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Friday, September 20, 2013

DELVING DEEPER: Another Rule Set I'm Keen On

Not a review but some thinking out loud. Another rule set I'm keen on is Delving Deeper. The reference documents from Immersive Ink – Adventurer's (Player's) Handbook, Referee's Guide, and Monster and Treasure Reference  –  are available for free. Delving Deeper is a clone of OD&D. The one thing I like about OD&D and clones is their inherent simplicity. I like simple.


Delving Deeper has some features I like a lot including:
  • Simplicity.
  • A thief class.
  • A thief class that doesn't suck at low levels – all thief skills have a 4 in 6 chance of success, for the duration of the thief's career.
  • A very clear, organized layout, IMO.
  • One-minute combat rounds – believe it or not, I like this kind of abstracted combat. With rounds this long, 1d6 damage for all weapons arguably makes sense.
  • More "complete," IMO, than S&W White Box (my other favored OD&D clone) – I ran White Box for a year and a half and really enjoyed it (a lot!), but it really felt like it needed to be house ruled. Delving Deeper feels to me more like it can be house ruled, and quite easily, but doesn't need to be.
  • Very low verbiage. The text says what it needs to say – in a clear and thorough way – then shuts up and lets you play. 
  • Did I mention simplicity? 

Thinking about where I'm going next, in terms of running something, it will likely be a one-shot or very short campaign. An ultra simple rule set has a lot of merit in that context.

Yes, I'm still mulling – and working on a short adventure.

5 comments:

  1. Good to read that you're working on an adventure. I only ever played once and it was just a little session with Tim. I don't remember if it was a one shot or not.

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  2. Working on a short adventure? I like the sound of that.

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  3. Sadly I own this boxed set and have never even looked at it. I got it in the mail at a time when I was deep into another system, this got put on a bookshelf. :(

    Perhaps I need to pull it down and read it. S&W:WB is one of my favorites as well, but what you said above really makes me wonder....

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  4. I am game to try it. I really like how OD&D and close clones play out.

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  5. Just downloaded them. Thanks for the post.

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