Fort & Key

Getting into OSR

I keep having people ask about how to start playing D&D, generally old-school rulesets. The thing is, it's pretty much effortless despite people being often intimidated.

As to not waste anyone's time, I'm going to cut to the chase. Getting into the OSR, starting with new players, or getting non-gamers into Tabletop RPGs requires exactly 4 things:

The goal here is a one-shot, plain and simple. Since you're reading this, it's likely that you have a strong desire for a game to happen, more so than other players. If you want there to be a game, you're likely going to have to set it up, which often means playing the part of the referee, at least to start.

As the referee, you serve as a neutral arbiter of the game. It's your job to describe the game to the players, as well as to resolve conflicts in the game without any bias one way or another. It's not you killing the players, but the dire wolves; it's not you making them fall into a pit but their lack of diligence; it's not you making the players win every fight, but the party's choice to fight in a choke point and use the environment to their benefit.

Essentially, you will be operating the ship, impartially furnishing the world that the players will play within. So, going down the list, let me elaborate on each of the four aspects of this formula.

A Ruleset

There are many different rulesets for classic fantasy games, but you'll want to start by reading the Moldvay/Cook Basic/Expert PDFs. They explain how the game is played well and serve as an introduction to the mindset of the game. However, there is also the popular Old-School Essentials ruleset, a complete restatement of B/X with better organizing, which has free rules available online, albeit lacking the "learn-how-to-play" elements. Great for reference, less ideal for learning.

There are many other systems out there, but for now, stick with either the original B/X PDFs or Old School Essentials. The most important parts of the rules to understand are those on adventuring (movement, encumbrance weight, and exploration procedures are crucial) and combat. If you're reading original B/X, check out "Dungeon Mastering As A Fine Art" as well. When you run the game, attempt to make as few alterations to the rules as possible.

One Page Dungeons

A one-page dungeon of any kind is one of the simplest ways to get a dungeon on the table without issue. They are already made for you, generally easy to run, and last (and least), likely have some interesting thematic elements (mundanity combined with strict exploration procedures is a feature, not a bug).

If you want something juicier, check out Dyson's Delve, a fully-formed megadungeon consisting of one-page dungeons. Or, if you want a smaller but still cohesive dungeon, check out the Tomb of the Serpent Kings, a dungeon expressly designed to serve as an intro to old-school dungeon design. For your first time doing this, though, you can't go wrong with pretty much any one-page dungeon.

Party of 9

The most important aspect of D&D is consequence. Not just what happens when the players make intelligent choices, but also what happens when they fail to do so. This is the most critical thing for the game, as without this, the game simply has no meaning. High lethality and chance of character death are absolutely critical for this kind of game. It's important that these lessons get conveyed, but this can often end up with some feel-bad moments at the table when someone, for instance, fails to check for traps when opening a chest, runs face-first into wild jackals, drinks from a fountain, or otherwise makes a poor decision.

This is especially elevated when the players have spent time making their own character, pouring their emotional investment into it. Therefore, the best way to keep the high lethality while also keeping the players is to use pregenerated characters. There are a bunch of resources around, but it's nice and straightforward to use a generator such as dndcharacter.com or fastcharacter.com.

On top of this, you want to ensure the party totals between 5 and 9 members. This doesn't mean you need to invite 5-9 of your closest friends, but rather that the total amount of people in the party (not just characters, but also retainers) equals at least 5-9. This allows the players to face the challenges of the dungeon while still providing opportunities to fail and have characters die without being overly punishing or causing a 30-minute diversion to roll new characters.

Four Hours

Including this on the list was more jokey, but it's still important. You're going to want to set expectations about how scheduling works early. I've spoken about this in the past, but a regular campaign mustn't bend itself for the player's sake. In the afterword of the AD&D DMG, Gygax speaks of the correct order for D&D, being "THE GAME AS A WHOLE FIRST, YOUR CAMPAIGN NEXT, AND YOUR PARTICIPANTS THEREAFTER" Prioritize the rules, then the campaign, before the players to allow for a solid foundation that won't crumble if the players are the center of it.

By having the session take place in one sitting, you establish that the game is going to happen, regardless of a singular person's schedule. Gather as many people together, gamers and non-gamers alike (as the OSR with needing planning, player skill, and wit perfectly accommodates the latter), and fire the session using a simple rule set, a simple dungeon, and simplify through using pregenerated characters.