Modern Necessites (OSE Version)

Modern Necessities - Old School Rules for Modern Themes
by The Scrying Dutchman

• You can purchase the pdf and the drivethru rpg version of the printed book here:  https://www.drivethrurpg.com
• You can purchase the the lulu version of the printed book here:  https://www.lulu.com
• I have not seen the product on the Necrotic Gnome website but I believe they don't stock print-on-demand products, in house.

For the record, I purchased the Lulu version, as I have never had a bad Lulu print but I've had numerous poorly printed books from Drivethru.  As of 31 July 2023, the Lulu version is also $6 cheaper!  Get on it folks, you won't be disappointed!

 

Four days.... I've been alive in this Hell for four days.  Again we hear the suppressive fire starting from across the river - the Volga - that bitch of a river that has drunk the souls of my entire platoon... and the platoon before that.  Four days.  My beautiful twin sister, Olga, is dug in beside me.  Poor Olya, I pray that her scars don't keep her from a good husband some day.  She is adjusting dials on some device sent down from Moscow.  She was told it will protect our emplacement from explosions - something about radio frequencies and tuning ley lines.  My Olya is the smart twin.  I'm the sniper.  With shaking hands, I finish loading my battered Mosin.  I know from experience that they will stop shaking when the iron monsters of the 14th Panzer (Ork) roll into view.  I pray that if she and I survive this battle that Olga returns home.  Stalingrad is no place for my sister.  Four days...

 

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Modern Necessities is a set of character classes, equipment, and rules for adding modern combat into an Old School Essentials (OSE) game.  This book cannot be used as a complete game, as is.  You need to have either OSE, a TSR version of Dungeons & Dragons, or some form of retroclone or OSR product for the basic rules.  There is also a version of this book for the 5th edition of what WotC calls "D&D". I haven't seen it and won't spend my hard-earned scrilla on 5e.

 Physically, the book is a bit taller than normal, US-sized books.  For my fellow 'murcans, this book is 11.5" inches high and 8.25" wide.  This equates to 29.5cm high and 21cm wide for my Euro-friends, Aussies, and Canuckistanis.

The cover is pretty cool but I'm not exactly sure what it represents.  There's a pointy-eared fellow, a chick with a pistol, maybe a medusa with a gatling gun and an ogre holding an old timey bomb.  This is just a guess.

After the title page, table of contents, and introduction from the author, the book jumps right into the new classes.  There are a lot of them.  Each class, in OSE tradition, is detailed on one page.  The format uses bullet points with paragraphs as needed for more detailed information.  The second page includes tables for each class (XP, HD, attacks, skill success, saving throws, etc.)

The classes are:  Soldier, Heavy Gunner, Crook, Tech Expert, Sniper, Survivalist, Hired Killer, Medic, Psychonaut (magic-users who get their spells from hallucinogenic drugs and communing with inter-dimensional entities), Wheelman, Ninja, Exorcist (what it sounds like), and Face (the sexy, talker folks).  The rest of the classes should be self-explanatory.  I wish Mr. Dutchman would have reorganized the class chapter to keep all of a character class' details on facing pages.  Sometimes it is but sometimes you have class information on the front and charts on the back of a single.

Note that some of the classes have access to spells.  For a more realistic setting, the referee will have to ignore this.  Tech Experts get access to technomancy spells (detailed in this book), Medics and Exorcists get access to cleric spells.  Psychonauts get access to magic-user spells.  Faces get access to magic-user spells (illusionist spells, if Advanced OSE is in use).

After classes, we get a 2-page spread on races.  Dwarf, elf, gnome, halfling, half-orc, and human are the options.  They are the same as the OSE versions but are given traits and flavor on how they might behave in a modern society.  Dwarves are old-time fans and are good with revolvers, sawed-off shotties, and the like.  Half-orcs are [apparently] dressed as gopniks are best with "spray and pay" weapons.  You get the idea. 

The next 35 pages are guns and gear.  

There is a simple way to use "spread quality" tagged items, such as shotguns.  In this case, if your character is blasting some schmuck with a 12-gauge, and his homie is standing within 5 feet of him, there is a 2-in-6 chance that he sucks up some shot himself.  I am not sold on the "full auto quality" tagged weapons.  Each character has a standard Armor Class but full auto targets AC 5 [14] and anyone within 10 feet is hit with this as the target number but then saves for half damage.  I can see a player whose character has a better AC complaining about this.  With D&D-style AC to be hit and not armor reduction, I don't know if I could come up with a better mechanic.  I don't know.  I'd have to think about it.

