Last time I’m going to apologize for not posting in a while, even though nobody probably reads this, life got busy. The Problem Anyway, one of the things I think about a lot is how much skill systems kind of stink, and one of the reasons I think they do is they either overly complicate things or abstract them away too easily. They are quick and dirty ways of handling things the game system or setting is not interested in focusing on.

Skill systems in relation to OSR games are a funny thing, and in my opinion, not often required or needed. I’ve had a game running for a year and a half that, in no way, required skills, and I’ve typically defaulted to the standard “roll a d6 with a range of 1-2 for success,” modified by attribute bonuses, of course. And I think, for the majority of old school D&D style games, this is a completely adequate and fun way of handling rolls that do not fall under any sort of specific mechanic.

Most, if not all, of my focus on this blog has been oriented towards OSR and retroclone content, and will likely remain so. However, it is not my only wheelhouse. Case in point: Ars Magica! A game system for which I have a lot of respect, from its setting to its magic system; I find it to be a terribly compelling game. Another system in the same vein, though one I have a good deal less respect for, is the World of Darkness and its games, such as Vampire: The Masquerade and Werewolf: The Apocalypse.

I had mentioned before in a prior post the strengths and weaknesses to Vancian Magic. While I still defend it I am in no way married to the concept. Certainly I think thee are better magic systems, and those systems will be talked about on this Blog, such as Ars Magica, GLOG, and Mage: The ascension. However I wanted to offer a couple alternative systems one could run in an OSR D&D system that does not require you to uproot the entire Vancian paradigm, but rather shift it’s focus.