Torn between Frostrgave and Otherworld, my deranged solution.....

[Harry von Fleischmann]

I'm a bit torn.....I like the Old School look of Otherworld but to me Old School is AD&D and D20s - so the mechanism of Frostgrave appeals.

So my solution is a weird hybrid....D20 based combat but with Otherworld elements.

I'd been doodling with a D20 combat chart pitting Heroes, Henchmen and Hirelings vs Villains, Henchmen and Minions. Each could have heavy, light or no armour and 5, 3 or 2 hits depending on type. The base line to hit was 13.  Magic resistance meant a 14+ Save modified by cross referencing the caster against target - a minion saving at -4 against a Hero spell caster. Damage is 1-3 wounds per hit but modified do that fighter types will inflict more.....so it's a weird mish mash of early D&D and Frostgrave.

And how to translate this to the table?

1 take a battlemat eg Caves of Chaos and put an Adventure counter in the key locations......
2 select a roster of monsters (eg skeletons, kobolds, hobgoblins, a Minotaur and some Direwolves)
3 roll each turn, on a 12 something "eerie" happens and add 1 to the next turns roll, on a 6 a wandering monster appears.....that applies regardless of proximity of an adventure counter....and fight
4 if you get into an area with an adventure counter, draw a card from a modified  adventure deck - traps and wandering monsters only. If it's a trap, resolve it. If it's a monster, random select one from your roster....and fight...
5 if you win, draw one of the treasure cards. One figure carries one treasure.....
6 crack on until it gets too hairy.....

And how did it turn out?

Hrolf, the Priest of Thor (Hero Priest), Sir Gareth (fighter henchman), Bormalor (crossbow armed henchman) and Fred, Bill and Charlie (3 hireling fighters) head for the Caves. On crossing the stream they are attacked by a pair of Direwolves. Despite a healing from Hrolf, Sir Gareth is killed. They press on. Just inside the caves a pair of skeletons emerge and attack Hrolf and Fred. They ignore a lightning bolt cast at them by Hrolf and a vicious melee kicks off. Hrolf is wounded and but Fred cuts them down. A treasure - the Dragons Egg is found. Fred and Hrolf troop up a tunnel and emerge in a shrine guarded by six kobolds. Needless to say the lads pile into the room with Bill Charlie and Bormalor following up. Our heroes get the initiative and Hrolf takes out two kobolds with his lighting bolt (two spell usages left....) but the enraged kobolds cut down Fred and Bill, needing Bormalor to hack them down while Hrolf manages to brain one with his hammer. A strongbox is recovered. A quick assessment follows, Hrolf is wounded and has two spells left, Bormalor is fine and both are wondering just what the heck Charlie has been up to. The answer is not a lot. In a mood of caution they take the loot and leg it.

I'm thinking to roll once on the FROSTGRAVE treasure tables per victory point from the treasure. As for experience, I've not got that far - except that Bormalor of The Coast (to use his full Holmesian D&D name) seems destined for promotion at this rate - in his day job as a crossbow armed thug he was the sole survivor in my test game of Frostgrave and got away with a ring of teleport.....

I realise this is quite a barking mad idea but as I said at the beginning, old school to me is d20 not d6 and this bodged up idea does seem to combine what I like from both games.