The Any OSR Key describes characters and
creatures in text descriptors easily ported to stats typically found
in Old School Renaissance (OSR) games and “retro-clones” of early
class-and-level medieval fantasy roleplaying games. These terms do
not key into any one game engine but serve as general guidelines to
give readers an overall sense of how they fit within their own game’s
stat format. Any OSR Key publications from Griffon Publishing
Studio provide settings, characters, adventures, and other source
material adaptable to your favorite roleplaying game.
The Any OSR Key stat block consists of text
descriptions outlining a character or creature’s abilities, ordered
much as numerical stats would appear in an OSR game. Here’s an
example of how an Any OSR Key adversary’s stats might
appear:
Goblin Guards. Basic (1-3); AT: spear; DF: leather armor, shield; Skills: perception; Morale: moderate; Gear: d4 silver pieces.
Each section offers guidance in creating stats
corresponding to values in your favorite OSR game:
Name: This identifies the character or
creature and might include the number or further tags, such as “6
Bored Goblin Guards.” You can look up a similarly named creature in
your own game and use those stats, modified by subsequent notes in
the Any OSR Key descriptions.
Level: The first notation after the name
offers guidance about the monster’s level or hit dice. Three terms
describe broad ranges for the level: Basic (levels 1-3), Expert
(4-9), and Master (10+). Use your own judgment in assigning hit dice
or refer to equivalent monsters in your favorite rulebook.
AT: The creature’s means of attack listed
here correspond to weapon damage and occasionally the number of
attacks. Tool-using adversaries list weapons (“spear, dagger”)
while animal adversaries list natural attacks (“bite, claw, tail,
horns”).
DF: An adversary’s defenses listed here
(“leather armor, shield” or “tough hide, dragon scales”)
correspond to OSR equivalents for armor class.
Skills/Special Abilities: These “tags”
provide suggestions for linking these extra specialties to their
corresponding names and values in an OSR game. These could include
thief skills, cleric and magic user spells, or other extraordinary
abilities the character uses.
Morale: Like level/hit dice, morale lists
one of three tiers describing the creature’s willingness to endure
combat: fickle, moderate, and determined. You can estimate an OSR
game morale value based on those descriptions.
Gear: List any additional gear, including
magic and mundane items, treasure, and other assorted oddments.
Most listings include two lines after each stat
paragraph so you can customize Any OSR Key materials with your own
notes.
Sample
Monster Listings
Brigand. Basic (1-3); AT: bow, sword; DF: leather armor; Skills: sneak; Morale: moderate; Gear: d6 gold pieces.
Gargoyle. Expert (4-9); AT: claws, bite; DF: stone skin; Special Abilities: flying, perception; Morale: moderate; Gear: none.
Non-Combat
Tasks
If characters face non-combat tasks the scenario
text might indicate a particular difficulty level (and corresponding
target number) for successfully overcoming the challenge. Tasks are
Challenging (10), Hard (15), or Improbable (20). To succeed players
must roll equal to or greater than the difficulty number on a d20,
adding any modifiers based on the appropriate attribute. (Players may
add the character’s level in addition to or instead of attribute
modifiers at the gamemaster’s discretion.)
Alternately characters have a 1 in 6 chance of
accomplishing a non-combat task, adjusted by the appropriate ability
score modifier. For instance, a character with a Dexterity bonus of
+2 would have a 3 in 6 chance to successfully complete a task with
some possibility of failure.
