|
|
Post by Achán hiNidráne on Aug 14, 2010 23:00:53 GMT -6
Hello
I noticed that LotFP has hit DriveThru RPG and I'm interested in picking it up. While I understand it's a D&D retro-clone, I'd like to know exactly what makes it stand out from LL or S&W? Is it the rules" Is it it the setting?
Your thoughts, please?
|
|
|
|
Post by greyharp on Aug 15, 2010 0:18:19 GMT -6
You can download the free no-art pdf versions of the Rules and Magic books on his website, if you'd like to try before you buy. James also has a stack of links on his blog to reviews. |
|
|
|
Post by coffee on Aug 15, 2010 2:29:32 GMT -6
It's the attitude.
|
|
|
|
Post by Finarvyn on Aug 15, 2010 8:15:41 GMT -6
You can download the free no-art pdf versions of the Rules and Magic books on his website, if you'd like to try before you buy. James also has a stack of links on his blog to reviews. Hmmm. Must be my blindness setting in, but I didn't see any place to download no-art versions. Is it obvious? Also, am I the only one who finds that the text goes to the bottom of the page there and then stops without finishing the thought? I can't scroll down any farther, yet it seems to just trail off... |
|
|
|
Post by giantbat on Aug 15, 2010 8:50:55 GMT -6
Hmmm. Must be my blindness setting in, but I didn't see any place to download no-art versions. Is it obvious? It's pretty obvious if you scroll down all the way, but it sounds like you may be experiencing some technical difficulties preventing that. Hopefully it won't be considered inappropriate to provide a direct link under the circumstances: Download the free PDF version of the Rules and Magic books I'm able to scroll down about 3 pages, with no incomplete text. Sounds like your browser may not be rendering the page successfully. Don't know if that's an issue with your browser or the page. |
|
|
|
Post by James Maliszewski on Aug 15, 2010 10:23:40 GMT -6
That's definitely a big part of the appeal, although, honestly, there's a lot of genuinely great stuff in the rules themselves. I think Jim has created the best version of the thief class to date, in the process creating a "skill system" that actually feels like an organic development of the LBBs rather than something tacked on. |
|
|
|
Post by murquhart72 on Aug 15, 2010 13:28:38 GMT -6
You need to be sold on it? Just take a peek at the cover... Yeah, theeerrreee ya go...
|
|
|
|
Post by piper on Aug 15, 2010 14:02:23 GMT -6
I'll admit I've only read the free PDFs but I'm rather impressed by Raggi's offering.
|
|
|
|
Post by greyharp on Aug 15, 2010 15:43:52 GMT -6
The Referee booklet alone makes it worth getting.
|
|
|
|
Post by jeffb on Aug 15, 2010 15:45:03 GMT -6
Care to elaborate?  |
|
LouGoncey
Level 4 Theurgist
"Lather. Rinse. Repeat. That's my philosophy."
Posts: 108
|
Post by LouGoncey on Aug 15, 2010 16:16:13 GMT -6
The Referee booklet alone makes it worth getting. It's worth repeating -- even if I never play LotFP, the referee booklet makes it all worth getting. (It contains the attitude...) |
|
|
|
Post by James Maliszewski on Aug 15, 2010 20:24:59 GMT -6
Care to elaborate? Let's just say that Jim has a very clear vision of what old school gaming is about and he articulates it in a no-nonsense fashion. I don't always share his perspective and I found his writing a little off-putting at times, but there's no question the man knows what he -- and his game -- is about and he makes that very apparent. |
|
|
|
Post by cooper on Aug 15, 2010 20:40:32 GMT -6
There's a very nice never before seen rules for owning property. I can totally see someone building their "manse", a little more renaissance-esqe/vancian quality. Quite the contrast to the castle/keep dark-age implication of 0d&d. The rules on retainers are excellent. He takes 0d&d and adds new rules and charts that everyone always wished were there. They blend very well with the feel of a retro-clone.
His rules for learning languages is awesome...the list goes on and on. His "house rule d&d" is brilliant in it's inventiveness, simplicity, and fidelity to gygax/arneson's vision.
|
|
|
|
Post by Achán hiNidráne on Aug 15, 2010 21:58:35 GMT -6
I think you guys sold me. The next question is do I spend the $60 for the deluxe set or do I just make do with a PDF from DriveThru?
|
|
|
|
Post by greyharp on Aug 15, 2010 22:25:50 GMT -6
I confess I received a complimentary contributor's copy and so didn't pay for my box set, but I have to say that I haven't felt such a thrill of excitement from a rpg product since I received my original 3LB set a few years back. Opening the LotFP box and looking through its contents was like one big incredible Christmas. You'll certainly get a lot for your money and how can anyone not love those miniature dice. Brilliant.
|
|
|
|
Post by vito on Aug 15, 2010 23:31:30 GMT -6
I just took a look at this, and I gotta say, I like what I see.
