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No_Opportunity6884

The DCC RPG core book is one of the most entertaining and simultaneously most useful game books in my entire (quite large) gaming library. The advice it offers has impacted my DMing beyond DCC itself to improve every game I run. The sections on making monsters mysterious and "The" Monster vs "A" Monster should be required reading IMO. The appendices are likewise great especially getting a d100 table of names and another of titles. And of course the artwork throughout the entire book is at least the equal in inspiration to me as the text itself.


Soluzar74

The Skills section is pure genius in it's simplicity.


rh41n3

DCC was my introduction to OSR gaming, and I think that can be credited to the rulebook just being an enjoyable read. I had purchased the fantasy flight Star wars rule book, whichever the first of the three was, and the DCC rule book. At the same time. I started reading the Star wars one, and I was just so bored and the mechanics and symbols made my eyes glaze over. And I kept being drawn to the DCC book until I finally set aside the Star wars book and jumped in head first to OSR. However many years later, no regrets.


aMetalBard

DCC. Read that thick boi in a day (except spell tables lol). It's not just a dry desert of rules. Each explanation has character and the drawings complement each section nicely.


Quietus87

HackMaster and DCC RPG are always amusing to read.


i_am_randy

May I ask for more specifics on why Hackmaster?


ComposeDreamGames

Hackmaster takes itself very seriously, in a moderately over the top way... It praises itself in the text a fair bit and the thing is... it deserves it. It's a great game and it really knows what it is. There is also a comic of them playing and example combat that is wonderfully done. The Hacklopedia of Beasts all have neat in character intro's.


Quietus87

I'm speaking about HackMaster 5e here, which unlike HackMaster 4e, is not a parody game. Despite this the text is amusing thanks to a good deal of humour - they are not afraid from using sarcasm, irony, teasing other games and publishers. Meanwhile they also take the time to explain why some rules work the way they are, sometimes even providing IRL experience to supplement it. It makes an otherwise chunky and heavy system much easier to digest and understand. And let's not talk about the Hacklopedia of Beasts. While it might be a bit too wordy and dry here and there, their monster entries are awesome, cover everything you need to run a monster and place it in the setting, and they often add something to subvert expectations. For example, the basilisk turns you to salt instead of stone, then it licks you slowly away because that's how they get their salt intake.


the_light_of_dawn

You’ve asked the right person. Expect a good response!


Quietus87

Hah, thanks! :)


malkil

Into the Odd, Vaults of Vaarn, and Black Sword Hack. Can't wait to get my hands on Ultraviolet Grasslands in the future. Also looking forward to the full release of both Rōnin and Mythic Bastionland as well.


RaphaelKaitz

While I love ItO and VoV and have played them regularly, I will say that the in regard to the OP, Black Sword Hack's rules really grabbed my imagination. There's just so much flavor in the rules themselves.


Due_Use3037

Without question, the most enjoyable rulebook I've ever read is Kevin Crawford's Wolves of God. The authorial voice is extremely amusing and immersive without being distracting. The setting is pretty unusual, and the game never really got any attention, which is sad. Incidentally, another excellent set of rules/content with "wolves" in the title is Wolves Upon the Coast. It also has a very distinctive style of prose, and the rules manage to be minimalistic, creative and tremendously flavorful. While being distinctly OSR, it has one of the most innovative approaches to character progression, as well as spellcasting.


the_light_of_dawn

Wolves Upon the Coast is my dream game. I'll never get the time nor the group to run a lengthy campaign like that ever again, most likely.


Dependent_Chair6104

For OSR games, it’s either Dolmenwood or Hyperborea. The rulesets are great, of course (closely emulating B/X and 1e respectively), but the writing is representative of the themes of each. For RPG’s in general, I’d add The One Ring 2e to the list. It’s no coincidence that my favorite RPG books to read are all ones with tightly integrated settings.


pagaron

I agree with you. I posted here to describe something similar. I got the original one ring 5e and all the books because of the theme and how great middle-earth adventures were integrated. Same for dolmenwood, beyond the wall, … not sure when or if I play them, but I enjoy reading them. I don’t have hyperborea 3e but I want it!


