The first ever GLOGGIES!

    After a while of working with a talented council of GLoGGers, I'm happy to announce the very first GLOGGIES! This is intended to be a sort of community showcase of some of our favorite hacks, specifically to guide people to what we perceive to be exemplars in their particular fields. Keep in mind that all of the results are just out opinions, and the GLoGscape is much too large for us to comb through all of, so if you have any contenders you also like that we've overlooked, please pop them in the comments below for other people to peruse! I've tried to link and pay lip service to every hack that was nominated, as to make sure to spread the love and include as many people as possible.

Here are the staff of the GLOGGIES review board:

PHLOX, Architect of the Vain Sword, He Whose Measure God Could Not Take

WALFALCON, He Who Cries “YAGH!” In Battle, Herder of the Mall Rats, Marine Japanese Translator

MERGO-KAN, Captain of the Ship of Theseus, Illusionist of Immersion

SUNDEREDWORLDDM, Biter of Bone Marrow, Collector of Sundry Shields and Shillings

S: “I'd like to stay away from Orthodox GLoG and MRoS because they get enough attention. If this is to be a community showcase, perhaps we shouldn't be putting medals on the mainstream titles.”

P: “Maybe the standard for what qualifies for a GLOGGY should be that we should be able to cite the hack in question. The content doesn’t necessarily have to come from the same document, just be traceable.”

BEST CHARACTER CREATION: MIMICS AND MISCREANTS (HONORARY MENTION: SPWACKHACKS)

M: “Mimics is so clean, so efficient, and provides so many options. If I still had a printer this would be sitting on my kitchen table for next game night. Its ease of use and legibility leaves my formatting brain stunned. GLAIVE is very legible and solid as well, but Walfalcon compared it to Maze Rats and I have to agree. It's basically a massive improvement on that, but it's not really standing out on its own in terms of character creation.”

S: “I feel like we can group the SpwackHacks as a runner up, but generators for character creation feel like cheating.”

P: “I think in most cases that’s true, but the Spwackhacks are so tied to generators as to make them a Main Thing. They are the core of the game, and if we are considering Die Trying what is there to consider when the generators are removed? Just my two cents.”

S: “Fair enough, let’s give them an Honorary Mention.”

BEST NON-CASTER CLASS: ZOUAVE

P: “In this case, what do we mean by “best”? Is a class the best because it’s super-solid, or because it revolutionizes things?”

S: “I think the idea (in my mind) is one that toes the line between them. A novel element, executed cleanly and concisely.”

Though we collectively nominated *deep breath* the Shaman, the Crew, the Martial, the Berserker, the Traveller, the Butcher, and the Amazon, we ultimately decided on the Zouave because it most closely fit the established criteria of a solid, well-executed concept, and because it already had a lot of renown as a popular Fighter archetype in GLoG circles, for good reason.

W: “The Zouave has very strong flavor without relying on too many major setting prerequisites. The flavor is malleable enough that you don't have to include anything way specific, while still being a very specialized class.”

BEST CASTER CLASS: CALLIGRAPHER

While a couple of strong casters like the Draconic Disciple and Alchemist were nominated, the Calligrapher was on most of our lists before we even came to discuss. The simplicity and flexibility of the main casting mechanic was too good to pass up, and the really concise flavor didn’t hurt its odds at all. It definitely deserves the GLOGGY!

BEST ANCESTRIES/RACES: CRAWL INTO A HOLE AND FUCKING DIE

P: “CIAHAFD is marked by splashy, strong advantages and debilitating weaknesses.”

M: “Like that Gnoll, and that Orc! They’re really good.”

W: “There’s a number of cases, though, when abilities are vague when they should bring more specific data to the table, like the Lizardfolk and the Tiefling. I tend to prefer to not have rules that are ‘incomplete’- like, if it hints that you can do something, I'd like there to be either rules for that, or some clear way that the given rules extend to cover it. But I understand that some people are fine with rules that "evoke" more rules. I'm just getting it out of the way that that's where I'm reading these from. But my critique of a hack is not proportional to how much I like it; I think it narrowly beats out the competition.”

P: “I would be comfortable giving it the crown.”

S: “The fact that Robot is a playable option is the cherry on the cake.”

Rise Up Comus wrote a small set of race-as-classes. Ultimately, we couldn’t find a source hack for this one, but we liked it so much we wanted to at least mention it in the post. 

S: “I like how they treat humans as a full race-as-class. The two classic markers of humanity: xenophobia and being tall. Halflings are good, psychic gnomes are phenomenal, elves and dwarves are meh as ever.”

W: “There's just so much more there compared to the other non-race-as-class options. It's not perfect for every situation, but it almost feels like it should be an honorable mention for volume alone. I liked the elf and dwarf classes, actually. They’re fairly orthodox, to be sure, but the execution is rather good, I think. Why do you find them meh?”

S: “When compared to the gnome and human, I found their novelty lacking. Though you’re right, the execution is very solid!”

Other remarkable nominations included Vain the Sword, MARROW, this Animal People post, The Mountain from GROG, and the Knife Hawk as a joke. If Nuclear Ooze still had a working link, it would have also been on the table.

