Just a quick clarification on ordering the latest OSRIC rulesbook. The LuLu version is strictly POD production values. To get the Cloth binding version that I showed in the review you must contact Black Blade publishing directly. They are special order from Usherwood Publications version, and have much higher production values. Hope that clears things up!
I only wish I had some local print on demand service of that quality - I have trouble with pdfs, and large print would be nice, and the shipping costs to australia are usually a nightmare!
Can you please include a link to their official website in the description? I did a Google search for the company, found a page of purports to be theirs, but Google identified it is unsecured and I noticed several misspellings and odd formatting issues on the pages I visited
OSRIC deserves a second look by everyone. 1e was easily the best of the editions, standing between too much and too few, in terms of rules, and held more strongly to its historic and classic science fiction roots. OSRIC takes it all and streamlines it into one book where you have all the rules you need to, not only run classic modules, but create your own. I can't thank its creators enough for making this wonderful book.
I actually think 2e is the most clean version of what I would call the "classical" era (well that or Rules Cyclopedia for basic). I find it much easier to use than 1e, however OSRIC obviously cleans 1e up a heck of a lot for ease. I do see how much charm 1e has however and how it would hold a special place in people's hearts.
OSRIC is an outstanding product. It greatly streamlines the 1e rules. The deliberate omission of monk, bard, psionics, and advanced weapon tables do not detract from the playability. Fixing the falling damage is a bonus.
Sounds awesome! When I was DM'ing my friends back in the late '80s and early '90s, the name of the game was to keep the action rolling. As the DM, I was the final arbiter of all rules. I was the only one who had a copy of the books with me, but I used them more often as a coaster for my soda. I tried to give my players a good time, and we role-played every roll of the dice! (Persuasion checks? Bah! I'll be the judge.) NOBODY cared to be a "rules lawyer" because we were all having fun, and nobody wanted to slow down the experience. We all graduated and went our separate ways, so I stopped playing for a long while. I tried to get back into the game a couple decades later, but by then there seemed to be a lot more rules and a lot more math involved. I guess that's cool if people don't mind that sort of thing, but I've always felt that above everything else the game needs to be fun for the people playing it.
I always struggle with the idea of playing a "clone" when you can still play the real game. However, drove 2hrs to game store to pick this up after your review.
OSRIC was nothing short of earthshaking. There seemed to be on the receiving end of some serious vociferous hate from weird quarters which didn't help anyone. But it was a critical template for everything after.
Captain, I went out and bought a copy of OSRIC from BB publishing right after I saw your video. I have never been more pleased with an RPG purchase yet, as the book came in perfect condition, wrapped in 4 bags and 2 layers of bubble wrap with a hand printed mailing label. The book is actually the 3rd printing and is super beautiful. Cant wait to start implementing some AD&D stuff into my 5e game! Thanks for the great videos
Cap, I love this one as I’m a 1e kinda guy. Running a 1/2e campaign now with some home brew for flavor. I’ll be grabbing the pdf as a reference. I still have all of the 1st edition originals - PHB, DMG, Fiend Folio, and Deities &
I actually did use that weapon vs armor type modifier table in my campaign, back in the day. In my prime, I had modifiers memorized from several RPGs in the day, from constant use during play. This makes me wish I'd never sold my AD&D books 3 decades ago. Sigh.
On the bright side, they flooded the market with the PHB, DMG, & MM premium editions. (Unfortunately, they pulled back on UA.) At one point they were dumping them for $4.95. So they shouldn't be hard to get - you'll miss the original covers but you'll get the errata.
I've hunted each AD&D core book down online and bought them to replace my old books which I sold... My first choice of supplier is Waynesbooks in the US. My original cover MM and Deities & Demigods is from there, and I got a good price and in great condition. I've got a few choice modules as well (D1-3, Q1, I3-5, among others).
An excellent game, allows me to play my AD&D modules without flipping through my old handbooks (that are quite in good shape, and I'd like to keep them so). Recommended!
OSRIC seems so damn cool there is tons of content made directly for it. One amazing thing about OSR type gsmes is the compatibility between eachother and adventures new and old. I want to get OSRIC soonish. Atm I am running Shadowdark with some of my own rules to make things like healing less strong and fast and changing XP system to AD&D running a megadungeon funny enough that wss made for OSRIC and Labyrinth Lord.
I just wanted to revisit this review as I decided to get the Black Blade version in addition to the POD from Lulu. The Black Blade version is indeed worth the small upcharge as it's beautiful! I'm playing in a really great AD&D 1e campaign set in the 'Realms, and while we were getting it off the ground I took my OSRIC POD book to have at the table as not everyone had books. Eventually I dug through my books and found three copies of the 1e PHB and one guy bought the [really lovely] reprint from DriveThruRPG so we don't really need the OSRIC book now. But honestly, in a way I think OSRIC is actually superior to the original books! Certainly it's more clearly written and much better organized. And the few tweaks/changes are mostly an improvement. For instance the original Druid was a munchkin class right out of the books and the Monk never really "worked" or fit the flavor of the game. And the original Bard was a hot mess!😲😂 About the only minor quibble I have with OSRIC is that I wish is included and adapted the material from Unearthed Arcana. It's not a big deal as I have a couple of old copies plus the beautiful new reprint but it would be nice- at least in theory- to be able to play the game with just a single book. Apropos of nothing, For Gold & Glory is every bit as good as OSRIC, just for 2e instead of 1e.💪⚔🏹
Yeah, I didn't know any better back then and used that table for weapons vs armor type in the games I ran. Kind of liked it TBH. The fighters thought about weapon selection a lot more which I thought was cool.
