Sunday 18 September 2011

RPG: Retro Clone Comparison Post

My list of retro clones and games of a similar nature.

Despite the name some of the games are not clones, they are reimaginings or creations of systems that almost were. I have tried to indicate this with the Inspired by / Clone headings. This is not helped by the fact that some of the games steal ideas from all edition of the most popular fantasy role playing game ever. Not all the games are free, but most allow you to download a section of their rules at least.

Games I missed out from the main list are at the bottom.

Further links of interest are also lurking in the deeps.

I am especially interested in any retro clones or remakes of systems that are not inspired by the greatest fantasy role playing game ever.

Last update 30 Mar '13.

Douglas

Labyrinth Lord


Labyrinth Lord


Homepagehttp://www.goblinoidgames.com/labyrinthlord.html

Inspired By: Basic Dungeons and Dragons B/X (1981)

Clone: Yes. The Advanced Edition Companion brings in concepts from Advanced D&D in a way that is compatible with the core rules.

Free Download: Yes

Reviewhttp://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/13/13377.phtml





Basic Fantasy RPG



Homepagehttp://basicfantasy.org/main.html

Inspired By: Basic Dungeons and Dragons B/X (1981)

Clone: Yes. (from comment) As the author of the Basic Fantasy RPG, let me say that it absolutely IS a clone, though not an entirely faithful one. Basic Fantasy RPG was the first fully free retro-clone (or "simulacrum") game ...

Free Download: Yes, and quite a lot of them.

Reviewhttp://www.enworld.org/forum/general-rpg-discussion/257240-experiences-basic-fantasy-rpg.html

Dark Dungeons




Homepagehttp://www.gratisgames.webspace.virginmedia.com/

Inspired By: Dungeons and Dragons Rules Cyclopedia (1991), The RC is all the old BECMI box sets jammed together in one book.

Clone: Yes.

Free Download: Yes

Reviewhttp://index.rpg.net/display-entry.phtml?mainid=15165 (not really a review ;)

Note: Very much on my list of things to buy. Site also contains Darker Dungeons and Darkest Dungeons. Both of which expand the core concept. Darkest Dungeons is still in production.

Blumf:
Dark Dungeons is a pen-and-paper role-playing game. More specifically, it is a retro-clone that emulates a specific out-of-print edition of a specific game. For legal reasons, neither the game nor the edition are named anywhere within this site or within Dark Dungeons itself. However, this doesn't matter. If you know the game then you will pretty much instantly recognise it, and if you don't know the game then it doesn't matter - you can play Dark Dungeons on its own merits.

Dark Dungeons takes you to a world of fantasy adventure, where you start as a nobody and in true zero-to-hero style can end up slaying dragons; ruling kingdoms; sailing to the stars in enchanted ships; or even becoming a being of Immortal power and creating your own worlds.

Swords & Wizardry



Homepagehttp://www.swordsandwizardry.com/?page_id=4

Inspired By: Original Dungeons and Dragons (1974)

Clone: Yes. With additions from later supplements.

Free Download: Yes.

Reviewhttp://xbowvsbuddha.blogspot.com/2008/12/swords-wizardry-review.html

Notes:  The site also offer a whitebox version which is just the core rules with no additions from further supplements. Also offers a rtf version for house ruling.


ZeFRS




Homepagehttp://www.midcoast.com/~ricekrwc/zefrs/

Inspired By: Conan RPG

Clone: Yes. Never having played it I am not sure.

Free Download: Yes

Reviewhttp://www.dragonsfoot.net/forums/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=51534&view=previous

Mutant Future



Homepagehttp://www.goblinoidgames.com/mutantfuture.html

Inspired By: Gamma World

Clone: Not quite. Uses the Labyrinth Lord rules as a base. I think the original was based on Advanced Dungeons and Dragons.

Free Download: Yes

Reviewhttp://grognardia.blogspot.com/2008/06/review-mutant-future.html


OSRIC


Homepagehttp://www.knights-n-knaves.com/osric/a1.html

Inspired By: Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1E  (1978)

Clone:  Yes, I think so. With some SRD tweaks.