The author has some fun with the weapon descriptions and it tickles me.  Here is the description of the Fire Axe, as an example.  "Carried by firefighters and often stored away in buildings for use in emergencies.  Sometimes slamming it into someone's chest counts as an emergency."  Dry and funny.

I won't spend too much time on the weapons, even though it is dang near half the book.  Weapons are broken out into tables based on the class of weapon, light, medium, heavy, etc.  Taking two pistols to compare, James Bond uses a Walther, .32 caliber pistol, according to the Dr. No movie.  Bond can take out the evil SPECTRE schmucks at 30/60/90 range with 1d4 damage.  Dirty Harry, on the other hand, with his .44 magnum, "the most powerful handgun in the world", blows away rapists at 60/120/180 range with 1d8+1 damage.

The rules eschew bullet counting and the game relies on a Reload Number, instead.  A d6 is rolled after an encounter and if the result is below a certain number, the weapon must be reloaded (again, not "bullets" but rather an item called "ammo reload", which is whatever number of bullets are needed).  Don't worry. it appears to work better than how I am describing it.  This simplifies counting ammunition, which is probably good for a military game with bullets whizzing by.  If emulating a spy novel, where maybe only a handful bullets are ever fired, it might not be necessary.  Overall, I enjoy the reload.  For the record, our famous British spy has to reload with a 2-in-6 chance and our favorite San Francisco ass-kicker has to reload with a 4-in-6 chance.

Later on in the book, we get a rules and table for damaging vehicles and occupants of vehicles.  I think that the table could have been included in the main weapons tables easily enough.  It is always a single-digit number and the tables have room.

I am really happy to say that Mr. Dutchman lists weapons by "type" and not specific weapons.  He does include examples in the description.  My dad's old Winchester .30-30 is a "lever action rifle", journalist's favorite punching bag death machine is listed as "assault rifle".  The author failed to take into account the +1 Charisma bonus that the AK-47 wielders get when shooting next to those inferior AR-15 chumps.  Oh well, maybe in the next edition!

There is a list of firearm attachments (night vision, suppressor, etc.)  Armor affects AC, as expected in OSE.  I think the author went a bit too crazy with armor types but I understand his reasoning because some "armors" have special properties (NBC suit makes you immune to diseases while wearing them, etc.)

The next chapter is for vehicles.  There is a very simple mechanic for shooting into vehicles.  Each vehicle has a Vulnerability Rating (VR).  Vehicles are immune to weapons which have a Vehicle Damage (VD) stat equal to, or lower than, the VR.  Let's go back to our two literary heroes for a minute.  Bond has his Walther in hand and wants to stop the Peterbilt bearing down on him.  James empties is mag into the truck's hood and not a damn thing happens.  Bond's 'Murcan comrade whips out his .44 magnum heater, *BOOM*  *BOOM*, he drops two rounds into the engine block, damaging the truck.

The vehicle list is by type, just like weapons, and not specific models of cars, boats, helicopters, or tanks.

Technomancy spells are next listed.  Some are super hacker type spells.  Some make weapons "magical", imparting a bonus to hit. There are six levels of spells, with eight spells per level.  It would be nice to have a line delineating the breaking point between spells.  Or perhaps a table break.

A chapter on NPCs follows.  There are 16 NPCs included.  You get a commando, detective, cyber criminal, some other humans, and a cybernetically upgraded dog, called Drone Dog.  It reminds me of one of the Sprawl Trilogy books where some tinker in the woods had a pack of enhanced dogs.

Chapter 10 is optional rules.  Hit locations, "cinematic" mode, damaging armor, gun jams, etc.  Cinematic mode is when the players want to run either a Rambo game or a James Bond game.  Characters damage enemy Hit Dice rather than Hit Points.  Enemies damage character's Hit Points, but all weapons do between 0 and 4 points of damage.  This is the same rule from the excellent Scarlet Heroes OSR game.  There is also an optional rule for Experience Points that I think would be needed for any modern game, other than a game where the PCs are bank robbers.  James Bond is a bad ass but he isn't looting the corpses of fallen enemies, looking for chump change.  He is a bad ass because he has completed missions.

⇨ GRIT: ★★★★☆:  This supplement definitely brings OSE into the modern age.  The rules are mostly useful for modern campaigns which involve heavy firepower.  The game is guns heavy and light on spy gadgets, is what I'm saying.  I don't know if Mr. Dutchman intended it this way, maybe he is planning a spy supplement for spy craft?  Mr. Dutchman states in his introduction that players can "revisit old classics with an AK-47 in hand and a vest full of grenades".  He then mentions what I believe are hints about Ravenloft and Isle of Dread.  I think it would be a heck of a good time playing this.

