DM Brian

Old-School Essentials is the best presented form of classic D&D. It's based on one of the most time-honored versions of D&D, the 1981 Basic/Expert D&D, which was meant as an entry-level way to play D&D for kids or novice players. But in simplifying the game, they inadvertently made a brilliant rules-lite version of D&D, one that is widely regarded as the best dungeon crawl set of rules, rules that are equally suited to a more player-driven cam. Play is fast and immersive. It can be adapted to more fictional genres easier than more rules-heavy versions of D&D, because the player characters are closer to ordinary characters with a some extra tricks, rather than incredibly powerful heroes. Contrary to some myths, game play is less combat-focused than later D&D editions. This is in part because combat poses genuine risks. This drives players to pursue alternative schemes and gambits to try to deal with dangers and achieve their goals rather than brute force. It also leads players to engage with the setting, because they aren't so tough as to be able to defeat the whole town guard and they often need allies. Old-School Essentials ends up being an ideal system for wide range of genres: fairy tale-inspired games, gothic and other varieties of horror, science fantasy, sword and sorcery, weird fiction, and vanilla D&D. It is highly compatible with original D&D, 1st Edition, 2nd Edition, BECMI, and other forms of Basic D&D, which allows you to learn one system and play through a huge amount of the adventures from D&D's past as they were intended. OSE also has a thriving community of incredibly imaginative adventure writers producing zines and books, pioneering pushing RPGs in new directions, with brilliant art and incredibly user-friendly layout. Another plus of OSE is that its easy to mod, due to way its rules are designed. You can make changes without unintended interactions. All in all, OSE has become one of the most popular ways of playing D&D among many long-time and new players. You only have to read a few pages to learn the rules as a player and all the rules can fit in one book. I've seen many players who have never played an RPG before love it's focus on your imagination rather than on what's in the books!

Great teacher!