Classic Fantasy, why run it? (+)

[Y Mab Darogan]

So I own the book and think it's a great supplement purely in It's own right but in the spirit of discussion I'd like to know your top three reasons for running this over a core Mythras game.

Purely positive if you don't find it to your taste that's fine but I'm all about the reason to run it.

[Jae]

I could see myself using it to ease players that are familiar with class and level based games into Mythras and also to recapture the retro acquisition style gaming experience. I am also considering it for my kids when I transition them from Hero Kids to something heavier.

 

[g33k]

26 minutes ago, Jae said:

I could see myself using it to ease players that are familiar with class and level based games into Mythras and also to recapture the retro acquisition style gaming experience. I am also considering it for my kids when I transition them from Hero Kids to something heavier.

Yeah, this.  Well, except the "kids" thing (for me), as all my kids are already experienced gamers with multiple systems under their belts.

1.  Lure in D&D players to the BRP/d100 experience, but with the familiar class/level structure they expect and maybe want.

2  In a related vein, some player just *LIKE* to have something like a "class" to focus on; the unstructured free-build is too wide-open for their tastes.

3. As noted, that "retro" nostalgia vibe, but using superior mechanics.  It's OSR, but better!      This is the one that pulls me, personally (but as I'd be the GM, I need to evaluate systems I offer my group based primarily on what works for them, and why... ) .

 

[Raleel]

The above, plus the ability to recycle old content with minimal fuss. I have lots of old d&d content, and most of the conversion work is done at this point. 

I also found my group enjoyed the higher power level. 

[Jigawatts]

The added structure is nice, the nostalgia and familiarity is nice, and the content itself is solid.

Our group isn't a huge fan of completely free form character mechanics, preferring it a bit more structured, and we are all very familiar and comfortable with D&D. Classic Fantasy is like the perfect bridge.

[threedeesix]

For me personally, I really enjoy the author's work. Plus he seems like a really nice guy and I wanted to support him so he'll make more. 

Rod

Edited June 10, 2017 by threedeesix

[heathd666]

 

@HorusArisen

i dont own classic fantasy and my only experience with mythras so far has been with m-space however i did get to play classic fantasy last year at gen con. it was like old dnd on steroids. we had a ton of fun. it took some time to get the hang of its not hack n slash and i didnt have a ton of hit points in a pool to use. i think everyone at the table i was at was first time players of mythras and classic fantasy. the next day i was at a table waiting for the gm and overheard one of the players from my game of classic fantasy the other day telling his friends at the table next to me how awesome the game was. was it just the gm and his abilities? was it the classic fantasy system and the way it simulates classic dnd? or was it a combination of the 2? we may never know but i can say that that one guy was super excited about classic fantasy and was spreading the word about it. if that person who didnt know what classic fantasy was, but had bought the ticket in order to fill his time slot was that excited about it after playing it that one time what do you think the chances of your players enjoying it much like him will be?

[soltakss]

6 hours ago, HorusArisen said:

So I own the book and think it's a great supplement purely in It's own right but in the spirit of discussion I'd like to know your top three reasons for running this over a core Mythras game.

Purely positive if you don't find it to your taste that's fine but I'm all about the reason to run it.

You can play 13th Age in Glorantha with Mythras Classic Fantasy.

[g33k]

5 hours ago, soltakss said:

You can play 13th Age in Glorantha with Mythras Classic Fantasy.

but

wait

no ...

dammit, soltakss, you're making me THINK now.  Not cool, man... not cool !

[Prime Evil]

Is this a trick question? 

 

[Y Mab Darogan]

Nope. I like seeing what it is brings people to a game. Way too many negative threads on boards .

3 hours ago, Prime Evil said:

Is this a trick question? 

 

So what are your top reasons or loving classic fantasy?

[Matt_E]

When I started playing RQ3 back in the 1980s, it was as a better alternative to AD&D.  To put it bluntly, I was growing up, and my gaming taste was, too.  At some level, I was probably looking for a better system for more or less the same style of play.

This is precisely what Classic Fantasy brings:  Mythras mechanics (modestly altered to fit) for the flavor of Old School play--plain and simple.  I guess in principle the prime reason for me, then, would be nostalgia, a return to the roots.  However, my tastes have continued to change, and I don't put that much stock in nostalgia. :-)  I like CF as a product, but, it's not my cup of tea, nowadays.  Rod has done a great job, though.

