First off, no, this isn't going to be “Why I like Pits & Perils and you should too.” I suppose it's just a discussion about this and that. I think we all, as gamers, can remember the first time we cracked that book, whether it was Holmes, Moldvay or Metzger, and that “feeling.” That “feeling” almost defies description, wonder, amazement, those two words are only nebulous echoes of what we felt but it's as close as I can get. I haven't felt that sense of wonder in a long time and there isn't too much magic dust on me. I first went to war when I was 22, Operation Just Cause in 1989. Considering the Med deployments and two tours in the Middle East that sense, that feeling, seemed long gone. I tried to get it back a few times with video games, a brief stint with 3.5, and some other less savory vices but I never found it. Then I found things like OSR and Drivethru RPG, I found those old Moldvay books that I had lost so long ago, it was close, but it still wasn't the same. Whitebox was cool, Swords & Wizardry was cool as well but I still didn't have that feeling. Fast forward a bit and I came across Pits & Perils. I'm going to be honest when I read the free portion I didn't like it. I said to myself, “what is the deal with the d6's?” “What do you mean you only have one stat” This is craziness. Needless to say, I did not purchase it, at that moment. Fast forward again and I can't really even say how I came across it again but I was looking for a game that my sons and I could play and none seemed to fit. Now before anyone gets uppity I am not anti-Pathfinder, anti-5E or anything like that. There have been some games that came close, I mentioned two earlier. Others were BFRPG, a fine game, (I am campaigning in Morgansfort as a player right now on Roll20, LFRPG, another fine game, and AFF, a great game. I own all three of these games and many more; for my son however, the intricate character creation process in some games, the elaborate skill systems in others and mostly the pages and pages and pages of books was kind of a turn off. It seemed that there was no room for interpretation or imagination, now I know that this is not necessarily true but these systems aren't our cup of tea. I mean if a character has knowledge of “Dwarven physiology and internal structure” as a skill great, he or she will know exactly where to stab a Dwarf to cause maximum damage but if one is not a Dwarf how was this skill studied? Things like that seem a bit creepy. Don't get me wrong, if someone wants to play a half-gnome/half-tiefling Paladin/Monk/Violinist more power to them, it's a semi-free country and a wide open hobby, it just didn't work for us. Having gone off on that semi-rant, enter Pits & Perils. I read the “look inside” portion on the Oldehouse Rules website and something just clicked. I said to myself... yes, I talk to myself a lot, this is it. This is one nifty game. The old style typewriter font, the wood-cut artwork, the style and tone used in the writing, that “feeling”, there it was, smacking me in the face. 2D6 for mostly everything? A simple magic system? Different but really neat armor rules? Eureka, I have found it. My twelve year old, who thinks writing is of the devil and pencils are a torture device is now writing his own adventure; a ruined temple with a giant scorpion in it.
This game begs inspiration and imagination, the eloquent and tightly written rules would seem to demand it. Couple that with an active Google+ community, and great support from Oldehouse it is a win-win. Granted this type of game is not for everyone and I am not trying to convince anyone otherwise but it is so damn much fun. That is why I like Pits & Perils.
