The Old School Renaissance movement has become a distinct entity from its Dungeons and Dragons roots. Built by veterans who yearned for the brutal days of 20th century TTRPGs, OSR games have become infamous for their lethality. Of the many systems developed under this philosophy, Old School Essentials stood out for being a dedicated and organized version of retrol D&D rules. Still, even a "game-first" system needs flavor.
That's exactly what this demonic supplement for OSE ritually offers.
Old-School Essentials Demonic Grimoire is a 176-page sourcebook all about the occult, from crimson demons to forbidden magics. With over 60 new monsters from hell, eight Demon Lords overseeing them, and loads of magical items, this is an absolute must for occult TTRPG fans. Particularly for OSE players who miss DnD races such as Tiefling, as this book adds them into the world of OSR.
As for why this tome appeals to me, I just adore the rampant brutality of old-school fantasy settings. Even when you look at more "over-the-top" settings like Conan the Barbarian or He-Man, there's an overabundance of skulls, swords and various things a kid shouldn't be playing around with. And yet these are the visions that defined that era of tabletop, the charm of something forbidden made fun.
Naturally, the endpoint of such forbidden fruits is demonic stuff, hence the "satanic panic" around Dungeons and Dragons. I always found it amusing how all the outrage never seemed to point out how players always had a choice on who to fight. As it stands, killing hordes of demons is more fun than being their lackey.
Those vibes are ever-present in the Demonic Grimoire. The art is gorgeously evocative of the 80s, barely armored men fighting against barely armored demons under a red sky. It's the sort of art you'd see on a rock album, and I mean that positively. As for how it adds to your OSE games, it's as simple as dropping a demon from this book into whatever adventure you desire. Thanks to OSE's simple ruleset, conversions are basically plug and play.
You can support Old-School Essentials Demonic Grimoire on Backerkit here.
For more official DnD content, keep up with our handy DnD release schedule guide. If you'd like to wax nostalgic about the olden days of tabletop, there are plenty of old-school fans over at the Wargamer Discord!