Showing posts with label AD&D. Show all posts
Showing posts with label AD&D. Show all posts

Tuesday, July 21, 2026

OSRIC 3.0 errata (official)

Since I spent a number of years successfully curating a non-official listing of errata for the previous version of the OSRIC fantasy RPG, I figured I might as well keep up the tradition now that the latest (3.0) edition is available to the the public. This time, however, I'm pleased to be starting out with the blessing of OSRIC's publishers at Mythmere Games, so all the items below should be considered "official" for all intents and purposes. Another bit of good news for me: With the massive amount of outstanding errata patched as part of the 3.0 update, I don't anticipate that this list will ever grow as extensive as the last one.

Note that the items below are flagged by section or table number as opposed to page number to account for differences in layout between various printings of the 3.0 rules. Additionally, I've only included errors with the potential to impact useability; simple grammar mistakes and the like are not considered. Finally, be aware that OSRIC's rules differ from AD&D's in a number of mostly minor ways, and that this is intentional and done for legal purposes. Such intentional deviations do not qualify as errata.

This is a living document. If you have any new items you'd like to submit for consideration, please contact me.



OSRIC 3.0 Player Guide

1.3.4.3, 1.3.8.3, 1.3.9.3. HIGHER-LEVEL ABILITIES, 2nd Level-Heroic Assault: The Heroic Assault ability only applies to melee attacks.

TABLE 1.3.6.4A: MAGIC-USER LEVEL ADVANCEMENT: The footnote "After you reach 10th level, you don’t get any more hit dice or Constitution hp adjustments. Instead you get a fixed +1 hp per level" is in error. "After you reach 11th level..." would be correct.

1.3.13. WEAPON SPECIALISATION: This paragraph should be clarified to indicate that all forms of weapon specialisation were added to AD&D in a later supplement and are optional, not just double specialisation.

TABLE 1.4.2.3A: GENERAL EQUIPMENT: The prices listed for both standard rations and trail rations should be per week, not per day.

TABLE 1.4.2.3A.1: CONTAINERS: The barrel's capacity of 6 cubic ft/3 lbs is incorrect. 375 lbs is the approximate weight of six cubic ft of liquid water.

1.6.8. MORALE: The reference under the third bullet point to "Section 1.7.4. Loyality of Hirelings and Henchmen" is in error. It should direct the reader to Section 2.2.4 for this information.

1.6.12. UNARMED COMBAT, AN EXAMPLE OF OVERBEARING: "Sarah: -2 for my armour, -8 for the 120 Movement Rate. -10 total, same as Rob." The armor modifier here should be a positive number, resulting in a total result of -6 and modified to-hit rolls of 6 and 10 for the two lizard men. Since the attacking lizard men in this instance would still both hit, however, the remainder of the example would play out the same regardless.

1.8.4.1. FIRST LEVEL ILLUSIONIST SPELLS, AUDIBLE GLAMOUR: The example here ("A third level caster can produce the noise of 4 people shouting...") is based on the magic-user version of the spell, which members of that class initially gain access to at third level. For an illusionist caster, the example would read as follows:

A first level caster can produce the noise of 4 people shouting (or acting more quietly). Each additional caster level allows the caster to add the sound of four more people into the illusion. As a benchmark, the sound of an explosion or landslide would require a caster level of approximately 6th.

CHAPTER NINE: SAMPLE PLAY SESSION: "You’ve got a 16 Dex, so they have a -1 on their to-hit roll." This line should be disregarded, as there are no dexterity-based defender modifiers for unarmed to-hit rolls.


OSRIC 3.0 Gamemaster Guide

2.1.3. MONSTER SAVING THROWS: "Usually, you’ll be rolling monster saving throws on Table 1.2a for all monsters with an intelligence other than 'Non- (0)', so that table comes first." The above reference should be to Table 2.1.3a.

MONSTERS, OWLBEAR: The 1d4 value listed for bite damage should be 2d6.

TABLE 2.13.1R: LESS-COMMON MISCELLANEOUS MAGIC ITEMS: The result "Roll Twice on Table 1" should read "Roll Twice on Table 2.13.1q."

2.13.8. MISCELLANEOUS MAGIC, Broom of Flying: The sentence "Its aerial agility level is IV (see Chapter 3)" should read "Its aerial agility level is IV (see Section 2.4.1.5: Aerial Agility)."

2.13.8. MISCELLANEOUS MAGIC, Cloak of the Bat: This entry was mistakenly truncated. The missing text:

The wearer can fly by actually polymorphing into a regular bat (aerial agility level V—see Section 2.4.1.5: Aerial Agility), or he or she can grab the edges of the garment and spread his or her arms like bat-wings. The wearer of the cloak also gains the ability to hang upside down from the ceiling like a bat, and the cloak grants a 20% bonus to hide in shadows checks.

2.13.8. MISCELLANEOUS MAGIC, Wings of Flying: "(aerial agility level IV—see Chapter 3)" should instead read "(aerial agility level IV—see Section 2.4.1.5: Aerial Agility)."


Last updated: 29 Aug 2026.

Tuesday, April 21, 2026

OSRIC 2.0/2.2 versus 3.0: What's really changed?

Since the public release of OSRIC 3.0 in late 2025/early 2026, I've seen a great deal of interest online in the nitty-gritty details of what makes this new version substantially different from previous ones. Obviously, there's new art and a fresh layout and presentational style intended to make original AD&D easier to learn, teach, and reference than ever before. Beyond that, though, there was indeed substantial rules revision and expansion, primarily intended to move OSRIC closer to the standards set by AD&D proper and to make it more viable as a standalone set of rules. This list is my attempt to document what I consider to be every meaningful change and addition to the 3.0 rules that might affect how it actually plays. It should be considered unofficial (i.e. not compiled by OSRIC's publishers at Mythmere Games) and a work-in-progress. Now, on to the list!

1. All the previously known outstanding errata was fixed, and it was a fairly lengthy list of items. There were certainly even more items identified and patched during work on 3.0 as well, such as the table for NPC magic items that gave thieves a chance to possess magic shields they can’t use as opposed to magic armor.

2. A couple of additional methods for ability score generation are described in addition to the traditional 3d6 and 4d6 drop lowest.

3. Dexterity modifies saving throws in cases where agility would be a factor, as per AD&D.

4. The relationship between constitution and raise dead/resurrection is now detailed (i.e. these spells result in permanent constitution loss when successful and characters cannot be raised more times than their initial constitution scores).

5. Character age categories and their attendant ability score modifiers are present.

6. Gnomes have regained their ability to communicate with burrowing animals.

7. Half-elves can be druids as in AD&D.

8. Half-orcs are no longer able to benefit from raise dead and resurrection, since AD&D treats them the same as elves in this respect.

9. An optional rule is described that allows characters to choose classes they don’t meet all the ability score requirements for in exchange for experience penalties.

10. Previous OSRIC-specific tweaks to class experience tables have been reverted to the AD&D norm in most cases. Assassins now require 1,500 XP for second level, for example, as opposed to 1,600.

11. The thieves’ cant bonus language has been restored as a feature of that class.

12. Pickpocketing now has its success chance modified by the victim's level/HD as in AD&D.

13. Due to ambiguities around its implementation, OSRIC 3.0 no longer includes the concept of minimum magic-user/illusionist spells known per level. Maximums per level still apply, however.

14. Classes that gain spellcasting ability after 1st level (paladins and rangers) now have rules for determining their effective casting levels included.

15. The incredibly obscure rule from page 47 of the module WG6 Isle of the Ape that states negative to-hit numbers translate to bonus damage has been more clearly codified as the Mighty Blow ability for fighters, paladins, and rangers.

16. Spellcasting classes now have more details provided on which types of magic items they can create and what the requirements are (minimum level, cost, etc.).

17. The monk class is now present and has been tweaked somewhat to allow it to be selected by players without meeting all the steep ability score requirements. This will result in a monk with fewer special abilities, however.

18. A new instruction is included to drop all fractions when rolling hit dice for multi-class characters. OSRIC previously did not address hit die fractions at all.

20. Carrying capacities for various animal mounts are provided.

21. Weight/volume limits for different types of containers are listed.

22. Composite bows have had their encumbrance reduced, making them no longer strictly worse choices than their non-composite counterparts in OSRIC.

23. All melee weapons now have length and speed factor statistics listed. Length is mainly used to determine who gets first strike during charge attacks and speed factor is for breaking initiative ties.

24. Rules for handling “grenade-like” missiles are now included.

25. Ascending armor class and base attack bonuses are included as an alternative to the traditional descending AC and attack matrices.

26. Rules for determining encounter distance are now present.

27. Procedures for handing encounter evasion in dungeon and outdoor settings have been added.

28. A monster/NPC reaction table is now included.

29. The combat chapter now includes a discussion on ways to make AD&D/OSRIC style movement and positioning work in VTT environments.

