A neat RPG that combines a streamlined version of the original D&D game with ideas from the 5th Edition rules (such advantage/disadvantage and rests). Basically, the results of every action - your attacks, your defense, effectiveness of spells, etc. - are determined by a "test", where you try to roll under the relevant ability score on a d20. There are other interesting ideas in here as well, such as abstract distances and time measurements; simple initiative where success places you before the monster's turn, and failure after it; and a "usage die" to track uses of equipment. The booklet also provides simplified conversions of many iconic D&D spells and monsters for the Black Hack rules, to make it easy to get started, and a much-appreciated example of play at the end.

There are some tiny issues, however. The rules, while very readable, could stand to be a little better organized. And a few details among the sample spells and monsters aren't really explained, such as the 11 and 12 Hit Dice monsters in a game that's supposed to cap at 10 Hit Dice. (Also, the game clearly draws on the 3.5 and 5.1 System Reference Documents, but doesn't credit either in the Open Game License text at the end.) However, none of these hiccups take away the appeal of this ruleset. The Black Hack is for anyone who wants something that feels like classic D&D, but is much easier to run than any of the various editions. (Originally posted on Goodreads)

This was my first step into the world of OSR and something other than D&D and pathfinder. This system is what taught me how to actually have fun, how TTRPG are meant to be played, and that simplicity can add more depth to your campaign than any 300 page rulebook ever could. My players who come from a long background of pathfinder and 3.5 absolutely hated this system as it does lack character complexity. This system is made for people who love to roleplay and not like to be bogged down by complex mechanics that can interpreted in a multitude of ways or constant page flipping. No, you spend 10 min creating a character, boom you're playing. Simple tests of skills and a little imagination can help narrate a quick fast paced, adventure filled dungeon crawl in half the time. Combat is smooth and quick while also being extremely easy to manage. Again though, some imagination is required as combat can be a little stale after a few rounds just swinging and dodging. Magic is simple and straightforward as well. If the limited spells bore you, adding more balanced spells is super easy. Finally, not to mention the plethora of excellent and cheap 3rd party material, you'll never be bored of this system.

This system is highly recommended for GMs and players who are easily exhausted by the more complex modern systems and just want a game to tell a fun story together.

Good little resourse. Sortof a pared down generic RPG from a "classic" perspective. Useful for gameplay, but also as a baseline for comparison while designing new RPGs. Nice and succinct, which is hard to come by.

This game is really cool IMO. A very elegant and quick game. I have seen lots of quick games, but this one has mechanics and aspects that I actually find compelling rather than just functional. I think I would use this as an alternative for some of my players for some stories. It is quick simple and interesting none the less. I think this one is right up there with Dungeon World and DCC. And it is even easier than Fate Accelerated. I would rather use this to introduce new players to RPGs than 5th edition. Its good. Check it out.....

It's a minimalist game and I like it for its semplicity. It's amazing how the D&D literally reborn through this thin manual: it seems to play to a totally new game. It's pretty easy to roll characters, make up a party and start to explore all in the same evening: it's a save-timing game. I have bought other Hacked products because I like this style to roleplaly with my friends.

Is this the cheapest great rpg out there? I don't know but it's the best I've seen and too short to need a POD version. It's $2. Just try it out!

The best rules-light old-school D&D-style game I've seen. In just a few pages you get everyhting you need to play. The game is distilled down to its basics. The rules have a very old-school flavor but are very new-school in spirit, everything is "player-facing" and player agency is respected. No tables or matrices; the character sheet tells you everything you need to know. Saving throws are based on your stats, combat is quick and dirty. A new "resource die" mechanic replaces tracking of rations, torches and other consumables, and monsters are abstracted into just the numbers you need. I'll be playing this a lot.

I have been on the lookout for the perfect rules-lite distillation of D&D for quite a while now. This little product hit the nail right on the head.

There is a simplicity here that allows you to run your fast and loose adventuring, but there's also enough intricacy and mechanics to accommodate fun and fresh gameplay.