All the numbers and formulas and charts seem daunting in games at the get go but if you take the time to understand them it really opens up the roleplaying and individuality of your character alot more.
@@mattellis3297 I think 2e had an optional table which was a bit more user friendly. It had the actual armour listed (from memory) and slashing, piercing, bludgeoning modifiers which was the original intent.
Honestly, weapon vs. armor wasn't really that bad. It's one table that you can glance at quickly whenever you had man-to-man melee going on. Essential? I don't think so. Onerous? Nah. Weapon speed factors, though, those were some dookie. Made the entire initiative sequence a nightmare of picky individual cases and special exceptions, and that's the best case scenario in that it assumes you could even follow the terrible BtB explanations of them in the first place. That beautiful four page section where OSRIC renders 1E combat completely headache-free is enough to justify its existence all by itself if you ask me.
Very nice review. I've been looking for a decent OSR book and this seems better than the other ones I've seen. It would be nice if they had an option to purchase a PDF with full art though.
I preferred the spells organized by type and level. That's what the alphabetized index is for, right? Just like with the monsters bow finally being organized by type, which I really love for the same reason you stated. I missed the stronghold rules in there, though, and I have a daughter who wants to play a Bard half the time, but it's not like there isn't the original source material or plenty of OSR versions to pick from in that regard at least. I just bought 2.2 on Lulu. When I pick up my second rulebook copy, I plan to pick up Monsters as well from Black Blade now that I know. Also, we are finishing up a 5e campaign in a couple weeks, and I am very much looking forward to using this.
It's ok. I knew about a chance for multiple surprise rounds (or segments) but I never could understand how it worked. I just rolled and did one surprise round anyways. While I'm pretty good with my 1e copies that's a pretty nice looking book at that price, I may pick it up. Great review as always!
Great teaser there for the next video! I immediately checked to see how recent this video is to gauge the likelihood that it's already out. I'll just keep an eye on my subscriptions for it.
I was literally thinking of writing this exact kind of work, an updated and clarified 1E guidebook. Unreal, here it is. Your reviews are always excellent but they make me spend money. I'll send an email to get myself Osric right away.
If someone wanted to look at an old-school type ruleset, which would you recommend? There seem to be so many AD&D 1e clones or OD&D clones that I can't figure out the real differences between them or why I'd pick one over any other (including trying to find/acquire the 1e/OD&D books themselves)
Hard to say really, without knowing your personal tastes. My favorite OSR is Hyperborea due to the setting, with Lovecraft, Smith and Howard influences. Swords and Wizardry is very good, with a lot of modern adaption and optional rules and plenty classes two.
Thanks for this. I have the digest size paperback as well as the hardback copy. The combat section was a great read. Aahhhhhh so that's how it really works! (same for spells and segments)
My only big gripe about this product is the monster organization. They have spells listed alphabetically, because listing by level doesn't make sense, then they go and list monsters by TYPE? What if I want to find a dragon, I can't look under "D" because it's not alphabetized, but where is the "dragon" section? Was it before humanoids or somewhere around abominations?
I kinda liked its. There's comprehensive monster listing in the front of the book with page numbers. When designing a dungeon I frequently populate by type. A crypt is all Undead for example, a burrow is all humanoids, etc. so grouping by type is kinda cool.... at least for me.
As someone who grew up with 3.5, my dad would always preach about how AD&D was better. I love learning about the retro modules as well as these clones. I now adopt some things into my Pathfinder 2E games. Not really on topic, but wanted a sacrificial comment for the algorithm.
I grew up with 3rd edition, myself. But now that I'm older, and looking back, I'm finding that how I actually played the game, and what I enjoy about these games the most is better reflected in OSR games.
@@Aaron-mj9ie I personally love Pathfinder 2E due to it's depth and risk factor. But, I love the tone and intent of the old school games. The old games show that magic can be a powerful and weird force, whereas in 5E everyone has access to spells. Character death in 5E is rare, but in old school games you're lucky to make it past level 5.
@@MySqueezingArm My initial intuition is to think I wouldn't like PF2e, but I haven't actually looked at it yet. Heck, I have enough trouble getting to play the games I'm familiar with, let alone reading up on new games! Sounds pretty interesting though...
Your dad was right bro. Gaming since 81, still run 2e based game. Well, actually 1993 Gamma World game which is closest to 2E. Lucky enough to have entire 7 person group from back then still playing. We've played versions up until 3.5 but never any further and always returned to 2nd Ed. Am glad to hear an appreciation for the spirit of those games being closer to what you enjoy. It just seems like the latest versions aren't the same. And damn saying that makes me feel old, which is hard when your last name is Young.
I think OSRIC can hit that spot when you're looking for a bit more detail and tactical options but still want the flexibility and simplicity of OSR play.
See I started with basic D&D and then AD&D that was my favorite. I don't like the direction D&D has gone. I wish I could find a group to play with in Wisconsin .
@@captcorajus I got my shirt! I buy a lot of graphic T's and I gotta say, this is one of the best quality prints I've ever got. You should commission a design with the four original character classes.