30. Encumbrance categories now reduce base movement by set percentages (25%, 50%, 75%), reflecting how the official AD&D character sheets produced by TSR indicated it should be handled.

31. Two different ways to handle combat movement are detailed: The simplified “chess move” where figures move their full rate all at once on their initiative and a segment-by-segment one where figures move 1/10th of their maximum each round segment beginning on segment one. Either or both can be used as needed depending on whether the GM wishes to prioritize speed of play or precision in time-sensitive scenarios.

32. Hurled missile attacks are now explicitly permitted when closing into melee, per the combat example in the AD&D PHB.

33. An iteration of the “unhelmed opponent” rule from AD&D is now included. A figure wearing armor without a helmet allows a chance for enemy blows to ignore that figure’s armor altogether.

34. In a rare instance of 3.0 moving away from AD&D, the item saving throw table has been tweaked slightly to be a bit more legally distinct.

35. An entirely new system for grappling and overbearing combat has been added. It seeks to produce results on par with the equivalent systems in the AD&D DMG, but in a streamlined manner. Using d20 attack rolls instead of percentiles, fewer fiddly shifting modifiers, and so on.

36. The clerical spell exorcise has been substantially revised due to the AD&D version being borderline unworkable. The concrete effect on an exorcised creature is now detailed, for instance.

37. Monsters again have their own unique attack matrix.

38. Saving throw chances for unintelligent monsters are broadly worse, mirroring AD&D.

39. Special followers gained by high level assassins, rangers, and thieves are fully detailed.

40. There’s more detail on what constitutes a “0 level” character. How to determine their hit points by role and ancestry, for example.

41. The procedure for sage information discovery has been simplified slightly by removing the distinction between urban and rural sages.

42. The dungeon dressing tables from 2.0 unfortunately had to be removed over a potential copyright risk.

43. Monster stat blocks now all include morale ratings.

44. Monsters capable of engaging in grappling or overbearing combat have pre-calculated modifiers for these attacks bundled into their descriptions.

45. Treasure types (renamed to loot classes but tied to the same alphabetical codes as AD&D) are now present in OSRIC and are included in all monster stat blocks.

46. The AD&D table detailing a monster’s chance to detect invisible creatures by HD is now present.

47. Experience point values for potions have been increased to better match AD&D.

48. Per AD&D, magical armor now provides bonuses to many types of saving throw.

49. New rules for stronghold construction, siege combat, and founding and administering player character freeholds are included.

50. The process of new spell research is detailed.

Monday, December 29, 2025

The OSRIC 3.0 rollout has begun!

I'm overjoyed to report that the OSRIC 3 Player's Guide is now available (for free!) in PDF!

OSRIC was the trailblazing Advanced Dungeons & Dragons "retro-clone" that kicked-off the classic D&D revival commonly known as the OSR back in 2006. Now, it's been extensively revised and expanded and sports a fresh modern presentation that renders the premier fantasy RPG of the 1980s easier to learn and reference than ever before.

Congratulations to Matt Finch, Stuart Marshall, Suzy Moseby, and all the other brilliant creators who made this spectacular new edition a reality. I'm incredibly honored to have been able to lend them a hand.

The second half of the OSRIC 3 core rules, the Game Master's Guide, is coming soon (as are exciting new adventures), and both volumes will be available as high-quality hardcovers later in the coming year.

Thursday, May 22, 2025

A new and improved OSRIC is on the way! Here's why that matters.

The long-awaited third version of OSRIC, the premier Advanced Dungeons & Dragons retro-clone game, is currently being crowdfunded by the fine folks at Mythmere Games. The physical copies of the new version are expected to ship out early in 2026, just in time for OSRIC's twentieth anniversary. Wait, twenty years? Really? I could swear it was only yesterday....

Now, I've written before about the hallowed place the original AD&D holds in my heart, and I genuinely believe that this new "teaching version" of the game is vital for promoting it to later generations of gamers who don't have my decades-long sentimental attachment to the old tomes. I've never been of the opinion that RPG design is a process of strict linear improvement over time. Rather, different game rules produce different outcomes and experiences, which we in turn gravitate toward (or are repelled by) in accordance with our own personal affinities and biases.

What has advanced in a much more objective sense is the way RPG rules are presented to their users. I'm talking about quicker to reference layouts, unambiguous language, and the sensible organization of material; all areas where my beloved late '70s originals were sorely lacking due to a combination of publisher inexperience and the cutting-edge nature of what was then a new and unprecedented gaming form. Earlier revisions of OSRIC (the most recent of which was all the way back in 2013) did remedy this somewhat, but there was still ample room for improvement. Everything I've seen of the upcoming 3.0 version's presentation has me convinced that we're finally about to see Mythmere do for AD&D what the creator of community favorite Old School Essentials did for the '81 D&D rules. This is no small feat in light of how much deeper AD&D is as a rule set, incorporating more character creation options, spells, monsters, magic items, combat mechanics, and support material for lengthy high-level campaigns. All of this has the potential to make any D&D game a better one and having it in a form that's easy to learn and quick to reference is an absolute necessity if interest in AD&D is to have any hope of persisting after my generation is done and gone.

That's the big reason OSRIC 3.0 deserves your moral and financial support: So 1st Edition AD&D can survive. Beyond that, though, there's the matter of what OSRIC represents. It's a faithful representation of the premier fantasy RPG of the 1980s that's totally independent of Wizards of the Coast, Hasbro, or any other corporate influencer. It's free (in PDF form, anyway) and anyone can publish adventures and supplements for it without paying a dime for the privilege. When WotC took over the brand from a defunct TSR and released their first take on D&D (third edition) circa 2000, that game just never clicked with some of us. It didn't take much exposure to 3E's plethora of skills, feats, and prestige classes for me to throw my hands up and conclude that this just wasn't recognizable as the D&D I loved anymore. Whatever it was, of course, it certainly attracted its share of devoted fans. Yet it wasn't for me and only succeeded in pushing me back to my old AD&D hardcovers with a renewed passion.

Around this same time, the success of early consciously "old school" experiments like HackMaster and Castles & Crusades were proving that I wasn't alone. Love for gaming in the AD&D mold was widespread, if underserviced. What these games didn't have going for them was a true grassroots, open-source nature. In releasing OSRIC, head editor Stuart Marshall, lead author Matt Finch, and their cast of contributing authors changed that forever. AD&D now belonged to the whole community in all but name, and subsequent retro-clone efforts like Labyrinth Lord, Basic Fantasy RPG, and Swords & Wizardry eagerly took up the banner of this newly minted Old School Rennaisance/Revival. For blazing that trail at a time when the potential legal risks were largely speculative, I'll always have OSRIC's back. This new version takes that independent spirit even further, formally cutting ties with WotC's imperiled OGL license in favor of source material drawn from Creative Commons.

I'd be remiss if I didn't add that the True Grognard in me appreciates how OSRIC 3.0 will be closer to AD&D proper than ever before. The aforementioned nebulous legal risk assessment back in 2006 led to some very small changes to the AD&D rules in OSRIC (such as slight tweaks to experience tables) and some less small omissions (such as the entire monk character class). As many of these alterations as possible will be undone in the new version. There are also numerous bits of errata in the legacy OSRIC text that helpful community members have pointed out over the years. They will not be missed in 3.0.

Finally, OSRIC 3.0 matters and deserves support because it's made by Mythmere Games, and they're good people who make good stuff. If you're familiar with the superb Swords & Wizardry game, the downright legendary Tome of Adventure Design supplement, or great adventures like Pod Caverns of the Sinister Shroom, you know that. The new OSRIC will have that same level of quality and attention to detail, along with great new art by Del Teigeler and numerous other skilled OSR illustrators. Mythmere is such a known quantity for me that I don't hesitate in the slightest to recommend anything they put out.

Ah, but enough of my rambling. You still have thirteen days to go as of this writing to back OSRIC 3.0 on BackerKit and get yourself a hard copy of the rules in a number of print formats to suit your needs, along with what sounds like some truly excellent new adventures. Do it for the Grand Old Game. Do it for the OSR. Do it because it's going to be friggin' amazing.

Saturday, September 17, 2022

A "quick and dirty" single class bard for AD&D

Like a lot of old schoolers, I dig the flavor of the AD&D 1st edition bard class and even a lot of its implementation, but balk somewhat at the convoluted pseudo-dual classing shenanigans and the usual lack of player interest in such a delayed satisfaction approach. Since I tend to be a minimalist when it comes to tweaking stuff, here's my stab at a single class version that sticks fairly close to the core concept of a druid/thief loremaster. While still quite a powerful class, hit points and combat ability are scaled back to sub-fighter levels and thief ability growth should be slow enough to not make dedicated thieves obsolete.

