Recently, I’ve been crafting my own fantasy heartbreaker, my hack, my GLOG, basically, my own version of elf games I want to play with my friends. As I delved into the realm of player characters (PCs), I realized something important. While I like many aspects of the OSR style of play, I despise one thing: having PCs who are just regular humans with no special abilities.

You know that feeling when you have this incredibly cool idea for the game, and you think, “Oh, I’ll save it for session 20, and it’ll blow everyone’s minds!” Well, here’s the thing—I’ve learned the hard way that campaigns often fizzle out before we even reach those epic moments. It’s a common mistake GMs make, thinking they need to save all the fun stuff for later. I’m not the first to say this but please, do yourself and your players a favor and just use your cool ideas as soon as possible. Let level 1 PCs kill a dragon. By doing the fun stuff from the beginning, players are immediately engaged, and the game’s energy remains high.

I realized it should be the same for PCs. I don’t know about you, but if I’m playing a wizard, I don’t want to wait until level 5 just to cast a fireball. That’s the kind of stuff I want to be doing right from the start! I want my players to feel like they’re capable of making a big impact from level 1. Isn’t that why we’re playing? Some of my favorite OSR games, like Mork Borg, Electric Bastionland, and the GLOG, get this. They embrace the idea of empowering PCs early on, and it makes the experience so much better.

Now, some people might argue, “B-but won’t that make the players overpowered? What about my precious balance?” Well, let me tell you something: I know GMs who worry about balance and they are all cowards. You don’t need to obsess over balance; you need to focus on providing players with interesting choices. If a player has a big boom stick, it’s all about the when, where, and on whom to use it. Give them juicy decisions to make, and watch the enemy go boom. That’s where real fun lies.