Free Download: Yes

Reviewhttp://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/13/13090.phtml

B/X Companion


Homepagehttp://bxblackrazor.blogspot.com/

Inspired By: Dungeons and Dragons B/X (1981)

Clone: No. A creation of the book that was never made but mentioned in the 1981 books.

Free Download: No. Also site now says it is sold out!

Reviewhttp://grognardia.blogspot.com/2010/10/review-bx-companion.html

Blumf:
As homage to “what could have been” the Companion is laid out in much the same fashion as the original Basic and Expert rule sets. Those who are familiar with the Moldvay/Cook/Marsh rules should find the B/X Companion readily recognizable. It is designed to work with the B/X rules and pick up where they left off (specifically, level 15).

Myth and Magic RPG (In production)



Homepagehttp://www.newhavengames.com/?page_id=23

Inspired By: Advanced Dungeons and Dragons 2nd Edition (1989)

Clone: No. Describes itself as a retro remake.

Free Download: Yes, if you register at the forums

Review: None yet. Still in production. Still looks like it is in production.

Blumf:
Myth & Magic is a fantasy role playing game built from the core of the 2nd Edition rules set of the world’s most popular roleplaying game. It retains the essence of classic fantasy role playing, while advancing the mechanics and providing more options, classes, spells, monsters, and more. 

Gamers from all editions will find Myth & Magic great fun. It retains the 2nd Edition’s focus on story and adventure, but it also provides new opportunity for character customization that appeals to new age gamers.


Adventurer Conqueror King



Homepagehttp://www.autarch.co/

Inspired By:  Dungeons & Dragons, non-specific. Name checks Labyrinth Lord and Basic Fantasy RPG

Clone: No.

Free Download: No. Can be purchased from DrivethruRPG.

Review: (not a review) http://www.rpgblog2.com/2011/07/adventurer-conqueror-king-interview.html Here is an actual review at rpg.net.

Blumf:
In a world of fallen empires, some relics of the past are good only for a beastman’s bludgeon; others make ruin delvers rich. You may start out with no higher ambition than a sack full of ancient coins, but each gold piece you spend ties you into a dynamic realm of commerce and carousing, driven by the hidden engines of court intrigues and distant wars. As you grow in power, will you fight to hold back the darkness looming at the borderlands of an aging civilization, or will you pull down the last decadent barriers to the coming of a new dawn?

Notes: I have purchased this and am still ploughing my way through the rules. Looks pretty good though. In the UK could be purchased from here, but was out of stock last time I checked.

Dungeon Crawl Classics (In production)



Homepagehttp://www.goodman-games.com/dccrpg.html

Inspired By: Dungeons and Dragons Third Edition (DCC RPG, an OGL system that cross-breeds Appendix N with a streamlined version of 3E.)

Clone: No.

Free Download: Uncertain, can download Beta rules here http://www.goodman-games.com/DCCRPGbeta.html

Review: (Beta Review)  http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/15/15346.phtml

Blumf:
Return to the glory days of fantasy with the Dungeon Crawl Classics Role Playing Game. Adventure as 1974 intended you to, with modern rules grounded in the origins of sword & sorcery. Fast play, cryptic secrets, and a mysterious past await you: turn the page…

Hackmaster Basic


Homepagehttp://www.kenzerco.com/index.php?cPath=25_94

Inspired By: Advanced Dungeons and Dragons (1st and 2nd Edition)

Clone: No?

Free Download: Can download quick star rules.

Reviewhttp://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/14/14349.phtml

Blumf:
So why another fantasy role-playing game in an already crowded market? Because not all games are created equal. And neither are gamers. We all come to the table with our own likes and dislikes as far as game style and play. No single game can be all things to all players. We created HackMaster Basic with one goal in mind — to be the game we ourselves would want to buy and play with our friends. This is the same approach to game design that earned us Best Game of the Year (for HackMaster 4th Edition) and Best RPG of the Year (Aces & Eights). We happen to think there are others out there like us. So far we’ve been right.

