thedungeondelver
Adventurer
Get over yourselves.
No, really. Get over yourselves. Once upon a time, being a fan of Original D&D or AD&D or even the various flavors of Basic D&D and having a web presence meant not only talking about how cool you thought those games were, but providing a little something that other people liked. One of the coolest things in the world was hearing that someone had printed out one of the modules I'd written, put the cover on cardstock, and it had been so well considered by gamers playing it that the DM had given it away as a prize. Likewise, I've been to a convention and seen people using Dragonsfoot originated Character Sheets. I've had people I game with come back to me and ask if I'd heard of that "OSRIC thing".
My game of choice had a nice "spring" that went from around 2000 to 2009 courtesy of .PDFs. You can always, with a minimum of digging, find original books through amazon resellers, the ABE used booksearch, and so forth. The PDFs are gone thanks to the insouciant greed of WotC (and pirates), and lets be reasonable, the books won't be there forever. We're all we have.
So this is my request, what I ask of you. Quit worrying about who has the most linkbacks. Quit scrabbling to be the "authoritative voice in the wilderness". Ask yourself a question: what am I doing today that makes Original, Basic or Advanced D&D hang on? Is it pontificating over silly concepts like GNS and how D&D does/does not fit in to them? Is it trying to reinvent the wheel? Or is it writing adventures, doing artwork and maps, announcing that you'll be at a 'con and inviting people to come - or inviting them to come to your local games? Are you doing this for the love of the game, or are you doing this for a little self-aggrandizement?
All of this assumes that you're in it for the furtherance of the hobby, and not just for a dick-length measuring contest. I'll admit, I once worried about that sort of thing. This "OSR" that came along - why, I was at the forefront of it, why wasn't I being mentioned more often?! Then I realized that...well...I sit here, doing my occasional output, writing stuff, I've got a group of folks who like what I do and ultimately, that's what matters.
Linkbacks and press and all of that are good, but they're not what matters. What matters is letting people know that the games we enjoy are still viable. There was some talk in a Q&A thread from a WotC muckety muck about the possibility of going PoD on old products. I'm sure they'll strongly consider that if there's a market. How can there be a market if people aren't gaming, though? How will people get the verve, the vibe, the coolness that is old D&D if all you're doing is worrying about who's on top of the pile at the moment? It's all well and good to promote - but sitting back and saying "Oh yeah, big push coming, just as soon as I get heard in enough places!" is...well, self-defeating. Because you'll constantly (and I think unconsciously) keep moving that goal back again and again. Just a few more links. Just a few more visitors. You will never let yourselves hit critical mass. You'll worry more about making sure your voice is heard than you will about what your voice is saying. What's more important, saying something vital that will slowly spread as it is heard by a tiny handful of people, or saying nothing to a huge crowd?
Don't worry about the machine. Quit making the game "Let's see who's the biggest boldest 'blogger". The games are supposed to be what we're playing, not some Alternate Reality Game about who has the most "important" FRPG web-'blog.
Finally, the "OSR". Guys...quit being tourists. It's kind of creepy. I'd rather sit down once every six months with a bunch of Zep-listening beardos (I am one, I should) who can quote page, paragraph and line of the Dungeon Masters Guide and play G1 than sweat who is the more nouveau-Olde Schoole. Just...just game for goodness' sake. Don't worry about a revival or renaissance. It's here! It's been going on since 2e came out! Why don't you come over and join us?
-Bill Silvey,
AKA, The Dungeon Delver
24 March, 2010
