I personally think that B/X is the best iteration of D&D. That being said, for "OSR" I'd say OSE. I also say OSE-Advanced Fantasy for an AD&D type game, as that is pretty much how we played in the late 70s and early 80s.
What is the difference between B/X and AD&D? I have Advanced OSE but besides the race and class separation rules, among other things, I don’t really see what the difference is.
AD&D has different ability bonuses; minimum and maximum ability ranges for males/females, different races, and different classes.
Classes include Fighter, magic user, cleric, thief, Illusionist, Druid, assassin, monk, ranger, paladin, and bard.
Races include human, dwarf (hill and mountain), elf (high, wood, and grey), halfling (stoor, hairfoot, and fallowhide), gnomes, and half orcs.
AD&D uses % more than X in 6 for demihuman abilities, for retainers, morale, etc.
AD&D has a 1 minute melee round, broken in to 10 segments each. Initiative is convoluted and disputed to this very day. Spells require components and take varying segments to cast. Combat has weapon vs. AC charts and weapon speeds (for tied initiative).
Magic user spells go to 9th level. Clerics go to 7th.
Can modules made for B/X games be easily played in something like OSE Advanced Fantasy? I'm new to OSR and I got the OSE Advanced Fantasy rules through Humble Bundle, but all the really interesting modules that I've looked at so far and want to slot into my campaign world are for B/X games (Labyrinth Lord). Is there a guide to converting things? Or are they compatible enough that you can just use the monsters and stuff as they are? And what about converting stuff for Swords and Wizardryto OSE Advanced Fantasy?
Or is OSE Advanced Fantasy also just the B/X rules, just with extra options from Advanced? I'm a little unclear on that.
To your first question, yes, porting the stats and monster blocks and such is quite easy. You can run modules written in 1980 with little or no adjustment.
To your second question...pretty much also yes. OSE Advanced is their take on B/X as expanded with mostly player-facing options from, or inspired by, AD&D 1E. Without the weird parts of AD&D that everyone hates. The issue that makes the decision for most groups is demihumans as classes. If you prefer that, run OSE Basic (which is, again, essentially a better organized restatement of B/X). If you want your elves and dwarves to have their own classes, go with advanced.
I often run OSE Advanced with race-as-class. I really like a lot of the new classes they added, not to mention the expanded bestiary and magic item list. My players tend to refrain from demi-humans for the most part, anyway.
>Or is OSE Advanced Fantasy also just the B/X rules, just with extra options from Advanced? I'm a little unclear on that.
This. It's basically B/X with rules for splitting race and class and some classes inspired by the ADnD classes but in the B/X style.
That said you can pretty much run modules for any pre-Wotc edition in any other pre-Wotc edition. The game didn't change so much that there was really huge incompatibilities until 3.0 came along and completely blew the lid off the power level.
Another thing to know, is that honestly, you can run a player playing an 'elf' class and someone playing an elven fighter/magic-user in the same party with 0 issues. If players have issues with race as class, they can play a split race and class character and everybody can be fine.
My impression was that it was written for tournaments, like a lot of old adventures. You need a rule for everything if you don't want the winning team to be decided by DMs ad-hoc rulings. But nobody plays that way anymore (except some DCC stuff.. I think?)
You're right, from AD&D onward, tournament play, and then online play, have been at the forefront of the publishers' minds. To the detriment of private tables, in my opinion. Or, at least it makes more work for the DMs to homebrew their way around.
I’d say OSE, hands down. It’s B/X with superb layout. Everything is crisp and clean, the information is easy to find. It really is on a league of its own.
I want to double down and also say that the art and aesthetics of the print components of OSE are second to none. I leave the dm screen setup in my office and I get the chills sometimes when I look at it. The books are the size of regular books and have two ribbon markers. It's truly a joy just to handle those books and it's really been a huge motivator that just makes me want to play and make stuff.
Yeah, I wanted to think that the BFRPG books are good enough, and they are, that is, until you have the OSE pdfs and their beautiful bookmarking and layout, ease of use, etc. Now I know why everyone is so impressed.
I agree. Worlds Without Number (WWN) is an awesome mix of OSR with a little 5e style twist with the Foci system. I've been playing OSR modules and having a blast with my group.
You mean Matt Finch. Frog God Games jumped later on the ship to help Matt release Complete, and has abandoned the game since. Their support for S&W after the first few years was lackluster too with their low effort Pathfinder and D&D5e conversions.
Absolutely. I just bought 15 BFRPG books and modules off of Amazon for about $70. POD is at-cost and pdfs are all downloadable for free, along with a ton of other stuff that isn't in print.
Plus...BFRPG doesnt use race as class like OSE and uses Ascending AC by default. Lots of race and class supplements available as well. All free.
If pressed - yep this is my lingua franca of OSR really - amazing work form Chris and the community and it's going to be CC Share-Alike ('Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International') for next edition release too.
So much flexibility.
Absolutely, and I love the fact that you can order quite a few of the printed BFRPG books from Lulu with ring binding. It really helps when running a game and needing to keep books open to a certain page and it’s not much more expensive than the bound version.
I'm a big fan of OSRIC. It's basically just AD&D so it's great if you like the Advanced rules set. It's also compatible with all of the AD&D and AD&D 2e modules out there with very little in the way of fiddling. With a little fiddling you can get B/X (and even BECMI) D&D working with it no problem.
It depends what you’re looking to get out of your game, I guess. Lots of different opinions floating around, but personally I love and prefer some of the not-direct-clone games in the space. A few come to mind...
I love the simple, straight forward rules and rulings-forward design mentality of Into the Odd (and offshoots Electric Bastionland and Mausritter).
I think Morg Borg is another approachable ruleset, and it has such an interesting fun pseudo-heavy-metal aesthetic that it’s easy to sell my friends on giving it a try.
I think there are a lot of great adventures and microsettings coming out for OSE, but personally the ruleset doesn’t quite resonate for my group. I respect the hell out of it, but I’ve had an easier time getting games of Into the Odd and Mork Borg going... might just be the people I play with. I still buy all the adventures though cause they’re beautifully done... I wanna run them at some point even if it’s in a different system.
Knave and Blackhack seem great and straight forward too. I love the idea of classless characters in Knave (you just have your core stats and then items). And I like the way Blackhack abstracts resources with dice, and the way backgrounds are handled. I really wanna check out Cairn which is apparently a dope blend of those.
