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Whitehack Fourth Edition
by Leo V. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 04/28/2023 02:29:55

Whitehack 4e is both a light system and a complex one.

The lightness of it allows players and DM/GM/Referee the freedom to create setting, magick, and lore seamlessly during gameplay, while the complexity lies subtly underneath it all, resisting exploitation and rewarding creativity and careful reading.

The PDF version is bookmarked, easy to use, and comes in two versions: a phone and tablet version. Both are phenomenal resources that are simple to navigate.

It is a "roll-under" system, meaning that players have a value for each of their stats, such as Strength, and roll a d20 with the goal of being underneath this number. No fiddling with modifiers and trying to hit a nebulous value like some other systems.

Perhaps what Whitehack does most uniquely is its magick system, and its "groups".

Magick is freeform: players create descriptive wordings such as "Fire Bolt" or "Evocative Manipulation" and then describe what they want to achieve with their magick. The player and the Referee then come to a quick agreement over how much such an effect costs, and then the magick works! Such a freeform system allows for truly creative players to shine and for their magick to help give definition and life to their character.

"Groups" can be seen as descriptive modifiers to a character and are added next to a character's stats, such as "sworn sword of the king" being placed next to Charisma. Such a character would be able to gain an advantage when speaking to other knights, usually in the form of advantage (called "double positive" here). While simple in execution, these groups not only help define who a character is, but also give the players agency to affect the meta of the game world. What makes someone a "sworn sword of the king"?. Who is this king? Such answers are left to the player and help the table weave a rich world with lore written collaboratively.

There are hundreds more little details within this system that make it incredible, flexible, and worth your time. Perhaps the best way for me to finally convince you to try it is this: my group of five players and myself, the GM, have been playing a campaign with Whitehack for over a year now, meeting weekly. We started with 3e and transferred to 4e as soon as the PDF dropped.

We don't plan on stopping anytime soon.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Whitehack Fourth Edition
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Whitehack Fourth Edition
by Ian C. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 04/21/2023 13:56:28

Whitehack 4th edition is a must-have for those who are already fans of the system or those who are looking to get into it. As someone who owned and played the 3rd edition, I was curious about what new features the 4th edition had to offer. After spending some time with it, I can confidently say that the 4th edition is a vast improvement over its predecessor.

One of the most notable differences between the 3rd and 4th edition is the structure and order of content. While much of the material remains the same, the 4th edition is much more organized and easier to reference. The book is laid out in a way that makes it simple to find what you need, making it a much more user-friendly experience overall.

Additionally, the 4th edition introduces new content that greatly enhances the gameplay experience. The new Clever rare class is a unique addition that adds a new style of play that is sure to be a lot of fun. The concept of Macros, which allows for the modeling of larger campaign forces such as factions, illnesses, and curses, is elegant and inspiring. It has already changed the way I play other games as well.

One aspect of the Whitehack system that has remained is the quality of the PDFs. The 4th edition is no exception, with two optimized versions of the PDF - one for tablets and one for phones - that are well-formatted and incredibly easy to use. The table of contents and comprehensive index can be accessed from any page, making navigating and cross-referencing a breeze. It's no surprise that Whitehack remains the gold standard for PDF functionality.

One semi-significant change from the 3rd edition is the lack of art in the 4th edition. While some may miss the artwork and wry captions, the typography and minimalism of the book make it a beautiful piece in its own minamalistic right.

For those who are new to the Whitehack system, it's important to note that it may not be for everyone. However, there are many reasons why it has been beloved by fans for many years. Based on early D&D, Whitehack has unique and flexible classes that can easily be used to create characters of any type in any setting. The mechanics of the game naturally grow your game's setting, with free-form magic that evolves and becomes more consistent as your group plays, and tools for players to aid in world building without taking power away from the Referee.

Compared to classic and retroclone games, Whitehack is lightweight and emphasizes rulings over rules. It's not a "rules-light" or FKR game in the modern sense, but it's still an easy system to learn and play. The system has the ability to adapt content written for any OSR game, making it truly versatile and able to play just about everything written since 1974 onwards.

One of the most significant advantages of Whitehack is its ability to reward long campaigns and increasing depth of gameplay. While it's simple enough to be played as a one-shot, the true beauty of the game is seen over time. It's a system that is designed for those who want to have truly epic adventures, and it rewards groups that are willing to put in the time and effort to create a rich and detailed world.

