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The world's oldest RPG in the old World

Posted: Thu Nov 14, 2019 1:34 pm
by Zisse
macd21 wrote: Wed Nov 13, 2019 5:09 amPlay DnD?
Has anyone played with D&D rules in the old world? We just started this, because we rely on Fantasy Grounds, where the rules are supported so well. Any good Homebrew suggestions?

So far we added magic fumbles. Any natural one on a spell role is a fumble.

Re: The world's oldest RPG in the old World

Posted: Thu Nov 14, 2019 2:47 pm
by Theo
This blog chronicles a campaign that's basically the early parts of The Enemy Within run with modified D&D rules (I think 5E, but can't be sure): The Dark Beneath
(They have some house rules posted here.)

This version notably beefs up the combat encounters - lots more and tougher monsters - which I suspect is an artifact of using D&D rules.

At the other end of the scale, there's Small But Vicious Dog, a hack of B/X D&D to fit with low-level WFRP. It would probably not be impossible to update its concepts to 5E D&D, but it might be quite a bit of work.

Re: The world's oldest RPG in the old World

Posted: Thu Nov 14, 2019 3:21 pm
by Theo

Re: The world's oldest RPG in the old World

Posted: Mon Dec 02, 2019 2:04 am
by Whymme
Nitpick: The world's oldest RPG would be Chainmail, a predecessor of D&D.

Re: The world's oldest RPG in the old World

Posted: Mon Dec 02, 2019 11:50 am
by Zisse
Touché, I was just quoting paizo's way to write about "it".

Re: The world's oldest RPG in the old World

Posted: Mon Dec 02, 2019 12:47 pm
by Theo
I can't see how it would be Chainmail no matter how you count. Chainmail was not an RPG but a miniatures ruleset.

Now, admittedly, the first edition of D&D didn't bill itself as a role-playing game either (and indeed mentions almost nothing about role-playing). The term seems first to have appeared a year or two later to market games who were "kind of like D&D but not actually the trademark D&D".

Either way it seems a bit of a derail (which I admit I just contributed to...).

Re: The world's oldest RPG in the old World

Posted: Mon Dec 02, 2019 2:24 pm
by Horst Horstman
I thought Blackmoor provided the roleplaying elements that eventually became combined with the Chainmail combat rules to form D&D

Re: The world's oldest RPG in the old World

Posted: Tue Dec 03, 2019 12:45 am
by Gideon
Arneson may have used Chainmail and the Fantasy Supplement for his Blackmoor games, but Chainmail and the Fantasy Supplement were written as wargames, not RPGs. I personally don't think think there's a good case for seeing them as the first RPG (and I don't think I've heard that suggested before). They existed before Arneson headed into the dungeons beneath Castle Blackmoor.

Re: The world's oldest RPG in the old World

Posted: Fri Dec 06, 2019 12:06 am
by Wolf
Theo wrote: Thu Nov 14, 2019 2:47 pm This blog chronicles a campaign that's basically the early parts of The Enemy Within run with modified D&D rules (I think 5E, but can't be sure): The Dark Beneath
(They have some house rules posted here.)

This version notably beefs up the combat encounters - lots more and tougher monsters - which I suspect is an artifact of using D&D rules.

At the other end of the scale, there's Small But Vicious Dog, a hack of B/X D&D to fit with low-level WFRP. It would probably not be impossible to update its concepts to 5E D&D, but it might be quite a bit of work.
There was also a disguised d20 WFRP hack from Mike Mearls, I think. It was supposed to have been part of Fear the Wurst, but GW wouldn’t permit it. It eventually came out under the title Darkness and Dread, I understand. Never read or used though.