People are starting to talk about Legends & Labyrinths. Let’s take a peek…
Let’s start off with Old School Hack:
He’s got a stripped-down version of 3E that you should support at his site. If for no other reason, it’s got an “encounter budget” system, and a “trap budget” system so you can quickly whip up stuff for the PCs to face without getting bogged down in all the numbers, checks, and balances. It is worth a look!
Legends & Labyrinths: First Impressions from Dreams and Dice:
“There are a lot of neat systems in the book (for stunts, building encounters, and so on), but the one that takes the cake has to be the Sidebar Reference System (SRS). It’s so simple and yet so useful that I can’t believe we’ve spent more than a decade with 3rd Edition (in various forms) and not seen something like this become standard. Whenever rules text (such as a class ability) references another mechanical item (such as the entangled condition or saving throws) or any other item that could send you scrambling to another part of the rulebook to fully understand the rules in question, the mechanic is highlighted in the main text and then described in full in the page’s sidebar. This minimizes page-turning, and also keeps rules text succinct and easy to read if you do remember the mechanic in question, so you’re not forced to slog through long-winded parenthetical notations.
Personally, I think the book’s notable for this alone.
Games I Want to Run from The Wandering Gamist:
The monster design rules are a real standout; I am fairly confident I could put monsters together during play with it, and that they’d be about right in terms of CR. That’s an awesome thing in a 3.x derivative…
The hazard design system is also very cool, providing a quick way to generate CRs for all manner of traps, perilous crossings, and environmental hazards. The stunt system provides a mechanism very similar to Traveller’s task chains, as well as flexible combat options; I wasn’t impressed on first read, but going back for a second, it actually looks pretty slick. The skill system is kind of nice and simple; you’re considered at max ranks for all of your class skills. If you have a low Int, you choose a number of class skills equal to your penalty to not know. Very straightforward, and it means that you’re good at the things your class is supposed to be good at; similar to Iron Heroes‘ skill groups in that regard, but a damn sight less complicated. Other highlights were some notes on wilderness adventures, good rules for hirelings and henchmen, and a number of unusual slimes and molds which didn’t make into the 3.0/.5 DMGs (think along the lines of green slime, but different).
Legends & Labyrinths: First Impressions from Heromeblog:
I think that when I am ready to play 3rd edition again I will be using L&L as my system of choice. In many ways this book is a DMG and PHB in one. I also like the system for making monster, traps and npc’s. (…) If you know what Legends and Labyrinths is trying to do then I think it does just that very well. It has not lost any of the flavor of 3.5 and yet it looks like it can be easier and quicker too use.
Got a blog talking about L&L? Drop a link in the comments!
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Thank you for using the blurb from my blog post.
As an 8 bit backer, should I have access to the document these guys are previewing?
cheers,
98