Old-School Essentials is a rework of the B/X essentials released in 2018 which is in itself a rewrite of the B/X (1981 Moldvay and Cook) D&D rule set. The rework is done to perfection making the rule concise and easy to digest. I was able to sit down this past Saturday and read through the entire Tome in an evening. The only thing I can maybe think to have been added for newer players was an example of play or even an intro adventure / dungeon, but I feel like this book was intended for those like myself already familiar with the rule set and looking for a clean and easy to use rule tome at the table as opposed to dragging out my old box set or using one of the available retro-clones such as Labyrinth Lord.
The editing and layout of this book are again just absolutely amazing, this beats anything I have seen from a 3rd party publisher and the quality and art in this book puts even the big dogs like WoTC to shame. I even noticed a few easter egg tributes in the art to some of the original TSR material...I'm looking at you goblin....
I was so impressed with this Tome that I had to go back and buy the book set which splits at the separate sections into individual books that I can envision being passed around the table for reference while another player uses a separate book in regards to their specific character need. Really...this is my favorite release of the year and will be my go to OSR rule set going forward without question. A+ work here and I can't wait to see what else releases from Necrotic Gnome in the future.
If you're looking for a copy, go here and get it while you can: https://necroticgnome.com/collections/old-school-essentials
No comments:
Post a Comment