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The OSR Handbook is a guide to the Old School Renaissance. It includes profiles of 16 different OSR systems, including basic mechanics, stats, and the same five standard characters statted out in each system.
Even better, the same five stock characters are statted out in all 16 systems, so you can easily compare systems or jump right into a game.
Buy the OSR Handbook at DriveThruRPG now for US$2.99
The hardback will include interviews with Kirin Robinson of Old School Hack, James Raggi of Lamentations of the Flame Princess, Jason Morningstar of Dungeon Squad, and Michael Wolf of Warrior Rogue & Mage.
The OSR Handbook will be available January 2013 in PDF and hardcover from DriveThruRPG.
Meanwhile, here's the big matrix of OSR systems:
| Price | Player Classes | Pages | Elf is a Class | Monsters | Treasure | HP by Class | Highest PC Level | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adventurer Conqueror King System | $10 PDF, $40 print | 12 | 274 | Kinda (1) | 204 | Yes | Yes (HD) | 14 |
| BareBones RPG | $10 PDF | N/A | 84 | No | 47 | Yes | No | 6 |
| Dungeon Crawl Classics | $19 PDF, $40 print | 7 | 488 | Yes | 110 | No | Yes (HD) | 10 |
| Dungeon Raiders | Free PDF | 4 | 10 | No | 16 | Yes | Yes | No limit |
| Dungeon Squad | Free PDF | N/A | 5 | No | 17 | Yes | No | No limit |
| Dungeon World (Basic) | Free XML, $10 PDF | 4 | 122 | No | 17 | No | Yes (static) | 5 |
| Labyrinth Lord | Free (no art), $22 (art) | 7 | 138 | Yes | 191 | Yes | Yes (HD) | Varies by class |
| Lamentations of the Flame Princess | €10 PDF, €30 print | 7 | 94 (core) | Yes | 0 | No | Yes (HD) | Varies by class |
| Mazes & Minotaurs | Free PDF | 12 | 50 (core) | Yes (2) | Separate | No | Yes | 6 |
| Microlite74 | Free PDF | 8 | 28 (standard) | No | 150 | Yes | Depends on version | No limit |
| Old School Hack | Free PDF | 7 | 20 | Yes | 0 | Yes | No | 4 |
| OSRIC | Free PDF | 9 | 404 | No | 373 | Yes | Yes (HD) | Varies by class |
| Searchers of the Unknown | Free PDF | 1 | 1 | No | 0 | No | Yes (HD) | No limit |
| Stars Without Number | Free Basic PDF, $20 PDF, $30 print | 3 | 210 | No | 25 | Yes | Yes | 11+ |
| Swords and Wizardry | Free Core PDF, $14 softcover | 4 | 146 | No | 154 | Yes | Yes (HD) | 21+ |
| Warrior, Rogue & Mage | Free PDF | N/A | 41 | No | 30 | No | No | No limit |
(1) In ACKS, race and class are separate, but all classes are race-specific. An elf can only choose an elf class.
(2) Mazes & Minotaurs has racial classes, but no actual elves.
- “Prices” are in U.S. Dollars unless otherwise noted, as of 2012.
- “Player Classes” only include those specifically listed in the core rule book.
- “Pages” lists the number of pages in the core rule book only.
- “Elf is a Class” refers to whether races are treated as classes.
- “Monsters” lists the number of monsters specifically statted out in the core rule book. Monster templates don't count, but non-monstrous humanoid enemies (like bandits) do count.
- “Treasure” indicates a table or list of treasure for PCs.
- “HP by Class” indicates whether Hit Points increase by class. E.g., when a character levels up, do they roll a different die type depending on their class? If so, “HP by Class” is “Yes.” If Hit Points increase using a die, “(HD)” is used; otherwise, assume a static number.
- “Highest PC Level” lists the highest level to which a PC can attain in the core rule book.
