What will the OSR be enthralled with, in 2025?

which part of the OSR? it feels like there are different, almost segregated niches within it.

I think OSRIC 3E will create buzz, at least at the beginning of the year, I think the KS is due in Q1.

How many more months until 5e is considered OSR?

I don't see any one thing dominating.  As mentioned, there will continue to be Kickstarters that create some buzz.

Shadowdark will have its second Kickstarter in March 2025.  It will contain expanded rules and more adventures via three new Cursed Scroll zines. Kelsey also hinted at a Shadowdark megadungeon, but I don't know if that is part of the March Kickstarter, or if it is a separate project.  Regardless, it will be interesting to see if this Shadowdark Kickstarter in March will reach a million dollars or not.  It will be an indication of how popular Shadowdark still is, or isn't.

White Box Cyclopedia by James Spahn is Kickstarting in January, I believe.  I hope it does well, as White Box is a nice little game.

Professor Dungeon Master's full Deathbringer RPG is also supposed to be Kickstarted sometime this year.  I don't know if this is even considered to be OSR, or how it will be marketed.  I would guess the Kickstarter does well, though.

The Dolmenwood Kickstarter will finally be fulfilled.  I'm sure people will be playing it, but I don't expect it to really dominate in any big way.

White Box Cyclopedia...any links? That sounds promising.

Castles & Crusades will launch a crowdfunding campaign {Backerkit, I think} for a complete version of Castle Zagyg, which will be based on everything Gary had done at the time of his death and completed with help of his notes.  Definitely looking forward to that.

And Pulp Hummock will KS and theoretically publish the third and final volume of Gods of the Forbidden North for OSE, which is a pretty cool setting/sandbox/megadungeon combo.

Quote from: Man at Arms on January 01, 2025, 02:27:24 AMWhat will the OSR be enthralled with, in 2025?

Cringey lesbian witch covens... no, wait, sorry.   That was Disney in 2024.  My bad.

Quote from: Brad on January 01, 2025, 09:14:23 PMWhite Box Cyclopedia...any links? That sounds promising.

Here you go:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/barrelridergames/white-box-cyclopedia

In the OSR, the year 2025 will be the year of...
BLOOD AND BOOBIES!
/Mortal Kombat song plays

Quote from: Brad on January 01, 2025, 09:14:23 PMWhite Box Cyclopedia...any links? That sounds promising.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/barrelridergames/white-box-cyclopedia?ref=discovery&total_hits=1604&category_id=34#:~:text=The%20White%20Box%20Cyclopedia%20is%20a%20stand,Box%20rules%20and%20countless%20options%20to%20allow

Quote from: Persimmon on January 01, 2025, 09:35:45 PMCastles & Crusades will launch a crowdfunding campaign {Backerkit, I think} for a complete version of Castle Zagyg, which will be based on everything Gary had done at the time of his death and completed with help of his notes.  Definitely looking forward to that.

And Pulp Hummock will KS and theoretically publish the third and final volume of Gods of the Forbidden North for OSE, which is a pretty cool setting/sandbox/megadungeon combo.

Completely forgot about both of these! This may be a good year...

Saw Bryce from tenfootpole came down hard on GotFN vol 1 recently, too harsh I think. I get liking brevity, but there are dungeons that are considered examplary and have rooms that go on for pages.

Plus it pisses me off that some people on reddit tried dissuading people from getting it because it's too close to Christianity with the religion of lawful people.

Okay,this is becoming a rant...

I don't know about "enthralled" but so far this upcoming year I know I'll be releasing 101 Sarmatians (probably in January), the Old School Companion 3, The Last Vikings, and maybe the omnibus edition of L&D/Dark-Albion.

Quote from: a_wanderer on January 02, 2025, 01:25:09 AM

Quote from: Persimmon on January 01, 2025, 09:35:45 PMCastles & Crusades will launch a crowdfunding campaign {Backerkit, I think} for a complete version of Castle Zagyg, which will be based on everything Gary had done at the time of his death and completed with help of his notes.  Definitely looking forward to that.

And Pulp Hummock will KS and theoretically publish the third and final volume of Gods of the Forbidden North for OSE, which is a pretty cool setting/sandbox/megadungeon combo.

Completely forgot about both of these! This may be a good year...

Saw Bryce from tenfootpole came down hard on GotFN vol 1 recently, too harsh I think. I get liking brevity, but there are dungeons that are considered examplary and have rooms that go on for pages.

Plus it pisses me off that some people on reddit tried dissuading people from getting it because it's too close to Christianity with the religion of lawful people.

Okay,this is becoming a rant...

Funny that Bryce and the Reddit mob actually have a lot in common.  Bryce has certain styles and aesthetics that he likes so he might as well just not review other things he knows he will dislike.  I admit that GOTFN is a bit verbose at times, but overall I think it's amazingly creative and offers a tremendous range of play styles. And you're talking years of game play there.

As for Reddit, it's like MSNBC or CNN.  You already know that certain things will trigger the Reddit mob.  And frankly from talking to the author himself, as well as closely reading the adventure, the vibe he's going for is more like the Roman Empire spreading Christianity later in its history and how that affected the pagan cults in Europe, but here he's substituted a combination of inter-stellar entities and faux Inuit gods as the "pagans," which I think is pretty creative.  And it's not a full-throated endorsement of a "one true religion," though I wouldn't be bothered if it was.  But the Reddit mob thinks they get cache by dissing Christianity, so there you go.

Quote from: Crusader X on January 01, 2025, 10:13:36 AMThe Dolmenwood Kickstarter will finally be fulfilled.  I'm sure people will be playing it, but I don't expect it to really dominate in any big way.

I would guess that Dolmenwood has had its 15 minutes already. That's a downside of the Kickstarter model. The physical products aren't going to see much hype at release when the backers have been playing with the pdfs for over a year already. Doubly so for something like Dolmenwood, which isn't really meant to become "the game" that its audience will be playing for years to come. It's more something you use for a couple of campaigns as a break from your preferred "general D&D" game.

Quote from: Crusader X on January 01, 2025, 10:13:36 AMWhite Box Cyclopedia by James Spahn is Kickstarting in January, I believe.  I hope it does well, as White Box is a nice little game.

That does look nice. I like Hero's Journey, and its advertising several things I want in an OSR game (e.g., a higher race/class count and psionics rules). I'm a little burned on Kickstarter after backing Dolmenwood, though, so I'll have to see how it pans out. Also, I notice he's using "heritage" instead of race. I wonder if there'll be a stink about that.

QuoteHow many more months until 5e is considered OSR?

I mean as soon as someone presents sensible exploration and crawling procedures for it <<<never>>>