Old-School Essentials Classic Fantasy is a complete retelling of the classic 1980s Basic/Expert game, including all rules, character options, spells, monsters, and magic items. Celebrating 40 Years of Basic/Expert! The Basic/Expert game which Old-School Essentials is based on was published in 1981 40 years ago! In celebration of this anniversary, we're delighted and honoured to announce that Erol Otus, legendary creator of the original B/X covers, has painted a brand new cover for the Old-School Essentials Classic Game Set!