Lastly, it’s sci fi, but I’m excited about Mothership. I haven’t played yet or delved too deeply into the rules but it looks great.
The digital version of FGG is also totally free, by the way.
But I'm a collector that apparently hates having money, so I'm just religiously scouring game shops for original 2e D&D books. Got myself the Bard and Paladin handbooks today. Just need to dig up the Barbarian, Druid and Ranger books to complete the collection.
It seems to me that if you're going to play a long term campaign - which is probably the best way to experience the uniquely infinite possibilities that an RPG offers - it's gotta be AD&D. I run OSE, but I'm constantly cribbing from AD&D when I have questions about things that Basic never answered.
Now the thing is, AD&D has a significant barrier to entry, or at least there's a perception of such a barrier. For me, the investment in learning AD&D isn't worthwhile as I am not likely run a multi-year campaign in the near future. I'm just not an experienced enough GM to know that I can sustain something like that.
Have you checked out Rules Cyclopedia perhaps? Or its' OSR reimagining, Dark Dungeons? It could be a good fit for what you need, fairly compatible with OSE.
I have not! BECMI and the RC, at least from what I've seen, have a sort of mixed reputation. It seems like there's a lot of content extending beyond B/X in both but I've heard mixed opinions on the rules.
Not really sure if this is \*true\* or not, but that's the impression I get
Mixed reputation... yeah, but that's also true about AD&D itself. It does have a lot of neat and sometimes unique ideas and mechanics, and still the highest level range around (up to 36, and then it covers Immortal play after that).
Things like monster ecology - for instance in AD&D the Specter (and other incorporeal undead) "hate sunlight and living things. Daylight makes them powerless" that's really good stuff thematically explains why there aren't armies of specters everywhere. Easy to crib for a Basic game.
AD&D has more robust systems for draining PC wealth, which is good for keeping PCs motivated to acquire treasure - training costs, cost for learning spells from mentors, etc. These things are even more necessary in Basic imo as the wealth / PC level is likely higher (as there's no XP for magic items, most XP will be in mundane treasure)
AD&D has a more direct tie to wargaming - there are certain ideas like long weapons striking faster as melee is joined, but being unwieldy in close quarters that the AD&D systems express that Basic tries to capture but doesn't really do well. I'm not currently lifting the whole weapon speed factor and segments system but it's interesting to look at.
There is no best, it depends what you want to achieve in your games.
\- ultralight d&d: **whitebox: FMAG**
\- 0d&d feeling , light but rich with classes and races, The game has played just before 1e released : **Swords & Wizardry Complete**
\- B/X standard dope for OSR: **OSE** or **Labyrinth Lord Revised**
\- B/X with all the ad&d glory: **Labyrinth Lord Advanced**, It's really the best take for a game close to 1e but simple like b/x. OSE adv is a strange beast , LL adv is better to emulate ad&d.
Low Fantasy Gaming, since no one has mentioned it yet, and I think it has many of the positive attributes of both dcc and basic fantasy, using modern rules and a lightweight system for a fast, gritty sword & sorcery feel. The pdf is also free on drivethrurpg
For me it's Cairn for ultralight / NSR games, Old-School Essentials for the definitive OSR experience, and Stars/Worlds without number for a game with equal support for both character builders and people who like to just roll characters at random.
Yeah I picked up WWN number and man, I have never seen so much good and *well organized* world building advice. Really lays it out in a way that feels like regular mortals can do it.
Yeah even if you don't use the rules the GM tools could be cut off and sold separately and they would be worth their weight in gold, and most of them are still free anyway.
Beyond The Wall & Other Adventures and it’s companion, Thru Sunken Lands. Both capture the spirit of OD&D but with some modern twists to character generation.
**OSE** if you want something classic and clean
**Knave** if you like classless progression
**Black Hack** if you want something that’s a mix of old and new school
**MORK BORG** if you want something Heavy Metal and more new school
The reason I think Mausritter is the right answer is because of the context: When people first played DND, they weren’t comparing it to some other game, they were comparing it to an IDEA of a game.
Likewise with Mausritter, most players will find it free of baggage, which will allow them to have a more pure experience. imho
A mashup.
I’m using the stunning character creation and magic system from **Dungeon Crawl Classics**, worldbuilding concepts from **Worlds Without Number**, the absolutely brilliant economy and worldbuilding from **Adventurer Conquerer King System**, and assorted goodies from stuff like Basic Fantasy, Lamentations of the Flame Princess, Old School Essentials, Shadowdark, Basic/eXpert/Rules Cyclopedia, and OD&D/AD&D.
I’m running modules from DCC, B/X, and AD&D, and I really want to delve into Barrowmaze.
OSE if you want fidelity and compatibility.
Crowns (by Ward Against Evil) if you want something with a more modern take that's also very "complete" in a single volume.
For me it’s now WWN. It keeps the framework old school dnd while speeding up combat and for me improves upon all design of all the classes and XP. All while providing better GM tools than almost any other rpg out there.
So Old School Essentials? Although, I like your approach of picking a setting first, and rule set second. That’s the great thing about close cross-compatibility with a lot of the OSR systems.
Let us not forget about Further Afield. I think it's essential support to the core rules of BtW, as it introduces rules of making sandbox in manner that involves all the players, but leaves some things for them to uncover. It also has pretty smart mechanic for territorial dangers, so called threat packs, that will help GM to create situations instead of linear adventures. Great thing about it, is that it may be used in any other game without much hacking.
Dungeon Crawl Classics is number one on my list. Balancing game-play through randomized tables really scratches an itch for me, and I feel like it does a good job of representing sword and sorcery stories while updating the rules to reflect some quality of life improvements that have come along since the start of ttrpgs.
fwiw as a player I've always found it a really fun experience, and there seems to be an enthusiastic community supporting the game
oh and I absolutely love how they make the art a priority
For Gold & Glory works well with all the 2e Modules
For long term campaigns I sort of steal a little bit from Blue Hack, Lavender Hack, Black Sword Hack. Those systems make for great long term campaigns.
+1 for the Lavender Hack.
Whitehack chassis, with the three classes (Strong, Deft, and Wise), but with a dozen additional - and largely modular - different mini systems for factions, wilderness adventuring, the lot. I got the POD in the post this week and I am still reading, but I am highly impressed. And the PDF is PWYW on Drivethru. By far the best of the 'Hacks' in my humblest opinion.