Im hoping you can help me understand something. I just got a Osric 1e. Im trying to understand XP for some monsters. For example. For Dragon Turtle (p271)under XP it says 10/7,000+18hp. What I don't understand is the 10/7,000 part. I can't seem to find that anywhere, including ch3 (p118) where it goes thru XP for monsters slain. Any help would be appreciated.
Anybody out here attend D&D Camp at Shippensburg University in 1980's? Fun times, comment for the Comment God. Plus, ty for the review. Will now pick this up for my table of grognards!
I run a 1ed campaign and have been looking for something to help out the younger players who are having some trouble coming to grips with the freedom of virtually no skills or feats, just using there imaginations. This may be just what turns the key.
Many coming from 5E play their character sheet and not the character and that's because of all the fear combos many player look for . But thats due to wizards incorporating mmo elements and making the game so easy that player death is rare
You can also order directly from Black Blade via our Facebook page at facebook.com/BlackBladePublishing where we have an album comparing the Lulu version of OSRIC to the Black Blade edition, as well as our other modules, hex and graph pads, Tales of Peril collection, etc. depicted for sale. Allan. And a small correction: the OSRIC rulebook is $26, while Monsters of Myth is $29.
@@variaphora As I said you MUST contact Black Blade Publishing directly in order to get the quality edition I mentioned in the video. The Lulu version is strictly Print on demand, glue spine construction. The other is put together by Usherwood Publications and had a cloth spine and stitched pages. The production quality is far superior to the lulu version. I hope that helps. :)
OSRIC deserves a ton of credit, as do its creators. Coincidentally, when I announced my current OSR project, an artist for OSRIC, Johnathan Bingham, agreed to do some work for me as another way to contribute in a positive way and address some things he wished he would have done differently with OSRIC.
I think the monk and bard classes had problems. I remember one or both were revised in Dragon magazine at some point, in the 1980s. It's too bad TSR didn't publish an update to the 1st Edition manuals, they produced 2nd edition instead. That's when my friends and I all moved on: The original was fun, why would we buy the books all over again.
thanks for the review, you are dead wrong IMHO about spells being listed in alphabetical order, i dont want to have to go through all of them to know what all the 1st level spells are i want them listed by level, oh well i must be in the minority 😂
This assumes that you already KNOW the level of the spell to start, and to consult the proper list. If you DON"T know that handy bit of information, then finding the spell is going to be more challenging. 😃 Certainly a LIST of spells by level is very handy, but listing spell DESCRIPTIONS by level is pretty clumsy IMHO.
It was with this game that I found my first love while Pathfinder got stuck in a kind of gas factory. -=-=-=-=-=-=- C'est avec ce jeu que j'ai retrouvé mes premières amours tandis que Pathfinder s'engluait dans une sorte d'usine à gaz.
To me, the one major strength AD&D has over 0e and B/X has always been the additional player options, including classes and spells. My perfect game would combine the simplicity and open-endedness of B/X with these additional options, something that OSE's Advanced material seems to do very well. Still, OSRIC opened the door for all these clones and adventures coming out over the past 20 years. Gotta give credit where credit is due. If I had to pick between systems Finch authored, it's Swords & Wizardry over this, but this was critical.
There's an updated 2nd edition by the looks of it. Went to DriveThruRPG after seeing this video cuz I've been wanting to try OSR stuff, seems to be at a good price overall. Might possibly get it.
@@theredcaps Close. OSRIC was 2006. BFRPG was 2007. Regardless, if we're talking published D&D fan refinements the real starting point is stuff like the Arduin Trilogy books, not the post-2000s nostalgia of the OSR movement. People have been hacking D&D for as long as D&D has existed.
@@richmcgee434 2007 was its first PRINT release ... it was available in PDF prior to that. Change logs here go back to Jan 2006: www.basicfantasy.org/news.html
I have no clue what Zweihander is, so probably not. Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay might be fun. I've NEVER played it, but I always like the cover art when it was in the games workshop store. lol.
@@captcorajus WFRP has been pretty much completely divorced from Games Workshop for more than two decades, and Zweihander is effectively OSR WFRP, if you can imagine an OSR for non-D&D products. The original game is 35 years old at this point and more than old enough to merit the same approach to fan refinement that OD&D, BECMI, etc. have gotten. The setting started out identical to the WFB minis game but diverged radically after GW abandoned it to Hogshead, Green Ronin, and Black Industries. I'll forego mentioning the FFG edition from a bit over a decade ago, it's an entirely different set of mechanics based on a proto-Genesys engine and nearly useless for the earlier versions. The post-GW publishers expanded an already-solid setting into something pretty special. Even if you have no interest in anything GW does, if you like the idea of roleplaying seedy adventurers and sellswords in a grungy low-fantasy, high-lethality version of pseudo-Europe it's not something to skip on. The game engine's only okay but Zweihander polished it up pretty well in much the same way OSE did for D&D.
The current OSRIC 2nd edition. I have the softcover release (unsure 2nd has hardcover). It is NOT superior to a hardcover and no one is really going to ever get anyone to think softcover is better than hardcover. But, there is nothing bad about it really. I mean, you look at it and yes, man that thing is thick. And my first thought was, this spine is so doomed. Sooooo, you go and get thin piece of panel, or maybe plexiglass, or who knows a piece of thin tin. Reinforce the spine, make cracking impossible. Anyone that can't think through that and solve the problem, likely would suck as a DM too (good DMs can think way outside of the box). OSRIC is a nice purchase if you dig old school. Better organized that the original deal. Smaller. More transportable. You can hold the whole game in one hand. I rather like that aspect. By the time 5th edition arrived, I had finally had my fill of stacks of manuals (I was required to replace too often). There are several choices for the Old School role gamer. This is a good option to consider.
