project-image

Old-School Essentials

Created by Necrotic Gnome

A modular adventure game in the tradition of the beloved 1980s role-playing rules. 100% old-school rules, 100% modern design.

Latest Updates from Our Project:

Physical rewards going out next week!
over 4 years ago – Thu, Nov 07, 2019 at 12:18:54 AM

Hey everyone,

It's Wednesday and time for your weekly Old-School Essentials update!

Fulfillment Commences Next Week!

The only big piece of news in this week's update is that we're on schedule for fulfillment to begin next week! The fulfillment company have told me that fulfillment should take in the order of 10 working days to complete, so that means everyone's rewards should have been shipped out by around November 22nd. How long each package takes to reach its destination depends of course on where exactly you're located, but your rewards will be with you soon!

 Old-School Essentials for the Masses!

A note for anyone who has friends who missed this Kickstarter: there is a lot of extra stock of all of the books! (Except the Kickstarter-exclusive leatherette Rules Tome, of course.) Once fulfillment of the Kickstarter rewards is well under way, the books (and the Black Box!) will be on general sale at necroticgnome.com.

Kickstarter Updates Going Forward

As you've probably noticed, the rate of exciting news relating to this Kickstarter is slowing down. This is only natural as we enter the final stages. The majority of the digital rewards have already gone out (the PDFs of the books, the character sheets, the referee's screen) and the physical rewards are about to be sent out to you all. All that remains is the final pre-gen characters and the rules reference website. Work on both those things is in progress, so they should be coming soon.

As the rate of news is slowing down, I'll probably reduce the rate of updates that I post to "as and when there's news". When there's something to share, I'll write an update, but I won't continue with the regular weekly updates when there's nothing significant to communicate.

Honestly, I'm going to miss writing these updates and sharing the wonderful journey of this project with you all! But all good things must come to an end, and the "end" in this case is all of you having books in your hands that I hope will bring you countless hours of gaming fun. (I've not had a chance to use my own copies of Old-School Essentials in a game yet, but I've been hugely enjoying using the Rules Tome as a reference!)

What's Next?

The impending end of this project brings me nicely on to the next topic: what's next from Necrotic Gnome! Many of you have probably already heard a bit about these projects, but I thought it'd be nice to share some details with everyone about what will be coming up early next year.

Old-School Essentials Referee Screen Deluxe Print

Remember the beautifully illustrated referee's screen that you received the download / print-on-demand codes for? I'm planning to do a deluxe run of this screen, printed on thick, high quality card stock. There's not much to say about this project, other than that this screen will likely be an essential old-school item!

Dolmenwood Campaign Book

The next really big project that I've got in the works is a campaign setting for Old-School Essentials — the fairy-tale forest of Dolmenwood! Some details on this book:

  • What is Dolmenwood? A deep, dark, dank forest dotted with clusters of mouldering standing stones, crisscrossed with ley lines, haunted by all manner of fairies and strange beasts, and infested with fungus. The setting is written as a hex crawl in the classic vein, with a campaign map of 180 six-mile hexes, each with one or more detailed write-ups of encounters, lairs, weird magic, and so on.
  • What's in the Campaign Book? The Dolmenwood Campaign Book will provide everything referee's need to run campaigns in this fairy-tale setting. In addition to the detailed hex write-ups, the following are discussed: the characteristics of the different regions of the forest, the history of human (and fairy) habitation of the place, the magic of the various ley lines and standing stones, the sentient races that inhabit the forest, the seven factions that vie for control, the calendar and festivals, and much, much more! The book is topped off with a bestiary of weird new monsters (all statted for Old-School Essentials, naturally) and extensive rumour tables to get PCs going.
  • How big is this thing? Writing is still under way, so it's not possible to give exact figures. It's looking like the book will come in at around 200-300 pages, though.
  • What will it look like? Physically, it's going to be a big, chunky tome printed at the same deluxe quality as the Old-School Essentials books. It'll be a full-size (A4) book. Art-wise, I'm working with a small group of artists to bring the fairy-tale magic of the setting to life (including a few artists whom you already know from Old-School Essentials!). Finnish artist Pauliina Hannuniemi is doing a series of large-scale paintings for the chapter heading pages. There's an example mockup spread below.
  • When will it be available? I'm planning to bring this book to Kickstarter in the spring next year, along with 3 adventure modules set in Dolmenwood and the usual smorgasbord of tantalising stretch goals and add-ons!

I'll be sure to post an update here when the Dolmenwood Kickstarter goes live!