The mechanics of Whitehack are designed to always introduce ballance and choice into the game, with each power being tied to a cost in elegant ways that bring nuance and deep strategy to the game over the long-run, but remain easy for new players to pick up and enjoy using.

In conclusion, Whitehack 4th edition is a fantastic addition to the system, and a must-have for fans of the game. The new content, improved organization, and easy-to-use PDFs make it a joy to play and reference. While it may not be for everyone, it's a system that rewards those who are willing to put in the time and effort to create a rich and immersive world. Highly recommended.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Whitehack Fourth Edition
by Rafael A. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 04/19/2023 15:05:32

Unfortunately an antiquated set of rules, which may have been innovative in the past, but today is just an unsuccessful attempt at simplicity and comprehensiveness.

Other modern rule systems, called NSR, already do much better than this one.

The issue of WISE not recovering HP is an eternal dilemma that needs to be swallowed by the narrators, a juggling of ideas to justify.

The use of powers and spells that need "a day of training" to be attuned, simply square. In addition to the skills that can only be used once a day, instead of having some usage poll or usage management data. Very dated.

I greatly regret having gambled on the system and wasting my money.

I'm a fan of modern, simple and comprehensive systems, but this is the worst of them in my opinion.



Rating:
[1 of 5 Stars!]
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Whitehack Fourth Edition
by ypikaye [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 04/10/2023 01:05:03

An even more complete V4. You can do anything with your character creation. My favorite for Old School.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Whitehack Fourth Edition
by ypikaye [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 04/10/2023 01:05:03

Une quatrième version dont les règlages et les petites nouveautés montent la qualité du produit d'un cran encore, facilitant son adaptation à d'autres styles que la fantasy ou l'esprit OSR. Le nouvelle classe rare "the clever" est bienvenue. Mais ce sont les trois classes de base qui font le sel de cette ensemble de règles. Pas de limite à l'imaginaire. J'utilise ce Whitehack notamment pour faire du Cthulhu, mais aussi du sand box med-fan. Une version 4 affinée mais avec encore plus de tout. Un must pour moi surtout pour la création de personnages.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Whitehack Third Edition
by Ian C. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 12/27/2022 20:14:43

If you’re a part of the Old-School Role-Playing (OSR) community, then you’ve probably heard of Whitehack! I recently decided to buy the third edition of this popular game, and I was happy I did.

One of the first things I noticed was how user-friendly the PDF was. It had page numbers on the bottom of every page which were linked to the table of content and the index, making navigation so much faster. It's a surpising quality-of-life improvement.

The gameplay was really well explained. Each class has its own unique set of game mechanics, and the approach to spell-casting was like a mix of FATE and the OSR style. It really felt like the game was pushing the boundaries of the OSR style in a good way!

What really excites me are the games system it calls 'Bases'. 'Bases' are ways for a party to have a shared asset: like a mentor, a vehicle (ship, car, etc.), or a magical pet. Using a Base is an incredibly flexible way to add so much to the game. It makes me excited at the many possibilites of interesting game scenarios this opens up.

Plus, Whitehack is incredibly easy to convert content from other OSR systems. All you need to do is use the hit dice written in the other system and calculate a few numbers and you’re essentially done. It makes it so easy to play a huge range of content.

I can’t recommend Whitehack enough. It’s a deep and creative game that has been around for a long time, yet somehow still feels fresh and innovative compared to many games popular today. If you haven’t tried it yet, you’re missing out.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Whitehack Third Edition
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Whitehack Third Edition
by fedinand g. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 06/28/2022 15:09:45

This is the only OSR system you'll ever need. Really.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Whitehack Third Edition
by Brett M. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 10/02/2021 03:01:22

I've been a huge fan of Whitehack for several years now and have been incessantly begging for an official PDF. I am so genuinely happy that this wonderful game can now become a part of gaming libraries around the world!

There are other reviews that explain the nature of Whitehack better than I could and probably aren't as biased. That said, I'll briefly try to explain why I'm so passionate about this game.

  • Mixing old school games with collaborative elements is hard to pull off. Whitehack does it beautifully.
  • Universal mechanics can often feel stale if executed poorly. Again, Whitehack triumphs.
  • So many old school games have the same pastiche fantasy tropes baked into the character options. Whitehack breaks this norm in a smart way.

It's amazing to me that Whitehack achieves all of the above while also innovating other brilliant mechanics like its Auction system (which helps simplify macro-level scenes like chases, large scale battles, etc). And it does all of this in so few pages.

