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| LL |
Welcome
to a (revised) and brief review of Labyrinth Lord (LL), Goblinoid Games retro-clone of
D&D created by Daniel Proctor. Also, I’ll be including the occasional side note
about the Labyrinth Lord Advanced Edition Companion (LLAEC). Long story short, (too late) I
recently picked up the D&D Rules Cyclopedia print on demand (POD) reprint on DriveThruRPG and
wanted to delve. Admittedly, after reading through the D&D Cyclopedia, it was
interesting to realize how much I’d incorrectly recalled about D&D in general
(insert shame here). In retrospect it
was a bad idea to write a review of LL without an original reference, though I
had many fond memories of the game, obviously this wasn’t as suitable as I'd hoped for the purpose of writing an accurate review.
Disclosure: This review includes affiliate links. I receive a token % if you purchase something from the landing page.
What you
get with Labyrinth Lord is a relatively easy to learn RPG system. It doesn’t
delve too far away from the original source material, though there are a few differences.
Beyond the basic sections which introduce “how to play”, dice, and terms, begins
character creation.
Pretty
much in line with D&D Basic, character creation with LL has players roll
character attributes, I mean abilities; first. One aside, is that LL provides a
couple of options besides rolling straight 3d6 ( tally each score in order) and
ability swapping. Character Abilities are Strength, Dexterity, Constitution,
Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma; and depending on each total, ability scores will
affect players characters capabilities to perform tasks, gain experience and
navigate the dangers, of the game world.
Next
players will select a character class. LL offers four human classes; the Cleric Fighter, Magic-User, & Thief and three demi-human classes which are the Dwarf, Elf, and Halfling.
Unlike D&D clerics start off with a first level spell (which I approve),
and unlike the D&D Rules Cyclopedia human levels cap out at 20th (not 36th level). And no Druid or Mystic class is available… Until…
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| LL AEC |
And now, back to our regularly scheduled RPG review of Labyrinth Lord...
Finishing up with character creation, players will select their character alignment; tally up some starting gold, buy some equipment, select spells (if any) and calculate their character's general combat abilities (Hit Points, Saving Throws, Armor Class etc.). You know the usual fair and onto adventure!
As far as running this...
Monster sections eat up a good deal of both books so you'll have plenty of challenges to present your player characters. Most if not all are familiar. The ones that are missing have obviously been taken by the trademark police.
You'll very easily be able to plug any published D&D adventure and use the Labyrinth Lord rule set; such as it was designed for. And Goblinoid Games
Sections for concerning the Labyrinth Lord (or Game Master or Dungeon Master) are well organized, and present the basic concepts and rules for running a gaming session very well. Arguably even more concisely than the D&D Cyclopedia. Both LL & LLAEC have tons of useful reference tables. The books lack a setting, and no adventure hooks or plots are included, but the ideas presented should be enough to get a game of LL going with little brain grease.
If you are intent on setting, Pete Spahn of Small Niche Games has written a setting supplement specifically for LL. Guidebook to the Ducky of Valnwall (special edition) which is available on DriveThruRPG in PDF and POD. Link in the description above. The setting supplement currently sits as a silver seller, with a five star rating.
One omission I noticed in LL, is that the Spell List Table is
(I presume) missing from the Table of Contents (PG 42). There are many tables
shown on the Table of Contents so I’m not entirely sure whether what’s missing
is an actual mistake or if the Spell List Table is just not considered a table?
Well, I think it should be.
I also noticed one game mechanic that I didn’t entirely
agree with or I should say, upon deep consideration, found to be out of order. I know this mechanic is out of order in the source material as well... But, I've got a bone to pick. The mechanic involves the thief class’s ability to find and remove traps. I
don’t claim (ahem!) savant-ism regarding labyrinth
traps but dungeon traps, I think I’ve
come up with some pretty deadly (at least I hope they were) trappings for Kenzer and Companies, Knights of the Dinner Table.
Okay, stop me if you heard this one (dramatic pause) but a fighter,
a dwarf and a thief walk into a labyrinth. Sounds pretty ominous, I know. At
the very first passage there’s a trap. All characters involved are first level
and if the Labyrinth Lord consults the rulebook he finds that…
The fighter has a little better than a 16% chance (rolling a 1 on a D6) of finding the trap.
The dwarf has a little better 33% chance (roll of 1 or 2 on a D6). Not too shabby.
However, the thief? The one character class who has Find and
Remove traps listed as one of his special abilities. The thief, has the exactly
a 14% chance (D100 roll) to find the
trap. Wait-Huh!?! I’ll try and keep my rant brief but having every other character type with a better percentage chance to succeed at an ability the thief is supposed to be skilled at is; putting it politely-completely off.
That's it for the review, but I have to mention Goblinoid Games has recently (somewhat) put hardcovers and combined Labyrinth Lord and the Advanced edition Companion into one delicious looking volume. If I'd seen it before I'd seen the Rules Cyclopedia, I'd likely have pulled the trigger on one of these babies instead... Oh man... Suffice it to say I'm here to tempt you.
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| Labyrinth Lord (covers) |
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