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

[Reynard]

Six pages of explanations and “it’s a myth”. Cool.

I don't mean "myth" as in "it's fake" I mean "myth" as in "the representative story of a thing." That shouldn't have been terribly difficult to figure out from the context.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Interesting. I wonder where the line between new OSR game and Old School Fantasy Heartbreaker is.

I'm not sure many people disparage fantasy heartbreakers any more. With the ability to self-publish on places like itch.io, I'm not sure there's a stigma attached any longer to someone writing up house rules, coming up with a name for the resulting rule set, and hitting Publish.

And, you know, good. A lot of great ideas start off as someone's weird personal obsession. The devices we're all using to have this conversation largely started off that way.

 

[Reynard]

I'm not sure many people disparage fantasy heartbreakers any more. With the ability to self-publish on places like itch.io, I'm not sure there's a stigma attached any longer to someone writing up their house rules, coming up with a name for the resulting rule set, and hitting Publish.

And, you know, good. A lot of great ideas start off as someone's weird personal obsession. The devices we're all using to have this conversation largely started off that way.

Yeah, I was using "heartbreaker" in the original, non-pejorative sense. As I tried to make clear, many OSR designs look very much like "B/X plus this cool mechanic I made up or cribbed from Blades in the Dark" but are obviously made with love.

 

[GuyBoy]

Started with the white box set in 1976 as a kid.
For me, OSR-affection isn’t really about the rules as such. I know that sounds a bit counter-intuitive, but I can just as happily play 5e rules.
What I’m after is the nostalgia of the actual adventures and the feel of exploring dusty and musty corridors, where the strange sounds could be dripping water or stealthy footsteps approaching. Give me the Steading, Caverns of Thracia or just a DM-designed dungeon and I’m happy, but I also want to have a detailed world, character development, friends and enemies etc.
Maybe the historian in me is drawn to the past ( I taught History and Politics before becoming a Principal), ot maybe I’m just a sentimental grognard?!

 

[Oligopsony]

You know calling old school play a "myth" can be considered derogatory, right?

Peterson’s Elusive Shift pretty thoroughly debunks the idea that there was one canonical playstyle in the early era; basically as soon as different groups of nerds got their hands on OD&D they used it for “GM tells everyone a story,” analog Diablo, deep method acting, tournament play, West Marches, and so on.

What I think has changed is clarity. The OSR is a very modern scene that’s said “here’s this particular way to play, here are some tools to do it,” and luckily none of that depends on the many ways people were playing in the 70s.

 

[Voadam]

So because there is a market for them, they get to be called "OSR" now instead of "my pet D&D." That's nice.

I don't think that is the way to think about it.

In 1995 if you published a non TSR AD&D module or setting like Kenzer did with Kalamar no one would call them old school products, it was just publishing D&D products. When it was the current school it was not old school.

In 2000 with 3e and the OGL and the flourishing of d20 among 3rd party publishers d20 became the new standard and it had significant differences from older editions. There was eventually a movement for those who wanted new older edition style gaming material instead of standard d20 stuff. In part this could be seen with Necromancer Games' 3rd edition rules, 1st edition feel style of marketed d20 modules and sourcebooks.

The OGL and the development of Castles and Crusades and OSRIC and then later Swords & Wizardry and Labyrinth Lord led to a resurgence of supported older edition games and game styles as an alternative to the new baseline of d20. Since we were in the well supported d20 era, these were no longer current D&D but were labelled an Old School Revival, then a Renaissance, then just Old School RPGs.

OSR includes a lot of contradictory stuff and mutually exclusive strands, simple rules of B/X, complex rules of AD&D, focusing on dungeon crawling, focusing on player roleplaying instead of character social mechanics, quick character generation, deadliness, characters not balanced at each level or with various options, domain rules, sword & sorcery feels, gonzo high fantasy wackiness, and lots more.

 

[Hussar]

I don't mean "myth" as in "it's fake" I mean "myth" as in "the representative story of a thing." That shouldn't have been terribly difficult to figure out from the context.

Perhaps “mystique” would be a better way of putting it

 

[cbwjm]

Started with the white box set in 1976 as a kid.
For me, OSR-affection isn’t really about the rules as such. I know that sounds a bit counter-intuitive, but I can just as happily play 5e rules.
What I’m after is the nostalgia of the actual adventures and the feel of exploring dusty and musty corridors, where the strange sounds could be dripping water or stealthy footsteps approaching. Give me the Steading, Caverns of Thracia or just a DM-designed dungeon and I’m happy, but I also want to have a detailed world, character development, friends and enemies etc.
Maybe the historian in me is drawn to the past ( I taught History and Politics before becoming a Principal), ot maybe I’m just a sentimental grognard?!

I quite enjoyed running some old Thunder Rift adventures for my 5e group a while ago, just straight up dungeon crawls, no great overarching campaign that people were rushing around trying to sort out. Easy to convert too, normally just did a like-for-like replacement. I think some of my players didn't realise how treasure rained from the sky back then.

 

[Aldarc]

Most notions of a “Renaissance” involve some degree of revisionism, idealization, and historiography about an imagined past that may differ from actuality. OSR has congregated somewhat around a particularized vision of how some old school games were played. I think that OSR has some good insights but not when it snubs modern gaming or other play styles.

 

[Reynard]

Perhaps “mystique” would be a better way of putting it

I mean, maybe from an avoiding knee jerk reactions perspective, but "myth" actually means what I meant.