%% date:: [[2022-09-28]], [[2022-10-13]] Parent:: [[Tabletop Roleplaying Games|TTRPG]] %% # [[Old School Revival]] Old School Revival, also known as "OSR", is a family of [[Tabletop Roleplaying Games|TTRPGs]] that seeks to return to the roots of tabletop roleplaying. Games in this genre have a few shared characteristics. This family of games is sometimes also called "Old School Rennaissance". ## Characteristics of an OSR game - In general, OSR games attempt to have concise rules with simple character progression, leaving room for houserules and other homebrew rule supplements. - The player characters are not heroes; instead, they are frail, normal people who must face unexpected odds. Because of this, TPKs are much more frequent. - Little thought is given to encounter balance. While more modern rule systems present characters only with threats that are appropriate for their level, OSR games tend to populate worlds with monsters with no consideration for how difficult it would be for characters to defeat them. This leads to the increased deadliness of OSR games but also increased realism and a feeling that the world doesn't exist to let the characters shine. - There are fewer classes than in most modern games. - Lesser importance of magic. If magic exists in OSR worlds, it does so sparingly, and it is available for access mostly via runes or some other artifacts rather than by divine or arcane inspiration. - Combat is typically simplified and not tactical, so it's often carried out in the [[Theater of the mind]]. - Each ability score for each character is rolled as a 3d6, and assigned in order. Some systems may allow for further slight adjustments after the rolls. ## OSR games There are three main categories of OSR games. [^questingbeast] ### Retro clones OSR games are based on Old School [[Dungeons & Dragons]] or [[Basic Expert D&D]]. Their goal is to simplify rulesets and modernize systems that really did exist in the 80s. These game systems tend to be high on nostalgia and light on innovation. - Original [[Dungeons & Dragons]] (OD&D): the world's first role-playing game, but the rules are infamously difficult to understand. - [[Swords and Wizardry]] - [site](https://www.froggodgames.com/product/swords-wizardry-complete-rulebook/): Original D&D, but with extra classes. - [[Basic Expert D&D|Basic/Expert]] - [[Old School Essentials]] - [site](https://necroticgnome.com/): is a faithful recreation of Basic/Expert D&D, with the rules rewritten for clarity and with modern alternate rules listed. - [[Basic Fantasy]] - [site](https://www.basicfantasy.org/): Takes the essence of [[Basic Expert D&D]] but puts it into more of a d20 system and adds things like ascending AC and a differentiation of classes and races to make it more appealing to players of D&D 5e or [[Pathfinder]]. ### Updated systems These updated systems are broadly compatible to retro clones, but differ significantly in some respects, usually to modernize the system. - [[Five Torches Deep]] - [site](https://www.fivetorchesdeep.com/): Specifically designed for D&D 5e players getting into OSR - [[Knave]] - [site](https://questingbeast.itch.io/knave): Classless; focused on inventory - [[Lamentations of the Flame Princess]] - [site](https://www.lotfp.com): self-admitted "weird"-flavoured OSR game - [[The Black Hack]] - [site](https://the-black-hack.jehaisleprintemps.net/): Usage die system to track ammunition and other consumables - [[White Hack]] - [site](https://www.lulu.com/shop/christian-mehrstam/whitehack-third-edition/hardcover/product-d85wej.html?page=1&pageSize=4): Simple ruleset with a lot of room for creativity and spontaneity ### Reimagined systems - [[Maze Rats]] - [site](https://questingbeast.itch.io/maze-rats): Lightweight, with spells based on randomly rolled spell names - [[Into the Odd]] - [site](https://freeleaguepublishing.com/en/games/into-the-odd/): Post-industrial setting with no "to hit" roll; deadly and weird - [[Electric Bastionland]] - [site](https://www.modiphius.net/en-us/products/electric-bastionland): Expansion of ruleset and the setting from [[Into the Odd]] - [[Troika]] - [site](https://melsonian-arts-council.itch.io/troika-numinous-edition): Sci-fi and fantasy setting with fantastic illustrations - [[Mörk Borg]] - [site](https://morkborg.com/); part death metal art masterpiece, part RPG involving two basilisks that rule the earth - [[CY_BORG]], sci-fi version of Mörk Borg - [[On the bones of Batala]] - [site](https://rmbananas.itch.io/on-the-bones-of-batala): Mörk Borg reinterpreted in the context of Philippine mythologies - [[Orc Borg]] - [site](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/gshowitt/orc-borg-brutal-chaos-powered-by-mork-borg): Orcs vie for dominance and survival in a huge junker ship in space - [[Pirate Borg]] - [site](https://www.limithron.com/pirateborg): Pirates battling undead in a deadly, seafaring world [^questingbeast]: Questing Beast. (2020). _A beginner's guide to old-school DnD rulesets (OSR)_. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/JHQaed6GAHc