This little 20-page booklet has made its way into the holy trinity of the only 3 rules-light fantasy systems that I would ever want to run OR play, along with Barebones Fantasy RPG and Polyhedral Dungeon. To my mind, it fills the perfect middle ground between ultra-lite 2-page systems and something that advertises itself as rules-lite but really isn't (I'm looking at you, Savage Worlds).

A very simple, clever, and fun fantasy game based on the World's Most Popular Roleplaying Game, The Black Hack packs a lot of entertainment into a small number of pages for a ridiculously low price point. Specific high points for me were the mechanics for Usage Dice, which make tracking consumable items entertaining, and armor that functions as a depletable resource. If you like rules-light fantasy and have two dollars to burn, you owe it to yourself to pick this up. Finally, it's worth noting that a lot of third party support has already sprung up, most of it very good. If you want options to expand The Black Hack, you won't be left wanting.

http://dieheart.net/the-black-hack/ (updated review)

Maybe you are stumbling over this review at DTRPG/RPGnow or maybe you’ve picked it up on G+ or Twitter. And you are probably reading this because you are an OSR fan. Perhaps you’re wondering if The Black Hack is worth your time and money. Or maybe you are just interested in my opinion. (Thanks.) Either way, you are probably familiar with old school Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) games.

The Black Hack sells itself as

"… a super-streamlined roleplaying game that uses the Original 1970s Fantasy Roleplaying Game as a base, and could well be the most straightforward modern OSR compatible clone available. If speed of play and character creation, compatibility, and simple – yet elegant rules are what you yearn for. Look no further!"

You might want to know if the product can keep its promise. In a moment, we will take a look at the game. At the end of this article, you really should be able to decide for yourself. I know you’re wondering: such an effort for a 2 dollar product? But you will surely agree that people only want to spend their time and money for things which they hope will be valuable for them. So I’m writing a review for a 20-page product. Please note that this is a reading review.

You must know that I’m a great fan of lightweight systems and of course I also like old school games.

Alright, let’s get this out of the way: this is a modern OSR clone. That means that it is old school D&D at its core with some tweaking and some ideas from more recent games. It’s not a hipster “indie” game per se, it’s not a newer version of D&D nor is it a (straight) retro-clone (like Delving Deeper and such).

First of all, the game uses the standard array of stats. Roll 3d6 in order. You can swap two stats. If you roll a 15+, the next stat must be rolled with 2d6. Basically, you end up with pretty well-rounded characters as the bell curve output of 3d6 ensures that you most of your attributes end up somewhere between 8 and 13 anyway.

4 classes: Warrior, Cleric, Conjurer, Thief. No races. Classes have armor and weapon restrictions. Weapon restrictions are silly as the attack damage depends on your class, not on your chosen weapon. So a Warrior always deals 1d8 with a weapon, be it an axe, a sword or a flail. And Clerics always deal 1d6 damage but are only allowed blunt weapons. The author probably wanted to stay true to the OD&D roots.

The core mechanic for the game is roll below a stat on a d20. No saving throws, this is also handled with an attribute check. Time and turns are a bit weird. The author renamed rounds into Moments and turns into Minutes. And Minutes can also be Hours or Days. But because that’s not very intuitive, both terms are spelled out (i.e. Minutes (turns)). I don’t get the need for new names. Additionally, the author doesn’t explain the duration of a turn.

There are some deviations from standard old school fare in the Black Hack. Armor provides protection via Armor Points (AP). For example, Leather has 4 AP and reduced damage by that amount. Only the players roll dice. The text doesn’t directly say “Only the players roll dice” but it states what you need to do to attack or defend: if a monster attacks, the player might make a check to try to avoid. That means the GM doesn’t roll an attack roll. For example, if it’s possible to dodge the monster’s attack, the player makes a Dexterity test. Powerful opponents make a test harder but the basic mechanism is the same. Movement is abstract and uses 4 ranges: Close, Nearby, Far-Away, and Distant. When your Hit Points are reduced to zero, you are taken Out of Action and must roll a d6 on a table. Results vary from KO’d to Dead. Let’s hope that Lady Luck is on your side.

The GM decides about advancement. There are no experience points, for every milestone a character gains a level.

