When Goblins Attack

It can get very tough for low degree characters in Heroes of the Dungeon Crawl if you face too many Goblins at once. But another group of Goblins has plans in the world of the rpg game. Well, their company is called Goblinoid Games actually, and they have already jumped into the world of old school rpg's by making Adventures for those who have OSRIC. But Goblinoid Games has embarked on another quest, to bring the old basic style game back. It is basically what OSRIC is to AD&D, and it's called Labyrinth Lord. From what I understand, if you played the old Mentzer/Cook Basic/Expert D&D game, this game will feel familliar.

I personally think it's great news. What it means to HotDC, I will discuss further down in this post. However, there is a concern from fans of the Basic Fantasy game that LL will take away from their effort. I don't agree with that. When they made BF, they made a decision to change some of the rules in the game to current D&D trends. I understand why it was done, and the game still looks like it plays similar to the old game. However, Goblinoid Games has said they plan to keep LL as faithful as possible to the old game.

Many of us want what Goblinoid Games proposes. I am concerned that the BF fans might attack the idea of LL, and I hope that BF's creator would make a statement of respect for the other effort if nothing else. Much of this is being discussed over at Dragonsfoot. There was a thread there about an OSRIC for the old basic game that I even posted in, but BF's creator seemed a bit touchy about certain comments. This caused me to reconsider posting an announcement about HotDC over there until this project is nearly complete.

When I was covering auto racing in my area, personal attacks happened quite a bit towards the end of my run, and I don't desire to get in the middle of that while working on HotDC. It tends to take away from the joy of working on it.

Let me say now that I support Basic Fantasy, which is why it's linked here, and I also support Labyrinth Lord and will link it as well. If it turns out to be what I think it will, I may do a Dungeon Adventure for it. That style of game is really what I want to see.

Now, when I opened up this blog a couple months ago and started sharing the thought process of HotDC, I didn't see many people out there who gave a damn about people like me who wanted something simple. Since then, here's what I've found:

Basic Fantasy does a nice job of creating that old feel.

Labyrinth Lord appears to be a game that will recreate that old feel a little more faithfully.

Troll Lord Games is making the Basic C&C game.

Goodman Games is making what appears to be a basic game called Dungeoneer.

What does any of this have to do with HotDC? Well, it just let's you know that the concern for a basic rpg game that doesn't bog you down with books is becoming a concern for some in the industry.

I've even heard rumors that D&D may finally address this issue when they release the inevitable 4.0 rules.

But, none of this is stopping the process of creating HotDC. Work continues on the project. Sometimes it goes slower than I'd like, but that's the way it goes.

Oh, and welcome to the basic game party Goblinoid Games. I have a feeling there will plenty of interest in Labyrinth Lord.