Confessions of a Wee Tim'rous Bushi

Sunday’s Greyhawk game (AD&D module A2) went well, and despite a one-month hiatus (I had to cancel our previous session at the last minute), we were straight back into the action with the party having to fight a cloaker. Despite taking great precautions due to the strange droning sound and stunned slaves in the great chamber they’d arrived at, they didn’t plug up their ears and decided to don the conspicuous black cloaks at the end of the chamber – one of which was the cloaker! This adventure was the first appearance of that weird monster in D&D, and it’s sonic attacks (causing Fear, Hold Person) – as well as consistently unlucky roles – really made for a tough and memorable encounter. This was our sixth session of the current module, and we’re about halfway through (no spoilers, please, as players may be looking).   When we finally finish A2 after another 2 or 3 months, I intend to put AD&D to one side for a while and run the Six Seasons in Sartar campaign for Rune Que...

Old-School Essentials (OSE) and 1980s "basic" D&D restrict magic-user spell acquisition to mentoring and research, as described here: https://oldschoolessentials.necroticgnome.com/srd/index.php/Spell_Books Notably, magic-users cannot learn new spells from scrolls or spell books that they obtain, as is the case in AD&D. At my group's OSE table, however, we've adopted the Advanced Rules for this part of the game, and have rejected the common idea that magic-users obtain a new spell upon advancing a level. As such, I've hammered out some rules of thumb for spell acquisition with the player running the magic-user . Returning to the Classic Rules for a moment, we know that researching a new spell costs 1000 gp per spell level (taking 2 weeks per spell level), whereas recreating a lost spell book requires that each spell be rewritten at the cost of 1000 gp per spell level (taking 1 week per spell level). Presumably the costs involve materials for special inks, p...

We're currently making some rules changes relating to spell acquisition and magical research in our Old-School Essentials and AD&D games. The most notable of these changes would allow spellcasters to switch spells during play.  According to the Dungeon Masters Guide for 1st-edition AD&D, it takes 15 minutes per spell level to memorize each spell at the beginning of the day. I intend to use this time requirement to allow players to switch spells that have not been cast . This means that spellcasters faced with a problem during an adventure can hit their spell books or meditate in order to prepare the right spell for the job. It is my belief that, without this, many limited-utility spells simply will not be memorized or come into play, and that players are less likely to come up with interesting magical solutions to their immediate problems.  I feel this doesn't undermine the "feel" of Vancian magic, nor does it provide unlimited access to magic. After all, once...