Since it’s going around, and I’m trying to be more social & participatory at the moment (even if virtually so), here are my answer’s to Zak S’s OSR Guide for the Perplexed prompts:
OSR Guide for the Perplexed Questionaire
1. One article or blog entry that exemplifies the best of the Old School Renaissance for me:
There’s so many to choose from, but I think I’ll go with this one I have from my “Inspirado” bookmarks: Deities & Demigods Is Totally A Book You Should Be Using Because This. It takes something that’s been sitting in plain sight for 40 years, looks at it from a different angle, and proposes some ideas for making it rad and useful.
2. My favorite piece of OSR wisdom/advice/snark:
“‘Backstory’ is what happens to your Character until you reach Level 10.” …or however that quote goes.
3. Best OSR module/supplement:
“Best” seems tough… In terms of something that might convey a good sense of what the OSR is about, though, I think I’ll go with Deep Carbon Observatory. It’s got a wonderful weird tone to it totally unlike anything made by TSR, and really demonstrates that the OSR is more concerned with the possibilities of Now, not merely emulating Then.
4. My favorite house rule (by someone else):
I don’t feel like I’ve logged enough time at the table with an OSR campaign to have really put a house-rule to the long-term test, but I did use a version of Zak S’s death and dying rules in the Stonehell session: if you reach 0 hp, you are dying, and lose 1d6 HP per hour. Once you reach the equivalent of your negative Constitution score, you’re dead.
5. How I found out about the OSR:
I don’t quite recall where I first encountered it… I think the “OSR” moniker was coalescing around the time I found Grognardia in 2009 or ’10, but I’m not quite sure on what site or which context I first saw it.
6. My favorite OSR online resource/toy:
There’s a lot of fun generators and tools to be found at the ol’ donjon. I like fiddling around with the map makers– one of these days I should run a dungeon “as generated” just to see how it goes (“why are there skeletons chained to the wall in this room, and fire beetles roaming around next door?”) but it’s also a fun starting point for getting some ideas rolling too.
7. Best place to talk to other OSR gamers:
Reddit has an (often deserved) reputation as a wretched hive of scum and villainy, but I’ve enjoyed a modest involvement there on r/osr and r/rpg this past year. That said, I don’t do a lot of conversing there, so I’m not sure how it is as a social platform, but it’s where I’ve discovered a few things.
8. Other places I might be found hanging out talking games:
I just signed up at DIYRPG.freeforums to get a little more involved in the online community (I feel like I kind of missed the G+ era, since I didn’t really use that platform), so perhaps I’ll be chiming in there from time to time.
9. My awesome, pithy OSR take nobody appreciates enough:
I’m not sure I have one… I haven’t really participated in enough discussions to have a sense of what folks appreciate or not.
10. My favorite non-OSR RPG:
Savage Worlds. It has an action-driven philosophy that’s appealing to me, and the rules seem to accommodate either light-play or nitty-gritty detail as each table prefers.
11. Why I like OSR stuff:
I like it because it really showcases RPGs as a creative pursuit. Specifically, I like the personal vision of the individual creators that comes through, whether in art, writing, layout, design, etc. There’s a fun, handmade aesthetic to it, but that doesn’t mean low quality. It’s exciting to see what creators find exciting.
12. Two other cool OSR things you should know about that I haven’t named yet:
I was debating on putting Vornheim as my answer for best module/supplement that shows what the OSR is all about, so I think I’ll mention it here. It feels like a book that “launched a thousand campaigns,” not just because it’s so useful (it is), but because it really makes you think about your game differently. It’s kind of an epiphany book, and really inspires you to think about how you can do more with your game than just the stuff defined by a simple core book.
For a second thing, I’ll mention Lamentations of the Flame Princess. I have to admit: when I first saw it, I figured I’d give it a pass. Gunpowder? Enh. Race-as-class? Old timey. Based in “real world” history? <Yawn.> I was wrong– it’s wonderful! Somewhere along the way, I just fell in love with the simplicity of it all. Much has been mentioned of the streamlined approach to encumbrance, but an often over-looked aspect of the rules is that your cleric can basically use whatever weapons she wants, and your magic user can wear chainmail and still cast spells (as long as she’s merely “lightly encumbered”). Raggi’s argument for the Early Modern setting is great (and he’s right… it’s kind of a “sweet spot” socially and technologically for adventure) and the gunpowder rules in the appendix feel like they fit into the game really well… guns don’t feel overpowered (although that’s an as-read assessment– I need more time playing it!).
But the real power of LotFP is as a publisher– it’s become a wonderful place for creators to really showcase their vision, and not have to dial everything back to a tasteful PG-13 rating, or conform to some unspoken Morally Proper code. Raggi is really fighting the good fight when it comes to freedom of expression, and I think we’re all the better for it. He’s a great impresario for the medium, and though the modules have a reputation for sensationalism, much of it is largely undeserved or exaggerated. Will the LotFP catalog appeal to everyone? No! But it doesn’t need to. Many people don’t like Salt & Vinegar potato chips, but you know what that means? Delicious chips for those of us that do.
13. If I could read but one other RPG blog but my own it would be:
Jeff’s Gameblog. I check in pretty much daily, and use the side-bar links as a resource for finding other interesting things too.
14. A game thing I made that I like quite a lot is:
It’s not OSR, but I made a Zone map of Seattle for the Mutant: Year Zero session I ran last month. And it’s not for a game, but I’m currently finishing up a children’s book of D&D monsters that I quite like.
15. I’m currently running/playing:
Most of my regular gaming is currently on hiatus while I adapt to life as a new dad. I’ve got this notion I’m going to start a game “soon” though– unfortunately, it always feels like I’m perpetually going to do it “next month!”
16. I don’t care whether you use ascending or descending AC because:
There’s room in my heart for both kinds! Plenty of tables have had decades of fun using either method, and a little conversion shouldn’t get in the way of a good time.
17. The OSRest picture I could post on short notice:
