It's my birthday today and I am looking for suggestions for good resources to buy for my upcoming OSE game.
So people of The RPGSite:
What should I buy?
Happy Birthday!
Other than that I can only help you by bumping up the thread.
TSR AC1 The Shady Dragon Inn. This book has a bunch of NPC's with stats and personality descriptions. There are sketches as well, but the characters are all drawn standing in a group, so separating them might be difficult. The main feature is a poster sized map of the Shady Dragon Inn drawn on 1" sauares. Of course the .pdf, and the reprint don't have the poster-map, but you can print out the pages and tape them together.
Dungeon Module B2: Keep On The Borderlands. If you can't think of anything, the keep is always looking for adventurers to clear out the nearby Caves of Chaos. A must have.
The Necromancer class, available as a free download from Necrotic Gnome.
Carcass Crawler 1 & 2 From Necrotic Gnome (3 isn't out yet). Some house rules and a neat adventure site for OSE. Some new classes like the Wood elf, who casts Druid spells.
Death Frost Doom, from Lamentations of the Flame Princess. A delve into a crypt with a zombie-apocalypse climax. Also, all original monsters.
The original B3: Palace of the Silver Princess, written by Jean Wells. It comes with a mini campaign setting and room to expand the dungeon adventure. You will have to search internet archives to find it, but it is there. It was released as a free download by WOTC back in 2000 so you aren't pirating if you download it.
OSE Advanced Players Tome and Advanced Referee's Tome. These books expand the basic game lots more monsters in an easy to find format (in the .pdf), and classes from AD&D that have been B/X'ified.
Happy birthday and Game on!
Quote from: GhostNinja on April 10, 2023, 04:26:18 PM
It's my birthday today and I am looking for suggestions for good resources to buy for my upcoming OSE game.
So people of The RPGSite:
What should I buy?
Do you play OSE Classic or Advanced?
Quote from: GeekyBugle on April 10, 2023, 04:28:41 PM
Happy Birthday!
Thank You!
Quote from: GeekyBugle on April 10, 2023, 04:28:41 PMOther than that I can only help you by bumping up the thread.
Thanks. Helps keep it alive and at the top.
Quote from: Crusader X on April 10, 2023, 04:44:23 PM
Do you play OSE Classic or Advanced?
Starting with Classic, will move to advance after I get used to it.
Quote from: Svenhelgrim on April 10, 2023, 04:41:44 PM
TSR AC1 The Shady Dragon Inn. This book has a bunch of NPC's with stats and personality descriptions. There are sketches as well, but the characters are all drawn standing in a group, so separating them might be difficult. The main feature is a poster sized map of the Shady Dragon Inn drawn on 1" sauares. Of course the .pdf, and the reprint don't have the poster-map, but you can print out the pages and tape them together.
Dungeon Module B2: Keep On The Borderlands. If you can't think of anything, the keep is always looking for adventurers to clear out the nearby Caves of Chaos. A must have.
The Necromancer class, available as a free download from Necrotic Gnome.
Carcass Crawler 1 & 2 From Necrotic Gnome (3 isn't out yet). Some house rules and a neat adventure site for OSE. Some new classes like the Wood elf, who casts Druid spells.
Death Frost Doom, from Lamentations of the Flame Princess. A delve into a crypt with a zombie-apocalypse climax. Also, all original monsters.
The original B3: Palace of the Silver Princess, written by Jean Wells. It comes with a mini campaign setting and room to expand the dungeon adventure. You will have to search internet archives to find it, but it is there. It was released as a free download by WOTC back in 2000 so you aren't pirating if you download it.
Thank you for the suggestions. I will check them out.
Quote from: Svenhelgrim on April 10, 2023, 04:41:44 PMOSE Advanced Players Tome and Advanced Referee's Tome. These books expand the basic game lots more monsters in an easy to find format (in the .pdf), and classes from AD&D that have been B/X'ified.
I planed to check these out when I got familiar with classic. Should I go ahead and just get these?
Quote from: Svenhelgrim on April 10, 2023, 04:41:44 PMHappy birthday and Game on!
Thank you so much.
