Legends & Labyrinths features 100% compatibility with the advanced version of the 3rd Edition rules. This means that any stat block or mechanic usable in 3rd Edition can be used in Legends & Labyrinths without conversion.
USING ADVANCED RULES IN LEGENDS & LABYRINTHS
Perhaps the most important question is the degree to which the vast supplement library of 3rd Edition can be used in your Legends & Labyrinths game.
Spells: Although the grimoire entries for advanced spells include extra information used by the more complicated rules, these spells can be used in Legends & Labyrinth without conversion. Simply ignore the extraneous information.
Monsters and NPCs: There are two ways to use monsters and NPCs. First, as with spells, you can use their stat blocks without conversion by simply ignoring the extraneous information they contain.
Alternatively, the Legends & Labyrinths rules allow for very quick conversion. For example, the stat block for a fighter in Legends & Labyrinths requires only level, hit point total, ability scores, and equipment. So if you see an 8th-level fighter in an advanced supplement, you can either use the full stat block provides or you can just pull the pertinent information (hit points, ability scores, equipment) and run the NPC as an 8th-level L&L fighter. (This also allows for quick conversion of classes not included in L&L: If you see a samurai, ranger, or witch, for example, and their stat blocks don’t include enough information to run them as-is, it’s a simple matter to convert them on-the-fly to an appropriate L&L class.)
Monsters can be handled in a similar fashion. If you don’t want to use the advanced stat block provided for a monster, you can either do a complete conversion (recreating the monster from scratch using the Monster Creation rules) or you can easily do a partial conversion (using the appropriate core stats for a monster of the given CR, but using the powers listed in the monster’s advanced stat block).
Running Adventures: As detailed above, all of the spells, monsters, and NPCs in adventure can be run without conversion. The same holds true for traps, skill DCs, and treasure. You can pick up any adventure designed for the advanced 3rd Edition rules and run it seamlessly in Legends & Labyrinths.
Supplementing the Rules: Because Legends & Labyrinths is 100% compatible with the advanced rules, you can incorporate any core mechanic from the advanced rules into your Legends & Labyrinths game on an ad hoc basis.
For example, Legends & Labyrinths features a stripped-down combat system. But what if you really like the detailed combat mechanics of the advanced rules? Well, all you have to do is use them. Similarly, if you really like all the character creation tools the advanced rules give you (allowing you to tweak your character just the way you like), you can create your PCs using the advanced rules and then simply play them using the Legends & Labyrinths rules.
Legends & Labyrinths functions as the streamlined foundation of the game: Advanced rules can be added to it in whatever combination you desire.
Creating New Classes: You can use the advanced character creation rules to create new classes for Legends & Labyrinths. Simply select an advanced character class and make appropriate selections for its feats and special abilities. Do not select a 1st level feat.
USING LEGENDS & LABYRINTHS WITH THE ADVANCED RULES
Since you can easily add any or all of the advanced rules into your Legends & Labyrinths campaign, it follows that you can also take rules from Legends & Labyrinths and plug them into a campaign run with the advanced rules.
Transferring Characters: PCs created in Legends & Labyrinths can be transferred to the advanced rules at any time. Simply select a single 1st level feat for the character. (All characters in Legends & Labyrinth are assumed to gain the benefits of the Leadership feats in place of their 1st level feat.)
Fast NPC Creation: Because the classes in Legends & Labyrinths are pre-built, creating an NPC is as simple as picking ability scores, race, class, level, and equipment. This makes it much easier to prepare NPCs or even create them on-the-fly during a session. And since the resulting stat blocks are 100% compatible with the advanced rules, they can be used seamlessly in a campaign using the advanced rules.
Hazards, Traps, and Monsters: Hazards, traps, and monsters created in Legends & Labyrinth can be used in an advanced campaign. As with NPC creation, these streamlined systems allow for rapid, on-the-fly improvisation during a game session.
Stunt System: The Legends & Labyrinths stunt system gives a unified mechanic for adjudicating ingenuity. It can be seamlessly integrated into a campaign using the advanced rules.
Other Original Elements: Legends & Labyrinths also includes rules for minions and potentates, a Fly skill, social ranks, training rules for advancing characters, and other innovations. Because the game is 100% compatible, all of these original elements can be easily used in the advanced game.
CLIMB INTO YOUR LABYRINTH AND FORGE YOUR LEGEND TODAY!
Hi Justin – so without any art, how many pages long is the Rulebook ?
And after reading your update about giving maybe a little more, how do you handle oversea shipping (the main reason I settled for PDF only)?
I see what you’re doing by calling third edition “advanced” but it’s a little confusing.
Some people might not realize that you’re actually talking about their existing library of stuff. On first glance, even I (who has been following your posts enthusiastically) thought maybe L&L had some sort of “advanced” rules that were optional, and that’s what you were referring to.
@Sean: The Black Book Beta rulebook will include art (most of it public domain). My primary goals with the art budget raised by the funding project are (1) cover art; (2) replacing sub-standard pieces with superior pieces; (3) getting more fantasy into the mix (since most of the public domain pieces are realistic); and (4) illustrating the monsters in the Bestiary.
The Black Book Beta will be 120 pages. I’m estimating that the final rulebook will be 180-200 pages (depending on the final layout of the Grimoire and Bestiary).
@Rorschachhamster: Good question. I’m going to try to figure out if there’s a more elegant solution than hashing out the difference in shipping costs via e-mail, but I will get back to you ASAP.