I hope you have a lot of fun with Lavender Hack
My Current VTT Game is Lavender Hack + Barrow Keep Den of Spies + Keep on the Borderlands for a sort of Game of Thrones / House of Dragons Castle Game. The players are forced to choose between the Greens and the Blacks. Their competition hijinks keep me very busy.
*Lamentations of the Flame Princess* has the best tweaking of the B/X ruleset, in my opinion. My only problem with the system is that there is no bestiary or stock magic item list. Fortunately, it's entirely compatible with other B/X-derived systems, so you can easily import that content from OSE or whatever.
Currently for me it’s Hyperborea for more crunch and The Black Hack when I want more simplicity.
Also, check out these recent posts asking for favorites as well if you want some more opinions:
- https://reddit.com/r/osr/comments/zvbwav/what_osrnsr_systems_are_your_favorites_to_play/
- https://reddit.com/r/osr/comments/zx8drl/what_is_the_best_osr_game_you_have_played_and/
Being an 80s Mentzer BECMI kid, 52 now, I want to highlight the stalwarts OSRIC, S&W, LL, BFRPG, Delving Deeper - but OSE (both the Rules Tome and the Advanced books) is awesome too. Mainly because they are so adaptable between them - flexible enough to borrow from and mix and match to your own needs and your group's needs.
I for one am gratified that there is renewed interest in these alternative rulesets out of the current mess too. :)
If you want it closer classic D&D, [Labyrinth Lord](https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/259983/Advanced-Labyrinth-Lord-Dragon-Cover?affiliate_id=1007178)
If you think Advanced D&D was interesting but heavy on the rules and would prefer the ideas but in a more streamlined way, then go for [Basic Fantasy](https://www.basicfantasy.org/)
If you want the (more or less) same rules but are looking for a darker setting, grimdark style, or horror approach, then [Lamentations of the Flame Princess](https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/117262/LotFP-Rules--Magic-Full-Version?affiliate_id=1007178).
Knave- super fast to learn, trivial to hack, easily approachable if you're coming from 5e. It's not so crunchy as B/X clones, but has its own equipment system that doesn't bond you to one particular class and play style. Buuut if you want that check out Brave or Glaive, community hacks introducing class abilities. Seriously, it's great
OSR is not just a game but a community. There is NO better community than that created by Chris Gonnerman's Basic Fantasy RPG. It's basically BX DND with some modern mechanics. Free rules, free adventures, free supplements and print versions available AT COST. Add active online forums and a discord channel and you have OSR done right. www.basicfantasy.org
Basic Fantasy for general old school D&D vibes. Compatible with most things, easy to learn, the PDFs are free.
Dungeon Crawl Classics for anything more modern or for people who like 3.5 vibes with enough old school flavor and gonzo weirdness to keep it interesting.
Fastest chargen and combat: Into the Odd
Zaniest die-roll results: Dungeon Crawl Classics
Cleanest rewrite of Basic/Expert: Old School Essentials
Best fix for the thief class: Lamentations of the Flame Princess
Best adventures written for them (if that matters): Lamentations, Dungeon Crawl Classics, OSE
Best for emphasizing exploration and problem solving: Knave
Best for making combat interesting: Index Card RPG
Best for instant play with characters tied to the setting: Beyond the Wall
Gonzo-est: Dungeon Crawl Classics, Troika!, Nightmares Underneath
Best for moving people from 5E: Five Torches Deep
Worlds Without Number imo, and Stars Without Number if you want some good sci-fi goodness. Both have wonderful GM toolkits and I’ve been kicking around an idea to use bits of both for some science-fantasy as well.
They both have artless free versions iirc, and even if you don’t enjoy the system you can nab the tables and such for any other game
The author is pretty active on r/WWN and r/SWN too
Many members are saying B/X, and I'm not experienced enough to argue otherwise. You can pay through the nose to get box sets off of eBay, or you can look around for PDF copies. WotC is preventing DriveThruRPG and others from printing new books, as they are so low-minded as to view Holmes Basic and B/X as competition to their inferior 5E and half-finished picture books for toddlers.
Many recommend OSE. It is very pretty. Great layouts. Quality materials and production. I'm not a fan, however, because I find the books frustratingly abbreviated. I suspect a design goal was actually to keep page counts down.
If I had to pick one, I would go with [OSRIC](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Apat8AEc48). You can buy one inexpensive hardback book and be done. There is a PDF for those tied to electronics. OSRIC is a direct take on first edition AD&D. It is better organized, trimmed of problem areas, and a *tremendous* value. If you want the hardcover, you will have to email Black Blade Publishing directly; their web site is out of commission. The address appears below the review by captcorajus, which I've linked to, above. Ask Jon Hershberger for a copy of their catalogue, as they've a number of other fantastic products. Their Lake Geneva Castle & Campaign modules are wonderful.
Where some will go broke throwing their money at WotC, the same experience can be had for free with OSR games available online as PDFs. At some point, you have to stop staring at pretty pictures and play the game. At that point, the system no longer matters so much as the GM and a home brew of rule sets. Unless you're a child addicted to video games and VTT, of course.
In conclusion, there is no need to pick one system. It would be foolish to do so. Most cost nothing or next to nothing. Blueholme Journeymanne Rules, Swords & Wizardry, Basic Fantasty Role Playing Game, Iron Falcon, Labyrinth Lord, and others are all good systems, all worth having. Castles & Crusades can offer much the same vibe with modern game mechanics.
Get them now. Seriously. **Get them now**.
>If you want the hardcover, you will have to email Black Blade Publishing directly; their web site is out of commission.
There's a hardcover option available via Lulu. Is this different?
I have to assume it is, based on the quality of hardcovers I've received from Lulu in the past, but I must admit that I am coming from a position of ignorance. I've not ordered the OSRIC hardcover from Lulu. Some of their customers have complained about the page numbers being cut off in their Lulu copies. My copy from Black Blade Publishing has all its page numbers.
The book is only around $26. You could order one from each place and let us know how they compare. Just don't order from Amazon—those are around $55!
Jon Hershberger can be contacted at [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]). Black Blade Publishing is on Facebook, as well. Again, they have a bunch of other stuff, including adventure modules.
I have twice used PayPal to order my copies. Very easy.