Additionally, the Black Hack uses the now popular Advantage/Disadvantage mechanic (think Barbarians of Lemuria or D&D 5e). While there are some guidelines when these apply (for example when you use a weapon you’re not proficient with), the rules are really vague on this. Eventually, the GM will need to decide when to apply this formula to make tasks harder or easier. There are no rules for combat maneuvers or other fancy stuff. That means that the mechanics only cover the basic attacking and defending moves. Everything else you need to come up on your own, call for an attribute check and maybe roll with Advantage/Disadvantage. And that’s where you must decide if that’s ok for you or not. If you like minimalist and rules-lite games, you might embrace the freedom. If you want a bit more crunch or just a list with some more options, this game falls flat on its ass. The Black Hack doesn’t reinvent the wheel but asks you to draw from your previous gaming experiences with old school games.

What I like about the ruleset is how it handles equipment. Consumable items have a Usage Die. A quiver of arrows has a d10. You need to roll it and when you roll a 1-2, you step down the die until. When you roll a 1-2 on a d4 item, the item is depleted. I like how this makes bookkeeping much easier. Chapeau! I’m a bit miffed about the equipment list, though. For instance, one-handed weapons are missing. Yes, a starter character gets one weapon of choice for free but what if I want to buy an additional ranged weapon?

Classes are imbalanced. Interestingly, characters start with much higher Hit Points (HP) than typical. For instance, a Warrior has 1d10 + 4 starting HP. Conjurers only have 1d4 + 4. So in the worst case scenario, you end up with 5 HP. Still, that’s not as bad as it sounds. That’s because monsters strangely deal less damage than characters. PCs can do between 1d4 (Conjurer) and 1d8 damage (Warrior) at level 1. A monster with 1 HD (Hit Die/Dice) deals only d4 damage (or a static 2 points). Per default rules, a fight can be pretty boring. There is no way to make a fight mechanically interesting except the Advantage/Disadvantage mechanic (again, there are almost no guidelines for when to use them in combat). Well, there is a rule for critical hits. And why are characters much more capable than monsters of the same level? I’m a bit surprised about the four range increments because there are no rules for tactical movement. The basic rule is that on a turn every character can move somewhere Nearby and still make an action (i.e. an attack). You can forgo an action and move further etc. But still I wonder why there is a need for four combat zones. Of course, melee attacks are only possible at Close range. The range for ranged weapons is not defined in the book. That’s because there are no ranged weapons included in the equipment list. So the GM will have to come up with her own rulings.

What about spells? There is a spell list for Clerics (Divine Spells) and one for Conjurers (Arcane Spells) with the typical stuff. Clerics gain their first spell at level 2. So a 1st level Cleric can’t cast spells. A 1st level Conjurer only can cast one spell. The game uses spell slots. You can only cast as many spells as you have slots per day. I don’t want to spell out the whole rulebook (see what I did here?), suffice to say that they are no big surprises here. It all fits snugly into the rest of the game and the base mechanic of making an attribute check. Clerics can try to banish undead which can be a consolidation for the lack of spells at first level.

There is no GM section per se, the rules are scattered across the whole book. But as The Black Hack is minimalist, that’s not a problem. As a GM, you have two pages of monsters at your disposal. But notice that spareness comes at a cost. Strictly speaking, the rules are incomplete and you won’t understand them if you aren’t already familiar with role-playing games.

A word about the appearance: The book is nicely laid out, text and tables are easy to read, good font choices. It’s 20 pages total, including the cover and the OGL at the back of the book.

The price of USD $2.00 is fair.

tl;dr

The Black Hack is a rules-lite neo D&D clone. I like the mix of old school feeling and newer innovations. However, the game is not without fault. At times, the game text just stays too vague for my taste. And why does the author insist on weapon restrictions when the damage value is fixed per class? Plus, the balance between monsters and characters feels off. Is the game supposed to be more heroic? If so, why don’t characters start with max HP at first level? And why are spellcasting classes that restricted at first level? That said, as the target audience, I like The Black Hack. Yes, it’s the millionth D&D clone but it fits my preferences. It feels elegant and fun. Suppose that you are not a rules-lite OSR gamer with a taste for modern tweaks, then you will probably much more critical of the rules. I want you to discover for yourself if this description fits you or not. Then you will know if The Black Hack is worth a shot.

