OSRIC: Do I need to buy 2e core books from store?

[JdnG]

Hello, I am looking to run a OSRIC/1e campaign. I've downloaded all the mods from First Edition Society such as the OSRIC players' content, Reference Monsters and Encounters, etc. I'm using the free AD&D 2e ruleset with the OSRIC modules/extension. Do I need to buy the AD&D 2e core books [PHB/MM/DMG]? What benefits would I get from buying those items? I know I will get additional art, but does it add any additional needed functionality?

Thanks.

[JohnD]

If you're planning on using the OSRIC books, you don't need the 2e core books. IMO at least.

The essential automation is built into the ruleset itself and the DLC is designed to take advantage of it. The OSRIC books have everything you need to run a game based on OSRIC.

[Doomsword]

You could also just use the OSRIC ruleset instead of the 2E ruleset and extension. That way you wouldn't have nearly as many options to have to change to get OSRIC raw-like with 2E. It's based on the 2E ruleset, anyway, but sets things pretty close to the OSRIC materials (out-of-the-box) that you've downloaded already.

https://forge.fantasygrounds.com/shop/items/890/view

[JdnG]

Thank you for that info. If I am looking to purchase the Temple of Elemental Evil adventure on the store, will the OSRIC ruleset/books still work?

[JohnD]

Thank you for that info. If I am looking to purchase the Temple of Elemental Evil adventure on the store, will the OSRIC ruleset/books still work?

Yes, absolutely.

[celestian]

Thank you for that info. If I am looking to purchase the Temple of Elemental Evil adventure on the store, will the OSRIC ruleset/books still work?

ToEE should work on it's own. It contains all the creatures, items/etc that are used. The character side (class/race/etc) is up to you.

[JdnG]

Thanks for all the info. One last question; I have a Syrinscape subscription that works great with 5e. Anyone know if there's a way to get sounds to trigger off the OSRIC modules?

[makronax]

From the personal experience I did have to buy both the DMG and PHB for 2E, and even the Monstrous Manual just in case. Firstly, there are two separate OSRIC book mods. One is damn slow to load which is very annoying (I'm talking about OSRIC - GM's Reference books, OSRIC - Player's content is fine) so I use the other one (OsricFor2E). It loads much better but it doesn't have any magic items. Secondly, if you're planning to run 2E adventures, you can't be 100% sure that everything is embedded inside, there were exceptions IIRC. Thirdly, what if you plan to tweak the adventures? You might be hardcore playing them BtB with nothing of your own in-between but that wasn't the case for me. Technically, you can make your own items and such. But good luck figuring that out fast. So I would advise to buy DMG, at least, just to have something that you can grab fast when necessary.

[SylvanSnake]

The bottom line is that you don't "need" to buy 2E modules, but it's helpful if you want to run an "authentic" AD&D game. You could enter all the class and spell info yourself but it would be horribly time-consuming. OSRIC has a lot of stuff, but it's not exactly the same as the "official" content. I'm just getting started with 2E in Fantasy Grounds myself. I'm planning to buy up all the modules that are already made, then manually add any other content I want to use which hasn't been adapted to FG (like psionics).