What's the least OSR game you can imagine?

ThatChrisGuy · October 08, 2014, 03:59:46 PM

Quote from: NeonAce;790847I'm going to go with Immortal: The Invisible War. It is "90s: the RPG". It has a very convoluted setting, poorly described. It has a giant raft full of odd terms it uses to describe what may or may not be normal RPG concepts. The way its setting and rules are presented are like taking all of your least favorite things about White Wolf and multiplying them by 23. It seems to value the ornate and obscure in themselves, or confuse them for sophistication.

Additionally, the web site for the game is "90s: The Ultimate Web Site" -

Witness: http://www.invisiblewar.com/

That was so old-fashioned I tried to log in to AOL.

tenbones · October 08, 2014, 04:46:12 PM

4e.

It's like Bizarro-world D&D to me. It's like looking at someone whose eyes are a little too-wide on their head, or one is slightly higher than the other.

Cortex+ is my runner-up.

JRR · October 10, 2014, 01:03:21 PM

Quote from: tenbones;7909664e.

It's like Bizarro-world D&D to me. It's like looking at someone whose eyes are a little too-wide on their head, or one is slightly higher than the other.

Cortex+ is my runner-up.

Agreed, though 5E would be my runner up.

Herne's Son · October 10, 2014, 10:26:50 PM

Quote from: S'mon;790811Eh, probably the Greg Stafford Heroquest RPG. It doesn't have any combat rules!

Hrmmm... First off, it's not written by Greg Stafford. It's a Robin Laws game all the way.

Second, I don't know how you can say it's got no combat rules. The whole game is built around the idea of dramatic conflict. Whether that's a duel of wits or swords, conflict is central to the entire game.

Exploderwizard · October 10, 2014, 10:58:00 PM

Quote from: Herne's Son;791252Second, I don't know how you can say it's got no combat rules. The whole game is built around the idea of dramatic conflict. Whether that's a duel of wits or swords, conflict is central to the entire game.

There is a difference between combat and conflict. Combat is conflict but conflict doesn't have to involve combat.

S'mon · October 11, 2014, 05:50:06 AM

Quote from: Herne's Son;791252Hrmmm... First off, it's not written by Greg Stafford. It's a Robin Laws game all the way.

Second, I don't know how you can say it's got no combat rules. The whole game is built around the idea of dramatic conflict. Whether that's a duel of wits or swords, conflict is central to the entire game.

It's Stafford's universe, Laws just gets to play in it.

But ok point taken.

Conflict - yeah, exactly. It has the same 'conflict' point-spending rules for EVERYTHING - social interaction, combat, climbing a tree. The extended contest bidding rules were about the least fun I've ever had playing an RPG.

RPGPundit · October 11, 2014, 03:22:20 PM

Quote from: Brad;790777To piggy-back, does a game like Amber actually define OSR because it's entirely based on "rulings, not rules"?

Well, there is a reason why I love both OSR games and Amber.

YourSwordisMine · October 11, 2014, 04:44:41 PM

Ok, all these people mentioning 5e... What drugs are you smoking?

For me, hands down 4e. IT is so far removed that it is no longer D&D... Hell, its barely a roleplaying game... Its a dice roller at best...

TristramEvans · October 11, 2014, 06:12:32 PM

Over The Edge

Emperor Norton · October 11, 2014, 07:01:46 PM

Marvel Heroic Roleplaying

1. Dramatic based difficulty rather than task based difficulty.
2. Heavily defined rules framework.
3. RP based rewards systems (Plot points)
4. Ability to define things outside character using meta-mechanics (plot points).
5. Focus on playing existing characters rather than making your own.
6. and more.

Granted, I like MHRP, but its definitely super not OSR.

TristramEvans · October 11, 2014, 09:26:23 PM

Quote from: Emperor Norton;791343Marvel Heroic Roleplaying

1. Dramatic based difficulty rather than task based difficulty.
2. Heavily defined rules framework.
3. RP based rewards systems (Plot points)
4. Ability to define things outside character using meta-mechanics (plot points).
5. Focus on playing existing characters rather than making your own.
6. and more.

Granted, I like MHRP, but its definitely super not OSR.

Its one of the few games that I would agree with Pundit in saying it's not actually an RPG. Not saying its a bad game, but it definitely makes no attempt to facillitate (and mostly gets in the way of) "roleplaying".

That said, I chose Over The Edge because at the time it was released it was a completely "from the ground up" approach to what an RPG system is, throwing out everything that had come before. No experience, no levels, not one of the elements of the D&D system that persisted as the defining elements of an RPG system up to that point.

dungeon crawler · October 12, 2014, 06:52:56 AM

Let's see
4th edition. Ughh
13th age better than 4th but still not old school.
FATE I enjoy Fate but still not old school.
probably a bunch of others but this will do for a start.

RPGPundit · October 12, 2014, 11:01:02 PM

Quote from: Dirk Remmecke;790813Least but still OSR, or least as in "diametrically opposite"?

As in opposite.

RPGPundit · October 12, 2014, 11:01:18 PM

Quote from: Marleycat;790890Is this any game or Dnd style games?

Any game.

RPGPundit · October 12, 2014, 11:26:11 PM

Quote from: Doom;790892I reckon he meant "D&D style game".

We start throwing games like Checkers and Monopoly into the mix, and we're jumping the shark in short order.

Well, I meant RPG, obviously.

What's the least OSR game you can imagine?

Herne's Son

TristramEvans

TristramEvans