[Y Mab Darogan]

I toyed with using classic fantasy as my groups gateway to Mythras but decided to big plunge instead. Prior to my enforced hiatus from gaming that is 

That said I can genuinely see just going Classic in its own right, it's got such a great feel just reading it that you can totally see it becoming your game of choice.

Edited June 11, 2017 by HorusArisen

[Raleel]

So, more on my own view.

i think my players liked the class structure. I personally am not a giant fan, but as a GM I don't have to worry about it as much  I still have to think about healing a bit, which I think is probably a solvable issue.

I've seriously considered busting out all of the class abilities into xp costing things and effectively making it possible to freely and granularly multiclass between classes, and only drive rank with skills. Access to abilities would be driven by rank, but you could be rank 1 in a class and go to rank 2 without getting everything. This would support the healing, as one could have a "class" with a healing ability (spell or otherwise) with 50% in a few skills. 

I wanted more Monk, to be honest. Nothing wrong with it, but another Path would have been good. I'll probably end up doing some. Still going to be my first character when I get to play. I built a bunch of crazy martial arts weapons to get the feel I was looking for.

The characters are very tough. A couple of martial classes get reduced damage, and fighters get abilities that functionally alter the size of their weapons and shields. Most classes get extra action points for defense. Everyone gets extra luck points. Armor is quite a lot cheaper. This makes them able to take some remarkably hard shots. It is also makes some things a touch swingy - block a bigger weapon and knock off half the damage, and you might be able to absorb it with your augmented armor, but miss it and you are losing a torso. The luck helps, but you do have to keep an eye on it with things like Giants. 

The above swing forced one of my players to reconsider his normal character choices and think about new tactics (a good thing). He likes swashbuckler sorts and relying on evade exacerbates the swing. None or 2d12 for a hill giant, say. He argues that evade is worse because you have to beat their roll (opposed roll) vs a shield were you just have to succeed (differential roll). I argue that his evade applies to spells and shields don't

[pachristian]

There are a number of tropes that have become so solidly embedded in gaming that many people assume they are universal. The D&D tropes are firmly imbedded in most computer rpg's and MMO's, and most role-playing games. These tropes include; a division between sorcerous and clerical magic, clerics as healers, dungeon crawling, and level advancement (i.e. your character gaining new and more impressive abilities as you play). 

Mythras does all of these things just fine, but Classic Fantasy gives you the style of play that encourages and builds on these tropes.

But serious talk aside, I've found that I can run my classic AD&D adventures, and even my Goodman Games Dungeon Crawl Classics (3rd Ed.) adventures, with minimal conversion. "Minimal conversion" in this case really means: "Knowing the module well enough to run it for a group, and just plugging in CF numbers where needed." As a general rule, I've only needed to convert the monsters with individual names. Call it one extra hour of prep work, max, for a game that runs 1 to 3 sessions.

One of my current projects is converting Al-Qadim kits, magic, and monsters to Classic Fantasy. Now THAT's going to be a golden voyage!

[Raleel]

I imagine the Sha'ir are actually not going to be that bad. Going and fetching spells seems like just taking time and waiting. 

I was working on later class conversions. Warlock specifically, and some bard features. Fortunately the structure of 5e makes this relatively easy - the powers are pretty isolated system wise. 

[Belgath]

I ran 4 sessions of Classic Fantasy last year at GenCon. And will be running 1 this year on Wednesday.  Had one sessions where all the players where new to Mythras  but where all previously D&D pathfinder  players they seemed to really enjoy it. I was similar enough that they were able to settle right in. But quickly came to the realization that it was much more dangerous. If they did not think things through. I only took them about 30 min to get the hang of it, having a great dungeon crawl. My son played in two of Sessions one with mostly player new to the game and the last game that had all old Runequest players he was rely supersize how much fun the last group had even though they made it through almost unscathed using good tactics. What I noted is the game works well with both types of players. Also after ruining a 6 mouth long campaign. The player love the freedom to put there exp rolls anyplace they wanted, the gradual realistic progression in power. Coupled with looking forward  to and receiving the new ranks, which entailed a big burst power and skills was a big deal for the players. Classic Fantasy has done an amazing job of tying two game types into one fluid system that has a broader appeal to more players. On my roll 20 campaign I had two old D&D players that stated they would have never tried Mythras before playing Classic Fantasy and 3 others that don't like D&D but love CF. So in My experience Classic Fantasy has made it easier for me to find players by appealing to the broader group. 