Stat/race/alignment requirements: No change from PHB.

Weapons/armor/magic items permitted: No change from PHB.

Experience progression: No change from PHB Bards Table I.

Hit Dice: As druid. +1 hp/level for levels 15 through 23.

Combat ability/saving throws/weapon proficiencies: As druid.

Druid spells: No change from PHB Bards Table I. In addition to spell casting (including from scrolls), bards have knowledge of the secret druidic tongue and gain other druid class abilities at the same corresponding levels (plant identification at third level, shape changing at seventh, etc.). Bards do not receive bonus spells for high wisdom.

Thief abilities: As first level thief at start, advancing at the rate of one thief level at every odd-numbered bard level thereafter, to a maximum of ninth level thief ability at bard level seventeen.

Other bard abilities (charm, legend lore, etc.): No change from PHB Bards Table II.

Monday, September 12, 2022

Reconsidering AD&D psionics: An honest look at the pros and cons

It's no secret that AD&D psionics have never exactly been popular. And I mean never. A vocal majority (?) of gamers have been deriding, ignoring, and generally neglecting them since day one. Before that, technically, since a version of them first appeared way back in Eldritch Wizardry. But I guess I'm feeling open-minded and generous lately, so I wanted to revisit them and give them the fairest shake I possibly can. Note that I won't be addressing the old saw about how "Science fiction stuff doesn't belong in a fantasy game!" On that score, I'll just refer you to old Appendix N. Anyway, here are my thoughts:

Pros:

1. Functionality. Yes, really! Much to my surprise, the psionics rules given in the PHB and DMG are fairly straightforward and functional. They are, for all intents and purposes, a standard spell point magic system, albeit with more up-front random factors than are usually seen in the skill-based RPGs that tend to implement their magic type abilities this way. You have your various powers, a pool of points that fuel them, some guidelines for how fast spent points regenerate, and so forth. Psionic combat is oddly light on dice rolling for AD&D, and consists primarily of cross referencing various attack and defense types on a chart and applying the results. I'm genuinely surprised how workable the mechanical implementation actually is for those so inclined.

2. Feel. The details of AD&D psionics may not be too crazy in a wider RPG context, but they're weird as hell for AD&D. Whatever else the psionics practitioner might be, they're not just another core class using a cosmetically reskinned version of the base magic rules. They're...Something Else...Something Strange. That's honestly quite cool if you ask me. Beyond that, they're just such a full-flavor AD&Dism, tied to iconic monsters like the Mind Flayer and Githyanki/Githzerai. There's a mindset that says, "If you're gonna do something, do it with no all gusto and no apologies." That's AD&D with psionics, alright.

Cons:

1. Situationality. By the book, psionics are rare. Really rare. A complete beast of a hypothetical PC with 18s in intelligence, wisdom, and charisma maxes out at a one-time 10% chance to possess psionics at character creation. 3% - 5% is far more realistic. As a DM, the prospect of learning an entire elaborate sub-system that might (might!) be available to 5% of characters can obviously smack of wasted effort.

2. Character balancing. Equally common and obvious are concerns about psionic characters potentially unbalancing the game. Thankfully, I do think they're overstated. Yes, psionics are "free" for the characters lucky enough to qualify for them. As anyone who's seen the film Scanners knows, however, mental combat between psionics is horrifically deadly. Furthermore, the DMG specifies an increased chance for random psionic monster encounters whenever psionic powers are employed by the party. A true risk/reward dynamic is thus present. Psionics make their wielders stronger than their mundane counterparts in some respects and more vulnerable in others, and players who know the odds may well prefer to go without.

3. The Decker Problem. Psionic combat really is its own thing. When two psychic figures are going mind-to-mind, they each take their actions on a per segment basis. In other words, ten individual exchanges per round! The remainder of the game basically pauses while they hash it out, and the rest of the table...well, they can cheer their buddy on, maybe?

Conclusion:

The decision of whether or not to include old school psionics ultimately comes down to whether the individual DM feels that the sheer weird, wild tone of PCs lashing their Ego Whips against an intellect devourer's Thought Shield is worth learning an entire new "magic" system that probably won't see use often, but has the very real potential to hog the spotlight whenever it does come to the fore in combat. Personally, I'm leaning toward doing it in my next game, just for the freaky flavor of it and to actually get some solid use out of all those wacky monsters for a change.

Monday, September 5, 2022

Coming Home

The enduringly popular 1981 edition of D&D, often called B/X or Moldvay D&D, was my introduction to tabletop RPGs. That should come as no surprise, given the name I chose for this very blog back in the day. It's also the version I've played and enjoyed most recently, running a B1 In Search of the Unknown one-shot at the 42nd Dragonflight gaming convention last month. Its approachability, polish, and overall brilliance have stood the test of time. I truly adore it.

It's not home, though. Not really. Shortly after 12 year-old me discovered that little red book in a secondhand store circa 1990, I fell in with a local group of established (and tolerant) adult gamers, and they swore by none other than Gary Gygax's own Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. Here, I'm talking the original (dare I say "real?") version, not the then-current AD&D 2nd Edition.

If B/X fired my young imagination, getting my hands on the AD&D books fanned it into a dizzying phantasmagoric inferno. These weighty tomes with their baroque prose and ominous illustrations felt like a world unto themselves; brooding, mysterious, and, in hindsight, metal as hell. Ironic, since I suspect Gygax's own musical tastes were anything but. To a middle schooler, these texts were dense and challenging, almost to the point of hostility, yet the darkly glamorous vistas of fantasy they promised shimmered mirage-like at edges of my understanding, making them paradoxically impossible to put down. It was a profoundly meaningful, once-in-a-lifetime reaction to an RPG system. To put it simply, these are magic books in my eyes.

It wasn't long after this that I became an avid reader of Dragon magazine, which was primarily an AD&D-focused publication at that time. That meant 2nd Edition, of course, but the concepts and terminology employed in most articles was relatable enough. In the pre-Internet era, Dragon was my primary connection to the hobby at large, and this further cemented various AD&D-isms like percentile strength and the nine-point alignment system as the default in my mind.

So what I'm really getting at here, I suppose, is that I've come to accept that I am, at heart, an AD&Der. Then, now, and forever. It's my conceptual norm, my platinum standard, my Real Deal Holyfield of fantasy RPGs. I've played, and harbor no small amount of affection for, all the game's TSR-era iterations. Even 2E is entitled to some love from me. I've also had great luck with the various latter day retro-clone versions of the same, such as Labyrinth Lord, Swords & Wizardry, and, of course, OSRIC. Authentic late '70s/early '80s AD&D still sits at the apex of the pyramid for me, however. Is it flawless? Lord, no! I'm just at a point where those perceived imperfections (the absurd pummeling/grappling rules, for example) don't really grate on me the way they used to. If I don't like a sub-system, I don't need to use it. Any DM remotely worthy of the title knows that. Mine is a hard-earned "warts and all" love, not a naive denial of reality. On the flipside, playing these various simplified or pared-down versions of the game, I always find myself hankering for some AD&D rule or other. Better to have it and not want it than want it and not have it.

AD&D isn't perfect and it isn't for everyone. What it is is the only game that's ever filled me with the wide-eyed awe and shuddering dread of flipping through the demon section of the Monster Manual, picturing the horrors that awaited intruders in the noisome lair of the Demon Price Juiblex. That's irreplacable and that's why it's home.

Thursday, May 26, 2022

OSRIC 2.2 errata (unofficial)

***Final update, 12-29-2025: With the long-awaited new edition, OSRIC 3.0, beginning its public rollout this week, the following document will no longer be actively maintained and should be considered obsolete. I have opted to keep it publically available for historical/archival purposes and for the benefit of anyone utilizing a pre-3.0 version of the rules. For the official OSRIC 3.0 errata document, click here.***

Yes, it's another one of these. The longest one yet by a country mile, too. As per usual, I must emphasize that this document is 100% unofficial. It is not endorsed in any way by Stuart Marshall or the rest of the original OSRIC writing and editorial gang. That said, it's my hope that the long hours I and others have put in with this superb rulebook will one day be reflected in an even more superb updated version.

All page numbers reference the most up-to-date published edition available as of this writing.

Includes contributions from: Between3and20, Cobalt-60, Drowningman, EOTB, grodog, Guy Fullerton, Harbinger2001, Kellri, Kramer (RIP), Landifarne, PapersAndPaychecks, soner du, squeen, Steppenwolf, Yora.

