/osr/ - Old School Renaissance

Grab the Lapis Observatory if you feel like, it's a fun little dungeon.

>obscure
Wood Giants/Voadkyn
Web-spectres or Shadkyn from Dragon

>homebrewed
I really like my man-centipedes.

>What's your favorite obscure or homebrewed monster?
The Southeast Asian monsters from Scarlet Heroes. People love that game for it's solo mechanics, but it holds a special place in my heart for making it's monsters and default setting feel slightly like home.

How does Scarlet Heroes' bestiary compares to Yoon-Suin's?

Yoon-Suin is Tibetan inspired, I think? The monsters in that book is as exotic to me as anyone else. Scarlet Heroes' monsters though are from ghost stories and folklore I heard as a child. Monsters there are from the Philippines and other nearby countries. It really surprised me to see them when I first read the book. Red Tide wasn't like that, so I'm curious why Kevin Crawford chose to draw from that specific mythology when he revisited this setting.

I see, thank you.

I've been working on some monsters for my post-apocalyptic setting. I am trash at drawing, though. I really want to import the Fast zombie from half life 2, I just love the way it moves and the idea of these hunched over humanoid pack hunters, but whenever I draw them they look too human and not bestial enough. Maybe I need to give them even longer arms... I dunno.

tfw no VAM in trove ;_;

m3g4 ennzee
/#!BLhlRZzS!tYe88W-bvLyU_hlCIoyghfJlUbM-Kfs3GilpNnvcy9M

>Yoon-Suin is Tibetan inspired, I think?
Yoon Suin is most of South Asia.
The Mountains of the Moon are Tibet.
Sughd is... Sughd. Which is to say, Sogdiana or the 'stans.
The Yellow City is approximately Dhaka and the God River is the Ganges.
The Hundred Kingdoms is India.
And so on.

Anyone who knows their D&D monsters will probably guess where this guy is ripped off from. Maybe not....

oh sorry I just realized this is the osr thread, i just saw "obscure / homebrewed monster" and figured I'd dump mine. apologies guys, i'll delete them if you want.

That's alright. They're honestly pretty good OC for these generals right now. Post more.

Nice.

gracias mi amigo

another. about 15 feet tall, freaky devourer creature. I wanted to make the creatures as nightmarish as I could.

this one's really shitty but its a haunted spirit of a creature who died in extreme agony, radiates an aura of incapacitating pain, its touch can inflict agony strong enough to kill, while not actually causing real harm.

dinosaurish creature. I'd stat them for OSR but I'm not sure how to do that besides just HD #, number of attacks, etc.

...

Neat art. Stats?

read the thread before posting, please

Their stats are in Savage Worlds, sorry. Can still post if you want.

What did he mean by this.

way to kill the thread good job

Sorry, I wouldn't have posted more but I saw it at page 8 and wanted to bump it again.

In your Homebrew, do you prefer simple classes with one unique ability (ie. Fighters get "to hit bonus" and nothing else) or something a little more crunchy (to hit bonus, plus maybe a few combat manuevers)?

I suppose more Black Hack or Crying Blades?

Depends.
If the setting is kung-fu then there should be tons of attacks and rules around them.
If it's generic kill mooks get loots, not everyone needs to be a spellcaster. "I tank and hit things until they are killed," is a still a fun fighter to play.
Some classes need unique things, like druid, cleric, and magic user if you count their spells.

I came across something recently that had a list of personalities / motivations for NPCs, including an outer persona and an inner (real") persona. Does anyone know what that was?

1e DMG is pretty close

I've never published anything. I've never done any real formatting or design. I've never really done anything that has to do with actually distributing my creative stuff. And yet, for the first time in my life I'm actually, honestly feeling like maybe I should. Like I'm actually doing something I want to actually *do*, to finish. Hell, just in general, I'm actually a functional human being with actual ambitions for the first time in my life, instead of suicidal depression.

Still, though, I have no idea how I should actually get my stuff out there. What do I do with all my stuff? I can put it into gameable format well enough, but how do you actually put it out there? I'm not even really concerned about money as such. I mean, it'd be nice if someone actually wanted to pay me for my ideas, but mostly I just really want to actually produce something publicly.

Has anyone put out any stuff outside of a blog post or a snippet here, or the like? How do I do that? How do I get started on actually producing content?

Think about the formatting. What is this thing? A splat? A module? A setting? Divide it into thematically linked sections. Tinker with formatting, style, and font styles.

If you're using maps, what software are you using? What's the license for using images made with that software? Can you draw, and if so is your scanner good enough? Even if you can't/aren't going to use hand drawings in the finished product, they can help you to visualize.

If you're serious about selling then consider making a seller account with drivethrurpg/rpgnow, then you can set up stuff as PWYW.

