BX OOC I

[dmw71]

To quote Inferno:

Here, the players and the DM may converse with each other as their true selves, whatever that may be.

[thirdkingdom]

subbed. I'm going to go OSE Classic, but may choose a class from the Advanced Genre rules.

[dmw71]

I'm going to go OSE Classic, but may choose a class from the Advanced Genre rules.

The information in the 'Old-School Essentials Advanced Fantasy: Genre Rules' are included in/a part of the 'Old-School Essentials Advanced Fantasy Player's Tome' that I'm using, so that is no problem.

If you choose the Basic method of character creation, you can choose from any of the 22 available classes, previously listed in this post:

Character Classes (22)
Acrobat
Assassin
Barbarian
Bard
Cleric
Drow
Druid
Duergar
Dwarf
Elf
Fighter
Gnome
Half-Elf
Halfling
Half-Orc
Illusionist
Knight
Magic-User
Paladin
Ranger
Svirfneblin
Thief

Or, displayed differently:

Race as Class (9; no Human)

1. Drow
2. Duergar
3. Dwarf
4. Elf
5. Gnome
6. Half-Elf
7. Halfling
8. Half-Orc
9. Svirfneblin

Traditional Classes (13; if you pick a class, you're automatically Human)

1. Acrobat
2. Assassin
3. Barbarian
4. Bard
5. Cleric
6. Druid
7. Fighter
8. Illusionist
9. Knight
10. Magic-User
11. Paladin
12. Ranger
13. Thief

[Rex]

Do we have a campaign # yet?

[dmw71]

Do we have a campaign # yet?

No, not yet.

The rules (for either method: Basic or Advanced) read as follows:

Roll 3d6 for each of your character’s ability
scores: Strength, Intelligence, Wisdom,
Dexterity, Constitution, and Charisma.

I am tempted to stick with this 3d6 in order method, but add my "in either direction" twist to it.


Until I've officially decided, however, I'm going to hold off on creating the campaign in the die roller to prevent ambitious players from getting too far ahead of themselves.

[Rex]

Sounds like a plan.

[dmw71]

I will add, for those that are considering the Advanced method of character creation, a few significant differences exist between the OSE Advanced and true 1e or OSRIC rules.

Class requirements being one.

The Paladin, for example, only requires a 9 CHA (not 17):

Paladin.png (18.46 KiB) Viewed 33482 times

Spells being another.

The spells for the Cleric and Druid classes max out at 5th level:

Cleric and Druid.png (5.95 KiB) Viewed 33482 times

While the spells for the Illusionist and Magic-User classes max out at 6th level:

Illusionist and Magic-User.png (6.84 KiB) Viewed 33482 times

There are just the big things that jump out at me while I quickly read through the rules for the first time. I'm sure there will be others.

But, as "big" as they are, they're not in any way game-breaking (in my opinion).

[Rex]

Those look fine, I just noticed there is no Monk. Not that I can ever qualify anyways.

[dmw71]

Spells being another.

The spells for the Cleric and Druid classes max out at 5th level:
Cleric and Druid.png

While the spells for the Illusionist and Magic-User classes max out at 6th level:
Illusionist and Magic-User.png

Actually, I just had an epiphany! This kind of makes sense.

While the Advanced rules are meant to include 1e material into the OSE framework, OSE is really built to support and cover the BX rules.

Looking in my "X" rulebook, Cleric spells max out at 5th level:

X Cleric.png (8.15 KiB) Viewed 33479 times

While Magic-User and Elf spells max out at 6th level:

X Magic-User and Elf.png (10.46 KiB) Viewed 33479 times

So, consistency.

[dmw71]

I just noticed there is no Monk. Not that I can ever qualify anyways.

I never play that class which is why its absence didn't immediately jump out at me.

You're right, though.

I did a quick Google search and did find this:

Old School Essentials: Monk

I did not read them so I can't vouch for their balance or accuracy, but if someone really does want to play a Monk character, let me know and I can take a closer look at them, or maybe use it as a framework and homebrew something.

[thirdkingdom]

Yes. OSE is meant to be a true B/X clone (unlike, say, Lab Lord), retaining the original 14 level spread (for humans), the lower level spell caps, etc.

[dmw71]

While the Advanced rules are meant to include 1e material into the OSE framework, OSE is really built to support and cover the BX rules.

I just found this:

Will There Be an Old-School Essentials Companion?

It's unlikely -- especially in a play-by-post game -- that we'll need rules for beyond level 14, but in the event that does happen, there is always this:

B/X Companion

Note: The affiliate id in the above 'B/X Companion' link belongs to Necrotic Gnome; not me. I left it in place, well... because.

[GreyWolfVT]

I maybe overstepping but i was looking at the OSE Players Tome and I think I'll go for the advanced method if that is ok.

[dmw71]

I maybe overstepping but i was looking at the OSE Players Tome and I think I'll go for the advanced method if that is ok.

The rules support both methods, so this decision is left entirely up to the player.

[Lance]

Oh, so all those classes are available in basic mode? That's interesting...

[GreyWolfVT]

Well for those of you that know me well enough I'm shooting for dwarf. There are class options for dwarf as a race if I read the player tome correctly.

[dmw71]

Oh, so all those classes are available in basic mode? That's interesting...

Yes, the entire list of classes (plus, potentially, the Monk) is available in Classic mode. In Advanced mode, all traditional classes will be available to Humans, while the selected race will determine the available classes for demihumans.

Well for those of you that know me well enough I'm shooting for dwarf. There are class options for dwarf as a race if I read the player tome correctly.

In Classic, you can play as a Duergar or a Dwarf, race-as-class. In Advanced, you can select either Duergar or Dwarf as your race and select from Assassin, Cleric, Fighter, or Thief as your class.

[dmw71]

I may as well just throw this out there now:

THAC0 and the Attack Matrix or Attack Bonus and Ascending Armor Class (AAC)?

[thirdkingdom]

I may as well just throw this out there now:

THAC0 and the Attack Matrix or Attack Bonus and Ascending Armor Class (AAC)?

Either one is fine with me. OSE has a really nice presentation where both are presented in all stat blocks. If you're running an old module* it may be easier to do THAC0.

*Note that if you're running an AD&D module there may be some minor tweaks you'll want to make to monster stat blocks. For instance, AC in OSE/BX goes up to 9. In AD&D it goes to 10. Both versions (THAC0 and Attack bonus) use 9 as the max AC. Monsters are also typically tougher in AD&D than in B/X.

EDIT: Also, tell me to shut up if you know this stuff, Dave.

[GreyWolfVT]

I suppose that is what i meant just phrased it wrong? I was aiming for where a dwarf is a race not as a class. (if possible.)