OSR Roleplaying Games General Discussion
Dec 27, 2016 5:29:16 GMT -5
Post by Verminaard on Dec 27, 2016 5:29:16 GMT -5
So in about two days, Kaptain's Swords & Wizardry game will be starting up, and I'm really excited for that. I recall dungeonsnake mentioning he was going to be running a Dungeon Crawl Classics game after the holiday season, and I myself would like to run a game here once some real life stuff clears up -- perhaps OSRIC, I'm not entirely sure yet anymore. So, what do all of these game have in common, and what is this thread about?
To answer the first -- all of the mentioned games are considered "OSR" roleplaying games. What the hell is that?, you may ask. Simply put, OSR stands for "Old School Revival," which is a resurgence of influence from the earliest days of tabletop roleplaying on modern day games. Some games take this influence and incorporate it into new systems, such as Dungeon World or Lamentations of the Flame Princess, while some are more or less recreations of old systems -- Swords & Wizardry, for example, uses the OGL (Open Game License, which is basically a public copyright used by tabletop roleplaying games that allows other game developers to use the content of another game as the basis for theirs without infringing upon the original's "product identity") to emulate Dungeons & Dragons 0e -- i.e., the earliest versions of the game, before AD&D came about. Other examples relating to Dungeons & Dragons include Labyrinth Lord, which uses the OGL to emulate the D&D B/X versions that came out parallel to the 1st edition of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, and OSRIC, which emulates the 1st edition of AD&D.
So, why would one do this? Well, on one hand, some of the older games are out of print / ridiculously expensive, so this is the next best thing to get that same experience that those games provide. The reason that a lot of people want the experience those old games provide is that modern RPGs produced, oh, say after 2000, typically work much differently. An example:
Convincing a guard to let you out of a holding cell --
(NOTE that the GM and player narratives are boring here, that's just because I'm highlighting mechanical differences.)
MODERN GAMES:
Player: Okay, I will roll a D20 for a Persuasion check on the guard.
The player rolls a 20 sided die, and achieves a result of 15. Added to this is his Charisma bonus, which is +1, granting him a total of 16.
The GM has decided that this guard is particularly gullible, and has set the target number for 12. The result of 16 is greater than or equal to 12.
GM: Okay, you've managed to fast talk your way out of this situation -- your sugar coated words melt the guard heart, and he lets you out.
OLD / OSR GAMES:
Player: Okay, I'll make a Persuasion check on the guard.
GM: You can't just roll your way to success in an OSR game -- what exactly are you telling this guard to convince him?
Player: My character, the seductress that she is, slides up to the iron bars of the cell, slides a hand out, and runs her finger down the guard's arm. "You know, if you let my companions and I out of here...it could be worth your while..."
GM: The guard, enchanted by your flirting, begins rifling through his pockets to find the cell key.
There are many other examples of such a difference in mechanics.
OSR games often tend to be mechanically lighter than modern games, which makes them particularly well suited to our play by post forum set up we have going on here. Rules are ambiguous and open ended, but that is on purpose -- they are better looked at as guidelines, not rules. A GM will not have a set of rules to refer to for every situation, merely guidelines presented to him that he may draw from to make a ruling based on the current situation.
Another large difference between many modern games and many OSR games is the difference in power level. A good way I've heard it described is in a lot of modern roleplaying games, you start off as a hero able to slay a room of 16 goblins, and advance to near demigod power levels. (There are of course exceptions to this -- Dungeon World is often considered an OSR game, but the power level is VERY high, though some 3rd party supplements tone it down to match what is generally expected in OSR games.) In OSR games, you start as barely more competent than an everyman -- certainly able to be cut down by a room filled with 8 goblins, let alone 16 -- and work your way up to become a figure of power or legend, whether that is through your combat arm or being cunning enough to delve trap filled dungeons and emerge with their hidden treasures.
It should be noted that neither of these styles are "the right" one, merely, well, different styles of RPG.
