Herein I describe details of my ongoing campaigns, discuss the D&D game, and talk about other issues in gaming that I find relevant. I am not very fond of 4th edition, having played it once and found it too WoWish. Consequently most of my articles will reference 3.5 and previous editions.
OSRIC and Me
Posted 15th December 2008 at 12:08 AM by airwalkrr
The other day I was browsing around EN World as I so often love to do and I noted an interesting bit on the news page. It seemed that OSRIC 2.0 had recently been released. For those not in the know, the OSRIC (Old School Reference & Index Compilation) is essentially a re-publishing of 1st edition AD&D mechanics (not considered under copyright) without the fluffy bits of artistic design (which are considered under copyright). Being the huge 1st edition fan that I am, this fan-supported project had interested me from the beginning. It promised to clean up and organize information better than the original AD&D manuals on which it is based as well as simplifying the rules in some places. On all levels, this sounded intriguing to me.
Up until recently, the OSRIC had only been a curiosity however. I had read it cover to cover, and while I admitted it was cleaner and tighter than 1st edition, it felt somehow lacking. Well, no longer do I feel that way. Perhaps it is the old school art. Maybe it is the improved editing. Either way, version 2.0 is a stellar achievement, especially for a fan-based project. And I felt compelled to run it. So it was with great excitement that I brought along a full print copy of the rules with me to last night's game along with a copy of the Temple of Elemental Evil (being mostly compatible with the OSRIC) to run for my group.
As I pulled out the huge binder and extra character sheets for OSRIC, there was so much trepidation in the air, I could have cut it with a knife. We were already knee deep into the Expedition to Castle Greyhawk and most of my players were fairly happy playing 8th-level characters. To go back to playing 1st-level with a system unfamiliar to some of them was not exactly welcome. However, I convinced them that this was merely an experiment that I wanted them to try out. I wanted them to do it for me if nothing else. Thankfully, they agreed.
So what were the results? Well for starters, we usually end our game around 1:00 am; last night I didn't pack up until 3:00 am so apparently we were enjoying ourselves. We managed to fit in seven combat encounters whereas under 3.5 we normally fit in two to four. We also managed to do some roleplaying and they learned a little bit about the history of Hommlet and the Temple of Elemental Evil, classic fixtures in the Greyhawk setting. By the end of the night the players had a fairly good grasp of the combat rules, which were much simpler than 3.5 (and didn't require a battlemap!). Most importantly, it seemed like everyone was having a very good time. No one ever asked me "Can we get back to the Castle Greyhawk campaign already?" which I consider a good sign.
So will I be running OSRIC for my group again? I hope so. I've told them next session we will be going back to Castle Greyhawk, but I'll be bringing along the Temple of Elemental Evil and OSRIC in case anyone wants to do a little old school dungeon exploration while waiting for the rest of the group to arrive.
Up until recently, the OSRIC had only been a curiosity however. I had read it cover to cover, and while I admitted it was cleaner and tighter than 1st edition, it felt somehow lacking. Well, no longer do I feel that way. Perhaps it is the old school art. Maybe it is the improved editing. Either way, version 2.0 is a stellar achievement, especially for a fan-based project. And I felt compelled to run it. So it was with great excitement that I brought along a full print copy of the rules with me to last night's game along with a copy of the Temple of Elemental Evil (being mostly compatible with the OSRIC) to run for my group.
As I pulled out the huge binder and extra character sheets for OSRIC, there was so much trepidation in the air, I could have cut it with a knife. We were already knee deep into the Expedition to Castle Greyhawk and most of my players were fairly happy playing 8th-level characters. To go back to playing 1st-level with a system unfamiliar to some of them was not exactly welcome. However, I convinced them that this was merely an experiment that I wanted them to try out. I wanted them to do it for me if nothing else. Thankfully, they agreed.
So what were the results? Well for starters, we usually end our game around 1:00 am; last night I didn't pack up until 3:00 am so apparently we were enjoying ourselves. We managed to fit in seven combat encounters whereas under 3.5 we normally fit in two to four. We also managed to do some roleplaying and they learned a little bit about the history of Hommlet and the Temple of Elemental Evil, classic fixtures in the Greyhawk setting. By the end of the night the players had a fairly good grasp of the combat rules, which were much simpler than 3.5 (and didn't require a battlemap!). Most importantly, it seemed like everyone was having a very good time. No one ever asked me "Can we get back to the Castle Greyhawk campaign already?" which I consider a good sign.
So will I be running OSRIC for my group again? I hope so. I've told them next session we will be going back to Castle Greyhawk, but I'll be bringing along the Temple of Elemental Evil and OSRIC in case anyone wants to do a little old school dungeon exploration while waiting for the rest of the group to arrive.
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