PDFs by Attronarch: A4 PDF | Letter-size PDF

_______________________________________________

Page 2, Constitution: Resurrection/raise dead survival is not well-defined here. It is unclear what happens when such a roll is failed, for example. In AD&D, this would mean that the character in question could nevermore be raised or resurrected, but lacking this context, a newcomer to OSRIC may well assume that the cleric could just keep trying until the spell "stuck." Further, there's no mention of permanent constitution loss associated with returning from the dead, and it's unclear if this is an intentional change from AD&D or an accidental omission.

Page 3, Charisma: OSRIC is missing the full reaction table referenced in passing in the main body of the text. This renders the correct application of reaction bonuses unnecessarily obscure.

Page 9, Assassin, Read Scrolls (12th): It is not stated that the assassin has any chance of failure when using scrolls, as the thief does.

Page 10, Cleric: No guidance is given for when and how clerics may create magic items. AD&D specified that they may create scrolls starting at 7th level and permanent magic items at level 11.

Page 11, Oil: Burning oil as a weapon appears in many class descriptions, but its precise function in combat isn't described. AD&D specifies that burning oil deals 2d6 damage on the first round and another 1d6 the following round before burning out.

Page 12, Druid: No guidance is given for when and how druids may create magic items. AD&D specified that they may create scrolls starting at 7th level and permanent magic items at level 13.

Page 16, Illusionist: No guidance is given for when and how illusionists may create magic items. AD&D specified that they may create scrolls starting at 7th level, temporary non-scroll magic items starting at level 11 (using the major creation spell), and true permanent magic items at level 14 (via alter reality).

Page 18, Magic User, Magic User Spell Acquisition Table: The use of this table is not well-described. For instance, it is not clear when, if ever, magic users and illusionists may re-roll to understand spells they previously could not.

Page 23, Ranger Level Advancement: The text "May employ followers" appears on the 7th level line. 8th level would be the correct placement.

Page 25, Thief, Read Scrolls (10th): It is not stated that thieves (or assassins) in OSRIC may employ druid scrolls, as they can in AD&D. This may be a deliberate change rather than an oversight, however.

Page 28 Multi-classing: The following paragraph should be inserted between first and second: "Multi-class characters may choose which of their classes' tables they use for combat and saving throws. So for example, a cleric/fighter normally uses the fighter attack charts and the cleric saving throw matrices."

Page 33, Missile Weapons Table: The heavy crossbow has a base range of 60 ft, down from the 80 ft given in AD&D. This could be an intentional change, although it seems odd that both heavy and light versions of the weapon would have the same effective ranges.

Page 33, Missile Weapons Table: The language used to describe ranges ("-2 to hit/increment") is potentially misleading. The penalty isn't supposed to be applied to the first range increment, only cumulatively to each subsequent one.

Page 34, Armour Table II: Splint armour should be listed alongside banded as AC 4.

Page 40: Animate Dead (cleric): Duration should be "instantaneous (permanent)."

Page 44, Cure Light Wounds: The note that the spell doesn't affect "creatures that are harmed only by iron, silver, or magical weapons" should apply only to the reversed version, cause light wounds.

Page 47, Heal: This spell specifies a saving throw of "none (negates)." However, this should probably just be "none," since the AD&D version doesn't provide for any saving throw.

Page 48, Know Alignment: The range given in OSRIC is touch. AD&D specifies 10 ft.

Page 51, Raise Dead: Half-orcs appear on the list of beings able to be raised. This contradicts the AD&D version, which treats them the same as elves for all such purposes.

Page 52, Remove Fear: The spell's reversed version, fear, is not described.

Page 52, Restoration: The spell's reverse effect is not given its proper name, energy drain.

Page 60, Control Winds: "The wind force increases (or decreases) at a rate of 3 miles per hour every round until the end of the spell’s duration, at which time it will return to normal, also at a rate of 3 miles per hour per turn." The word "turn" in the preceding sentence should be "round."

Page 61, Dispel Magic: The correct area of effect should be a single 30 ft cube, not 40 ft multiplied by caster level.

Page 65, Produce Fire: This spell has a 60 ft radius area of effect, but a range of 40 ft, meaning that the caster will always be within the area of effect. AD&D defines the area of effect as "up to 12' per side in area boundary."

Page 66, Pyrotechnics: There is no duration given for the smoke cloud version of this spell. 1 round/level is correct.

Page 71: Animate Dead (magic user): Duration should be "instantaneous (permanent)."

Page 78, Distance Distortion: The last sentence of the spell description is duplicated.

Page 79, Erase: The OSRIC version of this spell specifies that it does not affect glyphs of warding. This contradicts the AD&D DMG.

Page 82, Fire Shield: Per AD&D, "Any creature striking the spell caster with body or hand-held weapons will inflict normal damage upon the magic-user, but the attacker will take double the amount of damage so inflicted!" This potent feature is completely absent from OSRIC's current version of fire shield.

Page 87, Ice Storm: The main heading gives an area of effect of 10 x 10 ft/level. The spell description specifies fixed areas of 40 x 40 ft (for the hail stones variant) and 80 x 80 ft (for the sleet variant).

Page 97, Permanency: OSRIC's version of the permanency spell is missing a very important clarification from the AD&D Dungeon Master's Guide: "There is only a 5% chance of the spell caster actually losing a point of constitution if the spell is cast upon a non-living thing." This has profound implications for magic item creation!

Page 101, Push: The text mentions that objects can be moved at the rate of 10 ft/round. This is misleading, as it implies that this spell lasts for more than one round. In truth, its given duration of instantaneous is correct.

107, Teleport: The "viewed once" column progreses directly from 89-90 to 99-100.

Page 108, Transmute Rock to Mud: This spell should be noted as being reversable.

Page 110, Water Breathing: The duration of the AD&D spell is 3 turns/level, not 1 round/level.

Page 113, Chaos: AD&D's describes this spell as functioning like the druid spell confusion unless otherwise noted. This includes a -2 saving throw penalty that is therefore effectively missing from the OSRIC version.

Page 113, Colour Spray: The duration of unconsciousness should be given as 2d4 rounds.

Page 114, Dancing Lights: The area of effect given for this spell, a 60 ft radius globe, appears to be an error. It should also be "see below" and function as the magic-user version of this spell in this regard.

Page 114, Deafness: The area of effect should be "one creature," not "caster."

Page 120, Shadow Monsters: The created monsters are stated to have 20% of the hit points of actual ones. In AD&D, it's 20% of the hit dice, which has much broader implications in combat. This same discrepancy exists for the illusionist spells demi-shadow monsters (page 114) and shades (page 120).

Page 123, Gaining Levels: Training costs are given as "approximately 1500 gp per level." This should be clarified as 1500 gp times the character's current level.

Page 129, Turning the Undead, Exception: An important general turning rule is buried at the end of this supplementary paragraph on weapons as holy symbols: "If the cleric is successful in a turning attempt, he or she may try again next round. If the cleric fails, no further turning attempt may be made during this encounter." Making those last two sentences into a separate paragraph would be an organizational improvement.

Page 131, Morale: "For example, if the monster is very cowardly and fighting opponents who are inflicting serious damage on its fellows without taking any casualties, then the GM might impose a -30% penalty to its morale check." This should be phrased as a -30% penalty to the creature's base morale, since rolling low on the check itself is a good thing.

Page 140, Sage, Information Discovery: "For example: a sage in a remote location is asked specific question in an Out of Fields category. The GM rolls a 10 on a 1d10 and the table yields a result of 20%. The GM rolls d% again and if the result is 1 (20% of 20) the sage will be able to provide an answer at the regular cost; otherwise research time and cost will be doubled." This example is quite confusing. The underlying principal is that sages in remote locations will typically charge double unless the information discovery roll is 20% or less of what is needed to succeed. For example, if the base chance of the sage having the answer is 60%, any roll of 12% or less would indicate no added cost (60 x 0.2 = 12). This margin increases to 80% if the question is in one of the sage's special knowledge categories.

Page 142, Henchmen: OSRIC does not include any guidance for the disbursement of experience points to henchmen. AD&D specifies that henchmen should receive "about 50% of the experience points which their share in the slaying of opponents and garnered treasure actually totals - possibly even less if your character bore the brunt of the action and closely directed the henchmen."

Page 155, Sample Play Session: "GM: Right, so Floppinjay is caught for 1 segment and everybody else for 2 segments by a half-dozen brownish-green fellows with bristly black hair and pink pig-snouts. They're currently [rolls] 30-ft away to your right (the east), charging at you and hurling hand axes as they come." Despite the wording of the above example, no standard dungeon encounter distances are given in OSRIC. AD&D specifies 1d6+4 x 10 ft under normal conditions and 1d3 x 10 ft if surprise is a factor. Outdoors, 6d4 x 10 ft is standard.

Page 165, Table 10: Treasure Guards & Wards: The header for column 2 on table should read "Guard or Ward" instead of "Treasure."