BEST ART: RUNAWAY PRINCESS (HONORABLE MENTION: GLAIVE)

Though Amulets and Eclipses, Moonhop, and Mall Rats all do have great accompanying art, Runaway Princess is chock full of flavorful and fantastical illustrations that go above and beyond to convey the whimsical, romantic feeling of the game without sacrificing quality or readability. Check it out, it’s truly a feast for the eyes.

S: “To be fair, Runaway Princess is not original art, though there is a good amount of alteration, plus the graphic design I think adds to the aesthetic intent meaningfully.”

P: “It was certainly well chosen, and I won't lose sleep if we choose RP over something with original art, though I do think it's a better example of good presentation more than anything. I also feel like we have to give GLAIVE points for having original art. Even stripping the art from the design and just looking at it in a slideshow, I think it really stands out.”

W: “I agree, let’s make it an honorable mention for original art.”

An intermission.

P: Remind me the difference between "best graphic design" and "best presentation/information design”?

M: Graphic design meaning like, header designs, good fonts, logos, etc. Presentation and Info design means legibility, formatting, and/or ease of use with things like bookmarks.

BEST PRESENTATION/INFORMATION DESIGN: SALTY GOO

M: “My main vote for info presentation is Salty Goo. I think having a whole website dedicated to the rules is really useful!”

Mergo was ultimately right- though contenders like Catacomers, Freeform Space Jazz, and G20 all made good use of the page, Salty Goo’s website was instantly easy to navigate, and very intuitive in a way that a stagnant PDF or doc really couldn't be. Though there was some tough competition, Salty Goo deserves its place at the top.

BEST GRAPHIC DESIGN: MALL RATS

W: “wat?”

P: "It would probably be something different if they were all in print, but Mall Rats is a nice read on my laptop."

There was a lot of overlap between art, info design, and graphic design. Salty Goo, M&M, and GLAIVE all got repeat mentions. Nothing Ventured and YAGH were two strong new contenders, but Mall Rats got it because of its awareness of medium and how well the layout and design supports not only the clarity of the rules, but the “feel” of the game.

BEST OVERALL: BONEPUNK

I have a secret: I’ve been omitting one nomination from the lists above. The reason for that is that it popped up over and over again. It was up for BEST ART, BEST CHARACTER CREATION, BEST GRAPHIC DESIGN, even BEST ANCESTRY, for crying out loud! And boy does it deserve it. The visual design is incredible, the game design is really focused, and the world and gameplay are really fun- I’ve had the opportunity to play it, and it’s great fun, I highly recommend it. The other nomination for best overall was BE SILENT, another phenomenal game with some truly inventive mechanics.

M: “BONEPUNK is just hard to beat! It's got a ton of thought put into it, and the mechanics involved are really creative. So much flavor.”

I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as we enjoyed reading and discussing these hacks! It was a lot of fun- If you have any favorites or exemplars we missed, please leave them in the comments below, or make your own post and hand out some GLOGGIES yourselves! It’s a great way to show appreciation and good vibes, and having more voices and perspectives saying what they like in hacks really helps out and encourages designers too. Thanks for reading, and happy gaming.

GLoG reviews 5

    Here's the first post, as normal. I'm a little more critical in this one, so I want to reiterate that if I'm reviewing your hack, that means I found it cool enough to read through and offer advice on, and I always mean to give pointers and ways to improve, not tear down the work of others. After all, I'm no voice of Game Design On High, I'm just some dude writing his own hack who wants to learn more about the craft just as much as you do!

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GLoG, DEADLY DUNGEON EDITION, by Elanfanboy

OVERVIEW This is a pretty orthodox GLoGhack that has a really "I made this because I have a game in 5 minutes" feel, which is always great to see.

FLAVOR 1. Very much vanilla, the only implications there are about magic and a generally grittier, darker feel, making this game quite adaptable.

PLAYABILITY 2. I would play the system if I were terribly intrigued by the adventure, but there's not enough of unique meat here for me to want to play it for its own sake. Part of what turns me off is that most of the class abilities are mechanically-based instead of narrative- there's more bonuses to damage than there are interesting tools for players to creatively.

COMPREHENSIBILITY Unfortunately, 2. The big problem with this is the ordering of ideas. There seems to be very little rhyme or reason as to in what order the information is presented. Weapons are put in the middle of the classes, a number of pages away from the equipment rules. Spells and wizards have a great gulf of pages between them. Consider taking each section, then copy-pasting it into a separate doc into a better order- link concepts, go from character creation to base mechanics to day-level mechanics for travel and such, just figure out something better than what's here and it'll easily kick this up a number or two.

OVERALL 2.5. Though throughout there are little nuggets of gold, generally speaking, not terribly much thought or editing has gone into this product, and even an hour's work of polishing would do this doc a world of good, especially in the order of information presentation. (And some typo check would be nice too, the Base Adventurer table has a lot of little discrepancies, for example.)

