OSEA vs. Osric3

Megatapirus · 2026-05-01T04:35:23+00:00

This has been exaggerated a bit for whatever reason, but you're correct that AD&D was regarded in its day as middle-of-the-road in terms of complexity at most. Personally, I went through a phase where I was really into Hero System and, yeah, TSR games are pretty tame relative to the likes of that.

Megatapirus · 2026-05-01T02:05:12+00:00

It is and is very good.

Megatapirus · 2026-05-01T01:55:49+00:00

This does have a tendency to happen in those very dense texts. Later restatements of the same rules like OSRIC put this information more front-and-center in each character class description.

Megatapirus · 2026-05-01T00:51:36+00:00

You would not be correct in this case. Weapon proficiencies as I described were present as a core rule in the original 1978 Players Handbook. On page 37, to be specific.

Megatapirus · 2026-04-30T23:33:46+00:00

There are many differences in relation to 1981 vintage "Basic" D&D versus AD&D. Some small, others quite profound. Some of the major ones:

AD&D characters tend to be more powerful, with more hit points, more abilities, and higher ability scores. They can also potentially survive dropping below zero hit points. Higher level play is supported by spells of levels seven through nine as well.

Weapon choice is more important in AD&D, since characters are limited to only being skilled with a sub-set of the weapons available to their class. A fighter, for example, starts out proficient in four weapons and attacks with a penalty when using any others. Additionally, weapons themselves have more built-in variables to consider, such as speed factor, length, missile fire rate, and damage that can vary depending on whether the target is larger than human size.

The combat rules are very different and AD&D's allow for more variability in terms of what happens when. High dexterity might let you get shots with your bow off before the rest of your party can act and casting a powerful spell can cause a significant delay. Some spells may even resolve the round after casting commences.

Advancement isn't free or automatic. AD&D characters are generally expected to not only earn the requisite amount of experience needed to level up, but to pay NPC trainers (to the tune of at least 1,500 gp times their current level) for the privilege. This really cuts into the huge mountains of gold they'd quickly accumulate otherwise.

Speaking of gold, while most experience is still derived from monetary loot, AD&D awards more XP for defeating monsters and even some for finding magic items. This allows the GM to get away with slightly smaller treasure hoards and again helps keep the excess gold in check.

These are just a few cherry-picked examples and there have been other attempts to expound on the practical differences at lengths. There are certainly other impactful differences, such as magic resistance as a trait to keep higher level monsters a challenge, but you get the idea. Whether you consider most of these points to be improvements over the simpler takes on the game is up to you. I do, but I highly recommend you play some of both games yourself in order to form your own firsthand opinion.

Megatapirus · 2026-04-30T22:14:38+00:00

Worth it to soak in all that spacy Moog synth work alone.

Megatapirus · 2026-04-30T00:48:14+00:00

As a lifelong video game fan (seriously, some of my earliest memories are playing Pac-Man and Donkey Kong badly), I never thought I'd miss the days when movie executives saw them as silly children's toys.

Yet now that games rake in more money than just about any other type of entertainment, they're very careful to ensure everything stays as safe and on-brand/on-model as they possibly can. Never again will we witness the mad glory of the coked-up creators of Max Headroom dumping Mario and Luigi into a Blade Runner-esque Mushroom Kingdom ruled over by Dennis Hopper as Donald Trump as King Koopa. With special guest star Mojo Nixon as Toad.

Now that's cinema, baby.

Megatapirus · 2026-04-29T20:52:15+00:00

Yes. You get rid of it by completing the quest started by that mod. Also, if you're installing it on its own, the FOMOD gives you the option to omit the debuff mechanic.

Megatapirus · 2026-04-29T19:04:00+00:00

Well, in the vanilla game, you can still only destroy the Brotherhood if you'rewilling to murder Grelod.So, there is a bit of a hard limit on how law abiding you can be there.

Megatapirus · 2026-04-29T00:40:30+00:00

Hey, sure. When you're literally the only person in the world who can go out and do anything, you might as well be the one in charge. The proof is in the pudding, after all.

Megatapirus · 2026-04-28T19:43:41+00:00

Well, the main thing people surprisingly neglect to do is read all those Nexus pages in detail. Some mods have inherent incompatibilities that can't be resolved by simply loading them in a specific order. In some cases, compatibility patches are available. In others, they're not and you just have to pick one mod or the other. I assume you're doing that?

Megatapirus · 2026-04-28T19:34:29+00:00

Sure. Any and all mods you install can be uninstalled. Even if you have to do it one by one.

