Reflection on the Old School Renaissance

There’s a very interesting and detailed “historical look” at the Old School Renaissance (OSR) at the blog “Simulacrum: Exploring OSR Design.” It’s quite long and consists of five posts: part 1 (the 1^st edition-era AD&D adventure modules, and developments away from “old school” style play), part 2 (post-Gygaxian rules developments in AD&D), part 3 (second edition AD&D), part 4 (3^rd edition D&D and the early OSR), and part 5 (the OSR over the past decade or so). I heartily recommend it to anyone interested in the history of D&D and the OSR (but unless you have a free afternoon, you probably will not be able to read all five posts in a single sitting).

 

I was somewhat engaged in the OSR in its “early years” (this blog is on the list of “pivotal early OSR blogs” in part 5 of the “historical look”). I even have a post at Dragonsfoot in what I believe is the first thread in which the term “Old School Renaissance” was used (coined – appropriately enough – by an anonymous poster). (However, T. Foster referred to the “Old School Revival” in an amazingly prescient post a year earlier [2004].)

 

After a decade away from D&D (and relatively little in the way of other RPG activity during that time, despite frequent visits to gaming shops), 3^rd edition lured me back in 2001. But by 2004 I had DM’ed two campaigns with 3^rd edition D&D and had come to find it rather tedious. Once the characters reached 6^th or 7^th level (which took about 10-11 months in my groups, as I was deliberately giving out “stingy” rewards in order to keep things sane) the game simply became a joyless chore. My experiences did not match the fun I remembered having during the 1980s. (I also was a fan of Middle-earth Roleplaying back in the day – indeed, as much of a fan as I was of AD&D. But MERP had gone away with ICE’s loss of the Middle-earth license in 1999, and Rolemaster had evolved into a rules-heavy behemoth in its “Standard System” edition. Of course, I could’ve played MERP again anyway. But I did not consider that option at the time.)

 

So, disillusioned with 3e, I began looking for something different...

 

I was an early Castles and Crusades enthusiast, especially when it promised to be a vehicle for the publication of Gary Gygax’s Castle Zagyg (a version of his original Castle Greyhawk mega-dungeon). That project proceeded quite slowly, alas, and only saw one release directly related to the mythical dungeon: Castle Zagyg: The Upper Works (co-authored by Jeffrey Talanian). Then Gygax shuffled off this mortal coil, at which time the entire project ended. (I still have that box set, which I believe is now quite valuable, along with the other CZ-related products – all carefully packed in a box in storage somewhere. For an excellent, comprehensive review of The Upper Works, see this one by Grodog.) But I eventually drifted away from C&C. One reason was the end of Castle Zagyg. Another, entirely independent of the system itself, was the terrible editing by Troll Lord Games. While Upper Works was fine, almost everything else I read from them (including the core rulebook) was simply too badly edited for me to enjoy.

 

During this same period, fortunately, I also had dusted off and reacquainted myself with 1^st edition AD&D, B/X D&D, the Rules Cyclopedia D&D, and the like. I played in some online (play-by-post) 1e AD&D games (in a Greyhawk one as a cleric of Trithereon). Unlike C&C, this interest in AD&D and D&D persisted. Then came along OSRIC (the 1e AD&D clone), Labyrinth Lord (the B/X D&D clone), Swords & Wizardry (the 0e D&D clone), the fanzines, and so forth. The OSR was well underway – and I signed on.

 

This blog started out as a place for me to talk about old school D&D/AD&D-based games, including especially Swords & Wizardry. I contributed articles to Knockspell and Fight On! back in the day. Having reread many of R. E. Howard’s “Conan” and “Kull” stories in the years immediately before I started this blog, I was interested in house-ruling S&W in order to play some “swords and sorcery” flavoured games. (Those house-rules remain available here; many were later incorporated into Crypts and Things.) I eventually became interested again in more “conventional” modes of play, including especially 1^st edition AD&D, and made a minor contribution back in 2013 to the OSRIC supplement Dangerous Dungeons (“background professions”). I also ran a brief AD&D campaign around that time (2013-14).

 

But I’ve drifted away from active participation in the “OSR scene” in recent years. I never was active on Google+. I sporadically followed what was happening through forums and blogs. But in terms of actual gaming, I have spent more time playing Mythras, Call of Cthulhu, Adventures in Middle-earth, and the like, over the past seven years or so.