THINGS TO STEAL Title and loot based leveling (ya love to see it, folks), Vancian/GLoG hybrid casting rules, in-depth hexcrawl rules, advice on structuring random tables

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FINDERS KEEPERS, also by Spwack

OVERVIEW An exercise in minimalism and speed- a bunch of really scaled back rules so there's a lot of space for oddity to exist around them. I've reviewed a number of Spwack's rules already and generally have a favorable opinion of them, so I'm excited to see how this one holds up.

FLAVOR 2. Unfortunately, the picture inspirations at the end don't really work together terribly well, and there's so few of them that I can't ascertain an overall aesthetic. I find myself going back to the rules to see if I can figure it out, but they're so light I have a hard time there too. There's a bunch of interesting snippets, but altogether not enough for me to put together the puzzle.

PLAYABILITY 3.5. You've piqued my interest, and if there was a fun adventure with it, I wouldn't hesitate giving it a shot.

COMPREHENSIBILITY 3. There's a lot more ambiguity here, and not in a good way. For example, the first line of equipment says: "Gain Useful, Odd, Memento, Weirdness". What distinguishes Odd from Weirdness? How do I make sure the Memento isn't encroaching on any other categories? If that weren't enough, right below it are optional rules to pick equipment, so is that blurb even useful at all? Do you get those things on top of the optional systems? I can't make heads or tails of what the designer wants me to do, which means it's bad ambiguity.

OVERALL 3.5. I liked it quite a bit, but it feels incomplete as-is. I'd love to see more flesh given to the world and a little bit of playtesting for it to coagulate into a solid 4.

THINGS TO STEAL Random character generator (ya love to see it, folks), multiple sets of rule options so you can customize easier ('yeah, we're doing FK with Equipment 2 and Inventory 1'), "oh crap my hat!" is just a really fun rule overall

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CRAWL INTO A HOLE AND FUCKING DIE, by FilthPig

OVERVIEW Name kind of says it all. Very flavorful, punchy hack, with a dark fantasy sensibility and a lot of DNA from some classics like BONES (but not bereft of a healthy dose of novelty). I've written so many of these little blurbs, I'm just gonna dive right in instead.

FLAVOR As it stands, a solid 1.5. I know some more flavorful classes are coming down the pipeline, but as it stands, it's a pretty good generic engine for more grim games marketed to 5e players (as that's where I see a lot of the classes coming from).

PLAYABILITY 2. I trust FilthPig to make these rules sing and run a unique, cool adventure with them, but as these rules stand I wouldn't trust them in anyone else's hands.

COMPREHENSIBILITY 3. There's some strange combat mechanics that probably make a lot of sense to people with brain cells, but otherwise, there's a lot of very familiar mechanics here. Perhaps an effort at mechanical consistency and consolidation would come in handy, but it's not too glaring an issue.

OVERALL 3. Very solid, and I'm excited to see where it goes as it develops into its own. I like FilthPig's work, so I'm sure that over time, this will mutate into something truly spectacular and grotesque.

THINGS TO STEAL Robots on the ancestry list, simple exhaustion rules, language rules (finally! I've been looking for good unique ones, and these are some of the most novel I've seen recently), some good half-GLoG half-5e classes.

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AMULETS AND ECLIPSES, by L. Barber

OVERVIEW Strangely enough, this isn't a complete game engine. Rather, think of it as a sort of splat book for your favorite mechanics, set in a magical medieval Britain. It's a strange and wonderful little game indeed.

FLAVOR 5. The lush graphic design immediately helps convey the tone from the cover page, and the game explicitly spells out where and when it's set, going into great detail as to how it differs from history, and even goes as far as to provide graphics to demonstrate what the weapons look at. Easily worth a 5.

PLAYABILITY 3.5. This concept isn't the most interesting to me (I like to stay nice and distant from history), but if someone ran it, I would certainly take notice and want to hear a little more about the adventure.

COMPREHENSIBILITY 4.5. Again, given how this bolts onto the game engine of choice, and how much thought is put into introducing the setting, everything is really accessible and easy to grokk.

OVERALL 4.5. Really solid, and I like the idea of creating a splat book of classes and setting data to be layered onto an existing system... more people should adapt that format.

THINGS TO STEAL You don't have to build your game around a system! This is a great way to release setting information and classes without locking into specific mechanics, which often take a lot of effort to explain well. Also, the techniques used to make the setting accessible and intriguing are top notch, so steal liberally. Sample adventure is always a plus!

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I've got one more list of reviews to do, then something special. Get ready for the first ever GLOGGIES...

GLoG reviews 4

Overview here. I know, only 3 this time, sorry.

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BONEPUNK, by BaaL

OVERVIEW Jesus, 4 pages in and the theme really punches me in the face already! Bonepunk is a newer(?) hack about the dead and damned making their way through an adventuring life. With saturated pages and flavorful woodcarved art reminiscent of Dia  de los Muertos, this is a wondrous romp through a broken and bleak world.

FLAVOR 4.5. If you didn't guess it, this is a real winner. The word "necrografts" should tell you all you need to do. Check it out. A truly natural fit with Patrick Stewart's Lichjammers.

