If you're going to run a 1e game, or play in a 1e game, it's worth having this around. It contains an almost 1 to 1 translation of the 1e rules, but does it with modern sensiblities for language, layout, organization and formatting. While Gygax and Arneson might have been visionaries when it comes to entertainment, they were not wordsmiths or even skilled technical writers. This version cleans up and organizes the rules from their game into a format that much more closely matches what modern audiences have come to expect from RPGs.

Beautiful product. It's great to see that the 1st edition (70's-80's ruleset) is coming back. A blast from the past, it give the new generation a feel for what the older generation had and now has again. This product has everything you need: Player & GM guides, monsters, magic (spells & items), etc. Simple to create characters, adventures, what ever you need. It's all straight-forword. A great congradulations to the authors. A must read tome.

The folks responsible for this product have outdone themslevs. If you like AD&D then this if for you. If you are interested in the first edition era then this one is for you. The book is laid out very well and is true to the original style of the AD&D rulebooks. All the info one needs is located in this single volume. If you have your older AD&D stuff, then of course there are no conersions needed.

This is a great recreation of 1st ed. AD&D through the OGL but with better organization and clarification of rules issues. Fantastic! It’s obvious that a lot of effort went into the making of this product and it shows. The artwork is really good to. Very nostalgic and in line with original AD&D. This PDF version makes thumbing through and pinpointing rules a breeze. Being printable is a big plus too. Overall this is a great product that I will be using very frequently in the near future. Good job!!!

The Good: This is basically 1st ed. AD&D, with better organization and clarification of rules issues. For example, teleporting to a location you can see is clarified as a "very familiar" location. The spell tables are now alphabetical, not alphabetical by level. All the classic AD&D races and classes have been kept; none of the crazy kits, races, and new classes of 3rd ed. are here, as well as none of the cumbersome rules for "attacks of opportunity." The Bad: This is basically 1st ed. AD&D. There's no unifying mechanic or point-build system. Experience is still given for killing monsters. And so on.

OSRIC does a great job of re-imagining AD&D 1st Edition using OGL. The presentation is clear and easy to follow. It is a wonderful resource for players and publishers. I'm looking forward to all their future products as well.

And you sure can't beat the price, well unless somebody pays you to download it!

Nice for the price (free) if you have a desire to release your own "1st-edition-ADD-like" products. Useful if you want a glimpse into the tangled roots of the RPG genre. However, if you are planning to simply run some old school campaigns or adventures, I'd suggest purchasing the "real deal" manuals from the WoTC section of this site.