Basic expert: go for Old School Essentials, Advanced D&d1e: OSRIC or Old School Essentials Advanced (coming out in 1 tome soon), ad&d 2e: For Gold and Glory.
@@captcorajus And deny myself the pleasure of the Original Holy Writ of Gygaxian prose?! I smell heresy! ಠ_ಠ Edit: Seriously though, it looks like a fantastic value for $30 actually. I'd still have the player's sections printed from PDF to spiral bound separately. Too bad the website's still down. What's up with that? :/
@@mikep6263 Seems like each edition, starting with 2nd, has done nothing but to serve in dumbing down the language and making both the players and DM lazy. Each version gets worse and worse.
@@captcorajus I'll never understand why an obscure joke character from an old SPI boardgame gets so much attention here on RUclips. I mean, I guess "Logarithm, son of Algorithm" is kind of a clever name for an elf, but the same game had better examples. Gygax Dragonlord, for ex. :) What? Oh, that algorithm. Well, never mind.
One of my many complaints about 1st edition has been the poor writing style and the horrible layout. I also did not appreciate all the advice given in the original as some of it was just horrible.
I guess I just know my first edition books pretty well, but I don't find this better organized at all. And I found it utterly dull and lifeless in terms of the writing. Was totally underwhelmed by this and I'd consider it perhaps the weakest of the major OSR clones. I threw my free pdf in the trash bin because it was so useless. Good idea for the time I guess, but now that the all the originals are easily available, this seems pointless.
Just a quick clarification on ordering the latest OSRIC rulesbook. The LuLu version is strictly POD production values. To get the Cloth binding version that I showed in the review you must contact Black Blade publishing directly. They are special order from Usherwood Publications version, and have much higher production values. Hope that clears things up!
I only wish I had some local print on demand service of that quality - I have trouble with pdfs, and large print would be nice, and the shipping costs to australia are usually a nightmare!
Do you have a link?
Can you please include a link to their official website in the description? I did a Google search for the company, found a page of purports to be theirs, but Google identified it is unsecured and I noticed several misspellings and odd formatting issues on the pages I visited
I'd like to know that I am on the rihht page
@@cthulhupthagn5771 OSRICRPG.com
OSRIC deserves a second look by everyone. 1e was easily the best of the editions, standing between too much and too few, in terms of rules, and held more strongly to its historic and classic science fiction roots. OSRIC takes it all and streamlines it into one book where you have all the rules you need to, not only run classic modules, but create your own. I can't thank its creators enough for making this wonderful book.
I actually think 2e is the most clean version of what I would call the "classical" era (well that or Rules Cyclopedia for basic). I find it much easier to use than 1e, however OSRIC obviously cleans 1e up a heck of a lot for ease. I do see how much charm 1e has however and how it would hold a special place in people's hearts.
I remember my AD&D 1E Illusionist, made it to level 8 before summer camp ended
OSRIC is an outstanding product. It greatly streamlines the 1e rules. The deliberate omission of monk, bard, psionics, and advanced weapon tables do not detract from the playability. Fixing the falling damage is a bonus.
Sounds awesome! When I was DM'ing my friends back in the late '80s and early '90s, the name of the game was to keep the action rolling. As the DM, I was the final arbiter of all rules. I was the only one who had a copy of the books with me, but I used them more often as a coaster for my soda. I tried to give my players a good time, and we role-played every roll of the dice! (Persuasion checks? Bah! I'll be the judge.) NOBODY cared to be a "rules lawyer" because we were all having fun, and nobody wanted to slow down the experience. We all graduated and went our separate ways, so I stopped playing for a long while. I tried to get back into the game a couple decades later, but by then there seemed to be a lot more rules and a lot more math involved. I guess that's cool if people don't mind that sort of thing, but I've always felt that above everything else the game needs to be fun for the people playing it.
Hey everyone, sorry about that. I misformated the teespring link in the description. I fixed it, but here it is again.
yeoldeschoolshoppe.com/
I always struggle with the idea of playing a "clone" when you can still play the real game. However, drove 2hrs to game store to pick this up after your review.
If you enjoy playing 1E AD&D I think you'll find that to be a treat.
OSRIC was nothing short of earthshaking. There seemed to be on the receiving end of some serious vociferous hate from weird quarters which didn't help anyone. But it was a critical template for everything after.
Jealous haters insisted it was "illegal".
Captain, I went out and bought a copy of OSRIC from BB publishing right after I saw your video. I have never been more pleased with an RPG purchase yet, as the book came in perfect condition, wrapped in 4 bags and 2 layers of bubble wrap with a hand printed mailing label. The book is actually the 3rd printing and is super beautiful. Cant wait to start implementing some AD&D stuff into my 5e game! Thanks for the great videos
You're welcome!!
My dog hasn’t been going out at night, then tonight she needed a walk. Awesome that you just uploaded this video!! Wonderful!!!
