OSR Interest Check

Also! One of the outcomes here could be another GP GM stepping forward to run one of these as well...

Hopefully yes, this kind of initiative is only sustainable when a group of GMs emerge.

I'll absolutely consider running some "short" games after my vacation at the end of the month! Shadowdark is my jam, and I'm neither new here nor new to the OSR.

Alright, everybody stand in a line and the GMs will take turns picking you one by one.
We're doing old school-rules right? 😁

You think you’re getting a Harrigan game, but then you get lumped into a KCC game.

I can’t think of much worse!

Interesting Hybrid :)

Like many, I am not new to the site, and I am definitely not new to OSR, which is the type of game that made me go back to the hobby a few years back. So I might not be the right target for your advertisement, and as I am already involved in plenty enough games IRL and online, I will probably pass on this one despite how appealing it is. Still I voted for Knave 2e, Shadowdark and The Black Hack though, because these are the rulesets which interest me the most among those that I know in your list.

Maybe one thing you failed to mention in your (own) definition if the OSR: all these games are heavily inspired by early versions of D&D, even if some take some good ideas from later iterations. It is not obvious in all circles, so I thought I would point it out.

We can just use this here digital tent city to gather up all OSR players and GMs if people want! Initially at least, I'll stick to the idea of running games for people who are new to the OSR or new to the site -- but perhaps this let's some other folks see how much interest there is in these games.
Oh please. KCC runs a great game, people!
Well, to be fair there's a *lot* I left out -- kind of depends on the circles you run in, the OSR phase, etc. Indeed, old D&D (typically OD&D, AD&D, B/X) is at the heart of many of these games, but certainly not all of them. There's a whole British OSR movement (see: Troika!, Warlock!, etc.) and a lot of the new OSR / NSR games owe much, much less to the initial TSR products. Also, note above how lightly retroclones are represented in my list. That's purposeful. :)

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Conscious that not everyone knows these terms and acronyms, so...

NSR = New School Renaissance or Revival

OD&D = Original Dungeons & Dragons, published in 1974 and added onto via supplements and articles through the 70s.

Basic D&D = The first Basic Set, by Eric Holmes

AD&D = First edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons

B/X = The Basic / Expert set put out in 1981. Bedrock in the OSR, this is the Tom Moldvay edition, not the Holmes (1977) or Mentzer (1983) version

BECMI = Basic, Expert, Companion, Masters, Immortal -- basically the 1983 Basic set by Frank Mentzer that got expanded throughout the 80s

Retroclones = Modern clean-ups, adaptations, re-statements and takes on the games above. Classic retroclones include (White Box (OD&D), Swords & Wizardry (OD&D + supplements), Blueholme (1977 Basic Set), OSRIC (AD&D), Labyrinth Lord (B/X), OSE (B/X), Dark Dungeons (BECMI). This is the tip of a vast iceberg, though.

Glad to see so many responses. Only played Knave (1e) and The Black Hack. I've been relying on Harrigan's Hearth to learn about less well known games, particularly OSR, of which I see a few of those represented here. Have to wait and see what comes to fruition and how many slots are open to GP vets. (I'm a vet, right? I've been here for almost two years. That counts, right? ;-)

Certainly good to see that there is some love or the OSR here. Especially for the non-retroclones. I was half afraid I would never escape Basic Fantasy.

I still want to get in to GMing, but I am kind of stuck on getting started. I have a few solid elevator pitches, but I am unable to pick one and develop it. I also tried to use Cairns setting generator, with mixed results. it does work, but I kind of dislike the results. The implied setting is just a bit to whimsical for my taste.

Right now I am digging though the The Gygax 75 Challenge. I had this thing sitting on my hard drive for ages and I think it is finally time to bust it out.

This got me thinking, is there is any interest in hosting a little workshop here? My idea is to just create a "game" where we just work through the challenge, exchange ideas and advice along the way and finally end up with several people ready to run a game. The "game" would be set to private, so no spoilers end up on the general forums.

Please let me know if there is any interest for this.

Yes, more OSR!

I've got an ongoing OSR series with a regular group (started with Warlock!, played Mothership, are now juicing a DCC module for everything it's worth), and am hoping this 'newcomer-friendly' series will take off and I'll get 2-3 groups through adventures each year. (Even my quick-burn games aren't that fast-paced. I love cool RPing scenes and characters interactions too much.)

Point being, other GMs should join in! Run that game / workshop Aline! If you want my participation, I'm down to help. I know all too well the drag retroclones can be for some of us, that too much whimsy in a setting can really t-bone the tone if that's not what you're after, and that while various generators can provide awesome results, they can take some skill and experience to really get good results from.

I'm happy to be a sounding board for people generally with regards to the OSR. I don't really know my arse from a hole in the ground any better than anyone else does on this stuff, but I'm not short on opinions!

There's a Writers Workshop here, so I don't see why there can't be a GMs Workshop.

As a suggestion, in the Worlds Without Number rulebook (you can find a free PDF on DriveThruRPG.com), there's a whole list of tables for creating adventuress: adventure seeds, plot twists, creating combat challenges and complications, settlements, exploration challenges, investigation challenges, social challenges, treasure placement and so on. It's systemless, so that makes it easy to use no matter what fantasy game you're using. I know that there are other books out there (not free), but WWN is the one I'm most familiar with.

Wow, great to see so much interest in OSR/NSR games. I'll throw my hat in the GM pool as well. Looking forward to coordinating with the other GMs to make sure we cover the interests and numbers of people. I'd be most interested in running a Cairn 2e or Black Sword Hack adventure.

I've been itching to run something like this for a while, too. If there are enough players I'd be happy to set up and run a third game based on something that is left and has sufficient interest.

Sweet! Thanks for any assistance with this, cowleyc, Len, Q -- and anyone I've missed or who is still lurking in the OSR GM shadows.

The hats being thrown into the ring have slowed, so I'll take a look at how it's all shaking out tonight or tomorrow. I don't think I'll be getting anything off the ground before the end of the month (I have vacation coming up, a con game to prep and run, and a new campaign to start for one of my live groups), but I bet I can already pick a group of players, a system and an adventure to start with soon.

Operation Whitebox, when?

GM lurking in the OSR shadows? Why sure, let's get some intro games going for our new friends! Here for Mörk Borg.

I'll throw my hat in to GM an OSR game as well.

Woohoo -- there will be many games!
That's a different thread, my friend. And the answer will likely be when we can find more than you who wants to play it!

Have never played but would surely interested.