So You Want to Run OSR: Part 0 - Preparing for Your First Session

yea babey

So you've heard a lot about this whole 'OSR' thing and decided to give it a shot. You've chosen a rule set you like, and you're wondering where to begin. Begin here.

The scope of this article will cover the physical necessities for your first session. The next article will cover how to prepare your first dungeon. This article assumes that, per my advice offered in 'The Golden Rule of Sandbox Refereeing,' your first session will be a simple dungeon-delve. No need to create an entire milieu just yet.

A disclaimer: this is how I choose to run my games, and what works for me. Other approaches may differ. This is fine. I am not the final authority. If it works for you, use it. If it doesn't, ignore it. Games are fun, so have fun.

To begin, here is a checklist of what you will need at your first session. I will elaborate on what is needed and why after the checklist.

• The obvious: pencils and erasers, dice, your ruleset of choice.
• A running list of things you wish you had at your table.
• A DM screen with appropriate reference sheets.
• A three-ring binder, preferably with dividers and inserts. Can double as a DM screen in a pinch.
• Extra character sheets, or notebook paper and a "master character sheet" for your players to copy
• A guide on rolling new characters (enough copies to distribute to your players)
• A list of first-level Magic-User and Elf spells (as well as first-level Cleric spells if you allow your Clerics to cast spells at first level)
• Bookmarks if using physical rulebooks
• A running list of important things to remind yourself for next session
• A town
• A dungeon

Pencils, erasers, dice, ruleset, graph paper:

Enough to go around. Cheap enough you don't mind if your players walk off with them or lose them under the table. Have a sharpener handy as well if they're not mechanical. I found that players were burning through the erasers on their pencils faster than their lead, so I had a rubber eraser for people to use. For players, one to three d6 dice, a d4, a d8, one to two d10s and a d20 are sufficient. For you, the DM, I'd recommend two to three d4 dice, three d6, three d8, two d10, and a d20. A d12 is optional as well. For graph paper, I prefer four hexes per inch, with a three-hole punch so that I can keep them in my binder.

A running list of things you wish you had at your table:

During your first session, you'll find yourself scrambling for something you wish you had on you. Keep a list handy to remind yourself next time.

A DM screen with appropriate reference sheets:

You don't need to be fancy. The screen is more for the reference sheets than for secrecy. Really, the only things that need to be rolled in secret are listen checks and some thief skills.

On the outside of my screen are player-facing reminders: cleric turn undead tables and equipment costs and weights.

On the inside of your screen you might want:

• Combat matrices
• The combat sequence, including reaction rolls
• Rules for evasion and pursuit
• Wandering monster tables
• Saving throws

A three-ring binder:

You may set this up how you see fit. I like to have a section for calendars, a section for my hexmap and key, a section for the dungeon map and key, useful random tables, and then scratch paper.

Extra character sheets or notebook paper:

For your first session, I recommend having twice as many characters pre-generated as you have players (or half that if your players are generating their own characters). The nice thing about OSR games is that character sheets are very simple, so players can also write their own character sheets on notebook paper as well. Just have a master character sheet they can copy from. I prefer to write anything that doesn't change in pen, and fill it in with pencil afterward.

A guide for rolling new characters:

Have enough guides so that your players can each have one, if you're generating characters at the table. Otherwise, one that can be passed around is fine. Walk them through the process of character creation, including:

1. Rolling for stats
2. Choosing a class and adjusting stats if applicable
3. Recording adjustments
4. Rolling and recording hitpoints
5. Recording XP, prime requisite adjustment percentage, saving throws, and to-hit matrices
6. Rolling for starting money
7. Purchasing equipment
8. Recording armor class, damage dice, and encumbrance and moving speed
9. Recording any special abilities

A list of first-level magic-user spells (and cleric spells if you allow clerics to cast spells at first level):

It may be useful to write these on notebook cards, so that magic-users may have their spells handy as a reminder.

Bookmarks if using physical rulebooks:

Keep track of which pages you reference frequently; it may be beneficial to copy this information onto your screen. If you use a PDF program for your rules or modules, use the 'bookmark' or 'favorite' function. 

A running list of things to remind yourself for next session:

Keeping a calendar is a great idea, but for your first session, a pad of paper where you write reminders for yourself will do. For example, if your players let a few kobolds escape, perhaps next session they come across their camp on the way to the dungeon.

A town

For your first session, your town is little more than a place to rest and re-stock. Come up with the names of a tavern (to get rumors and hire people), an inn (to sleep and store belongings), a sanctuary (to purchase healing and restorative services), a shop and smithy (to purchase equipment and weapons), and a stable (to purchase mounts). Name the owners of each establishment and have a few random names on hand as well.

A dungeon

See the next part of this series.