Cap, I love this one as I’m a 1e kinda guy. Running a 1/2e campaign now with some home brew for flavor. I’ll be grabbing the pdf as a reference. I still have all of the 1st edition originals - PHB, DMG, Fiend Folio, and Deities &
I actually did use that weapon vs armor type modifier table in my campaign, back in the day. In my prime, I had modifiers memorized from several RPGs in the day, from constant use during play.
This makes me wish I'd never sold my AD&D books 3 decades ago.
Sigh.
On the bright side, they flooded the market with the PHB, DMG, & MM premium editions. (Unfortunately, they pulled back on UA.) At one point they were dumping them for $4.95. So they shouldn't be hard to get - you'll miss the original covers but you'll get the errata.
I've hunted each AD&D core book down online and bought them to replace my old books which I sold... My first choice of supplier is Waynesbooks in the US. My original cover MM and Deities & Demigods is from there, and I got a good price and in great condition. I've got a few choice modules as well (D1-3, Q1, I3-5, among others).
Due to this review, I put this on my wish list to pick up. Thanks for the review.
An excellent game, allows me to play my AD&D modules without flipping through my old handbooks (that are quite in good shape, and I'd like to keep them so). Recommended!
OSRIC seems so damn cool there is tons of content made directly for it. One amazing thing about OSR type gsmes is the compatibility between eachother and adventures new and old. I want to get OSRIC soonish. Atm I am running Shadowdark with some of my own rules to make things like healing less strong and fast and changing XP system to AD&D running a megadungeon funny enough that wss made for OSRIC and Labyrinth Lord.
11:14 I love the artwork here. Leaves enough room for imagination to take over.
I just wanted to revisit this review as I decided to get the Black Blade version in addition to the POD from Lulu. The Black Blade version is indeed worth the small upcharge as it's beautiful! I'm playing in a really great AD&D 1e campaign set in the 'Realms, and while we were getting it off the ground I took my OSRIC POD book to have at the table as not everyone had books. Eventually I dug through my books and found three copies of the 1e PHB and one guy bought the [really lovely] reprint from DriveThruRPG so we don't really need the OSRIC book now. But honestly, in a way I think OSRIC is actually superior to the original books! Certainly it's more clearly written and much better organized. And the few tweaks/changes are mostly an improvement. For instance the original Druid was a munchkin class right out of the books and the Monk never really "worked" or fit the flavor of the game. And the original Bard was a hot mess!😲😂 About the only minor quibble I have with OSRIC is that I wish is included and adapted the material from Unearthed Arcana. It's not a big deal as I have a couple of old copies plus the beautiful new reprint but it would be nice- at least in theory- to be able to play the game with just a single book.
Apropos of nothing, For Gold & Glory is every bit as good as OSRIC, just for 2e instead of 1e.💪⚔🏹
The original Bard is awesome.
I love For Gold & Glory!
OSRIC! Got a physical copy about a year ago. Awesome stuff! 😁
Yeah, I didn't know any better back then and used that table for weapons vs armor type in the games I ran. Kind of liked it TBH. The fighters thought about weapon selection a lot more which I thought was cool.
All the numbers and formulas and charts seem daunting in games at the get go but if you take the time to understand them it really opens up the roleplaying and individuality of your character alot more.
@@mattellis3297 I think 2e had an optional table which was a bit more user friendly. It had the actual armour listed (from memory) and slashing, piercing, bludgeoning modifiers which was the original intent.
Honestly, weapon vs. armor wasn't really that bad. It's one table that you can glance at quickly whenever you had man-to-man melee going on. Essential? I don't think so. Onerous? Nah.
Weapon speed factors, though, those were some dookie. Made the entire initiative sequence a nightmare of picky individual cases and special exceptions, and that's the best case scenario in that it assumes you could even follow the terrible BtB explanations of them in the first place.
That beautiful four page section where OSRIC renders 1E combat completely headache-free is enough to justify its existence all by itself if you ask me.
Another outstanding review young man....and another book I want 😊
Very nice review. I've been looking for a decent OSR book and this seems better than the other ones I've seen. It would be nice if they had an option to purchase a PDF with full art though.
I preferred the spells organized by type and level. That's what the alphabetized index is for, right? Just like with the monsters bow finally being organized by type, which I really love for the same reason you stated. I missed the stronghold rules in there, though, and I have a daughter who wants to play a Bard half the time, but it's not like there isn't the original source material or plenty of OSR versions to pick from in that regard at least.
I just bought 2.2 on Lulu. When I pick up my second rulebook copy, I plan to pick up Monsters as well from Black Blade now that I know.
Also, we are finishing up a 5e campaign in a couple weeks, and I am very much looking forward to using this.
It's ok. I knew about a chance for multiple surprise rounds (or segments) but I never could understand how it worked. I just rolled and did one surprise round anyways. While I'm pretty good with my 1e copies that's a pretty nice looking book at that price, I may pick it up. Great review as always!
Great teaser there for the next video! I immediately checked to see how recent this video is to gauge the likelihood that it's already out. I'll just keep an eye on my subscriptions for it.
I am thankful for the lack of bards and monks. These walking memes can play just fine in 5E.
Shop idea - something featuring the 4 classic classes (fighter, magic-user, cleric & thief)?
Great idea! I was thinking that same as well. Four different Old school core classes in a pose, and 'Game on!" at the bottom.
