Original D&D Discussion - Hackmaster Basic

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Original D&D Discussion :: Other :: Other Editions and Simulacrum Games :: [Free Legal D/L] Hackmaster Basic

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Topic: [Free Legal D/L] Hackmaster Basic (Read 508 times)

Cameron DuBeers
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[Free Legal D/L] Hackmaster Basic
« Thread Started on Aug 10, 2012, 1:15pm »

I haven't seen this posted here, so I thought I would let everyone know. You can download a free PDF of Kenzer & Co.'s game Hackmaster Basic.

This is their link, it's free, a complete product, and you don't need to sign up for anything to d/l.

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greykat
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Re: [Free Legal D/L] Hackmaster Basic
« Reply #1 on Aug 10, 2012, 3:13pm »

Cool thanks for the links Cameron.

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Finarvyn
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Re: [Free Legal D/L] Hackmaster Basic
« Reply #2 on Aug 10, 2012, 3:24pm »

Very cool. Moving it to "other editions" however....

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Cameron DuBeers
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Re: [Free Legal D/L] Hackmaster Basic
« Reply #3 on Aug 10, 2012, 4:04pm »

Aug 10, 2012, 3:24pm, Finarvyn wrote:

Very cool. Moving it to "other editions" however....

Of course! I should have thought of it myself. 8-)

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thegreyelf
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Re: [Free Legal D/L] Hackmaster Basic
« Reply #4 on Aug 14, 2012, 2:32pm »

Yeah...I got a review copy of this and I was SO displeased with it that I didn't feel I could fairly review it. I thought it was that schizophrenically bad. Shame, because at least Hackmaster 4 was fun.

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kesher
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Re: [Free Legal D/L] Hackmaster Basic
« Reply #5 on Aug 14, 2012, 4:36pm »

I haven't looked at it yet, but I'm curious why you think it's so bad?

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Re: [Free Legal D/L] Hackmaster Basic
« Reply #6 on Aug 17, 2012, 7:07am »

I'm curious also. I was involved in the beta testing, so of course I have my own opinions

Psychopathically bad, that's ...pretty bad

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Finarvyn
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Re: [Free Legal D/L] Hackmaster Basic
« Reply #7 on Aug 17, 2012, 10:15am »

I bought a paper copy the instant it came out, read through it, then pretty much forgot all about it. I don't think there was anything really wrong with the game but somehow it didn't grab me. I suspect I had some holdover from the Fourth Edition version, which was really puffed up with so many charts and rules so as to be absurd, and perhaps I just mentally filed it in my brain as "same thing only shorter" or something like that.

By the way, the name "HackMaster" has to be one of the most awesome RPG names ever. I still have my HackMaster t-shirt from years ago....

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Zenopus
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Re: [Free Legal D/L] Hackmaster Basic
« Reply #8 on Aug 17, 2012, 11:28am »

I downloaded it a few days. I noticed some KoDT comics in there, which is nice (I just started reading KoDT this past year).

But there's a problem with calling a ruleset "Basic" version when it's 232 pages long. Unless this is supposed to be a parody of a Basic set?

The Sample Adventures are related to Frandor's Keep, which I gather is a re-skinned version of the Keep from Little Keep of the Borderlands, Hackmaster's tribute to B2.

« Last Edit: Aug 17, 2012, 11:28am by Zenopus »

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thorswulf
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Re: [Free Legal D/L] Hackmaster Basic
« Reply #9 on Aug 17, 2012, 4:26pm »

Will I like Aces and Eights count system, it seemed way to clunky for a basic fantasy game. That's my only real beaf with the game. I think it's pretty cool other than that. Using KODT to illustrate the system was a nice touch. Honestly, I'd rather get the new books for the "advanced version" and see what other things are in it to validate such a system for combat.

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killianred
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Re: [Free Legal D/L] Hackmaster Basic
« Reply #10 on Aug 28, 2012, 7:41am »

The system actually works well for fantasy, especially if you use minis for combat. There are a lot of rules that flow much more easily when you can see how much people move around, and when someone moves into melee reach of an enemy. Without turns, everyone can move every second, so the combat situation changes all the time. The new version is COMPLETELY different from fourth edition. That was one of the big problems my group had when we first started playing it. We kept thinking is was like fourth, and comparing the abilities and whatnot to fourth, but the new game begins with characters that are more like "zero level" and when they get to around fifth level they would be pretty comparable to the old HM4 first or second level characters.
Basic really isn't "basic", but it gives you the opportunity to see if you want to put in the time and effort to get a character up past fifth level. That is where the hardback book comes in because it has rules for higher level characters including training and more spells, and more details about lots of things.

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