Using OpenQuest for a B/X D&D Style Game

[AaroneousMaximus]

I enjoy B/X D&D style play, but vastly prefer d100 mechanics. I was thinking about using OpenQuest to emulate it, much in the same way that Mythras Classic Fantasy emulates Advanced D&D, but much more rules light. I was going to take Old School Essentials and rewrite it in OpenQuest terms. Has anyone done something like this? Do you think it would work out well?

[Jakob]

It's an interesting idea. OQ already gives you races/ancestries. What else would you want to "port over" into OQ? Classes (like classiv fantasy does)? Fire-and-forget spells? I think you could do classes simply as templates - basically, suggestions of how much points to put into which skills. If you want characters to level up, you could take a page out of Classic Fantasy and give them more Hero Points in regular intervals, so that they can reasonably take on bigger and bigger foes without getting kiled.

To be honest, I wouldn't try to re-create "vancian" D&D magic in OpenQuest, but that is simply because I generally prefer magic points systems to fire-and-forget; it's just much less hassle. But you could place restrictions on which spells become available at which skill level in sorcery.

[Guest Vile Traveller]

It must be easy, because we did it in the '80s. 🤣

My advice is to keep the spells exactly as they are, but turn each one into a separate skill that can only be improved through experience. The referee controls what spells are available so there shouldn't be any unexpected power bloat. You don't need any further restrictions or spell points, you'll find that in itself is quite limiting enough. You can even keep the spell levels, and restrict knowledge of those to characters who have advanced high enough in their particular magical college to qualify.

Personally I prefer Holmes D&D over B/X (quelle surprise!), so I would add the rule that magic books are too large and delicate to take on adventures. If you want to add another layer of control you can make players take time (say 15 minutes per spell) and/or roll against their skill to memorise each spell before going off on an adventure. Also allow characters to transcribe any spell they know onto scrolls - ta great money sink to keep your casters poor and hungry for work.

Edited January 31, 2021 by Vile Traveller

[DimensionalRambler]

On 1/31/2021 at 5:00 AM, AaroneousMaximus said:

I enjoy B/X D&D style play, but vastly prefer d100 mechanics. I was thinking about using OpenQuest to emulate it, much in the same way that Mythras Classic Fantasy emulates Advanced D&D, but much more rules light. I was going to take Old School Essentials and rewrite it in OpenQuest terms. Has anyone done something like this? Do you think it would work out well?

I have been wanting to do exactly the same thing, but I always get hung up on this detail or that (especially magic systems). Honestly, I'm thinking one should just grab a few of the weirder magic books (some old Judges Guild stuff, plus Wonders and Wickedness, Theorems and Thaumaturgy, etc.) and just port them over under something akin to the BRP Wizardry rules. 

Edited March 5, 2021 by DimensionalRambler

[Newt]

Its not going to be a full conversion but the upcoming OpenQuest Dungeons is going to have a stack of stuff about using OQ to run a game more suited to the play style of the "World's Favourite Fantasy Roleplaying Game".