PLAYABILITY 3.5. I'm definitely interested in this game, and it intrigues me, but it wouldn't be the first one I'd take off the shelf to explore.

COMPREHENSIBILITY 3.5. There's more cruft than I would like, but I can identify what I would cut from a game easily, which is a good thing. Otherwise, seems like a really clean and easy system!

OVERALL 4.25. I don't like to give out quarter points, but this is where Bonepunk belongs. A cut above a standard 4, but yet the world isn't quite in full enough focus for me to appreciate it as much as Vain the Sword, so it remains below a 4.5. Still, a phenomenal product with a lot of love put into it and an admirably tight focus and commitment to theme.

THINGS TO STEAL The character creation skillfully blends many inspirations and principles, from Electric Bastionland to Dungeon World. The entire hack is brilliantly focused on theme. The GM section has three nice bullet points that form the core of the setting, which is a BRILLIANT idea that I will be stealing and you should too. There's some great classes and mechanics in here. This one is definitely worth your time.

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GRAVEROBBERS, by D. G. Chapman

OVERVIEW Not a GLoGhack, but a game from a blogger I've been following for a short while. A gothic game of crime and larceny in the shadows of the House. The alpha rules, plus designer's notes, all fit on two pages, so the game is incredibly light, and uses a deck of cards, an interesting twist that could help create further immersion into the grubby Victorian world.

FLAVOR 4. There's scant worldbuilding throughout, but I rank this a 4 because of how vividly I "see" adventures in this game. The flavor draws on influences, and I can tell that this game is an exercise in genre emulation. Life is SUPER cheap- you can die in character creation, in preparation, during a heist, and more.

PLAYABILITY 3. There's a lot of cool stuff here, and it seems to emulate supernatural Victorian heist pretty well. I would definitely want to explore this longer-form style of day by day RPG play. If someone proposed a game, I would definitely not say no.

COMPREHENSIBILITY Unfortunately, 2. I understand the basic principles, but the specifics and the loop still evades me. I want more examples- another page's worth of a play example would do this game a HUGE service. As of yet, I could not hope to run this without playing it with myself for a little bit, and I don't know if this game is worth that for me.

OVERALL 2.5. I like the principle, and there's a lot of good groundwork there that has the space to create a lot of innovation, but as of yet, it's a little too unrefined for my tastes, and I don't "get" the picture yet. That said, this game still intrigues me, and I'm excited to see where it goes!

THINGS TO STEAL I can't really make a bullet list, this game takes the typical RPG structure and tips it a little sideways in a charming way, saturated in heist flavor. Check it out if what I've said thusfar intrigues you.

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MOONHOP, by Type1Ninja

OVERVIEW This is the go-to hack when people ask how far GLoG can be stretched. A future-fantasy hybrid where the visual identity and mechanics are punchy and distinctive. Mechs and wizard teeth and interstellar hopping collide in an appetizing, lightweight stew.

FLAVOR Inevitably a 4. All the setting is between the lines, keeping it from a 5, but what's there is evocative. I don't think a single person imagines the exact same game or world looking at this, but the DNA is there for a really unique experience. Blacksmiths in space? Sign me up!

PLAYABILITY 3.5. I like this system quite a bit, and while it isn't my first choice, I would not turn down the chance to run it or play it.

COMPREHENSIBILITY 4. SUPER lightweight, and every rule is parsed down to the literal bare minimum. I could run this RAW with little problem. However, there are some (rather important) things missing I would have to rule. What happens if I occupy 11 inventory slots? The rules do not say. This game will lean on your ability to make rulings a little, but if you're okay with that, this will serve you well.

OVERALL 4. One of my favorites, the simplicity is an asset, and it's a truly charming game I think everyone should check out, at the very least for inspiration.

THINGS TO STEAL HP rerolls every session, another killer race list, cover as armor, the light combat system, simplified GLoG wizardry, interplanetary travel rules, the mastery of the implied worldbuilding, and just how parsed down it all is

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...and I've now got a backlog of 2. If you have a GLoGhack, or a favorite hack, or any sort of free, lightweight game that you want to see a review of (and really, I just want to act as free advertising and a reference guide to anyone looking for something specific to steal), leave it in the comments or @ me on the OSR Discord. Thanks so much, and happy gaming!

GLoG reviews 3

You know the drill. Important info here.

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DIE TRYING, by Meandering Banter

OVERVIEW This system invented the X-based advancement, and is a longstanding pinnacle of GLoGhacks. One foot in orthodox GLoGery, another one in new-age, distant hacks, this has a lot of great developments to check out.

FLAVOR 1. Anything with an implication can be cut out, this would work very well for a generic game.

PLAYABILITY 4. I really enjoy what I see. Seems like a system that's right up my alley, and has a lot of potential. What's stopping this from being higher is the volume of content to be combed through, and the lack of delineation between optional content and rules as intended.

COMPREHENSIBILITY 2. There's a hefty amount of cruft that could be trimmed, and the sheer volume of optional rules, while quite nice, detract from the core of the system. I would have to spend a lot of time printing this out and combing through it to get it to a runnable state.

