Black Hack vs. Whitehack! The Black Hack and the Whitehack are a couple of the best D&D retro clones. We are going to take a quick look at both of these role-players.
In recent years, basic D&D has inspired many takes on fantasy tabletop role-playing. Writers and game designers have been tinkering with original rules and coming up with great RPGs you can play today.
Black Hack RPG
The Black Hack is a D20 roll-under system which is one of the biggest changes from D&D B/X. The Black also makes combat completely player-facing, meaning the Dungeon Master doesn’t roll for the monsters to hit. It is geared for quick character creation and ease of play. The equipment, ammunition, and encumbrance are treated more in the abstract like in modern RPGs.
From the DriveThruRPG Description: “The Black Hack is 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! The Black Hack is a fast playing game and the rules can be picked up in minutes.”
Whitehack RPG
The Whitehack is a roll-under system as well. However, the biggest differences between the two are the fact that the Whitehack is geared toward long campaigns and the spell system. Spells are called “Miracles” and are created in conjunction with the player and the DM at character creation. The miracles also cost Hit Points to cast. The Armor Class is also racially than Basic D&D only ranging from 0-6.
From the DriveThruRPG Description: “Whitehack is a complete fantasy role-playing game in the original tradition. In addition to custom settings and adventures, it can run just about any material from 1974 onwards with great ease and little or no conversion. This works by picking a very limited set of pieces from a traditional, modern or “foreign” stat block and then triangulating them to pin-point how a monster, spell or ability works. Whitehack’s rules are built to meet the demands of long campaigns. It mixes old and new school mechanics to create an emergent game which helps you take your first steps and then keeps challenging you as you become a more experienced player.”
Even More D&D Hacks of Different Colors
After the Whitehack and the Black Hack appeared other D&D hacks with color names have come on the market. The Bluehack, the Green Hack, the Rad Hack, and the Mecha Hack. Here’s a thumbnail of each of those classic Dungeons and Dragons hacks.
Bluehack
- BLUEHACK™ – PDF – From the DriveThruRPG Description: “If you know about The White Hack, The Rad Hack, and The Black Hack, you know where this is headed. BLUEHACK™ is a traditional tabletop role-playing game, played with paper, pencils and dice – it uses the Holmes Basic edition of that Original 1970s Fantasy Roleplaying Game as an inspiration, but it aims to create a distinct, streamlined flavour all of its own.”
Green Hack
- The Green Hack SRD – FREE PDF – From the DriveThruRPG Description: “The Green Hack (TGH) is a traditional tabletop roleplaying game, played with paper, pencils and dice. The game’s design goal is to be broadly compatible with TSR-editions of the Original Fantasy Roleplaying Game while being as compact, easy to learn, easy to teach, and smooth to play as possible.”
Rad Hack
- The Rad-Hack – PDF – From the DriveThruRPG Description: “The Rad-Hack is a fully illustrated, tabletop role-playing game, based on the highly popular OSR game “The Black Hack”. The Rad-Hack is set in a weird, post apocalyptic future where Mutants, Robots, Psionics and Humans team up against the dangers of the wasteland in search of Tech, Slugs and Adventure!”
Mecha Hack
- The Mecha Hack – PDF – From the DriveThruRPG Description: “The Mecha Hack is fast, fluid, and fun, with a focus on cinematic, narrative gameplay inspired by anime and other mecha properties. Inside this A5-sized, 40-page book, you’ll find the complete Mecha Hack ruleset; four mecha chassis and four pilot archetypes; over a dozen add-on modules for your unique mecha; GM tools and mission generators; more than 30 enemy statblocks; printable monsters, mechs, and objects; and so much more!”