Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Old School-New School-My game

If one is old-school or new school or not is all the rage the past year or so. I enjoy old-school style, I like simple rules but I like a little bit of granularity now and then. My campaign isn't just me behind the screen there are 5 or more other people and their tastes and desires impact how the game is played.

I started the current weekly campaign with family and friends using B2 and the BFRPG rules about 2 years ago. We had a total neophyte and a semi-neophyte (my son and another players son) along with 3 veteran players(including my father). Eventually the group grew to include my wife (a regular) and for a time my daughter (who dosen't care much for D&D anymore but wants to play more Mutant Future).

The campaign grew to include the Temple of Elemental Evil, Rappan Athuak, the necromancer release of Wilderlands and a bunch of old Wilderlands stuff. We added on some of the optional BFRPG rules for a while and then as an experiment we started using the 3.5 rules in the same setting. For a while I worried about the rules.

But I had been using OD&D, D&D, AD&D, 2nd ED and 3.x adventures pretty much from the get go and converting on the fly is pretty much constant in such a situation. I've always been an omnivorous DM who wasn't' afraid to lift stuff from other game system. I eventually just chilled out.

So my players are using 3.5 and I'm using whatever the heck I want to and talking to them in 3.geek. Most of my adventures have been using encounter tables from judgesguild modules or old dragon magazine articles. I spend a lot of time just making up the numbers as I go. None of the players are 3.x gearheads or devoted d20 zealots so none of them accuse me of playing the game wrong. There are certainly some issues I'm having with the rules but in truth it's been working fine. Attitude and campaign style goes a long way to making an RPG campaign what it is.

Old-school, new school...I graduated a long time ago and play games to have fun.

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