tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4143435314932633148.post75729622477165193..comments2024-03-29T03:53:01.413-07:00Comments on B/X BLACKRAZOR: Confessions of a NON-"House Ruler"JBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03263662621289630246noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4143435314932633148.post-24730210484396094602010-01-17T17:46:46.694-08:002010-01-17T17:46:46.694-08:00@ Ryan: absolutely...if we (my friends and I) did ...@ Ryan: absolutely...if we (my friends and I) did NOT house rule, call it as much our insecurity regarding our own ability TO house rule as anything else. But there are SO MANY house ruling old schoolers out there...I just wanted to express myself as a non-house ruling gamer of the old school. Sometimes I feel like an endangered species (like an actual born-and-raised Seattleite living in Seattle).<br /><br />@ Pat: again, absolutely. Sorry for taking your name in vain earlier. Personally I don't think things NEED to be changed that much (if at all) to make the game more enjoyable...for whatever reason, I find it tweaked perfectly to my personal "RPG enjoyment" level. Though for me there is more to enjoy in the aspects OUTSIDE resource management than within. Again, that's just me.<br /><br />@ Regamer: what Pat said. Mentzer's Basic and Expert are very much the same as B/X (simply a different lay-out with some great Elmore art, especially in the Expert book). It's the "CMI" part that emphasizes the change in tone and (IMO) nails down and corrals possibilities rather than opens 'em up.<br /><br />What the heck am I talking about? Well, B/X is essentially the original three volume OD&D rules, but stream-lined and codified a bit (up to level 14). OD&D was pretty much open-ended with what you do with it...it begs for house ruling adaptation and people to "make the game their own." The CMI shuts all that down, defining the finite limits of the game, up to and including seeking immortality and the interaction of gods and the mundane world. By defining the absolute limits of possibility you shut down what is possible. BECMI (or the RC and WotI) stunts imagination and creativity even moreso than D20, in my opinion. But BECMI is NOT a "bad game." For me, it simply fails to deliver on the potential of OD&D/B/X.JBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08532311924539491087noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4143435314932633148.post-20382207236386194412010-01-17T13:15:17.006-08:002010-01-17T13:15:17.006-08:00If you are comparing all of BECMI to B/X it is qui...If you are comparing all of BECMI to B/X it is quite different. If you are comparing BE to B/X they are quite similar from a mechanical standpoint but I find them very different in terms of tone and presentation.<br /><br />Of course those criteria are quite subjective so many may disagree with me. Of course, they would still be wrong ;)P_Armstronghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12374589162025099763noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4143435314932633148.post-79696859191764954752010-01-17T12:02:15.848-08:002010-01-17T12:02:15.848-08:00Can I ask how is it distinct from BECMI; are the r...Can I ask how is it distinct from BECMI; are the rules very different, or is it something less tangible. I started with the BECMI rules, and just recently acquired a pdf of the BX rules. I'd like to know the difference for when I start a game soon.<br /><br />Word verification: I swear to god came up as prick....I don't know what to make of that?Regamerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14568470239734853393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4143435314932633148.post-61685394991931302112010-01-17T11:16:30.974-08:002010-01-17T11:16:30.974-08:00Sometimes I do indeed add a few houserules. Someti...Sometimes I do indeed add a few houserules. Sometimes I don't. My main criteria for adding a houserule are really twofold:<br /><br />1. will it add to the enjoyment of this particular group of players? For example, playing using skype I typically do include a couple of houserules to increase early survivability of characters because no one wants to step out of the skype game to make a new character, email it to the DM, etc. We also adopted many of these houserules for my Northern Marches campaign due to players unfamiliar with old school gaming styles and the resulting fatality rates impacting their enjoyment of the game.<br /><br />2. Does it add or subtract from Resource Management? I like houserules to add to resource management. I think that decisions such as when to sacrifice your shield, who should get bandaged or how much gp should be spent carousing add a new decision to the game. I am not a fan of houserules that eliminate resource management decisions.<br /><br />I love straight B/X - best D&D ruleset ever. My preferred ruleset would be B/X straight up with mini-game additions such as Rient's carousing, Blair's urban chases, or Zak's urbancrawl rules added to it.<br /><br />And it is very distinct from BECMI.P_Armstronghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12374589162025099763noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4143435314932633148.post-71878672159875511142010-01-17T10:10:23.745-08:002010-01-17T10:10:23.745-08:00I must confess that I like you started at a very y...I must confess that I like you started at a very young age, with d&d (BECMI variety)so going against any written rules would have been seen as strange. However when it came to ad&d some of the rules on combat sequence and weaponless combat seemed just too complex (same with encumberance). Now that I think about it though we played fast and lose with rounds and turns. Oh God now that I'm writing this the very first characters we made we just gave 18's for everything..I can't believe I blocked that out of my memory (that ones embarrassing and I have no good justification for doing that).Regamerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14568470239734853393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4143435314932633148.post-69875620174746693062010-01-17T08:42:11.238-08:002010-01-17T08:42:11.238-08:00Me corrupting the game to my liking does them a di...<i>Me corrupting the game to my liking does them a disservice.</i> <br /><br />Don't nearly all of the old books encourage you to make the game your own? Even Gygax, by many accounts, didn't play AD&D "by the book." One could argue that house-ruling and customization are part of the game and not a corruption. (Of course, I like corrupting things...) <br /><br />Personally, I love house rules, particularly reading the house rules set down by others. One of the things that appeals to me about this corner of the internet is to see all the different things people are doing with D&D.DMWieghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03682249561077936507noreply@blogger.com