Recent content by Lofgeornost

I guess it depends on how you classify the OSR. Personally, I’d put Sine Nomine (Kevin Crawford’s) work into that grouping. Stars Without Number has gone through 2 editions and a number of supplements and still seems to be recommended when someone is looking for a generic SF game.

One thing that the this thread has reminded me of is that Tolkien’s Orcs, though a thoroughly nasty bunch, are not simply sword-fodder who always want to fight the heroes. They have their own factions; you can cut deals with them (or try, as Merry and Pippin did). And some like Shagrat and...

That's an interesting idea and may well have had a lot to do with it. Another factor, I think, is that from Greyhawk on the variety of dice that players use really expands. In the LBBs, players are basically rolling a D20 or a D6 or two, and that's about it. The referee will have tables set out...

Games Workshop thought it would be a good idea, back in 1987: One of those games I always wanted to play, but never did.

I imagine you are right. For what it's worth, I often find narrative history--especially political narrative--less interesting and harder to digest than social or economic history. It's particularly the case when I'm not that familiar with the times, places, or individuals concerned. I guess I...

I doubt if there was a great deal of thought about it, back when % rolls for skills were introduced for thieves in Greyhawk. Since the stated %s always are multiples of 5, it wasn't to allow more variation than you find on a D20. Empire of the Petal Throne had already introduced % rolls for...

Will do, when I've had a chance to get to it. It's very cheap on Kindle currently ($3.00),

My debt to my wife is really piling up. On a recent trip to the library, I snagged a DVD of a film I'd not heard of: The King's Daughter (2022). It is based (theoretically at least) on Vonda McIntyre's The Moon and the Sun (1997), which won a Nebula, and stars Pierce Brosnan (as Louis XIV) and...

Just to make it clear that my avatar is doing its bit in the struggle against the foe:

Sorry it was dry, but that seems a fair comment on the genre (historical textbooks).

Thanks to a mention by @Arcane_Avatar in another thread, I recently bought an e-copy of this:

The Index Card RPG is today’s Deal of the Day on Drivethru; it’s half off ($8.25).

In my defense, I was talking about designing settings rather than systems. The post that @SJB quoted gives some context. On your basic point—that if games that people agree were a blast to play are described as bad design, our view of good design is wonky—I agree. Of course, you can make a...

So, last night I inflicted Taras Bulba (1962) on myself and my wife. It's a a Howard Hecht production, based on Gogol's novella, and starring Yul Brynner in the title role and Tony Curtis (who gets top billing). I've never read the story and was interested in it for its Ukrainian setting. The...

Another example of a published setting: Ultima Forsan. This is an Italian Savage Worlds’ product, translated into English in 2015 (a little roughly in spots). The core concept of Ultima Forsan is clear and intriguing, to me anyway: the Black Death of the 1340s was not a natural disease but a...