I'd suggest getting the Advanced books if they're in print because they sell out fast and then you're waiting another year for Gavin to do yet another kickstarter. As for adventures, a fair number of the old B/X adventures are available as print on demand if you don't mind giving DM's Guild your money. Everyone has their personal faves, so it's up you and your group as to what you want. I like B5, B10, X4, X5, and X8 quite a bit. X10 is great if you want to do a world war, but can be tricky to run. The gazetteers are generally good, but I'd suggest just starting with one or two as a campaign base. Karameikos is best for low levels IMO.
I also don't have much to add as I don't play a lot of OSE, but happy birthday anyways! You might want to try cannibalizing other similar systems' resources too, since a lot of OSR materials are broadly cross-compatible.
Quote from: Svenhelgrim on April 10, 2023, 04:41:44 PM
TSR AC1 The Shady Dragon Inn. This book has a bunch of NPC's with stats and personality descriptions. There are sketches as well, but the characters are all drawn standing in a group, so separating them might be difficult. The main feature is a poster sized map of the Shady Dragon Inn drawn on 1" sauares. Of course the .pdf, and the reprint don't have the poster-map, but you can print out the pages and tape them together.
Dungeon Module B2: Keep On The Borderlands. If you can't think of anything, the keep is always looking for adventurers to clear out the nearby Caves of Chaos. A must have.
The Necromancer class, available as a free download from Necrotic Gnome.
Carcass Crawler 1 & 2 From Necrotic Gnome (3 isn't out yet). Some house rules and a neat adventure site for OSE. Some new classes like the Wood elf, who casts Druid spells.
Death Frost Doom, from Lamentations of the Flame Princess. A delve into a crypt with a zombie-apocalypse climax. Also, all original monsters.
The original B3: Palace of the Silver Princess, written by Jean Wells. It comes with a mini campaign setting and room to expand the dungeon adventure. You will have to search internet archives to find it, but it is there. It was released as a free download by WOTC back in 2000 so you aren't pirating if you download it.
OSE Advanced Players Tome and Advanced Referee's Tome. These books expand the basic game lots more monsters in an easy to find format (in the .pdf), and classes from AD&D that have been B/X'ified.
Happy birthday and Game on!
here is the link to the archive for WOTC free downloads.
https://web.archive.org/web/20051231235847/http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/dnd/downloads (https://web.archive.org/web/20051231235847/http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/dnd/downloads)
Use the rules to make your own dungeons.
The Dolmenwood page on Necrotic Gnome has the setting preview and the calendar as free downloads. I second the rocommendations to go ahead and purchase the Carcass Crawler magazines and the PDFs of the advanced fantasy books. You will be able to add things like hunting dogs/guard dogs, plus extra magic items.
Happy birthday, by the way!
https://youtu.be/iyAaSo5Dewk
Happy birfday!
I highly recommend anything by Brad Kerr, particularly Wyvern Songs and Temple of 1000 Swords
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/406938/Wyvern-Songs
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/360211/Temple-of-1000-Swords
Ominous Crypt of the Blood Moss is pretty sweet as well.
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/319604/Ominous-Crypt-of-the-Blood-Moss
Falkrest Abbey is pretty sweet too.
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/409280/Falkrest-Abbey
N4 Treasure Hunt. It is the first funnel adventure I am aware of. Super modular and can springboard a campaign.
My favorite resources for RPGs, and it would work for OSE as well, are old CRPGs of the late 80's/early 90's. Quest for Glory I and II are outstanding. You have to build up all of the different NPCs and elements, stat out the monsters, but it is worth the effort. I ran a fantastic and dark version of QFG1.
And happy birthday!
Quote from: Persimmon on April 10, 2023, 05:25:23 PM
I'd suggest getting the Advanced books if they're in print because they sell out fast and then you're waiting another year for Gavin to do yet another kickstarter. As for adventures, a fair number of the old B/X adventures are available as print on demand if you don't mind giving DM's Guild your money. Everyone has their personal faves, so it's up you and your group as to what you want. I like B5, B10, X4, X5, and X8 quite a bit. X10 is great if you want to do a world war, but can be tricky to run. The gazetteers are generally good, but I'd suggest just starting with one or two as a campaign base. Karameikos is best for low levels IMO.