Lamentations of the Flame Princess



Homepagehttp://www.lotfp.com/RPG/

Inspired By: Weird Fiction

Clone: No, claims compatibility with many of the D&D retro clones like LL and S&W.

Free Download: Yes. But a very gorgeous box set seems to be for sale.

Reviewhttp://errantgame.blogspot.com/2011/02/review-lamentations-of-flame-princess.html

Blumf:
 LotFP's role-playing activities were conceived under the dread gloom of Finnish winter and consummated during the darkless summer by a displaced American on a steady diet of Jules Verne, Edgar Allan Poe, HG Wells, HP Lovecraft, Clark Ashton Smith, Robert E. Howard, Hammer Horror, Dario Argento, the New Wave of British Heavy Metal and the traditional Nordic doom metal scene, filtered through over a quarter of a century of gaming experience. Through use of forbidden rites and mystical incantations remembered in fevered dreams, LotFP founder James Edward Raggi IV seeks to recreate the past by remolding the present and conquering the future.

Notes: Game still very much being actively supported. A kickstart link for a hardback production is currently underway.

Adventures Dark and Deep (In production)


Homepagehttp://www.adventuresdarkanddeep.com/

Inspired By: Dungeons and Dragons 1e. (Or second edition as done by Gygax)

Clone: No

Free Download: Currently yes.

Reviewhttp://classicrpgrealms.blogspot.com/2011/08/adventures-dark-deep-gygaxian-legacy.html

Blumf:
Adventures Dark and Deep is an attempt to reconstruct what such a 2nd edition would have looked like if Gygax had remained at the helm. New classes, including the mountebank, jester, mystic, savant, and bard, are included. Psionics is gone, as are monks and half-ogres. Assassins are relegated to optional status. Mages get to specialize in types of spells, with bonuses and accompanying detriments. Combat is streamlined and rationalized. The various spells, races, magical items, and classes from UA are integrated into the Players and Game Masters books, and all the creatures from the Monster Manual, Fiend Folio, and Monster Manual II are brought together into a single book, and more (and more variants) are added. Monsters have variable-type hit dice; larger, tougher creatures might use a d10 or d12 to determine hit dice, while physically weaker creatures might use a d4 or d6. In addition, the monsters are reorganized, making it easier to find a desired sort of creature by environment. A skills system is introduced, but one which doesn't undermine the coherence of the class-based system.

Crypts and Things



Homepagehttp://d101games.co.uk/books/crypts-and-things/

Inspired By: Original Dungeons and Dragons / Swords and Wizardy

Clone: Describes self as clone of S&W.

Free Download: No. Can't find one. Can be purchased from the links here.

Review: Yes here is one.

Blumf:
It’s about exploring the ruins of the dying world of Zarth. Fighting off the Others, alien monstrosities from outside of your reality. Making your mark on the world before it dives into the sun Nemesis. In short its a Swords and Sorcery role playing game using the original edition of the world’s favourite role playing game.


Openquest


Homepagehttp://d101games.co.uk/books/openquest/

Inspired By: Mongoose Runequest SRD / d100 System

Clone: No.

Free Download: Yes. Text only download.

Reviewhttp://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/14/14615.phtml

Blumf:
A complete and easy to play Fantasy Roleplaying game, with monsters, magic and exotic locales.  OpenQuest uses the classic D100 rules mechanic, which uses percentages to express the chance of success or failure.

Open Quest is based on the Mongoose RuneQuest SRD (MRQ SRD), with ideas from previous editions of Chaosium’s RuneQuest and Stormbringer 5th, mixed in with some common sense house rulings from the author’s twenty years of experience with the D100 system.


Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea (In production)


Homepagehttp://www.swordsmen-and-sorcerers.com/

Inspired By: Advanced Dungeons and Dragons, early

Clone: No

Free Download: No. Looks commercial.

