Since 2008 with the publication of Fight On #1, the Old School Renaissance has had its own fanzines. The advantage of the Old School Renaissance is that the various Retroclones draw from the same source and thus one Dungeons & Dragons-style RPG is compatible with another. This means that the contents of one fanzine will be compatible with the Retroclone that you already run and play even if not specifically written for it. Labyrinth Lord, Lamentations of the Flame Princess Weird Fantasy Roleplay, and Swords & Wizardry have proved to be popular choices to base fanzines around, as has Old School Essentials.
Scout Magazine is a fanzine that comes packed with content that the Game Master can add to her Old School Essentials or change how it is played. This is no matter whether she uses the basic rules of Old School Essentials Classic Fantasy or the advanced options of Old School Essentials: Advanced Fantasy. Although specially written for use with Old School Essentials, it is easily adapted to the retroclone of Game Master’s choice or even added to Dolmenwood, the setting and retroclone also published by Necrotic Gnome.
Scout Magazine #II was published in January, 2024 by PBenardo. Like Scout Magazine #I before it, it includes four new Classes, a host of new magical items, monsters, and articles that add new rules and mechanics to the play of Old School Essentials. Unlike the previous issue, Scout Magazine #II does not possess anything in the way of a theme.
The new Classes begin with the ‘Transmuter’. This is a variation of the Magic-User, one which specialises in one of the classic Dungeons & Dragons schools of magic, in this case, ‘Transmutation’. Thus, the Class is all about the alteration of matter, including the transformation of objects and creatures. The Class is also supported with a complete spell list of twelve spells per spell level, for a total of seventy-two spells! Some two fifths—twenty pages—of the fanzine are devoted to this spell list. The spells range from the simple Camouflage, which hides the subject of the spell, and Darksteel, which makes a weapon dark, silent, and causes any blood it spills to adhere to it, both at First Level, to Convert Potion, which changes one potion or poison into another and Corrosion Wave, which degrades all items of metal within an area into uselessness, both at Sixth Level. Included in the list are some classic Magic-User spells appropriate to the Transmuter, like Mending or Heat Metal, but these are joined by some interesting and useful spells, such as Lighten Load, a First Level spell that makes the encumbered unencumbered or the Second Level Breathe Noxious Gases. The spell list gives the Class a lot of options and especially, utility, in comparison to the standard Magic-User.
The second of the new Classes is the ‘Mystic’. This is the Monk for Old School Essentials, a Class that was surprisingly omitted from Old School Essentials: Advanced Fantasy. The ‘Shadowborn’ employs the shadows and the magic of the Shadow Realm when he goes adventuring. The Class cannot wear any armour, but gains a bonus to Armour Class when not fighting in daylight or magical light, is better at hiding shadows than the Thief Class, and gains Infravision that increases in range as his Level increases. The ‘Shadowphase’ enables the Class to step into the shadow realm and exit from the shadows at another nearby location, though this requires a Move Silently skill roll. When Hidden in Shadows, the Shadowborn receives a bonus to attack and damage, including against those who can only be hit by magical weapons, and lastly, at Ninth Level, the Shadowborn can build a monastery and summon denizens of the Shadow Realm. The Class is effectively a Fighter, but one that emphasises stealth rather than direct conflict. As does the ‘Stalker’, the fourth Class in Scout Magazine #II. However, the Stalker is also an expert tracker and ambusher, gaining bonuses against favoured enemies—the Backstab ability in particular—and in the terrain it specialises in. Effectively, this is a specialised version of the Ranger.
Bar the Mystic which adds a Class that is not officially in Old School Essentials, the Classes in Scout Magazine #II are all about specialisation. This means that they may not suit all campaigns or settings and their abilities are very much situational, limiting their effectiveness. However, the one Class of the four that is specialised and actually provides wider and more interesting options is the Transmuter as the Class has more options to chose from in terms of spells.