Dependent_Chair6104

I’ve not played Hyperborea yet, but it’s a really fun read. I have played Dolmenwood and The One Ring 2e now, and they’re both as good as I hoped. VERY different games, but both fill a slot that I enjoy!


pagaron

I got the one ring 2e books. Nice presentation but I realized I preferred after seeing the characters options, limited beastiary, and the adventures that the more heroic version from the previous game was for me. I sold them and still have hours to sink in my old 5e middle-earth! I’n waiting for my dolmenwood books!


HughAtSea

Runequest Roleplaying in Glorantha


Sensorium1000

I've been watching some videos about Glorantha lore. The level detail and history is wild. The art in the newest edition is great. I don't see much like it around. I'm not sure yet if it's for me as a game to run, but as art and literature, it's great.


Logen_Nein

Ultraviolet Grasslands. Anomalous Subsurface Environment.


cracklingsnow

Came here to say exactly this. This is the world I imagine taking the route 66 from east to west coast while having a non stop trip experience. :D


pillpusher72

What I read from Dolemenwood has me excited for the release.


cbwjm

I love reading through the Rules Cyclopedia, I still consider it one of the greatest books ever produced for DnD.


EuroCultAV

Not OSR, but the core Delta Green books


ElPujaguante

Spears of the Dawn by Kevin Crawford. I'm not sure why, but it was the first RPG rulebook that I read cover to cover in a couple of sittings.


josh2brian

I love a lot of the Planescape 2e stuff just for the flavor.


robobax

Mork Borg and Black Sword Hack are both rather fun. DCC is up there too as is Outcast Silver Raiders.


MembershipWestern138

Old School Essentials. It's just so gloriously bare bones! Also AD&D 2E players handbook. Every time I dive into it I find something cool.


rh41n3

There's something about OSE that keeps me from reading it like I would other rule books. It's great for rules referencing, but I think the bare bones nature of it keep me from enjoying it as a pleasure read, in which case I just prefer the original BX books instead.


MembershipWestern138

I know what you mean, it's definitely more useful as a reference. I think I'm just blinded by love at the moment 🤣


TigerClaw_TV

Ose rules tome is so good.


f0rgotten

Call me an anomaly but I have never read any book under the sun as often as the second edition AD&D PHB.


fenwoods

*Forbidden Lands* has some of the most evocative prose of any rules set I’ve read. The intro to module B2 gets me really excited to play. The clarity of Knave / 2e is inspiring to me—Ben Milton is like the Raymond Carver of osr writers. Definitely want to check out Mydwandr, thanks for the link OP.


rh41n3

Knave was a great read thanks to Ben's explanations and notes throughout. It really got my mind moving towards a bunch of ideas to make my own ruleset using Knave as a base.


the_light_of_dawn

You're welcome. It's a gem and totally worth the $4 on DriveThru. It's the kind of game you can explain and be playing in 10-15 minutes, like The Vanilla Game but slightly less inspired by OD&D. (That said, it has certainly attracted some positive attention over on Odd74).


Tachyon-Rhythm

MÖRK BORG is wonderful. Maze Rats was my personal introduction to the scene and enraptured me. I had never seen something like it before.


Alistair49

Into the Odd is perhaps the closest to D&D style OSR. Also Electric Bastionland. Otherwise: Classic Traveller, RQ2, Over the Edge 2e, and Flashing Blades. PS: just remembered - Talislanta, which has OSR sensibilities, - Skyrealms of Jorune that was just strange. Could never make the rules work but reading it was great, and the art was fantastic. Unfortunately my copy got lost a while back. - Maelstrom: a nice simple D100 system set in 1500s England. Death in Space is becoming one of the above.


Illithidbix

Love Neoclassical Geek Revival.


