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<blockquote data-quote="Mannahnin" data-source="post: 9161227" data-attributes="member: 7026594">2nd ed definitely had a focus on historical and literary references.&nbsp; Stuff of broader cultural relevance than the 1930s-1960s pulp short stories and novels in Appendix N which formed such a large part of OD&amp;D and 1E's inspirational underpinning.TSR post-Gygax clearly recognized that they weren't principally targeting old grognards who were steeped in Howard and Leiber stories, but rather younger folks who would know some history and mythology from school, and whose literary inspirations would be post-Tolkien epic fantasy.I don't think anyone's limiting &quot;old school&quot; to B/X.&nbsp; This particular thread happens to be primarily about why people like B/X, among the various old versions (though obviously it's wandered a bit over 10 pages)Everything from 1974 OD&amp;D up until more story-focused modules like Ravenloft and Dragonlance started taking over the place is definitely old school.&nbsp; Everything from that period until WotC took over is kind of debated over in old school circles.&nbsp; And like I said, as the OSR has gone on and gotten broader in focus and less dogmatic over the past 18 years or so, generally the trend has been more toward including everything in the TSR years as old school.Neonchameleon was talking about how 2E was a post-Hickman Revolution product.&nbsp; Late in 1E there was a transition in what the primary play style promoted by TSR was.&nbsp; How the game was presented as meant to be played.&nbsp; What kind of fiction it was intended to emulate.&nbsp; Making gold for XP an optional rule and focusing XP on 1) Monsters killed, and 2) Goals achieved, was part of this refocus.&nbsp; Away from thieving &quot;heroes&quot; like Conan and Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser and toward altruistic Heroes like the Fellowship of the Ring and the Companions/Heroes of the Lance.&nbsp; Starting in the 70s and continuing as a refrain through the 80s, there were a lot of players who preferred Heroic PCs and who were annoyed by gold for xp, because it was inconsistent with the tone of the stories they wanted to emulate and the heroes they wanted to play.&nbsp; And 2nd ed was the first edition to officially cater to that preference and center it in the rules.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Mannahnin, post: 9161227, member: 7026594"] 2nd ed definitely had a focus on historical and literary references. Stuff of broader cultural relevance than the 1930s-1960s pulp short stories and novels in Appendix N which formed such a large part of OD&D and 1E's inspirational underpinning. TSR post-Gygax clearly recognized that they weren't principally targeting old grognards who were steeped in Howard and Leiber stories, but rather younger folks who would know some history and mythology from school, and whose literary inspirations would be post-Tolkien epic fantasy. I don't think anyone's limiting "old school" to B/X. This particular thread happens to be primarily about why people like B/X, [I]among [/I]the various old versions (though obviously it's wandered a bit over 10 pages) Everything from 1974 OD&D up until more story-focused modules like Ravenloft and Dragonlance started taking over the place is definitely old school. Everything from that period until WotC took over is kind of debated over in old school circles. And like I said, as the OSR has gone on and gotten broader in focus and less dogmatic over the past 18 years or so, generally the trend has been more toward including everything in the TSR years as old school. Neonchameleon was talking about how 2E was a post-Hickman Revolution product. Late in 1E there was a transition in what the primary play style promoted by TSR was. How the game was presented as meant to be played. What kind of fiction it was intended to emulate. Making gold for XP an optional rule and focusing XP on 1) Monsters killed, and 2) Goals achieved, was part of this refocus. Away from thieving "heroes" like Conan and Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser and toward altruistic Heroes like the Fellowship of the Ring and the Companions/Heroes of the Lance. Starting in the 70s and continuing as a refrain through the 80s, there were a lot of players who preferred Heroic PCs and who were annoyed by gold for xp, because it was inconsistent with the tone of the stories they wanted to emulate and the heroes they wanted to play. And 2nd ed was the first edition to officially cater to that preference and center it in the rules. [/QUOTE]

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