RetroRoleplaying: The Blog

I have received what appears to me to be a very strange request: that I write an "extended version" of Microlite20. After some back and forth in email with this person (who I will refer to as Jack), I think I finally understand what this means and it is probably something I could do if there is enough interest among people who like 3.x/PF.

First, the request is for longer rules. According to Jack, Microlite20's one page rules really cut the game too much and given the thousands of page of 3.x/PF rules, a game with 10, 20 or even 30 pages of rules would still be "microlite" in comparison. He points to Microlite74 and Microlite81 as examples of how longer rules make the games easily to use but still very lite.

Second, the request is that I adapt my M75/M81 combat rules for this game. Even with some adaptation for 3.x/PF differences, this would provide rules-light, fast combat rules that work without minis and battle mats but still provided enough rules to make combat interesting.

Third, Jack would like more character class details. The classes in Microlite20 really don't make much of an attempt to capture some of the special features of 3.x/PF classes, but writing them up as I did in Microlite81 would allow more of this. Jack admits that classes would still have to be made less complex than their standard 3.x/PF counterparts.

Fourth, replace skills completely -- with with backgrounds like in the Extended version of M75 and M81 or with backgrounds like in 13th Age.

Fifth, add options and modules like I have in M75 and M81 so that the same basic rules could be used in alternate ways.

Sixth, base things more on the Pathfinder SRD than the 3.x SRD.

This looks doable -- if there is enough interest. There are two ways to show interest: tell me you are interested in comments or email (shows basic interest), telling me you are interested with a donation to the Retro-Roleplaying Cancer Fund (shows a lot of interest and makes my wife more willing to tolerate the project). I'm not interested enough in this myself to just do it for one person, but if others are really interested in seeing something like this, I would find the project interesting enough to do it.