Two-page chapter heading mockup with art by Pauliina Hannuniemi

All for Now

Gavin / Moss Master at Necrotic Gnome

Rogues Gallery, Shipping Lockdown this Thursday
over 4 years ago – Thu, Oct 31, 2019 at 02:35:39 AM

Hey everyone,

Time for your weekly Old-School Essentials update! There's not a huge amount of news this week, so it'll just be a quick update.

Rogues Gallery I PDF Download Codes Sent Out

As you may have noticed, I sent out download codes for the work-in-progress Old-School Essentials Rogues Gallery. I decided that as the set of 7 lawful characters is already complete (including the delightful illustrations by Sam Mameli), I may as well send it out to you all! When more of the pre-gens are are completed, I'll update the PDF. You'll then be notified that a new version is available for download.

I hope you all enjoy the pre-gens! They've been a lot of fun to write, and I'm really pleased with how they're turning out.

(As usual, if you can't find the download code in you email, please check your spam / promotions / updates folders. If you still can't find it, just let me know.)

Shipping Address Lockdown on Thursday

A final reminder that the shipping addresses in BackerKit will be locked this Thursday, October 31st! 

If you need to change your shipping address, please do so immediately. I'll be sending the final fulfillment list to the warehouse on November 1st, so the addresses in BackerKit on that date will be the final addresses that your rewards will be shipped to.

Also, anyone who's not filled out their BackerKit survey or paid their shipping charges, this is your last chance to get your rewards on time!

Everything Has Arrived at the Fulfillment Warehouse

I mentioned in last week's update that everything had been packed up (24 palettes full!) and was on its way from the manufacturer to the fulfillment warehouse. Well, I'm glad to say that everything has arrived safe and sound and is now being checked in. Once I send the final backer shipping addresses over to the warehouse on Friday, they'll start getting everything ready for fulfillment. Rewards will start shipping out on November 11th. (That's less than 2 weeks now!)

All for Now

Until next week,

Gavin / Moss Master at Necrotic Gnome

The books are on their way to the fulfillment warehouse!
over 4 years ago – Thu, Oct 24, 2019 at 01:25:13 AM

Hey everyone,

It's Old-School Essentials weekly update time!

About the Druid and Illusionist Spells Printing Error

As I mentioned in the last update, the spine text of the Druid and Illusionist Spells book was printed wrong. It's an error that won't make any difference to using the books, but it's an imperfection that to me as the creator is kind of soul destroying.

Nevertheless here we are. There has been a printing error and I've had to decide how to proceed. I've considered many different possibilities, weighing up the pros and cons, and my decision was that the best way forward on balance is to ship the books with the error. From the informal surveys of backers that I've done (both through comments here and on social media), it seems that the vast majority of backers agree with my decision.

However, I totally understand that some people are disappointed with this decision. I've chosen what I regard as the best way forward, but naturally not everyone who reads this would have made the same choice, if the choice had been theirs to make. To these people, I'd like to offer an alternative:

Cancel and Refund Offer Until October 31st

If you wish, you can cancel your order of the Druid and Illusionist Spells book and will get the price of the book (€10) plus the shipping costs refunded. (The same goes for the accompanying Advanced Fantasy: Genre Rules book, if you wish.)

If you want to take this option, here's what to do:

  •  Kickstarter message: Send a message to Necrotic Gnome via this Kickstarter. (From the Kickstarter campaign page, click on "Created by Necrotic Gnome", then click on "Contact me".)
  •  Books: Please state that you want to cancel your order of Druid and Illusionist Spells. If you want to also cancel your order of Advanced Fantasy: Genre Rules, say so.
  •  PayPal: Please specify the PayPal email address to which you'd like to receive the refund. (I'm afraid it won't be possible to provide refunds via any other payment method.)
  •  Deadline: I can only offer this cancel and refund to people who message as described by October 31st (end of day, Central European Time). After that, I will be sending the finalised fulfillment list to the fulfillment company (minus any cancelled books) so it will be too late to change anything further.

I'm truly sorry that no better solution is feasible right now. Offering a full refund and cancellation is right now the only really comprehensive way in which I can respect the wishes of some backers to not receive a book with this printing error. There may be a second printing of the book in the future (where of course this mistake will be fixed), but I can't say whether that will happen in 3 months or 3 years. I absolutely don't want to keep anyone waiting for their book for an undefined amount of time like that!

