Hey everyone! if you liked the video i'd appreciate it if you checked out my channel and if you find others that you like, please consider subscribing! Thanks!
As a teacher myself I can relate. I ran a summer school class of d&d. Ben should be happy knowing about 30 kids learned how to rpg through Knave because it's so easy and streamlined for kids.
This was very interesting. Ben dwarves all this great success. I look forward to receiving my copy of Knave 2e and might need to write some materials for it (setting + modules).
Been playing D&D (red box and beyond) for 40 years. With the latest changes to 5.5e, I now simply struggle to follow the game to where it wants to go, seemingly intent on destroying fundamental concepts that I consider sacrosanct to the game. So, finally, I’m looking for a new hobby home and fell into Forbidden Lands. However, desiring to play with my teenage girls, I’ve been looking for a simpler OSR game and Knave 2e couldn’t have arrived at a better time. Thank you Ben Milton for creating it.
Many of us (that were playing when RPGs first came out) are still alive and involved in RPGs. Ben is talking in the past tense, like we don't exist, see @ 43:30. If he wants to understand how early RPGs were played and what we understand about them, all he has to do is ask.
I disagree that Knave is "compatible with BX." There will always be a need for conversions and if conversions are necessary then it is not compatible without said conversions. Maybe compatible in a broad philosophical sense of approach and feel to the game(s), but to imply that you can just grab a BX module and not have to spend time doing arithmetic for most stat blocks in misleading. Of course there are people who have done conversions between the two and good on you if you want to port things around and tinker with different systems. To me the more conversions I need to do the less appeal a "streamlined" system has, since all the odd bits of BX that were polished away are still there for consideration during the conversions.
Official D&D could end tomorrow and real D&D would live on thru the OSR. Actually I wish it would end tomorrow so we could get the herd to play real D&D.
I feel like there's a lot of cargo cult thinking in OSR among players of retro clones. I played the original games in the 1980s and 90s, and I can tell you that getting rid of attack matrixes and THAC0 and descending AC won't change the feel of the game. That's not what made the game good. I'd play OSR, but I wouldn't play a retro clone anymore than I'd wear bell bottom jeans and Deep Purple T-shirts.
I think modern designers are beholden to a way of thinking that "best practice" is to have everything be resolved on a single die (typically d20) rolled high. Modifier arithmetic is considered the pinnacle of good design. At least to me, the original attack matrix of OD&D 3LBB '74 was made specifically to avoid doing modifier arithmetic where the DM just says: "roll and tell me what you get" then looks things up on the back of the DM screen in a table. Stat and weapon modifiers were +1 though and more rare, so a matrix that eliminated the need to math out level-based modifiers did most of the work for the DM. I think the entire streamlining of the rules philosophy comes about from making the rules "neater" to present to the players for tracking, which makes for more player-centric products which in turn make for much higher sales figures. I suppose there are two camps, the modern arithmetic player-centric streamline view of things and the old school mentality that appreciates the quirks and idiosyncrasies of older games. I would def consider myself in the latter camp, but I can appreciate both. Its just irritating to have the modern approach always be presented as definitively being better, when its becoming obvious that its just designer preference, desire to differentiate from earlier work, or even OCD.
re the international distribution question , why don't indy game designers ( most of whom talk to each other all the time anyway ) form a coop whose purpose is to print and distribute indie games around the world ? Sure there would be logistics , but costs would be shared. By having regional or national if necessary ) printers hired , perhaps some of the legalites of going cross-border could be alleviated. I don't know anything about this , but I bet a workable solution would be quite possible. Find a printer in Europe - print and distribute to europe. Find a printer in Asia - print and distribute in asia. Find a printer in Africa - print and distribute to africa. Find a printer in australia or New zealand etc etc. Am I oversimplitying beyond the possible ?