 

However, I never abandoned my interest in “old school” Dungeons and Dragons. So I found part 5 of the “historical look” quite informative. It filled me in on what has been happening over the past several years. In a nutshell: it’s largely been fragmentation, decadence, and degeneracy.* I guess not paying attention was beneficial – at least for my mental health. (Unsurprisingly, the pre-OSR, old “old school” communities seem to be carrying on just fine.)

 

 * I should add some caveats to this generalization. An exception seems to be Old School Essentials, which is both quite recent and very much a "clone" of B/X D&D (even more so than Labyrinth Lord was). It seems to be enjoying quite a bit of success. Swords & Wizardry continues to be quite popular (indeed, I received the most recent "box set" edition last year). Crypts and Things continues to enjoy support. And material for AD&D/OSRIC continues to be created, including free material at Dragonsfoot (which of course started before the "OSR"). [Note added 14:35 ET 20 January 2022]

 

Old School Con 5.5: Featuring VIPs Loz and the Grognardia Guy

If you live in Toronto or are within easy travelling distance, and feel like playing some ‘old school’ role-playing games for a day, consider attending OSCon (5.5) on Saturday, January 16th, 2016.  There will be a number of different games available, including Call of Cthulhu, Dungeons and Dragons (various editions), Labyrinth Lord, and RuneQuest 6.

Design Mechanism’s Lawrence Whitaker (‘Loz’) – author of numerous RPG books over the years, and co-author of RuneQuest 6 – will be there, running a couple of RQ6 games: a Luther Arkwright adventure in the morning, and a Mythic Britain adventure in the evening.  I highly recommend playing in one of Lawrence’s games if you have the chance, as he is a superb Game Master.  I know this from experience, having played in a couple of his campaigns (one set in the Young Kingdoms and one set in Mythic Britain) over the years, as well as few shorter adventures from time to time.

Also running a few games of Empire of the Petal Throne is James Maliszewski, the fellow who used to write the Grognardia blog.  I have to confess that I’m a bit surprised to see Maliszewski as one of the Con’s VIPs, given how his ‘Dwimmermount’ kickstarter turned out.  I was not interested in, and hence did not back, ‘Dwimmermount.’  And I only casually followed the massive disaster that it became.  But my impression is that there were, and presumably still are, many within the ‘old school’ community who feel that they were badly burned by his abandonment of that project.  Perhaps, though, all that is water under the bridge now?  (I have no idea.)

In any case, OSCon should be good fun.  I took part in the second one (summer of 2012, I believe), during which I ran a Call of Cthulhu game.  I won’t be running a game this time around, but I look forward to playing in a couple.

Lamentations of the Flame Princess PDF Sale

Lots of good stuff for only 1 Euro (1.34 USD) each. I especially recommend Death Frost Doom. The sale ends on the 12^th.

More info here.

The actual sale is here.

“Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea” Preview

If you look under the ‘Classic D&D links’ on the right side of this blog, you will see a link to a company called ‘Northwind Adventures.’ This company has only one product available so far, ‘The Charnel Crypt of the Sightless Serpent’ (a very fine adventure, as I note here). However, it seems that their rules and setting book, “Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea,” will be available in early 2011.

Over at the RPGsite, a preview of the contents of AS&SH is provided in this thread. I’ve reproduced this preview here:

Originally Posted by Ghul

What is Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea?

Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea is a role-playing game designed by Jeffrey Talanian and illustrated by Ian Baggley. The rules are derived from the works of Gary Gygax and David Arneson. The setting is inspired by the pulp fiction of Robert Ervin Howard, Howard Phillip Lovecraft, Clark Ashton Smith, and others.

AS&SH might be classified as a “simulacrum” or “retro-clone” game, but it does not “clone” any specific rules system. While some retro-clones seek to emulate specific traditional systems as closely as possible, AS&SH takes its inspiration from a variety of 0e and 1e related sources; also it is interwoven with its own alternative procedures.

Hyperborea the campaign setting is brimming with locations filled with adventure, conflict, weird horror, and intrigue. It comprises environs, cities, men, and monsters inspired by pulp fiction and mythological resources, but also a mix of traditional RPG monsters hand-picked to best fit the milieu; consequently, describing Hyperborea as “pastiche” might not be inaccurate.

