Old School Essentials Products Explained in 5 Minutes

[@SapphireRidge900]

I really like that they split them into separate books like that. Brilliant design choice.

[@Earthmote]

Yes, its a nice format. Something fun about having 5 books instead of 1 too!

[@ComradeMarcus]

Excellent and informative video I must say!

[@Earthmote]

Thank you!

[@HectorStratford]

Thank you for making this video! I was very confused about which books I should be ordering.

[@Earthmote]

Glad it was helpful!

[@nutherefurlong]

Very clear and succinct. I'll have to remind myself now how different B/X is from BECMI, and maybe research a bit more about what their version of Advanced really entails, but I feel like I'm on firmer footing now. Thank you!

[@Earthmote]

Yeah, they have similarities (at least for the BE part of BECMI), but they are different versions

[@Seneca833]

Good video man

[@guywhotalksaboutthings]

This is a weird question but how... balanced is Advanced OSE? Like I don't expect wizards to be exactly as good at combat as fighters, but will my wizard be blowing up whole parties no problem? Will my fighter have to clear the room to let the scrawny wizard tiptoe in after? It doesn't have to be CRAZY math'd out, like pathfinder 2E or something, but is there anything that really sticks out as "well this is easily exploitable and can be broken/grok'd"?

[@Earthmote]

Well, fighters (and martial classes) are the best at fighting. They have the best armor and to-hit bonuses, so they can take down monsters fast. Monsters in OSE (B/X) don't have the hit point bloat that you see in later editions of D&D, so a fighter will always be effective in that regard. That said, magic-users do get more powerful overtime. Magic in OSE is limited, but it is powerful. A 1st level sleep spell can completely neutralize an encounter and save the party. But, wizards have a few different things that temper that somewhat. First, they are fragile. They have no armor and d4 hit dice means they cannot take many hits at all. A 4th or 5th level wizard could easily have ~10 HP if you roll badly or have a negative con modifier. Secondly, OSE magic is more restrictive than 5e. Your magic-user has to memorize specific instances of spells rather than "preparing" spells and then choosing which to use cast with your 3rd level spell slots (e.g. I can cast fireball twice today, but I have no other use of my 3rd level spell slots). So if they chose to take a lot of damage spells, they are powerful at fighting, but their magical utility (great for exploration) is diminished for the adventuring day. They can not "upcast" spells either, 1st level spells are cast with 1st level spell slots only. They also do not have cantrips like a 5e magic user would. Bring some daggers to throw! Third, magic-users have a higher XP threshold to level up than a fighter does. So they will level up slower than a fighter, and their magic will come on a little bit later. So, yes Magic-users do have the "Quadratic" power to them, but getting to a higher level means the Magic-user really earned it. EDIT: Advanced OSE does introduce some additional classes that weren't present in B/X D&D of 1981. Gavin Norman has done a very good job of "balancing" these with the other classes. They will often follow a similar progression (Knight will resemble a Fighter) but they have a few changes to abilities and whatnot. OSE does also introduce more class options through its Carcass Crawler Zines. I would say some of those are a little more or less powerful than the ones you see in the official hardcover books. But still worth looking at if you want more options. Sorry for the long reply, but hopefully that helps!

[@sharkpyro93]

unfortunately the advanced fantasy books are sold out everywhere here

[@gaming4life551]

I can't promote these products they are cheap rip-off clones. Don't waste your money and just invest in the original TSR books instead these box sets which are quick-money-grab filled with heavily watered down rules , nothing but cheap plagiarism. 👎🤮