Review: None

Blumf:
Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea is a forthcoming role-playing game produced by North Wind Adventures. It is played with paper, pencil, dice, and imagination. Participants include one referee and one or more players. The referee prepares and presents the adventure material, including the circumstances, challenges, quests, and mysteries faced. The players create characters, including fightersmagiciansclericsthieves, and more.

The characters of an Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea game delve dungeons filled with horrifying monsters, lethal traps, and bewildering puzzles; they explore savage wilderness frontiers and hostile borderlands; they probe ancient ruins and investigate cursed tombs; they match steel against sorcery, and sorcery against steel; and they plunder for gold, gems, and magical treasure.


Castles & Crusades



Homepagehttp://www.trolllord.com/cnc/index.html

Inspired By: Advanced Dungeons and Dragons, 1st Edition and others.

Clone: No.

Free Download: Of the quick start rules.

Reviewhttp://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/11/11008.phtml

Blumf:
Castles & Crusades is a fantasy role playing game with countless possibilities. Designed for use with multiple players, Castles & Crusades puts you in charge of the adventure path. Included within are all the rules of play, how to get started in your very own role playing game, how to run the game and play in it.

It's easy to learn attribute-based rules system allows players to choose among 13 archetypal character classes and 7 races to create their characters. Spells, equipment, fast-paced combat rules, and all essential information needed to play a game of Castles & Crusades is in this book. Further, the attribute-based rules system allows Castle Keeper's to design and run adventures as they see fit, without all the crowded, complex rules of other role playing games.


Dungeons Deep Fantasy Role-Playing Game (In production)


Homepagehttp://dungeonsdeepdesigns.com/#wares-games-dddrpg

Inspired By:  Dungeons and Dragons

Clone: No

Free Download: No. Beta pdf due.

Review: None

Blumf:
The Dungeons Deep fantasy RPG was designed to be intuitive, to avoid having to resort to a book for every situation, but with a considerable depth of game play. This includes a social element to promote role-playing, all new races, classes, abilities, magic, monsters and much more. All of the rules need to play or run a Dungeons Deep game come in this one volume, which includes a basic set of rules, as well as the modular advanced rules which can be added in pieces or as a whole, according to the skill and preference of the group.


Open D6 System (In production)


Homepagehttp://www.wegfansite.com/forum/

Inspired By: West End Games System

Clone: Unsure

Free Download: Not yet. (Actually try here http://opend6.wikia.com/wiki/Open_D6_Resurrection_Wiki)

Review: (not a review)  http://index.rpg.net/display-entry.phtml?mainid=3445

Blumf: An old rules set being released under an open gaming license. More info here http://opend6.wikidot.com/


Action! System (defunct?)


Homepagehttp://completesrd.wikidot.com/srd:action1

Inspired By:  Similar to Fusion system which is a merging of the HERO system and the Interlock system.

Clone: No.

Free Download: Not easily. Also does not look like it has been updated for a while.

Review: http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/10/10439.phtml.

Blumfhttp://www.action-system.com/faq.html


Gods & Monsters


Homepagehttp://www.godsmonsters.com/Game/Rules/

Inspired By: Dungeons and Dragons 1st and 2nd Editions

Clone: No

Free Download: Yes, multiple formats. Released under the GFDL

Reviewhttp://caveofchaos.com/categories.php?mode=view&category_id=17

Blumf:
In “Gods & Monsters”, you and your friends take the role of fantasy heroes. Your heroes will meet, outsmart, and fight fantastic creatures, strange beings, and perhaps even the gods themselves. You will solve puzzles and riddles, and guide your heroes through the uncharted vistas of your imagination.

Most of the action in Gods & Monsters takes place within the minds of the players. The Guide describes what the heroes see, and the players describe what their heroes do in response.

Sometimes you will roll dice to determine how successful your heroes’ actions are, and you can use your heroes’ mojo to help ensure success.


Legends of the Ancient World


Homepagehttp://www.darkcitygames.com/index.php

Inspired By: The Fantasy Trip

Clone: I have no idea.

Free Download: Yes. Core rules.