Page 165, Table 12: Treasure Amounts: The explanatory notes incorrectly refer to a hypothetical die roll of 13; given the example following, the roll should be either 14, 15, or 16.

Page 166: Table 20: Behind the Door: This table specifies that it is only for doors exiting a room. Thus, its correct usage guideline should probably be: "Check this table to determine what is behind any door indicated by Tables 6 or 18." Any result of "door" on Table 18 should say "Door: Consult Table 19 Door Location and proceed to Table 20; if door location result isn't a straight ahead door, check this table again in 30 feet." This change always points the reader toward the next table needed for any type of generated door.

Page 167, Table 22: This table should direct the user to Table 23 on a roll of 19-20, not to itself.

Page 169, Monster Level Three: The carcass creeper entry is mislabled "carrion creeper."

Page 169, Monster Level Four: The number of dragons appearing is 5, which is presumably incorrect in light of the fact that no other dungeon encounter table features encounters with more than 2 dragons.

Page 170, Monster Level Six: Hydra, 7 or 8 Heads has a number appearing of 5, while hydra entries on other level tables are always 1.

Page 170, Monster Level Eight: Demon, Ekivu has a number appearing of 5d4. This is far more than other demon and devil types. 1d4 is likely correct.

Page 170, Monster Level Eight/Ten: Elementals are on these tables, presumably because the hit dice/size of the elementals on the two tables are different (toughest elementals on Table 10), but there's no direction on elemental hit dice in the table cells, unlike other monsters that vary by some element and are on multiple tables.

Page 171, Monster Level Nine: This table goes from "12-30" to "26-40." One of those two should change, either "12-25" or "31-40."

Page 171, NPC Parties (All Dungeon Levels), NPC Levels: Applying these party generation rules exactly means that no NPCs of 5th or 6th level will ever be encountered in NPC parties. Changing the roll specified in the second sentence of this paragraph from 1d6+6 to 1d8+4 would be an effective way to remedy this issue.

Page 172, Party Magic Items, Sub-Table 1: "Potion of polymorph self" should be "potion of polymorph." "Scroll of protection from magic" should be "ward of magic."

Page 172, Party Magic Items, Sub-Table 2: "Staff of paralysation" should be "wand of paralysation." "Bracers of armour, AC 4" should be "bracers of armour +6."

Page 174, Nighttime Encounters/Daytime Encounters: Night hags and rakshasa show up both at day and at night, while rangers and muggers/humanoids are only encountered at night. It is suspected that the nighttime encounter table was mistyped; that night hags and rakshasa should be omitted from the daytime encounters, that encounters should move "up" in numerical slots until the ranger is reinserted at 73 and ruffian at 74-78. Revised daytime table sequence being:
64-65 Noble
66 Paladin
67-69 Pilgrim
70 Press gang
71-72 Thug
73 Ranger
74-78 Muggers/Humanoids

Page 178, Wetlands: There's an error in this encounter table. It progresses:
58 NPC
58-60 Undead (presumably 59-60)
...
81-95 Water
95-100 Special (presumably 96-100)

Pages 179 - 189: All references to "Bird, Dire" on the encounter tables should be replaced with "Bird, Huge."

Pages 180 - 189: Numerous encounter tables provide for encountering soldier ants by themselves, but the main giant ant entry doesn't provide numbers appearing for them apart from as a ratio of the worker ants appearing. Since worker ants are listed separately/concurrently in the same encounter table, the overall instruction isn't very clear for what to do when soldiers are encountered alone. Since soldiers are at a 1:5 ratio to workers, and workers appear numbers of 1-100, suggest adding a line about soldiers appearing in numbers of 1-20 when encountered apart from any workers.

Page 181, Desert: The "jackal, dire" entry should be changed to "jackal, huge." Additionally, line 12 under the Monster column simply contains the word "monster." It's likely that this is a leftover placeholder for a specific monster type.

Page 183, Graveyard: This encounter table misspells the assagim devil as "devil, assaggim."

Page 184, Jungle: Crocodiles have two non-sequential runs on this encounter table. It seems possible that some of the entries were intended to be giant crocodiles instead. Further, the "jackal, dire" entry should be changed to "jackal, huge."

Page 185, Lost World: This encounter table misspells the assagim devil as "devil, assaggim." Further, the "lion, cave" entry should read "lion, prehistoric."

Page 186, Marine: One of the entries under the Humanoid heading reads "Gnoll (S5, WD2)." The S5, WD2 notation appears to be meaningless and should be disregarded.

Page 188, Plains: One of the entries under the Giant heading reads "Ogre (S3)." The S3 notation appears to be meaningless and should be disregarded. Further, the "hyena, dire" entry likely refers to either huge or giant hyenas, as there are no dire ones detailed in OSRIC.

Page 189, Rural: Gold dragons have two non-sequential runs on this encounter table. It seems possible that some of the entries were intended to be another dragon type or types instead.

Page 190, Tundra: Invertebrates are anomalously titled "vermin" for this terrain type.

Page 191, Flying Dinosaurs: This table is missing 3; it goes from 2 to 4-5. It seems likely that "2" should be "2-3."

Page 192: Monster Statistics, Move: "(See Chapter II)" should be "(See Chapter III)."

Page 192, Monster Statistics, Attacks: "(See Chapter II)" should be "(See Chapter III)."

Page 192, Monster Statistics, Damage: "(See Chapter II)" should be "(See Chapter III)."

Page 192, Monster Statistics, Armour Class: "(See Chapter II)" should be "(See Chapter I)."

Page 192, Tribal Spellcasters, Shaman: Cavemen should be added to the "Seventh Level Max." column.

Page 192, Tribal Spellcasters, Shaman: "Resist fear" should be "Remove fear."

Page 193, Men: In the matrix for magic items, thieves are listed as rolling for magic shields. Assassins can use shields; thieves can't. While thus not errata per se, a note similar to the note for clerics to ignore weapons with edges might be useful, reminding the GM that only assassins would roll for shields. Or the "Y" may have been intended for the armour row immediately above and been misplaced. Furthermore, magic users aren't allowed the possibility of magical potions, unlike every other class. This may not be an oversight, but that feels possible since they otherwise have the fewest categories of possible magical items (4 categories, as opposed to 5 or 6 for other classes).

Page 194, Men, Berserker: Berserkers have no chance of gp treasure in lair, but they do have a chance of 1d3 x 1,000 platinum pieces. This is much higher than other types of men, who have 1dX x 1,000 gp and 1dX x 100 pp. This should possibly be 1d3 x 1,000 gp with no chance for platinum.

Page 194, Men, Brigand: Brigands are noted to have a "+1 morale bonus." This would probably equate to +5% base morale in OSRIC's percentile morale system.

Page 194, Men, Dervish/Nomad: They are stated as having a 50% chance of jewelry as treasure, but no quantity is given. The correct value here is 5d6 per AD&D.

Page 197, Demi-Humans: It's not entirely clear if dwarf clerics, elf clerics, gnome clerics, and halfling druids are intended to be PC options or not. The character creation chapter doesn't mention their NPC-only status from AD&D at all. In this section, however, we find: "Some NPC demi-humans may be clerics. This is not necessarily permitted to player characters of that race....." If this is indeed the intent, it should probably be mentioned right up front as opposed to almost 200 pages in for clarity's sake alone. In any case, this reference to clerics still doesn't address the halfling druid question, since OSRIC doesn't appear to incorporate the concept of sub-classes as such.

Page 197, Dwarf: The lair treasure entry has two gem chances next to each other: 5d4 gems (30%), 1d4 × 20 gems (50%). The first entry should likely be in the individual treasure listing rather than the lair listing, based upon other individual entries, such as merchants.

Page 199, Batrachian: These monsters are said to "surprise opponents 50% of the time, or 80% of the time if hopping." AD&D specifies surprise on 1-3 standard or 1-5 hopping, which is obviously a much better solution since it maps readily to a six-sided surprise die.

Page 200, Cavemen: Cavemen "suffer a -1 to all morale checks." Since morale check penalties are positive numbers in the OSRIC system, and a 1% modifier wouldn't be worth mentioning in any case, this should likely be +5%.

Page 206, Giant, Fire: AD&D specifies that these giants may throw boulders from 10 to 200 feet/yards away. OSRIC lists the range as 120 feet instead.

Page 207, Giant, Frost: "Winter wolves often share residence with frost giants (50% chance, 1d6 in number)." Winter wolves are not described in the OSRIC rules

Page 208, Ettin: This monster's treasure entry is suspiciously generous and also out of format. "Treasure: Individual: 2d10 gp, 1d6 gems (25%), 1d4 jewellery (20%) 2 magic items; Lair: 2d6 x 1,000 gp (70%)." It seems likely that everything after 2d10 gp is lair treasure and that there should be a 10% chance for the magic items, rather than them being present automatically.