@@captcorajus Just got a new job and if you make that as a shirt I will 100% buy it XD
@@Arcboltkonrad13 Gotta make some bank on the art I've done, but after, will do!
Ouch ... that surprise round thing ... that rule is so vicious. 3 actions before you can even react, that's nuts! I didn't know this rule either :-/
Thanks from the fellas over at Knights & Knaves Alehouse.
I was literally thinking of writing this exact kind of work, an updated and clarified 1E guidebook. Unreal, here it is. Your reviews are always excellent but they make me spend money. I'll send an email to get myself Osric right away.
I love the OSR, and our wonderful community. Anything I can do to perpetuate the spirit of the game. Glad you enjoyed!
I was confused as to why I got a different version of OSRIC, I got 2nd edition from Drivethrurpg, I didn’t know there was a 3rd edition. Now I know.
If someone wanted to look at an old-school type ruleset, which would you recommend? There seem to be so many AD&D 1e clones or OD&D clones that I can't figure out the real differences between them or why I'd pick one over any other (including trying to find/acquire the 1e/OD&D books themselves)
Hard to say really, without knowing your personal tastes. My favorite OSR is Hyperborea due to the setting, with Lovecraft, Smith and Howard influences.
Swords and Wizardry is very good, with a lot of modern adaption and optional rules and plenty classes two.
Thanks for this. I have the digest size paperback as well as the hardback copy. The combat section was a great read. Aahhhhhh so that's how it really works! (same for spells and segments)
Ha ha ha. YES! Glad I wasn't the only one!
Blackblade's webpage is back up and OSRIC selling for $26
Now, that's a pretty cool backronym.
I played first edition. I played a fighter with Psionic abilities. Those were the days.
My only big gripe about this product is the monster organization. They have spells listed alphabetically, because listing by level doesn't make sense, then they go and list monsters by TYPE? What if I want to find a dragon, I can't look under "D" because it's not alphabetized, but where is the "dragon" section? Was it before humanoids or somewhere around abominations?
I kinda liked its. There's comprehensive monster listing in the front of the book with page numbers. When designing a dungeon I frequently populate by type. A crypt is all Undead for example, a burrow is all humanoids, etc. so grouping by type is kinda cool.... at least for me.
As someone who grew up with 3.5, my dad would always preach about how AD&D was better. I love learning about the retro modules as well as these clones.
I now adopt some things into my Pathfinder 2E games.
Not really on topic, but wanted a sacrificial comment for the algorithm.
I grew up with 3rd edition, myself. But now that I'm older, and looking back, I'm finding that how I actually played the game, and what I enjoy about these games the most is better reflected in OSR games.
@@Aaron-mj9ie I personally love Pathfinder 2E due to it's depth and risk factor.
But, I love the tone and intent of the old school games. The old games show that magic can be a powerful and weird force, whereas in 5E everyone has access to spells. Character death in 5E is rare, but in old school games you're lucky to make it past level 5.
@@MySqueezingArm My initial intuition is to think I wouldn't like PF2e, but I haven't actually looked at it yet. Heck, I have enough trouble getting to play the games I'm familiar with, let alone reading up on new games! Sounds pretty interesting though...
Your dad was right bro. Gaming since 81, still run 2e based game. Well, actually 1993 Gamma World game which is closest to 2E. Lucky enough to have entire 7 person group from back then still playing. We've played versions up until 3.5 but never any further and always returned to 2nd Ed. Am glad to hear an appreciation for the spirit of those games being closer to what you enjoy. It just seems like the latest versions aren't the same. And damn saying that makes me feel old, which is hard when your last name is Young.
@@ForeverYoungKickboxer My dad refused to try anything past AD&D though, but I do agree early games had great spirit.
the Minotaur from keep on the borderlands
Wow ! another Kearney in to D&D and gaming. First time for everything. Lol
This looks amazing for a free PDF!
Might pick up a copy for nostalgia reasons, not sure if I’d use it for a game having lots of fun with the Basic Fantasy OSR you recommended.
I think OSRIC can hit that spot when you're looking for a bit more detail and tactical options but still want the flexibility and simplicity of OSR play.
See I started with basic D&D and then AD&D that was my favorite. I don't like the direction D&D has gone. I wish I could find a group to play with in Wisconsin .
Sweet channel. This is what I'm talking about
I can't wait for those Game On! T-Shirts to arrive. I hope they get here before my group meetup, this weekend.
I have mine on order too! I already got my coffee mug and was really happy with it. Let me know how you like the T-Shirts!
@@captcorajus You need a shirt with you, in armor with sword, facing off against that troll from your intro.
@@captcorajus I got my shirt! I buy a lot of graphic T's and I gotta say, this is one of the best quality prints I've ever got.
You should commission a design with the four original character classes.
@@Aaron-mj9ie Awesome!!
Im hoping you can help me understand something. I just got a Osric 1e. Im trying to understand XP for some monsters. For example. For Dragon Turtle (p271)under XP it says
10/7,000+18hp. What I don't understand is the 10/7,000 part. I can't seem to find that anywhere, including ch3 (p118) where it goes thru XP for monsters slain. Any help would be appreciated.
Anybody out here attend D&D Camp at Shippensburg University in 1980's? Fun times, comment for the Comment God.
Plus, ty for the review. Will now pick this up for my table of grognards!
Awesome!