Here follows a brief overview of Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea:

Attributes: Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, Charisma. These attributes are generated using one of five different methods. While attributes can modify a character’s capabilities, these are handled on a flat progression curve. Example: A 16 strength provides +1 “to hit” and +1 damage, 17 strength provides +1/+2, and 18 strength provides +2/+2. On the whole, AS&SH takes a minimalistic approach for handling modifiers to rolls.

Classes: There are four principal character classes.

• Fighter: a swordsman, bowman, or other warrior type.

• Magician: a sorcerer who studies magical tomes and casts spells.

• Cleric: an armed and armoured fighting sorcerer of mystical nature.

• Thief: a nimble swordsman possessed of numerous specialty skills.

Subclasses: There are eighteen subclasses.

Fighter:

• Barbarian: an outland warrior possessed of feral reflexes and instincts.

• Berserker: a rampaging shock trooper renowned for his unbridled battle rage.

• Cataphract (Knight): a mail clad horseman and warrior elite.

• Paladin: a champion who crusades for Law.

• Ranger: a righteous borderland fighter and wilderness warrior.

• Warlock: a mail clad fighter who wields steel and sorcery interchangeably.

Magician:

• Illusionist: a sorcerer who manipulates light and evokes illusions and phantasms.

• Necromancer: a sorcerer who practices black magic and communicates with the dead.

• Pyromancer: a sorcerer who manipulates the elemental power of fire.

• Witch: a sorceress who brews potions, divines portents, and lays curses.

Cleric:

• Druid: a mystic sorcerer empowered by ancestral, elemental, and animistic spirits.

• Monk: a warrior-priest who strives for physical and mental mastery.

• Priest: a chaplain mystic sorcerer of enhanced spell casting capacity.

• Shaman (Witch Doctor): a primal sorcerer who divines portents and confers with spirits.

Thief:

• Assassin: a thief who specializes in murder and intrigue.

• Bard (Skald): a versatile warrior, scholar, sorcerer and word weaver.

• Legerdemainist: an adept thief who also commands the power of sorcery.

• Scout: a lightly armed explorer, intelligence gatherer, and stealth master.

Alignment: Alignment is governed by the opposing forces of Law (Civilization) and Chaos (Barbarism). Law and Chaos are subdivided by the ethos of Good and Evil. Thus the four alignments of Lawful Good, Lawful Evil, Chaotic Good, and Chaotic Evil define the world view of most intelligent beings, whilst Neutrality forms a nexus of behavioural indifference.

Weapon Skills: Any AS&SH character can use any weapon. However, several classes begin with a favoured weapon list. Learning a weapon that is not on the favoured list may occur at specific level gains. For instance, your low level magician may begin play with dagger, dart, and quarterstaff familiarity, but should he wish to take up the long sword in the future, he may well do so. Fighters and fighter subclasses have weapon mastery, which means they enjoy a +1 “to hit” and +1 damage bonus with player chosen weapons, and also an increased rate of attack.

Armour and Weapons: Includes 10 armour types that are broadly classified in groups of light, medium, and heavy. Medium and heavy armour types provide damage reduction. There are 35 melee weapons and 12 missile weapons from which to choose. Each melee weapon is assigned a “weapon class” which may determine first strike when melee is first engaged; e.g. a long spear wielder (WC 5) will beat short sword wielder (WC 1) when two such combatants first clash.

Sorcery: AS&SH features over 400 spells presented in six spell levels. There are six spell casting schools, including magician, cleric, druid, illusionist, necromancer, pyromancer, and witch. Other spell casting types draw from these lists. For example, the bard draws from the druid and illusionist lists.

Task Resolution: Many character classes have special class abilities that are resolved, for example, by using a d6, a d12, or some other resolution method. For actions not specifically covered by the rules, two different resolution methods are presented: a d6 method in which the referee determines a probability of success (1:6, 2:6, etc.); and an attribute check method in which the attempted action is associated with a specific attribute: 3d6 for a moderate difficulty check, 4d6 for a heroic check, 5d6 for a super-heroic check in which the player must roll at or under the associated attribute.

Time and Movement: Rounds = 10 seconds. Turns = 10 minutes. Movement rules are included for land and sea travel.

Combat: An attack matrix is referenced to determine what AC the modified d20 attack roll hits. The combat sequence features an innovative 5-step phase sequence that covers movement, melee attacks, missile attacks, and magic. At each phase, each side in the battle takes turns, though combat movement is simultaneous, which is to say two respective closing sides will meet in the middle before engaging one another.

