DM Tales

The style of game play I enjoy for my tabletop roleplaying experiences is what is known as “OSR.” There are several different ways to define that acronym, however, which has contributed to some confusion about what it is. The more common interpretations are “Old School Revival,” “Old School Renaissance,” and “Old School Rules.” Many folks prefer the first two interpretations, which enjoy a significant overlap. Others prefer the third, which provides clarity about the boundaries of what OSR is, while excluding games which might otherwise fit the play style.

As my opening sentence has already indicated, I’m more a “revival/renaissance” type person. I see OSR as a “big tent” term which refers to the play style and not any sort of particular rule-set. This is a more inclusive vision of OSR but it does blur the borders between what it is, and is not. While I am not in favor of huge walls to separate the Tabletop Role Playing Game hobby space from itself, I do like having reference points which can help me know what type of conversation I’m having with other hobbyists. To that end, I’m going to attempt to describe the three threads which I embrace as part of the OSR conversation.

Before continuing, allow me to provide some general definitions for two terms. “Modern” style role playing games tend to focus on the thrill of epic power levels, seek balance between characters and encounter design, and tend to have more planned story-lines “OSR” style games tend to focus on the thrill of peril, eschew balance in favor of “off the sheet” creative solutions, and have story emerge from game play rather than a GM’s plans. Neither is “better.” There are play styles we may like, and play styles we may not like. I prefer OSR style play. But that’s all it is, preference.

With that out of the way, let’s look at some threads.

Retro-clones

In the wake of the original release of the Open Gaming License (OGL) back in the early aughts several game developers explored the possibility of re-creating out of print versions of the game through the use of the System Reference Document (SRD) provided under the OGL’s terms. Games like Labyrinth Lord, Swords & Wizardy, Basic Fantasy RPG, OSRIC, Old School Essentials, Dungeon Crawl Classics, and Worlds Without Number all fit on this thread.

“Retro-clone” isn’t a precise term for these games, however, as many offer their own additions to the rules they seek to emulate. For example, Basic Fantasy RPG uses ascending Armor Class by default and Dungeon crawl classics has a much different take on spell casting. At the same time, anyone who played a role playing game in the early years of the hobby would feel right at home with the mechanics of these OSR games, so “retro-clone” is a term which fits.

Retro-clones also began the OSR conversation, which may be why some insist these are the only “real” OSR games.

New School Rules

NSR, or NuSR, is an interesting mesh between New Weird Fiction and the style of old school play–there is heightened danger, character sheets are simple, die rolls are only made when there’s a chance for meaningful failure, and action tends to be fast and furious. Despite this familiar style, however, their resolution mechanics do not recreate earlier iterations of RPGs. They instead opt to create new, often simpler, mechanics for play while amping up the oddness of the setting.

I consider games like Into The Odd, Knave, Index Card RPG, EZd6, and even Forbidden Lands as part of the New School Rules thread.

Progression Games

Progression games examine the development of Dungeons & Dragons, and ask, “What if the designers had gone this way, instead?” This question leads Progression Game designers to explore the development of what could be considered “alternate timeline” versions of the official game.

In Progression Games many aspects of the mechanics may remain familiar, and game play style tends to straddle the divide between Old School and Modern play styles. Progression games retain a good deal of mechanical overlap with the game from which they branch off. At the same time, rules for saving throws, initiative, combat, spell-casting, and character abilities take on their own look in these “What if…?” explorations.

These types of changes do share significant overlap with both Retro-Clones and New School Rules games, but the design goal is different. Progression Games are not attempting to recreate an earlier iteration of the rules, or even emulate an earlier play style. They are focused on, as their title indicates, progression–just along routes which are different from those the official game took. Games like Castles & Crusades and Low Fantasy Gaming highlight this thread.

The Blend

In my perspective of OSR these three threads are all in conversation with one another. Retro-Clones remind folks of where we came from, NSR games show us how play style isn’t tied to specific mechanics, and Progression Games chart alternative paths through history and beyond as they pursue their own versions of fun. Nor are these threads independent from one another, isolated in their own closed conversations. Rather, each of the threads bleeds into the others, blurring lines and creating fascinating gradients. And in these gradient spaces where the threads overlap new ideas are formed–which helps keep the hobby both fresh and growing so the conversation can continue.