Table Of ContentPRINCIPIA APOCRYPHA
Lost Principles of Old School Gaming
Apocalypse Engine-style Principles and Advice from
Ben Milton • Steven Lumpkin
for running RPGs in the Old School Style
curated, butchered, and amalgamated by David Perry
with miscellany from Bryce Lynch • Chris McDowall
PRINCIPIA APOCRYPHA
Lost Principles of Old School Gaming
Version 0.9ish
September 17, 2017
Statement version, formatted for printing as a booklet
To Do
(comment on the doc with suggestions!)
1. Get feedback from wider audience - that’s you!
2. Test print & finalize booklet formatting, margins
3. Finalize text, smooth justification, spacing, capitalization,
principle name sizes, update principle name summary list
4. Remove this list
5. Other formats
Source Symbol Key
✦: Ben Milton
Maze Rats - drivethrurpg.com/product/197158
☆: Steven Lumpkin
Agendas for Old School Gaming - roll1d100.blogspot.com
✻: David Perry
The humble additions of a fan of both Old School and New School gaming
NOTE: Some principles have their title changed, and some editing,
trimming, and recombination has been done to the original source text to
better fit context. The symbol indicates the source of the majority of the
text in the paragraph preceding it.
Cover artist unknown
Fonts used: IM Fell English SC, Averia Serif Libre
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons
Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License
might clash with the system, and get a
Introduction
handle on how a set of principles can aid in
running these games, especially if your
World of Dungeons is ostensibly the first players are new to Old School play.
system that attempted to emulate an
OSR-style game in the Apocalypse Engine. If you like the Old School play paradigm
However, I felt like the lack of GM Agenda and want to instantiate them in an
and Principles tailored to this style was an Apocalypse Engine or rules-light system, or
unfortunate omission. I imagine new want to run pre-written Old School
gamers looking at World of Dungeons and adventure modules with them, these should
being quite lost, and even (especially?) if make a perfect Agenda.
they are familiar with Dungeon World, they
It should go without saying, of course, that
may be quite thrown off track by the lack of
the principles may not all apply equally to
context.
your game or a certain adventure,
Likewise, many OSR rules-light systems depending on its style, tone, scope, etc.
(such as The Black Hack) lack advice for
Here are some Old School style games to
how to run the game as a GM, and most of
consider using these principles to run, and
those that do (such as Whitehack) provide
other sources of inspiration and advice. I
very basic practical advice, rather than the
would not recommend simply switching out
codified stylistic and procedural framework
Dungeon World’s principles with these. If
that I find so useful from the Agendas and
you want to run a PbtA game with them, I
Principles of Apocalypse Engine games
highly recommend Freebooters on the
(Maze Rats being a welcome exception).
Frontier or World of Dungeons.
So, I decided to compile and piece together
The Original Fantasy Adventure Game:
some of these principles. They are
● Dungeons & Dragons, particularly the
primarily pulled from two sources that are
Basic & Expert sets (“B/X”)
excellent in their own right: Maze Rats by
Closely inspired by early D&D:
Ben Milton (PWYW on DriveThruRPG), and
● Adventurer Conqueror King
some posts and vlogs on Steven Lumpkin’s
● Basic Fantasy Role Playing
blog, roll1d100.blogspot.com. These sources
● Dungeon Crawl Classics
are attributed using the symbols noted in
● Labyrinth Lord
the frontmatter. I’ve taken some liberties to
● Lamentations of the Flame Princess
edit them for context, trimming, rewording,
● Microlite81
and combining some, to produce a more
● Swords & Wizardry
cohesive whole, as well as adding a few
pieces myself. Apocalypse Engine Games inspired by early
D&D:
If you’re familiar with Apocalypse Engine ● Freebooters on the Frontier
games and are interested in playing The ● Funnel World
Original or another Old School game, not ● World of Dungeons
all the principles may be applicable, but
OSR Rules-Light Systems:
they should help distinguish how they play
● The Black Hack
differently from Apocalypse Engine games.
● Into the Odd
If you’re familiar with Old School gameplay ● Macchiato Monsters
and want to bring that mindset to an ● Maze Rats
Apocalypse Engine or OSR rules-light ● Whitehack
system, these principles may help you ● Searchers of the Unknown
identify where your ingrained GM habits ● Many others!
