Since some people seem to think that "OSR Taliban" is a brand-new term I specifically invented on account of certain responses to the news about the D&D starter set or the Basic D&D PDF.  Likewise, some people seem to want to pretend that when I used that term it means that I think ALL the OSR (which, let's remember, I count myself as a member of) are like a 'taliban'.  

For the record, the term "OSR Taliban" is several years older than the recent controversy.  It does NOT refer to just anyone who isn't gushingly enthusiastic about 5e.

It does refer to that extremist wing of the OSR (fortunately now in a diminishing minority, but who a few years back seemed to be main movers of the OSR's ideas and 'gatekeepers' for it) who engage in "old school extremism", who only want to play the original editions or precise clones, who deride any mechanic created after a certain date (the date varies, and they get into contests of "who is more old school" by competing as to what cutoff date they use).  They often claim to seek some kind of UR-D&D by looking at long-lost notes of Gygax or Arneson's.  In short, the guys who think that if you are using anything in RPGs made after 1983, or 81, or 79, or 74 (or sometimes even earlier!) then you are "betraying old school".  These are the people who just wanted the OSR to be a long string of identical "clone" games after another, and reject any innovation whatsoever.  They had a lot of influence at one point, but as they ran out of stuff to precisely clone and more designers started making (awesome) OSR games that weren't clones but were NEW ideas using the old-school framework (stuff like "Stars Without Number", "DCC", "LotFP", "ACKS", Arrows of Indra, Other Dust, Hulks and Horrors, Machinations of the Space Princess, etc. etc.), they ended up becoming sidelined.

In short, if you don't care about 5e, or if you're still cautious and distrusting of WoTC, that doesn't make you "OSR Taliban".  If on the other hand you were determined right from the start to despise 5e and declare it "not old school enough" no matter what 5e does then you may be OSR Taliban (and bonus points if you deceptively make posts pretending like you "MIGHT have liked" 5e but "-insert latest revelation here- has just totally ruined it for you because they did it wrong").  And if you're one of these guys who thinks that anything that does not precisely mimic a single old edition of D&D or any innovation at all beyond an arbitrary dateline is going to be wrong, then you're definitely "OSR Taliban".

Keep up Pundit currently it's all about the rate of errata/technology. They're convinced it will be exactly like 4e. Regardless of the fact that WotC have watched for YEARS how successful Pathfinder is. Or that there are serious numbers of players playing Pathfinder that would drop it for something you could make 3e Lite.

They're ignoring the bigger picture because it's gotten down to "where was the spot that Bad WotC touched you?".

I don't see any OSR Taliban in the conversation to any serious degree here or anywhere unless they're trolling or just not up with current information. Concerned? Confused? Yes, but not malicious in general or by intention.

I don't think I've seen much of any of that 'OSR Taliban' stuff... here or anywhere. Where's a hotbed of it so I can go have a look?

Quote from: Simlasa;758414I don't think I've seen much of any of that 'OSR Taliban' stuff... here or anywhere. Where's a hotbed of it so I can go have a look?

Best I know is WotC boards by Polaris and Gatt but I'm convinced they're trolling on purpose more then anything else at this point. I really don't see actual extreme OSR guys posting anything on the open sites.

Quote from: Simlasa;758414I don't think I've seen much of any of that 'OSR Taliban' stuff... here or anywhere. Where's a hotbed of it so I can go have a look?

Cadriel was doing that here just the other day.  According to him, you can't play 5e in an OSR style because it has a basic skill system.  When pointed out NWP in 1E, he was saying anything not in the core 3 books of 1e isn't "true" old school playing

Quote from: Sacrosanct;758419Cadriel was doing that here just the other day.  According to him, you can't play 5e in an OSR style because it has a basic skill system.  When pointed out NWP in 1E, he was saying anything not in the core 3 books of 1e isn't "true" old school playing

Actually that would be 4 corebooks.

1. Players Handbook
2. Dungeon Master Guide
3. Monster Manual
4. Unearthed Arcana

Every last one is considered core by the overwhelming majority of 1e players let alone 2e players like myself who literally straight ported 1e stuff into our games.

Quote from: Sacrosanct;758419According to him, you can't play 5e in an OSR style because it has a basic skill system.

I guess that cuts out Runequest 2e then... which I'd always thought of as an OSR game... and will readily play in the style I consider 'old school'.
Whatever.

Hell, I remember James Maliszewski using the term to self-describe back in 2008.

The only time I've seen the phrase used outside this thread (I don't get out much) is by people getting upset with the term.

A) because they are who it talks about and them don't likes thems labels
B) who it comes from (with typical comments about "betraying" OSR or adopting it for his own ends by being a paid consultant to said new edition of the world's most widely known RPG).

Makes me chuckle.

Quote from: LibraryLass;758441Hell, I remember James Maliszewski using the term to self-describe back in 2008.

Who is he Rachael? Remember I'm middle school (better known as someone that plays 2/3e) so I'm serious.

Quote from: Marleycat;758405They're ignoring the bigger picture because it's gotten down to "where was the spot that Bad WotC touched you?".

It was my WALLET doctor, right here in the bill fold!

Quote from: David Johansen;758446It was my WALLET doctor, right here in the bill fold!

The first argument I've seen that's valid. Ever wonder why I use FantasyCraft for my 3e games with PF adventure paths and have high hopes for 5e......one guess only.

So in other words, Pundit, made up people who only exist in your head?  Still?

Quote from: Marleycat;758444Who is he Rachael? Remember I'm middle school (better known as someone that plays 2/3e) so I'm serious.

He was the guy that had the Grognardia blog. Which I never really read (I only came back to gaming after the 5e announcement, after burning out on 3.x) and is now perhaps best known for the ill-fated Dwimmermount Kickstarter (which is actually almost done, amazingly enough, only 2 years late)

Quote from: JeremyR;758452He was the guy that had the Grognardia blog. Which I never really read (I only came back to gaming after the 5e announcement, after burning out on 3.x) and is now perhaps best known for the ill-fated Dwimmermount Kickstarter (which is actually almost done, amazingly enough, only 2 years late)

Yeah, probably the main voice of the OSR in the early days.