The OSR

Those 3 little letters seem to have started a firestorm. I have never seen so much written about something as simple as a game you choose to play. Let's look at it another way:

"I play Chutes and Ladders"

"Man, that is so lame, how can you play that old piece of crap. Get with the program. Monopoly is clearly the superior game. Get your head out of your ass"'

Ummm...is it just me or is that stupid.

It has gotten to the point where you can't have an open conversation anymore about gaming without a fist fight breaking out over what somebody else plays.

I've argued the points myself and it's just a waste of breath. People are going to play what they want. Stop harassing each other over it.

I'm old school but that's just me. Doesn't mean I hate someone for playing newer games. And when I say old school it doesn't mean everything from the old days was my cup of tea either. I have never cared for d100 games or skills based games. I came from the mash up of OD&D / AD&D 1e and will always prefer that form of play.

And now with the edition wars it just seems that gaming is tearing itself apart. Much talk of the 'industry' being in trouble is easy to see when they keep trying to treat tabletop like pc/console gaming. I don't need 4 Player Handbooks and then a new version every few years.

Rules light is the way to the future, It's just the world we live in. When you look back even to gaming history it wasn't the most rules heavy system that won out but the one that could be played with the least amount of rules. And that was before the internet and acceleration syndrome.

A lesson WotC should learn before it's too late.

CHOICE CUTS-BEST OF ETERNAL KEEP ROLE CALL-#2

Black Blade News

Problems With Encounter Tables

An interview with David Wesely

Gaming Groups: Away From The Gaming Table

Wow

Ok, sorry for the slack production of late. Between trying to get a first draft together of Forsaken Souls, preparing a transcript on an online version of Normality (which I think will be dubbed Normality 2.0-TrollHunter) and extricating butt sore fanboys out of my ass with my +5 keyboard of fanboy slaying it's been crazy. And my cat won't let me sleep...being a bratty brat is not a good path to the love little one :).

Anyway, working on finishing a string of posts then it'll be doctor bound this week.

Hold on.

PALEOBLOGGING LITE-HIGHLIGHTING OLDER POSTS OF IMPORTANCE FROM BLOGS

Something I picked up from Rob MacDougall (who in turn picked it up from Snarkmarket) I thought was a good idea because we can't always catch everything when it's fresh.

Greyhawk Grognard: AD&D's Lost Second Edition

GROGNARDIA: Gygax on Tolkien (Again)


Old School, New School and Gygaxian Naturalism (or not)

Running a D&D Campaign in 1974
(be certain and get the first part here)

OD&DITIES fanzine issue archive, published and reproduced here by permission from R.E.B. Tongue

CHOICE CUTS-BEST OF ETERNAL KEEP ROLE CALL

Because there are so many excellent blogs out there I though I would drop in an occasional 6 pack of ones that stood out to me. A sampler, if you will, of all that is happening in the rpg blogosphere.

So, without further ado:

How D&D Essentials Changed 4E...forever!
http://www.neuroglyphgames.com/how-dnd-essentials-changed-4e-forever

Gaming Groups: Away From The Gaming Table...
http://flynnwd.blogspot.com/2010/10/gaming-groups-away-from-gaming-table.html

WotC's D&D Red Box Commercial Rips Off Dungeon Majesty
http://cyclopeatron.blogspot.com/2010/10/wotc-commerical-rips-off-dungeon.html

(I liked the comments section on the above post-some good points from all sides)

Freeport + Pirates of the Spanish Main
http://wastedlandsfantasy.blogspot.com/2010/10/freeport-pirates-of-spanish-main.html

Tolkiens & Dragons
http://www.lordkilgore.com/tolkiens-dragons

Tolkein and D&D
http://greyhawkgrognard.blogspot.com/2010/09/tolkein-and-d.html

ROLEPLAYING FOR KIDS-Part 2-Wizards of the Coast’s Introduction

From the current home of Dungeons & Dragons comes this free starter for young people.

(From the download page)

Dungeons & Dragons for ages 6 and up - To help promote their upcoming novel Monster Slayers, Wizards of the Coast has put together Monster Slayers: The Heroes of Hesiod, a stripped-down version of Dungeons & Dragons that's fast, fun, and playable by adventurers as young as six. Best of all, it's completely free!

http://www.wizards.com/dnd/Article.aspx?x=dnd/4dnd/monsterslayers

Reviews have been mixed but being free it gives someone a chance to see what all is available-and it is free :)

THE IMPACT OF THE OSR ON THE INDUSTRY

A lot is being made of whether or not the OSR is having any kind of economic impact on the industry as a whole. Many think it to be a niche market in a niche market. That the majors are where all the purchasing is going on and that the OSR has no financial future.

I will submit only one comment on that statement:

Do you think that Wizards would take the time and effort to issue what they have described as a 'retro' product, placed that product in a red box and put the original cover to that red box on its front if they didn't feel they were losing market share to the OSR and independent gaming in general?

