It is not, however, plagiarism. Plagiarism is defined as “using or passing off as one’s own another’s ideas or writings.” At no time does LL do this. Author Dan Proctor is very clear from the onset that LL is “a restatement of a set of rules that are otherwise out of print and no longer commercially supported,” and that he “cannot, and would not, pretend to take any of the credit” for the game. It creating LL, Proctor has taken advantage of the fact that game systems cannot themselves be copyrighted, merely the artistic presentation of them. By altering the presentation of an old game enough, it is legally possible to publish it under another title. And if copyright law is not enough, the greatest argument against LL being a “rip-off” is that it is available on the Goblinoid Games site (www.goblinoidgames.com) as a free PDF.

So if he’s not taking the credit, if he can’t legally call it “Dungeons & Dragons,” if he’s not trying to improve the rules, and he’s not charging for it, what the heck IS he doing? Why on Earth go through the time and trouble of producing a slick, professional looking clone of a long dead game?

As I discovered, there are at least two ways to look at that question. On one hand, there are the d20 fans, who cannot comprehend why anyone might wish to play the old, antique version of the game when we have the bright, shiny 3.5 edition and the advent of D&D 4e. On the other, there are those who point out that OD&D already is out there; you can purchase PDFs of the 1974 edition and the post-Moldvay/Cook 4th edition on sites like RPGNow, and fan sites like Dragonsfoot continue to produce material for them.

To the first question I would say, as incomprehensible as it may be to some (and prior to this review, I combed several forums to get a sense of what the public was saying about LL and was surprised to find that several people simply couldn't understand this), there are many people out there who prefer OD&D to either AD&D or the current d20 D&D. While I cannot speak for the long-time fans (the Moldvay/Cook D&D was my very first game, but I left it behind just after a year or so for several others), if given the choice between those three I would probably go with OD&D too. 3.5 is a playable system, and in the hands of the right players and DM it can (like any RPG) be a lot of fun, but it is rules heavy, and combat often runs slower than many might like. Surely even its greatest supporters recognize this. By contrast, OD&D is (was?) very rules “lite,” and combat moved like a breeze. True, the system was riddled with gaps and quirks, but it encouraged groups to customize the rules in any way which best served their needs. It presented itself as a springboard for the imagination, not an encyclopedic set of rules with an answer for everything. For people put off by 3.5’s detailed and comprehensive approach (or AD&D’s for that matter), OD&D can be a lot of fun.

Second, while OD&D is still out there in a few incarnations, it remains technically a dead game. Fans can write for it, but they can’t sell products for it. They can merely offer their sourcebooks and scenarios on the web for free. Author Dan Proctor clearly envisioned LL as way for people to legally write and sell OD&D materials. LL operates under its own OGL, and allow people to do so. I think he felt this was a way to generate more interest and material for an old, beloved game, a way to keep it alive. No, no one is going to make any real money by doing this, but they might earn some minor compensation for their efforts, and for some even just making a few cents per download might make the difference between posting their old scenarios or keeping them in the shoe box under the bed. At its heart, this—more than anything else—is what LL is all about. Its an effort to get people to write new material for OD&D.

There seems little point in describing the system here. Many readers are no doubt familiar with OD&D, and those who aren’t can simply download LL and take a look for themselves. Essentially, it has all the iconic features which make D&D “D&D.” There are classes and levels, experience points, Armor Classes, Hit Points, Saving Throws, etc. The real thing to emphasize is that the game is, virtually, 90%+ compatible with OD&D. It looks like OD&D, plays like OD&D (from the two game sessions I tried), and aside from a few name changes to spells and such it reads like OD&D. This having been said, the material is better organized and presented in a very modern RPG format. It does a superb job of being both nostalgic and better suited to modern tastes.

In case you’re wondering how LL stacks up to other “retro-clone” games like OSRIC and BSFRP, I would emphasize that its greatest feature is how faithful it is to the OD&D rules. OSRIC reincarnates AD&D, in many ways a very different game, and BFRP seems a hybrid of the two. Further, if this matters to you, LL is the most physically attractive of the three, and seems to me the most professionally rendered.

In the end, I find myself liking LL, but not enough to make a habit of it. My fantasy tastes are still better suited by RuneQuest or Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay. But for those attracted to D&D, yet put off by the expense and density of the d20 incarnation, LL might very well be ideal. If nothing else, it is well worth the hour or two it will take you to read the game. And its free.

While I have serious doubts this product will spark an OD&D renaissance, I find the idea—and the author’s intent—attractive. I have read, played, and collected hundreds and hundreds of games over nearly three decades, and applaud any effort to keep some of the old jewels alive. Certainly the game which started it all is worth such consideration, if nothing else.