The Black Hack is an fantasy role-playing game released by the indie publisher Gold Piece Publications in 2016 that streamlines the rules of the original edition of Dungeons & Dragons.
The Black Hack is an fantasy role-playing game released by the indie publisher Gold Piece Publications in 2016 that streamlines the rules of the original edition of Dungeons & Dragons.
When the original edition of D&D was published in 1974, the rules were, in the words of RPG historian Stu Horvath, "a mess: Rambling, poorly organized, and incomprehensible in some places." [1] The rules assumed that players owned:
As time went on, various gamemasters developed "hacks", improvements to the rules. [1]
With the inception of the Old School Renaissance (OSR) movement in 2000s, gamers showed renewed interest in the original edition of D&D. However, all of the problems with the original rules still existed. In 2016, David Black developed a new hack: a set of rules based on the original edition of D&D, but re-organized, streamlined, and using some modern role-playing rules.
Rules taken from the original edition include the four classic character classes (Fighter, Thief, Cleric and Wizard), but a combat system has been added to replace the need for a copy of Chainmail. [1] The modern concept of rolling for advantage/disadvantage (rolling two dice and taking either the better number — advantage — or the worse number — disadvantage) replaces the old system of adding up various bonuses or penalties before making a die roll. [1]
The emphasis on dice rolling has been moved from the gamemaster to the players. If the players are fighting a monster, the gamemaster does not roll dice for an attack. Instead, the players make a defense roll. Reducing a character to zero hit points resulted in death in the original game; using these new rules, the player rolls a die and consults a table for a result, which can include unconsciousness death, or various penalties to attribute scores. [1]
In the much expanded second edition, many pages are devoted to helping the gamemaster run a campaign. [1]
In 2016, David Black developed a set of rules for a fantasy role-playing game based on the original edition of D&D. Black self-published The Black Hack, a slim 20-page booklet, in 2016. Two years later, a much expanded second edition boxed set was published by Gold Piece Publications, with artwork by David Black, Jeff Call, Sean Poppe, and Karl Sternjberg.
In 2023, a greatly expanded Italian translation that included a campaign setting and several adventures was published by MS Edizioni as a 220-page softcover book. [3]
Panayiotis Lines, writing for Leyland Press, commented, "Though The Black Hack makes many changes to the original D&D formula it's still well compatible with any classic old school D&D module as well as any module designed for a modern day retro clone. This is due to it keeping multiple familiar elements that can be ported across but changing them in a unique but consistent manner." Lines concluded, "Overall The Black Hack is a clean and light weight package for running OSR style games, character creation is quick, the core resolution mechanic means the GM can adjudicate situations easily and everything being player facing puts the onus on players to describe how they avoid attacks, traps and dangers within the game." [4]
Technical Grimoire commented, "this not only contains a solid system, but it acts like a GM workbook, walking you through EVERYTHING you need to know about running a game. Not rules and monsters, but by showing examples and then encouraging you to try it right there on the pages." [5]
Guilia Gastaldi reviewed the Italian edition and noted, "This 220-page game manual pays great attention to the aesthetic side ... The maps and illustrations are also of high quality and perfectly convey the tones of the macabre and dark setting of The Black Hack. Gastaldi concluded, "I recommend The Black Hack to players (both novices and non-novices) who love risky adventures and dark settings. A tip, though: don’t get too attached to your character!" [3]
In his 2023 book Monsters, Aliens, and Holes in the Ground, RPG historian Stu Horvath called the second edition "one of the purest refinements of a D&D hack ever to see print." Horvath noted that the rules only took up about 30 pages of the book, "so polished they're nearly slippery." Horvath thought the major section of the book devoted to gamemasters "is even more impressive and energetic ... It breaks down everything into easy-to-use, easy-to-comprehend chunks, then nudges the GM to mess around with them." Horvath concluded, "Easy to pick up, fast to run, without an ounce of nonsense while remaining open and flexible enough for players to fill with whatever wild ideas they imagine. Glitteringly perfect, it's the rare oasis that isn't a mirage." [1]
Everway is a fantasy role-playing game first published by Wizards of the Coast under their Alter Ego brand in 1995. Its lead designer was Jonathan Tweet. Marketed as a "Visionary Roleplaying Game", it has often been characterized as an innovative concept with limited commercial success. Wizards later abandoned the line, and Rubicon Games purchased it, and published several supplements. The line was sold again to Gaslight Press in February 2001. The line is currently with The Everway Company, which has released a Silver Anniversary Edition.
Arduin is a fictional universe and fantasy role-playing system created in the mid-1970s by David A. Hargrave. It was the first published "cross-genre" fantasy RPG, with everything from interstellar wars to horror and historical drama, although it was based primarily in the medieval fantasy genre.