The utility of the Transmuter Class—and all spellcasting Classes—is expanded with ‘Mana-Point Spellcasting’. Instead of spell slots per Level, a caster has Mana Points and it costs one Mana Point per Spell Level to cast a spell. Spell point systems are designed to replace the Vancian system of memorise, cast, and forget, enabling a caster to cast the same or different spells as long as he has the points to power them. This system does that, but with some interesting tweaks. The number of Mana Points is equal to his Intelligence plus Level, but that is the maximum amount and the Player Character does not get all of that back with a full night’s rest. It will take several nights’ rest to fully restore his Mana Points. This means that any caster will still need to husband his Mana Points, but the system gives some flexibility. It is possible to regain Mana Points in play for undertaking certain Class actions. For example, the Druid gains them for entering a new wilderness hex and taking a full night’s rest in the wilderness, whilst the Illusionist gains them for uncovering an illusion and making a Saving Throw versus mind-altering magic. This adds further flexibility, whilst also encouraging Class specific activities. Lastly, repeatedly casting the same spell increases its Mana Point cost, and divine spellcasters such as the Cleric and Paladin are included here as well. The Game Master may want to change the attribute which determines the number of Mana Points they receive from Intelligence to Wisdom. Otherwise, though, this is a very serviceable option.
‘Expanded Potions’ offers up twenty-two new potions, like the Potion Of Alignment Reveal, Potion of Non-Detection, Oil of Quicksand, and Potion of Wraithform. These add to the potions given in the previous issue of the fanzine, but the article handily provides a new table of magic potions which includes its new potions and those from the core rulebook for Old School Essentials. There are rules too for mixing potions. They are quick and dirty, typically disabling the imbiber temporarily. There is scope there for a whole article here exploring the possibility of what happens when specific potions are mixed and consumed, but these guidelines will do in the meantime.
‘Skirmishes’ gives rules for handling combat between small squads of between eleven and twenty combatants. A squad is abstracted down to ‘Hit Value’, ‘Attack Value’, ‘Defence Value’, and ‘Morale Value’, rather than designed like a Player Character or a monster, and rolls are made using a ten-sided die rather than a twenty-sided die. The result is a subsystem that is perfectly playable, but does not mechanically feel like Old School Essentials.
‘Politics’ provides the means for the Player Characters to interact with the community and factions and organisations on a wider scale. It is intended to allow the Player Characters to gain influence and reputation beyond simply dungeon delving and so build towards and beyond the Domain tier style of play as they acquire Ninth and Tenth Level and beyond. The Player Characters gain a ‘Notoriety’ value to represent how well known they are, a ‘Faction Standing’ and ‘Ranks’ with different groups, and ‘Influence’ that can then be expended on ‘Moves’ like pinning a crime on someone, purchasing a property, owning a trading vessel, hiring spies or hitmen, and requesting military aid. All of these moves take time, meaning that the Moves play out over the course of a campaign, even whilst the Player Characters are adventuring, whilst still allowing the action to switch to the consequences of those Moves or scenes within them. This is a great addition if the players and their characters are looking to do more than adventure into dungeons and have a wider influence upon the campaign world.
Lastly, Scout Magazine #II gives nine ‘Monsters’. They include both the ‘Green Hag’ and the ‘Night Hag’, variations upon the crone as the monster; the golden-furred cat that is the ‘Luck Eater’, which charms people and grants both a bonus on all rolls and the worst result on all secret rolls made by the Game Master; and the ‘Saw Beast’, a mechanical monster of spiked circular wheels and sawblades. These are serviceable enough.
Physically, Scout Magazine #II is tidily presented. It is very lightly illustrated.
Scout Magazine #II provides the Game Master and her players with yet more new content. The inclusion of the ‘Transmuter’ Class and the ‘Mana-Point Spellcasting’ are well trod paths for Dungeons & Dragons-style roleplaying games, offering options that are not in the core rules almost as if it was 1978. This does not mean that they are bad, by any means. In fact, the ‘Transmuter’ Class along with its extensive spell list is a decent addition, whilst ‘Mana-Point Spellcasting’ has tweaks enough to make it more than simply turning spellcasters into walking spell batteries. All of this does come at the cost of adding further complexity to Old School Essentials, but there really some good options in Scout Magazine #II for the Game Master who wants to expand her campaign.
