Yes, yes… nothing to see here, really. I’m just another in a long line of RPG bloggers warbling on about the upcoming Hackmaster Basic…

Based on the epic Erol Otis cover art paying homage to his earlier cover for Moldvay Basic Dungeons & Dragons, the free previews from KenzerCo (available here and here if you haven’t seen them yet), and the spoiler thread on the Kenzer forums… I believe Hackmaster Basic will be a grandslamdunktouchdown (I just made that word up, yet strangely my spell checker seems more than willing to accept it without a fuss. Hmm.). Generally I prefer the ‘rules-lite’ approach to RPG’s, but I’ve been known for binges into the worlds of Palladium games, MERP, or Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay. I do enjoy a more complex game every now and then, and it looks like the new Hackmaster might well be delivering the goods in that department. The previews also seem to indicate a flavor I’m drawn to in fantasy RPG’s, that being old-school(ish) swords and spells, deep dungeon delves, and wickedly cunning gamemasters springing traps and beasties on your party left and right.

Now, it is with great shame that I admit to never even glancing at a Hackmaster book before this (and an even worse shame that, given I am a monumental fan of western flicks, I’ve never looked at Aces & Eights either – I do you wrong, KenzerCo). This means I would be bringing no prior edition baggage with me into this new Basic version (or 5th edition, if you like). However, I was still able to appreciate the humor in this Jolly Blackburn tweet from earlier today:

“Waiting/hoping HackMaster will have it’s own version of the ‘edition wars’ when the game comes out next week. I need some drama.“

Oh, that Jolly B. Such a firebrand.