as the support ☺️. It really means a lot!!!!!!
You mentioned wanting to check out older D&D editions. What I would recommend if you want a free peek at the older systems are the various retroclones, as they clean up the organization and ambiguities.
These three all have free PDFs and try to stick as closely to the originals as possible.
OSRIC: AD&D 1st Edition
For Gold & Glory: AD&D 2nd Edition
Dark Dungeons: BECMI D&D Rules Cyclopedia
Just an FYI, they are all going to be very similar. Up until 3rd Edition, all the previous versions of D&D were broadly compatible with each other.
Anyway, I just randomly stumbled on your channel, and love to see the perspective of someone fresh to the OSR. I will absolutely be following your videos!
Thank you so much for the info ☺️. I was curious which OSR/retro clone games were similar to which editions so this is very helpful.
Its great to get the perspective of a new player on old school games! I really like Basic Fantasy which I use alongside D&D Basic because the modern streamlining is just better. Thanks for the detailed review!!
Thank you 😊!!! I like Basic Fantasy. I’m currently reading AD&D 1e. I’m enjoying OSR games/retro clones, but I’m also interested in reading those older versions those games were inspired by, just out of curiosity.
I am so glad your video came up in my suggested! I am new to ttrpg games as well. New sub here :)
Thank you for the support 😃😃. Lol we’ll probably be learning lots together!!! What systems have you played so far?
@@LegendsDiceCafe Of course :) So far I have played DnD, Brindlewood Bay, and starting up Delta Green this week. I have soooo many I want to play!! Sooo many...haha.
That is so tough that you highlighted your rule book! It means it's a tool to you and reminds me of a warrior's well-worn sword hilt. I wish I had the guts to do that. 🙂
lol 😂 I’ve had others comment on that. It doesn’t feel like it’s mine until I’ve highlighted it a bit.
Great video on Basic Fantasy hope you do more its a great game. Its perfect for those on a budget
Thank you so much ☺️!!!!I definitely will do more videos soon!!!!
Thanks for your contributions to the community. Will you be attending conventions? Would be neat to bump into you and have a chat.
I went to my first conventions this year down in GA ☺️. I loved it and I’m looking forward to visiting others. Which ones do you go to?
@@LegendsDiceCafe I went to gencon way back in 91. PAX is every year here in Seattle and I have attended only once, due to the size of the crowds. I would love to hit up REAPERCON, and other smaller conventions. My first con was in 1984 in Atlanta, and then another in 1985 in Macon. So glad to hear you had a good time. I look forward to all your content. Please keep up the good work, it is appreciated.
Thanks for covering Basic Fantasy RPG!
Thank you for checking it out!!!
I love Basic Fantasy but have not yet had a chance to play, though I have played many similar games like Old School Essentials, which is really the same thing. These are all modern takes on B/X DnD.
Anyway, I love your videos and am excited to see what you explore next! Especially any live play games you might run!
I haven’t played this one yet. I will more likely play solo first before I’m able to get a group to play which is cool too.
I’m not sure if the next game I’m going to check out is going to be dungeon crawl classics, index card rpg or old school essentials. Lol I would like all 3 but have to pick one for now.
Thank you so much for taking time to check out my videos. I really appreciate it ☺️!!!!
Great channel.
Much appreciated!
BFRPG is brilliant.
Thank you so much ☺️!!!!!!!
I asked; how close is bfrpg to b/x etc. ? The answer is that Oe, b/x, & becmi, are so close to one another that bfrpg is pretty much b/x D&D. Just with an ascending armor class and separate race n class. That's it.
Thank you for the info ☺️.
@@LegendsDiceCafe often players of 80's B/X would Frankenstein parts of AD&D into B/X. Since all those versions were close enough to one another, such modifications were common.
OSR style usually has players starting off pretty weak against a harsh world. Pretty much how all the great fantasy books start. The classic storytelling technique of the "Hero's journey", where the protagonist receives a call to adventure, has some growth or transformation, meets a mentor or receives some aid, faces death and possibly dies, and so on. Human beings love this kind of story, and variations have been retold thousands and thousand of times. And classic D&D and these retroclones and OSR are such a good fit for that kind of "monomyth" adventure.
I absolutely agree 💯!!!!!!
I've been playing and running for around 25 years now. D&D and it's related games (Pathfinder and the OSR) are not really my cup of tea as I'm not really into level/class based games, but if I were going to run something in that vein it would definitely be Basic Fantasy!
If you want to check out some other open and old school games of other types, I TOTALLY suggest Cepheus Engine (sci-fi, a open license recreation of Traveller) and OpenQuest (fantasy, an open license recreation of RuneQuest, sort of). Both are based on some of the earliest competitors to D&D (both hit around 1978ish) and both have completely different ways of doing things.
