What RPG Do You Wish Had A Retroclone?

[Jadeite]

Midgard. Most people here will never have heard of it, but it has always been the better German fantasy RPG, even though it's not as well known as The Dark Eye.

 

[Reynard]

. I still think a retroclone of 3E D&D hasn't been done. There's an SRD out there but that's just the SRD - not a retroclone.

I am curious what you think a retroclone would look like, and why it would be necessary given the existence of the SRD.

 

[dead]

I am curious what you think a retroclone would look like, and why it would be necessary given the existence of the SRD.

I’m not entirely sure what it would look like but it would be streamlined and evocative and hopefully appeal to today’s gamers, new and old alike. The SRD is just the base framework for some smart cookie to work from to produce their own riff on the rules system. If their take on the game becomes a published work (and respects the original game while innovating/streamlining), then it might become a retroclone.

Is it necessary? I'm not sure. Are all the OSR retroclones necessary? I guess if you are a fan of the game it is necessary.

There were contemporary 3E variants back in the day like Arcana Unearthed, Iron Heroes, etc. and later Fantasy Craft, etc. but they were more variants of the game. A retroclone would swing closer to the original material, I think, but also innovate and streamline - and it’s looking back at something through our modern lens.

 

[Reynard]

I’m not entirely sure what it would look like but it would be streamlined and evocative and hopefully appeal to today’s gamers, new and old alike. The SRD is just the base framework for some smart cookie to work from to produce their own riff on the rules system. If their take on the game becomes a published work (and respects the original game while innovating/streamlining), then it might become a retroclone.

Is it necessary? I'm not sure. Are all the OSR retroclones necessary? I guess if you are a fan of the game it is necessary.

The purpose of the orginal retorclones -- and I think this is still true for OSE, at least -- was to provide a currently availble set of rules for the previous edition in order to allow folks to both play that old version and for support to exist "legally" for that version.

I can see someone putting out a set of 3E core rules, I suppose, but it would be more for convenience than necesseity. Folks can already both play and publish with the SRD available. The old school rules had to be "rebuilt" because they had no SRDs.

There were contemporary 3E variants back in the day like Arcana Unearthed, Iron Heroes, etc. and later Fantasy Craft, etc. but they were more variants of the game. A retroclone would swing closer to the original material, I think, but also innovate and streamline - and it’s looking back at something through our modern lens.

A "modern 3E" game informed by not only late 3.x material but also more current versions of the game and offshoots would be interesting.

 

[TwoSix]

A "modern 3E" game informed by not only late 3.x material but also more current versions of the game and offshoots would be interesting.

I definitely think there's room for a game based on late 3.5 innovations that doesn't go in the same direction as Pathfinder. Call it "Warlocks and Warblades" or something like that.

There are several people in my gaming groups who are fine with 5e, but still miss "3e-isms" like granular skill points, Prestige classes, and an extensive magic item system.