There are 21 different combat actions presented. A few require mastery in a specific weapon, some are available only to fighter types, though most others can be attempted by any character. Combat actions include arrow setting, charging throw, disarm, dodge, double arrow shot, firing march, indirect fire, off-hand weapon parry, parry & block, pike hedge, pommel strike, ready shooter, reckless fighting/conservative fighting, recumbent fire, running dodge, saddle fire, shield bind, shield cover for ally, shield wall, spear charge, and two-weapon fighting.

An optional critical hit system presented. It is simple and intuitive. It does not, for example, allow a magician to “crit” as well as the fighter can; i.e. fighters, upon rolling a natural 20 have a greater probability of delivering a larger amount of bonus damage.

Saving Throws: There are five different saving throw categories. Each character has a base saving throw determined by character level. Each character class (fighter, magician, etc.) has modifiers to two of the five saving throw categories. Attributes can also modify some saving throws. For example, Death is a saving throw category that includes death ray, death magic, paralysis, poison, and radiation. A high constitution score can provide a bonus to poison and radiation saves, but not all death saves, per se.

Other Combat: Other combat types include aerial combat, underwater combat, naval combat, and warfare & siege.

The Hyperborea Campaign Setting: The setting is treated in full, though brevity is paramount; this intended to provide the referee with digestible chunks of information and leaving plenty of room for individual development. That is to say, it is my belief that a campaign setting should not be the game designer’s attempt to satisfy the urge to write a fantasy novel. The Hyperborea setting includes a brief history, calendar, physical geography, position in the heavens, climate & seasons, and population examination.

Hyperborea is a hexagonal shaped flat-earth campaign setting with a diameter of about 3,200 miles. It is hemmed in by the boreas (North Wind) beyond which lies the illimitable Black Gulf (space). The map for Hyperborea is a large, hex based (each hex = 24 miles) affair developed by cartographer Andreas Claren.

There are nine races of men. These are Common (men of mixed ancestry), Amazon, Atlantean, Esquimaux, Hyperborean, Ixian, Kelt, Kimmerian, Pict, and Viking.

The deities of Hyperborea are a non-pantheon mix of otherworldly beings that include Apep, Apollo, Artemis, Aurorus, Boreas, Helios, Kraken, Krimmr, Kthulhu, Lunnaqqua, Mordezzan, Rel, Thaumagorga, Tlakk-Nakka, Ullr, Xathhoqqua, Yikkorth, Ymir, Yoon’Deh, Ythaqqa, and Yug.

Bestiary: Nearly 200 monsters are included, these inspired by the pulp fiction creations of noted authors as well as a liberal selection of traditional RPG monsters hand-picked to best fit this sword-and-sorcery milieu.

Magic & Treasure: A listing of magic weapons and items that might be found in the course of adventuring, including some displaced high-tech items such as ray guns, etc.

Final Word: AS&SH draws close to completion, and should see publication by early 2011. The preceding information does not cover the entire scope of the rules and setting. I have tried to touch on some of the points that may be of interest to the reader. I am willing to answer questions on any of the above, including that which may have been excluded in this summary. As the final beta is soon to go out to my readers and idea contributors, some of the preceding may be altered before final publication. As I continue to gather printer quotes (admittedly, an exercise in frustration), the final physical format is not yet set in stone. I prefer a boxed set over a hardcover (with map insert), but there is much to consider. A final decision should be made by the end of 2010.

Cheers,

Jeff Talanian

Although I’m not really in the market for yet another FRPG based on D&D/AD&D – I already own all of the original games, most of the ‘retro-clones,’ and, in any case, am feeling somewhat ‘burnt out’ with such systems these days – I have to say that this variant looks quite intriguing.

Far more intriguing, though, is the setting: author Jeff Talanian’s version of ‘Hyperborea.’

Talanian (a.k.a. ‘Ghul’) worked with Gary Gygax on the two best ‘Castle Zagyg’ products: Castle Zagyg: The East Mark Gazetteer, and Castle Zagyg: The Upper Works. So he certainly has excellent ‘old school’ credentials. I look forward to reading his vision of ‘swords & sorcery’ fantasy!

And the art by (fellow Torontonian) Ian Baggley looks simply stunning – as the picture at the top of this post attests.