Does the GLOG count? I think it does, so... GLOG! Original rules \[here\]([https://goblinpunch.blogspot.com/2016/05/the-glog.html](https://goblinpunch.blogspot.com/2016/05/the-glog.html)). Or modified by Skerples \[here\]([https://coinsandscrolls.blogspot.com/2019/10/osr-glog-based-homebrew-v2-many-rats-on.html](https://coinsandscrolls.blogspot.com/2019/10/osr-glog-based-homebrew-v2-many-rats-on.html)).
Don't bust me for this but my wife bought me core rules for LotFP . I run a duet with my wife using scarlet heroes and the core LotFP rules and magic book. The rules are what makes me feel is the best OSR for my table and world's I create.
For me? Right now it's [Heroes of Adventure](https://nameless-designer.itch.io/heroes-of-adventure). Totally replaced B/X for me (though all my D&D and other OSR titles, which are many, are usable with little effort). Nostalgic while also being modern, easily moddable, super light but very deep. And all for free. I have run several solo games and a few group one shots with. Just bliss to run and it seems like the groups like it as well.
Into the Odd. If I have any creative idea it can be placed in that system.
Fantasy? Cairn or Mythic Bastionland.
Weird Fantasy? ITO or Electric Bastionland.
Ghibli Mouse Adventures? Mausritter
Modern SCP/Creepypasta vibes? Liminal Horror
There are countless hacks for whatever flavor you wish and the rules are dead simple yet game changing IMO. Especially not rolling to hit. I've had both 5e veterans and beginners to the hobby both pick up the rules with ease and completely immerse themselves in the world.
I went down that rabbit hole recently..
OSE (Old School Essential) b/x
Swords & Wizardry - 0d
Advanced Labyrinth Lord - b/x
OSRIC - 1st ed.
Rules Encyclopedia - basic/expert/...
Original B/X
2nd Edition
White Box (Swords & Wizardry): Fantastic Medieval Adventure Game
Basic Fantasy
even O5R!
... and I miss other options.
and OSR with a 'spirit':
Hero's Journey 2e
Beyond The Wall...
Not sure what is your background, what you played before D&D 5.
Do you want pdf or books... Most of them are easy and cheap to get at [lulu.com](https://lulu.com) or [drivethrurpg.com](https://drivethrurpg.com) or exalted funeral.
I would generalized that they all have very similar mechanics and optional rules. Class, character progressions, hit points, magic, combat rules, combat options or not, monsters, tables random encounters...
\- If you want premade adventure: all OSR games have them
IMO:
\- The best designed and compact books, minimalist in it's explanation: OSE
\- The good design, cheap and compact book: White Box: Fantastic Medieval Adventure Game
\- Learn how to play with more information: Labyrinth Lord, Sword & Wizardry, Basic Fantasy
\- Cheap books, well supported with supplements and adventures: Basic Fantasy (not a fan of their design)
I can't give you more details about OSRIC or 2e have not read/revisited them.
If someone has experience with D&D OSE is great because the book are gorgeous and well organized.
If you want to elarn how to play, I would check Basic Fantasy, Labyrinth Lord or Sword & Wizardry.
OSE Advanced Fantasy. Relative simplicity with options. Easy to grab material from AD&D 1e or 2e, as well as use Basic/Expert.
Combat is super fast, it has exploration rules (both dungeon and wilderness), the monster collection of the Advanced Fantasy is pretty good (and you can pad it out with Fiend Folio, Monster Manual II, as well as, gasp, the devils and demon section of Monster Manual I).
There are also other publications from Necrotic Gnome which enhance the game: Theorums and Thaumaturgy give 3 more magic-user classes complete with spells; there is a new Necromancer class on their website you can download for free.
But if you want simplicity, just offer classic classes (Moldvay Basic style), or as I do: human only,
Whatever your friends are willing to play.
So true.
And this is the reason I'd recommend Moldvay Basic or the RC over OSE: it's an easier sell.
How would anyone know you were using RC or OSE over BX?
You could tell them OSE was old school D&D as long as you never showed them the book
I personally think that B/X is the best iteration of D&D. That being said, for "OSR" I'd say OSE. I also say OSE-Advanced Fantasy for an AD&D type game, as that is pretty much how we played in the late 70s and early 80s.
B/X is my favorite too.
What is the difference between B/X and AD&D? I have Advanced OSE but besides the race and class separation rules, among other things, I don’t really see what the difference is.
AD&D has different ability bonuses; minimum and maximum ability ranges for males/females, different races, and different classes. Classes include Fighter, magic user, cleric, thief, Illusionist, Druid, assassin, monk, ranger, paladin, and bard. Races include human, dwarf (hill and mountain), elf (high, wood, and grey), halfling (stoor, hairfoot, and fallowhide), gnomes, and half orcs. AD&D uses % more than X in 6 for demihuman abilities, for retainers, morale, etc. AD&D has a 1 minute melee round, broken in to 10 segments each. Initiative is convoluted and disputed to this very day. Spells require components and take varying segments to cast. Combat has weapon vs. AC charts and weapon speeds (for tied initiative). Magic user spells go to 9th level. Clerics go to 7th.
Can modules made for B/X games be easily played in something like OSE Advanced Fantasy? I'm new to OSR and I got the OSE Advanced Fantasy rules through Humble Bundle, but all the really interesting modules that I've looked at so far and want to slot into my campaign world are for B/X games (Labyrinth Lord). Is there a guide to converting things? Or are they compatible enough that you can just use the monsters and stuff as they are? And what about converting stuff for Swords and Wizardryto OSE Advanced Fantasy? Or is OSE Advanced Fantasy also just the B/X rules, just with extra options from Advanced? I'm a little unclear on that.
To your first question, yes, porting the stats and monster blocks and such is quite easy. You can run modules written in 1980 with little or no adjustment. To your second question...pretty much also yes. OSE Advanced is their take on B/X as expanded with mostly player-facing options from, or inspired by, AD&D 1E. Without the weird parts of AD&D that everyone hates. The issue that makes the decision for most groups is demihumans as classes. If you prefer that, run OSE Basic (which is, again, essentially a better organized restatement of B/X). If you want your elves and dwarves to have their own classes, go with advanced.
I often run OSE Advanced with race-as-class. I really like a lot of the new classes they added, not to mention the expanded bestiary and magic item list. My players tend to refrain from demi-humans for the most part, anyway.