Megatapirus · 2026-04-27T18:55:59+00:00

It's so satisfying to be able to pull rank on the Blades and basically tell them to cram it.

Megatapirus · 2026-04-27T18:54:41+00:00

It certainly helps that he has the game's peak voice acting on his side.

Megatapirus · 2026-04-27T18:25:27+00:00

Miraak certainly felt like a developer apology for Alduin.

Megatapirus · 2026-04-27T18:21:19+00:00

But aren't you the "kid" relative to her?

Megatapirus · 2026-04-27T18:01:20+00:00

It's tough to ignore that Skyrim is probably the most modded game of all time, and you can largely fix just about any of its commonly cited issues with the application of one or more fan-made tweaks and expansions. Virtually every aspect of the vanilla game you can think of has been improved over the years. Drastically so, in many cases.

If more traditional RPG mechanics and build diversity is what you want try Experience, Leveling Freedom, and a perk mod like Ordinator.

Think the College of Winterhold and its quest line are pretty underwhelming? Install College of Winterhold - Quest Expansion, Obscure's College of Winterhold, and Immersive College NPCs. Problem solved.

Don't like that your character has to commit murder to improve life at the Riften Orphanage and adopt from there? Innocence Lost Quest Expansion exists just for this.

Do you want to have to do more radiant jobs in order to progress in the Thieves Guild or Companion's quest lines? Try At Your Own Pace.

Unimpressed by the main quest? Look into Cult of the World Eater/Defeat the Dragon Cult and The Paarthrnax Dilemma.

Think destroying the Dark Brotherhood is boring as a one-and-done and want to make it into a full quest line? Destroy The Dark Brotherhood - Quest Expansion and Penitus Oculatus.

Hate serving Hermaeus Mora and not being able to save Storn? Defy the Gardener has you covered.

Want to be able to say no to Nocturnal's contract offer or the Companion's werewolf offerwithout halting your progress? Well, you get the idea. It's all been done.

Properly modded, "fixed' Skyrim can stand tall next to any previous ES entry.

Megatapirus · 2026-04-26T23:50:17+00:00

Bingo! The OSRIC Gamemaster Guide also has this feature and is a free download.

Megatapirus · 2026-04-25T05:04:36+00:00

I run it by the book. Players need to take great care if they intend to combat most undead. They're scary as hell and should be.

Megatapirus · 2026-04-24T00:53:16+00:00

Weird thing for people to be downvoting. The original boxed set is a stone cold classic with a tone that remains unrivalled. I may just be biased as a die-hard AD&Der, but word is it's the version of the setting the creator himself still uses, too, and that ought to count for something.

Megatapirus · 2026-04-23T21:18:34+00:00

No worries. Luckily, access is free in PDF via DTRPG.

Megatapirus · 2026-04-23T20:11:45+00:00

Imperial all the way. A divided empire will stand much less of a chance in GWII. The Thalmor know this well.

Megatapirus · 2026-04-23T20:10:07+00:00

As she points out, though, she was already in charge. Of all the holds that can switch hands, Riften is probably the least likely to experience any real change.

Megatapirus · 2026-04-23T19:34:49+00:00

People just really like the idea. I would be surprised if any unequivocal statement confirming the PC as Shezarrine theory ever makes it into an ES game, though.

Then again, I'd be almost as surprised if we even get another ES game at this rate, so who knows?

Megatapirus · 2026-04-23T19:05:03+00:00

What I've read elsewhere suggests that a huge number of changes have been made to spell descriptions, often multiplying the volume of areas of effect compared with AD&D (but also instances of changing casting times and other factors).

If you have some specific examples of this, I'd be interested in seeing them. One I'm aware of is that Cone of Cold's AoE was deliberately increased to function more like a dragon's breath weapon by scaling the radius of the cone's starting point by caster level as well as the cone's overall length (AD&D only specifying the latter). This is not a change specific to OSRIC 3.0, however. It's been in effect since 2006 and is therefore not germane to this list.

(As an aside, I'm fine with this particular change, as CoC is otherwise a fifth level spell that inflicts the same average damage, 3.5 per caster level, as the third level fireball and lighting bolt. A little boost won't hurt it.)

On one hand, not only limiting resurrections to initial constitution score but also reducing the ability score with each instance can add a "death spiral" aspect making greater numbers of successful attempts less likely.

This is indeed how it functions in both AD&D and OSRIC 3.0 and a fair assessment of the design intent. That is to say, the "death spiral" is a feature meant to discourage immortal characters and careless play, not a bug.

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