I run a 1ed campaign and have been looking for something to help out the younger players who are having some trouble coming to grips with the freedom of virtually no skills or feats, just using there imaginations.
This may be just what turns the key.
Yes, It probably is. I meant to say in the video that if you're introducing 1E to newer/ younger players OSRIC is a great option.
Many coming from 5E play their character sheet and not the character and that's because of all the fear combos many player look for .
But thats due to wizards incorporating mmo elements and making the game so easy that player death is rare
You can also order directly from Black Blade via our Facebook page at facebook.com/BlackBladePublishing where we have an album comparing the Lulu version of OSRIC to the Black Blade edition, as well as our other modules, hex and graph pads, Tales of Peril collection, etc. depicted for sale.
Allan.
And a small correction: the OSRIC rulebook is $26, while Monsters of Myth is $29.
I'm confused though, Allan. Is the 3rd Edition available via the FB page?
@@variaphora As I said you MUST contact Black Blade Publishing directly in order to get the quality edition I mentioned in the video. The Lulu version is strictly Print on demand, glue spine construction.
The other is put together by Usherwood Publications and had a cloth spine and stitched pages. The production quality is far superior to the lulu version. I hope that helps. :)
@@captcorajus well it helps me - less so my wallet!
@@variaphora ROFL... Sorry my friend.
@@variaphora : and yes, the current OSRIC printing is the 3rd printing.
Anybody - does the system fix AD&D's messy unarmed combat rules? Thanks.
First like! 😀
Now to watch the video... 😉
One issue - I’m getting a 404 when I hit your shop web address...
My bad! it was a formating issue with the link, but I fixed it. Here it is again
yeoldeschoolshoppe.com/
OSRIC deserves a ton of credit, as do its creators. Coincidentally, when I announced my current OSR project, an artist for OSRIC, Johnathan Bingham, agreed to do some work for me as another way to contribute in a positive way and address some things he wished he would have done differently with OSRIC.
"...things he would have done differently..." such as?
@@nad3936 Made the art more inclusive and diverse
Great vid. Thanks for the info, ill have to get this.
I fist thumping a table and light blue d20 showing "20" could make a good t-shirt design. X3
Are there OSRIC type modules available?
TONS!! The Maximum Mayhem modules that i've reviewed are all written for OSRIC
I think the monk and bard classes had problems. I remember one or both were revised in Dragon magazine at some point, in the 1980s. It's too bad TSR didn't publish an update to the 1st Edition manuals, they produced 2nd edition instead. That's when my friends and I all moved on: The original was fun, why would we buy the books all over again.
thanks for the review, you are dead wrong IMHO about spells being listed in alphabetical order, i dont want to have to go through all of them to know what all the 1st level spells are i want them listed by level, oh well i must be in the minority 😂
This assumes that you already KNOW the level of the spell to start, and to consult the proper list. If you DON"T know that handy bit of information, then finding the spell is going to be more challenging. 😃
Certainly a LIST of spells by level is very handy, but listing spell DESCRIPTIONS by level is pretty clumsy IMHO.
From the screenshot of your shop, it looks like the logo on the dragon t-shirt is too big and off center.
That the style of THAT particular Tee shirt. There are others that have it centered.
Just ordered this thru LuLu POD.
Good stuff. Thank you!
It was with this game that I found my first love while Pathfinder got stuck in a kind of gas factory.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-
C'est avec ce jeu que j'ai retrouvé mes premières amours tandis que Pathfinder s'engluait dans une sorte d'usine à gaz.
Okay, big question here. Do people really call this "Oz-Rick"? Everyone I know calls it "Oh-Ess-Are-Eye-See".
Yes.
This a 3rd edition of osric? What changed in the versions? Could you do a video of the changes?
Nothings changed. The rules are essentially the same, but editing mistakes are corrected, artwork added and the production values are better.
ty for this!!
Absolutely! You're welcome!
To me, the one major strength AD&D has over 0e and B/X has always been the additional player options, including classes and spells. My perfect game would combine the simplicity and open-endedness of B/X with these additional options, something that OSE's Advanced material seems to do very well. Still, OSRIC opened the door for all these clones and adventures coming out over the past 20 years. Gotta give credit where credit is due. If I had to pick between systems Finch authored, it's Swords & Wizardry over this, but this was critical.
There's an updated 2nd edition by the looks of it. Went to DriveThruRPG after seeing this video cuz I've been wanting to try OSR stuff, seems to be at a good price overall. Might possibly get it.
The one on Drivethru rpg is the out of date version. Get the PDF from the OSRIC website directly.
@@captcorajus Really? The one on the site seems to be the same one. Skeleton on the cover and all that.
@@ginger-ham4800 100% Sure. I ordered that one before I ordered the one directly from Black Blade Publishing.
Sorry, but where do we go to get a copy of this source book
never mind, i found it, ty
Whoever won the fight with the Troll at the beginning of your video?
Well... I'm still here so... ;)
@@captcorajus you could be a doppelganger!!!🤔
Mystara is the best setting by far
Ahh, OSRIC. Really, where it all began.
BFRPG needs some love there - I think it might have been before OSRIC to be honest.
@@theredcaps Close. OSRIC was 2006. BFRPG was 2007.
Regardless, if we're talking published D&D fan refinements the real starting point is stuff like the Arduin Trilogy books, not the post-2000s nostalgia of the OSR movement. People have been hacking D&D for as long as D&D has existed.
