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Rocket your D&D 5E and Level Up: Advanced 5E games into space! Alpha Star Magazine Is Launching... Right Now!

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Message: <blockquote data-quote="timbannock" data-source="post: 7784028" data-attributes="member: 17913">I'm a backer of the KS. Here are my feelings and notes:1. Development is like 99% done. We've already got the books, with the exception of the Advanced stuff, but the previews have proven those are very far along and just need some final edits and layout. Art is coming in, and literally every week I get an updated version of the books. Because this started as BX Essentials, Gavin already has years of playtesting and experience with writing the rules in the most concise way, and formatting the books in the most readable way.2. I'm a huge OSR fan, and tried out a great deal of them. I'm also a big fan of race separate from class. But the facts are that -- as a content creator myself -- it pays to know what people are playing, and people are playing AD&D and BX more or less as-is in droves, with every OSR game lagging behind in sheer numbers. (Based on who's playing what as reported by the bigger VTTs, so keep in mind this isn't a statement of factual numbers, but is a pretty good indication). As such, it's super helpful to have a modern layout and easy-to-use reference for BX. (For AD&D, there's OSRIC and/or my original AD&D books...which I still have, so I might as well just use those over OSRIC for reference).3. The use of two formats -- one big compendium or 5 smaller books -- is purely there to allow for the format you use most, and aren't meant to be confusing or require extra buy in. Some folks aren't going to use the fantasy-specific rules, so they can get away with just 2 or 3 of the smaller books. Folks going for the full experience can pick up the combined tome, or, if they find themselves often referring to multiple books at once, get the benefits of having several smaller books. Totally up to you. I prefer many smaller books purely based on ease of reference. It's why I'd always prefer 3 core rulebooks versus one big honkin' rulebook for D&D/Pathfinder-style games. Just my opinion there. And his edits and revisions show his commitment to re-delivering with fixes, corrections, and better ideas as he goes along. I have B/X Essentials, and I'm not even mad that I'm "rebuying" some of that with Old School Essentials, because my preferences aligned with what Gavin is updating by going to Old School Essentials. He's reformatting the books, and importantly, better organizing certain information to account for folks who do plan to use the core rules while not necessarily using some of the genre-specific fantasy stuff. He's also adding in two simple options: THAC0 and Ascending AC. I'm all about that, because that's exactly how I play the game. Some people won't be, but honestly, the BX Essentials books still work as-is, so no loss there.4. Gavin's ideas are indeed expansive. But he's delivered. Gavin's also not a one-man team, though I'm pretty sure he mostly started that way. Since BX Essentials launched, it's picked up a strong fanbase. Now, with Old School Essentials, he's relaunching and has a pretty big and clearly growing pool of playtesters, editors, artists, and other folks directly pitching in. So it's a team effort, and that helps ensure the output is there.</blockquote>

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