It's a good idea, but it then requires time away from designing games. Nobody goes into the field of game design wanting to be a logistics expert. Most designers begrudgingly do the business end of things in the first place, and they just want to create cool games. The best scenario is finding somebody who already has a business doing this that can provide expertise for a niche audience. In my own investigation, by far, the biggest expense/risk of making a game is distribution and fulfillment. You need somebody with a proven track record of knowing what they're doing. Having a large collection of game designers that aren't interested in logistics is probably not going to work well. My 2 cents.
That's not an accurate representation of the early OSR. I was not about figuring out the game rules, they were pretty clear and easy to understand --- it was all about preserving those original rules, which were out of print. Also about making it possible to publish new material for the original rules. This video is distorting the past.
Shame on you for supporting Ben Milton and Knave 2e. Ben lied to us Kickstarter backers and sold advanced copies of what was supposed to be a Kickstarter exclusive cover at a convention before ANY of the backers got their books. I still don't have mine as of this post. Then he treated us like we were the bad guys for complaining when the exclusive cover was renamed "premium edition." Don't support ANY content creator that lies and then disrespects their backers. Shame on you both!
Normally I would ignore a stupid rant like this, but I need to call you out. Could I not also say shame on you for backing the project? Anyways, don't come on my channel and make dumb accusations.
So if I understand you correctly, what you're saying, is, "Whaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh Boooooohoooooooooooo *SOB* Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!!" That about right?
Hey everyone! if you liked the video i'd appreciate it if you checked out my channel and if you find others that you like, please consider subscribing! Thanks!
Bro, you are doing the lord's work getting these indie rpg interviews out there. I appreciate you.
🙏
Ben rocks! I love his UA-cam channel and am a member of his monthly newsletter, The Glatisant.
Same and same!
Always love your interviews and can't wait for my knave 2e book to arrive!
Thanks for the kind words! I've been hoping to have Ben on for a while! I hope you enjoy it!
Thank you for the insight into Ben's origin story, it's very inspirational for me.
It was cool to learn the origin story! Thanks for watching!
As a teacher myself I can relate. I ran a summer school class of d&d. Ben should be happy knowing about 30 kids learned how to rpg through Knave because it's so easy and streamlined for kids.
Your channel is killing the interviews 🤘
Thanks! There's a couple more coming up before I take a little vacation. But September is looking good too!
This was very interesting. Ben dwarves all this great success. I look forward to receiving my copy of Knave 2e and might need to write some materials for it (setting + modules).
Thank you for this excellent interview I really enjoyed it
Thanks so much! It was a fun one to do!
Was looking forward to your next interview and I love Ben's channel, so I'm very excited to get into this one!
I hope you enjoy it!
Great questions for Ben. Subscribed.
Been playing D&D (red box and beyond) for 40 years. With the latest changes to 5.5e, I now simply struggle to follow the game to where it wants to go, seemingly intent on destroying fundamental concepts that I consider sacrosanct to the game.
So, finally, I’m looking for a new hobby home and fell into Forbidden Lands. However, desiring to play with my teenage girls, I’ve been looking for a simpler OSR game and Knave 2e couldn’t have arrived at a better time.
Thank you Ben Milton for creating it.
Cool video. Just discovered your channel 👍🏽
Many of us (that were playing when RPGs first came out) are still alive and involved in RPGs. Ben is talking in the past tense, like we don't exist, see @ 43:30. If he wants to understand how early RPGs were played and what we understand about them, all he has to do is ask.
Interesting observation about teaching and DMing.
I’m a social worker and DM, I feel it’s the same sort of crossover skill set.
Is there a discord , facebook or some other boards to discuss this game? I have a lot of questions.
Ace!
I disagree that Knave is "compatible with BX." There will always be a need for conversions and if conversions are necessary then it is not compatible without said conversions. Maybe compatible in a broad philosophical sense of approach and feel to the game(s), but to imply that you can just grab a BX module and not have to spend time doing arithmetic for most stat blocks in misleading. Of course there are people who have done conversions between the two and good on you if you want to port things around and tinker with different systems. To me the more conversions I need to do the less appeal a "streamlined" system has, since all the odd bits of BX that were polished away are still there for consideration during the conversions.