@@richmcgee434 2007 was its first PRINT release ... it was available in PDF prior to that. Change logs here go back to Jan 2006:
www.basicfantasy.org/news.html
@@MonkeyworkPlays Fair enough. Still not 1977 like Arduin was, though. :)
Will you ever review Zweihander or Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay Captain?
I have no clue what Zweihander is, so probably not. Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay might be fun. I've NEVER played it, but I always like the cover art when it was in the games workshop store. lol.
@@captcorajus ah okay I was just wondering, Zweihander is a more refined version of warhammer fantasy. There’s a lot of similarities between the two
@@ryaneble7869 Oh, okay. I've never heard of it, but I'm not really that big into Games Workshop or Warhammer games. Good to know though! Thanks!
@@captcorajus WFRP has been pretty much completely divorced from Games Workshop for more than two decades, and Zweihander is effectively OSR WFRP, if you can imagine an OSR for non-D&D products. The original game is 35 years old at this point and more than old enough to merit the same approach to fan refinement that OD&D, BECMI, etc. have gotten. The setting started out identical to the WFB minis game but diverged radically after GW abandoned it to Hogshead, Green Ronin, and Black Industries. I'll forego mentioning the FFG edition from a bit over a decade ago, it's an entirely different set of mechanics based on a proto-Genesys engine and nearly useless for the earlier versions.
The post-GW publishers expanded an already-solid setting into something pretty special. Even if you have no interest in anything GW does, if you like the idea of roleplaying seedy adventurers and sellswords in a grungy low-fantasy, high-lethality version of pseudo-Europe it's not something to skip on. The game engine's only okay but Zweihander polished it up pretty well in much the same way OSE did for D&D.
@@richmcgee434 Ah.. okay. Nice. Lol.. i had no idea. The last time I really paid attention to it was in the 80s when it was on the GWS store shelves.
Good review
And the PDF is free!
Thanks - good info
Anyone remember the name of the OSR game that replicated 2nd Edition?
For Gold and Glory.
Thanks!
The current OSRIC 2nd edition. I have the softcover release (unsure 2nd has hardcover). It is NOT superior to a hardcover and no one is really going to ever get anyone to think softcover is better than hardcover. But, there is nothing bad about it really. I mean, you look at it and yes, man that thing is thick. And my first thought was, this spine is so doomed. Sooooo, you go and get thin piece of panel, or maybe plexiglass, or who knows a piece of thin tin. Reinforce the spine, make cracking impossible. Anyone that can't think through that and solve the problem, likely would suck as a DM too (good DMs can think way outside of the box). OSRIC is a nice purchase if you dig old school. Better organized that the original deal. Smaller. More transportable. You can hold the whole game in one hand. I rather like that aspect. By the time 5th edition arrived, I had finally had my fill of stacks of manuals (I was required to replace too often). There are several choices for the Old School role gamer. This is a good option to consider.
can you list the best old school rules that might be worth buying ?
Basic expert: go for Old School Essentials, Advanced D&d1e: OSRIC or Old School Essentials Advanced (coming out in 1 tome soon), ad&d 2e: For Gold and Glory.
Done! At the end of the video is a 'Playlist' of all the OSRs I've review for the channel.. also check out the recommendations link in the video. :)
I personally prefer the D&D Rules Cyclopedia, hardback book with everything you need for about $30
@@TheLostAdventurer also good.
@@TheLostAdventurer Absolutely! Its a great rules set!
Why buy this when AD&D is in print?
because its better organized, better explained and less expensive then buying the three booklets individually. :)
@@captcorajus And deny myself the pleasure of the Original Holy Writ of Gygaxian prose?! I smell heresy! ಠ_ಠ Edit: Seriously though, it looks like a fantastic value for $30 actually. I'd still have the player's sections printed from PDF to spiral bound separately. Too bad the website's still down. What's up with that? :/
Nah. I'll just stick to my AD&D books.
Yep--I've been using my original MM, FF, PHB, and DMG for 42 years. They have served me well and I couldn't dream of ever parting with them.
@@mikep6263 Seems like each edition, starting with 2nd, has done nothing but to serve in dumbing down the language and making both the players and DM lazy.
Each version gets worse and worse.
I have nothing clever to add, so...Algorithm!
I appreciate your dedication to the Algorithm.
@@captcorajus I'll never understand why an obscure joke character from an old SPI boardgame gets so much attention here on RUclips. I mean, I guess "Logarithm, son of Algorithm" is kind of a clever name for an elf, but the same game had better examples. Gygax Dragonlord, for ex. :)
What? Oh, that algorithm. Well, never mind.
"...lack of the monk or bard class..."
That's a pro not a con, in my opinion.
Ever played with a bard player? You'll regret it!
One of my many complaints about 1st edition has been the poor writing style and the horrible layout. I also did not appreciate all the advice given in the original as some of it was just horrible.
This is an AD
Nah.. lol.. OSRIC didn't pay me a thing, but thanks!
I guess I just know my first edition books pretty well, but I don't find this better organized at all. And I found it utterly dull and lifeless in terms of the writing. Was totally underwhelmed by this and I'd consider it perhaps the weakest of the major OSR clones. I threw my free pdf in the trash bin because it was so useless. Good idea for the time I guess, but now that the all the originals are easily available, this seems pointless.
lol... Okay bro. Get down with your bad self.