M20 can be old school

I've been reading Grognardia which is all about old school gaming. He mentions OD&D a lot. It occurs to me that we can just replace OD&D with M20 and skip all the nostalgia (because I certainly didn't play D&D in the seventies).

It's a philosophy of game design and game play that emphasizes loose rules, the sovereign authority of the referee, and player skill over notions of "balance," "story," or "fun."

Once we accept that, then the following essay is probably of interest: Quick Primer for Old School Gaming by Matthew Finch talks about the difference between running a very old edition of D&D and more recent editions. I think the essay is just as interesting for M20 players.

By kensanata at 07/29/2008 - 21:53
kensanata's blog

Absolutely! In fact, M74 has

Absolutely! In fact, M74 has prompted me to create my own M20 variant!

I think I will add the monster list from M74.

By kensanata at 08/10/2008 - 19:42
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I've glanced at Hard Core M20

I've glanced at Hard Core M20 and I like what I saw. Like it enough to plug it on my RetroRoleplaying Blog, in fact. I really like the Dream World spell, BTW.

By randalls at 08/12/2008 - 00:35
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Thanks! The inspiration for

Thanks! The inspiration for that spell was a power kitsune with nine tails got in Kitsunemori by Dog Soul. There, it says:

A singular aspect of kitsune lands is that their holdings aren’t exactly in the same world as the physical forest around them. The elder kitsune have the power to weave entire cities out of geomantic energy and hide them in the hollow of a tree, and it’s in these artificial realms that the kitsune go to rest and mingle with their kind. These hidden lands are called shrine realms because they need the energy of a shrine to anchor them to the physical world.

Shrine realms exist as demiplanes that can’t be entered except through the proper gateway, which the creating kitsune determines upon completing the realm’s fabrication. A shrine realm is always changing as more kitsune gain the power to shape their own home within it, and groups form to expand the realm to add gardens, rivers, a palace, or other natural or artificial features. Only a few lucky humans have ever been granted the honor of being able to visit a shrine realm. (p. 13)

I really liked the idea.

By kensanata at 08/12/2008 - 01:07
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Duplicificated...

By kensanata at 08/10/2008 - 19:43
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Fixed!

Fixed! Hopefully..........

Thanks for the heads-up.

By greywulf at 08/10/2008 - 19:46
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Microlite74 (100K PDF) is

Microlite74 (100K PDF) is designed to be "Old School" in feel and play. If you don't want to go that far, simply removing skills from M20 is enough to up the "Old School" feel quite a bit.

By randalls at 08/10/2008 - 11:53
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Microlite20

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