Reviewhttp://apaladinincitadel.blogspot.com/2009/11/legends-of-ancient-world-wolves-on.html (not quite  review)

Blumf:  None I can find. I found this mentioned in an article in The Escapist.

Mazes & Minotaurs



Homepagehttp://mazesandminotaurs.free.fr/

Inspired By: Dungeons and Dragons via a Classical Studies course.

Clone: No

Free Download: Yes. Looks like various versions.

Reviewhttp://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/12/12092.phtml

Blumf:
As most of you probably remember, the year 1972 saw the release of MAZES & MINOTAURS, the first ever-published fantasy roleplaying game, opening a new era of heroic adventure and mythic odysseys…


Fifteen years later, in 1987, Legendary Games Studio published a fully revised, streamlined and expanded version of M&M (which became known as Revised Mazes & Minotaurs or RM&M for short) in the form of three core books (the Players Manual, the Maze Masters Guide and the massive Creature Compendium) and a fourth optional book (the M&M Companion), all with full-color covers and quality B&W interior art.
In 2007, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of this mythic event, the resurrected Legendary Games Studio is happy to bring you Revised Mazes & Minotaurs in PDF format (yes, the whole four books !)… FOR FREE.



Stars Without Number



Homepagehttp://www.sinenomine-pub.com/

Inspired By: Old School  D&D done Sci Fi style.

Clone: No

Free Download: Yes. Also a nicer edition can be purchased for actual money.

Reviewhttp://grognardia.blogspot.com/2011/01/review-stars-without-number.html

Blumf:
Stars Without Number is a retro science fiction role playing game influenced by the Old School Renaissance and partially inspired by the great fantasy role-playing game editions written by Tom Moldvay and Frank Mentzer. The contents are compatible with most old school clones and are designed to be easily imported to your own favorite gaming system. In addition to a complete pre-made stellar sector, Stars Without Number offers GMs and players the tools to create their own sandbox-style adventures in the far future.

Old School Hack


Homepage: http://www.oldschoolhack.net/
Inspired By: Early D&D via Red Box Hack

Clone: Not really.

Free Download: Yes. Currently in Beta. Here.

Reviewhttp://swashbucklershideout.blogspot.com/2011/03/review-old-school-hack.html

Blumf:
Welcome to my little homebrew RPG project, which is a version of Red Box Hack that I’ve been working on since Summer 2009. I’ve been retooling the system to bring it back into the retro world of Basic D&D, with the original classes (plus 1 new one! I didn’t like the halfling.) and adding a smattering of adventure generation tools, enough that the Game Master can run things on the fly. The idea is that you have a quick and friendly read, highly accessible, with enough flavor elements to get you jazzed about it while keeping it open enough for customization.

For Gold & Glory


Homepage: (Site Down: Updates can be found here.)

Inspired By: AD&D Second Edition

Clone: Yes, with minor fixes.

Free Download: Yes. Follow link above.

Review: None found.

Blumf:
The Adventurer’s Compendium: A Comprehensive Guide to Adventuring for Gold and Glory and how to Survive Long Enough to Enjoy It, 2nd Edition or more commonly For Gold & Glory (abbreviated FG&G) is a role-playing game fashioned after David “Zeb” Cook, Steve Winters, and Jon Pickens’ “Fantasy Adventure Game, 2nd Edition” (hereafter referred to as 2E).  A simulacrum or “retroclone,” FG&G attempts to reproduce the original work under Open Game License allowing others to produce derivative work based on it.


Delving Deeper

Delving Deeper (3 Books)


Homepagehttp://www.immersiveink.com/

Inspired By: D&D Original Edition (White Box)

Clone: Yes

Free Download: Yes http://www.rpgnow.com/product/112512/Delving-Deeper-Ref-Rules-v2-%5BBUNDLE%5D

Review: Not quite a review here.

Blumf:


Delving Deeper is an emulation of the original fantasy role-playing game.
Meticulously forged over two long years of development, Delving Deeper invites you to recreate the original role-playing experience as it was in its earliest days.

