I'm gonna level with you... I'm not a fan of WotC or the so-called "3rd Edition Dungeons & Dragons" (considering that they dropped the "Advanced" from the name, and there was only one edition of any RPG that was called simply "Dungeons & Dragons", I'm not really sure where they get the "
3rd Edition" from... what happened to
2nd Edition Dungeons & Dragons?). Seeing as how I've been running AD&D campaigns for two decades for dozens of players over the years and have copious amounts of time, energy, creativity, passion, and not to mention
money invested into gaming with the AD&D system, I'm frankly not that interested in getting involved in any new systems... I barely have the time to run my campaigns as it is!
However, in part because of time constraints, I find it useful to purchase the occasional game materials (like modules) to take some of the creative and work loads off of me... and because WotC has basically dropped the AD&D system entirely, no new works are being produced for a system that I have spent so many years enjoying! Grrrr....
Frustrated, I began a search to find new materials written for AD&D that weren't necessarily "official" or in all terms of licensing and copyrights, not even technically *legal* when it comes down to it.... generally speaking, I started looking around the web for other people like myself that were still writing their own material for AD&D, and putting it out there for anyone to grab.
BAM! Another obstacle put in my path by WotC. Ever tried doing a search on the web for ANYTHING containing the phrase "Dungeons & Dragons" in it? You get a bunch of stuff completely incompatible with AD&D (it's all that 3rd Edition system material that's totally useless to anyone that plays AD&D)... after spending a considerable amount of time searching for what amounted to as a needle in a haystack, I accidentally ran across something called "HackMaster".
And my jaw hit the floor.
Here a bunch of guys had actually gotten WotC to relinquish their iron-clad grip on the reins of the finest fantasy role playing game system ever made, and license it out to them so that they could polish it up, add in some fun new stuff, some shiny new chrome, and produce new material for it by the truckload!
I could go on about the game in general, but if you play AD&D, you already are familiar with about 80% of what makes up HackMaster. You roll dice to make your stats, you pick a character race, class, et cetera in a way that is virtually identical to what you've been doing for years. A positive AC is bad, whereas a negative AC is GOOD, just the way it has been, and the combat round still consists of the GM checking for surprise, everyone rolling initiative to see who acts when, and you roll a 20-sider and add in your modifiers to see if you hit what you're aiming at.
The game itself is a player's dream, with more character races to choose from (alongside all of your old favorites), character classes that you're familiar with (though beefed up considerably in some cases), but with a bunch of new ones to have fun with as well, tons of new spells for Magic Users and Clerics, and a skill system to die for.
However, where HackMaster really shines is from the GM's chair.
The HackMaster GM's Guide (GMG) is a book that hearkens from Gary Gygax's original Dungeonmaster's Guide in that it touches on almost everything, but it never overdoes anything to the point where everyone's campaign is rigidly like everyone else's. Simply paging through this monster of a book is enough to give any creatively-taxed game referee an idea or three for a new campaign, villain, city, magic item... you name it.
The HackMaster GMG took that wonderfully diverse, creative sense of all-encompassing gaming that the original AD&D DMG had, and organized it in a clear, concise, consistent, intuitive manner, and then added in some "flavor text" that makes it truly a joy to read. A tongue-in-cheek sense of humor and self-deprecating remarks litter the entire work, taking well-deserved jabs at gaming, gamers, game masters, and even the authors of the work itself (as well as a few poorly disguised but hilarious pokes at Mr. Gygax) in ways that will make you laugh out loud as you're reading through it.
But don't misunderstand... while the reference material in the HackMaster GMG is written in a light, frothy tone with lots of humor, satire, and fun, the core of this work is a solid, time-tested, serious gaming system that most of us who have tried out have discovered is what 3rd Edition D&D SHOULD have been.
The way it is set up, a GM can run a game in nearly any flavor he/she wishes... with the lighter material at every GM's disposal, a game can be run as a hilarious romp through a bizarre, humorous parody of fantasy... or one can run it as a huge, end-of-the-world serious epic adventure with dire consequences for all if the party should fail. With that kind of flexability inherent in it, the HackMaster GMG is an essential tool that can easily even be applied to any existing AD&D campaign as well.
Information on obtaining a copy of the HackMaster GMG for your own use is at Kenzer & Co's Official Site, where most of their materials are available for purchase online, or by mail order as well. Many hobby shops/retailers are now carrying HackMaster materials as well, so check them out! You won't be sorry you did! :-)
- Demosthenes
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