tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5377543525075660166.post5724123285764449023..comments2024-03-26T22:17:42.458-04:00Comments on Semper Initiativus Unum: Two Copper Pieces on OSR HistoryWayne Rossihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11347401495298367324noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5377543525075660166.post-15904122554608563122014-09-29T00:44:47.340-04:002014-09-29T00:44:47.340-04:00They're so significant they might as well be e...They're so significant they might as well be everything. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5377543525075660166.post-34378911001398859202014-09-27T18:53:09.166-04:002014-09-27T18:53:09.166-04:00“For my own opinion, the accessibility of BFRPG mi...“For my own opinion, the accessibility of BFRPG mixed with being truly open and dirt cheap in print makes me wonder how another B/X based game even got off the ground.”<br /><br />One thing that C&C and some other projects made clear: We could all agree that the old games could use some updating, but we couldn’t agree on which bits should be changed. It became really clear that something that stuck much closer to the old games would be more popular—at that time—than BF. (Despite BF being really good and already closer than C&C.)Roberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16733274876782876659noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5377543525075660166.post-53465257523613531302014-09-27T15:46:07.159-04:002014-09-27T15:46:07.159-04:00I have to respectfully disagree with one of Timesh...I have to respectfully disagree with one of Timeshadows' points. The core rules of BFRPG have not changed and retain the CD&D/BX origins of the game. It is only when you add in the additional material the game does move closer to a type of AD&D. The game is truly modular and was long before WOTC decided on that approach with 5e. The nice part is that the game works well either way you go with it. <br /><br />She is dead on about the game being very open source and by that it is very accessible. The at-cost print version of the core rules is worth the price and stands up well to most commercial ventures.<br /><br />For my own opinion, the accessibility of BFRPG mixed with being truly open and dirt cheap in print makes me wonder how another B/X based game even got off the ground. Joshua Sherrerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17308286154275114804noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5377543525075660166.post-46635079456940010092014-09-27T13:32:38.265-04:002014-09-27T13:32:38.265-04:00D'oh! I had a mistake in the above:
Cairn of ...D'oh! I had a mistake in the above:<br /><br />Cairn of the Skeleton King wasn't OGL+SRD. It used Creations Unlimited stats.<br /><br />It wasn't until Tower of Blood (pre-order 2006 Aug 3, shipped 2007 Feb 16) that PPP released an OGL+SRD module.Guy Fullertonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12034114718540912559noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5377543525075660166.post-77378013037967363682014-09-27T12:37:38.168-04:002014-09-27T12:37:38.168-04:00Indulging in some history and (very quick) pedantr...Indulging in some history and (very quick) pedantry:<br /><br />"Once BFRPG and AA#1 Pod-Caverns of the Sinister Shroom were in print, there were now rules and adventures resembling those of the late 1970s and early 1980s, with no apologies, no parody elements, no conversion to 3e or a "modernized" system. … What was important was that the barrier was breached in the summer of 2006."<br /><br />Quick pedantry first: BFRPG has a number of "modernized" elements. I don't necessarily disagree with its inclusion in your sentence, given your parameters (it's not a "modernized" system), but it consciously brings various 3e SRD elements into play, like saving throws in the sleep spell, safer teleporting, and temporary energy drain. These choices probably contributed to its comparatively-limited impact, relative to other efforts.<br /><br />History indulgence:<br /><br />Using the parameters you outlined ("no apologies …"), 2006 included a number of other significant events:<br /><br />2006 Feb: 1e Dark Druids PDF available for purchase, though it's not unapologetic (it uses Creations Unlimited stats), and it's a quasi-3e conversion (originally 1e, converted to 3e, converted to CU), and it's not print:<br /><a href="http://piedpiperpublishing.yuku.com/topic/426/Dark-Druids-2nd-Edition-Now-Available" rel="nofollow">http://piedpiperpublishing.yuku.com/topic/426/Dark-Druids-2nd-Edition-Now-Available</a><br /><br />2006 May: You can pre-order Cairn of the Skeleton King, overtly billed at that time as AD&D-compatible, and in-print, though it won't end up shipping for 2-3 months:<br /><a href="http://www.acaeum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=3895" rel="nofollow">http://www.acaeum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=3895</a><br /><br />2006 Aug 1: PDF (but not print yet) Pod-Caverns of the Sinister Shroom released, using OSRIC:<br /><a href="http://www.dragonsfoot.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=19128&p=339524" rel="nofollow">http://www.dragonsfoot.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=19128&p=339524</a><br /><br />2006 Aug 7: Cairn of the Skeleton King begins shipping, making it the first shipping print product of this type. It uses the OGL+SRD, and does not end up billing itself as explicitly AD&D-compatible:<br /><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20060820213906/http://www.pied-piper-publishing.com/index.php/news/10/40" rel="nofollow">http://web.archive.org/web/20060820213906/http://www.pied-piper-publishing.com/index.php/news/10/40</a><br /><br />2006 Aug 10: 1e version of DCC #12.5 The Iron Crypt of the Heretics available at Gen Con, in print. It's a 3e convert, and might beat CotSK into some peoples' hands, given the vagaries of shipping. It uses the OGL + SRD content:<br /><a href="http://www.dragonsfoot.org/forums/viewtopic.php?p=340828#p340828" rel="nofollow">http://www.dragonsfoot.org/forums/viewtopic.php?p=340828#p340828</a><br /><br />2006 Sep: PRINT Pod-Caverns of the Sinister Shroom begins shipping, and is probably the first unapologetic 1e OSRIC item into distribution to physical game stores:<br /><a href="http://www.dragonsfoot.