⇨ VIGOR: ★★★☆☆: As a set of rules, they work.  There is no setting information in the book and this might be intentional, as the rules are generic enough for most modern combat settings.  If the author ever does a second edition, I would love to see a few 1-2 page mini settings.  Maybe he does a mini setting which is very D&D but with guns, another which is very realistic but the characters go to a lost dinosaur island, which may or may not be Jurassic in nature, another where the characters are womanizing superspies, out to foil the plots of some supervillains with goofy names, another where they are cowboys who defend the herds from rampaging ankheg, etc.  Giving the referee and players a handful of samples, to me, is always a plus.

⇨ GRACE: ★★★★☆: This is a decent-looking book.  Having all tables and class info on a page spread would do wonders.  Also, by eliminating the space between bullet points in the NPC chapter would allow another one or two foes or friends to be added.  I also would like the aforementioned weapons vs. vehicles score in the table with the weapons.  Those complaints aside, the book is laid-out quite well.  It has a modern layout, plenty of white space to break up the text, and there aren't random tables showing up on page 23, referencing something from page 50.  The art is decent to good.  My personal favorite is the drow on page 1, showing her rack, with her finger to her lips and a submachine gun ready to go.  I think perhaps having a more unified art style would be better (the sexy drow just mentioned is cartoony but a bit serious in tone vs. the demon gal on page 35 which is cartoony, but more in the way of Who Framed Roger Rabbit).  I hope that makes sense. 

Points of Light

Points of Light
by Robert Conley

The pdf can be purchased here:  https://goodman-games.com
It can also be purchased in hard copy from Ebay for about $10.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.

First things first, I own this in hard copy and do not have the pdf.  One thing which jumped out me right away is that there is no copyright which I can see in this product.  I was trying to find the date this product was printed and I don't see this either.  Based on the game systems it is designed for, according to Goodman Game's website, the product is designed for 3e, 4e, or system neutral.  Seeing that the Wizard's versions of "D&D" are so unrelated to real versions of D&D, if this book is to be used, the DM is going to have to ignore the class and level information included.

Just an off-the-top conversion note:  I suspect that if the Dungeon Master was to keep the levels in this setting, don't adjust levels 1-3, divide levels 4-6 by half, and divide levels 7+ by three.  This book is in the typical Wizard's style "D&D", where every back alley bum, sleeping in the street has a class and a level.  Even after doing the above math, if it seems reasonable that the NPC should be a normal man, just set him to HD 0 and ignore the uber-bum issue.

With that out of the way, you, dear reader, probably want to know what this product is all about.  This book is 48 pages of mini settings; three are in the remains of a fallen empire, and the fourth is a vast swamp on an outer plane which the Acheron River flows through.

The book introduces a new class named Myrmidon.  There are no class-specific details other than stating it is a lawful evil version of the paladin.  Speaking of mechanics, the setting does a good job of steering clear of them, other than the inflated level and class mumbo jumbo.  I recall reading one spot where a saving throw vs. paralyzation (I think) was needed and all other saving throws are in 3e-speak - save vs. reflex, etc.

The first setting is called Wildland.  It is set shortly after the empire fell.  It is advertised as being similar to the Dark Ages of Europe.  The second is called Southland.  It is a relatively empty land, where brave characters might carve out their own realms.  The third is called Borderland.  It takes place after the primary gods of the empire had a falling out and now two of the gods' followers are warring with each other.  The fourth is called Swamps of Acheron.  It is a massive swamp where one of the gods holds sway and tests his followers when they seek advancement in the hierarchy.

Each of the settings includes its own map and I really like the maps.  Each map is made of 5-mile hexes and takes up one page (say 125 miles in one direction and 100 miles in the other direction).  The Swamps of Acheron takes up about half a page.  I spent a few seconds looking, to see if the maps fit together, and it doesn't seem that they do.  They seem to be set in different parts of the fallen empire.

The Wildland setting is centered on a two very large rivers which dump into the ocean.  There are two large forests, which make up a decent portion of the map.  Trade centers around the massive rivers.  The background here is that about a hundred years after the Bright Empire fell due to civil war, tribes of barbarians and humanoids invaded the formerly peaceful lands.  

Several tribes of barbarians and humanoids live and survive in the Wildland.  The scattered towns are the only really peaceful places to be found here - and they may not be peaceful if you don't follow whichever deity is in vogue.  There was a large nation of elves living in the woods but they have been chased out by the humanoids; only a small number of them are left.  The town of Delen is the one place where the various locals can meet and discuss trade, treaties, and the like.  Even humanoids are allowed in this town to make their cases in regards to treaties and to trade.  This town also has some stone golems, which are used to punish peace-breakers by drowning them.

