D&D General Why is "OSR style" D&D Fun For You?

[Reynard]

(which isn't OSR, but just regular Old School).

What is the difference? What makes something "OSR"?

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

What is the difference? What makes something "OSR"?

The "R" -- which can stand for multiple things, since it's a grassroots movement -- usually indicates something has been remixed in some fashion. (Ironically "remix" isn't one of the things the "R" can stand for.)

So you have AD&D rules alongside B/X in one version of OSE, which also has everything cleaned up and lightly sanity checked, for instance. At the other end of the equation, you have the Black Sword Hack or Mothership, which is derived from OD&D through several different evolutionary steps, to make something new but which can be easily understood by folks with experience with TSR D&D.

 

[Reynard]

The "R" -- which can stand for multiple things, since it's a grassroots movement -- usually indicates something has been remixed in some fashion. (Ironically "remix" isn't one of the things the "R" can stand for.)

So you have AD&D rules alongside B/X in one version of OSE, which also has everything cleaned up and lightly sanity checked, for instance. At the other end of the equation, you have the Black Sword Hack or Mothership, which is derived from OD&D through several different evolutionary steps, to make something new but which can be easily understood by folks with experience with TSR D&D.

This sound a lot to me like "OSR is only TSR D&D" which disqualifies a bunch of things that seem to be popular with the OSR movement.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

This sound a lot to me like "OSR is only TSR D&D" which disqualifies a bunch of things that seem to be popular with the OSR movement.

That wasn't my intention. Remixes of other older games also qualify. I was referencing TSR D&D-derived games because it's the largest area, by far, of the OSR.

 

[overgeeked]

This sound a lot to me like "OSR is only TSR D&D" which disqualifies a bunch of things that seem to be popular with the OSR movement.

It doesn't. It's just the easy shorthand. Like how D&D 5E utterly dominates RPG discussions, D&D-alikes utterly dominate OSR discussions.

That wasn't my intention. Remixes of other older games also qualify. I was referencing TSR D&D-derived games because it's the largest area, by far, of the OSR.

Exactly. Retroclones of Traveller, Marvel Super-Heroes, etc are all included. Though orders of magnitude less popular.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

It doesn't. It's just the easy shorthand. Like how D&D 5E utterly dominates RPG discussions, D&D-alikes utterly dominate OSR discussions.

Exactly. Retroclones of Traveller, Marvel Super-Heroes, etc are all included. Though orders of magnitude less popular.

FASERIP games might be the second largest section of the OSR, although massively fewer in number than the games derived from D&D.

 

[jdrakeh]

FASERIP games might be the second largest section of the OSR, although massively fewer in number than the games derived from D&D.

I dunno. There are a lot of Traveller OSR clones and hacks via the Cepheus Engine and Mongoose Traveller OGL.

 

[overgeeked]

FASERIP games might be the second largest section of the OSR, although massively fewer in number than the games derived from D&D.

I dunno. There are a lot of Traveller OSR clones and hacks via the Cepheus Engine and Mongoose Traveller OGL.

WEG Star Wars d6 and WEG Ghostbusters might want a word.

There are heaps of games "inspired by" these two...even though they're quite similar.

 

[Reynard]

Exactly. Retroclones of Traveller, Marvel Super-Heroes, etc are all included. Though orders of magnitude less popular.

So why isn't Rolemaster OSR and just "Old School" (which was what I originally responded to with the question).

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I dunno. There are a lot of Traveller OSR clones and hacks via the Cepheus Engine and Mongoose Traveller OGL.

I thought Cepheus was derived from Mongoose Traveller, so I had it shelved elsewhere in my brain. Whether that makes it still OSR is getting into angels on the head of a pin territory, though. But whether it's OSR or not, stuff like Hostile definitely has my support.