RetroRoleplaying: The Blog

A new playtest version of the BX Advanced project is available to RetroRoleplaying Cancer Fund donors. BX Advanced is a clone the Basic/Expert rules using the First Edition classes, spells, monsters, and treasure. In other words, it is First edition played the way many people who started playing with B/X (or later, BECMI) and then moved on to the "advanced" edition played the game. This second playtest edition simply combines the open game content from a popular B/X and a popular 1e clone with new material. Major new material in this second playtest pdf: barbarian class, bard class, experience rank system, advantages and disadvantages, psionics, unedited optional dominion rules. The formatting has been greatly improved since the first playtest version -- which makes this version much more useful. While more material will be added, what you have here should be quite playable "as is".

Other BX Advanced News: First, A number of people have asked me if I could also produce a "less modified" version of BX Advanced -- one that stays closer to being just 1e using the B/X rules and does not include mutations, additional classes, technology, etc. Given that none of these additions have made it beyond notes we are using in my Sunday game (and that generally have major changes from week to week), I think I can do this. When all the standard stuff is finished (probably by the next major published playtest version, 0.3) and works well, I will go ahead and publish a "BX Standard" which will just have B/X rules with 1e material (and a few optional rules). Those who don't want a couple of hundred pages of additional rules for mutations, technology, unusual classes, etc. as they just want to play 1e with B/X style rules can use this BX Advanced Standard Version.

Second, I've been asked if I can give some idea of a publication schedule. A everyone following this blog and my games knows, real life means I have missed almost every publication prediction I have made -- sometimes by 6-12 months. With that warning, I will say that I hope to have the newly announced standard version of BX Advanced available within the next 3 or 4 months and the full version of BX Advanced available by the middle of 2018.

Finally, I've been asked if BX Advanced will be free or paid. Like most of my games, there will be a pay-what-you-want/free version and a paid tablet/epub version. The pay-what-you-want/free version will be released first. Current plans have this true of both the just announced above Standard version and the "as originally planned" "extended" version with mutations, technology, lots of optional classes and rules version. The production schedule mentioned above is for the pay-what-you-want/free versions. Donations to the RetroRoleplaying Cancer Fund help make the free versions possible.

Speaking of donations, if you are a RetroRoleplaying Cancer Fund donor, you have the password that will unlock the second BX Advanced playtest pdf and may download the (password-protected) zip file here:

• BX Advanced Playtest Version 0.2

If you do not have the password and would like to have access to this (and future) sets of BX Advanced playtest rules (as well as other donor files -- like free copies of all the "for sale" Retroroleplaying publications), you can make a donation towards my wife's medical fund (old oral cancer bills and more current MS-related bills). Donations to the RetroRoleplaying Cancer Fund for $10 or more will also earn a listing as a sponsor in the BX Advanced rulebook. A donation of $10 gets a Bronze Donor listing. ($25+ earns a Copper Donor listing, $50+ Silver, $100+ Gold, 200+ Platinum, 300+ Electrum, $500+ Adamantine) -- see the sidebar for a list of donors so far. If you would like to sponsor BX Advanced with a donation, you can send a donation in any amount -- small or large -- to the RetroRoleplaying Cancer Fund via Paypal.