I have found that you can buy the core books in print here: https://www.exaltedfuneral.com/collections/necrotic-gnome
I am looking at all the offer.
Quote from: saki on April 10, 2023, 06:00:30 PM
I also don't have much to add as I don't play a lot of OSE, but happy birthday anyways! You might want to try cannibalizing other similar systems' resources too, since a lot of OSR materials are broadly cross-compatible.
Thank you for the birthday wishes. I will look into doing that.
Quote from: LordBP on April 10, 2023, 07:25:33 PM
here is the link to the archive for WOTC free downloads.
https://web.archive.org/web/20051231235847/http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/dnd/downloads (https://web.archive.org/web/20051231235847/http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/dnd/downloads)
Bookmarked. Thanks so much.
Quote from: cavalier973 on April 10, 2023, 08:48:18 PM
Use the rules to make your own dungeons.
The Dolmenwood page on Necrotic Gnome has the setting preview and the calendar as free downloads. I second the recommendations to go ahead and purchase the Carcass Crawler magazines and the PDFs of the advanced fantasy books. You will be able to add things like hunting dogs/guard dogs, plus extra magic items.
I saw the Carcass Crawler magazines and I am really considering picking them up. I can get them printed through Exalted Funeral.
Quote from: cavalier973 on April 10, 2023, 08:51:37 PM
Happy birthday, by the way!
https://youtu.be/iyAaSo5Dewk
Thank you. That was very interesting to say the least :)
Quote from: Klytus on April 10, 2023, 09:17:13 PM
Happy birfday!
I highly recommend anything by Brad Kerr, particularly Wyvern Songs and Temple of 1000 Swords
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/406938/Wyvern-Songs
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/360211/Temple-of-1000-Swords
Ominous Crypt of the Blood Moss is pretty sweet as well.
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/319604/Ominous-Crypt-of-the-Blood-Moss
Falkrest Abbey is pretty sweet too.
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/409280/Falkrest-Abbey
Very cool. Will check them out and thank you for the birthday wishes.
Quote from: FingerRod on April 10, 2023, 09:18:52 PM
N4 Treasure Hunt. It is the first funnel adventure I am aware of. Super modular and can springboard a campaign.
My favorite resources for RPGs, and it would work for OSE as well, are old CRPGs of the late 80's/early 90's. Quest for Glory I and II are outstanding. You have to build up all of the different NPCs and elements, stat out the monsters, but it is worth the effort. I ran a fantastic and dark version of QFG1.
And happy birthday!
Very cool and thank you.
Depends; how much do you like OSE Advanced?
Quote from: GhostNinja on April 10, 2023, 09:46:56 PM
Quote from: cavalier973 on April 10, 2023, 08:51:37 PM
Happy birthday, by the way!
https://youtu.be/iyAaSo5Dewk
Thank you. That was very interesting to say the least :)
Check out his version of "Royals" and "Mad World". The guy has an amazing voice.
"Hole in the Oak" by Necrotic Gnome is pretty good. It has a mutagenic ogre that can cause PC's faces to deform if it breathes on them. The ogre is also fond of eating gnomes and Halflings.
Greetings!
Happy Birthday, GhostNinja!!!!!!!
I hope you have had a fantastic and enjoyable day!
Semper Fidelis,
SHARK
Quote from: Tasty_Wind on April 10, 2023, 09:58:46 PM
Depends; how much do you like OSE Advanced?
I have never looked at it. How much different is it to the basic fantasy? Do you use both or can advanced be used all by it self?
I am new to everything OSR so I am trying to learn as much as I can but I only know a little at this point.
Quote from: cavalier973 on April 11, 2023, 12:12:09 AM
Check out his version of "Royals" and "Mad World". The guy has an amazing voice.
Thank you. Will do.
Quote from: cavalier973 on April 11, 2023, 12:12:09 AM
"Hole in the Oak" by Necrotic Gnome is pretty good. It has a mutagenic ogre that can cause PC's faces to deform if it breathes on them. The ogre is also fond of eating gnomes and Halflings.
I am already looking at this and I think this might be the first adventure I run.