Castles & Crusades (C&C) is a fantasy role-playing game published in 2004 by Troll Lord Games that is based on a simplified variant of the d20 System created by Wizards of the Coast. The game system is designed to emulate the play style of earlier editions of the Dungeons & Dragons game while keeping the unified mechanics of the d20 System. It has been credited with birthing the Old School Revival (OSR) in fantasy role-playing.
Savage Worlds is a role-playing game written by Shane Lacy Hensley and published by Pinnacle Entertainment Group. The game emphasizes speed of play and reduced preparation over realism or detail. The game received the 2003 Origin Gamers' Choice Award for best role-playing game.
Dogs in the Vineyard is an independently published role-playing game published by Lumpley Games in 2004 that is loosely based on the history of the Mormons.
James Bond 007: Role-Playing In Her Majesty's Secret Service is a spy fiction tabletop role-playing game based on the James Bond books and films. It was designed by Gerry Klug and published by Victory Games, a subsidiary of Avalon Hill. The game and its supplements were published from 1983 until 1987, when the license ended. At its time of publication, it was the most popular espionage role-playing game.
Ghostbusters, subtitled "A Frightfully Cheerful Roleplaying Game", is a comedy role-playing game published by West End Games (WEG) in 1986 that is based on the 1984 film Ghostbusters.
Dungeon Crawl Classics Role Playing Game is a role-playing game published by Goodman Games using the Open Game License (OGL) and System Reference Document (SRD) version 3.5 to provide legal compatibility with the revised third edition of Dungeons & Dragons.
Dread is a horror indie tabletop role-playing game designed by Epidiah Ravachol and Nathaniel Barmore, and published by The Impossible Dream in 2006. The game is unusual in that it uses a Jenga tower for action resolution. It won three ENNIE Awards.
Apocalypse World is a post-apocalyptic indie role-playing game by D. Vincent Baker and Meguey Baker, published in 2010 with only an implied setting that is fleshed out by the players in the course of character creation. It was the game for which the Powered by the Apocalypse engine was developed. On release, Apocalypse World won the 2010 Indie RPG Award and 2011 Golden Geek RPG of the year.
Monsterhearts is an indie role-playing game about "the messy lives of teenage monsters." It was designed by Avery Alder as an adaptation of Apocalypse World. It is known for its handling of sexuality and LGBT content. It has been nominated or shortlisted for multiple awards.
The Old School Renaissance, Old School Revival, or OSR is a play style movement in tabletop role-playing games which draws inspiration from the earliest days of tabletop RPGs in the 1970s, especially Dungeons & Dragons. It consists of a loose network or community of gamers and game designers who share an interest in a certain style of play and set of game design principles.
Tegel Manor is a 1977 fantasy role-playing game adventure published by Judges Guild.
Borderlands is a boxed tabletop role-playing game adventure for RuneQuest. Originally published by Chaosium in 1982, this edition was republished in 2018 in PDF format as part of Chaosium's RuneQuest: Classic Edition Kickstarter.
Tales from the Loop, subtitled "Roleplaying in the '80s That Never Was", is an alternative history science fiction tabletop role-playing game published in 2017 by Free League Publishing, the international arm of Swedish game and book publisher Fria Ligan AB, and Modiphius Entertainment. The game, based on the art of Simon Stålenhag, envisions an alternative world where a group of bored and ignored preteens and teens solves mysteries caused by new technology near their hometown.
Ten Candles is a tragic horror indie role-playing game that uses ten votive candles to mark time. It was designed by Stephen Dewey and published by Cavalry Games in 2015.
Stars Without Number is a science fiction indie role-playing game released by the indie publisher Sine Nomine Publishing in 2010. Although the book contains a pre-generated star system that can be used as a game setting immediately, it also features a system to randomly create planets and adventures. The game was designed as part of the Old School Renaissance (OSR) movement, and its game mechanics are similar to role-playing games from the mid-1970s.
Troika! is a science fantasy indie role-playing game with a surreal multiverse setting. It was created by Daniel Sell and published by Melsonian Arts Council in 2018 under a free license, encouraging other indie role-playing game creators to use its rule system to create their own projects.
Old-School Essentials, subtitled "Retro Adventure Game", is a line of books released by the indie publisher Necrotic Gnome in 2019 that is a restatement of the Basic and Expert Sets produced for Dungeons & Dragons by TSR in 1981.
Electric Bastionland, subtitled "Deeper into the Odd", is a steampunk-flavored, OSR tabletop role-playing game in which characters become treasure hunters in a very strange city in order to pay back a large debt. It was designed by Chris McDowall, illustrated by Alec Sorensen, and released by the indie publisher Bastionland Press in 2020.