What do folks recon about SPI's Dragonquest? It was purchased by TSR and strangled in its crib, but really was a terrific fantasy game. Its approach to skills, melee combat and magic were unique and really played well. On one hand' I'd say it doesn't need a retroclone because it is a good game and not hard to buy. So, if you are into it, just play it. On the other hand, it would be a much better game if its 80's era approach to ornately complex formulas were rationalized, and if the experience and weapon skill system were streamlined. It also should have been written with a system for social class/status and some kind of religious powers. So, I don't think it would be hard to put together something that is in line with other popular OSR games - re-imagined and possibly improved versions of the original, which you might prefer in actual play. What do you think?

Quote from: Dumarest;991061I'm sure they would.

Also, The Price of Freedom is satirical, how on earth was it controversial? It's hilarious.

S'mon claims that Costikyan's claims it was satire was merely a cover for his actual views or something...honestly he didn't make much sense.

Not so very long ago I would have said Dungeons & Dragons. Not the bloated, video game post 3.0 version, but something closer to the original and to the Basic line. Then along came Beyond the Wall and Other Adventures which does exactly what I want from a D&D game.

Gamma World was in a similar state until Mutant Future. Which was needed especially to bring the feel of the first and second edditions of GW back into print.

Most of the games I would like to see get a new edition would be just as well served by a reprint. I want to be able to point my players to where they can get a copy of the rules for themselves.

Dragonquest would benefit from a new edition to do two things, clean up the wargames style case number presentation of the rules, and bring the game back into visibility.

Oh, also that Flashing Blades game could really use an update. Where are the rules for vampires, werewolves and skeleton pirates? No Gypsy curses either. Also give it shing hardcovers with lots of full colour art under the text, and full page illustrations. Don't forget a book or three of special Feats. Oh, and airships too. I mean hasn't the author seen "The Musketeer"?

Quote from: GameDaddy;991107Ummmm. Sigma Society? There are four separate and distinct Sigma Societies that I know of, two of which ...would not admit him ...which one of the other two are you referring to? I'm presuming here that you mean the Epsilon Sigma society founded originally by Ben Campbell, and whom just happen to have included Robert Heinlein, Larry Niven, and Jerry Pournelle amongst others, the same Epsilon Sigma whom recently (2007) stepped up and volunteered to advise the Department of Homeland Security on how to properly protect ourselves from the statistically non-existent threat of international terrorism. You mean that Sigma Society?

Reference:
https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/9ak7y5/the-secret-authoritarian-history-of-science-fiction

Also, ...what solution to Healthcare? Because as far as I know, Larry Niven hasn't proposed a viable solution to solve the American Healthcare Crisis.

When corporate apologists were scapegoating illegal immigrants using ERs as the case of out of control healthcare costs in the 80's njvennoroposed spreading a rumor that illegals going to ERs we're being detained,  killed and their organs were harvested for transplants.  He thought but might scare them into. Not not going to ERs.  When it was pointed out many of them. Might die  in such cases his attitude was a shrug.

Quote from: DavetheLost;991187Oh, also that Flashing Blades game could really use an update. Where are the rules for vampires, werewolves and skeleton pirates? No Gypsy curses either. Also give it shing hardcovers with lots of full colour art under the text, and full page illustrations. Don't forget a book or three of special Feats. Oh, and airships too. I mean hasn't the author seen "The Musketeer"?

Well done.

But you forgot it also needs rules for flying galleons and Milla Jovovich kung fu wirework.

Living steel could do with a new edition.  With a workable system.

Dragon quest is fine as is, just needs a hardback and a boxed set full of Ral Partha miniatures.

Quote from: David Johansen;991243Dragon quest is fine as is, just needs a hardback and a boxed set full of Ral Partha miniatures.

Which edition of DragonQuest?

