I want to run a game that’s SIMPLE, FUN, and RETRO.

If you agree with any of these statements, this game is for you:

If your character sheet can’t fit on an index card it’s too long.

Your “bonus” for a high Prime Requisite is a greater chance of surviving the adventure.

Your “bonus” for finding treasure is being able to spend it. If finding treasure was your primary goal, sure you'll get some XP for a job well done. Don't worry, you won't lose XP when you get robbed or go bankrupt!

I’m using the Old School Essentials books published my Necrotic Gnome as my default set of rules, which is the Basic and Expert Rules reorganized with some contradictions resolved and some holes patched. I include a few tweaks from Dungeon Crawl Classics, and I reserve the right to borrow from other OSR games. I’m willing to accept OSR characters you've already played in other games and race/classes not in B/X if you show me the source material.

They now have an SRD! https://oldschoolessentials.ne.../index.php/Main_Page

To make things SIMPLE for everyone (especially me) I’m using these house rules:

SIMPLIFIED XP and LUCK: If you’re 1 point away from life or death on a combat roll you can spend 1XP to fudge the die roll. You must also sacrifice a shield, weapon, armor plate, or similar item.


ABILITY CHECKS: If your character had a profession he or she before become an adventurer, he gets a +4 on an ability check it’s applicable to his profession, such as a Jeweler identifying a gem's value or a Gravedigger guessing how a person died by examining the skeleton.


Wizards: Wizards gain Staff proficiency at 4th level and Sword at 7th level.

Clerics: Clerics gain Crossbow at 4th level. You still can't shed blood in anger. Shedding ichor is fine. And if the blood is stolen to begin with then you're just liberating it...

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I now own the OSE Genre Rules and Druid & Illusionist Spells books, so you can play a character modeled after the AD&D Player's Handbook and Unearthed Arcana offerings. However I will not allow the Underdark races. Also, I don't want to use the split race/class rules or multiclass rules.
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:05, Mon 27 Jan 2020.

Old School Essentials Core Rules characters:

• Fighter
• Magic-User
• Cleric
• Thief
• Dwarf
• Elf
• Halfling

Acceptable OSE Genre Rules characters:

• Acrobat
• Assassin [will accept Bounty Hunter as a Lawful variant]
• Barbarian
• Bard [House rule: Choose Druidic spells if Neutral (Bard), Illusionist spells if Chaotic (Trickster), or Clerical spells if Lawful (Chorister)]
• Druid
• Gnome
• Half-Elf
• Half-Orc
• Illusionist
• Knight (was Cavalier in UA)
• Paladin
• Ranger

OSE characters from beta rules:

• Scout - Like a Ranger but no spell abilities and stronger in combat and tracking. Can also be Chaotic.
• (Hedge) Wizard - A take on recreating Gandalf with the OSE rules. The Wizard has some abilities that emulate 1st level spells and can read/make scrolls, but doesn't actually keep and memorize spells! He also has some minor healing abilities and staff enchantment abilities. I'd call it a Hedge Wizard in my game.

House Rules

• Pixie
• Swashbuckler
• Smallgiant (aka Half-Ogre)
• Sorceror (Elementalist)
• Other Specialist (Necromancer, Summoner, etc.)

This message was last edited by the GM at 14:21, Wed 26 Feb 2020.

POSTING SPEED

We've had a few players leave saying that our game moved "too fast". So I'm going to try and set some guidelines that are fair to me and all the players.

I expect active players to post once a day, not counting weekends or holidays. If you don't post for two weeks you'll get a warning, and if you're missing for a month you'll be removed from the game. That person's PC will then be an NPC until another player takes that PC over.

During combat there should be one action per day so everyone else has a chance to catch up. You can banter all you want while you wait, of course.

When you're not available to control your character during combat, we assume they take measures to protect themselves, but won't attack unless ordered to by the party leaders (currently Brother Brodd and Lord Einhard). YOUR PCs WON'T GET XP UNLESS YOU ROLEPLAY THEM.

If you have to take a break due to illness, finals, evacuations etc. please let me know and I'll keep your PC in reserve for when you get back. December's traditionally been a semi-hiatus month since it's a crazy time for everyone.

If your PC dies, you'll be invited to take over an in-party NPC or another player's secondary PC. Otherwise you can sit tight until another scene where a new PC could show up.

Arcane Spells

MUs, Elves, and Gnomes start with one spell in their spellbook of their choice.

If they choose Read Magic as that spell they can add extra 1st level spells to their spellbook, as many as their Intelligence bonus (so INT 18 would get 3 extra spells). But each extra spell comes from a scroll that costs 100gp (a carryover from Holmes).

In the Advanced OSE Rules there's a percentage chance of transcribing a scroll to your spellbook as you find it. If you use Read Magic it's automatic.

Magic Users can cast scrolls from MU scrolls on the fly without adding them to their spellbooks, but Elves can't.

Illusionists and Gnomes use a different "magical language" for their spells with very little overlap with Elf/MUs except for the most straightforward illusions.

For instance, if the party finds a Phantasmal Force scroll, an Illusionist or Gnome can cast it as 1st level Illusionist spell but a MU or Elf would cast it as a 2nd level MU spell.

Friendly Fire

Per standard rules, if you fire into a melee you have a 50/50 chance of aiming at the wrong person. You then roll against the AC of the person being fired upon.