Glo5g

Glo5g - Goblin Laws of Occam’s Overambitiously Oversimplified and Obnoxiously Old-school Gaming. Patent pending.

This is my own GLOG hack.

Design Philosophy

I share the following design goals with the original GLOG v1.0:

• Compatibility with old modules. Simple enough to perform conversions on the fly.
• Accessible for new players. They should be able to make a character in 10 minutes, then learn the rules as they play.
• Simple. Consolidate ruthlessly. Turn two rolls into one, turn one roll into none. Turn tables into formulas, turn formulas into static numbers.
• Fast to play. Prioritize flexibility over comprehensiveness, rulings over rules, simplicity over realism.
• Hackable. No dependencies, no power expectations. If a player requests it, a DM should be able to design a custom class in 5 minutes. Player characters are just a few templates bolted onto a common chassis.

I do not share the following design goals with the original:

• Low Power Level. Each level gives you diminishing returns. The power curve flattens out drastically after 4th level. No supermen.

While the game will likely initially be designed for low levels, it should be flexible enough to grow with a campaign and support all levels of play.

Ideas

• Classes are unlockable.
• The default adventurer is bad at everything but has some utility that means it remains as a viable choice.
• Other classes specialize you. Making you good at one thing at the expense of others.
• Classes are unlocked by the acting player only. The only way to pass the class on is to train a henchman or found an institution. Many institutions already exist, of course.

Common Classes

Common classes can be unlockes by performing a specific deed, or joining an appropriate organisation (with an appropriate quest)

• Fighter: Narrowly escape death or enlist.
• Slayer/Ranger: Kill something large or seek out a mysterious order.
• Thief: Steal something of great value or join a guild.

Rare classes

Rare classes can only be unlocked by finding one off treasures.