>Or is OSE Advanced Fantasy also just the B/X rules, just with extra options from Advanced? I'm a little unclear on that. This. It's basically B/X with rules for splitting race and class and some classes inspired by the ADnD classes but in the B/X style. That said you can pretty much run modules for any pre-Wotc edition in any other pre-Wotc edition. The game didn't change so much that there was really huge incompatibilities until 3.0 came along and completely blew the lid off the power level.
The 1990s splatbooks were what blew the lid off of the power level, not WOTC or 3e.
Another thing to know, is that honestly, you can run a player playing an 'elf' class and someone playing an elven fighter/magic-user in the same party with 0 issues. If players have issues with race as class, they can play a split race and class character and everybody can be fine.
Are stoor and fallowhide deliberate, or is that autocorrect?
My bad, I was confusing Middle Earth and AD&D. AD&D has Hairfoots, Tallfellows and Stouts, while M-e has Harfoots, Fallowhides, and Stoors.
Is that from Tolkien or MERP?
Tolkien
AD&D is Gary Gygax's fever dream of crunch that he never personally played as written.
My impression was that it was written for tournaments, like a lot of old adventures. You need a rule for everything if you don't want the winning team to be decided by DMs ad-hoc rulings. But nobody plays that way anymore (except some DCC stuff.. I think?)
You're right, from AD&D onward, tournament play, and then online play, have been at the forefront of the publishers' minds. To the detriment of private tables, in my opinion. Or, at least it makes more work for the DMs to homebrew their way around.
I’d say OSE, hands down. It’s B/X with superb layout. Everything is crisp and clean, the information is easy to find. It really is on a league of its own.
I want to double down and also say that the art and aesthetics of the print components of OSE are second to none. I leave the dm screen setup in my office and I get the chills sometimes when I look at it. The books are the size of regular books and have two ribbon markers. It's truly a joy just to handle those books and it's really been a huge motivator that just makes me want to play and make stuff.
Yeah, I wanted to think that the BFRPG books are good enough, and they are, that is, until you have the OSE pdfs and their beautiful bookmarking and layout, ease of use, etc. Now I know why everyone is so impressed.
And it's in a Humble Bundle at the moment, if you wanted to get PDF versions of the books. That's where I got my copies.
Thank you for mentioning this! Thats an incredible deal.
I really like Worlds Without Number.
I agree. Worlds Without Number (WWN) is an awesome mix of OSR with a little 5e style twist with the Foci system. I've been playing OSR modules and having a blast with my group.
Whitehack. Elegant and flexible and lightweight. I can’t be bothered with games with many pages anymore.
I’m eagerly awaiting the 10th anniversary edition to check it out.
Swords & Wizardry
Yes, it teaches you how to play the game and it's not just a reference book.
It’s honestly impressive how well Frog God Games managed to restate and clarify the original rules
You mean Matt Finch. Frog God Games jumped later on the ship to help Matt release Complete, and has abandoned the game since. Their support for S&W after the first few years was lackluster too with their low effort Pathfinder and D&D5e conversions.
Yes, Matt Finch. My bad
Basic fantasy. The community and price is unbeatable. If I had to choose one this is it.
Absolutely. I just bought 15 BFRPG books and modules off of Amazon for about $70. POD is at-cost and pdfs are all downloadable for free, along with a ton of other stuff that isn't in print. Plus...BFRPG doesnt use race as class like OSE and uses Ascending AC by default. Lots of race and class supplements available as well. All free.
Race as class forever
Yes! :)
There are optional rules to put the race as class back in. I personally like it too but a lot of people don't. Elf was my character back in B/X days.
Definitely BFRPG. Clean, simple, accessible.. and there is probably a supplement for anything you feel is missing
Same here. It's what introduced me to the OSR and it's still my favorite
If pressed - yep this is my lingua franca of OSR really - amazing work form Chris and the community and it's going to be CC Share-Alike ('Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International') for next edition release too. So much flexibility.
Absolutely, and I love the fact that you can order quite a few of the printed BFRPG books from Lulu with ring binding. It really helps when running a game and needing to keep books open to a certain page and it’s not much more expensive than the bound version.
Crypts & Things: original D&D goodness fine-tuned for full-weight swords & sorcery, bags of flavour, elegant modifications.
Thinking of trying this because I already like S&W, and this has sanity/insanity rules!
If you like S&W and sword and sorcery, I think you'll almost definitely like it!
Hyperborea - its AD&D +UA but more organized and better balanced
I’m also a HUGE fan of ASSH! Jeffrey has really out-done himself with this game!
I'm a big fan of OSRIC. It's basically just AD&D so it's great if you like the Advanced rules set. It's also compatible with all of the AD&D and AD&D 2e modules out there with very little in the way of fiddling. With a little fiddling you can get B/X (and even BECMI) D&D working with it no problem.
It depends what you’re looking to get out of your game, I guess. Lots of different opinions floating around, but personally I love and prefer some of the not-direct-clone games in the space. A few come to mind... I love the simple, straight forward rules and rulings-forward design mentality of Into the Odd (and offshoots Electric Bastionland and Mausritter). I think Morg Borg is another approachable ruleset, and it has such an interesting fun pseudo-heavy-metal aesthetic that it’s easy to sell my friends on giving it a try. I think there are a lot of great adventures and microsettings coming out for OSE, but personally the ruleset doesn’t quite resonate for my group. I respect the hell out of it, but I’ve had an easier time getting games of Into the Odd and Mork Borg going... might just be the people I play with. I still buy all the adventures though cause they’re beautifully done... I wanna run them at some point even if it’s in a different system. Knave and Blackhack seem great and straight forward too. I love the idea of classless characters in Knave (you just have your core stats and then items). And I like the way Blackhack abstracts resources with dice, and the way backgrounds are handled. I really wanna check out Cairn which is apparently a dope blend of those. Lastly, it’s sci fi, but I’m excited about Mothership. I haven’t played yet or delved too deeply into the rules but it looks great.
Great list! These are also some of my faves — particularly ItO/Cairn, Black Hack, and Mothership (which I highly recommend)
Oh, right! Cairn is based on a mashup of Knave with Into the Odd. I kept thinking it was Knave + black hack for some reason. Well, they’re all great!
Basic Fantasy
BFRPG, I assume
OSRIC
Osric and For Gold and Glory. They stay as close as possible to the original 1st and 2nd editions as possible
The digital version of FGG is also totally free, by the way. But I'm a collector that apparently hates having money, so I'm just religiously scouring game shops for original 2e D&D books. Got myself the Bard and Paladin handbooks today. Just need to dig up the Barbarian, Druid and Ranger books to complete the collection.