Corrective Stickers

Many of you suggested the idea of a sticker that can be placed on the spine of the book to correct the error. I've been looking into this, as it seemed like a pretty nice fix. Unfortunately it's not going to happen.

The main problem is the timeline. Fulfillment is impending (see below), so it's just not feasible to get stickers manufactured, shipped to the fulfillment warehouse, and somehow inserted into the fulfillment process all at such short notice.

Manufacturing is also a problem—I've not been able to find a company that can produce suitable stickers. The manufacturer of the books can't do it and neither can any of the online sticker printing companies that I've looked into. The problem is that this would need to be a very narrow sticker (the spine is about 9mm), which most companies don't seem to have the capacity to manufacture.

Print-at-home stickers will definitely be possible, though. I'll provide a PDF that anyone who wants to can print out and apply to their book.

In Conclusion

If you absolutely don't want a book with the printing error, get writing that message (as described above)!

Despite this last minute hiccup, though, I'm very happy with how this Kickstarter has gone. It has been a very complex project, involving the production of 9 books, a game box, and loads of digital rewards. We've produced a lot of amazing content and art, including loads of extra stuff that backers will receive for free due to stretch goals.

For my first Kickstarter ever, I'm very proud of what I've created. I'm sure you will all be delighted when you get the books and boxes in your hands! I can't wait to use mine at the table.

Everything has Left the Factory!

OK, now onto positive news.

Approximately 27,000 books left the manufacturer yesterday and are now on their way to the fulfillment warehouse! They're expected to arrive in a few days. Once they're in, the huge task of processing them all into the warehouse and preparing for fulfillment will begin. Fulfillment is still on schedule to begin on November 11th, so it's only a matter of a few weeks now before the lucky first backers will be receiving their physical rewards! (I have no idea what order everything will be fulfilled in, but one would imagine that backers who live closest to the fulfillment company in the UK will receive their books first.)

Reminder: Addresses Will be Locked on October 31st

As mentioned a few weeks back, all shipping addresses will be locked down in BackerKit next Thursday (end of day, Central European Time).

  •  Missing addresses: Any orders that are missing a valid shipping address after that date will be significantly delayed!
  •  Incomplete surveys: Likewise, any BackerKit surveys that have not been completed after that date will be significantly delayed. (Fill in your survey here.)
  •  Failed payments: The same goes for payments that have not gone through.

Old-School Essentials Rogues Gallery I

And now for something completely different...

Remember those stretch goals for the production of a set of illustrated pre-gen characters? Well, work on those is progressing nicely. I'm really happy with how they're turning out. Here are a couple of previews for your delectation: the cover for the pre-gens PDF and one of the characters. 

All backers will receive the pre-gens PDF as a free download via DriveThruRPG, once it's finished.

(Also note that the addition of a "I" to the title of this PDF implies that there may be further, similar sets of pre-gens in the future.)

Rogues Gallery I cover, with art by Sam Mameli
Sprig, 1st level lawful magic-user

All for Now

More news next week!

Gavin / Moss Master at Necrotic Gnome

A quick update on the printed books
over 4 years ago – Thu, Oct 17, 2019 at 02:04:33 AM

Hey everyone,

It's Wednesday and time for your weekly Old-School Essentials update!

An Unfortunate Error in Print

First up, a sad note on a piece of errata I've spotted in one of the print books. Print books almost invariably have some degree of errata — it's just in the nature of printing that once something is committed to paper, it's permanent. Unlike the PDF edition of a book, print books obviously cannot be updated, and so errata accrues until there's a second printing when it can be fixed.

Unfortunately I must report that I've spotted an error in the printed version of Advanced Fantasy: Druid and Illusionist Spells. In one sense it's a major error and in another sense it's inconsequential. Here's what's happened: the spine text of the book reads "Advanced Fantasy: Genre Rules", rather than "Advanced Fantasy: Druid and Illusionist Spells". So you see what I mean about it being a pretty significant error that is, at the end of the day, inconsequential.

All seven books side by side

I've been tearing my hair out these last few days since I spotted this, looking into different options and trying to decide what to do. My first thought was that it might be possible to print a sticker over the spine, correcting the mistake. I asked the manufacturer about this, but they said it would be a mess as it wouldn't be possible to ensure that the sticker was properly lined up on every single copy of the book.

What they suggested was the only really feasible option for fixing the mistake would be to print a dust cover for the book, bearing the correct title on the spine. This would fix the mistake, but would have a couple of downsides. Firstly, the Druid and Illusionist Spells book would consequently look different to all of the other books in the set, which is perhaps even worse than the spine text being wrong. Secondly, the dust cover would make accessing the book's endpapers awkward, as it would cover over part of them.

