To pull something of a silver lining out of the 8-Bit Funding version of Legends & Labyrinths getting a final axe to the head (as painful as that remains for me): I am now free to share the Black Book Beta with all of you. (And I know there are many people who didn’t have a chance to fund the project who have been begging me for months or years to get a peek at it.)

The Black Book Beta was designed to give funders a usable first peek at the rule system and it’s exactly what the name says it is: A beta version of the rulebook. Most notably the volume is missing an index and the full versions of the Grimoire, the Treasury, and the Bestiary. Fortunately, the game is 100% compatible with 3rd Edition, so you can just use the spells, magic items, and monsters from the books you already own (or use the online SRD if all else fails); so the Black Book Beta remains a fully functional and fully playable game.

For those of you currently unfamiliar with Legends & Labyrinths, check out this post describing its many virtues. Because it’s 100% compatible with 3rd Edition, you can use any supplement or adventure module for 3rd Edition in Legends & Labyrinths without any conversion whatsoever (despite the fact that Legends & Labyrinths is a massively streamlined and simplified version of the system).

The flip-side of 100% compatibility also means that you can rip out some of the awesome sub-systems of L&L and use them directly in your 3rd Edition campaign. For example, you should check out the stunt system, the hazard creation system, and the monster creation system. (The last of these also makes it really, really easy to convert pre-3E material to L&L or 3E.) Oh! There’s also a streamlined, budget-based system for building encounters.

But without further ado, here we go:

(click for PDF)

CLIMB INTO YOUR LABYRINTH AND FORGE YOUR LEGEND TODAY!

PREVIEWS & DESIGN NOTES

8 Reasons to Buy Legends & Labyrinths (Even If You Never Play It)

The Three Pillars

100% Compatibility

The Most Subversive Chapter

Hazardous Business

Stunts vs. Combat Maneuvers

On the Importance of Character Creation

All the Minor Tools

Size Does Matter?

Sidebar Reference System

The Long Road

Design Notes: Polymorph

Design Notes: Grappling

Class Preview: Fighter

Race Preview

Preview: Example of Play

Beta Character Sheet

Blog Round-Up

Funding Video

Announcing Legends & Labyrinths

THE ART OF LEGENDS & LABYRINTHS

#1: The Cleric – Viktor Fetsch

#2: The Rogue – Bonnie Tang

#3: The Barbarian – Alex Drummond

#4: Dove City – Alex Drummond

#5: Dungeon Encounter – Alex Drummond

#6: Snowmancer – Viktor Fetsch

#7: End of the Adventure – Alex Drummond

#8: Alchemist Witch – Alex Drummond

#9: Mountain Temple -Alex Drummond

#10: The Adjudicator – Viktor Fetsch

#11: Forest Encounter – Alex Drummond

#12: Sketching the Cover – Viktor Fetsch

#13: Roughing the Cover – Viktor Fetsch

#14: The Cover Arrives!

#15: Exit, Pursued By a Monster – Alex Drummond

#16: The Struggle – Alex Drummond

BLACK BOOK BETA RESPONSES

#1: Black Book Beta Response

#2: The Human Feat

#3: Human Feat Poll

#4: Alignment

#5: Cleric Domains – Keep ’em, Dump ’em, Change ’em?

#6: The Art You Hate

#6B: Art Critique – Take Two

#7: Morale and Loyalty

#8: What Type of Action Is It?

#9: Material Components