Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set (Holmes) vs OSRIC

Compare Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set (Holmes) and OSRIC side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, and more.

	Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set (Holmes)	OSRIC
Genre	Fantasy	Fantasy
Tags	Classic Fantasy, Dungeon Crawl, Exploration, Resource Management, Random Character Creation, Deadly, Vancian Casting, Descending AC, Tactical, Map-Drawing	Dungeon Crawl, Tactical, High-Fantasy, Character Building, Theater of the Mind, Heroic, Descending AC, Vancian Casting
Core Mechanic	Attacks and saving throws use a d20 roll that must meet or exceed the relevant table target. Attack targets depend on the defender's descending Armor Class and the attacker's level or hit dice. The referee resolves other actions through specific d6 or percentile procedures and rulings.	Roll d20 + modifiers vs. target numbers (THAC0/AC for combat, saving throws for hazards). Ability scores rolled on 3d6, class and level determine hit dice, spells, and abilities. GM acts as referee for rulings.
Dice	d20	d20
Complexity	Medium	Medium
Availability	Out of print	Free core rules
Runnability	3 of 5 book tools	2 of 5 book tools
License	Proprietary	AELF + CC BY 4.0 (SRD 5.1)
Third-Party Publishing	No verified route found	Not yet researched
Summary only, not legal advice. Check current terms before publishing.
Publisher	TSR Hobbies, Inc.	Mythmere Games
Year	1977	2025
Languages	English	English
Best For	Groups who want low-level dungeon expeditions built around mapping, cautious resource use, and treasure recovery.	Players who want the classic AD&D 1e experience with cleaner organization, well-defined rules for combat and spells, and a huge library of compatible OSR content.
Highlights	Ten-minute turns tie searching and rest to the risk of wandering monsters. Recovering treasure grants experience, rewarding expeditions that secure loot without fighting every monster. Reaction rolls let encountered creatures respond with negotiation or offers of help.	Faithful AD&D 1e rules reorganized for clarity, large back-catalog of compatible adventures, middle-ground complexity between B/X and modern D&D, free PDF available
Considerations	The core covers only the first three character levels and refers higher-level play to Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. Magic-users must spend at least a day studying to regain an expended spell. Poison can kill on a failed saving throw even when the initial hit is survivable.	Deliberately old-school: THAC0 and descending AC may confuse modern players, less balanced than modern systems, relies heavily on GM rulings, limited character customization compared to newer games