Search results

I agree that the OGL is what enabled a choice in the first place. What you fail to realize that 1999 WoTC implemented the OGL precisely to prevent a repeat of what happen to D&D under TSR. A lesson that the 2008 WoTC team failed to learn. The fate of D&D is no longer in the hands of the IP...

The split would have a occurred regardless. It just would not have been as organized or had products as well produced as Paizos at first. Instead of a single large company dominating you would had three or four about the size of a game publishers that not TSR, Wizards, or Paizo. Why? Because...

Thanks for the shout out, and there another session in the hopper. The write up should be posted for in a day or so. Rob Conley Bat in the Attic

One thing I noticed since I got involved with OSR in 2008, is that mash ups are the norm rather than the exception. Partly it the hobbyist ethos, partly it is the lite rules of some classic editions, and partly is because of the poor presentation of classic edition notably OD&D and some sections...

The short story is this. The Internet allows niche communities to easily communicate and grow. In this case, around 2000, people playing classic editions of D&D found that there was a great deal of other people still playing classic editions. They started getting together and doing...

Wouldn't it be safe to say the entire distribution network for games and RPGs is screwed at this point.

I see what you mean. I agree that VTTs are not going to revitalize tabletop roleplaying by themselves. I would add that I feel that no one thing is going to revitalize tabletop RPGs. Instead it is going to take a multiprong approach to grow the hobby however slowly. The main reason is that the...

There I have to disagree. Whiteboards in combination with dice-rollers, chat/voice effectively recreates the tabletop experience online. You do the same kind of prep with the same type of materials and manage the game in the same manner. The tech is additional overhead. Now you have an extra...

The only reason to pay for any VTT with a specific RPG logo on them is that they have superior support for a specific set of rules and/or better software tools for RPGs. First off I was talking of VTTs in general whether you buy something specific or craft on out of existing free tools like...

VTTs work NOT because they emulate MMOs but rather they use another technology altogether i.e. collaborative whiteboards combined with voice/chat systems. Appended to this are RPG Utilities like dice rollers and interactive character sheets. The result in package of software pretty complements...

I ran a playtest of the DCC Rules at Erie Days of Gaming in Feb and it played as fast as Joseph describes. Before the game I realized that I need to have all the spell charts on single pages and fiddled with word so I had the handout ready. Of the announced modules I really recommend the...

If you want to get the full dose of what Gygax wrote for the 1st edition of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons look at A.D.D.I.C.T. http://www.dragonsfoot.org/files/other/ADDICT.zip It explains the AD&D combat system in full. It is 20 pages, the first 10 pages goes rule by rule through the entire...

It is something I create to convince my friends to try 4e for a campaign. It didn't last long and a week ago I found it again on my computer. I decided to throw it up on my blog and the reaction been pretty positive. I may need to make something more fleshed out.

Well if you going have a ruleset that has big damn heroes 24/7 might as well give them a big damn setting. A GUIDE TO THE DARK WILDERLANDS The Majestic Wilderlands is a campaign that I have run for over thirty years. Sometime in the mid 80’s I decided to destroy my campaign world. Using AD&D...

A trick to managing sandboxes is make sure that players have backgrounds that ties them to the setting. This doesn't have to be elaborate 1/2 page to a page worth of material is sufficent. The best way I found to create this is to sit down one on one with the players. You ask the player "What...

Sandbox campaign more a technique used by the referee so that the players can feel free to make their way across the setting on a path of their own choosing. You setting sound finds. You may get some additional ideas from the blog post I wrote on the topic. How to make a fantasy sandbox. Bat...

Wait until the late 2010's or early 2020's. I think it will be in full force then. Not to say they won't be stuff done before then. The reason is nostaglia and older adult having kids or more time to play the stuff they like when younger. Nostaglia won't the sole reason for a 2e resurgence but...

To throw my two cents worth in, the OSR is one of those terms that will be defined by how people use it. I mostly use it in reference to the D&D centric old school community and use Old School to mean all the older RPGs (early D&D, Traveller, Runequest, etc) that are current enjoying a...

I don't agree. The forums like Knights-n-Knaves, Dragonsfoot, Original D&D disscussion. Magazinzes like Fight On! All of these are considered part of the OSR by most observers. It is however largely focused on D&D, so the emerging communities around the revivals of Traveller, and Runequest are...

A preferred style exists for most of the OSR. It was born of the minimalist nature of the oldest editions and the fact the rulesets lack much of what is found in more recent RPGs. The best source is the free Old School Primer by Matt Finch. Quick Primer for Old School Gaming by Matthew Finch...