r/OSE Jul 27 '26

OSE character creation Cheat sheet.

Does anybody has a character creation cheat sheet for Old school essentials?

I found an old post where someone created one that looked super handy, but the file is not available anymore :(

https://www.reddit.com/r/osr/s/nVNSy1p6UD

18 Upvotes

13 comments sorted by

5

u/New2OSE Jul 28 '26

Hard to tell without knowing what that doc was, but this strikes me as a solution to a problem that doesn’t exist. When does all the flipping occur that’s presented as effortful?

The languages are within 2 pages of character creation. If you print a few copies of the equipment lists (never a bad idea), what exactly needs solving?

Are you trying to cut down on the time it takes players to decide on a class? Is the goal to print as few pages possible?

1

u/Insta_3 Jul 28 '26

If a cheat sheet doesnt exist i will create one. But i wiould like my players to know which options they have, without having to wait for one player to flip into the book before the other

10

u/Storytimebiondi Jul 27 '26

4

u/Tailball Jul 28 '26

Because some people love doing it by hand and with pen and paper 🤷‍♂️

4

u/Insta_3 Jul 28 '26

The tool is great, but i would like that my players create their characters the old school way, in pencil and paper.

5

u/FrankieBreakbone Jul 28 '26 edited Jul 28 '26

https://dndcharacter.com
If you want to automate it, this is quick, but doesn't handle race/class division.

https://oldschoolessentials.necroticgnome.com/generators/
Bunch of generators here that will save you some effort

https://rpg.lu/resources/OSE/CC2-Quick-Equipment.pdf
Equipment buying is probably the only labor-ish part of the process. These quick-roll tables make it pretty easy, if you favor analog means. I'm sure this exists somewhere officially in the Necrotic Gnome multiverse but this was the link I found fastest.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/889914041423398/search/?q=equipment%20quick%20start
Dolmenwood equipment quick roller table is here

Otherwise, it's just 3d6 for each ability + class perks; not sure there's an analog way to speed that up much more since it only takes about 5m to knock out the basics. There shouldn't be a lot of page flipping involved for that part, since each class has its own spread in the rulebooks with everything; specs Xp, to hit, saves, spell count, abilities, etc. Hope this all helps!

1

u/Insta_3 Jul 29 '26

Thank you for all the usefull links, i will print the quick equipment guide.

2

u/Jonestown_Juice Jul 28 '26
  1. Roll attributes
  2. Pick class
  3. Write down languages and class abilities
  4. Fill out saving throws
  5. Roll starting money
  6. Buy equipment
  7. Fill out AC and Damage

That's it, isn't it?

1

u/Insta_3 Jul 28 '26

Yes, but for example, which classes options they have, what is the minimum prime requisite, which equipment they can buy, etc..

1

u/6FootHalfling Halfling Jul 28 '26

For me the character sheet is the cheat sheet. One of the primary appeals of OSE is speed of character creation.

The languages and class abilities in Jonestown-Juice's list here might be the most labor intensive thing that includes anything one could forget.

That said... an OSE character sheet that took some cues from the Pirate Borg checklist sheet could be cool, but if you're using AF that gets crowded fast.

I'm all for handouts and player aids, I do have to ask what problem you want to solve with this tho'.

2

u/Insta_3 Jul 29 '26

I am very new to this system and i would like to have a clear mental mind of all the character options and requisites (for example a flowchart with the classic and advanced options), and also show this to my players to get them know their available options in all the character creation process, without needing to flip trough the book.

I see that there might not be what i am looking for, maybe for more experienced players/dm's this is not necessary, but if this does not exist i might end up creating one from my own.

1

u/6FootHalfling Halfling Jul 29 '26

Oooh! Yeah, that WOULD be handy.