Page 208, Giant, Storm: "However, storm giants who have their castle abodes under water will instead have 2d4 sea lions." Sea lions are not described in the OSRIC rules.

Pages 212 - 216, Dragons: The entries for several dragon types (green, red) include the text, "Owing to the magical nature of the creature, it does not require somatic or material components to its spells—it need only speak the incantation." It would be ideal to have this information listed for every dragon type, since all are potential casters. Furthermore, multiple dragon types (blue, brass, bronze, silver) are said to cast spells as "wizards." Wizard is not a class in OSRIC, of course.

Pages 215: The page number is missing.

Page 215, Dragon, Green: It's not stated that a green dragon's breath weapon deals damage equal to the dragon's hp. As "toxic gas," the uninitiated could just as easily assume that it's a save or die attack, which it definitely is not.

Page 216, Demons: "Note that most demons do not actually fall into the five listed categories." There are six main categories of demons (A, B, C, D, E, F), not five.

Page 216, Demons: It it not noted that demons, like devils, may only be permanently destroyed on their home planes.

Page 217, Demons: "Many demons possess the following magical abilities: infravision (as the 5th level magic user spell), teleport (with no chance of error) (as the 2nd level magic user spell)." Infravision is a 3rd level spell. Teleport is a 5th level spell.

Page 217, Demons, Silver: There is a space missing in this chart entry. "No additional damage(according"

Page 221, Class F Demon: This creature's attack form is described as "1 bite." It should be "1 weapon/sword or 1 whip attack."

Page 222, Demoniac: Lair Probability is listed as "See below," but there's nothing in the main description that could be tied to lairs.

Page 226, Devils: The following text is a bit mangled and should be rewritten: "A devil must return to its home plane in Hell for 9 decades of servitude as a lemure before it will resume its home plane in Hell for 9 decades of servitude as a lemure before they will resume their former status."

Page 226, Devils: The section regarding the illusion power of devils should be amended from "phantasmal force as the 3rd level magic-user spell" to "spectral force as the 3rd level illusionist spell."

Page 227, Bearded Devil: It is not noted that this monster can also perform a standard weapon attack with its glaive instead of to using it to entangle.

Page 228, Bone Devil: It is stated: "They have ultravision (60-ft range) which is more suited to icy climates." This is the only reference to ultravision in the OSRIC core rules. Nowhere therein is it defined.

Page 229, Ice Devil: The monster's summoning ability is listed as gate (i.e. the spell) instead of using the the standard "summon" terminology.

Page 230, Scaly Devil: This monster should instead be known as the Manalishi (Lesser Devil; Scaly Devil, Abyssai).

Page 232, Pit Fiend: This monster is missing its 2 HP/round regeneration ability from AD&D.

Page 238, Golems: Flesh, iron, and stone golems list polymorph any object as one of the spells used in their creation. Polymorph object is the correct spell name.

Page 240. Dryad: There may be an error in the experience point value of this monster. OSRIC lists 30+10 xp/hp, while AD&D gives 105+3 xp/hp.

Page 242. Nymph: There may be an error in the experience point value of this monster. OSRIC lists 105+3 xp/hp, while AD&D gives 350+3 xp/hp.

Page 246, Euparkeria: Level/XP should be 1/10+1/hp.

Page 253, Bat: This creature's Aerial Agility is listed as V. As bats cannot hover in the air, however, the value of IV given elsewhere in the text is likely correct.

Page 254, Barracuda: This creature's swimming movement rate of 30 should likely be 300, based on similar fast-swimming creatures such as the giant gar.

Page 258, Eel, Giant: Weed eels have a number appearing of 1d4. AD&D specifies 6d10. Similarly, electric eels appears in groups of 1d3 in AD&D, as opposed to 1d4 in OSRIC.

Page 260, Horse: There are no carry weight allowances given for any of the horse types in OSRIC. As this information is highly useful, here are the AD&D values: Draft: 400/800 lbs, heavy: 500/750 lbs, light: 300/500 lbs, medium: 400/650 lbs, pony: 200/300 lbs, wild: 300/600 lbs. Note that carrying any amount over the first value given (i.e. over 400 lbs for a draft horse) will slow the animal 50%.

Page 263, Mule: There is no carry weight allowance given for mules in OSRIC. As this information is highly useful, here are the AD&D values: 200/600 lbs. Note that carrying over 200 lbs will slow the animal 50%.

Page 265, Squid, Giant: Based on the description(s) for squid/octopus, where two arms are used to attack the ship, with the remainder used to attack the crew, the octopus should have six tentacle attacks instead of the listed seven.

Page 268, Achaierai: These creatures are said to have considerable treasure in their lairs, but a Lair Probability of "nil." AD&D specified 5%.

Page 272, Basilisk: The attack form described ("antlers + weapon") makes no sense for this monster. "1 bite" would be correct.

Page 276, Carcass Creeper: There is no damage value provided for the creature's attacks and no duration given for their paralysing effect. This is in keeping with the AD&D Monster Manual, but may be confusing to newcomers.

Page 276, Caterwaul: "They also possess keen senses and can only be surprised 10% of the time." While accurate to AD&D, this creates problems, since OSRIC generally uses d6 rolls for surprise. It could be changed to 1 in 6 if consistency were to be prioritized over accuracy.

Page 278, Couatl: This creature is noted to have a chance of 2d19 gems being present in its lair. 2d10 is correct.

Page 280, Dark Creeper: "In an area settled by at least 25 solitary dark creepers there is a 90% chance there will be a dark creeper in the area, increased by 2% for every 5 additional creepers." This sentence should read: "In an area settled by at least 25 solitary dark creepers there is a 90% chance there will be a dark stalker in the area, increased by 2% for every 5 additional creepers."

Page 282, Elemental, Air Elemental: "Their primary attack form is a stream of air that they use like an invisible limb to strike for 2d20 damage." 2d10 damage is correct in this case.

Page 286, Genie: The Level/XP given for this monster seems abnormally low. A suggested fix would be 6/650+10/hp for regular genies and 7/1,200+13/hp for nobles.

Page 292, Lizard, Giant, Cave: This creature has a Lair Probability of "nil," despite having lair treasure listed. 20% is correct, per AD&D.

Page 292, Lizard, Giant, Monitor: This creature has a Lair Probability of "nil," despite having lair treasure listed. 80% is correct, per AD&D.

Page 293, Lurker Above: "They have a +4 bonus to their chance of surprise." This is potentially quite misleading, as it could lead to automatic surprise situations. AD&D specifies that it surprises on a 1-4 on 1d6. In addition, Level/XP should be 7/1500+13 hp.

Page 294, Manticore: There are no percentage chances associated with the gems and jewelry in these creatures' treasure hoards. They are 15% and 10%, respectively, in AD&D.

Page 298, Naga, Guardian: This creature is given a chance of 5d6 x 1 cp in its lair treasure. 5d6 x 1000 is correct.

Page 298, Naga, Spirit: The damage notation (1d3) associated with the creature's bite in the text could be mistaken as an indication of how much damage the poison deals. In fact, the bite itself inflicts 1d3 damage and the poison is simply fatal if the target's saving throw fails.

Page 301, Owlbear: There are no percentage chances associated with the various coinages that can appear in these creatures' treasure hoards. Per AD&D, they are: 20% chance for cp, 30% chance for sp.

Page 303, Phoenix: "A phoenix has the innate ability to cause a tremendous heat up to thrice per day; igniting all flammable materials, boiling liquids, and blistering exposed skin." No damage value is given for this attack, but AD&D lists it at 10 hp. Additionally, the AD&D phoenix radiates protection from evil in a 10 ft radius, and can cast a remove fear 10 ft radius. The OSRIC Phoenix radiates a protection from fear 10 ft radius, and can also cast remove fear in a 10' radius. Further, the description references fire quench as the reverse of produce fire, but it's actually the reverse of fire storm. Finally, the OSRIC phoenix may control temperature in a 50 ft radius instead of a 10 ft radius as in AD&D.

Page 305, Remorhaz: "When attacking, the remorhaz rises on the back section of its body and begins beating its bat-like wings. Its attack is blinding..." Contrary to this description, this monster's attacks do not cause blindness. It's possible that the intention was to describe the attack as blindingly fast.

Page 305, Roc: The 1d33 notation for jewelry should be 1d3.

Page 308, Sea Hag: "Magic Resistence" is improperly written as "MAGIC Resistance."

Page 314, Spider, Huge: The +3 bonus specified for saves against the spider's poison should only be +1. Additionally, the AD&D version is stated to surprise opponents on a roll of 1-5 on 1d6.