I figured it might be nice to make this thread while we wait for the start up of Kaptain's game in a few days to inform people who might not know much about OSR games, or RPGs in general, to kind of give a general overview. Any questions you may have are welcome! I know that there are also a few of us here other than myself well versed in this type of stuff, so if any of you found fault with something I wrote, please correct me!
Also, general discussion about OSR games can happen here as well!
To answer the first -- all of the mentioned games are considered "OSR" roleplaying games. What the hell is that?, you may ask. Simply put, OSR stands for "Old School Revival," which is a resurgence of influence from the earliest days of tabletop roleplaying on modern day games. Some games take this influence and incorporate it into new systems, such as Dungeon World or Lamentations of the Flame Princess, while some are more or less recreations of old systems -- Swords & Wizardry, for example, uses the OGL (Open Game License, which is basically a public copyright used by tabletop roleplaying games that allows other game developers to use the content of another game as the basis for theirs without infringing upon the original's "product identity") to emulate Dungeons & Dragons 0e -- i.e., the earliest versions of the game, before AD&D came about. Other examples relating to Dungeons & Dragons include Labyrinth Lord, which uses the OGL to emulate the D&D B/X versions that came out parallel to the 1st edition of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, and OSRIC, which emulates the 1st edition of AD&D.
So, why would one do this? Well, on one hand, some of the older games are out of print / ridiculously expensive, so this is the next best thing to get that same experience that those games provide. The reason that a lot of people want the experience those old games provide is that modern RPGs produced, oh, say after 2000, typically work much differently. An example:
Convincing a guard to let you out of a holding cell --
(NOTE that the GM and player narratives are boring here, that's just because I'm highlighting mechanical differences.)
MODERN GAMES:
Player: Okay, I will roll a D20 for a Persuasion check on the guard.
The player rolls a 20 sided die, and achieves a result of 15. Added to this is his Charisma bonus, which is +1, granting him a total of 16.
The GM has decided that this guard is particularly gullible, and has set the target number for 12. The result of 16 is greater than or equal to 12.
GM: Okay, you've managed to fast talk your way out of this situation -- your sugar coated words melt the guard heart, and he lets you out.
OLD / OSR GAMES:
Player: Okay, I'll make a Persuasion check on the guard.
GM: You can't just roll your way to success in an OSR game -- what exactly are you telling this guard to convince him?
Player: My character, the seductress that she is, slides up to the iron bars of the cell, slides a hand out, and runs her finger down the guard's arm. "You know, if you let my companions and I out of here...it could be worth your while..."
GM: The guard, enchanted by your flirting, begins rifling through his pockets to find the cell key.
There are many other examples of such a difference in mechanics.
OSR games often tend to be mechanically lighter than modern games, which makes them particularly well suited to our play by post forum set up we have going on here. Rules are ambiguous and open ended, but that is on purpose -- they are better looked at as guidelines, not rules. A GM will not have a set of rules to refer to for every situation, merely guidelines presented to him that he may draw from to make a ruling based on the current situation.
Another large difference between many modern games and many OSR games is the difference in power level. A good way I've heard it described is in a lot of modern roleplaying games, you start off as a hero able to slay a room of 16 goblins, and advance to near demigod power levels. (There are of course exceptions to this -- Dungeon World is often considered an OSR game, but the power level is VERY high, though some 3rd party supplements tone it down to match what is generally expected in OSR games.) In OSR games, you start as barely more competent than an everyman -- certainly able to be cut down by a room filled with 8 goblins, let alone 16 -- and work your way up to become a figure of power or legend, whether that is through your combat arm or being cunning enough to delve trap filled dungeons and emerge with their hidden treasures.
It should be noted that neither of these styles are "the right" one, merely, well, different styles of RPG.
I figured it might be nice to make this thread while we wait for the start up of Kaptain's game in a few days to inform people who might not know much about OSR games, or RPGs in general, to kind of give a general overview. Any questions you may have are welcome! I know that there are also a few of us here other than myself well versed in this type of stuff, so if any of you found fault with something I wrote, please correct me!
Also, general discussion about OSR games can happen here as well!