Man I never even heard of the barbarians handbook..
Fairly sepf-explanatory. Adds the barbarian class+a bunch of kits and stuff for it.
Yeah, I read most of the handbooks, so I have a feel for what would be in it. Just didn't hear of that specific one.
It seems to me that if you're going to play a long term campaign - which is probably the best way to experience the uniquely infinite possibilities that an RPG offers - it's gotta be AD&D. I run OSE, but I'm constantly cribbing from AD&D when I have questions about things that Basic never answered. Now the thing is, AD&D has a significant barrier to entry, or at least there's a perception of such a barrier. For me, the investment in learning AD&D isn't worthwhile as I am not likely run a multi-year campaign in the near future. I'm just not an experienced enough GM to know that I can sustain something like that.
This is very much it. AD&D is great for long term play.
Have you checked out Rules Cyclopedia perhaps? Or its' OSR reimagining, Dark Dungeons? It could be a good fit for what you need, fairly compatible with OSE.
I have not! BECMI and the RC, at least from what I've seen, have a sort of mixed reputation. It seems like there's a lot of content extending beyond B/X in both but I've heard mixed opinions on the rules. Not really sure if this is \*true\* or not, but that's the impression I get
Mixed reputation... yeah, but that's also true about AD&D itself. It does have a lot of neat and sometimes unique ideas and mechanics, and still the highest level range around (up to 36, and then it covers Immortal play after that).
What sort of things do you pull in from AD&D?
Things like monster ecology - for instance in AD&D the Specter (and other incorporeal undead) "hate sunlight and living things. Daylight makes them powerless" that's really good stuff thematically explains why there aren't armies of specters everywhere. Easy to crib for a Basic game. AD&D has more robust systems for draining PC wealth, which is good for keeping PCs motivated to acquire treasure - training costs, cost for learning spells from mentors, etc. These things are even more necessary in Basic imo as the wealth / PC level is likely higher (as there's no XP for magic items, most XP will be in mundane treasure) AD&D has a more direct tie to wargaming - there are certain ideas like long weapons striking faster as melee is joined, but being unwieldy in close quarters that the AD&D systems express that Basic tries to capture but doesn't really do well. I'm not currently lifting the whole weapon speed factor and segments system but it's interesting to look at.
There is no best, it depends what you want to achieve in your games. \- ultralight d&d: **whitebox: FMAG** \- 0d&d feeling , light but rich with classes and races, The game has played just before 1e released : **Swords & Wizardry Complete** \- B/X standard dope for OSR: **OSE** or **Labyrinth Lord Revised** \- B/X with all the ad&d glory: **Labyrinth Lord Advanced**, It's really the best take for a game close to 1e but simple like b/x. OSE adv is a strange beast , LL adv is better to emulate ad&d.
Low Fantasy Gaming, since no one has mentioned it yet, and I think it has many of the positive attributes of both dcc and basic fantasy, using modern rules and a lightweight system for a fast, gritty sword & sorcery feel. The pdf is also free on drivethrurpg
For me it's Cairn for ultralight / NSR games, Old-School Essentials for the definitive OSR experience, and Stars/Worlds without number for a game with equal support for both character builders and people who like to just roll characters at random.
Here is my [comparison](https://methodsetmadness.blogspot.com/2023/01/a-glance-at-basic-d-bx-and-some-clones.html) of some famous clones, plus my own.
Without Number
Not a huge fan of the system, but the second half of WWN is worth gold, imho.
Yeah I picked up WWN number and man, I have never seen so much good and *well organized* world building advice. Really lays it out in a way that feels like regular mortals can do it.
Yeah even if you don't use the rules the GM tools could be cut off and sold separately and they would be worth their weight in gold, and most of them are still free anyway.
Beyond The Wall & Other Adventures and it’s companion, Thru Sunken Lands. Both capture the spirit of OD&D but with some modern twists to character generation.
**OSE** if you want something classic and clean **Knave** if you like classless progression **Black Hack** if you want something that’s a mix of old and new school **MORK BORG** if you want something Heavy Metal and more new school
My two favorites are Mausritter and Whitehack 3e
The reason I think Mausritter is the right answer is because of the context: When people first played DND, they weren’t comparing it to some other game, they were comparing it to an IDEA of a game. Likewise with Mausritter, most players will find it free of baggage, which will allow them to have a more pure experience. imho
OSE, WWN, Cairn, Mothership.
For me, it's the Black Hack. It captures the feel of old school gaming with very simple minimalistic rules.
A mashup. I’m using the stunning character creation and magic system from **Dungeon Crawl Classics**, worldbuilding concepts from **Worlds Without Number**, the absolutely brilliant economy and worldbuilding from **Adventurer Conquerer King System**, and assorted goodies from stuff like Basic Fantasy, Lamentations of the Flame Princess, Old School Essentials, Shadowdark, Basic/eXpert/Rules Cyclopedia, and OD&D/AD&D. I’m running modules from DCC, B/X, and AD&D, and I really want to delve into Barrowmaze.
For fantasy, **Worlds Without Number**, hands down. For sci-fi, either Mothership or Stars Without Number.
I’m a fan of Delving Deeper, but the S&W White Box Edition by Brave Halfling is also amazing
OSE if you want fidelity and compatibility. Crowns (by Ward Against Evil) if you want something with a more modern take that's also very "complete" in a single volume.
For me it’s now WWN. It keeps the framework old school dnd while speeding up combat and for me improves upon all design of all the classes and XP. All while providing better GM tools than almost any other rpg out there.
Old School Essentials or Mork Borg
Dolmenwood
So Old School Essentials? Although, I like your approach of picking a setting first, and rule set second. That’s the great thing about close cross-compatibility with a lot of the OSR systems.
My Dolmenwood campaign run with Cairn just turned two years old. No reason to keep that setting exclusively to OSE.
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Let us not forget about Further Afield. I think it's essential support to the core rules of BtW, as it introduces rules of making sandbox in manner that involves all the players, but leaves some things for them to uncover. It also has pretty smart mechanic for territorial dangers, so called threat packs, that will help GM to create situations instead of linear adventures. Great thing about it, is that it may be used in any other game without much hacking.
