RetroRoleplaying: The Blog

The second Microlite75 game, Microlite75 Standard, is now available for download as a "pay what you want" game on DrivethruRPG/RPGNow. As usual, free ($0) is a perfectly acceptable price, although I hope you will consider tossing in a buck or two to support the medical bills.

Microlite75 games are a sort of "new edition" of Microlite74. Like Microlite78 and Microlite81 games, Microlite75 games use an experience and advancement system much closer to the original "0e" system than the Microlite20-based system used in Microlite74 games. They also all include some of most popular "house rules" based system that first appeared in Microlite74 Extended (e.g. body points and backgrounds). They include rules for creating strongholds, magical research, and more detailed rules for dungeon, wilderness and sea adventuring. Finally, they include a complete treasure section so the game is more complete than their Microlite74 counterparts.

The Microlite75 Standard rules are based on three little booklets found in the boxed set of the 1974 original edition (0e) of the world’s most popular tabletop fantasy roleplaying game plus much of the material in the 0e supplements and some material from very early issues of the offical magazine. Unlike Microlite75 Basic, these rules embrace the changes in the first supplement to hit dice and weapon damage dice. As with other Microlite74 and Microlite75 games, the rules are not intended to be a clone of the 0e rules, but rather a conversion of them to a rules-lite D20-based system that encourages old-school play without strictly old-school rules.

Although the Microlite75 Standard rules are complete, they assume that the GM understands the basic concepts of roleplaying games. Information for both the GM and the players on the various “old school” styles of play is provided. Microlite75 games can easily use adventures and material from early editions of the world’s most popular tabletop fantasy roleplaying game or modern clones.

Microlite75 Standard includes in 56 pages:

• Simple Character Creation Rules: Roll 4 attributes and select a race, class, background, and (optionally) alignment.
• Standard Classes: Fighter, Magic-User, Cleric, and Thief.
• Optional Classes: Assassin, Druid, Illusionist, Paladin, Ranger.
• Backgrounds provide a simple and fast way to factor in a character's culture and non-class-related abilities.
• Simple and fast-playing combat system that tracks physical damage (aka body points) separately from luck/skill/fatigue (aka hit point) damage.
• Hit points recover with a night’s rest. Spells cost hit points to cast. Actual wounds recover more slowly.
• Rules for hirelings; monster reactions (not every monster wants to fight); morale (not every monster fights to the death); strongholds; magical research; dungeon, wilderness and ocean exploration; poison; and more.
• A complete list of spells, monsters, and treasure.
• Compatible with most other 0e based games and adventures.

Microlite75 games are trimmed-down miniature versions of the Primary Fantasy SRD rules designed to be quick and easy to play, especially when compared to modern incarnations of the game. The goal of Microlite75 games is to recreate the style and feel of that very first (“0e”) fantasy roleplaying game published back in 1974 without giving up all of the clearer mechanics of modern D20-based versions.

Visit the Microlite75 Standard page on RPGNow to Download Now.

Upcoming releases: Microlite75 Expanded (Pay What You Want -- ETA next week), Microlite74 Swords & Sorcery Expanded Digest Edition (Commercial, estimated price $6.99 -- ETA 1 to 2 weeks from now), Microlite74 Utimate Digest Edition (Commercial estimated price $9.99 -- ETA 2 to 3 weeks from now. Microlite74 Swords & Sorcery Expanded Digest Edition will be a digest (and epub) version of Microlite74 Swords & Sorcery expanded with new material. The Microlite74 Utimate Digest Edition will be a 300+ page digest (and epub) edition of Microlite74 which collects the best material from the first three Microlite74 Companions and integrates it into a Microlite74 Expanded rules base (along with some new material and a sample campaign setting with several prewritten adventure locations).

Cancer Fund Donations Welcome: If you are wondering if it is better to "donate" via paying what you want on DriveTruRPG/RPGNow or directly to my Paypal account, I see much more of the money if you donate directly to my Paypal account -- and you also get access to donor goodies.) Remember, if you donate $25 or more (via this RetroRoleplaying Cancer Fund link), you will be listed as a sponsor in upcoming games.

I'm also testing the Patreon waters:

Become a Patreon: Support the development of Microlite74/75/78/81 games.