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=19972" rel="nofollow">http://www.dragonsfoot.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=19972</a><br /><br />So even _without_ OSRIC, it was inevitable that unapologetic 1e print, for-profit products were starting to happen. Admittedly, OSRIC certainly accelerated the flow, both through simplifying the process, and drawing attention to the possibility (there was a fair bit of OSRIC controversy across a variety of venues and audiences).Guy Fullertonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12034114718540912559noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5377543525075660166.post-47652808456739866792014-09-27T10:38:31.263-04:002014-09-27T10:38:31.263-04:00Wayne, thanks for the explanation!Wayne, thanks for the explanation!Guy Fullertonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12034114718540912559noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5377543525075660166.post-77403267165665085792014-09-27T10:00:03.458-04:002014-09-27T10:00:03.458-04:00Got to say M&M seemed huge at the time.Got to say M&M seemed huge at the time.bombasticushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09570356997079883076noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5377543525075660166.post-50750764850759540012014-09-27T09:50:37.338-04:002014-09-27T09:50:37.338-04:00BFRPG is now well into the AD&D era of rules a...BFRPG is now well into the AD&D era of rules and going in a very different implementation while still retaining the separate XP by Class progression method, and now adding in classes that would have been NPC-only or eventually find their way into the often maligned UA. It is a dynamic system that is changing as the player-core adds those changes, and additionally, it is very functionally open source with OpenOffice files for each release as well as .pdf and PoD.Timeshadowshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09952601433965644275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5377543525075660166.post-80208223304348531792014-09-27T09:23:55.236-04:002014-09-27T09:23:55.236-04:00It’s funny... Since that blog post of mine, I’ve c...It’s funny... Since that blog post of mine, I’ve come to think of “OSR” as referring more to the commercial side of this thing.Roberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16733274876782876659noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5377543525075660166.post-2031204507745254742014-09-27T08:19:29.405-04:002014-09-27T08:19:29.405-04:00What I was trying to get at is that the OSR was se...What I was trying to get at is that the OSR was several distinct streams in publishing and play, and that a bunch of people getting behind it as a marketing term was what cemented the whole idea that there is one unified "OSR."Wayne R.https://www.blogger.com/profile/04118962136054206381noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5377543525075660166.post-83082964901183365612014-09-27T03:27:57.055-04:002014-09-27T03:27:57.055-04:00The funny thing is, if you read the comments on th...The funny thing is, if you read the comments on the article from Raggi you linked, there is a post from Geoffrey McKinney, if I'm not mistaken, where he says something like, "ok, this thing has to change focus from clones into new gameable things". So one could argue, that the start of the OSR, at least at the time that logo was first used, wasn't the clones, but the blogosphere starting to change them into something slightly different. Which makes RPGpundit's statement either moronic or somewhat justified, I'm not quite sure, what.<br />And I never had the impression EC was ignored in OSR circles, either. Saw a lot of cool things about it and actually learned about it in the OSR-blogosphere.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5377543525075660166.post-47981341514446394072014-09-27T03:26:39.223-04:002014-09-27T03:26:39.223-04:00You misspelled awesome as strangely.
"Albeit...You misspelled awesome as strangely.<br /><br />"Albeit in awesomely modified form"-Chttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02331863932906631618noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5377543525075660166.post-40586092576759305582014-09-27T01:40:33.802-04:002014-09-27T01:40:33.802-04:00I'm trying to understand, "The OSR became...I'm trying to understand, "The OSR became a single thing in 2009, when Dan Proctor made it one." Are you talking about the abbreviation or the or the full form? Or are you making a more subtle point about "unification" in Dan's post?<br /><br />FWIW, the full form had been in somewhat common use for at least 6-9 months before Dan Proctor's blog post. (Look at the first three issues of Fight On!, and search for the term "renaissance" on odd74 for examples.) The abbreviation had already been used here an there for at least a month:<br /><a href="http://lotfp.blogspot.com/2008/12/closed-circles-of-old-truckers-hurdy.html" rel="nofollow">http://lotfp.blogspot.com/2008/12/closed-circles-of-old-truckers-hurdy.html</a><br /><a href="http://malirath.blogspot.com/2009/01/whither-old-school-rpg-renaissance.html" rel="nofollow">http://malirath.blogspot.com/2009/01/whither-old-school-rpg-renaissance.html</a> (and elsewhere on Robert Fisher's blog)<br /><a href="http://grognardia.blogspot.com/2009/01/rising-tide.html" rel="nofollow">http://grognardia.blogspot.com/2009/01/rising-tide.html</a>Guy Fullertonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12034114718540912559noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5377543525075660166.post-68624702318161438642014-09-27T01:27:14.488-04:002014-09-27T01:27:14.488-04:00To be fair to The Pundit, I take him to mean a bro...To be fair to The Pundit, I take him to mean a broad history ought to avoid a myopic (I think that's the right word) look at just the clones. If that's his point, he's not wrong about that. There were major factors other than the clones. (Certainly the clones were significant. They just weren't _everything_.)Guy Fullertonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12034114718540912559noreply@blogger.com