Page 315, Squealer: This creature differs from its AD&D incarnation in both included details and in omissions. The damages provided are slightly different, some bonuses aren't mentioned, etc.

Page 318, Triton: "Summon allies: 5d4 hippocampi, 5d6 giant sea horses, or 1d10 sea lions (depending upon how blown)." None of these monsters are described in the OSRIC rules.

Page 319, Vulchling: "Vulchlings are weak fliers, tending to swoop upon their prey with a claw attack, then fighting on the ground with a bite/bite routine." This appears to be reversed in OSRIC, and vulchlings should likely instead attack twice with their claws when in the air, and then once per round with a 1d4+1 bite on the ground after landing.

Page 324, Miscellaneous Weapons Table 1: The scimitar is listed both on this table and on Swords Table 1 (page 325). It should likely appear only on the swords table. This is supported by the fact that Miscellaneous Weapons Table 1 is missing an entry for staves, with the implication being that the duplicate scimitar entry took its place.

Page 324: Potions, Table 1: There's a "cursed potion" in the table with no explanation in the text. It seems highly likely that this was meant to refer to the potion of poison.

Page 324: Ring of Charisma: The gp value of this item should likely be 10,000, not 1,000.

Page 325, Scrolls: There is no table provided for determining the number of spells found on a spell scroll and their level(s).

Page 235, Scrolls Table 3: Scrolls of acid and polymorph warding appear on this table, but no such items are described in the main text.

Page 327, Table IV, Rare Miscellaneous Magic Items: There's an error causing magic items to get out of step in between numbers 03 and 14. Two of the items in that span need to be reduced to a 1% chance (down from 2%) to make the table work.

Page 329: Potion of Climbing: Duration should be 5d4 rounds + 1 turn, not 5d5 rounds + 1 turn.

Page 328, Sagacious Volume: This item has a listed gp value of 50,000,312. 50,000 would be correct.

Page 329: Potion of Dragon Control: There is no mention of a saving throw against this potion's effects. See the entry for the potion of giant control for the correct procedure.

Page 330, Potion of Giant Strength: The throwing ranges on the various potions should be rechecked. They went from a respectable 80-160 feet or yards in AD&D to characters being able to throw rocks several miles. Removing all the "thousands" seems to fix the issue (i.e. reduce range from "8,160 ft" to "160 ft").

Page 335, Staff of Compulsion: This entry references a ring of humanoid control and a ring of mammal command. The ring of humanoid control's OSRIC counterpart appears to be the ring of charisma, but there is no OSRIC item equivalent to a ring of mammal command.

Page 338, Wand of Summoning: OSRIC indicates that this item may be used by clerics, druids, illusionists, and magic-users. Its AD&D equivalent, the wand of conjuration, may only be used by magic-users.

Page 340, Holy Sword: This weapon is listed as usable only by paladins, but it should be (FPRT) for fighter, paladin, ranger, thief, as any Good-aligned character of these other classes can use it as a +2 sword.

Page 341, Sword Intelligence and Capabilities, Speech: "Sword will speak its alignment tongue plus 1 or more additional languages determined according to the table below" The preceding sentence is in need of a period at its end.

Page 343, Crossbow of Speed: The weapon's magical bonus (+1) is not given.

Page 346, Boots of the Winterlands: This item's description mentions an endure cold effect. However, this spell is properly known as resist cold in OSRIC.

Page 344, Hammer of the Dwarfs: In OSRIC, all thrown magic hammers (and hand axes) get their magic to-hit bonus but not their magic damage bonus. The hammer of the dwarfs has a note that, "The hammer of the dwarfs retains its attack bonus when hurled as a missile weapon, doing double damage if it hits..." The note seems redundant since every hammer retains its attack bonus. But it would be noteworthy if the hammer retained its damage bonus, which was then paired with 2d4+2 (double hammer damage which is normally 1d4+1). "Attack bonus" may have been loosely worded here.

Page 347, Broom of Flying: The broom's movement speed should be 300 ft, not 30 ft.

Page 347, Carpet of Flying: The carpet's base movement speed should be 400 ft, not 40 ft.

Page 350, Deck of Illusions: Goblin is a repeated entry in the deck, when no other card varieties are repeated. Unclear whether it was purposefully or accidentally duplicated.

Page 352, Figurines of Wonderous Power, Onyx Dog: The description is missing a duration of use and required rest time. Per AD&D, it can be used for up to six hours continuously, once per week.

Page 353, Figurines of Wonderous Power, Serpentine Owl: Many pertinent details on the owl are omitted from the AD&D version: "The normal-sized form of the magical statuette moves with 95% silence, has infravision to 90'. can see in normal, above ground darkness as if it were full light, and twice as well as a human at that. Its hearing is so keen as to be able to detect a mouse moving at 60’ distance; thus, silent movement chances ore reduced 50% with respect to the serpentine owl in smaller form."

Page 354, Horn of Blasting, Greater: The description doesn't mention whether damage is also doubled to 14d6 for crystalline objects, as per the standard horn of blasting.

Page 354, Horn of the Tritons: It is stated that the Horn can summon sharks up to 7 HD. 8 HD is correct.

Page 357, Mirror of Mental Prowess: This item references a "probability to detect scrying." No such mechanic is detailed in OSRIC.

Page 358, Pipes of the Sewers: "The rats take a turn to travel 50 ft." 50 ft per round is the correct speed. Additionally, the AD&D version of this item also allowed for the summoning of giant rats. It is unclear whether this function was omitted on purpose or accidentally.

Page 359: Robe of the Archmagi: The 75% magic resistance listed for this item should be 5%, per AD&D.

Page 359, Robe of Scintillating Colours: Most of the Robe's powers as described in AD&D are not included in the OSRIC version. It is unclear if this is intended or not.

Page 364, Cursed Items: There are seven main types of curses listed: delusion, opposite effect or target, intermittent functioning, requirement, drawback, completely different effect, and substitute specific cursed item. Six of those types get a sentence or two of explanatory text and advice; "completely different effect" is absent from this additional discussion.

Page 366, Specific Cursed Items: The potion of poison appears twice on this table, yet no such item is described in the main text. Additionally, the following cursed items described in the text are absent from this table: Ring of contrariness, ring of weakness, sword +1, cursed, shield -1, missile attractor.

Page 366, Armour of Rage: The reference to armour of command should be deleted.

Page 366, Bag of Devouring: The item's description states that it is both impossible to resurrect its victims and 50% likely for such a spell to succeed. It is possible that the 50% chance is meant to apply to alter reality instead.

Page 367. Broom of Animated Attack: It should be noted that the broom attacks as a 4 HD monster.

Page 368, Net of Snaring: This item "can be commanded to launch from the user's hand and ensnare a creature up to 30-ft away (as the 1st level druid spell ensnare)." There is no ensnare spell in OSRIC, and this most likely should reference the druid spell entangle instead.

Tuesday, June 15, 2021

The illustrious Silverglade Woodshadow!

Here are the current Swords & Wizardry Complete, Labyrinth Lord, and OSRIC stats for my longest-running character, Silverglade Woodshadow, who I created around 1991. He started-out as a "BECMI" Elf as per the D&D Rules Cyclopedia, so this isn't an exact translation, but it's very close. The campaign was Known World/Mystara and the first adventure he ever played in was DDA1 Arena of Thyatis, wherein he killed his first monster (a carrion crawler and no, not singlehandedly), and got his first magic item (a short short +1 that he's since passed on to another PC's henchman). His name is stolen directly from the Cyclopedia, since I've always been terrible at names. He quickly came to be known for his casual and rather goofy demeanor, the polar opposite of your stereotypical aloof, regal elf. This likely explains why he left Alfheim (where he was prince of his minor clan) in order to wander the lands of the humans he often feels more of a kind with. His home is a manor house with small attached stone tower on the outskirts of the town of Melinir in the Thunder Rift mini-setting, which we transplanted into Mystara just north of Darokin. He's frequently encountered with his boon companion, Dunric N'jorld, a Lawful (Good) ninth level human fighter hailing from Vestland. While generally goodhearted, Silverglade is also an impulsive, childlike trickster with little in the way of a "filter."

