Skill systems in relation to OSR games are a funny thing, and in my opinion, not often required or needed. I’ve had a game running for a year and a half that, in no way, required skills, and I’ve typically defaulted to the standard “roll a d6 with a range of 1-2 for success,” modified by attribute bonuses, of course. And I think, for the majority of old school D&D style games, this is a completely adequate and fun way of handling rolls that do not fall under any sort of specific mechanic.

I had mentioned before in a prior post the strengths and weaknesses to Vancian Magic. While I still defend it I am in no way married to the concept. Certainly I think thee are better magic systems, and those systems will be talked about on this Blog, such as Ars Magica, GLOG, and Mage: The ascension. However I wanted to offer a couple alternative systems one could run in an OSR D&D system that does not require you to uproot the entire Vancian paradigm, but rather shift it’s focus.

“We are born of the blood, made men by the blood, undone by the blood. Our eyes are yet to open… Fear the old blood.” — Master Willem, Bloodborne I have a great deal of contempt for what Matt Mercier and Critical Role have done to the TTRPG play culture, the reasons nearly endless and worthy of an article in it’s own right. However, I need to give the devil his due, mechanically and thematically the Blood Hunter is a good class shackled to a lackluster version of D&D.

The troll shambled closer. He was perhaps eight feet tall, perhaps more. His forward stoop, with arms dangling past thick claw-footed legs to the ground, made it hard to tell. The hairless green skin moved upon his body. His head was a gash of a mouth, a yard-long nose, and two eyes which were black pools, without pupil or white, eyes which drank the feeble torchlight and never gave back a gleam.