OSE and New Content

[ShadeRaven]

So, I have done a lot of work for Pathfinder Second Edition, but then Old School Essentials very recently crossed my radar and it didn't take long for me to fall in love with the retro edition of D&D. Have to admit, it has been a tremendous distraction, and much like what happened when PF2 fell into my lap, I can't help but want to make stuff for it.

So... with that in mind... I have started to create some new content for OSE, abiding by the OGL of course, and 100% compatible with that system and the great work that bayne7400 is doing for the ruleset out here. I am thinking about tossing it out in the Forge when it's completely cleaned up and ready but want to get a feel for how interested people are in new content for OSE.

Here are some screenshots of what I have currently completed and am working on:


Closer look at the War Priest:


And a look at a couple of the races and gear:


Everything within will be heavily inspired and respectful of the classic RPG that OSE was inspired from. Anyone who were to play a race or class, or use the weapons or gear, found within should not notice any real difference between what was beloved in the 80s, what Old School Essentials offers, and what I am adding to it.

It will also be an evolving process (for example, the original basic d&d expanded to immortal level 36, which I am working towards in my products). I plan on adding more to it over time and I also plan on developing DMG and MM companions that will expand on more of OSE. That said, if there's no thirst for this, it might be easier to just keep this as in house stuff or if there are other areas people are interested in seeing additional content for that's compatible with OSE, I'd be happy to look at other projects for this great RPG.

I do realize that this is a much smaller platform than 5E and even PF2, so I am not expecting too much from this, but as long as there are some fans of OSE out here with me that would enjoy using my 3rd-party material, I'd be happy to add to the library of available items for it!

[bayne7400]

That is pretty cool! Some of those classes look fun to play. One thing I never see is a monk though!

[ShadeRaven]

That is pretty cool! Some of those classes look fun to play. One thing I never see is a monk though!

Noted! I'll take a look at the transition and evolution of the Monk in the advanced rules to see how that could be retro-fitted for the BX rules as an idea on how that might look. I don't think we saw the Monk ever appear in any form in the original boxed series, did we?

[lostsanityreturned]

Yeah OSE is an absolute marvel, I am not sure if you have looked at the actual book / pdf... but I recommend doing so to marvel at the clean layout work and immaculate organisation / focus on langauge.

It and Morkborg are my current favourite rules lite genre rpgs. (cypher system is still my favourite agnostic system).

It is also a lot of fun to look at OSE and AD&D and see where 5e drew so much of its design inspiration from.

[bayne7400]

Yeah no monks but I think a BX monk class would be cool. Matt Finch has one in swords and wizardry

[damned]

Can you really call OSE ruleslite?

[ShadeRaven]

Can you really call OSE ruleslite?

Maybe if you eliminate the dice? ("Chuck, what do you imagine your characters attack was?" .. "Why Emma, it was a hit with maximum damage! I feel hot tonight!")

bayne7400: Bit of a preview of what I have mocked up so far.



So for the monk powers, I think I am going to call it Mental Magic. I'll use the Spell format to indicate what those powers do, so it will have to follow that mechanic, but it should allow the monk to have its own set of unique powers that won't require any changes to the ruleset. That should work.

Monk will also have a few features that will require direct interaction with the character sheet. Not much we can do about that. Things like their martial arts strike, increased movement rate, and level based armor class. Again, that'll require more direct involvement by players, but you have all those fields as editable, so it's not a significant effort. I was very pleased to see that I could use 2d4 in the HD field and to be able to input THAC0, Saves, XP, etc, in the Class Data fields!

Looking forward to seeing what you continue to evolve over time!

I did note that I could create an Effect like Torch; LIGHT: 30 torch for a Torch, but looks we need to grab the text off of that and add an effect on the CT to have it activated - unless I am missing some way to apply that little person token directly. Still, that's not too much effort.

Really enjoying what I'm seeing out here and the progress you've made on this ruleset

[bayne7400]

I'll take a look at the torch effect. So the token light from the images wasn't working? Or you couldn't drop the effect onto the token?

[ShadeRaven]

I'll take a look at the torch effect. So the token light from the images wasn't working? Or you couldn't drop the effect onto the token?

Actually, the torch might not be the best example.. when I "equip" it, it works, however when I unequip it, it leaves the lighting effect behind. I think it was elsewhere that I was trying to get Effects to work.. and it maybe just be my lack of familiarity with all the ruleset has to offer. There were some spell effects I was struggling with, iirc.

[bayne7400]

Ahh ok it is an item effect. That's a newer feature and I'll will take another look at it.