2012/06/19

The OSR not ready for the deepest deed


Something strange has happened recently. Something of the utmost importance took place with the release of DCC RPG.

DCC is a fantasy rpg which is closer to Gygax'original intentions than AD&D itself was, because one of its main goal was to abide strictly by the literature referenced in the famous APPENDIX N, and in my humble opinion it fulfilled its promise.

So, without taking into account its mechanics and regardless of other aspects, it ends up being MORE AD&D than AD&D was. In this fact there lies the paradox.

This is an odd thing indeed, this fact entails something and poses a bizarre threat to the OSR community, an odd challenge which we may or may not be willing to accept and consider worthy of scrutiny.

Those who were enthralled by this achievement (that is, by the actualization of APPENDIX N in its entirety in an rpg for the very first time) - realized that they eventually held in their hands - paradoxically - AD&D as it might have been (or dare is say, as it should have been if Gygax had more thoroughly developed the sources he cited in a cursory way at the end of 1st ed. DMG).

To cut it short, i'm sure that at that point several persons in the OSR community CONVERTED to DCC RPG, thus "forgetting" AD&D.
They were flabbergasted by a new fantasy rpg and behaved in consequence of this emotion.

In a similar way i wondered: how many out there in the OSR are WILLING to forget AD&D (or D&D in general), in 2012? Much as some of us embraced DCC rpg, choosing it instead of AD&D, now i'm posing the question backwardly.

There are several old fantasy rpg rarely spoken of, published in the seventies or in the eighties- which still have to be unveiled to the masses- and which are still floating in an undeserved LIMBO or which sank into oblivion mainly because of their rarity (i think for instance about "Bifrost", which i am lucky enough to own but there are others) which might be- for a variety of reasons- more fascinating or enchanting or just interesting (to say the least) to play than original D&D or AD&D.

But is there anyone willing -wholeheartedly i mean - nowadays to CHANGE HIS MIND and explore such a possibility?

The possibility that the OSR might lead to the discovery of a fantasy rpg "better" than the so-called original fantasy game? To accept this is an act of courage, or is it likely to happen once the OSR will have dug deeper in our hobby's roots?

DCC RPG opened in my opinion the way to this change of perspective, now we should be brave enough to admit the same thing in retrospective.

1 comment:

Hamsterboy2k said...

(note - I am new to your blog, so I don't know what other DCC experiences you have detailed)

As a long-time D&D enthusiast through almost every edition, I found DCC a refreshing change, as well as a throwback to a different time in gaming.

I labored for too long under the yoke of "It must be right/official/etc. to be fun." DCC truly broke my chains and let us play our way, with no worries about "doing it wrong."

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