OVERALL 2.5. Good core, nay, phenomenal core, but WAY too much around it. This is a 10 page hack tops, everything else can go or be put in an optional document.

THINGS TO STEAL Magic words, X-based advancement (man oh man PLEASE check that out I've yet to implement it but I'm THIIIIIIS close), random abilities upon character creation, interspersal of fun side mechanics throughout the rules (how can you regain magic dice?), achievements. I'm very close to pulling a BONES to MARROW on this bad boy and ripping the bloat off. DIE TRYING? More like... uh... fuckn... uh...

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MIMICS AND MISCREANTS, by Lexi

OVERVIEW This hack is from a pillar of the GLoG community, chocked with fan-favorite classes. It's unique in its own right because it combines a roll-under mechanical sensibility to a roll-over system with a fixed DC of 20 that works really elegantly and is very intuitive if you're versed in both systems.

FLAVOR 2, but a good 2- the assumptions here are ones you can easily work with, and that inspire and open the door instead of feeling restrictive. This is a canvas where a corner has been painted in fantastical things, and you have the freedom to explode that outward. Generally, though, I'm left wanting more flavor to be drawn into the rules, so it's gonna stay at a 2.

PLAYABILITY 3. This document inspires me to steal more than it does to play, which isn't a bad place to be at all. Would not complain at all if I had to play or run this system.

COMPREHENSIBILITY 4. There's more than I generally would want, but it's all very clear, so I would be able to use it or know when not using it would cause problems, so this scores very well on comprehensibility for me.

OVERALL 3.5. A very solid hack with a lot of good stuff, the only real ding for me is that it's not particularly memorable or remarkable. It would be in the top tier if it consolidated and leaned into a cool angle, but as it stands, it's a perfectly serviceable and hackable game.

THINGS TO STEAL More reward rolls for sticking with the random character generation, combining roll-over mentality with roll-under mechanics, dodging vs. taking it in combat, spellscars, really solid classes, great summoning and mutation tables.

Hey Lexi, finish posting SAWN OFF so I can review that too.

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Cavegirl's Really Simple DDnD, by... you know what, take a guess

OVERVIEW This is a technically-not-a-GLoGhack whose rules fit entirely on a (lengthy, but still) blogpost. There's so little on the bones here, it's a tight system that does what it needs to frankly and simply, but it's executed in a very good way.

FLAVOR A clean 1. The simplicity and lightness of the rules don't belay much flavor, making this suitable for all sorts of low-fantasy shenanigans.

PLAYABILITY 3.5. There's a lot of intriguing stuff here, and the procedures seem to be, in many small and important ways ways, novel. The simplicity and genericism could easily be homebrewed and spun outwards, and so there's a lot of potential for a really cool game from these rules.

COMPREHENSIBILITY 4. The clarity and bluntness of the rules is a great strength, and there's a lot of robust flexibility built in there to work on. Everything is clear and concise, for the most part. I could run this if I were asked to.

OVERALL 4. Very much like this hack, can't really pinpoint why. A lot of it is wrapped up in the dry humor of the tone. This game knows exactly what it is, what it can do, and how it can do it.

THINGS TO STEAL Grit vs. flesh, the darkness rules (hehe), the skill system with one foot in the X-out-of6 tradition and another in modern skillage, the surprise and chase rules, super lite magic rules, classes woven into the fabric of the rules.

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OWLBEAR STEW 2, by Spwack

OVERVIEW This game is one of a few GLoGhacks characterized by a full random character generator, and has been a mainstay for a while. A prime example of a hack grounded in orthodoxy but with a heavy reductionist lens applied, the influences from other systems are palpable, but well-executed with a bunch of twists that make everything simpler and easier to run.

FLAVOR 3. This was close to being a 2 until I saw the reference images at the end and saw the full picture. A color-saturated, larger than life world that is yet plagued by great evils and powerful magics. It evokes wonder while toeing the line of cartoonish comedy, and it does that well, but again, I want more. I want an adventure, a world primer, monsters, I want to immerse myself further in the world being painted.

PLAYABILITY 2.5. The system isn't the selling point here, I don't think, it's the implied setting and the randomness that inject this game with fun. I would have to be sold on the adventure to play this game on its own terms.

COMPREHENSIBILITY 4. Very simple, well laid out, a google doc version could easily make this a 4.5. If I had to run this, I wouldn't have too much trouble at all, especially with the generator, which is a GODSEND. There is a slight bit of ambiguity- is the DC always 20, or is that a suggestion?

OVERALL 3.5. Very solid indeed, and the character generator and reference images are super useful. Not too many critiques besides "I want to see more"- this is well executed, but an adventure in particular would really help pull this up to a 4+, because I'm invested in seeing this implied world executed.

THINGS TO STEAL A random character generator (!! always useful), various XP methods built in, the "out of X" dying rules, the interesting take on advantage and disadvantage, diegetic stat increases, nice random lists of extra abilities (implemented well, very clearly a set of optional rules with specific ways to use them)

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Thanks for reading, and happy gaming. See you next time.