Note: I’ve gone back and forth on what
Old School
term to use for the person running a game,
to which these Principles are addressed;
many Old School games use Judge or
Principles
Referee. But I finally decided that none of
them have quite the right connotations or
truly align with all the Principles. So, I will
for GMs
default to the most commonly used term,
GM.
Honor the dice Challenge them
Divest yourself of their fate Offer tough choices
Build responsive situations Build challenges with
answers...
Ponder the next chapter
...And challenges without
Embrace chaos...
Subvert their expectations
...But uphold logic
Instill fear, deal death
Make them think
Deadly but avoidable combat
Player ingenuity over
character skill Telegraph deadliness
Cleverness rewarded, not Let the dice kill them
thwarted Keep up the pressure
Oblige fictional positioning
Ask them how they do it Fill their senses
Give them tools to manipulate Reveal the world
the world
Layer environments
Make tools unique
Bring the world to life
Don’t mind the fourth wall
See your world as real
Make your details matter
Don’t overdo the preparation! Keep your
Honor the dice
situation ideas loose enough that they can
be adapted to the PC’s choices and the flow
of the game. Remember that unused prep
Divest yourself of their fate can always be recycled in later sessions.
You are not an antagonist to the players or After each session, ask the players what
characters. Honestly portray the world and they plan on doing next and prep a few
its denizens as they would react to the situations related to that. The direction of
characters’ behaviour. Don't intend to the game should be guided by the player’s
orchestrate the characters’ actions.✻ decisions, not the GM’s.✦
Be fair and impartial. Do not fudge rolls, do Embrace chaos...
not roll in secret. This keeps the game
Listen to that capricious muse, the dice.
honest and dangerous, and prevents any
Relying exclusively on your own
accusations of favoritism or railroading. It
imagination can be exhausting, predictable,
also encourages the players to manipulate
and feel less like an objective world to the
and engage with the fictional world, rather
players. External inspiration lets you divest
than with the GM.✦
yourself of responsibility for the party’s
fate.✻
Build responsive situations
Use random tables to keep the game fresh.
Don’t detail a plot to be played out; rather,
The surprising twists that random tables
establish situations with multiple actors
add can bring an energy and mystery to the
pursuing their own ends. Let the players’
game that is hard to improvise.✦
actions affect this environment, and have
those changes affect the players. Let the Collect random tables. NPCs, names, items,
situations worsen if the players don’t plot hooks, complications, relationships,
address them.✻ locations, etc. Some great sources of tables:
Maze Rats, Perilous Wilds, Dungeon
During open sandbox play, create a
Dozen.✻
number of nearby situations that contain a
reason to get involved, some problems to
...But uphold logic
overcome, and optionally a threat that will
worsen the PC’s lives if not dealt with.✦ If there is an obvious reason for a particular
wandering monster to be here, that's why
One way to create interesting situations to they're here; don't bother rolling a random
draw a grid that maps the relationships activity or reaction. This can help maintain
between the elements of a situation and verisimilitude and let players make
how they relate, interact, or how the party reasonable plans, as well as emphasizing
might intervene.✦ the surprise and interest of the instances of
randomness when you do use them.✻
Ponder the next chapter
Don’t prepare a plot for the players to
follow. During the game, observe how the
players deal with a situation, and
extrapolate the effects of their actions
based on what you know. Don’t plan the
results ahead of time; players rarely do
what you expect them to.✦
Make them think Ask them how they do it
Assume characters have common sense, but
not their specific actions. Encourage or
Player ingenuity over require the players to interrogate the
fiction of the environment “manually”
character skill
rather than eliding it via a roll or assumed
Old School PCs are very minimalistic character skill. But if they give up, let them
because the character sheet is mostly there roll for a chance at a hint.✻
for when players make a mistake. Players
are not meant to solve problems with die Give them tools to manipulate
rolls, but with their own ingenuity.
the world
Therefore, present them with problems
that: The focus of the game should be on creative
problem solving, not brute force, so give
● Can be solved with common sense players the tools to make that appealing.
