Asking the Old School Question to my Players

I finally got around to asking the dreaded "Interested in an old school game" question to my players.This group is a little younger than me and grew up with 2e so I am sure those expectations colored their decision here.

I explained the "thinking on your feet, exploration and simplified play" motifs to them and they answered with a resounding meh...

One of my players explained "Look 2e is cool, we'd play that and you run a good game but we'd rather have more mechanical support for actions and options. Honestly describing how traps are disarmed and exploring and all that doesn't sound that fun"

I can't say I really blame them with an ample selection of play opportunities out there and little cultural contact with the Old School style there is little draw for that sort of thing. Even the mighty old names like Demon Web Pits or Keep on the Borderlands are far too distant for them ..

Ah well. I am going to pitch E6 or E8 to them and see where that goes next. I think they might like it.

So What Kind of Old School Campaigns Do You Run ?

This is a shorter list of what I have prepared especially for "Old School" gaming. These games are meant to reward the simpler style of kil and loot and are much less "RP" intensive. Some of the games in Part 1 of this post can be played easily in earlier editions but for various reasons, the reverse is less true.

These games are meant strictly for nothing later than OS/2 Warp and while Pathfinder is quite capable of making these games fun the complexity kind of defeats the point. Simplicity and fun are king here not rules.

Tombs and Troubles:
Plain old dungeon crawling, hex crawling , adventuring, wenching (or its female equivalent) stealing and woods running. This is classic style D&D with the players simply being Adventurers. There is a city, a few towns, villages, caves and dungeons. Simple archetypes and simple fun.

The Grand Campaign
I've always wanted to run this. This games takes the characters (assuming they don't do something stupid and get killed for it ) from Level 1 to the Queen of the Demon Web Pits. from Zero to Hero and beyond...

So What Kind of Campaigns do You Run ?

I thought I'd share my campaign prospectus for Midrea based games with y'all. This is a list of "what I have the resources and ideas to run" basically.
All of these games are Midrea based and in general are meant to be run with Pathfinder. Most of these (excluding Men Mechs and Magic and Cannon Dreams which can be run with GURPS) can be run well in older editions as well.

I've included a brief "where" note with these as well so folks can tell what part of the world is emphasized.

Man Mech and Magic:
Clockpunk Vision of Escaflowne mixed in with standard Midrea. (7 Nations)

Cannon Dreams:
The Age of Pyrates Version of the above. (7 Nations and Dragon Empire/Islands)

Destiny of Swords:
Someone has shattered the Jewel of the Stars. Each of the pieces will grant great power to anyone or anything THING that finds one. The characters are Jewel Hunters on the track of sahards for good or ill. THis is basically Inuyasha with a Euro bent. D&D or BESM (Pretty Much Everywhere starting either in Rojin or Hajasa)

Midrea Unglued
D&D played for laughs. Hanz and Franz, Talking Squirels, Flumph Paladins and more goofiness played with the rules as written. This is comic but there is no 4th wall breaching unless its really funny. (Midlands Barbaria, Northlands)

Kingsmen.
Stand with the Joykiller and save your kingdom from all threats within and without. While you are at it find the King a wife, the Princess a suitable husband, manage the factions and keep the assassins at bay. Quite a task, even for a Kingsman. (20 Kingdom in particular Amar)

Path of Blades
The kingdoms war has been good for mercenaries. So come to Fourgate, spend some gold between jobs. help out your buddies,solve mysteries and raise some hell. Its a mercs life. (Fourgate and the 20 Kingdoms)


Down Below:
There are few ways of the projects, money, connections or a military scholarship. Without those there is only the Rangers. The characters are the memeber of the Ranger corp (not necesarily the class) chartered to protect Polis from Down Below or sometimes itself. D&D with very very high magic (Polis, which is on a small island by itself)

Younger Sons:
One hundred years ago a magical catacylsm killed every human in Amachis. Now the curse has ended and the rush has began. The party are all younger sons of Amachian expatriats with little prospects sent back to the motherland to make their way (obviously Amachia though PC's will come from the Midlands or Under the Law)

Children of Damnation:
The party members are all children of Azgoth, Demon Prince of Defilement. You may be half a fiend but you have free will. What will you do with your gifts now that Father has taken an interest in you (Freepor)

Dragons
The players are members of an elite Unit of trouble shooters in Glandria (the France Like kingdom in the 20 kingdoms) Its mission based and structured but otherwise pretty standard stuff. (Galandria in the 20 Kingdoms)