GLoG reviews 2

Check out part 1 for a description of the axes upon which I judge and the obligatory "this is my opinion".

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RUNAWAY PRINCESS, by Alcoops

OVERVIEW A hybrid of GLoG and 5e (nice to see, 5e wasn't all bad) with a whimsical tone. Reminds me of RUNEHAMMER's 5e HARDCORE MODE, which is a good thing. Honestly, I got more for ways to improve my 5e game than my GLoG game reading through this, so if you play 5e, give this doc a readthrough.

Disclaimer: I did not read the class doc, so I can't offer any insights as to the contents of that, simply the core rules.

FLAVOR 3. This seems like a game where whimsy is not offset by danger. Knights in shining armor grabbing the chalice and dashing through the woods as the Questing Beast chases them, a princess who delves into the crypts below the castle to find her fortune.

PLAYABILITY 4. If someone put a gun to my head and told me to play 5e, this would be one of the first games to come to my mind to suggest instead, along with HARDCORE MODE, a favorite of mine.

COMPREHENSIBILITY 3.5. There's just a lot here, it's a large and robust system, and so I would need a few readthroughs and sessions at the table to get it all working like a well oiled machine. However, so much of it is stolen from 5e and GLoGhacks I know that I could either piece it together or cut it so it works for me, so it gets a little boost.

OVERALL 4. One of my favorites thusfar, a great take on 5e with a good blend of rules from other sources and a very distinctive style.

THINGS TO STEAL There's a lot of hooks built into character creation for making things like your personality, mannerisms, and relationships with other characters, which look like they would work great to encourage players to get themselves into character more. Clear rules for helping often get neglected, and there's a really good set here. The equipment rules have one foot in a bunch of doors, and is sort of a "best of" compilation from other hacks. The funeral rules are great.

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BASIC RED RPG, by Daniel Dean

OVERVIEW While not technically a GLoGhack, I wanted to put this here because the Basic Red RPG is one of my favorite blogs, and this is my way of giving back. With a layout that really uses the whole page and a minimalist attitude, this game really hits you hard and fast, telling of a dark and magical world.

FLAVOR 3. The world is dark and magical, and the heroes are in over their heads. I can draw in the style this game is peddling, even if I can't name a scene or a monster (though the fact that elves are a monster and not a player race is *chef's kiss*).

PLAYABILITY 4. I want to seek out and play a table of this game, because it intrigues me so. The inherent worldbuilding and playstyle makes me want to see what story this is supposed to tell. It's a world where magic is the lifeblood of the earth itself, but is a dangerous and terrifying force of nature. It's all an intriguing sort of soup packed into 9 pages.

COMPREHENSIBILITY 1. Hate to say it, but I could not make heads or tails of this game. Is it roll under? What do you roll when? Absolutely no clue. Luckily, the game is enticing enough that I would want to pick it up and figure it out, because it just seems so cool, but it would take a lot of combing to even get it to a comprehensible state.

OVERALL 2. If it were clearer, it would be higher, but as it stands, I cannot say that I understand how to play the game, which is kind of the bare minimum. However, extra points for the cool flavor.

THINGS TO STEAL Uh... pretty good travel rules, the idea of "mana" as the pervasive magical power and non-humans being intimately tied to it, very simple classes, the spell and artifact lists are gold, specific summoning rules are great and add to that implicit worldbuilding, monster rules in the hack (cannot stress how important this is) and some great idiosyncrasies therein, and that intensely tight layout and direct writing style.

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FREEFORM SPACE JAZZ, by Nyandromeda

OVERVIEW A game about things going wrong, in space, infused with a heavy dose of jazz music. A delightful and original twist on the sci-fi genre, this one was fun and easy to read.

FLAVOR 4. While there's no world information, all the rules are framed in musical stylings, which, when juxtaposed with the sci-fi background, immediately evokes a hectic and madcap stellar romp, which is, I think, exactly what the author was going for.

PLAYABILITY 4. I would actively seek to play this, it's exactly in my wheelhouse and I'm excited to see if it runs like it reads.

COMPREHENSIBILITY 3.5. There are some formatting and ordering things that are a little bewildering, but the worst sin is a lack of examples. I would love to have little blurbs of the mechanics used in a real game situation. Plus, I think they would be fun to read- "As Zeta fumbles while trying to fix the lights as the pirates raid the deck, the wrench drops into the lava below, and the tempo increases"!

OVERALL 4. A great game filled with a lot of things that I love, including jazz, space, and plot development metacurrency. Again, like LIBRA, I just need more to get the picture in my head.

THINGS TO STEAL Failed rolls always propelling forward and never stagnating, tempo (oh my lord tempo! so good, if you play DWRPG steal this immediately), note token combat, monsters (yes!!!), spaceship rules.

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VAIN THE SWORD, by Phlox

OVERVIEW I've been wanting to read this for a while. A psuedo bronze-age hack written for Phlox's setting of... oh, I want to say Mesomergos? Phlox is one of my favorite OSR bloggers, so seeing his highly flavorful take on GLoG should be a lot of fun.

