Post by Jakob Grimm on Apr 8, 2018 19:41:12 GMT -5
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Champions of ZED: Zero Edition Dungeoneering Review Part 1
Champions of ZED: Zero Edition Dungeoneering Review Part 2
Champions of ZED: Zero Edition Dungeoneering Review Part 3
First Look - Champions of Zed - An OD&D "What If"
U–G–L–Y! You ain’t got no alibi! - this guy has a problem with it being old school through and through, some of us don't care for airbrushed "perfection" and prefer things that haven't had the character "sanded" and "polished' into oblivion.
Hexcrawl Review: Champions of ZED
The Champion of Zed
It aims to be a sort of amalgamation of Arnesonian and Gygaxian D&D. The author, Daniel Boggs, had previously done an Arnesonian game, entitled Dragons at Dawn, that probably covers Arneson's early style more accurately than Champions of Zed. Instead, Champions of Zed is more of an "alternate history" kind of game: what if Gygax and Arneson had collaborated more closely and incorporated all the stuff that both were working on at the time OD&D was published, rather than Gygax taking what he currently had and rushing to publish? This includes the Dalluhn Manuscript, and assumes that it represents a branch of D&D that Arneson further developed past the last common version that he and Gygax collaborated on before Gygax went on to publish. I don't know whether or not it succeeds in this goal; but it certainly piques my interest.
In practice, Champions of Zed focuses heavily on a sandbox and world-creation mode of play. It starts off not with character creation but with world creation, assuming that the world is the basis for the campaign rather than the characters inhabiting the world. It hews pretty close to OD&D for characters from what i can see: the three original classes (and not the thief!) are supported, along with elves, dwarves, and hobbits, and humans. Orcs and the balrog-like/draconic Balarauk are also available. Combat appears to have three different options, a "basic" method , a "strategic" method, and a "tactical" method. Honestly, I can't make heads or tails of what each entails (the descriptions given aren't clear on a quick readthrough). Yet another method, the familiar d20 system, is given in an appendix.
All in all, CoZ looks interesting at the very least.
In practice, Champions of Zed focuses heavily on a sandbox and world-creation mode of play. It starts off not with character creation but with world creation, assuming that the world is the basis for the campaign rather than the characters inhabiting the world. It hews pretty close to OD&D for characters from what i can see: the three original classes (and not the thief!) are supported, along with elves, dwarves, and hobbits, and humans. Orcs and the balrog-like/draconic Balarauk are also available. Combat appears to have three different options, a "basic" method , a "strategic" method, and a "tactical" method. Honestly, I can't make heads or tails of what each entails (the descriptions given aren't clear on a quick readthrough). Yet another method, the familiar d20 system, is given in an appendix.
All in all, CoZ looks interesting at the very least.
Champions of ZED: Zero Edition Dungeoneering Review Part 1
Champions of ZED: Zero Edition Dungeoneering Review Part 2
Champions of ZED: Zero Edition Dungeoneering Review Part 3
First Look - Champions of Zed - An OD&D "What If"
U–G–L–Y! You ain’t got no alibi! - this guy has a problem with it being old school through and through, some of us don't care for airbrushed "perfection" and prefer things that haven't had the character "sanded" and "polished' into oblivion.
Hexcrawl Review: Champions of ZED
The Champion of Zed