Each OSR publisher on its own may be only selling a few hundred copies of any given item, but add all that up and you find numbers that are enough to scare the CEO in his sleep.

Keep in mind the heyday of selling 150,000 units are long past in the industry. Now 5,000-15,000 is more realistic. And added together the OSR / Independent scene starts to look awfully close in the rear view mirror.

The OSR represents the hydra to me. There are many games, using different systems to accomplish the same thing-to bring back a form of gaming that doesn't feel like you have signed up for a calculus class that plays like wargame light.

Don't get me wrong. I have no burning desire to destroy any particular version of any game. But when I think role playing I think AD&D. That was my game and the one played the most with my friends. Sure, some Ringworld and Twilight:2000 and others slipped in. But it was AD&D where we spent our time, money and imaginations. It's different for everyone, but it unites a seemingly disconnected group.

Myself, I'm becoming a bigger Microlite fan by the day. The sheer variety of materials and what can be done with it is astonishing. Look at a M20 compilation sometime and see what I mean. And the system isn't foreign to younger players while allowing the flexibility to create anything for the older players. 2 pages of basic rules. Now THAT is tight design. A fully fleshed out game built on the system can easily fit in 32 pages and that includes everything and details. That's impressive. Others are doing fine work too and I look forward to spotlighting all of the work over at The Dragon's Eye as I wind my way through the multi-layered path of Old School and OSR gaming.

So pick a rule set, grab some dice, a few friends and have fun. Because if you're not having fun you're not doing it right. :)

ROLE PLAYING FOR KIDS

More and more the question of children playing rpgs and whether it is a good idea or not keeps landing on the table. In the early days of gaming it was thought that somehow playing these games would encourage children to believe in alternate worlds and religions and do psychological damage or worse. Religious organizations saw the games as a straight path to Hell, believing the games encouraged Satan worship and demonology (so much so that TSR removed many references in their product as an appeasement to parents and groups alike).

Now, 30 years after the hobby began, a re-evaluation has taken place. The positive aspects of role-playing have come to light, so much so that there is now a sizable rpg that is Christian based, as parents are now encouraged to bring children into the rpg hobby.

This series will cover opinion pieces and resources for parents, schools and church's to get the most from this playground of the imagination. I gladly solicit any input or feedback and will try to answer to any concerns one might have. My position is that I believe there is a definite need for children to play 'make believe' and that given the proper tools it can be a healthy and rewarding experience. I hope this series is helpful in promoting the hobby in a positive way and if not providing all the answers will help one learn where to look.

Here's a good place to start:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/17/AR2010031701794.html

Mazes and Monsters-From Anti D&D Propaganda Film To Nostalgic RPG-Follow The Journey

Check out blog of holdings take on the 'classic' rpg that had tongues a waggin' back in the 80's.

Good stuff!

http://blogofholding.com/?page_id=370

The Heroscape RPG

Heroscape RPG is a modification to Heroscape that describes the rules to play a rather old-fashioned RPG with Heroscape models in Heroscape landscape. Each player acts with a single hero; monsters are being played by the gamemaster.
As the heroes explore the Heroscape world they gain experience, skills and items, while new terrain is being added during gameplay according to the Terrain Generator rules.

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/filepage/38265/heroscape-rpg

Thought this might interest folks. I always knew those Master sets I have in the closet would be useful again someday :)

THE USE OF MINIATURES

It seems today that tiles and minis are all the rage.

I find myself designing the way I have always designed. And that is without a thought to the use of miniatures. During the ‘80’s when I first played the longest sessions of my life it came down to buying miniatures and devoting the time to at least ‘antique’ the pewter figures (involving a watered down black paint that gave a nice depth to the detail of the figure and didn’t take as long as a full color job) or spend the time and money on resource items.

Needless to say that chess pieces and pennies saw a lot of use as Player Character and Orc stand-ins.

We only ever seemed to truly need them when throwing down in some major combat with a near army size opponent.

I will however be directing those who like that aspect of the game to the resources I have located online (mostly free for download and printing in the case of the paper minis) whenever possible.

Hope you find them usable...now where did those links go?...:)

Eternal Keep-News of the old :)

Yes, I've done it again :)

http://eternalkeep.blogspot.com/

will bring you old school goodness from the blogsophere updated as it arrives. For those familiar with this gadget it will place the latest news at the top from the listed sites.

Hope you have a good read!

Ken St. Andre responds to James Shipman and news of Ken's retirement

Mike Monaco at Swords & Dorkery has posted a very good summation piece on Ken's retirement and a link over to the latest on the Shipman/Outlaw Press fiasco at Tim Brannan's The Other Side and I wanted to spread this message from Ken as far as possible.

