There is no school like the old school.
I'm an old man in many regards.
I have a growing appreciation for Buicks and that was one of the first signs. I know full well what arthritic hands and feet feel like. I have a popping in my right knee for the first few hours of the day and when i stretch my spine pops in a most disturbing way. I've attended schools on two continents and managed to pick up an extra language in a bar room.
That being said. I have spent a great amount of time pouring over my chosen hobby. I have spent countless dollars, euros, marks and pounds on books. I have spent years of time talking with my fellows who also enjoy my hobby and have a collection of luminaries in foreign countries who shed differing light on the topic.
All that said, i have settled on a few things in my time.
I like my whiskey Canadian, my beer local and my ammunition self loaded. I like my games with D20's and THAC0. I like my women out of my league and smarter than i. I like my cars large with great amounts of displacement and bench seats.
For the sake of today's writings. I'll stick with the D20's and THAC0. That brings me to the topic of OSR. What that means is open to debate. Depending on who you are talking to the answer changes to fit product, agenda or convenience of marketing.
For sake of argument i am going to define it as Old School Roleplaying. Because in my experience it fits personal history. It's a system that i first came to know when i started gaming. It's 1st ED AD&D or Red Box D&D. It's a simple system of bell curves and dice that all add up to stories of dragons, dungeons and murderhoboism. As i went from being a young man to an old man, or Grognard as sometimes is said in OSR circles. I found more and more enjoyment from the same simple system.
Of course i did read the newest games as they came out. I toyed with some of them, spend a great time with others and was quickly bored with a few. Some of them came up with new ways to look at the fundamentals. Others simply moved a bell curve or two. But, most of them simply complicated the whole ordeal.
With the rise of the intertubes. The news about old games simply got better and better. Now more and more gamers were creating new and interesting material for the same games i find comfortable. New items, spells, monsters and adventures galore. More reason to continue to play that very same game again and again.
Of course there is more to OSR than just AD&D. There are they myriad of clones. The games reworded and stamped with distinct file markings. They too bear mentioning, but i am not the one best to do so.
To make a long story less long. What is OSR to you is most probably different than what i think OSR is. The games you pile under the OSR banner will always garner disagreement. And for me, that is a wonderful thing. We should all endeavor to be different in as many things as possible. For while i do so love when folks agree with me. I don't really learn as much from those that agree with me as i do from those that disagree with me.
I would be remiss if i didn't warn the same thing i warn against in politics. Don't allow personalities become the focal point of your movement. People are wonderful and all, but they are normally bad representatives of a movement. The movement is what is important. The individuals tied up with that movement add to its flavor. But when a movement becomes about a singular personality. It ceases
to be a movement and becomes a vehicle for personal aggrandizement. Which leads to not so nice things for both the community and the person placed up on a pedestal.
I have rambled on enough.
I have a growing appreciation for Buicks and that was one of the first signs. I know full well what arthritic hands and feet feel like. I have a popping in my right knee for the first few hours of the day and when i stretch my spine pops in a most disturbing way. I've attended schools on two continents and managed to pick up an extra language in a bar room.That being said. I have spent a great amount of time pouring over my chosen hobby. I have spent countless dollars, euros, marks and pounds on books. I have spent years of time talking with my fellows who also enjoy my hobby and have a collection of luminaries in foreign countries who shed differing light on the topic.
All that said, i have settled on a few things in my time.I like my whiskey Canadian, my beer local and my ammunition self loaded. I like my games with D20's and THAC0. I like my women out of my league and smarter than i. I like my cars large with great amounts of displacement and bench seats.
For the sake of today's writings. I'll stick with the D20's and THAC0. That brings me to the topic of OSR. What that means is open to debate. Depending on who you are talking to the answer changes to fit product, agenda or convenience of marketing.
For sake of argument i am going to define it as Old School Roleplaying. Because in my experience it fits personal history. It's a system that i first came to know when i started gaming. It's 1st ED AD&D or Red Box D&D. It's a simple system of bell curves and dice that all add up to stories of dragons, dungeons and murderhoboism. As i went from being a young man to an old man, or Grognard as sometimes is said in OSR circles. I found more and more enjoyment from the same simple system.
Of course i did read the newest games as they came out. I toyed with some of them, spend a great time with others and was quickly bored with a few. Some of them came up with new ways to look at the fundamentals. Others simply moved a bell curve or two. But, most of them simply complicated the whole ordeal.With the rise of the intertubes. The news about old games simply got better and better. Now more and more gamers were creating new and interesting material for the same games i find comfortable. New items, spells, monsters and adventures galore. More reason to continue to play that very same game again and again.
Of course there is more to OSR than just AD&D. There are they myriad of clones. The games reworded and stamped with distinct file markings. They too bear mentioning, but i am not the one best to do so.
To make a long story less long. What is OSR to you is most probably different than what i think OSR is. The games you pile under the OSR banner will always garner disagreement. And for me, that is a wonderful thing. We should all endeavor to be different in as many things as possible. For while i do so love when folks agree with me. I don't really learn as much from those that agree with me as i do from those that disagree with me.I would be remiss if i didn't warn the same thing i warn against in politics. Don't allow personalities become the focal point of your movement. People are wonderful and all, but they are normally bad representatives of a movement. The movement is what is important. The individuals tied up with that movement add to its flavor. But when a movement becomes about a singular personality. It ceases
to be a movement and becomes a vehicle for personal aggrandizement. Which leads to not so nice things for both the community and the person placed up on a pedestal.
I have rambled on enough.
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