This was my favorite thread on the old r/OSR. So is your favorite system/systems?
I’ll start:
Basic Fantasy - BF gets overlooked a lot because the print books are sold at cost so I think it ends up being a lot of peoples introduction to OSR, but I keep coming back to it. The modules are really well written.
Old School Essentials - Just got the Rules Tome and I love it, though I haven’t had the change to dig into a game with it yet.
My first dip was with DCC. I love the books and the ambiance it goes for, but I found that at the table, the heavy use of random tables to get results for spells, crits, fumbles, and so on requires a lot of buy in from the players (and a lot of printed material). If all the players are into it, I’m sure it’s amazing.
So later on I bought Old-School Essentials and that’s what I’m currently running and I love it. It’s dead simple, easy to run, and even if combat can appear a bit stale, the XP for gold mechanics and the reaction rolls tend to de-emphasize combat a lot. And that’s great because as a GM, I much prefer my players “solving” a situation through parlay and / or Charm Person (which lead to me roleplaying NPCs more) than killing everything in sight.
I have been with one group who runs DCC and they manage by heavy house ruling. It’s a great system but there is a lot of stuff that can be cut out in favor of a good game flow and I get the impression most people snip out chunks like that.
Im getting into DCC and i hate that there seems to be only two types of scenarios : gonzo and more gonzo. I modify every system i play, so the base rules are what they are… Id just like to see some published scenarios that are more down to earth. Please note, i dont begrudge people who want that! I love it that its there for them. Just wish there were more that took the foot off the gas a bit.