From the mindgrapes of the OSR thought-leaders came the idea of two forms of combat in TTRPGs: combat as war and combat as sport.

Those in the online TTRPG sphere will be eminently familiar with this dichotomy, but for others: combat as war refers to how fights “should” happen in old school D&D games. The argument is that OSR characters, at least in the lower levels, are pretty fragile so players should go into combat with the best possible advantage. Setting traps, funnelling enemies down certain paths, and ultimately not going for a fight unless you’re confident you can win.

Conversely there’s combat as sport, where there’s more balance between conflicting sides due to mechanical weighting and tactical options possessed by each character. Think modern trad games like Pathfinder or 5e. Combat as sport is supposed to prevent a relatively fair fight. Sure, the GM can adjust the encounter difficulty but characters are supposed to have the tools to deal with those.

I don’t believe it’s that simple, though. Or, at least war and sport is a false binary.

The Third Combat

I’d wager that most of your trad and even OSR games use a blend of both combat types.

For one, old school dungeon games, usually based on BX, do have balancing mechanics, like hit dice and dungeon levels.

While BX also says that any level monster can technically be discovered anywhere in a dungeon, the above shows balance is a factor in the game’s design.

At the same time, games like Pathfinder reward preparation as war and execution as sport.

Mechanics like skill challenges, victory points, and similar rules allow for simple and abstract preparation for combat. Poisoning a water supply, caving in exits, setting traps – these are often handled with skill rolls. Doing really well may give advantages: fewer enemies to face, foes already wounded, monsters whose abilities are negated. Player actions before combat can swing the fight in their direction (or scupper them).

I’d encourage GMs to consider this hybrid combat rather than one or the other. I’m also a big proponent of being transparent with options as not to have players spending hours in the throes of indecision. Explaining how players can prepare for a fight, giving them explicit options (without negating other fun choices the players may make) and their consequences.

Weirdo jank is the way forward. AI can’t do weirdo jank. It has to make everything ‘just so’. “Oh but I want to play serious games where there’s mechanical stability and balance” – do you though? Or do you want to throw some dice and have a laugh coming up with nonsense with your friends? Ok, maybe you do want serious, and that’s ok, but I dunno – I think we need to start getting really strange with it. Cut your restraints. Go against convention. Don’t listen to the likes of Reddit who have 1000 reasons you shouldn’t do something. They’re mostly children. Stop talking yourself out of weird jank and embrace it.

Corpos hate you and they want everyone to be little automatons without a mind of their own. Roleplaying games can save us from that. Horrible little artpunk nonsense games that stop use from scrolling or buying a thing from an ad (likely AI generated). AI companies hate you because they want everyone to be smooth-brained idiots sloshing around in the slop bucket, drinking from the slop bucket. Original ideas are in danger.

“Oh but I’m not a game designer” – yes you are. If you have an idea, put it out there. Draw it in crayon and scan it. You don’t need to know stats and maths. It’s JANK. Let the act of creativity be one of rebellion against the robots and the suits.

Commission artists, if you can. If you can’t, hack up stock photos. Use old book illustrations. Draw some shit yourself – whatever you do will be leagues better than what the robots spill out of their rancid shafts. Limitation breeds creativity, and that’s the opposite of AI which seeks unlimited data, which just becomes a shit blancmange.

Make your nasty little jank game on a bit of tissue. Play it with strangers. They’ll probably have a lot of fun and you might make some friends. AI is not a friend.

Bathe the world in creative detritus and laugh.

Get my own jank on Patreon.

Vampire: The Masquerade

Storyteller system? Blech. This wouldn’t be about the melodramatics that goes with being a hot vampire. No, this is a game of territorial warfare, with the city as a megadungeon. Various clans would be represented as classes: Brujah for fighter, Tremere for wizard, and maybe Nosferatu as a thief type thing.

Rather than torches burning down you’d have blood points. Gotta keep feeding otherwise you save vs frenzy. But feeding on the gen pop increases the chance of being discovered. Save vs masquerade.