Black Hack is an innovative RPG publication. It reconceptualises D&D, distilling it to its rawest essence, while offering some inspired rules variants. At times the simplicity threw me: "this can't be it?". But it is. I think the minimalism would put some people off, the spartan style is not for everyone. Those new to the hobby – those learning the game for the first time – might, I imagine, find the esoteric nature of the Black Hack ruleset problematic. The writing implies that the reader has prior experiences with role-playing games. Having said that, it would be an excellent option for teaching the game to new players (assuming the GM has prior experience). Reading through the booklet makes me want to run a game. It is simple, elegant, and improves some of the flaws of D&D without forsaking what makes the game great. It would also be useful as an options booklet for existing systems. I could imagine using the torch/rations/ammunition rules in any edition of D&D: it's easier than the traditional way of doing things. If you are looking for an ultra rule-lite RPG, this is a great purchase.

I see The Black Hack as a blank canvas, a brush, an easel, and paints. I see other systems with a lot of paint on them already, and sometimes too many colors to choose from. As a GM, I like the blank canvas better.

It really changes everything for me and for my players. I can dust off all the old modules I've wanted to run since I was a kid, and run them with minimal work, and very little for my players to learn and memorize. It's a fun system.

Note: I had this as a 4-star review earlier, but the 1.1 version fixes enough of my issues with the game to bump it to a 5-star. I didn't think to copy my old review, so I lost some commentary on the way.

The Black Hack is a lightweight OSR game that isn't afraid to improve on old formulas. It strips AD&D down to it's core elements, replacing myriad subsystems with a single unified core mechanic (d20, roll under stat). It clearly borrows from modern games in places, adding a 5e-style advantage/disadvantage mechanic, and adds some of its own mechanics. I particularly love the idea of the usage die, in which consumables are represented by a die that is rolled whenever the item is used. If the die ever comes up 1 or 2, it is exchanged for a die one size down (d8 > d6, etc.). This system greatly streamlines the bookkeeping needed in play, while still retaining the resource-management gameplay.

There are a few things I would do differently when running TBH, starting with replacing the milestone experience system with an OD&D-style GP for XP system. Thankfully, the system readily accepts such modifications.

At $2.00, this game is a steal, and a worthy addition to any OSR collection.

First off, I should say that I'm one of the Kickstarter backers for this and as such have been waiting (albeit not long at all) for it to be released.

As a fan of OSR-type games I was looking for this to fill a gap in my gaming locker - an easy-to-learn, quick-to-play game that I could hand out to complete gaming novices or veterans and have them playing in minutes. The sort of thing that is ideal for impromptu/con or pub sessions. The Black Hack fills that gap very nicely.

Yes it may not contain absolutely everything that you need to play (as has been noted above with regards to lack of spell descriptions, campaign information, etc.) but to be honest, as a GM/player who started rolling dice back in the 70s, I have WAY too many books with that information readily available to stop me. Even if you don't, go grab the free 5e Basic rules from the Wizards of the Coast site - pretty sure you'll find what you want there. The key to this game is in the title... HACK. It is meant to give you a cut-down, bare bones set of game mechanics (some of which are so stunningly simple that they trigger the "How come I never thought of that?" respose) that will have your group gaming experiencing way more fun than they thought such as slimline book could possibly offer.

There is more to come from the writers and knowing their track record, we won't have to wait long. On the horizon is The Black Hack Additional Things Bundle - that includes the following: Additional Things - Supplemental/optional rules and rules clarifications, The Queer & Deadly Town of Sorrowset - Micro Setting, 3 Panel GM's Screen. Who knows, perhaps the things that folks consider 'missing' may make an appearance in one of them - either way, I am more than happy that I backed this and can't wait to actually PLAY it rather than just GM it.

If the rules DID list proper spell descriptions, I'd give it a 5/5 - as it is, consider it a 4.5/5 and me a happy GM!