Return to a time when three alignments were enough, when a handful of character classes ruled, and when magic swords had their own ideas about who's boss.

If you’ve ever read or watched a good fantasy with hungry eyes, then this is the game for you. Right here are all the rules you'll need, none of the rules you won't, and unparalleled room for expansion and growth. Grab your trusty sword, your magic wand, and call the guards to arms! There are treasures in these pages...


System Title


Homepage:

Inspired By:

Clone:

Free Download:

Review:

Blumf:

Further Notes and Items of Interest


I did try to see what the Fantasy Quest was about but the site was playing silly burgers with me. (http://www.thefantasyquest.com/). This post is a work in progress and will be updated as and when I can get round to it.

Had a look at this one (http://forsaken-souls.blogspot.com/) but I will wait for something to be released before including it in the above list. Does look quite interesting.

Also The Secret Fire RPG (http://www.secretfiregames.com/the-secret-fire-rpg/) looks like it is trying to create an old school feel.


Changelog

30 Mar '13 Added Delving Deeper Oe Rules. Updated For Gold & Glory. Deleted duff image links.

17 Aug '12 Update infor for Gold and Glory. Fixed info for BFRPG. Added already out of date link for ACKS. Fixed changelog for Gold and Glory

19 May '12 Added 'For Gold and Glory'. Looks defunct sadly (not true!). Updated some info about Stars Without Number.

21 April '12, B/X Companion marked as sold out. Added cover to Myth and Magic. Added review for ACKs.  Added cover for Dungeon Crawl Classics. Updated Crypts & Things.  Added cover for Castles & Crusades.

2 Feb '12, Adventurer Conqueror King released in PDF, updated. Very excited.

19 Dec '11, added old school hack. Checked some old links. Still looks up to date.

24 Nov, rechecked links. Everything still looks the same. Darker Dungeons is now available to purchase.

4 Nov, Added Stars Without Number, looks brilliant.

25 Oct, Added Mazes and Minotaurs finally. How could I forget the first ever RPG?

10 Oct, Added Legends of the Ancient World

5 Oct, added Crypts & Things pre-order link

30 Sep, added the Action! system, Added Gods and Monsters

27 Sep, Updated link for Dark Dungeons

23 Sep, Yet more added

:22 Sep, Crypts & Things, Openquest

21 Sep, added Dungeon Crawl Classics, Hackmaster Basic

20 Sep, added Adventuer, Conqueror, King

Links


http://opend6.wikia.com/wiki/Open_D6_Resurrection_Wiki

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D6_System

http://www.fightonmagazine.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamma_World

http://www.d20srd.org/

http://quicklyquietlycarefully.blogspot.com/2010/07/retro-clone-comparison-chart.html

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/columns/days-of-high-adventure/6415-Retro-clones

http://totheblogmobile.com/2009/05/08/a-guide-to-retro-clone-roleplaying-games/



5 comments:

  1. [...] games for my retro clone post suggested that most of the free games out there were based on classic fantasy archetypes. [...]

    ReplyDelete
  2. As the author of the Basic Fantasy RPG, let me say that it absolutely IS a clone, though not an entirely faithful one. Basic Fantasy RPG was the first fully free retro-clone (or "simulacrum") game. As such, when releasing it I was in uncharted waters... there were those who told me that WoTC would stomp me flat for my temerity in creating such a game. It turned out that such was not the case, fortunately. The descriptions you quote from were written in part to deflect unwanted attention from my project. Though BFRPG does use ascending AC, it is very possible (easy, in fact) to use materials created for the 1981 edition of the original fantasy RPG with Basic Fantasy. Spells map to spells, class and race to race-classes, and so on, providing backward compatibility. Of course, BFRPG is a combination of all new material with proper OGC... the mechanics, but not the "artistic presentation" of the classic game.

    Just thought I'd try to set the record straight.

    ReplyDelete
  3. douglasamcintosh17 August 2012 at 23:37

    Thanks Chris. Will update the section and point to this comment.

    ReplyDelete