I also recommend Shadowrun (4e is my fave, but a lot of folks like 3e), World of Darkness (my preference is for the 2004 edition, specifically Vampire the Requiem or Mage the Awakening), or the old West End Games Star Wars for some cool systems that use yet a different type of system, called a dice pool. No cheap options on those, however.
I’m absolutely open to other open and old school games. Thank you for all the awesome suggestions. I’ve added them to my list to check out 😊.
@@LegendsDiceCafe to quote a certain Galactic Senator "I'll be watching your career with great interest" lol. Great vids. Subbed and watching through your other videos
lol 😂. Thank you so much for the love & support ☺️!!!!!!!!!!!!
I love BF. I brought my Daughter into the gaming with it. As a a guy who started with AD&AD this is great
I absolutely agree 💯!!!!
It's my rules of choice for my own homebrew world. Easy to modify, and tons of free expansions on the community forum.
It’s definitely in my top favorites & it has such a supportive community!!
Another good overview. There are many cheep/free adventures for Basic Fantasy.
Thank you ☺️!!!! That’s what I love about Basic Fantasy. Available to the community at no cost 💲 and at a low cost for physical books.
If you like old school D&D, then check out BECMI. Aside from the usual types of adventures, it also includes mass combat, maintaining a stronghold, attacking and defending a stronghold with seige combat, and pursuing immortality.
Thank you ☺️. I will absolutely check out BECMI.
@LegendsDiceCafe The BECMI Berserker channel provides detailed information on that edition, and Mr. Welch provides details on Mystara (the default setting for BECMI).
What I love about basic fantasy is that you can get all the books for almost the same price as 1 5e hardcover book so about 15 to 1 ratio..😂
Indeed 💯. Very accessible to everyone!!!!
Dig your mindset and style
Thank you so much for such an awesome compliment ☺️!!!!
Basic Fantasy 3rd Edition vs 4th Edition is almost nothing. 4th edition was mostly created to change the license for copyright reasons, not gameplay. The games are the same.
D&D tried changing their "Open Game License", which allowed other writers to use their game rules without owing D&D anything since the year 2000 when D&D created the Open Game License. Well, they tried changing that early in 2023, but later did a full 180 after a few weeks due to a whole bunch of hate thrown their way. However, trust was lost, so the Basic Fantasy writers (and a lot of others as well) decided to cut ties with D&D, so they had to go back over their rulebooks to get rid of anything that could get them sued for "plagiarism" for terms that D&D invented. FYI, nobody can copyright rules, just how it is written using terms like "Dungeon Master" or "Beholder" monster. Other games can use Game Judge and Evil Eyeball instead. That sort of thing.
I heard it was just about the same as 4th edition. I appreciate the info as far as what can’t be copy-written & terms that can’t be used because I absolutely plan on creating my own TTRPG.
Your comment about finding out the DM path is for you is a tale as old as the game.
People like you and me and all the others who are passionate enough to go out and make content about these games will always lean towards game mastering.
If your anything like me, you pour over the pages of these books everyday you can and without being the DM, it would feel like your only experiencing 10% of what these games offer.
lol I have a little container I carry around the house with some of my books 📚 so I can sit and look thru them when I get time throughout the day. DMing allows me to truly be the creative person I am & I really appreciate that. I’m sure there is toxicity within TTRPG’s but I have found the community to be one of the most supportive that I’ve ever been apart of.
This has been an amazing journey with RPG’s & it’s just the beginning!!!!!
Basic fantasy is a real good game. Layout could be better, old school essentials is better organized. You cant beat the cost of basic fantasy.
I’m looking forward to finally checking OSE out soon.
I hope you are diving deep into this game. IMOHO it is way better than DND 5e.
I am!!! Playing solo helps me to learn the games and that’s what I’m working on with Basic Fantasy so I can really learn the system better.
I haven't played this yet but to me it seems a bit stuffy. I love the idea of open source gaming and old school rules but it is missing something. It seems to be missing that heart and soul of the original D&D classics. They have a few adventure modules out there but it doesn't seem to me that any of them work together as far as world building.
I know they want to keep it basic and simple so that it is adaptable with other systems but they have been around many years now and they should really think about moving things forward over there. Think about original D&D and they were in this same funk for just 4-5 years when they realized this and started Greyhawk and Dragon Magazine and stuff like that to move the product forward. BFRPG has been around much longer and only have a few simple modules to show for it.
I hope in the next edition, a bunch of them sit down together and hash out some detailed World Building sessions to get some movement with the game. I like how they started out with The Western Lands. Now, where is the Eastern, Southern and Northern? Add some more details, cities, regions, and lore to the game. GMs don't have to use that stuff but it is nice to have for some sense of cohesion between modules before too many independent modules are created.
It is like a small company that has a great product but they struggle when growing from small to medium sized company. When you do that, you have to bite the bullet and just plow forward. It is time for change and to grow a little. They been around nearly 20 years now.
Interesting take 🤔. I appreciate you sharing. I’m looking into older versions of D&D. I would love to read them.