Wildland is very much the stereotypical D&Dish fantasy setting - but with more barbarians.  I like this one but I prefer the following setting.

The Southland setting is primarily desert and steppes, with some small wooded areas and a large river.  There is also a massive bog, called Olden Bog, which sits near the main river.  This setting is set somewhere between 200 and 1000 years after the fall of the Bright Empire (text isn't that clear, here).  Ruins are scattered here and there.

We have the standard humanoid invasion from the previous setting, as well as an invasion of dark elves.  There are fewer towns that in Wildland and trade is more rudimentary.  The author expects the PCs to find a nice place to settle and then conquer territory, setting up their own trade routes, etc.

Some of the fun names in this setting include Blood Forest, Forsaken Plains, Nightshade Canyon, and Titan Head Mountains.  There is a very Black Company-vibe naming scheme with some of these.  

Overall, I prefer Southland to Wildland.   

The Borderland setting is very mountainous with scattered hills and a couple of small forests.  The setting includes four main areas:  the side fighting for Sarrath (god), the side fighting for Delaquain (another god), the side who wants to remain neutral, and the side which is just trying to rebuild from the war.

This setting is set up so the player characters can join one faction or another, or spaghetti western the whole thing and play each side off the other, while making that shiny, shiny gold.

I find the geography in this setting the most boring.  It is nearly all mountain or hill.  There is one major river which separates the two warring sides from one another.  Most of this section details the small number of settlements and which faction they support.

This is the weakest of the three standard, prime plane settings, in my opinion.  It isn't bad but I find the "new civil war, but this time it's god vs. god!" not to my taste.

Scattered throughout the first three settings are small inset maps of towns or castles.

The final setting is The Swamps of Acheron.  As I stated earlier, this one takes place on the outer planes.  This setting confuses me a bit.  It is set up so followers of Sarrath make a pilgrimage to this swamp to be tested for advancement in the god's hierarchy.

The land is a swamp, which is fed by smaller rivers branching off the Acheron, with some mountains here and there.  This setting clocks in at five pages and isn't all that exciting.  The monsters, of course, are more powerful. The 999 story tower is the best part of this chapter, it has a few big bads to keep the peasantry at bay, but no map, which is to be expected in a supplement which is so short.

There are four main civilized deities which are used throughout the settings, and one which the humanoid scum prefer.  The big religious conflict is between Dalanquin and Sarrath.  We have:

• Dalanquin - goddess of honor and justice.  Lawful good.
  
• Sarrath - god of order, discipline, and war.  Lawful evil.
• Thoth - god of knowledge and wisdom.  No alignment stated.  I assume Lawful neutral.
• Veritas - god of truth and law.  No alignment stated but I also assume Lawful neutral.
• Azeel - god of blood.  Some form of evil, presumably Chaotic.

Overall, I really enjoy this supplement.  I doubt I would ever use the 4th setting but the first three (especially the first two) can be used quite easily.  The maps are lovely and usable, but would have to be edited to remove location information about monster lairs before they can be handed to players.

⇨ GRIT: ★★★★☆:  This supplement certainly accomplishes what it set out to do.  The owner gets four short settings which can be used for a fantasy adventure game.  Even though I am not a big fan of one of the settings, no doubt there are many people out there who love that extra-planar stuff.  I believe the author did a good job of capturing four settings different enough for different tables but all related, more or less, so a DM can combine them into one larger setting (this will take work for sure, plus some mapping).  Nearly everything in this setting is going to require the DM to put in a bit of work.

⇨ VIGOR: ★★★☆☆: Each of the first three settings have quite a number of detailed encounters of various difficulties for parties.  Goblins here for the Chuds just leaving the farm to an old dragon with lots of loot for the Chads which our farmer Chuds hope to become.  The fourth setting is a bit lacking in these details.  This is not a module and it won't work as one but a competent DM can take what is here and keep the campaign going for a while.

⇨ GRACE: ★★★★☆: This is a pretty good-looking book.  The page backgrounds are a faded map and do not interfere with reading the text at all.  There is a fancy border at the top and bottom of each page which also does not interfere.  The maps are hexed-based and each hex has a 4-digit number on it, which makes finding a description a piece of cake.  The maps are gorgeous!  There are a few tables in the book for wandering monsters and rumors.  They are too dark and would be nicer if they were light and dark rather than dark and darker.