Beta Rules
Excerpt from the What It Is, And What It Isn’t thread on the Goodman Games forum:
It is not a retro-clone.
It is an OGL game.
It uses a rules engine derived from the 3E d20 system.
It is not compatible with 1970s/1980s D&D rules.
It plays like a 1970s OD&D session.
It is generally compatible with other d20-derived systems.
It does not include complexities like attacks of opportunity, prestige classes, feats, or skill points.
It does not utilize miniatures or a grid-based combat system.
It utilizes races as classes -- you can be a warrior, or an elf.
It utilizes six ability scores, including one called Luck.
It is built on the assumption that some characters will die.
It is built on the assumption that the strongest characters will provide long-term campaigns.
It is built for low-level, mid-level, and high-level play.
It does not require that you start at 0-level (though doing so is fun).
It does not use the traditional D&D spell system associated with memorizing spells.
It uses spellcasting rules influenced by the foundational authors of swords & sorcery.
It uses a Vancian magic system…if you use the term “Vancian” to mean “based on a reading of Vance’s original works,” not “what D&D does.”
It is grounded in the fundamentals of Appendix N.
It is a proud descendant of a long tradition.
It is an opportunity to showcase outstanding art in a classic fantasy style.
It is lots of fun to play.
It primarily uses the conventional dice suite: d4, d6, d8, d10, d12, and d20. Most combat and spell checks are resolved with a d20 roll.
It also utilizes Zocchi dice. All of them. Including the d5, d7 and d24.
It is, in my humble opinion, a version of what D&D could have been, if the early pioneers had access to an existing, robust rules engine to which to adapt their Appendix N inspirations, instead of dedicating their energies to building the foundational blocks from scratch.
It is, as Harley described it early on, “pre-D&D swords & sorcery.”