Quote from: SHARK on April 11, 2023, 01:31:39 AM
Greetings!
Happy Birthday, GhostNinja!!!!!!!
I hope you have had a fantastic and enjoyable day!
Semper Fidelis,
SHARK
It was. Thank you so much for the well wishes.
If you are interested in hexcrawls at all I would suggest looking at the Hot Springs Island books.
The core book is The Dark of Hot Springs Island. It gives you all the setting info for the island, NPC groups, how all the hexes interact with each other, etc. The whole thing is system neutral. The book does a great job of helping populate hexes and giving the whole island a sense of being a living breathing thing and not just stock encounters waiting for the PCs to stumble across.
The second book, A Field Guide to Hot Springs Island, is an in-setting journal. It's filled with entries made by an NPC researching the area. PCs can use this as a guide of places they want to search out, help with translating strange languages they come across and a handbook to some of the unique flora and fauna they may run into. If I'm remembering correctly it also has a map for the PCs to use with some places marked and others left blank for them to fill in themselves.
Quote from: rgalex on April 11, 2023, 01:01:58 PM
If you are interested in hexcrawls at all I would suggest looking at the Hot Springs Island books.
The core book is The Dark of Hot Springs Island. It gives you all the setting info for the island, NPC groups, how all the hexes interact with each other, etc. The whole thing is system neutral. The book does a great job of helping populate hexes and giving the whole island a sense of being a living breathing thing and not just stock encounters waiting for the PCs to stumble across.
The second book, A Field Guide to Hot Springs Island, is an in-setting journal. It's filled with entries made by an NPC researching the area. PCs can use this as a guide of places they want to search out, help with translating strange languages they come across and a handbook to some of the unique flora and fauna they may run into. If I'm remembering correctly it also has a map for the PCs to use with some places marked and others left blank for them to fill in themselves.
Thank you. I will check them out.
Quote from: GhostNinja on April 11, 2023, 08:54:36 AM
Quote from: Tasty_Wind on April 10, 2023, 09:58:46 PM
Depends; how much do you like OSE Advanced?
I have never looked at it. How much different is it to the basic fantasy? Do you use both or can advanced be used all by it self?
I am new to everything OSR so I am trying to learn as much as I can but I only know a little at this point.
It's the same exact rules as the Classic Fantasy Tome. Except there are some more options, such as:
Magic-Users can learn more spells per level and can swap spells, but can still only cast up to their level limits. Optional rules for learning spells based on Intelligence score.
Addition of the Druid, Bard, and Illusionist with new spells for a different flavor of cleric and M-U.
More playable races as well as race-classes such as Drow, Duergar, Gnomes, Half-Orcs and Svirfneblin.
Magic Items from AD&D 1e.
Many, many more monsters.
I actually bought the Advanced tomes first, then I went back and bought the Classic fantasy tome, one as a gift to a friend and so I ordered one for myself too. The price may be a little daunting ($40 for each book) but they are durable hardbacks. I am very happy with them.
Quote from: Svenhelgrim on April 11, 2023, 02:32:36 PM
It's the same exact rules as the Classic Fantasy Tome. Except there are some more options, such as:
Magic-Users can learn more spells per level and can swap spells, but can still only cast up to their level limits. Optional rules for learning spells based on Intelligence score.
Addition of the Druid, Bard, and Illusionist with new spells for a different flavor of cleric and M-U.
More playable races as well as race-classes such as Drow, Duergar, Gnomes, Half-Orcs and Svirfneblin.
Magic Items from AD&D 1e.
Many, many more monsters.
I actually bought the Advanced tomes first, then I went back and bought the Classic fantasy tome, one as a gift to a friend and so I ordered one for myself too. The price may be a little daunting ($40 for each book) but they are durable hardbacks. I am very happy with them.
I will look into them and I might get the DM screen as well so I am really ready to go.
Thanks for the information.
Quote from: GhostNinja on April 11, 2023, 02:47:27 PM
Quote from: Svenhelgrim on April 11, 2023, 02:32:36 PM
It's the same exact rules as the Classic Fantasy Tome. Except there are some more options, such as:
Magic-Users can learn more spells per level and can swap spells, but can still only cast up to their level limits. Optional rules for learning spells based on Intelligence score.
