L is for Labyrinth Lord

Another cool retroclone, but this one has some very interesting features.

Aside from the usual cleanups of the OD&D (based mainly off the "Red Box") system, it has a very modular feel:

You start with the Basic Set, which replicates 1st Edition, including Race-as-Class and other "unique" rules that got lost over time.

With the Advanced Set, you can add in more rules to bring things closer to later AD&D - the separation of Race and Class (how very Marxist), racial class limits, and a few other optional rules.

There's even the Original Edition Characters book, which takes things back to "0e", or Basic D&D.

The best bit is, both are designed to be used together - so you can either be an Elf Fighter/Wizard/Whatever, or just an Elf - and both will pull their weight equally in a game.

There are a few minor problems, but they're pointed out in the book - the Dwarf class levels slower than a Dwarf Fighter, sure, but you get a few more goodies in return.

It keeps the dark, foreboding feel of the older D&D games, while introducing a few more modern sensibilities - no bad thing, in my book.

While I like OSRIC, LL has a special place in my collection.

It's also FREE. Fair enough, the print book costs £13.70 from their own store, but everything else in PDF form is as free as air.