FLAVOR 5. Even the descriptions of the stats build the world. By the time you get to the race list, you already have a vibrant picture in your mind. The influence of the gods, the mysteries of magic, the importance of languages, the absence of metal, all of these contribute to this brilliant understanding of the world.

PLAYABILITY 4.5. If Phlox were ever to host a game of this, I would probably see if I could clear my schedule to make it. The world is so enticing that I'd love to get a character rolled up and explore it.

COMPREHENSIBILITY 3.5. There's a fierce commitment to keeping things simple and interpretative without sacrificing completeness. I can't think of anything that needs to be there that isn't, and it's pretty intuitive. There are a few instances where there's some lack of clarity, especially among all the optional Lots and in the combat rules, and the occasional typo, but I could run this if need be, and the most important thing (setting lore) comes across almost perfectly.

OVERALL 4.5. This deserves its (hotly contested) place as the best GLoGhack I've seen thusfar. With an innovative setting rivaling Planescape or Dark Sun, flavorful mechanics and classes, simplifications of most rules, and great DM advice, you're doing yourself a disservice if you don't give this a read. Extra points for a brilliant layout job, this was clearly a product of long hours of working, tweaking, and cutting, and the quality shows.

THINGS TO STEAL The folk list, the idea of skills ('kens') as near-divine gifts of unparalleled mastery instead of a mundane knowledge, setting written into the game rules, interesting class abilities and gigres, an adventure at the end of the rules, and so much more. Just read the damn thing!

GLoG reviews 1

    Obligatory "this is my opinion" preamble, you're on a blog so you should know that. Keep in mind that if I reviewed it, I liked it enough to read it all the way through. In every GLoGhack there is something valuable and super cool, and I will do my best to point out what things those are at every turn. Getting on this list meant I want to see more of what you're putting out and are invested in your hack being the best it can be. Here is the matrix for my reviews (numbers on a scale of 1 to 5):

OVERVIEW I chat about the system, giving my impressions and understandings of the mechanics and world.

FLAVOR A 1 is a totally generic system I could see working in any game. A 3 means I can draw a picture of a scene from a game after reading, but the world is subject to interpretation. A 5 is a game sourcebook that doubles as a world manual.

PLAYABILITY If someone suggested they wanted to play a game with a 1, I would not join the game. With a 3, I would play if offered, but not on my own. With a 5, I would like to play it someday. This scale can go above 5- a 6 means I will bring it to my table, and a 7 means I have brought it to the table.

COMPREHENSIBILITY A 1 means I could not grokk even the basics of the rules. A 3 means there was a lot I couldn't wrap my head around, but could still feel good running it. A 5 means that I understand the game forward and back.

OVERALL Just because some other scores are low doesn't mean I don't genuinely enjoy a game. This is a standard one-to-five of my overall impression of a game.

THINGS TO STEAL A short list of mechanics, ideas, and concepts to steal- after all, this is GLoG!

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LIBRA, by Archon

OVERVIEW A modern occult RPG based off of a Delta Green like premise and an innovative core mechanic, based off of Zener cards. Based off of a 2-class core and incredible flexibility in the core mechanics, this is one of the most interesting and out-there GLoGhacks I've seen. It has as few rules as it needs to make a playable game, an incredibly admirable aim that makes this game read fast and easy.

FLAVOR 3. The look and feel of the heroes is unmatched, and the adventure bullets and descriptions are great, but I keep finding I never understand what the heroes are up against. Monsters? Other organizations and psychics? Eldritch terrors? Some combo? A sample adventure or two would help, and would be super cool- I want to see more of this setting for sure.

PLAYABILITY 3. This is a great idea executed pretty cleanly, and if I got the opportunity to play or run it, I would certainly not decline, though I'd love to have more info to back me up going into an experience (see the other bullets).

COMPREHENSIBILITY 2. The mechanics that were there were plenty clear, but I don't think I could improvise in a complex novel situation, which happens incredibly often in my game. Especially given how strong the central mechanic is, having to improvise in a way that detracts from that would weaken the integrity of the game. More advice on improvisation would be appreciated.

OVERALL 3. A great game, and one that's really good at what it does, I just want MORE of it so I can congeal my picture of what stories this game is designed to tell.

THINGS TO STEAL This is a masterclass in upending the assumptions of roleplaying game resolution and building something new and flavorful from the ground up. When I think occult government experiments, I think Zymer cards. When you're making a game designed to fit a niche, try thinking about a different way to exemplify that story. A game about a dad and a son bonding and overcoming adversity that uses a game of catch with a football as the central mechanic? A game about nobility based off of coin pools (like dice pools, the more coin you can muster the better)? A game about trouncing the sewers where you have to reach into a box and guess what you're touching? Return to the base of your concept, and build your game around that.

Also, the setup of the Psychic class is intuitive, flexible, and easy to remember. It is one of the best ways of framing a magic class in GLoG I have yet seen.