Addition of the Druid, Bard, and Illusionist with new spells for a different flavor of cleric and M-U.
More playable races as well as race-classes such as Drow, Duergar, Gnomes, Half-Orcs and Svirfneblin.
Magic Items from AD&D 1e.
Many, many more monsters.
I actually bought the Advanced tomes first, then I went back and bought the Classic fantasy tome, one as a gift to a friend and so I ordered one for myself too. The price may be a little daunting ($40 for each book) but they are durable hardbacks. I am very happy with them.
I will look into them and I might get the DM screen as well so I am really ready to go.
Thanks for the information.
I don't know if the DM screen includes info from the Advanced Fantasy rules, or if it is only for the Basic Fantasy rules. The version I have is for Basic Fantasy.
Quote from: cavalier973 on April 11, 2023, 03:23:06 PM
I don't know if the DM screen includes info from the Advanced Fantasy rules, or if it is only for the Basic Fantasy rules. The version I have is for Basic Fantasy.
Since the rules in advanced are the same with just more options I may get it anyway.
Besides, it looks cool.
Quote from: GeekyBugle on April 10, 2023, 04:28:41 PM
Happy Birthday!
Other than that I can only help you by bumping up the thread.
ditto :P
Quote from: Klava on April 12, 2023, 01:34:53 PM
Quote from: GeekyBugle on April 10, 2023, 04:28:41 PM
Happy Birthday!
Other than that I can only help you by bumping up the thread.
ditto :P
Thank you so much!
Quote from: GhostNinja on April 11, 2023, 08:54:36 AM
Quote from: Tasty_Wind on April 10, 2023, 09:58:46 PM
Depends; how much do you like OSE Advanced?
I have never looked at it. How much different is it to the basic fantasy? Do you use both or can advanced be used all by it self?
I am new to everything OSR so I am trying to learn as much as I can but I only know a little at this point.
Sorry, forgot I posted in this thread.
Any way, I highly recommend "Fantastic Heroes and Witchery". It's an semi-stand-alone OSR game, but you is a great add-on for any OSR that emulates OD&D\1E/B-X type game.
Quote from: Tasty_Wind on April 14, 2023, 01:45:43 PM
Sorry, forgot I posted in this thread.
Any way, I highly recommend "Fantastic Heroes and Witchery". It's an semi-stand-alone OSR game, but you is a great add-on for any OSR that emulates OD&D\1E/B-X type game.
I will check it out. Thank You
Happy Birthday! Hey there, birthday celebrant! As you embark on another journey around the sun, let's make this year's celebration extra special with a touch of Old School Essentials. Firstly, let me recommend diving into the captivating world of vintage travel with Roses Around the World https://www.globalmousetravels.com/roses-around-the-world/. This resource is a delightful journey through time, featuring enchanting tales and timeless wisdom. It's a perfect addition to your birthday bliss, providing a unique blend of nostalgia and inspiration. Imagine immersing yourself in the classic quotes, engaging threads, and charming anecdotes. It's a celebration of the past, adding a magical touch to your special day. So, as you blow out the candles, may your birthday be filled with joy, laughter, and a sprinkle of old-school charm!
There's a new release called "Gods of the Forbidden North" that's getting lots of positive buzz: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product_reviews.php?products_id=451792
Apparently it's volume 1 of 3, and is a campaign setting with lots of short adventures and adventure hooks. The second volume will detail the underworld of the setting, and volume 3 will be a megadungeon. Seems to have a very 80s vibe with Sci-Fi elements weaved into it. I haven't bought it yet myself, but after watching & reading reviews, I'm strongly considering it.
I know nothing about OSE but happy birthday!
I wrote and illustrated a book of tactical hex maps that's system-agnostic.
You can get it in PDF at Big Geek Emporium! (The print edition is sold out)
https://biggeekemporium.com/product/gr0001
Happy Birthday!
The Basic Fantasy RPG is based off B/X as well, so there's a bunch of stuff here you can use without much or any conversion:
https://www.basicfantasy.org/