It’s blood for xp and influence instead of gold. The more influence, the more territory you can get.

Cyberpunk Red

Like Vampire Night City is a megadungeon or hexcrawl. This is gritty corpo espionage, baby! Rather than wandering monsters you’d have patrol alerts based on how you’re approaching the heist. Going in guns blazing is upping those patrol chances considerably.

Obviously the netrunner would be a wizard type, with programs instead of spells. The solo would be a fighter and techie the thief.

Torches would be swapped for battery power and signal range, the latter to keep the techie in the dungeon crawl.

No minigame for netrunning. Just a save vs brain getting fried up. And rather than rolling abilities success is based on your upgrades and tech.

Call of Cthulhu

So now we have an investigation crawl where sanity is impacted by the place you’re investigating and the wandering monsters. Roll vs sanity of reduce it like HP.

Classes are soldier (fighter), occultist (wizard), and investigator (thief). Only an occultist can read from magic tomes without losing sanity, or perhaps losing less.

Rather than looking for clues and solving a mystery this would be more about finding ancient secrets and getting them to a safe place (e.g. Miskatonic). The more mythos relics gained the more xp.

Torches would simply be flashlights and eldritch terrors would be like ten times as strong as a red dragon.

Heartseeker is now five years old and I figured it was time for a refresh. Rather than overhauling it as a new edition I’ve added the following updates:

• All new cover and logo
• Fresh new layout
• Bloodlines now have a choice of abilities – a bump in stat or something else. I’ve removed a couple of bloodlines (orc and kobold).
• Slight changes to ability bonuses.
• More spells!
• Big list of gear
• Random encounter tables
• More monsters! Monsters have a single universal save

Ultimately you have everything you need for an old school campaign that’s easily compatible with other OSR games.

War Axe is a single-stat game, using Battle for all rolls including fighting, wounds and morale. It started with 3 stats but I changed the dice system which meant I no longer needed armour and wounds. As a unit takes wounds its Battle also reduces, making it less effective so players should think about how best to use wounded models.

It’s also an anti-lore game (wild for me considering I love lore). There are four main factions but their background, vibe and faction abilities are rolled randomly. One player’s Goblin Court may be out to destroy civilisation while another may believe the world needs an etiquette lesson. Your Empire of Lamarque may be a burgeoning force while mine may be diminishing and rotting.

Many faction abilities are affected by the Winds of War mechanic central to the game. Any time a unit takes a wound that player gains a point of favour. If one has more favour than the other the winds currently favour them. This can trigger additional benefits like more dice or new abilities for every unit. In addition, a point of fortune can be spent to reroll dice. Do you spend to reroll, knowing that a wound could turn the winds against you?

Of course, units have their own abilities. The points system is simple and allows you to easily craft your own units and even factions, with rules for doing so outlined in the book. For instance, if I wanted an undead dragon I might spend 5 points to give it Battle 5, 2 points for the Flying ability and 2 points for Immortal. Overall my dragon costs 9pts. I could give it a ranged attack and bring it to 11pts to make a formidable unit.

“For I knew that the King in Yellow had opened his tattered mantle and there was only God to cry to now.”

You are investigating the impact of The King in Yellow on Parisian society. You have read the play. Carcosa will eventually reveal itself to you. Reality isn’t as it seems.

It’s the Belle Epoque. You are part of a secret government agency called Le Bureau de Nuit (The Night Office).

Give your agent a name and description. Choose three skills they’re good at. Write down an interest and the obsession it could become. You have 5 stamina.

You always find the clue if you’re looking for it. If you need to know how well you do something roll a d6. If you’re good at it roll 2d6 and take the highest. High is good and low is not so good.

When you encounter a Reality Anomaly take a Carcosa token and roll a d6. If the result is under the number of tokens you currently have, you catch a glimpse beyond the veil of reality.

If you have at least 3 tokens you may choose to Disbelieve by rolling again. If the result is equal or over your Carcosa tokens remove a token. Otherwise add a token. As you add tokens your interest slowly becomes obsession. Roleplay how this manifests.

