I think that what lights it up is the "Go Anywhere, Do Anything, Make It Up As You Go Along" garage-kit labor-of-love feel that permeates th old school stuff.  It's not that newer games are lacking in this sense of adventure and creativity...it's that the old stuff had that and nothing but, and so it shone through like a beacon leading to crazytown.

That's what I get out of it.

Greetings! I'm new to the site, after following a trail of breadcrumbs from Dr. Rotwang!'s very nifty blog.

I must second everything I've read so far. I'm old enough (45) and have been gaming long enough (since 1977) to remember old school. The older games were written as games, to be played. Very spare, but very functional, in the best of them. A few stand out:

Classic Traveller was the first RPG I ever GMed. The rules were easy to read, easy to get started with, easy to alter. Three slender little books, and a universe opened up. Because there was so little to absorb, and it was arranged so thoughtfully, any newbie could learn it in a day or less.

Runequest (1st and 2nd eds.) was the second game I GMed. Intellegent layout, with examples that actually explained play step by step, roll by roll. "Rurik's Saga" is still, for my money, the best way to show new players and GMs how the game works. Would that all game designers could be so clear an concise.

Tunnels and Trolls (5th ed.), a game I've never played, but I loved Ken St. Andre's conversational, casual approach to the rules. Again, examples of play that told newbies exactly how the rules worked, but plenty of encouragement to make it your own. Dr Rotwang!'s post at Blue Frog Tavern about running T&T 7th ed. for his wife convinced me to buy the new edition.

To this day, I compare new games to these old chestnuts. They are my gold standard.

And Judges' Guild! Yes, some of their stuff was drek, but who else made so many gaming aids so affordably? Hex sheets, character sheets, maps, modules, yowza!

Great to find this forum!

Welcome, Leo!

Quote from: Leo KnightI must second everything I've read so far. I'm old enough (45) and have been gaming long enough (since 1977) to remember old school. The older games were written as games, to be played. Very spare, but very functional, in the best of them.

A good first post.

I'll risk the wrath of theRPGsite by saying that I actually enjoy some of the Forgey games (or at least, I've enjoyed reading them since I can't get anyone to actually play them).  But some of them certainly seem to lose sight of the fact that, at their core, RPGs are games.  Not highbrow intellectual pursuits, nor an aid to the search for deeper meaning in life.  They're about having fun.

Quote from: Leo KnightGreetings! I'm new to the site, after following a trail of breadcrumbs from Dr. Rotwang!'s very nifty blog.

Swell!  Thanks, and welcome.  

QuoteDr Rotwang!'s post at Blue Frog Tavern about running T&T 7th ed. for his wife convinced me to buy the new edition.

How do you like it?

QuoteGreat to find this forum!

Dude.  Great to have you.  I just hope you have a good time with it.  

Quote from: Tyberious FunkI'll risk the wrath of theRPGsite by saying that I actually enjoy some of the Forgey games (or at least, I've enjoyed reading them since I can't get anyone to actually play them). But some of them certainly seem to lose sight of the fact that, at their core, RPGs are games. Not highbrow intellectual pursuits, nor an aid to the search for deeper meaning in life. They're about having fun.

See, now...as much as I love the Old School stuff, I can appreciate the new stuff, too.  Not all of it's up my alley, and for the reasons you posit.  So no wrath from me.

Every once in a while I get a wierd and inexplicable urge to play AD&D 1 or 2, and have to remind myself that I basically hate pre-3.0 D&D.

Now Gamma World on the other hand, fills me with great love.  And I still wanna get hold of classic Traveller someday.

Quote from: J ArcaneEvery once in a while I get a wierd and inexplicable urge to play AD&D 1 or 2, and have to remind myself that I basically hate pre-3.0 D&D.

I don't hate it, but I keep doin' that, too.  I'll pick it up and mess with it and get all jiggy and then realize why I put it away the last time.

QuoteAnd I still wanna get hold of classic Traveller someday.

Do it.  Do it.  C'mon, do it.  All the cool kids are doin' it.

Quote from: Tyberious FunkI'll risk the wrath of theRPGsite by saying that I actually enjoy some of the Forgey games (or at least, I've enjoyed reading them since I can't get anyone to actually play them).  

I can point you to gamers close by who are keen on some of the Forger games - Dogs in the Vineyard, Prime Time Adventures, even Mountain Witch, etc.

Quote from: J ArcaneEvery once in a while I get a wierd and inexplicable urge to play AD&D 1 or 2, and have to remind myself that I basically hate pre-3.0 D&D.

My players have been bugging me to run a campaign using all the oKnown World Gazeteers using Castle & Crusades...pseudo old school, as it were (Must admit, every year the idea becomes more appealing)

Regards,
David R

Quote from: Tyberious FunkA good first post.

I'll risk the wrath of theRPGsite by saying that I actually enjoy some of the Forgey games (or at least, I've enjoyed reading them since I can't get anyone to actually play them).  But some of them certainly seem to lose sight of the fact that, at their core, RPGs are games.  Not highbrow intellectual pursuits, nor an aid to the search for deeper meaning in life.  They're about having fun.

I think the Forge games have more in common with the old school games than they or many here would like to admit.

It's all about the homebrew love of the hobby, giving you just what you need to game and no more.  Be it PTA or Tunnels and Trolls the ethos in many ways is the same.

That said, I wouldn't count Sorceror as at all old school, it just isn't clearly written enough.

Quote from: David RMy players have been bugging me to run a campaign using all the oKnown World Gazeteers using Castle & Crusades...pseudo old school, as it were (Must admit, every year the idea becomes more appealing)

Very doable. Have you seen the fan made Gazetters? They're excellent for free, including spiffy documents and maps both about as if not better in look to the published books.

Quote from: Casey777Very doable. Have you seen the fan made Gazetters? They're excellent for free, including spiffy documents and maps both about as if not better in look to the published books.

Thanks for the link. Guess by the end of this year or some time next year, I'll be heading back to the old school

(From Basic to Immortal level campaign :cool: )

Regards,
David R

Dr R!, I like the new T&T very much. I haven't had a chance to actually run it or play in a game, so that's based only on my reading. A few things that jumped out at me:

The simplicity and brevity of the rules. At first, I was taken aback by the small size of the tin, but this game seems designed to be picked up, read in an afternoon, and played. My gaming group, the same guys I've been gaming with since before AD&D, have recently abandoned either our third or fourth attempt at starting a D&D3/ 3.5 campaign. We start rolling up characters, then lose steam around the time we choose feats. I don't think we've even gotten to "You meet a stranger at the inn...". I was looking for something they (and I) might not feel so intimidated by.

The way every stat counts for something. One of my peeves has always been making players generate numbers during chargen that have no impact whatever during play. If it doesn't do anything in play, why have it? The saving roll mechanic especially just makes so much sense.

The MR. I don't know if you've ever played Runequest, and I love that game, but prepping a combat, with hit locations for every NPC combatant, sometimes made me want to do my taxes just to unwind.   Foes determined by just one stat? Where do I sign up?