Lacking Natural Simplicity

[I actually finished reading this back on July 9, 2021, but forgot to finish this post, so it is appearing now.]

I finished reading the Old-School Essentials Classic Fantasy Rules Tome from cover to cover and I am very impressed.

As I say in my terse Goodreads review:

Old-School Essentials Classic Fantasy: Rules Tome by Gavin Norman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Excellent restatement of the class Basic/Expert D&D (B/X D&D) rules from 1981. Exceptionally clear presentation in wording, typography, and layout. Excellent physical production quality. I liked the use of full page or 2 page spread color artwork, and the black and white art included on the other pages. Excellent range of artwork.

View all my reviews on Goodreads

To expand on this:

I've said elsewhere that I started playing with first edition AD&D. As far as I can remember, we often simplified things: I don't remember using segments, spell components, weapon speed factors, or armor class adjustments, and I'm not sure we used anything like the actual official combat sequence.[1] I never picked up the Moldvay/Cook/Marsh Basic/Expert Sets, unfortunately, since I foolishly thought “Advanced” meant better than “Basic”.

I think Old-School Essentials Classic Fantasy is an wonderful way for someone to learn the rules of classic D&D, and for running classic D&D campaigns. I wish it had been around when I started playing D&D. I'd recommend it today for anyone learning to play, or anyone who prefers the classic rules.

Last edited: 2021-09-13 17:13:50 EDT