Versatility

[doc]

It's been said before (most likely by me) that one of the great strengths of OD&D is it's sheer versatility as a system. Not only is it perfect for both Arthurian romance and gritty pulp fantasy, but I created and ran a Barsoom game based off OD&D that reflected the books themselves quite well.

I am now in the process of creating a sci-fi game using the OD&D engine as a starting point (which I have written about elsewhere on this board) and it is working wonderfully so far. Races and classes can be created that reflect the setting while still being very OD&D based. Planets, powered armor, starship combat, etc., have all been written up using the standards of OD&D as a base.

My next big project will be converting OD&D to a superhero game and changing the spells so they instead function as super powers.

Doc

[Falconer]

Indeed. I was reading Greyhawk the other day and was struck by not only how much it adds to the game, but by how the additions are very specifically Greyhawk in character. AD&D continued in this direction. It is less versatile because it is specifically for playing in Greyhawk!

That’s not a bad thing, per se, because Greyhawk is a great world in its own right. So is EPT. But if you want to run a game based on (pre-1974) literature, OD&D is the way to go. Regards.

[Deleted]

doc said:

I am now in the process of creating a sci-fi game using the OD&D engine as a starting point (which I have written about elsewhere on this board) and it is working wonderfully so far. Races and classes can be created that reflect the setting while still being very OD&D based. Planets, powered armor, starship combat, etc., have all been written up using the standards of OD&D as a base.

Sweet! I always thought a Scifi game with classes would rock! I don't see anything in ODnD that couldn't be adapted to science fiction!

Good luck with the project and keep us informed.

[doc]

I've already posted some notes under the OD&D Workshop heading. If you have some time, take a look and let me know what you think.

Doc

[makofan]

I actually did the opposite - I took Traveller and adapted it to D&D; wish I could still find my charts.

[Finarvyn]

makofan said:

I actually did the opposite - I took Traveller and adapted it to D&D; wish I could still find my charts.

If you find them, post stuff here.

I seem to remember that Sieg (on DF) created once a set of D&D background charts similar to those in Traveller, but I don't think I've ever seen anyone convert Traveller to D&D.

[makofan]

It was something like this (for example)

Professions
1 Fighter: Enlist 5, +2 Str A+, +1 End 8+
2 MagicUser: Enlist 9, +2 Int A+, +1 Edu 9+
3 Cleric: Enlist 7, +2 Edu A+, +1 Soc 8+
4 Thief: Enlist 6, +2 Dex 9+, +1 Soc 6-
5 General: Enlist 2
6: Re-roll
(the numbers are for the draft if you fail your enlist roll)

Then you start your term. The fighter column may have been, for example

Automatic on enlist: End +1, Blade +1
Ranks: O1-Recruit, O2-Veteran, O3- Warrior, O4-Captain, O5-Hero, O6-Superhero

Survival: 7+ DM: +1 End A+, +Blade level
Promotion: 10+ DM: +1 Str A+, +1 Soc 9+
Re-enlist: 6+ DM: +1 Soc 8+

1: +1 Str
2: +1 End
3: +1 Dex
4: Blade +1
5: Brawling +1
6: Cross Class*

*Roll once on the Magic-User, Thief, Cleric or General table. Subsequent Cross Class rolls must keep the same table

The Magic-user table had plusses to Int, Edu and skills like Explosion-1 (does 1D damage per skill level attack), Travel-1 (choose one mode per skill level, like Flying, underwater breathing, teleporting, etc). The cost to use those skills was 1D wounds each time. Et cetera et cetera

Then there were mustering out rolls, which could give magic blades, gold, etc I think you get the idea

[kesher]

Mak, that's brilliant!

I imagine you'd need some sort of setting explanation for why all the classes were "enlisting", but that'd be easy enough. Also an elegant solution to the whole idea of "mixed level" parties...

[crimhthanthegreat]

doc said:

It's been said before (most likely by me) that one of the great strengths of OD&D is it's sheer versatility as a system. Not only is it perfect for both Arthurian romance and gritty pulp fantasy, but I created and ran a Barsoom game based off OD&D that reflected the books themselves quite well.

snip
Doc

I see that you have posted about this elsewhere on the site, and I would love for you to continue to post even more, great stuff that and what you have mentioned in this thread also. Excellent!