______________________________

Name: Silverglade Woodshadow
Player: Will Mistretta
System: Swords & Wizardry Complete Revised
Race: Elf
Class: Fighter/Magic-User
Level: 4/8
Alignment: Lawful
Sex: Male
Age: 181
Height: 5’4”
Weight: 120 lb
Hair: Brown
Eyes: Green

Ability Scores:

Strength: 12
Dexterity: 18
Constitution: 13
Intelligence: 15
Wisdom: 8
Charisma: 11

Combat Details:

Hit Points: 32
Armor Class: 3 (-2 with parry bonus)
THAC0: 16
Saving Throw: 8 (6 versus magic)
Base Movement Rate: 12
Encumbrance: 58 lb

Experience:

Fighter: 75,000
Magic-User: 75,000

Languages Known:

Alignment
Common
Dwarven
Elvish
Giantish
Goblin

Special Abilities:

60’ darkvision
Ghoul paralysis immunity
Multiple attacks
Parry (-5)
Secret door detection (1-4 on 1d6 active search, 1 on 1d6 passive)

Spells/Level:

1/2/3/4
4/3/3/2

Spells Known:

1st Level:

Charm Person
Detect Magic
Magic Missile
Protection from Evil
Read Languages
Read Magic

2nd Level:

Continual Light
Invisibility
Mirror Image
Phantasmal Force
Strength
Wizard Lock

3rd Level:

Dispel Magic
Fireball
Fly
Haste
Lightning Bolt*
Water Breathing

4th Level:

Charm Monster
Confusion
Dimension Door
Polymorph Others
Polymorph Self
Remove Curse

Spells Commonly Memorized:

Charm Person
Detect Magic
Magic Missile (x2)
Invisibility
Mirror Image
Strength
Dispel Magic
Fly
Lightning Bolt
Charm Monster
Dimension Door

Magic Items Carried/Worn:

Silver longsword +3 ("Quicksilver")
Silver dagger +1
Shortbow +2
Chain mail +1
Medallion of ESP (30')
Crystal Ball
Potion of Extra Healing

Regular Equipment Carried/Worn:

20 silver arrows
Backpack
Bedroll
Flint and steel
Small steel mirror
Three day’s trail rations
Waterskin
Large sack
Spare clothes
Spell book

Money Carried:

50 gp
Gold ring (10 gp value, worn)

Equipment and Money Elsewhere:

Spare spell book (at home)
5000 gp (at home)
2500 sp (at home)

______________________________

Name: Silverglade Woodshadow
Player: Will Mistretta
System: Labyrinth Lord
Race/Class: Elf
Level: 8
Alignment: Lawful
Sex: Male
Age: 181
Height: 5’4”
Weight: 120 lb
Hair: Brown
Eyes: Green

Ability Scores:

Strength: 12
Dexterity: 18
Constitution: 14
Intelligence: 15
Wisdom: 8
Charisma: 11

Combat Details:

Hit Points: 36
Armor Class: 0 (Bracers of Armor, dexterity bonus)
THAC0: 14
Movement Rate: 120'/40'
Encumbrance: 33 lb

Saving Throws:

Breath Attacks: 9
Poison or Death: 8
Petrify or Paralyze: 9
Wands: 9
Spells or Spell-like Devices: 11

Experience: 200,001

Languages Known:

Alignment
Common
Dwarvish
Elvish
Gnoll
Hobgoblin
Orc

Special Abilities:

60’ infravision
Ghoul paralysis immunity
Secret door detection (1-2 on 1d6)

Spells/Level:

1/2/3/4
3/3/2/2

Spells Known:

1st Level:

Charm Person
Detect Magic
Magic Missile
Protection from Evil
Read Languages
Read Magic

2nd Level:

Arcane Lock
Continual Light
Invisibility
Knock
Mirror Image
Phantasmal Force

3rd Level:

Dispel Magic
Fire Ball
Fly
Haste
Lightning Bolt*
Water Breathing

4th Level:

Charm Monster
Confusion
Dimension Door
Polymorph Others
Polymorph Self
Remove Curse

Spells Commonly Memorized:

Detect Magic
Magic Missile (x2)
Invisibility
Mirror Image
Phantasmal Force
Fly
Lightning Bolt
Charm Monster
Dimension Door

Magic Items Carried/Worn:

Silver longsword +3 ("Quicksilver")
Silver dagger +1
Shortbow +1
Bracers of Armor, AC 3
Amulet of Telepathy (as Helm of Telepathy)
Crystal Ball
Potion of Extra-Healing

Regular Equipment Carried/Worn:

20 silver arrows
Quiver
Backpack
Bedroll
Small steel mirror
Flint and steel
Three day’s trail rations
Waterskin
Large sack
Spell book

Money Carried:

50 gp
Gold ring (10 gp value, worn)

Equipment and Money Elsewhere:

Spare spell book (at home)
5000 gp (at home)
2500 sp (at home)

______________________________

Name: Silverglade Woodshadow
Player: Will Mistretta
System: OSRIC
Race: Elf
Class: Fighter/Magic-User
Level: 5/8
Alignment: Chaotic Good
Sex: Male
Age: 181
Height: 5’4”
Weight: 120 lb
Hair: Brown
Eyes: Green

Ability Scores:

Strength: 12
Dexterity: 19
Constitution: 15
Intelligence: 15
Wisdom: 8
Charisma: 11

Combat Details:

Hit Points: 33
Armor Class: 0 (chain mail +1, dexterity bonus)
THAC0: 16
Base Movement Rate: 120'
Encumbrance: 44 lb

Saving Throws:

Aimed Magic Item: 9
Breath Weapons: 13
Death, Paralysis, Poison: 11
Petrifaction, Polymorph: 11
Spells for unlisted categories: 10

Experience:

Fighter: 80,000
Magic-User: 80,000

Languages Known:

Alignment
Common
Elven
Gnoll
Gnomish
Goblin
Halfling
Hobgoblin
Orcish

Special Abilities:

60’ infravision
90% resistence to sleep and charm spells
+1 to hit with pulled bows, longswords, and shortswords
Detect secret doors
Ghoul paralysis immunity
Surprise bonus

Weapon Proficiencies:

Longsword
Shortsword
Dagger
Spear
Staff
Longbow
Shortbow
Sling

Spells/Level:

1/2/3/4
4/3/3/2

Spells Known:

1st Level:

Charm Person
Detect Magic
Feather Fall
Magic Missile
Read Languages
Read Magic

2nd Level:

Continual Light
Invisibility
Knock
Mirror Image
Strength
Wizard Lock

3rd Level:

Dispel Magic
Fireball
Fly
Lightning Bolt*
Phantasmal Force
Water Breathing

4th Level:

Charm Monster
Confusion
Dimension Door
Polymorph Others
Polymorph Self
Remove Curse

Spells Commonly Memorized:

Detect Magic
Feather Fall
Magic Missile (x2)
Invisibility
Mirror Image
Strength
Dispel Magic
Fly
Lightning Bolt
Charm Monster
Dimension Door

Magic Items Carried/Worn:

Silver longsword +3 ("Quicksilver")
Silver dagger +1
Shortbow +1
Chain mail +1
Amulet of Telepathy (as Helm of Telepathy)
Crystal Ball
Potion of Extra-Healing

Regular Equipment Carried/Worn:

12 silver arrows
Quiver
Backpack
Blanket
Waterskin
Spell book

Money Carried:

50 gp
Gold ring (10 gp value, worn)

Equipment and Money Elsewhere:

Spare spell book (at home)
5000 gp (at home)
2500 sp (at home)

______________________________

(* = the referee should feel free to substitute Silverglade's Forcebolt for Lightning Bolt if desired)

(Last updated: 10 June 2024).

Saturday, May 12, 2012

A5 OSRIC rocks my ass off!

I've previously owned the OSRIC hardcover, but I just recently invested in the A5 (8.3 x 11 inch) "mini" edition and I can't really remember another case where a game book's form has so improved its function.

Fact is, the hardcover is right about the size and weight of an AD&D PHB and MM combined. The miniature edition is half that size and even less than half that weight. Being able to hold all this gaing goodness in the palm of my hand is heady. And the text is still easy to make out, unlike in those novelty 2 x 3 inch AD&D collectibles that came out around 1999.

Plus, reading something the dimensions and heft of a paperback novel on the bus is much easier than lugging around a full-size "gaming textbook."

I wish more RPG sellers would offer options like this. This new presentation's portability and ease of handling alone has sold me on actually using OSRIC for gaming purposes as opposed to just owning it as a conversation piece. Plus, it's cheeeeap.

Are you listening, Proctor and Finch?


"Click me, fools!"

Sunday, April 8, 2012

Musings on the Pimp Slap of Doom...



"If he so much as slaps with his open hand the blow causes 1-4 hit
points of damage."

- AD&D Monster Manual


For whatever reason, the sheer unnecessary, positively florid detail of this passage has always held my attention ever since I first read it as a child.

I can't help but wonder, after all these years, if this has ever actually payed off. I mean, has Orcus, Prince of the Undead, ever actually slain a PC with his fabled ability to dish out a casual dagger bitchslap? In any campaign? Ever?

My God! Talk about bragging rights! I don't really expect a concrete answer to this question. At least not in my lifetime. But really, think about how fucking cool that would be!