If you ever have 6 Carcosa tokens you are under the influence of the King in Yellow. You can no longer Disbelieve for you know the great truth. Describe how your interest becomes obsession. Your character becomes an NPC at the end of the session.

When a fight breaks out both the players and GM describe what they’re doing. Assume when a character attacks a normal person they win the struggle but reduce their own stamina by 1 point. At 0 Stamina they are dead or incapacited.

Denizens of Carcosa can’t be defeated by fighting. Perhaps they need to be banished or, more likely, fled from.

Le Bureau de Nuit furnishes you with the resources you need. The beginning of each investigation outlines the effect of a Reality Anomaly that leads them deeper into a plot for the King in Yellow to influence the world.

Research the Belle Epoque. Find the horror. Bring in themes of decadence, decay, artistic movements, bohemianism, and unreality. Some ideas:

• A new art exhibition seems to be turning visitors violent.
• Members of the aristocracy are disappearing, each leaving behind a coded letter.
• A secret society who share dreams. The dreams are slowly becoming the domain of the King in Yellow.
• Statues in the garden of a manse are reportedly whispering a strange language
• A message in a bottle washes up on the shore. Someone is trapped in Carcosa and needs to find a way back.

Inspired by Cthulhu Dark by Graham Walmsley. Based on The King in Yellow by Robert W Chambers.

It is a time of war in the world of Yore. The fields of battle are bathed in the blood and gristle. Spears shine in the dawn as armies clash – the noble Knights of Lamarque against the mind-addled Goblin Horde. Shambling Gravespawn colliding with the Dwarven Warbeards of the Craglands.

Welcome to War Axe, a simple fantasy wargame for two players each with between 15 and 30 models. I’ll be writing about War Axe over the next week as you meet the battle hosts and learn the (very easy) rules of the game.

Art: Copyright Luigi Castellani

I set out some initial rules for YAG but I wanted to spend some time here revising them as I wasn’t totally happy with the initial draft.

It needs to be super simple, leaning on the YAG library for fiction-based specifics. For me the d20 isn’t a great die, sorry. D6 supremacy and all that.

HOW TO PLAY

Checks: Simply roll a d6. A 4+ is usually a success. 5+ if more difficult or 3+ if easier. Failure may mean you achieve the thing but with a complication.

Critical Success: A 6 means you do something incredibly well.

Advantage: If your class/ species / background would be good at something roll 2d6 and take the highest die. For instance a Fighter would be good at kicking down doors. A Ranger would be good at tracking.

Disadvantage: if your class/species/ background wouldn’t be good at something roll 2d6 and take the lowest.

Don’t have the answer? Just roll a d6. 1-3 it’s a no, 4-6 is a yes.

COMBAT

Turns & Actions: Heroes act first unless surprised. They take it in turns to take an action. Assume they’re moving around and trying to avoid enemies. An action could be casting a spell, striking with a sword, shooting an arrow, opening a door etc.

Attacks: With a weapon roll a d6 and add your character level. The DM rolls a d6 and adds the monster danger level. If you get equal to above the monster’s total you hit them. Well done! Deal 1 damage by reducing their danger level by 1. This means a monster gets weaker the more damage you do. If you’re not using a weapon make the attack with disadvantage.

When a monster attacks the DM rolls a d6 and adds the monster’s danger rating and the character rolls a d6, adding their level. If the DM’s roll is equal or higher than the character, the character loses 1 hit point.

Epic monsters: these are more difficult than most monsters. They count as danger level 5 but get as many actions as there are players. That means against three characters an epic monster gets 3 attacks.

Monsters will 1/3 danger level: some monsters have a fraction as their danger. They don’t add their danger rating to their attack roll.

Hit points: Characters have 5 hit points at 1st level, increasing by 1 each level. For example, a 5th level character will have 10 hit points.

