Two games are out using this system. Power Rangers RPG and G.I. Joe RPG. Both of them do their own things with the system.

The system itself is very much influenced by 5th Edition D&D. They have classes (which are called Roles in both books). But the other similarities of that game system are pretty much superficial.

The games do not use experience points. But instead are awarded a portion of a level or a full level at the end of whatever adventure is being played.

Honestly? I think Essence20 counts as OSR.

From the sound of it, it may be more of an 'osr' style approach to 5e; however, if the rules content is similar enough to old school as to be compatible, you might be right.

I wasn't interested in Power Rangers, but I have already ordered the GI Joe book and am planning to order their Transformers book when it's released. These things were huge areas of fun in my childhood, so I'm picking them up even if I never end up playing them.

I hope the GI Joe book has rules for making troupes of characters and deciding who goes on missions based upon almost nonsensical criteria. And I hope the rules support wearing personalized outfits even in environments where they are totally inappropriate (e.g., the SEAL that wears a wetsuit in the desert).

Transformers I ordered too. It just isn't out yet. So I can't really say anything about it.

G.I. Joe I have. And it is a very well-put-together game. I'm most of the way through reading it. And I got the Deluxe Edition rulebook. Because I love the cover.

These three games I plan to run at conventions as one-shots.

I would be curious to see how it stacks up against Horizon: Mechamorphosis for Transformers and Savage Worlds Freedom Squadron or Strike Force 7 for GI Joe.

I'm waiting on the Transformers RPG version of this. It's heartening that the core system is at least something I'd be familiar with. Though I'd probably have to houserule an XP system right off the bat.

Quote from: Darrin Kelley on April 01, 2022, 08:50:07 PM
Honestly? I think Essence20 counts as OSR.

This caught me by surprise. Nothing that you wrote above made me think OSR. Why do you think it is OSR?

I wouldn't count Essence20 as OSR. It's very much more it's own thing with superficial similarities to D&D 5e.

In Essence20 your character has 4 stats... Strength, Speed, Smarts, and Social. Each rank in a stat gives you a skill point to put into one of its linked stats. So if you have Speed 4, you get 4 skill points to put into Speed Skills.

Skills are rated in dice, with 2 skills as exceptions. These die ratings run from d2 to d12.

Die resolution is D20 + Skill die, add together, compare to total. Normally you just roll the highest skill die rating, but if you're rolling a Skill with a Specialization, then you roll all of the skills dice and when this happens, you pick the single highest die to add to the d20.

Damage is very different. There are no escalating hit points. A starting PC has 3 to 4 Health, and most attacks do 1 to 2 damage. Your characters Origin gives you starting Health, and it can be increased by taking the Conditioning Skill. Gaining levels does not increase Health. Any time you gain a Strength Point you can put that point into Conditioning, up to a max of +6.

It's these aspects of the system that definitely make it something very much not 5e, even though making characters is a combination of Influences, Origins and Roles which do come off seeming like how 5e has Backgrounds, Race and Class.

The stats and skills system alone makes it not OSR.

I'd say that fact that there are different attributes to D&D does not make game non-OSR. Question is - what are assumptions of gameplay.

Quote from: migo on April 02, 2022, 06:04:59 AM

Quote from: Darrin Kelley on April 01, 2022, 08:50:07 PM
Honestly? I think Essence20 counts as OSR.

This caught me by surprise. Nothing that you wrote above made me think OSR. Why do you think it is OSR?

Design philosophy. The OSR is more than just D&D stats. It is old school approaches to design. Which Essence20 is absolutely full of.

Combat is definitely a large part of the system. So it harkens back to the earliest rpgs there.

I have a pretty broad view of the OSR.

Quote from: Darrin Kelley on April 02, 2022, 08:19:28 PM

Quote from: migo on April 02, 2022, 06:04:59 AM

Quote from: Darrin Kelley on April 01, 2022, 08:50:07 PM
Honestly? I think Essence20 counts as OSR.

This caught me by surprise. Nothing that you wrote above made me think OSR. Why do you think it is OSR?

Design philosophy. The OSR is more than just D&D stats. It is old school approaches to design. Which Essence20 is absolutely full of.

Combat is definitely a large part of the system. So it harkens back to the earliest rpgs there.

I have a pretty broad view of the OSR.

I have a pretty broad view of the OSR too - I consider Castles & Crusades and ZeFRS to be OSR, which a lot of people don't.

I don't think combat being a large part of the design makes it old school, because that's something that never dropped away. If you're looking at when the OSR really started, it's with 3.5. So while you can have some 3.5-like characteristics here or there and still have an OSR game, something that is absolutely core and central to 3.5 doesn't make a game OSR by itself.

I've fully read G.I. Joe and am going to being playing in a campaign starting next Tuesday.  I would definitely not describe it as OSR.  It is for sure its own thing and is more of a modern approach and only has some passing similarities to D&D 5e even.

That is a very different task-resolution than d20 (in any form). Interesting though.

The Hellboy and Magi-Knight RPGs are probably closer to the 5E system, though they have their own intriguing quirks. A friend of mine got her copy of Hellboy and we may take that for a spin. Will let you know how it goes.