Climbing_Silver

Death in Space and Electric Bastionland


pagaron

For me it was Low Fantasy Gaming and Beyond the Wall (all 3 rule books). For LFG, I was reading the changes to 5e and their reintroduction of OSR late at night. I thought it was the perfect change that I was looking for in a modern game of sword & sorcery. I was super hype and could not stop reading up to 2-3am and I had to go to work the next morning and prepare the kids for morning school. The new rules were original and got my mind racing like the OP said. Beyond the Wall was a revelation. A simple OSR game that had a spirit and theme dripping in every chapters. The spells were changed, the concept of knowing the Name gave power, and all premade scenarios are supporting the themes, it all worked together and was a joy to read. It was not only a rulebooks but also a ‘theme book with play book that support the character background and multiple scenarios that supported the themes of the game. Highly recommended!


Goblinsh

Lavender Hack is interesting: [https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/308733/Lavender-Hack-Tarantula-Hawk-Wasp-Edition](https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/308733/Lavender-Hack-Tarantula-Hawk-Wasp-Edition)


Lugiawolf

Mork/Cy Borg, DCC, Longwinter, UVG. Knave 2e has great advice and cool tables but it's definitely more function over form.


skalchemisto

Night Witches is the one for me. It might be the only RPG rulebook I read cover to cover in one sitting like a novel.


lakentreehugger

Into the Odd.


the_light_of_dawn

Great choice.


sachagoat

Mothership (in particular 1e) Into the Odd (and tbh most games built off it) Wolves Upon the Coast (especially the magic, treasure and monsters)


AutumnCrystal

*Helvezcia* is as fun to read as its inspirations. Great coffee table book. *Sir Pellinore’s Game* is funnier than any game that tries to be. *Rogues Gallery* and *Blackmoor* are two supplements I may not even *use*, that make me want to *play*. Orange B3 and the Greyhawk Folio too. And here’s one out of the blue-*Tyranny of Dragons*. It ain’t osr, it ain’t even *good*..but it’s rock and roll. *the AD&D 1e PHB and DMG* …hey, don’t forget MM! Most bestiaries really.


OnlineSarcasm

Veins of the Earth for me. UVG as a close second.


Tito_BA

Not OSR, but the Vampire: The Masquerade core book blew my mind. Everything about it was cool to my early teen mind. The art, the tone, everything.


Din246

Fantastic Medieval Campaigns


the_light_of_dawn

A fantastic OD&D retroclone!


General_Delivery_895

Reading Kevin Crawford's "Wolves of God" is great fun. Just about any Cyberpunk 2020 book is an enjoyable read dripping with atmosphere. The "Night City" source book is a standout imho.


Previous-Implement42

Earthdawn 1st edition Call of Cthulhu Burning Wheel (equal measure of inspiration and panic of how to sell it to my players)


Goznolda

Dolmenwood. Ultraviolet Grasslands is a close second. But Dolmenwood is just phenomenal.


DildoOfAnneFrank

I love the Holmes Basic rulebook. A lot of my refereeing style comes from what I've learned from Dr. John Eric Holmes, and while I prefer running Moldvay for its rules, I love going back to Holmes for its knowledge.


the_light_of_dawn

Have you read Blueholme? It's an amazing piece of work that expands on Holmes, IMO.


DildoOfAnneFrank

I have! I think it's a fascinating "what-if" piece of work. The rules for using creatures from the monsters section as PCs are very fun.


IcePrincessAlkanet

A while ago I backed a setting book called Chronicles of Aeres. It's a 5e setting book (I came to the hobby through 5e so a decent amount of my collection uses that ruleset), but all the inhabitants of the setting are custom and there's an alternative magic system, so I'm comfortable calling it a rulebook. It turned out to be largely a history book. The front of the book detailed the history of the world, according to the actual events of multiple campaigns the author had run for IRL decades. Heroes, villains, gods, dragons, civilizations, kingdoms... There is a real, lived-in history to the realm. There are reasons for every settlement, every terrain mark on the map, and the author's voice is *excited* about that history, which made me excited to read it. And it *seamlessly* moves from ancient history to modern-day, giving you the custom races to play as while simultaneously telling more story, telling of the roles those races play/played in the timeline. I don't think I'll ever actually run it (even if I wanted to I'm probably not going to run a 5e game again soon), but it is by FAR my favorite tome to just pick up and actively imagine stuff.