Official D&D could end tomorrow and real D&D would live on thru the OSR. Actually I wish it would end tomorrow so we could get the herd to play real D&D.
I’m really happy that the herd has a game that keeps them away from my hobby.
I feel like there's a lot of cargo cult thinking in OSR among players of retro clones. I played the original games in the 1980s and 90s, and I can tell you that getting rid of attack matrixes and THAC0 and descending AC won't change the feel of the game. That's not what made the game good. I'd play OSR, but I wouldn't play a retro clone anymore than I'd wear bell bottom jeans and Deep Purple T-shirts.
Lots of retro clones include ascending AC. Also, Target 20 makes descending AC as simple as ascending.
I think modern designers are beholden to a way of thinking that "best practice" is to have everything be resolved on a single die (typically d20) rolled high. Modifier arithmetic is considered the pinnacle of good design. At least to me, the original attack matrix of OD&D 3LBB '74 was made specifically to avoid doing modifier arithmetic where the DM just says: "roll and tell me what you get" then looks things up on the back of the DM screen in a table. Stat and weapon modifiers were +1 though and more rare, so a matrix that eliminated the need to math out level-based modifiers did most of the work for the DM. I think the entire streamlining of the rules philosophy comes about from making the rules "neater" to present to the players for tracking, which makes for more player-centric products which in turn make for much higher sales figures.
I suppose there are two camps, the modern arithmetic player-centric streamline view of things and the old school mentality that appreciates the quirks and idiosyncrasies of older games. I would def consider myself in the latter camp, but I can appreciate both. Its just irritating to have the modern approach always be presented as definitively being better, when its becoming obvious that its just designer preference, desire to differentiate from earlier work, or even OCD.
re the international distribution question , why don't indy game designers ( most of whom talk to each other all the time anyway ) form a coop whose purpose is to print and distribute indie games around the world ?
Sure there would be logistics , but costs would be shared. By having regional or national if necessary ) printers hired , perhaps some of the legalites of going cross-border could be alleviated.
I don't know anything about this , but I bet a workable solution would be quite possible.
Find a printer in Europe - print and distribute to europe.
Find a printer in Asia - print and distribute in asia.
Find a printer in Africa - print and distribute to africa.
Find a printer in australia or New zealand etc etc.
Am I oversimplitying beyond the possible ?
It's a good idea, but it then requires time away from designing games. Nobody goes into the field of game design wanting to be a logistics expert.
Most designers begrudgingly do the business end of things in the first place, and they just want to create cool games.
The best scenario is finding somebody who already has a business doing this that can provide expertise for a niche audience.
In my own investigation, by far, the biggest expense/risk of making a game is distribution and fulfillment. You need somebody with a proven track record of knowing what they're doing. Having a large collection of game designers that aren't interested in logistics is probably not going to work well.
My 2 cents.
That's not an accurate representation of the early OSR. I was not about figuring out the game rules, they were pretty clear and easy to understand --- it was all about preserving those original rules, which were out of print. Also about making it possible to publish new material for the original rules. This video is distorting the past.
Shame on you for supporting Ben Milton and Knave 2e. Ben lied to us Kickstarter backers and sold advanced copies of what was supposed to be a Kickstarter exclusive cover at a convention before ANY of the backers got their books. I still don't have mine as of this post. Then he treated us like we were the bad guys for complaining when the exclusive cover was renamed "premium edition." Don't support ANY content creator that lies and then disrespects their backers. Shame on you both!
Normally I would ignore a stupid rant like this, but I need to call you out. Could I not also say shame on you for backing the project? Anyways, don't come on my channel and make dumb accusations.
So if I understand you correctly, what you're saying, is,
"Whaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh Boooooohoooooooooooo *SOB* Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!!"
That about right?