Spes Magna Games

OSRIC starts the process of creating a character with ability scores. Some talk of methods for generating ability scores ensues. One can be “truly brutal” and roll 3d6 in order for the six scores. One can be less brutal, allowing scores to be arranged to suit player taste or allowing 4d6 (drop the lowest die result) instead of 3d6. Players familiar with AD&D likely recall the many different methods suggested in the rules.

As for me, I like players getting to play want they want to play. Once I joined a 2E AD&D group while stationed in Hawaii, and I really wanted to play a bard. I’d never played a 2E bard, and it looked interesting. So, I rolled the dice, and quickly realized that bard was not an option because I’d failed to generate a high enough Charisma. Bummer. So, I played a thief who wanted to be a bard, and spent his nonweapon proficiency slots accordingly. It was still fun, but it wasn’t really what I was looking for.

Should I decide to run OSRIC, this is the ability score method I’m leaning toward:

1. Pick a race and class. Note the minimum and maximum ability scores for both.
2. Roll 3d6 in order, assigning the results to the six ability scores.
3. Look at the race and class ability score notes. Anything that isn’t high enough, raise it to the minimum. Anything that is too high, lower it to the maximum.

So, what might this look like?

Well, let’s say I want to play a gnome illusionist, the illusionist part being a class notoriously hard to qualify for due to its high Dexterity and Intelligence minimums. I make note of the relevant mins and maxes:

Gnome Minimums/Maximums: STR 6/18, DEX 3/18, CON 8/18, INT 7/18, WIS 3/18, CHA 3/18
Illusionist Minimums: STR 6, DEX 16, INT 15, WIS 6, CHA 6

Next I roll 3d6 six times. These are the results:

Unadjusted Ability Scores: STR 12, DEX 10, CON 12, INT 8, WIS 7, CHA 8

I compare these results to the race and class requirements, changing them as indicated, to get these ability scores. I bold-faced the changes for ease of reference.

Adjusted Ability Scores: STR 12, DEX 16, CON 12, INT 15, WIS 7, CHA 8

Tada! I now have a gnome illusionist who, due to his Dexterity and Intelligence both being under 17, is currently limited to 5th level. Perhaps making him an illusionist/thief would be a good idea?

Tags: 1E AD&D, OSRIC

Well, once again, it’s been way too long since my last post. Pretend I’ve explained the usual excuses in the remainder of this paragraph.

Now check out the picture. Click to embiggen if you want.

That’s me gazing down in glee at my 386-page hardback copy of Black Blade Publishing‘s OSRIC, which stands for Old School Reference and Index Compilation. For the unwashed, OSRIC is 1E AD&D. Those 386 pages include 1E AD&D’s Player’s Handbook, Monster Manual, and Dungeon Master’s Guide reborn as an Old School ruleset that’s been cleaned up, clarified, and presented anew.

There’s a lot of nifty stuff in OSRIC. For example, consider OSRIC’s take on infravision:

“Infravision is the ability to see in the dark and is common to almost all subterranean creatures.”

Notice what infravision is not: It’s not the ability to detect gradations of heat. Notice also that in dungeons and caverns, infravision is pretty much ubiquitous among the monsters the heroes will encounter. Sound great if you’re a subterranean creature, but infravision has its limits:

“Infravision cannot be used within the ambit of any light source.”

I love that it says “within the ambit”. It’s not often a gamebook sends me toward a dictionary. I know enough Latin to recognize that “ambit” is almost certainly a Latin verb, and etymonline.com confirms my thoughts. “Ambit” derives from ambire, meaning “to go around, go about”. Its modern meaning tends toward “the bounds or limits of a place or district”.

In addition to a range limit (usually 60 feet), “Infravision does not detect colours and is of little help while searching or making minute examinations, so sapient creatures such as orcs may well prefer torchlight even if they possess infravision.”

On the run from orcs through a subterranean fungus forest? Well, if the orcs are tracking you, the orcs need torchlight. Searching for traps on that sarcophagus or reading your spellbook? You need torchlight as well.

One of the unfortunate consequences of the more recent idea related to infravision as darkvision is that torchlight, et cetera, becomes unnecessary for most non-human creatures. For humans especially, the lack of darkvision turns into a huge liability as the light sources necessary for exploring otherwise lightless caverns turns into a huge warning signal for any enemies the humans might approach.

OSRIC’s simple description of infravision ameliorates that issue as well as disposing on one of my 1E AD&D pet peeves, namely players and DMs wrangling over gradations of heat and what is visible versus invisible as a result. If I never hear another discussion about whether or not lurking zombies are the same temperature as their surroundings and, therefore, invisible to infravision….

I’m still digesting OSRIC, biting off a bit here and there. So far, I really like it. It stays true to its 1E AD&D roots while at the same time appearing fresh, as if it were very much its own thing. I have a feeling running OSRIC waits somewhere in the near future, especially since the school year ends this coming Friday.

Ah, blessed summer vacation!

Tags: 1E AD&D, OSRIC, reviews