Rules Reference

This campaign runs on Old-School Essentials (OSE) — a modern, cleanly-organized version of the classic 1981 Basic/Expert rules for Dungeons & Dragons. While it preserves the structure and tone of the originals, OSE makes the game faster, more accessible, and easier to reference during play.

OSE is not a "balanced" system in the modern sense. It is:

Fast and Lethal: Combat is deadly. Low-level characters die easily. Monsters don’t scale to your level—you must know when to run.
Focused on Exploration: You’ll crawl through dungeons, explore hex maps, track supplies, and dig up ancient treasure. Resource management is central to survival.
Driven by Player Decisions: There’s no story on rails. You choose where to go, what to risk, and how to act. The world responds accordingly.
Not About Your Build: Your character sheet is simple. The real power comes from your ideas, caution, planning, and guts.

It may feel unforgiving at first, but that’s by design. This is a world where preparation matters, death is always on the table, and victory feels earned.

If you're curious about the system itself, the full rules are free to browse at the OSE SRD.

Core Mechanics

Basic Checks: Roll 1d20 and try to get equal to or under your ability score (like Strength or Dexterity). Lower rolls are better. Most challenges use this system.

Saving Throws: Roll 1d20 and try to get equal to or above your class-based saving throw target.These protect you from spells, poisons, traps, and more.

Skills & Other Rolls: Some actions use a #-in-6 chance (like sneaking or hearing noise), or a roll-under % check (1d100 ≤ skill score). These vary by class and circumstance.

Attacking: We use the classic Descending Armor Class system. Lower ACs are harder to hit. To make an attack, roll 1d20 + attack modifiers + target’s AC. If the total equals or exceeds your character’s THAC0 ("To Hit Armor Class 0"), the attack hits.

Player Skill Over Character Sheet: This game rewards clever thinking. Want to find a trap? Describe how. Bluff a guard? Talk it out. Dice rolls are a last resort—ingenuity comes first.

New to the OSR or OSE?

If you're new to OSE or old-school play, don't worry. Ask questions, think creatively, and focus on ideas over stats, that’s where the fun lives.

For a deeper understanding of the mindset behind this style of play, we highly recommend reading the Old-School Primer it's a short, brilliant guide to old-school adventure gaming.

Core Books for This Campaign

All of the rules we use in this campaign are drawn from the Old-School Essentials: Advanced Fantasy line by Necrotic Gnome. You do not need a massive library to play—just two books contain everything you need:

Advanced Fantasy Player’s Tome

Includes everything for character creation and advancement: classes, races, spells, equipment, and core rules for adventuring. If you're a player, this is your book.

Advanced Fantasy Referee’s Tome

Contains all the tools for running adventures: monsters, treasures, dungeon and wilderness procedures, encounter tables, and guidance for rulings. Perfect for referees or curious players.

You can purchase these as high-quality hardcovers or PDFs directly from the publisher’s store: Necrotic Gnome Webstore. Supporting indie publishers like this keeps the OSR alive and growing.

Rules Library

Below are quick links to essential sections of the OSE SRD. These cover the core rules and mechanics most useful during play.

Basic Rules

Moddes of Play

Characters

Character Creation (SRD) , Our VTT can walk you through this!
Abiltiy Scores (SRD)
Alignment (SRD)
Languages (SRD)
- Language List (House)

Classes

We can only provide the classic SRD classes and our house classes but classes from the Advanced Fantacy book are also avalible.

Skaven (House)

Equipment & Services

Hirelings

Retainers (SRD) , Retiners are controled by players!
Henchmen (House)
Specialists (SRD)

Buildings

Magic

Rules of Magic (SRD)
Spell Books (SRD)
Magical Research (SRD)
Spell List (House/SRD), the spell lists from the Advanced Fantacy book are also avalible.