We have lots of exciting news to share today, including Kickstarter dates for the upcoming deluxe box sets, Old-School Essentials on Fantasy Grounds, the third printing of the Classic Fantasy Rules Tome, recent third-party products, and more! So let's dig in!
Kickstarter for the Deluxe Box Sets Coming February 2022
We are very excited to announce that the Kickstarter campaign for the deluxe Old-School Essentials Classic Game Set and Advanced Expansion Set box sets is planned to launch late-February 2022. The Classic Game Set will contain 5 books, and the Advanced Expansion Set will contain 4 books. Both deluxe box sets will be available in the same Kickstarter. We will be spreading the news far and wide once exact dates are locked in!
Old-School Essentials on Fantasy Grounds
We're delighted to announce that Old-School Essentials is now officially supported on the Fantasy Grounds Virtual Tabletop! The demo version of Fantasy Grounds and the basic Old-School Essentials ruleset can be downloaded completely free of charge!
Products currently available:
• Advanced Fantasy Player's Tome
• Advanced Fantasy Tome
• Hole in the Oak
• Halls of the Blood King
• Winter's Daughter
• Carcass Crawler issue 1
More coming soon...
For anyone new to VTT gaming, we recently posted an article on the Necrotic Gnome website about how to get started on Fantasy Grounds, which you can read HERE!
Third Printing of the Old-School Essentials Rules Tome
The third printing of the Old-School Essentials Classic Fantasy Rules Tome is available now! The new printing features cover art by Peter Mullen, 45 new interior B&W illustrations, plus fixes for all known errata. PDF available from DriveThruRPG. Print available from Exalted Funeral.
Recent Third-Party Products
Here are some highlights of recent products by third-party creators designed for Old-School Essentials.
Wondrous Weavings Warped & Weird
Wondrous Weavings Warped & Weird is an alternate arcane magic system, heavily inspired by how magic works in the stories by Jack Vance and Fritz Leiber. The rules apply to both the magic-user and elf class. The overall result of these rules is that arcane casters are somewhat more versatile and powerful at the beginning, and less almighty at upper levels. The larger impact on the game, however, comes the introduction of Magical Mishaps, which give spell casters the option to increase efficiency and power if they accept a certain degree of risk. Written by Giuseppe Rotondo. Art by JM Woiak, Heather Shinn, Jack Badashski, and Daniel F. Walthall. PDF available from DriveThruRPG.
Planar Compass #2
The second issue in this interplanar odyssey welcomes you to the deep end of the Astral Sea! Here there be strange sights, ever changing environmental dangers, and monsters the likes of which you’ve never seen. Includes a procedural hex generation for astral travel, a living dungeon hellbent on your destruction, adventure hooks, magic items, and even a fishing game. Written by DM Wilson, Sarah Brunt, and Goblin's Henchman. Art by Zoe J. Downey, and Mike Lake. PDF available from DriveThruRPG. Print available from www.planarcompass.com.
Old School Stylish
This supplement helps you build a campaign where players "unlock" new abilities through play, and optionally switch abilities in and out like Final Fantasy jobs. Inspired in equal parts by Wuxia stories, Hong Kong action cinema and Japanese RPGs, this supplement will help you put a very different spin on your old school fantasy RPG campaigns! Written by Chris Ramdeen. Art by Yomiya, and Sam Sorensen. PDF available from DriveThruRPG.
Third-Party OSE Products on Kickstarter
Through the Valley of the Manticore
This is the second adventure module to be released by artist and creator Jacob Fleming, following his acclaimed debut adventure, In the Shadow of Tower Silveraxe. Through the Valley of the Manticore has players traverse winding sandstone slot-canyons and explore natural cave systems rumored to contain hidden relics of immense value and magical power. Sooner or later they may realize that they are mere pawns in a game being played by an unnaturally intelligent monster. They will need cunning as well as strength in order to overcome this bizarre and terrifying tale. Pledge now on Kickstarter!
Old-School Essentials in Wyrd Science Issue #2
Wyrd Science returns with an even bigger and better second issue of interviews, news, features and reviews covering everything in gaming. This issue includes a feature celebrating D&D B/X's 40th Anniversary, including interviews with game designers Stephen Marsh & David 'Zeb' Cook, Peter Bebergal on the books that inspired B/X. Old-School Essentials is highlighted in an article on why D&D B/X continues to inspire today’s thriving old-school scene, including some quotes from Necrotic Gnome's very own Gavin Norman! PDF available from DriveThruRPG. For stockists of print copies, go www.wyrdscience.online.
Join Us!
Old-School Essentials Facebook group
Subscribe to the Old-School Essentials Newsletter
See the signup link at the bottom of the page.