I'm going to try and get a group together to play this.
|
|
|
|
Post by Finarvyn on Aug 16, 2010 5:10:20 GMT -6
The Referee booklet alone makes it worth getting. Can I assume that thre Referee booklet isn't part of the free no-art download? |
|
arcadayn
Level 5 Thaumaturgist
Posts: 236
|
Post by arcadayn on Aug 16, 2010 7:59:00 GMT -6
The Referee booklet alone makes it worth getting. Can I assume that thre Referee booklet isn't part of the free no-art download? Although I have not seen the final print version, I assume that the referee section would begin on page 20 of the final beta release (.07). If anyone has somehow missed them, I would also highly recommend James' modules. They evoke a very gothic and weird old school feel. |
|
|
|
Post by jimlotfp on Aug 16, 2010 9:06:09 GMT -6
The Referee book is not part of the free download, no. Only the Open Game Content rules stuff (Rules and Magic books) are there.
|
|
|
|
Post by Finarvyn on Aug 16, 2010 11:27:18 GMT -6
Is there a full PDF download somewhere, or is the only way to get the whole set to go with the paper version? (I checked several places and they have modules but not the core rules boxed set in PDF....)
|
|
|
|
Post by coffee on Aug 16, 2010 15:42:19 GMT -6
Care to elaborate? Gladly! It's a lot of little things, really, but they all add up to attitude. First of all, this is a complete boxed set. It has literally everything you need to get started, from rules to two adventures to dice, graph paper and a pencil. You can actually get started within minutes of opening the box -- something a lot of people advertise but don't carry through on. Second, Raggi admits that it's an homage to the Mentzer edition of D&D. And that's fine; a lot of people came into the hobby that way. But unlike 'standard' D&D where the paradigm is a dungeon crawl, this game focuses on adventures that are touched with the Weird. (Weird, as used here, IS defined in the rules.) It's about adventure, not just fighting. And speaking of fighting, Fighter is the only class that advances in combat ability. Period. Magic-Users fight at the same "level" forever. Why? Because they're not supposed to get into melee, that's why! That's the Fighter's job. The treatment of thieves or Specialists is inspired. (Specifically, it's inspired by 2e AD&D, but I've always kind of liked that implementation...) And the Referee book is both useful and inspirational, without getting dogmatic. Unlike even the DMG, there is actual advice in there, and it's advice you can use! (Especially if you're a new referee...) And the character sheet is the most useful one I've ever seen. Period. This is really just scratching the surface. It's the stuff that inspires me, so far, that I can remember offhand. Hey, even if you wanted to play bog-standard D&D (and is there even such a thing?) this set would give you both inspiration and support for it. Do you need it? No. Do you want it? That's up to you. I did, so I bought it. And I don't resent a single penny I spent (not even the shipping charge on the ream of A4 I ordered so copies of the character sheets would come out right...) I don't know whether I've "sold" you on the game, but these are some of the reason's I'm sold. Now, I'll let you make up your own mind. |
|
|
|
Post by geoffrey on Aug 16, 2010 16:04:32 GMT -6
Is there a full PDF download somewhere, or is the only way to get the whole set to go with the paper version? (I checked several places and they have modules but not the core rules boxed set in PDF....) Here you go, for $12.50: www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=83054&filters=0_0_0_0_0&manufacturers_id=2795Your trouble might be that you haven't specified on rpgnow.com that you wish to view adult content. If you haven't done so, James's game won't show up because it has the breast of a half-woman/half-snake demon on the cover. ;D |
|
|
|
Post by jimlotfp on Aug 16, 2010 23:32:37 GMT -6
Is there a full PDF download somewhere, or is the only way to get the whole set to go with the paper version? (I checked several places and they have modules but not the core rules boxed set in PDF....) RPGNow, Your Games Now, and Paizo have the full game PDFs available now (although as Geoffrey notes you might have to turn off an adult content filter). IPR will have it for sale soon, hopefully. |
|
|
|
Post by Finarvyn on Aug 17, 2010 5:29:55 GMT -6
Ah ... the adult content filter ... didn't even realize there was one. Just imagine what cool stuff I've been missing all this time!  |
|
arcadayn
Level 5 Thaumaturgist
Posts: 236
|
Post by arcadayn on Aug 17, 2010 9:10:51 GMT -6
Thanks Geoffrey! I knew I had seen a pdf somewhere, and couldn't figure out why the hell I couldn't find it.
|
|
|
|
Post by jeffb on Aug 17, 2010 16:56:36 GMT -6
Thanks everyone for the comments. It def seems like something I need to invest in. I gotta move some other RPG stuff first though.
|
|
|
|
Post by Achán hiNidráne on Aug 17, 2010 19:02:12 GMT -6
Ah ... the adult content filter ... didn't even realize there was one. Just imagine what cool stuff I've been missing all this time! OOOOOOH MY GAWD! A NAKED FEMALE BREAST!!!! CIVILIZATION WILL COME CRASHING DOWN!!!! WHAT ABOUT THE CHILDREN?!?!? Sometimes I think our society is way too puritanical. The rest of the time I KNOW our society is way too puritanical. |
|
|
|
Post by Achán hiNidráne on Aug 17, 2010 19:05:03 GMT -6
Oh! I also just download a copy from DriveThru. So I'll look it over tomorrow (my day off).
|
|
|
|
Post by snorri on Aug 17, 2010 19:15:47 GMT -6
Ah ... the adult content filter ... didn't even realize there was one. Just imagine what cool stuff I've been missing all this time! OOOOOOH MY GAWD! A NAKED FEMALE BREAST!!!! CIVILIZATION WILL COME CRASHING DOWN!!!! WHAT ABOUT THE CHILDREN?!?!? Sometimes I think our society is way too puritanical. The rest of the time I KNOW our society is way too puritanical. When I think my mother took me to museums with classical arts when I was kid. How a monstrous mum she was! So much breasts and even more! ;D |
|
|
|
Post by Mike on Aug 26, 2010 6:24:45 GMT -6
I think you guys sold me. The next question is do I spend the $60 for the deluxe set or do I just make do with a PDF from DriveThru? Well, I downloaded the freebies then bought the PDFs (and a few of the adventures) now I'm ordering the boxed set... Save yourself the pain and go straight for the boxed set! |
|