The only feature that might turn some players off is that Whitehack doesn't have much in the way of art. I actually appreciate this design choice though because it furthers the notion that the fantasy world is for you and your players to build together.

Whitehack 3rd Edition is well worth your money. It's my go-to system of choice, and even if your goal is to make your own OSR hack, you will almost assuredly be inspired by the mechanics Whitehack has to offer.

Also, if you find yourself loving this game, I strongly encourage you to check out the desginer's other work; I recently purchased his fascinating sci-fi game called Suldokar's Wake and it's dense in the best of ways.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Suldokar's Wake Core Arc Omnibus
by [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 08/29/2021 14:43:48

such a great book.

there are so many aspects to this game that make it completey unique and compelling. the setting is rich and fleshed out. the mechanics are well thought out and highly flexible. the language of the book is very concise, measured, and unambiguous.

reading this book is not a chore, it's a delight. i will certainly be buying the hardback edition. i would recommend that you buy this book.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Suldokar's Wake Core Arc Omnibus
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Whitehack Third Edition
by Sean C. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 03/17/2021 21:12:06

(Note that I've posted a more detailed version of this review on my blog.)

As someone who desperately wants to play old OSR modules and campaigns but doesn't really want to go quite all the way back to pure (or even slightly greased-up) old-school mechanics, this is an excellent, more modern feeling system. No judgement on the term modern, btw, I like a lot of old stuff. For me, the biggest issue is that it's very hard to sell my more FATE-Accelerated crew on the old stuff, but this game gives such an intriguing take on it that I think I will be able to.

I haven't played it much other than running a few little combats and encounters, but it really seems like fun, especially the bidding system for challenges and chases. I'm almost certainly going to steal that for other games I'm planning to run, regardless of system. My only concern is how well this system would scale to really high -level adventures. Not saying that it wouldn't, but that that would be my concern with running it long-term or with using it to run existing high level modules.

Very nice, very tight and clear writing. About the only things I noticed were the odd wrong words/spelling errors, such as quite for quiet a couple times and one spot where I think the author meant to say "circumscribed" but instead wrote "circumcised!"

Overall this is a really nice book, and one that made me think: I want to try this RIGHT NOW, which is my mark for a 5 star game. Definitely worth the purchase. I also ordered the POD from the author's site (via Lulu).

Will report back when I've had a chance to play it, but for now it's a 5-star based on my read and experiments.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
Whitehack Third Edition
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Whitehack Third Edition
by Travis C. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 03/10/2021 06:36:25

For years now I've been digging through the osr picking up some great games and playing them, but this game hit me different. Recently if found I wanted to play an old setting but hacking new races and rules into my game seemed like too much work so I went looking and found whitehack.

This game can play just about any fantasy game idea you have and play it well. The characters feel refreshingly open allowing for a wide range of concept and the free form magic makes spell casting feel unpredictable but extremely useful. And the rules are a life saver for gm's with not much time to prep with small monster stat blocks and loose limits.

I think that if you are interested in a lighter yet deeper fantasy system to play your ideal game you couldn't do much better than whitehack.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Whitehack Third Edition
by ypikaye y. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 03/05/2021 14:25:59

Je redécouvre WhiteHack avec cette version 3 alors que la V2 m'avait laissé une trés bonne lecture et impression. La V3 est tout simplement excellente. Trés freeform mais tellement élégant et subtil. Il repasse devant Macchiato Monsters.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Whitehack Third Edition
by George J. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 03/04/2021 14:48:35

This was the OSR ruleset that clicked for me, and will facilitate my table's conversion from D&D 5E to running things more OSR style. As a DM I can now easily port almost anything and any adventure/module into my setting with minimal fiddling and the emergent character creation rewards creativity in a way I haven't seen before. Combat is fast while remaining tactical and as a GM/referree, I'm more empowered to say YES to player character concepts rather than steering them towards a concept that's more viable. I look foward to seeing what my table does with their new freedom.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Whitehack Third Edition
by Jordan R. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 03/01/2021 11:17:17

This is a great ruleset : rules-light yet peppered with some simple modifiers and special rules, free-form yet not boundless. It is traditionalist and not storygamey in the sense that players are playing their character without having directorial or GM-like authority. This 3rd edition is very well laid-out, the PDF is full of cross-reference, which is a boon (if a rule is referenced in the text, a hyperlink will lead you to the referenced page), and the random tables and other examples really help to understand how to use the ruleset and what this is all about.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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