An open letter to James Shipman from Ken St. Andre:

James,

I received your package yesterday with some surprise. Received six copies of the revised Gristlegrim Dungeon. This dismays me, as I told you to quit publishing it back in January of this year when I broke with you. If this parcel was an attempt at a reconciliation between us, then I appreciate the effort you took, but I reject it. Our friendship and partnership is broken and done forever. I do not wish to collaborate on Gristlegrim or any other project with you. Not now! Not ever again! You had no right to add your material to my work. You have no right to continue publishing and selling it. Please stop!

James, you no longer have any right to publish or sell my works. We have no written contracts. We have no formal accounting of royalties. Your habit of sending money and or copies of the items is no longer good enough. Any informal agreements we may have made in 2009 and earlier are terminated on my side of the deal. I no longer wish to associate with you, either professionally or informally.

Find some other outlet for your creativity. Leave me, and leave Tunnels and Trolls, alone. I am rejecting any further association with you.

I hope this is clearly understood. Do not publish anything with my name on it as author. Do not presume to collaborate with me on my projects. Do not keep attempting to infiltrate trollhalla.com under false names--you are banned and unwelcome on that site. Do not attempt to rewrite the history of Tunnels and Trolls on Wikipedia or any other online sources. Do not send me money. Do not send me product. I do not want it from you. However, I am under no legal obligation to send back things that arrive unsolicited in the mail. I won't waste the money or the effort to send them back. I am not interested in theatrical gestures. I simply wish to terminate our association and to move on with other things in life.

I hereby reclaim my rights to anything I ever gave you to publish. In particular, I assert my right to the novel Griffin Feathers which consists entirely of my own work with some input in the short sections of the book from the members of Trollhalla.

I am forwarding the "royalties" that you sent me to Jeff Freels, the artist whose work you have re-used to illustrate this version of Gristlegrim. He deserves compensation for his work.

James, I am not angry at you, and I do not hate you. I simply will not associate with you ever again. For several years we were, I thought, very good friends. Outlaw Press did a lot for Tunnels and Trolls. You know why that time has ended. Let it go. Move on.

James, I will be publishing this letter in open forums on the internet, so that all the world can see how I feel, and how I react to what I can only believe are attempts to manipulate me and to gain control of Tunnels and Trolls. If you have no ulterior intentions, then forgive me for being suspicious, but I no longer feel that I can trust you.

James, you have your own unique style of creativity. Please go and do your own thing, and stop messing with me and with Tunnels and Trolls.


Sincerely,
Ken St. Andre

He also posted it over on the Big Purple.

I will be posting guidelines on how to avoid bogus product and and keeping T&T true to its roots asap.

Stand By....

The Once and Future Game. Old Guard Gaming isn't going anywhere.-(Old Guard Gaming Accoutrements)

Just thought this hit the spot today. Click for the whole shebang :)

The Once and Future Game. Old Guard Gaming isn't going anywhere.

I know a lot of old gamers worry about the future of The Game, but I’m confident it’s not going to die off anytime soon.

When we’re discussing the future of Old Guard gaming, I think we’re discussing three different, but closely related things. The future of Dungeons & Dragons, (OD&D, AD&D, and the Retro-clones), the future of Old School gaming style and philosophy, and also the future of table top Role Playing Games themselves.

Each of these is seen as under threat from the same sources. You’ve got computer role playing games and shooters, the merchandising mentality that tries to insert the need for continual purchases of add-ons like cards, minis, splatbooks and new editions, which fractures the hobby and creates factions, and the disinterest of the kids who are creating their own diceless and freeform types of role playing over the internet. I think each of these things will have its day, but I don’t think any of them are a lasting threat to Old Guard D&D, or table top role playing in general.

This is why.

(MORE)

Words To Live By

While engaged in my daily studies I ran across this bit of simple wisdom and under fair use wish to share:

ROLE PLAYING GAME MANIFESTO

THESE RULES ARE WRITTEN ON PAPER, NOT ETCHED ON STONE TABLETS.

RULES ARE SUGGESTED GUIDELINES, NOT REQUIRED EDICTS.

IF THE RULES DON'T SAY YOU CAN'T DO SOMETHING, YOU CAN.

THERE ARE NO OFFICIAL ANSWERS, ONLY OFFICIAL OPINIONS.

WHEN DICE CONFLICT WITH THE STORY, THE STORY ALWAYS WINS.

MIN/MAXING AND MUNCHKINISM AREN'T PROBLEMS WITH THE GAME; THEY'RE PROBLEMS WITH THE PLAYER.

THE GAME MASTER HAS FULL DISCRETIONARY POWER OVER THE GAME.

THE GAME MASTER ALWAYS WORKS WITH, NOT AGAINST, THE PLAYERS.

A GAME THAT IS NOT FUN IS NO LONGER A GAME-IT'S A CHORE.

THIS BOOK CONTAINS THE ANSWERS TO ALL THINGS.

WHEN THE ABOVE DOES NOT APPLY, MAKE IT UP.

-GUARDIANS OF ORDER


Amen