Like it says on the tin.

I see the OSR returning back to its hobbyist roots.

A strong component of the OSR was a return to a basic game.  Enough so that the new version of D&D is returning to a more basic game (Three cheers for the OSR!)

But it looks like the people who actually stay with the OSR now are doing so either:

1) for the more unusual offerings of the OSR (Arrows of Indra or Woodland Warriors say).

2) for nostalgia only.

What do you guys think...

Um, maybe some people simply will continue to prefer 0e D&D, Basic/Expert D&D, 1e AD&D, etc., over D&D 5e?

And some people might find themselves liking both OOP A/D&D and 5e.

Quote from: gonster;753265for the more unusual offerings of the OSR (Arrows of Indra or Woodland Warriors say)...

I doubt that 5e will affect my fondness for Crypts and Things...

Quote from: Akrasia;753266Um, maybe some people simply will continue to prefer 0e D&D, Basic/Expert D&D, 1e AD&D, etc., over D&D 5e?

And some people might find themselves liking both OOP A/D&D and 5e.

I think at this point in the game there is a discernible difference between TSR D&D fans and OSR producers/consumers. There is a lot of overlap for obvious reasons but there are a lot of differences as well and what will appeal to one segment of the venn diagram will not necessarily appeal to the other.

I think it will depend on the finished product.  However, I also think the OSR will always be there playing the game the way they've always played it.  That's the whole appeal of the thing.  Nobody played D&D quite the same way and everyone has their own priorities.

D&D is out in the wilds now and I don't think WotC can rope it in and bring it back.

A really strong D&D with a broad appeal might kick start WotC's D&D sales and it might renew the popularity of the core game.  New players coming into D&D might stick around if they like what they see and don't get caught in the shrapnel of edition wars as has happened in recent years.

I hope they can bring back the excitement and sense of community and motion that D&D had back in its early days and put the ugliness behind them.

But I have my doubts.  WotC would have to really hit the sweet spot for an increasingly diverse group of people who no longer need them and their $150 dollars of books.

Gotcha. That's great, it is what the hobby should be then -- people finding something they love and playing the hell out of it.

Got one wild guess (but my wild guesses also led me to believe that WoTC was going to release D&D to the wilds all along.)  PATHFINDER 2 is going to be an expansion of the D&D.

I'm not worried that my Labyrinth Lord books will somehow disappear once 5e is released.

This is actually a good question. I don't have any clear prediction, but there is a pretty solid chance they will vacuum up much of the OSR market. I love all my old games and won't stop fondling and cooing over them, but if there is an in-print, well supported new edition that didn't totally shit the bed when it comes to basic game design, I will buy it and play it more often than 1E or whatever.

There will be absolutely zero change to the player base and frequency of play due to the advent of 5e when it comes to my own OSR offering. None. Zero.

Because it's only available online in one place (by accident actually); it has had no promotion; it is not for sale; and nobody plays it except for those of us who play at my table.

And we're happy with the product we have. Except when we aren't, at which time we change our game rather than changing games.

That last bit is the key to "OSR" I think: the democratization of game design. Everybody can write their own game or house rule an existing one. We no longer need Hasbro to do anything in order for us to play "D&D" or whatever it is.

The OSR will continue to bumble along in obscurity.  One must remember that the OSR is mostly an AD&D Revival and only a fraction of the OSR is looking for product outside of TSR and an even smaller fraction is looking for non-D&D games.

If the finalized 5e looks like the 5e playtests, then 5e will appeal to that segment of the OSR who have been looking for a 2.5 edition that bridges the gap between 2e and 3e better than Castles & Crusades.

How big is that fraction? We will see.

I am a 0e and 4e fan so 5e isn't looking promising. I love 0e for the near-invisible mechanics, my ability to make stuff up on the fly, the skeletal framework from which I can build each new campaign and the 0e community which is very cool with DIY. 5e has made it clear that won't be what I am getting either so I don't see leaving the OSR for the 5e camp.

I never judge an edition until I read it and run it, so perhaps 5e will do something amazing for me that other RPGs do not. We will see.

I've never figured that the OSR partisans are about "simple" rules.  If that were the case, everyone'd be all over GURPS Ultra-Lite, which takes up one side of a 8 1/2" x 11" page.

It's about games that look like they did when the partisans first got into RPGs.

Quote from: gonster;753265Like it says on the tin.

I see the OSR returning back to its hobbyist roots.

A strong component of the OSR was a return to a basic game.  Enough so that the new version of D&D is returning to a more basic game

So Pundit has crowed. But 4e gave us,



So I ain't holdin' my breath.

Quote from: Ravenswing;753313It's about games that look like they did when the partisans first got into RPGs.

What an original and insightful comment.

Quote from: Ravenswing;753313It's about games that look like they did when the partisans first got into RPGs.

The games I played back in the day didn't look anything like LotFP or DCC. My attraction to them IS partially the 'simple' rules as well as the interesting bend that some have taken on. They seem fast and fun and easy to modify... they exult the DIY aspect that I enjoy. No huge tomes of wall-to-wall full color distractions.
But really nothing to do with the implied nostalgia.

Scott Anderson where can I get your rpg?