I’m still working classes and all the various other little bits that go into home brewing this Franken-Game. Sure it all started off as kitbashing a bunch of old school games but then I started to think about what things I liked about Fifth Edition. I blame this guy for making me think.

I had watched some of the Dungeon Craft videos now and then but recently I’ve really started to do a deep dive and binge. Hell, I’ll probably join up on the Patreon too.

Now, there’s a lot things in 5E that just don’t quite jive with the old-school vibe. I remember when 5E first came out and there was an attempt by many (including myself) to meld the two together. IMHO, a lot of those attempts really fell short. They just felt like the 5E Basic Rules with a few tweaks. Finally, I managed to find a couple that just hit the sweet spot for me when it comes to simplicity and feel.

Most folks have already heard of 5E Hardcore Mode. This little 18 page PDF packs in a lot of cool tools. Most notably for me, the very easy monster stat block,rolling to cast spells, and a more down to earth way to handle skills.

The second is Five Torches Deep. This one really puts the classes together with an idea that I was already playing with but they do it much better than I was. Here’s the quick and dirty low down. You’ve got your classic basic four classes. Then the class archetypes/specializations are the good old sublcasses. For example, Warrior has Fighter, Ranger, and Barbarian. Boom. There you go.

Of course, I’m still pulling a lot of crazy and different ideas from across the old-school spectrum. But more on that later.

Roll dice. Kill monsters. Take their stuff. And have fun!