OSR OSR ... Feel the Love! Why People Like The Old School

Monayuris · Jul 12, 2019

Sacrosanct said:
You pretty much nailed my big reasons as well. Especially things like:

Chargen: not only fast and easy, but you didn't spend all this time making your PC awesome before you even played a minute of the game. The gameplay is what makes your player awesome, not chargen. It's the whole zero to hero preference.

Yup. In the long running B/X game I've been running (about 6-7 years now)... the fighter in the group (level 6 now) was just wrecking house... I commented that his character is pretty bad-ass and asked what his strength was... the player responded 13 (respectable, sure but surprising to me).

His character was a bad-ass because the player played him like a bad-ass... took chances, went all in when warranted. It wasn't the numbers on the sheet it was the way it was played.

Random magic item tables: What's that? you found a magical battle axe, but your PC uses a sword? Well, that's what was there, because the last person to use it used a battle axe. I prefer more living world than one where you change and cater to PC wants. I almost never change found magic items just because it's what a PC wants instead.

The other side to this is there isn't as much specialization, so your PC can probably just pick up the battle axe and go. The character didn't have to invest 5 feats into being good with the sword.

Sacrosanct · Jul 12, 2019

Tony Vargas said:
Sounds like you just have an unpleasant definition of 'nostalgia.'

Sounds like you don't even have a definition of nostalgia, because you keep ascribing it to things where it doesn't fit the definition.

Sacrosanct · Jul 12, 2019

Monayuris said:
The other side to this is there isn't as much specialization, so your PC can probably just pick up the battle axe and go. The character didn't have to invest 5 feats into being good with the sword.

Exactly. Fighters were proficient in just about every magic item. So it was no big deal to switch from a sword to an axe, to a polearm to a mace. Then specialization came around, and suddenly you heard players bemoan "But I wanted a magic sword, not an axe."

Yardiff · Jul 12, 2019

I think your forgetting weapon proficiency. WP was very limited in 1e not sure how it worked in B/X. In 1e a fighter only had 4 weapon proficienies at first level, then gain another every 4 levels so 7th, 10th etc.

Tony Vargas · Jul 12, 2019

You can go about your business...

Sacrosanct · Jul 12, 2019

Tony Vargas said:
Here's the first dictionary definition to pop up on google:

"a sentimental longing or wistful affection for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations."

I don't see the conflict with how I'm using it.
.

People are giving mechanical reasons of game design philosophy as to why they prefer OSR. That's not "longing or wistful affection", but how a game is designed. The fact you keep ignoring this no matter how many times it's pointed out makes me question your integrity with your intent on this topic.

I played 1e up until 2012 when the playtest came out. That wasn't because of nostalgia. That was because how the game was designed fit my preferences better than any edition afterward. And I'm not going to great lengths to rationalize my desire for OSR over 3e or 4e. That's you being dismissive again. I wish you'd stop telling other people that you know better why they prefer something than they do themselves.

Doug McCrae · Jul 12, 2019

I like the kitchen sink worlds and sandbox play.

Ralif Redhammer · Jul 12, 2019

Have to say, increasingly I’m of a similar mind. I’m more inclined to just play the original games these days instead of the retroclones. The exception is DCC RPG, which, while a retroclone, has enough new rules and style to make it its own thing.

Now, as for why I enjoy OSR play…

The ease of character generation and levelling up is definitely a nice change of pace.

There is something delightful to the fear-ridden exploration part of the game. Going into the dungeon is a lot like being dared by your friends to run up and touch the door of Old Man Mordenkainen’s house. One thing I’m not as much a fan of is that direction choices frequently boiled down to random selection – it wasn’t until you came to a room or chamber that things got exciting, generally.

As much as I was amazed when 3e blew them away, I did love the niche protection of race-as-class and class restrictions. It meant that you played a dwarf because you thought dwarves were cool, not because they were the optimal choice for a class.

And, sorry [MENTION=6799753]lowkey13[/MENTION], but one thing I dearly love about the old days is that all paladins had to be Lawful Good.

Tony Vargas said:
For /my/self, I have to admit that when I'm in the mood to paleo-game, as I call it, retroclones don't cut it. I want the real thing. I pull out my faded 1st Edition Gamma World rulebook and run a crazy game of random mutants mucking about with random artifacts.

Monayuris · Jul 12, 2019

Yardiff said:
I think your forgetting weapon proficiency. WP was very limited in 1e not sure how it worked in B/X. In 1e a fighter only had 4 weapon proficienies at first level, then gain another every 4 levels so 7th, 10th etc.

B/X didn't have weapon proficiency. Although BECMI and AD&D I believe did.

I like my fighters to be good at all weapons. I generally follow a rule put in place by another retro-clone, where I just give fighters a damage bonus (to melee and missile) that scales by level. It's simple tweak and it doesn't shoehorn a character into a specific weapon.

Sacrosanct · Jul 12, 2019

Monayuris said:
B/X didn't have weapon proficiency. .

B/X also had d6 for damage for all weapon types. Variable damage was an optional rule.

OSR OSR ... Feel the Love! Why People Like The Old School

Monayuris

Hero

Sacrosanct

Legend

Sacrosanct

Legend

Yardiff

Adventurer

Tony Vargas

Legend

Sacrosanct

Legend

Doug McCrae

Legend

Ralif Redhammer

Legend

Monayuris

Hero

Sacrosanct

Legend

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