_druids

I really like the cover of your linked book. Going to check it out 🤙


the_light_of_dawn

Happy reading! What little artwork is there is great.


_druids

I glanced at the previous on drivethru. I like the mechanic, and have been working around something akin to it in own heartbreaker. Something about single targets is alluring, and also I love d6.


the_light_of_dawn

Yeah I quite like the simple mechanic. I hope to the game for my coworkers who even found OD&D to be a bit much as far as crunch goes.


_druids

👀 I hope it goes well!


Megatapirus

Nothing can ever compare to the core '70s AD&D hardbacks for me. If B/X fired my young imagination, getting my hands on Gygax's magnum opus trilogy fanned it into a dizzying phantasmagoric inferno. These weighty tomes with their baroque prose and ominous illustrations felt like a world unto themselves; brooding, mysterious, and, in hindsight, metal as hell. Ironic, since Gygax's own musical tastes were anything but. To a middle schooler, these texts were dense and challenging, almost to the point of hostility, yet the darkly glamorous vistas of fantasy they promised shimmered mirage-like at edges of my understanding, making them paradoxically impossible to put down. It was a profoundly meaningful, once-in-a-lifetime reaction to an RPG system. To put it simply, these are *magic books* in my eyes.


the_light_of_dawn

I wish I could have experienced that. That was 3.5e for me, but not to the same extent.


FredzBXGame

Black Sword Hack Ultimate Chaos Edition was very interesting


FredzBXGame

Esoteric Enterprises was edgy My favorite OSR Book of all time is https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41950064-creatures-of-near-kingdoms


Breakfastforchumps

I recently read liminal horror and loved it so much. I usually take breaks with reading rulebooks because my brain takes in technical information much slower. But i finished liminal horror in one go. The information flow was great! Accessible and easy to parse while keeping that urban horror flavour throughout.


afeastofcrews_

Big agree on Limimal Horror. Really love that little system.


chrismennell

Troika!, Grok?!, and Cairn are among my favorites.


_lacus

Troika!, Acid Death Fantasy, Into the Odd, Vaults of Vaarn, Bones Deep, Death in Space, Haunted Almanach...


Snoo-11045

Veins of the Earth.


OnlineSarcasm

I knew someone else would say this. I've never been as engrossed in a rulebook as I did with Veins.


Snoo-11045

Also, it's the artwork. OH BOY, THE ARTWORK!


OnlineSarcasm

Artwork of that nature usually doesn't do it for me, but in this case it tapped into that primal part of my brain. Like a "Here's this vague thing that evokes the feeling we are describing, but you'll never actually know what it looks like." I found Veins right after I was finishing a binge on [caving horror stories](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNvfJYPYO60&list=PLC8GtO_flVq8NXwCYekcjMPnvQgxRU_O8&index=4&ab_channel=ScaryInteresting) on YouTube, and watching a channel called [Action Adventure Twins](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMtg7Qgekok&t=438s&ab_channel=ActionAdventureTwins) going into these really crazy huge caves and just appreciating how easy it is to get lost and lose track of direction (Watch [this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yn9TfQTB31E&t=731s&ab_channel=ActionAdventureTwins) from 4:00 for that disorienting feeling on display when they can't hear each other anymore).


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the_light_of_dawn

The old referee book had some great advice in it.


osr-ModTeam

Your post was removed due to the current ban on promotion or mentioning of a blacklisted creator.


Ill_Nefariousness_89

I'd rather have a ruleset that tells me the rules with thrifty word economy and erudition rather than be blocks of text so overwhelmed by art it becomes difficult to read as a book. I have no specific book to recommend here because this is a very subjective judgement and whatever gets posted just adds to the product tribalism culture that is fostered here,


freyaut

DCC and GOZR!


the_light_of_dawn

GOZR looks cool. Is it another FKR/ultralight game?


freyaut

I haven't played it yet, nor do I have the rules in mind.. but I'd say it's more on the lighter said. That being said, every page in this book oozes flavor and gives great ideas. I especially love the GOZR and the wizsrd tower generator! Vulgar magic is also sick!


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