No I'm not getting a big head, I just couldn't resist the pun. I've been going on about games I like lately, in the spirit of spreading the good word. I found something recently that is exactly what I've been looking for lately. I've gone on and on about a d20 lite kind of game, and I realize it's not the d20 system, or Pathfinder, or even 3E that I like; it's the spirit it tries to capture.
3E tried to capture the feel of 1E, you can tell by the book releases, and a lot of the names and titles of things. In particular to me, the class selection is what really drew me to 3E. I love 1st and 2nd Edition AD&D, and OD&D, but none of them has all of the classes I want in one place. 1st doesn't have a Bard that I like, and 2E is missing the Monk, Barbarian, and Assassin (though some of them got added in later. OD&D has all of it, but they're sort of proto-classes of the time.
3E is a bit too complicated for my liking, but it has all of the classes I feel are essential to that D&D feel, and most of them live up to what I think of those classes (except the Barbarian). So I've been looking for a sort of rules-lite variant of 3E/d20/Pathfinder, and just couldn't find anything that really "felt right" too me. See people have this misconception that "rules light" means "minimalist", and too me that's just not the case.
Enter Grey Matter and Grey Six. Essential the same game, just different variants, it's a kind of Swords & Wizardry hack, that adds in a lot of options. The best part about these games is that they add in a ton of options and material, but the actual rules involved in playing are probably less than 64 pages. See you have a lot of games that have been taking the rules light method, by simply removing everything that is "non-essential". There's a lot of new wave clones that are going for the "we only need four (three) classes", "we don't need classes", "less is better" routes. I know it sounds hypocritical because I've been pushing for "classless" D&, but as I've explained before, it's actually to open up more options for ad-hoc role playing.
The other part I really love about Grey Matter, that sets it above the other options I've explored (Castles & Crusades, Blood & Treasure, etc.), is that it doesn't have a weird gimmick. Instead it takes a set of already established, well-played, and familiar rules, and just adds some material. Castles & Crusades turns away a lot of people with it's SIEGE engine (whether you like it or not, lots of people can't get past it). Blood & Treasure has a lovely simple skill system, but I just don't like having skills tied to saving throws; it just feels weird.
Instead Grey Matter/Six has all of the familiar parts of D&D (at least Swords & Wizardry): thief skills (d20, but easily converted to percentile), single saving throw value (but it maintains the classic saves like Death, Magic, etc.), ability score bonuses that are considerable but not extreme, etc.
However I'll admit it's not entirely old school, and definitely not a true clone. For a lot of us though that's a great thing. If I want to play old school D&D I'll play a true clone, or the real thing; they're already there. For example the classes are very simple (usually less than a page), and so aren't 100% true to the original classes, but they do capture the spirit and archetype very well. There is only one experience progression chart, like 3E. I'm sure there's more, but the point is Grey Matter is in that category of C&C and B&T: a rules-lite alternative to 3E/d20. If you want the feel of "D&D", with none of the hassle, I highly recommend Gray Matter/Six.
Another virtue of Grey Matter that I love is the modularity of classes. It has a ton of races, and they're usually a paragraph or two in material, and it's great to plunder. It has literally over a thousand monsters (IIRC), and hundreds of spells. But it's strong point is really classes. Like I said above they're so simple, but really capture the feel of the classes so well. Furthermore he makes sure to include (in my opinion) the important abilities and aspects of class, with less of the mess and minor abilities to keep track of. The best part of the classes, and why it's the strong part, is that they all fit on a page, so you can print out the classes you like and slip them into whatever D&D like game you're playing. Of course the same goes for the rest of the material, but it's just so convenient with the classes in particular.
As for myself I'm currently assembling a sort of AD&D inspired players handbook. I'll probably still work on my Advanced Fantasy game, because Grey Matter isn't precisely what I had in mind, but it is so refreshing to mess with. It's so simple, and is a great intro for new players (whether fresh, or just new to old school play).
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