OSR What Has Caused the OSR Revival?

[Dunnagin]

Most of the feedback I hear online are specifically referencing "character options". This includes feats, spellcasting, stat adjustments, etc.

I think character options are fine, but if they bloat the mechanics of the system, then the system becomes harder to DM.

If you have no DM, you have no game.

I remember a thread on RPGNet where a new 3.5 edition DM was asking for advice and DMing tips. People suggested using spread sheets to track monster stats and abilities... one person even supplied a massive spread sheet as an example.

In my eyes, any "game" which requires a spreadsheet quickly loses the credential of being a "game".

Being "more complex than doing taxes" is not a feature to me.

 

[NotZenon]

Most of the feedback I hear online are specifically referencing "character options". This includes feats, spellcasting, stat adjustments, etc.

I think character options are fine, but if they bloat the mechanics of the system, then the system becomes harder to DM.

If you have no DM, you have no game.

I remember a thread on RPGNet where a new 3.5 edition DM was asking for advice and DMing tips. People suggested using spread sheets to track monster stats and abilities... one person even supplied a massive spread sheet as an example.

In my eyes, any "game" which requires a spreadsheet quickly loses the credential of being a "game".

Being "more complex than doing taxes" is not a feature to me.

touche good sir!

i completely agree with this, i loved DMing back in the 90's; in the 2000's even though i liked d20 (kind of) i found it took just far to much work and preparation to DM. I also found it much harder to deal with the discrepancies in character power.

now i either play ADND, or castles and crusades, or savage worlds.

 

[Meatboy]

For me its the time thing. I started with 3e when it came out and still love it, but became fed up with all the stuff that goes along with it. (Seriously it bothers me that the rules for jumping a pit take up half a page.) I've been looking for a long time for something that is fast, easy and flexible and last weekend I found it in a rules light OSR game. I was up and playing, not just making characters or explaining things, but playing a game in less than an hour. With new players no less. That can not be done using newer rule sets.

 

[Dunnagin]

For me its the time thing. I started with 3e when it came out and still love it, but became fed up with all the stuff that goes along with it. (Seriously it bothers me that the rules for jumping a pit take up half a page.) I've been looking for a long time for something that is fast, easy and flexible and last weekend I found it in a rules light OSR game. I was up and playing, not just making characters or explaining things, but playing a game in less than an hour. With new players no less. That can not be done using newer rule sets.

That is my experience as well.

Time saved means I can make up adventures (I DM a lot).

 

[Mercurius]

When did nostalgia become such a dirty word? It seems that every time it is coupled with the OSR or grognardia of any kind, someone (in this case a couple people) get upset and go to great lengths to disagree.

I think nostalgia has a significant role in not only the OSR, but D&D Next and for many adult gamers. Aside from the diehard core, most gamers go through phases in their gaming career - periods of active play, periods of inactive play but active fandom (e.g. reading forums, buying books, etc), and completely inactive periods, aka hiatuses. Most gamers experience a sub-phase which we could call "getting back into it" - after a time of months, even years, of not playing, and then feeling inspired to play again. I would argue that there is usually some degree of nostalgia involved.

And it isn't a bad thing! I feel nostalgia for gaming in the '80s, because it was my Golden Age - the time I discovered this amazing hobby and first felt the sense of wonder with regards to it. Scouring the first edition Dungeon Master's Guide or Deities & Demigods or the Greyhawk box set. I remember seeing an add for something intriguingly called "the Forgotten Realms" on the back of a comic book, then taking a bus across town to pick up the last copy on one of my old town's few gaming stores.

I think anyone who started playing with AD&D 2e or before experiences a good deal of nostalgia with regards to D&D, especially older books. There's nothing wrong with this. We all want to recapture some of that child-like wonder, but this doesn't preclude new experiences - not just re-experiencing the old, but experiencing something fresh and new. But re-connecting with an inner experience first felt in middle school (the age must gamers start), inherently has some degree of nostalgia.