DragonQuest could definitely be improved in a new edition.  But it would be tricky to limit oneself to the mere reorganization and mechanical cleanup, without taking it too far.  (See recent conversations on the good goal of making a system more unified by going too far to a unified mechanic.)  I think with a lot of work the full 3E version could cover the exact same material in 2/3 to 3/4 of the pages.  It's that bloated by language and organization issues.

I will second Alternity, not so much for the mechanics, but to get the settings updated and back in circulation.

Not a new edition, but I'd like to see D&D 5e get actual first-party support.

Quote from: Steven Mitchell;991257DragonQuest could definitely be improved in a new edition.  But it would be tricky to limit oneself to the mere reorganization and mechanical cleanup, without taking it too far.  (See recent conversations on the good goal of making a system more unified by going too far to a unified mechanic.)  I think with a lot of work the full 3E version could cover the exact same material in 2/3 to 3/4 of the pages.  It's that bloated by language and organization issues.

Agreed; a good rule of thumb for these sorts of OSR projects is: can your re-hash be used to play an old published adventure without resorting to conversion notes? If so, you've tended the garden; if not, you've created your own fantasy heartbreaker.

Quote from: Larsdangly;991317Agreed; a good rule of thumb for these sorts of OSR projects is: can your re-hash be used to play an old published adventure without resorting to conversion notes? If so, you've tended the garden; if not, you've created your own fantasy heartbreaker.

Right.  I'm aiming at the other side.  I lack the expertise, interest, and legal rights to do a clone, and would not want to do one if I'm not going to do it right.  Therefore, the clear goal is to make a game I like inspired by DQ, but not overly beholden to it.  It will be significantly different than a good or bad clone, and thus, I hope, avoid the heartbreaker trap in the process.  

There seems to be an uncanny valley type effect in new editions some time, where the game sits with one foot in the old game and one foot ... elsewhere.  People said that D&D 4E would have been more accepted had it been marketed as something as other than D&D.  I don't know about that.  But I think it would have been a better game if it had abandoned some of the traditional stuff it tried to limply hang onto. So to me, it's either make a faithful clone or make something new.  There usually isn't any in between.

I would say Game of Thrones could use an OSR edition, but then you can already use Dark Albion for that.

Quote from: TrippyHippy;982889(snip) I'd like to see Stormbringer return as a part of a series of Multiverse-wide Eternal Champion games. (snip)

Agreed.

Quote from: danskmacabre;983054Yeah I'd love to see a new edition of the "Michael Moorcock" Eternal Champion RPGs such as Hawkmoon, Elric, Corum etc. I'd prefer to see more simplified RQ rules, rather than the later complicated and frankly awkward to run and play later editions of the RQ rules sets. (snip) I would totally buy into a new integrated "Eternal Champion" type simplified RQ Unisystem though.  

While I do agree with this, I'm wondering whether a successful conversion of 13th Age to Glorantha might blaze a trail for a 13th Age-powered version of Stormbringer and the Eternal Champion? Icons might even work better if they're the forces of Law, Chaos, and Balance instead.

Quote from: Larsdangly;991109What do folks recon about SPI's Dragonquest? It was purchased by TSR and strangled in its crib, but really was a terrific fantasy game. Its approach to skills, melee combat and magic were unique and really played well. On one hand' I'd say it doesn't need a retroclone because it is a good game and not hard to buy. So, if you are into it, just play it. On the other hand, it would be a much better game if its 80's era approach to ornately complex formulas were rationalized, and if the experience and weapon skill system were streamlined. It also should have been written with a system for social class/status and some kind of religious powers. So, I don't think it would be hard to put together something that is in line with other popular OSR games - re-imagined and possibly improved versions of the original, which you might prefer in actual play. What do you think?

This was the first game I actually owned and ran but it was soon overtaken by the popularity of and support for D&D, even back in 1981.

Nevertheless, I've taken a fresh look at it a few times and am surprised at how well it holds up after all these years. And, of course, it's a lot better organised than anything by Gygax.