You can see a list of previous blog club posts here.
First some context. The blog post we are reading this week is a response to the sorts of conversations that were happening in RPG forums, some were looking to recapture how to play RPGs as lethal and tactical dungeon crawlers in threads like this one.
Given this background, I wasn’t really sure if I would enjoy the post we were reading this week. Kutalik’s post easily could have been fodder for the never ending edition wars. Instead, it was a personal and heartfelt story of brothers playing army woods and a son running a memorable D&D session for his father. Not only is this post touching, I was greatly amused by the absurdity of using exploding dogs to clear dungeon rooms. I think this recounting is a good way of understanding the appeal of how some people approach OSR play: so over the top that it becomes part of the fun.
Did you ever play RPGs with your father? Or maybe a veteran? Whoever you play with, why not take the opportunity to make some memories of your own with these lethal vertical dungeons? Several OSR creators have used the tunnels employed by the Viet Cong as an inspiration.
This is one of my favorite OSR posts out their and I miss playing in Chris’s games - it is a personal story about playing D&D back in the 80’s but also about how we understand RPGs and their goals. The unwritten limitations on the story we want to tell with them. Chris’ dad did not play D&D by the “rules” and without the edifice of modern online RPG culture this was fine - the solutions he offered made sense, and the referee adapted. Now there’s a lot more spaces where people will insist they know how to play D&D, and that’s also fine I guess, one is part of a community bigger then a table with certain expectations about what characters will and won’t do.
I also think this post represents one of the interesting things about the “OSR” - it’s not simply playing old rules, its playing them with adult sensibilities - maybe not the honed tactical sense of Chris’ Dad, but more then a child’s understanding of heroic adventure, and as such it tends to be quite different then a simple hack and slash dungeon crawl.
I rolled my eyes when first hearing the “fantasy fucking Vietnam” lament. It seems to me to be used by folks who simply want successful adventuring guaranteed for their characters, so I figured none of those people would last long at my table.
For those who found the notion intriguing, those are people I’d love to have at my table.The approach of taking care of tiny details because they matter is a hallmark of good players, in my experience, and those folks who can do that and relish a challenge are to be treasured at the table. I don’t think my games are near as challenging as Vietnam could be for US troops, yet can see how that mindset would make for some outstanding play.
I enjoyed the story in this post, though I think this is my first exposure to the phrase. It reminds me that some of the most fun games I’ve run have been with players who are completely unfamiliar with role-playing games and approach the game using their own experiences.