Regaining hit points: You can take a number of short rests per day equal to your level. Regain hit points equal to your level. By sleeping the night you regain all hit points.

Out of Action: When a monster reaches 0 danger rating they’re no longer a threat. They run away, try to parlay, get knocked out etc. This is YAG so no violent deaths.

When a character reaches 0 hit points they fall unconscious and are very likely taken prisoner.

Critical success: If a character rolls a 6 they deal 2 damage instead of 1.

SPELLS

Casting spells: choose a spell you know and make a check. On a success you cast the spell. On a failure you still cast the spell but you are unable to use it until you’ve had a good night’s sleep.

Spell levels: spells go from cantrip to 9th level. 1st level casters can use cantrips and 1st level. 2nd level can use 2nd/3rd. 3rd level can use 4th/5th. 4th level can use 6th/7th. 5th level can use 8th/9th.

CREATING A CHARACTER

Species/Race: Choose one from the relevant YAG book and note down what it’s good at.

Class: Choose one from the relevant YAG book, following the rules for making that character as outlined in the book. Note down anything they’re good at and any abilities they gain.

Starting spells: The YAG generally tells you how many spells to start with. If it doesn’t, begin with 3 that match the class.

Choose a background: Choose one and note what they’re good at.

Name and describe your character based on all the above.

Start with 3d6 x 10 gold pieces amd buy some starting equipment. The DM usually determines the item’s value if not present in the YAG.

CHARACTER ADVANCEMENT

After each adventure roll a D6 once for all characters. If it’s above their current level they increase by one level up. The maximum level is 5.

When you level up, increase your hit points by 1. Spellcasters gain a new spell based on the level they can cast and their class.

I’ve had this fleeting thought in the back of my mind for the best part of a decade. It’s a specific fantasy aesthetic that I’m calling Mythic Retro.

Mythic retro is a vibe that includes the following:

• Pewter statues of dragons, wizards, unicorns and fairies
• 70s fantasy book art, particularly Michael Whelan’s Pern.
• Dragonlance art by Larry Elmore
• Burning incense
• Large silver rings shaped like dragons with big gems in them
• Early Rainbow and Dio songs, particularly Stargazer.
• Crystals, stones and tarot cards

It’s iconic, even tropey. Dragons, knights, wizards, unicorns, witches. It’s not orcs, but it is goblins. It’s not beholders but it is skeletons. It’s stop-motion but not CGI.

High noon, oh I'd sell my soul for water Nine years worth of breakin' my back There's no sun in the shadow of the wizard See how he glides, why he's lighter than air

You and your friends have been transported to a fantastic realm. How did you get there?

1. Mysterious rollercoaster

2. Lost in a bazaar

3. Through the back of the garage

4. Pulled into a lake

5. Sucked into a book

6. Through a dark forest

You were gifted a special item from a strange wizard.

1. Sword of Light: burns away evil darkness

2. Titan Shield: nothing can break it except magic.

3. Circlet of Transformation: turns your face into one you’ve previously seen.

4. Spider Boots: you can climb sheer surfaces.

5. Cloak of Phasing: you melt through non-magical barriers.

6. Dagger of Cloning: you create an illusory duplicate of yourself.

What kind of kid were you in the real world?

1. Preppy

2. Nerdy

3. Athlete

4. Popular

5. Suck-up

6. Aloof

What’s your party sidekick?

1. Baby unicorn: can heal harm.

2. Fire elemental: sets fire to stuff

3. Little griffin: can pick up a teen in its claws

4. Shadow: can stay out of sight

5. Mechanical owl: can sense magic

6. Witch cat: creates clouds of darkness.

You have 2 stats: Mental & Physical. Split 4 points between them.

When you want to do sonething where failure is interesting roll d6 + stat. On a 6+ you succeed.

If you get hit, lose a stat point. At 0 points you’re out of action. Heal 2 points per night rest.

Monsters have stats like you. Goblins have Physical 1 and Mental 0. Dragons have Physical 4 and Mental 4.

It’s nigh impossible to escape the goblin realm.