 

[dd.stevenson]

When did nostalgia become such a dirty word?

Like a lot of things, it's all in the context.

Consider this rule of thumb: listing nostalgia as one of your own motivations is perfectly fine. Attributing "excessively sentimental yearning" to another person risks being seen as condescending.

 

[Mercurius]

Like a lot of things, it's all in the context.

Consider this rule of thumb: listing nostalgia as one of your own motivations is perfectly fine. Attributing "excessively sentimental yearning" to another person risks being seen as condescending.

We could say that about a lot of things, that they can be taken as condescending.

By even with that definition, what's wrong with "excessive sentimental yearning?" Is sentimentality bad? Yearning?

Also, what about speaking in general? The comments I've read in this thread about nostalgia are about the OSR in general, but a specific person.

 

[Elf Witch]

I can't speak for others only myself and my group. For us it was a combination of nostalgia and just liking the way the Realms were before 3.0 and 4.0. It was a nice break and we enjoyed it and will do it again. But it also made us appreciate 3.5 and Pathfinder when we came back to it.

I did not notice any change of attitude about the DM having more power though. Our older players have always thought the DM should have the power to take things out of the game. The younger players put up the fuss and they did over something removed in our 2E game.

 

[howandwhy99]

D&D was conceived of differently early than it came to be in the 90s, 3e, and 4e eras. Many people had forgotten what this was, others never knew and were curious.

D&D was thought of differently, felt different, was played for different reasons. The designs of any game can be good on its own terms, but the terms had changed.

Fans wanted the game they were promised as kids. I know a lot of people who are simply hoping to play the same game, but better and with more understanding than when they were kids.

There was a large, well thought out, and highly organized effort to codify RPGs, which excluded D&D except in very derogatory terms (as it did with all pattern recognition games).

The rise of social media on the internet allowed for like minded individuals to find each other and talk about their interests.

The bar for self publishing continues to lower, the quality of its formatting continues to rise, and the cost of printed works is also high.

Like any success, it builds lowering the bar of access for others. Fans of many early games are going back to what brought them into the hobby and providing easy access to the games is the first step to revitalizing their play.

 

[ForeverSlayer]

When did nostalgia become such a dirty word? It seems that every time it is coupled with the OSR or grognardia of any kind, someone (in this case a couple people) get upset and go to great lengths to disagree.

I think nostalgia has a significant role in not only the OSR, but D&D Next and for many adult gamers. Aside from the diehard core, most gamers go through phases in their gaming career - periods of active play, periods of inactive play but active fandom (e.g. reading forums, buying books, etc), and completely inactive periods, aka hiatuses. Most gamers experience a sub-phase which we could call "getting back into it" - after a time of months, even years, of not playing, and then feeling inspired to play again. I would argue that there is usually some degree of nostalgia involved.

And it isn't a bad thing! I feel nostalgia for gaming in the '80s, because it was my Golden Age - the time I discovered this amazing hobby and first felt the sense of wonder with regards to it. Scouring the first edition Dungeon Master's Guide or Deities & Demigods or the Greyhawk box set. I remember seeing an add for something intriguingly called "the Forgotten Realms" on the back of a comic book, then taking a bus across town to pick up the last copy on one of my old town's few gaming stores.

I think anyone who started playing with AD&D 2e or before experiences a good deal of nostalgia with regards to D&D, especially older books. There's nothing wrong with this. We all want to recapture some of that child-like wonder, but this doesn't preclude new experiences - not just re-experiencing the old, but experiencing something fresh and new. But re-connecting with an inner experience first felt in middle school (the age must gamers start), inherently has some degree of nostalgia.

Because there are a lot of people out there who actually like the rules instead of just wanting to take a trip down memory lane. Saying it's nostalgia is like slapping the rules of previous editions in the face and telling them the only reason people play you is because they want to feel like a kid again.

The rules of the older editions are actually very good. Yes they have their flaws like every edition to date but nobodies perfect.