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NUCLEAR OOZE, by Micah A

OVERVIEW A grungy, dark hack, clearly very inspired by Goblin Punch's worldbuilding in the best way. The pages are dark and edgy, filled with pseudo-industrial art, that makes you wonder if the world is truly as it seems, or if is the darkened and apocalyptic ruin of an oil-soaked world (especially given the title).

FLAVOR 4, not for completeness of worldbuilding, but clarity of mental picture you get from reading the rules and looking at the document. I immediately see landscapes of towering, rusted machinery and broken earth, chainmail-clad warriors and sleep-deprived mages combing the wreckage for coin and keeping an eye out for mutated demons.

PLAYABILITY 2. All and all, this is very close to orthodox GLoG, which generally doesn't appeal to me very much. Someone would have to sell me on the world or the adventure to get me to play (which, if it were anything like the flavor in the manual, would have the potential to be a terribly enticing draw), but I wouldn't say yes just on behalf of the system itself.

COMPREHENSIBILITY 3.5 I'm not proficient in orthodox GLoG, and a lot of what's here relies on that fluency, but it would be easy enough to pick up on, especially with a copy of a character sheet in front of me. I feel like I could run or play a game if I had to. Loses points for having character creation after the core mechanics. You fly in the face of the natural RPG order!

OVERALL 3. Again, great game, great flavor, lots of good tidbits, but the fact that it runs on orthodox GLoG really drags it down for me.

THINGS TO STEAL There's a great downtime section full of flavorful and useful options that you should check out if you're designing a robust downtime system. The Race table is phenomenal- Unman? Dungeon Rose? Electric Ghost? Sign me up! In the back, there are some terribly useful and flavorful tables. If you steal nothing else, this hack is full of great tables you can cannibalize.

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YAGH, by Walfalcon

OVERVIEW A scrappy, wild three-stat hack with a big dose of irony and random sprinkled into the low fantasy. Defined by headings written in a low-resolution SUPREME logo, which is perhaps the most memorable piece of graphic design I've ever seen in a GLoGhack, perhaps in recent life.

FLAVOR 4. Again, like NUCLEAR OOZE, the flavor doesn't come from what's written, it's a gestalt effect. I get the impression that this game doesn't take itself seriously, it is a funhouse dungeon made into rules, but that doesn't stop it from being punchy and having a lot of impact. Like most casual DnD campaigns.

PLAYABILITY 4. The more I read, the more interested I am to see just what would go down if I got a group of rowdy-ass players together, found a generic, small dungeon, and let them loose with these rules. It's got this terrific commitment to speed, simplicity, and strong choices that I admire dearly.

COMPREHENSIBILITY 4. Simplicity is my friend here, and while there is a bit I'll have to look up and feel out in play, for the most part, it all reads easy. Order is a little wonky at times- why have weapons and XP after classes?

OVERALL 4. It's got a great niche, and the simplicity is inspiring. One of my favorites thusfar.

THINGS TO STEAL The "friendship ended with DnD" image should adorn every GLoGblog. The up-front, no-frills, no-nonsense tone of the rules is incredibly clear. The core system is clean, and while I myself would rearrange the stats, it works very well as a lite framework upon which to build. The classes are great, especially the paragraphs of background with the red highlights- leaves just enough to the imagination to get it firing all cylinders. Steal that formatting, if nothing else.

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BONES, by The Guy Whose Name Gives Me A Stroke To Type Out

OVERVIEW The game that started me on my GLoG journey. Looking back for the first time in months, as I've been tinkering with MARROW, my take on this premise, it'll be interesting to see how my experience has colored this game. If I recall, the inherent worldbuilding is for an Aztec Underworld, but it reads just as odd fantasy on a casual read. 3 stats, with each stat operating as an inventory.

FLAVOR 2. I can't really see a scene in my mind, but it's definitely got some proto-world elements built in,  like the race list and dedicated drug/hallucination rules, so there's that little bit of groundwork upon which to build for your game.

PLAYABILITY A few months ago, this was 5.5. I made MARROW, my hack, because BONES lit a fire in my brain. But looking back now, that number drops to a 4. There's a lot of cruft here that could be further cleaned, and a lot of vestiges that could be cut and congealed, that keep this good game from being a great one.

COMPREHENSIBILITY 4.5. The author knows that everyone who is reading has a lot of context in both RPGs and GLoG, and so the tone of the writing caters to those warrants, which makes things quite clear and easy to grokk. I could run a RAW BONES (ooh, now THAT's fun) game and not feel terrible about it.

OVERALL All in all, 4.5. Not perfect, especially as I look back, but the fact that it lit a fire and inspired me enough to carry me here is enough to give it a great score.

THINGS TO STEAL Well, where to start. I found a lot of inspiration in stats-and-inventories, and counter to Obsillypitchman's experience, I've found it to work smoothly and intuitively. Mental inventories are particularly interesting to think about and add to your game, as are mental HP pools. This game lays out a lot of generic mechanics (hexcrawling, reaction rolls, morale) cleanly and simply. All in all, this hack is great food for thought. Plus, I forgot how good that trinket table was.

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That's it for today! I've got a lot of fun hacks piled up to read through. I'd love to hear what you think in the comments below! Thanks, and happy gaming.