Going Old-school

[BryantTheSwordsman]

Greetings Humanoids and Masterminds,

I know this is an Advanced Dungeons & Dragons site, but I figured some of you ancient terrors might be familiar with the subject at hand.

I just recently purchased print-on-demand copies from drivethrurpg of the Rules Cyclopedia, DMR2 Creature Catalog, and GAZ1: Grand Duchy of Karameikos.

I was wondering what you guys think of BECMI and Mystara? What's your favorite aspects of this rule set and setting? Any tips for running games with both? 2nd Edition AD&D will always be my favorite rule set, but BECMI looks so much easier for getting new people into the hobby or as a transition away from modern editions such as 3e, 4e, and 5e.

As always your thoughts and wisdom are always cherished my fellow immortals.

[Lukafio]

DUDE

Let me start by sharing this forum with ya. 1E AD&D - Classic Editions Then you can also search in the Classic Downloads section. Both have lots of D&D stuff. Cuz PADnD is all about the whole game.

In the old days I would agree it was easier for to start there, but not with the newer systems. Given the main streamers are used to 5E, it is hard to get them to try the old stuff, but I'm all for it.

As for BECMI and Mystara, you might wanna look at my profile on here. Any of my fellow 'old timers' can also tell you how I feel about it (if they can recall).

[BryantTheSwordsman]

Hey Lukafio,

I didnt know the 1st edition forum covered the BECMI stuff too. Also, is GAZ1 a good place to start on the lore?

I've been watching a lot of lore videos on Mystara on Youtube from Mr. Welch, thats where I got the interest in Mystara.

Also, Keep on the Borderlands should be a good starter module for GAZ1 right?

[Lukafio]

Sit back with a beverage because half the fun is the hunt (internet searching) after you read this. It all depends on how deep you want to dive into this. Your advantage over mine is that I had to wait for some of this stuff to be published, or they put it out afterwards to bring it all together. You have the advantage to cherry pick what you want.

Yeah I love using the B1-4 series as a starter. I gave out XP a bit slower than suggested to make it last longer. Since it is set in GAZ1 you can also use it as a base of operations while the players get comfy. With very little effort you could slide right into T1–4. From there X1-13, XL1 and XS2 (XSOLO can be converted to a group) will have them exploring the Known World. You might want to consider picking up the other gazetteers since they will be traveling through many of those countries.
At this point if you haven't picked up the rest of the Mystara products you may as well. If you didn't know it, Hollow World is part of it as well. Two worlds in one to have fun! Of course Champions of Mystara box set will get you out and about if you need more. With a tweak here and there it is playable with Spelljammer.

So earlier I mentioned T1-4, if you said it was not Mystara you would be correct. It is not, but early Greyhawk was easy to play in Mystara (You may recall they both had a Blackmoor). If you decide to do that, then you can also play A1–4, GDQ1–7, and The Return as well. They will all take some converting, but are well worth the fun. I did it back in the day (except for The Return) and my players loved it. Of course we played every other weekend, or more, back then. Ah, memories of true binging. LOL!

The wiki link I provided above is decent but not 100%. I used to have one somewhere and if you are interested, I'll try and dig it up. Also a Santa Clara game company called Goodman Games has an agreement with WotC to reincarnated several of the old mods to 5E rules. They have done five already and at Cyclops Con they announced a sixth later this year.

Lots of info and I could have kept going. Digest this and let me know how else I or any one else can help.

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[Lukafio]

I was doing some 'spring cleaning' of my browser's bookmarks and came across this one. Since Hasbro/WotC stopped supporting Mystara ages ago, a fan site was officially sanctioned to take over. It is still active and has a wealth of new material created by people in the community. Plus there are links to the online discussions groups, check resources, and lots more.

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EDITED TO ADD:
I just so happened to find Gaz 11 Peoples of Hyborea. It was made by a fan in an Italian FB group awhile back. This is the recent translation of it. If you are going to use the Hollow World setting, which is part of Mystara, then peek at this as a jump off point. It will prompt you to log in or join Dropbox. You don't have to; just 'X' out of it and look for the pdf download button.