Let's take things back to the old-school.
So I hear you’re looking to kick it old-school and hear how people used to play D&D? Let’s make you a character so that you’re ready when your StartPlaying GM decides to run that old-school dungeon crawl, you’re ready to dive in. Old-School Essentials from Necrotic Gnome is what is referred to as a “retro-clone” of Basic Edition Dungeons and Dragons, and now fits into the genre of the Old-School Renaissance, or the OSR for short. There are numerous blogs and books on the history of D&D and the OSR, and we don’t have the time for that here, but if you’re interested I recommend Jon Peterson’s Playing at the World. With definitions all sorted let’s jump into character creation.
Old-School Stats
Old-School Essentials uses the classic 6 stat array of Strength, Intelligence, Wisdom, Dexterity, Constitution, and Charisma. To determine your stats, roll 3d6 down the line. No moving scores around, no 4d6 drop the lowest. You can slightly adjust these after you pick a class, but we’ll get to that in a minute. Stats don’t really matter as much in OSE as they do in newer games, so don’t panic if you don’t get great stats. If you have really bad stats, i.e. no stat higher than 8 or an extremely low rating in one or more abilities, ask your referee (that’s what this game calls the GM) if you can discard those rolls and try again. Personally, I’d stick with terrible stats and see how long I can make that mess of a character last, but you do what’s more fun for you and your table!
Old-School Classes
The next step is picking a class. Depending on if your GM is using the Advanced Fantasy rules or the Classic Fantasy, you might end up picking your race and your class. For this guide though, we’re going to assume you’re playing with Classic Fantasy. Your class options are Cleric, Fighter, Magic-User, Thief, Dwarf, Elf, or Halfling. That’s right, in this game Dwarf, Elf, and Halfling would be your class, and everyone else is assumed to be a human. Your referee may allow you to re-flavor any of those classes to fit the type of character you want to play. Your class is going to determine how much XP it takes to level up, what kind of special abilities you have, and a number of other things that I’ll let you discover.
A Brief Return To Stats And What They Do
Now, here is where you can adjust your scores. Your class will have a Prime Requisite stat, for example Fighters have a Prime Requisite stat in Strength. This is the stat you’ll want to be your highest, since most of your abilities will work off of that stat and if it’s high enough, you’ll get a bonus to your XP. If you wish, you may now raise your characters Prime Requisite stat by lowering your Strength, Intelligence, or Wisdom. For every 2 points you lower one of those stats, can raise your Prime Requisite Stat by 1. This can be a good way to eek out an extra bonus, so make sure you check the Ability Score Modifier charts in the book.
Next, you’ll record those Ability Score Modifiers on your character sheet, these are anything from increasing Melee or Missile damage, learning additional languages, determining how many retainers you can have, and more. Up next is noting your attack values. Now, depending on if your referee is using THACO or Ascending Armor Class, this will change what those numbers are, so make sure you check in with them so you are able to get the correct number. Now you will note the saving throws listed for you class at level 1 and any special abilities your class might have, including spells.
Now we roll for Hit Points. Your class will have a different die to determine your hit points, but you take that number and add your Constitution modifier to it. Optionally, if your Referee allows it, you can reroll 1s and 2s. Note your alignment and known languages, and finally buy some equipment.
Get Money, Get Paid
You start the game with 3d6 X 10 gold pieces, and you may spend as much of that money as you wish on equipment for your character. Make sure you have a weapon, some armor, a couple dozen ball bearings, and probably a 10 foot pole, you have no idea how helpful a 10 foot pole is until you don’t have one. You’ll now note your Armor Class depending on the kind of armor you bought.
Now You're Ready To Crawl
And you’re done! You’re ready to take your brand new Old-School Essentials character and bring them through any dungeon, hex-crawl, or whatever other adventure your StartPlaying referee has set up for you. Have fun adventurer, and remember, don’t get caught without that 10 foot pole, I’m serious that thing is great.
To find a game of Old-School Essentials you can join, click HERE. To find other games you can join click HERE.
‍
This guide was written by Jordan Hunt for StartPlaying. You can find him in most places as GM_ Jordan or sometimes in the wild buying a cortado and a muffin, he loves playing, running, and thinking about ttrpgs. Photo taken by me.