[Belgath]

Double posted

Edited June 11, 2017 by Belgath

[parejf63]

I enjoy it, but I use it for more spells and creatures for Mythras.    If I want to play D&D, I play D&D, but right now, our gaming choice is Mythras...

[threedeesix]

For the record, playing Classic Fantasy is nothing like "playing" D&D. That would imply that Classic Fantasy is just another of the many D&D retro-clones that can be found in print.

A much more accurate statement would be "If I want to play D&D, I play D&D. But if I want to play in a D&D type setting with a more realistic and exciting set of rules, I play Classic Fantasy." 

😉

Rod

[Raleel]

I think I might say if I want to play D&D, I pick CF because it's just more interesting to play for me. It gives the tropes that are comfortable, but gives a system that is far more exciting.

[ReluctantGM]

On 6/11/2017 at 11:40 AM, Raleel said:

I imagine the Sha'ir are actually not going to be that bad. Going and fetching spells seems like just taking time and waiting. 

I was working on later class conversions. Warlock specifically, and some bard features. Fortunately the structure of 5e makes this relatively easy - the powers are pretty isolated system wise. 

Apologies for the thread necromancy but the above is relevant to my interests.

I have managed to convince my 5E group to let me retool the campaign so that we're using Classic Fantasy and I'm casting about for conversions of the Warlock & Artificer classes. I have found Raleel's page where he lists the stats for Dragonborn and Tieflings but, alas, I didn't find any info on classes.

Before I go and reinvent any wheels does anyone know of any of the needed class conversion?

Cheers!

[Raleel]

@ReluctantGM

wizard and cleric are going to be very close to their standard classic fantasy layouts I suspect. Maybe an extra gift here and there. The diviner gets to keep an extra d100 roll, for example.

advantage is a reroll. That is covered by luck points, which, in and of themselves, map very well to inspiration. 

in my view, I think bonus actions map closely to special effects. Many of those could be just made into a custom special effect. 

Action points themselves are different, and sort of map oddly. You gotta think that a 5e character has a move and a standard and often a bonus action. 
 

hit me up sometime with the classes you are looking at. 5e is actually not bad at all to convert 

[mal]

On 6/11/2017 at 11:29 AM, pachristian said:

There are a number of tropes that have become so solidly embedded in gaming that many people assume they are universal. The D&D tropes are firmly imbedded in most computer rpg's and MMO's, and most role-playing games. These tropes include; a division between sorcerous and clerical magic, clerics as healers, dungeon crawling, and level advancement (i.e. your character gaining new and more impressive abilities as you play). 

Mythras does all of these things just fine, but Classic Fantasy gives you the style of play that encourages and builds on these tropes.

But serious talk aside, I've found that I can run my classic AD&D adventures, and even my Goodman Games Dungeon Crawl Classics (3rd Ed.) adventures, with minimal conversion. "Minimal conversion" in this case really means: "Knowing the module well enough to run it for a group, and just plugging in CF numbers where needed." As a general rule, I've only needed to convert the monsters with individual names. Call it one extra hour of prep work, max, for a game that runs 1 to 3 sessions.

One of my current projects is converting Al-Qadim kits, magic, and monsters to Classic Fantasy. Now THAT's going to be a golden voyage!

Sorry for the thread necromancy! But I've just gotten interested in Al-Qadim and I'm wondering if you've ever completed or made any headway on your conversion? If so are you willing to share? Would love to try this excellent setting but DnD is not my thing!

 

thanks

 

[Raleel]

3 hours ago, mal said:

Sorry for the thread necromancy! But I've just gotten interested in Al-Qadim and I'm wondering if you've ever completed or made any headway on your conversion? If so are you willing to share? Would love to try this excellent setting but DnD is not my thing!

 

thanks

 

there is a mostly complete al-qadim conversion on the discord in the resource links channel