Rulesets to introduce new players

General
#21

I think XDM is mostly outdated nowadays. It was released in 2009, when 4th edition was only 1 year old. The Quick Primer to Old School Gaming gets the same point across in 13 pages (opposed to 160), is free and was published in 2008. The review suggests that nothing happened since OGL in 2000 (the review is extremely glowing, you were not kidding). Game geeks are alright though. Decent interview.

The hobby changed a lot since XDM was released. 5e was a big step forward for the rpg community. Today, more people than ever are involved with the hobby. More people have joined the OSR too. There are a lot more OSR and rules-light systems and recourses for DMs to use. A lot of them cost less than $33.99 and a lot more are free.
My verdict: good satire, not worth the price tag in 2020.

#22

I wanted to read it mostly for the satire, to be honest.

As far as DMming guides go, I swear for the Principia Apocrypha and the Quick Primer, but I still think the latter is a bit outdated. In fact, the current OSR blogosphere itself is wonderful as a DM guide.

#23

I prefer Melan’s alternative old-school primer, and I also have my own.

I think that Philotomy’s Musings contains more “actionable” advice than the Principia Apocrypha; however, the former is also mostly OD&D-specific.

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Primers, Principia and DM guides