Another option would be to do another print run with the error corrected. This would be expensive and wasteful, but more importantly would involve a delay of at least several months. The manufacturer is backed up right now and couldn't schedule in a new print run for some months. Meanwhile, fulfillment of the project would also have to be delayed and I'd have to wait for a new slot in the fulfillment company's schedule to come up.

I've gone over these and various other options a million times, but in the end I feel the best option is to accept the mistake and continue as planned. At the end of the day, it's a cosmetic mistake, not something that actually mars the game. If this were a serious error in the rules of the game, I'd feel differently.

I'm really sorry to have to report this, as everything else with the print run (and indeed with this project in general!) has gone so well. I'm kicking myself that I didn't spot this during the proofing stage. The book is beautiful, though, and I'm sure everyone who's ordered a copy will get a great deal of enjoyment out of it, despite this error.

Manufacturing Update

A very quick update on the status of manufacturing: it's finished! The manufacturer has informed me that everything is now being packed into boxes and loaded onto palettes getting ready to be shipped out to the fulfillment company. Fulfillment is scheduled to begin on November 11th, so we're very comfortably on schedule.

Old-School Essentials Facebook Group

One last note this week: in addition to the Necrotic Gnome communities on MeWe and Discord, there's now also a Facebook group for fans of Old-School Essentials. Come and join the throng!

(Thanks to Ryan of the THAC0 RPG blog for creating the group!)

All for Now

Until next week!

Gavin / Moss Master at Necrotic Gnome

I have the finished products in my hands!
over 4 years ago – Thu, Oct 10, 2019 at 02:02:38 AM

Hey everyone,

A late-in-the-day update today as I was waiting for a certain special postal delivery before writing today's update. I have some amazing news to share! Here goes...

I'm Holding Old-School Essentials in my Hands!

(Well, I was. Right now I'm typing.) I'm delighted (and relieved!) to say that everything looks amazing.

  • The Rules Tomes are super meaty and the ribbon colours are great. (You can no doubt guess why I chose those colours ;)
  • The leatherette Rules Tome is truly a thing of beauty.
  • The Black Box is really wonderful. It's super sturdy and the books fit great inside. (The Rules Tome fits inside too, as designed.)
  • The paper of the books is really nice.
  • The artwork has come out great. The colour pieces look amazing!

I wish I had a better phone and better lighting conditions to show you all some fancy looking photos! I'm afraid I don't though, so here's the best I can do right now. (I deliberately don't include any photos of the internal artwork below as my photos really don't do it justice!)

The complete stack!
The three kinds of Rules Tome
The Black Box and contents (and my cat Edwin checking it out)
The Advanced Fantasy books
The Hole in the Oak

Print-on-Demand Referee's Screen

The print-on-demand setup for the screen inserts is now complete and at-cost codes have been sent out to you all. As usual, if you think you didn't receive the code please let me know, after checking all known spam folders etc.

The at-cost code lets you order the printed inserts for $3.36 (the cost of printing them) plus shipping. If you want to order a universal GM screen to insert them into, that costs $24.99 plus shipping. (As has been mentioned in comments, the screen and the inserts only ship from the US and are unfortunately very expensive to ship to other countries. I myself will indeed not be ordering one for this very reason!)

That leads me nicely onto the next topic...

Deluxe Referee's Screen

In last week's update I proposed the idea of doing a deluxe quality print run of the referee's screen. There was so much interest in this idea that I think it's safe to say that the project is a go! Some more details:

  • This will be a proper printed screen (i.e. not a plastic screen with inserts).
  • I'll do it at deluxe quality with nice thick card (2 or 3mm thick probably).
  • Imagine that Peter Mullen artwork printed as a continuous tetraptych!!! (As Crom intended.)
  • The screens will be manufactured in and shipped from Europe.
  • The time frame for this happening is as yet undecided. Probably very early next year. (Like January / February.)
  • I'm also still considering whether to do this as a Kickstarter (with added goodies) or to simply order the print run and then sell them from necroticgnome.com.
  • More details coming when I know them!

Core Rules Plain Text Edition

One last little update. As a prelude to creating the online rules reference (which was unlocked as a stretch goal), I've started creating plain text documents of the Old-School Essentials books. The first of these, Core Rules, is finished! You can get it in two places:

All for Now

Until next time!

Gavin / Moss Master at Necrotic Gnome