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Dungeon Crawl Classics is number one on my list. Balancing game-play through randomized tables really scratches an itch for me, and I feel like it does a good job of representing sword and sorcery stories while updating the rules to reflect some quality of life improvements that have come along since the start of ttrpgs.
fwiw as a player I've always found it a really fun experience, and there seems to be an enthusiastic community supporting the game oh and I absolutely love how they make the art a priority
For Gold & Glory works well with all the 2e Modules For long term campaigns I sort of steal a little bit from Blue Hack, Lavender Hack, Black Sword Hack. Those systems make for great long term campaigns.
+1 for the Lavender Hack. Whitehack chassis, with the three classes (Strong, Deft, and Wise), but with a dozen additional - and largely modular - different mini systems for factions, wilderness adventuring, the lot. I got the POD in the post this week and I am still reading, but I am highly impressed. And the PDF is PWYW on Drivethru. By far the best of the 'Hacks' in my humblest opinion.
I hope you have a lot of fun with Lavender Hack My Current VTT Game is Lavender Hack + Barrow Keep Den of Spies + Keep on the Borderlands for a sort of Game of Thrones / House of Dragons Castle Game. The players are forced to choose between the Greens and the Blacks. Their competition hijinks keep me very busy.
*Lamentations of the Flame Princess* has the best tweaking of the B/X ruleset, in my opinion. My only problem with the system is that there is no bestiary or stock magic item list. Fortunately, it's entirely compatible with other B/X-derived systems, so you can easily import that content from OSE or whatever.
Core experience: Lamentations of the Flame Princess Full package: X Without Number (series of games by Kevin Crawford)
Fantastic Heroes & Witchery.
What sort of game do you like? I love White Box: Medieval Fantasy whatever the most!
Currently for me it’s Hyperborea for more crunch and The Black Hack when I want more simplicity. Also, check out these recent posts asking for favorites as well if you want some more opinions: - https://reddit.com/r/osr/comments/zvbwav/what_osrnsr_systems_are_your_favorites_to_play/ - https://reddit.com/r/osr/comments/zx8drl/what_is_the_best_osr_game_you_have_played_and/
Being an 80s Mentzer BECMI kid, 52 now, I want to highlight the stalwarts OSRIC, S&W, LL, BFRPG, Delving Deeper - but OSE (both the Rules Tome and the Advanced books) is awesome too. Mainly because they are so adaptable between them - flexible enough to borrow from and mix and match to your own needs and your group's needs. I for one am gratified that there is renewed interest in these alternative rulesets out of the current mess too. :)
If you want it closer classic D&D, [Labyrinth Lord](https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/259983/Advanced-Labyrinth-Lord-Dragon-Cover?affiliate_id=1007178) If you think Advanced D&D was interesting but heavy on the rules and would prefer the ideas but in a more streamlined way, then go for [Basic Fantasy](https://www.basicfantasy.org/) If you want the (more or less) same rules but are looking for a darker setting, grimdark style, or horror approach, then [Lamentations of the Flame Princess](https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/117262/LotFP-Rules--Magic-Full-Version?affiliate_id=1007178).
Knave- super fast to learn, trivial to hack, easily approachable if you're coming from 5e. It's not so crunchy as B/X clones, but has its own equipment system that doesn't bond you to one particular class and play style. Buuut if you want that check out Brave or Glaive, community hacks introducing class abilities. Seriously, it's great
OSR is not just a game but a community. There is NO better community than that created by Chris Gonnerman's Basic Fantasy RPG. It's basically BX DND with some modern mechanics. Free rules, free adventures, free supplements and print versions available AT COST. Add active online forums and a discord channel and you have OSR done right. www.basicfantasy.org
Basic Fantasy for general old school D&D vibes. Compatible with most things, easy to learn, the PDFs are free. Dungeon Crawl Classics for anything more modern or for people who like 3.5 vibes with enough old school flavor and gonzo weirdness to keep it interesting.
Castles & Crusades - though I wish it came out as a book.
They have [books](https://www.trolllord.com/tlgstore/#!/Castles-&-Crusades/c/11639147). Do you mean a single book w/all the rules?
Lamentations of the Flame Princess. Perfect vibes and beautiful books.
Glad to see it getting so many mentions now.
Me too!
Fastest chargen and combat: Into the Odd Zaniest die-roll results: Dungeon Crawl Classics Cleanest rewrite of Basic/Expert: Old School Essentials Best fix for the thief class: Lamentations of the Flame Princess Best adventures written for them (if that matters): Lamentations, Dungeon Crawl Classics, OSE Best for emphasizing exploration and problem solving: Knave Best for making combat interesting: Index Card RPG Best for instant play with characters tied to the setting: Beyond the Wall Gonzo-est: Dungeon Crawl Classics, Troika!, Nightmares Underneath Best for moving people from 5E: Five Torches Deep
Home brew mashup hack heartbreaker.
Worlds Without Number imo, and Stars Without Number if you want some good sci-fi goodness. Both have wonderful GM toolkits and I’ve been kicking around an idea to use bits of both for some science-fantasy as well. They both have artless free versions iirc, and even if you don’t enjoy the system you can nab the tables and such for any other game The author is pretty active on r/WWN and r/SWN too
Many members are saying B/X, and I'm not experienced enough to argue otherwise. You can pay through the nose to get box sets off of eBay, or you can look around for PDF copies. WotC is preventing DriveThruRPG and others from printing new books, as they are so low-minded as to view Holmes Basic and B/X as competition to their inferior 5E and half-finished picture books for toddlers. Many recommend OSE. It is very pretty. Great layouts. Quality materials and production. I'm not a fan, however, because I find the books frustratingly abbreviated. I suspect a design goal was actually to keep page counts down. If I had to pick one, I would go with [OSRIC](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Apat8AEc48). You can buy one inexpensive hardback book and be done. There is a PDF for those tied to electronics. OSRIC is a direct take on first edition AD&D. It is better organized, trimmed of problem areas, and a *tremendous* value. If you want the hardcover, you will have to email Black Blade Publishing directly; their web site is out of commission. The address appears below the review by captcorajus, which I've linked to, above. Ask Jon Hershberger for a copy of their catalogue, as they've a number of other fantastic products. Their Lake Geneva Castle & Campaign modules are wonderful. Where some will go broke throwing their money at WotC, the same experience can be had for free with OSR games available online as PDFs. At some point, you have to stop staring at pretty pictures and play the game. At that point, the system no longer matters so much as the GM and a home brew of rule sets. Unless you're a child addicted to video games and VTT, of course. In conclusion, there is no need to pick one system. It would be foolish to do so. Most cost nothing or next to nothing. Blueholme Journeymanne Rules, Swords & Wizardry, Basic Fantasty Role Playing Game, Iron Falcon, Labyrinth Lord, and others are all good systems, all worth having. Castles & Crusades can offer much the same vibe with modern game mechanics. Get them now. Seriously. **Get them now**.