● Have no simple solution When you give players tools, you give them
● Have many difficult solutions✦ new ways to engage the world. For
example: rival factions to manipulate,
Examples: Cross a moat full of crocodiles. A
potions with weirdly specific effects, items
door in the bottom of a dungeon will only
that can be combined or repurposed,
open if sunlight shines on it. Retrieve a key
dungeons with shortcuts and back
from the bottom of a lake of acid.✦
passages. Add elements that allow the
players to bend the world to their will.✦
Cleverness rewarded, not
thwarted Make tools unique
Clever solutions to a problem should A good tool doesn’t increase PCs’ damage or
usually work, as long as they are within the add an ability bonus; it does an odd, very
realm of possibility. Be generous. If the specific thing that is only powerful when
action is unlikely or dangerous, call for a used cleverly. This turns every problem
save or ability check, but only forbid a into a puzzle and encourages creative
creative solution if it is clearly solutions.✦
impossible.✦
Examples: A rope that becomes as rigid as
If players tend not to think this way, steel on command. A coin that lands on any
present them with situations that are result you wish when flipped. A bell that
nearly impossible to tackle head on, and produces a 1-foot sphere of silence around
strongly reward even slightly creative it. A ring that instantly grows you a
solutions. One of your goals as a GM is to different beard for each finger you put it
encourage this mentality. Feel free to tell on.✦
your players as well that cleverness will get
them farther than brute force.✦ Don’t mind the fourth wall
Don’t worry too much about meta-gaming,
Oblige fictional positioning
or what the characters should know or
Give them the benefit of the doubt when realistically deduce about a situation. Favor
they’ve worked to give themselves the player ingenuity over character
upper hand in the fiction. Don’t shy away embodiment.✻
from translating this into mechanical
advantage.✻
into the fiction, and explore. If a challenge
Challenge them
is critical for the continuation of the
adventure, consider placing a few solutions.
Offer tough choices Three is a good number. "Okay, a key, a
potion of Eat Metal... and if they befriend
Make the players weigh risk versus reward.
the Bisected Serpent, it can bore a hole
The deeper players go into the wilderness
through the stone."☆
or dungeon, the more perilous things
should become. Whether because their
...And challenges with no
resources are running low (food, health,
equipment, light, etc.) or because danger answer
builds the longer they linger, keep the "The deeps are stalked by a living
players asking if it is worth pushing their maelstrom of ravenous psychic energy. If
luck just a little bit farther. The greatest the players want to get the Golden Falcon
treasures are always the hardest to reach.✦ they'll have to get past it, but I have no idea
how they'll manage that." These are critical
Risk and reward are also at the heart of
for old school gaming. These exist to force
combat. The PCs’ low health is meant to
players to be creative in ways that surprise
push combat quickly toward the point
everyone at the table. Be cautious with
where players ask themselves, “Should I
placing these as challenges critical for the
retreat to fight another day, or do I risk it
continuation of the adventure (unless you
all to finish them now?” The thrill of that
intend for players to retreat and come back
choices is at the heart of combat.✦
later), but sprinkling them around can
Look for situations where all obvious surprise everyone at your table.☆
choices come with a heavy cost. These
situations encourage unorthodox solutions Subvert their expectations
and lateral thinking.✦
It’s inevitable that players will have
knowledge about common fantasy elements
Build challenges with
from pop culture and other games. Inject
multiple answers... common monsters, locations, and situations
with your own unique twists for them to be
Avoid singular chokepoints to progress.
surprised by. This encourages players to
Give them an obvious and equally but
explore these differences and solve new
differently-difficult alternative, but keep a
problems that they don’t know the solution
third option (or more) in your pocket. Then,
to already.✻
if they dig for it, give it to them. Maybe it’s
obscure, but preferable. Maybe it’s just as
difficult, but more beneficial.✻
"There's a magically locked iron gate the
players have to get past... how could they? I
guess one of the NPCs has a key... and
there's a potion of Eat Metal hidden in
room 12C." When you build your
adventures, seed them with challenges that
you know the answer to. Maybe the player
characters have a core capability to get past
the challenge, or maybe you've just placed
the solution somewhere else for them to
find. Use these to encourage players to dig
Description:choices come with a heavy cost. These situations encourage unorthodox solutions andlateralthinking.✦. Buildchallengeswith multipleanswers Avoid singular chokepoints to progress. Give them an obvious and equally but differently-difficult alternative, but keep a third
