D&D General What Constitutes "Old School" D&D

[Paul Farquhar]

Like when my students say " back in the day" and they mean 2018!!

"Pre-lockdown" is the new "before the war".

 

[Greg Benage]

How are we supposed to put a date on it unless you define it? If we're talking about "stuff TSR publishes," I agree with the OSR that there's a shift with Dragonlance. If we're talking about "how D&D was most often played," I think there was a shift sometime in the 1970s from "knaves and scoundrels rob tombs" to "we can be heroes," and this was showing up in published products, in nascent form, by the late 70s. It was the dominant mode of play by the time I came on the scene in 1980, including at conventions. I mean, we were watching the Star Wars trilogy in theaters, and reading Lord of the Rings, Shannara, and The Belgariad -- what do people think we wanted to do with D&D?

For me, the Player's Handbook illustrates this shift with two iconic images: the cover art and "A Paladin in Hell." Both are "Old School."

 

[UngainlyTitan]

I do not think that "old school" as a general term can be nailed down to specifics. It generally means before my time or if I am old and in D&D terms I am "when I was young".

Movements in the game like OSR are more of a stylistic thing with a layer of marketing thrown because even back in the day there where tables where the game was played differently.

The Hickman Revolution was a big deal because it game official support to something that people were attempting to do once the first pamphlets were published.
I suspect that even from the beginning there were oddballs attempting to do some High Fantasy story telling. I would be extremely supried it it was not. Just look at the popularity of self insertion and Mary Sue's in fanfiction.

 

[Cordwainer Fish]

I think old-school is a rolling timeframe

I stopped listening to radio when the classic rock stations started playing the bands I was listening to classic rock stations in order to not hear, so yeah.

 

[grimslade]

As grognards begin to cross into the hereafter (not for a while I hope), Old School will become later and later. Old School is whenever you first learned the game. Particularly when rules were so dense, esoteric, and conflicting to new players. Old school D&D felt like an accomplishment to master and that is a very endearing quality that is really up to the individual.

 

[Micah Sweet]

The first complete redesign of the system was 2e-3e, so that's where I draw the line. Of course, people played the game quite differently from each other long before this, but I consider that a separate issue.

 

[grimslade]

I stopped listening to radio when the classic rock stations started playing the bands I was listening to classic rock stations in order to not hear, so yeah.

You know you're old when you are in the grocery store and the music is just playing all the right tunes.

 

[payn]

I stopped listening to radio when the classic rock stations started playing the bands I was listening to classic rock stations in order to not hear, so yeah.

I used to listen to the oldies station for change of pace about 20 years ago. Dont listen often at all now. Was up north at the cabin and tuned in to hear that "We Built This City" by Jeffersen Starship is now considered an oldie...

 

[overgeeked]

Just look at the popularity of self insertion and Mary Sue's in fanfiction.

This is the main reason I cringe away from storygames and story-focused play. Literally every single time I've engaged with that style it's nothing but a group of people trying to convince each other just how utterly spectacularly awesome and perfect their character is. First level characters with zero XP and epic backstories try to out do Lord of the Rings. It's Mary Sues all the way down. Make a character. Here's a random assortment of stats and hit points. If that one dies, roll a new one. It's not special. It's a fictional construct to play a game. Get on with it already.

 

[Cordwainer Fish]

I used to listen to the oldies station for change of pace about 20 years ago. Dont listen often at all now. Was up north at the cabin and tuned in to hear that "We Built This City" by Jeffersen Starship is now considered an oldie...

The occasional Starship I can overlook, but flannel bands is where I had to draw the line.