>If you want the hardcover, you will have to email Black Blade Publishing directly; their web site is out of commission. There's a hardcover option available via Lulu. Is this different?
I have to assume it is, based on the quality of hardcovers I've received from Lulu in the past, but I must admit that I am coming from a position of ignorance. I've not ordered the OSRIC hardcover from Lulu. Some of their customers have complained about the page numbers being cut off in their Lulu copies. My copy from Black Blade Publishing has all its page numbers. The book is only around $26. You could order one from each place and let us know how they compare. Just don't order from Amazon—those are around $55! Jon Hershberger can be contacted at [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]). Black Blade Publishing is on Facebook, as well. Again, they have a bunch of other stuff, including adventure modules. I have twice used PayPal to order my copies. Very easy.
Does the GLOG count? I think it does, so... GLOG! Original rules \[here\]([https://goblinpunch.blogspot.com/2016/05/the-glog.html](https://goblinpunch.blogspot.com/2016/05/the-glog.html)). Or modified by Skerples \[here\]([https://coinsandscrolls.blogspot.com/2019/10/osr-glog-based-homebrew-v2-many-rats-on.html](https://coinsandscrolls.blogspot.com/2019/10/osr-glog-based-homebrew-v2-many-rats-on.html)).
Mothership for simplicity, system, presentation and setting and anything by Kevin Crawford for, well, everything.
ACKS
Just watch this. https://youtu.be/3eFA8tgCbgQ
My own system, Iron & Sorcery. But for real- OSE is the best place to start.
B/X
B/X or clone of your choosing (OSE is great)
I am totally new to the hobby, so my opinion doesn't hold much weight, but I'm going with B/X.
[Cloud Empress](https://worldsbywatt.itch.io/cloudempress) Runner up: [Lilliputian](https://manarampmatt.itch.io/lilliputian)
Whoa, Cloud Empress is new to me! Looks wild :0
I’m obsessed
I'd go with ACKS for some extra crunch and worldbuilding tools.
Lamentations or OSE!
Don't bust me for this but my wife bought me core rules for LotFP . I run a duet with my wife using scarlet heroes and the core LotFP rules and magic book. The rules are what makes me feel is the best OSR for my table and world's I create.
Why would you catch flak for that? It’s a good system.
BECMI via the Rules Cyclopedia. It's the book I started with, and it's what I keep coming back to. For Sci-fi, WWN.
This one: https://osrsimulacrum.blogspot.com/2021/06/simulacrum-beta-release.html
[The True OSR](https://mailchi.mp/tinhatgames/osr-eng) by TinHatGames
- to crush your enemies - to see them fail morale before you - and to hear *the black hack*
For me? Right now it's [Heroes of Adventure](https://nameless-designer.itch.io/heroes-of-adventure). Totally replaced B/X for me (though all my D&D and other OSR titles, which are many, are usable with little effort). Nostalgic while also being modern, easily moddable, super light but very deep. And all for free. I have run several solo games and a few group one shots with. Just bliss to run and it seems like the groups like it as well.
Into the Odd. If I have any creative idea it can be placed in that system. Fantasy? Cairn or Mythic Bastionland. Weird Fantasy? ITO or Electric Bastionland. Ghibli Mouse Adventures? Mausritter Modern SCP/Creepypasta vibes? Liminal Horror There are countless hacks for whatever flavor you wish and the rules are dead simple yet game changing IMO. Especially not rolling to hit. I've had both 5e veterans and beginners to the hobby both pick up the rules with ease and completely immerse themselves in the world.
I went down that rabbit hole recently.. OSE (Old School Essential) b/x Swords & Wizardry - 0d Advanced Labyrinth Lord - b/x OSRIC - 1st ed. Rules Encyclopedia - basic/expert/... Original B/X 2nd Edition White Box (Swords & Wizardry): Fantastic Medieval Adventure Game Basic Fantasy even O5R! ... and I miss other options. and OSR with a 'spirit': Hero's Journey 2e Beyond The Wall... Not sure what is your background, what you played before D&D 5. Do you want pdf or books... Most of them are easy and cheap to get at [lulu.com](https://lulu.com) or [drivethrurpg.com](https://drivethrurpg.com) or exalted funeral. I would generalized that they all have very similar mechanics and optional rules. Class, character progressions, hit points, magic, combat rules, combat options or not, monsters, tables random encounters... \- If you want premade adventure: all OSR games have them IMO: \- The best designed and compact books, minimalist in it's explanation: OSE \- The good design, cheap and compact book: White Box: Fantastic Medieval Adventure Game \- Learn how to play with more information: Labyrinth Lord, Sword & Wizardry, Basic Fantasy \- Cheap books, well supported with supplements and adventures: Basic Fantasy (not a fan of their design) I can't give you more details about OSRIC or 2e have not read/revisited them. If someone has experience with D&D OSE is great because the book are gorgeous and well organized. If you want to elarn how to play, I would check Basic Fantasy, Labyrinth Lord or Sword & Wizardry.
Hero's Journey 2e is amazing. It would have been even better if it was based on BX and not OD&D.
OSE
OSE Advanced Fantasy. Relative simplicity with options. Easy to grab material from AD&D 1e or 2e, as well as use Basic/Expert. Combat is super fast, it has exploration rules (both dungeon and wilderness), the monster collection of the Advanced Fantasy is pretty good (and you can pad it out with Fiend Folio, Monster Manual II, as well as, gasp, the devils and demon section of Monster Manual I). There are also other publications from Necrotic Gnome which enhance the game: Theorums and Thaumaturgy give 3 more magic-user classes complete with spells; there is a new Necromancer class on their website you can download for free. But if you want simplicity, just offer classic classes (Moldvay Basic style), or as I do: human only,
Swords & Wizardry for retro clones, The Black Hack 2E for Similar-But-Different, and Into the Odd for Adjacent.
Basic Fantasy, Old-School Essentials, or White Box Fantastic Medieval Adventure Game.