If you're using OGL, remember to DECLARE OPEN GAME CONTENT AND PRODUCT IDENTITY. It helps people who want to build on your work and without it you're violating the license. If you're using OGC from other books make sure to look at the sources instead of taking a wiki's word for it.

And lastly, work on the thing. If you get an idea, write it. Don't try to force yourself to follow an A>B>C sequence; sometimes you''ll get the C before the B or the A.

Good luck.

You can sell pdfs on DriveThruRPG. They take ~30%, which isn't that much. It doesn't seem that hard to get started. This is based on the info on their page.

Put something up there as pay-what-you-want. Then shill it online to get eyeballs. Repeat if needed. Once you have a fanbase, you can add a price tag. Or do a Kickstarter. Remember that art is really important, if you can't do it yourself, learn or find a friend who you can co-project with.

This is based on my 0 experience of selling games online.

>dungeon10
Where are the rest?

> Where are the rest?
Eventually will post all of them here: athenopolis.net/search/label/one page dungeon

Cool thanks.

I misread E, but it gave me a fantastic idea

>Door is 20 feet high in the wall
>The door itself is normal sized, so maybe 6 feet tall, but it's just up 20 feet off of the ground

Looks a bit like some Crumb brother.

Trying to find a document called Why OSR? that I could swear used to be in the trove.

Maybe it was part of something else, I cannae remember now.

What was it about?

It was just a really nice little essay OSR placing value of roleplaying and player skill, and how OSR meant things that have been reduced to a stat and a die roll are now opportunities for the players to problem solve.

I thought for sure it was a standalone but it must have been in another book. I was gonna nick some stuff from it for a convention table I'm running next month.

And it's not "A Quick Primer for Old School Gaming"?

...

>still not The Virgin Retroclone and The Chad True AD&D

I dinnae think so, what I'm remember was even smaller than that, maybe 2 pages.

The Primer is fine too though, probably nick some quick talking points from that regardless.

I generally talk more about playstyle when the group first sits down at the table if everyone is new, or I just have the other players explain what's about to happen to their poor PC's butthole.

I'm running a con table. so I expect mos if not all of the players to be new. I'm planning to take no more than 5 minutes at the start just to go over the idea of freeform dungeoneering instead of skills, that dungeons are fleshed out with tonnes of goodies to poke at and use for flavour and bonuses in combat, that treasure is more important than valor, and that life is cruel and they might just die at any moment (I do all my rolls in the open for this sort of game).

*new to OSR, rather

One side is complaining about Trump supporters while the other side is lamenting the faggotry of SJWs... Hm, I'm sensing a massive psychotic break for whoever made this pile of shit in the near future. I mean it's not like 5E did some excellent things while the older books did great things as well, right? One has to be shit, and have problems associated with every RPG attributed to only one of them.

>people saying OSR is better than nu-school because of roleplaying skill being necessary

honestly I just got sick of four hour character creation sessions in 3.5

it's a joke, dude. No need to be sensitive.

The trump supporter is the RPG Pundit, who was a consultant on 5e. And, despite being a massive SJW, the RPG writer Zak Smith literally causes almost non-stop rage with his antics on a daily basis. While winning awards for his work every single time. People were literally going berserk over him winning four ennies for that alice in wonderland thing he did.

I think new school did a lot right, and I think old school did a lot right. I believe the distance between those two time periods had some serious issues.

I understand the political divide is irritating, more from the Left than the right at the moment, but I still remember the cuck conservatives of the Bush era. I think politics, regardless of what you believe, kills any creative work in its infancy.

....yeah, that's really not what the image was speaking against at all

Like, it's mostly parody. I'm sorry you're that mad

What's a good way to learn about medieval Europe to improve my setting and GMing? Was thinking of picking up Dark Albion as it has a lot of actual historical stuff in it, but I am totally historically illiterate and need some literature to study.

You can't start with more than 17 on a stat without rolling in 5e.

Most 5e DMs don't fudge dice

Feats are an optional rule

Playing on a grid is an optional rule, you don't have to use minis

You can use TSR era settings with 5e

5e is the best selling edition ever

OSR is a niche inside a niche, it doesn't sell even 10% of what a single book of 5e does

You put the idiotic joke into the comic man. It's going to attract autism and shitposting. It's better to leave it out unless you want to invite such shitposting

I'm looking for contemporary articles, photographs or videos about D&D in the 70s/80s. Please help me /osr/.

The Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England by Ian Mortimer.

>What's a good way to learn about medieval Europe to improve my setting and GMing?
Read a book.

No shit, but which books?

Thanks

There are so many. Have you checked your local library?

Of course, but why don't you name some that you recommend?

"Introduction to Medieval Europe, 300-1550" by Wim Blockmans and Peter Hoppenbrouwers is an alright start.

Thanks

No problem. Also if you're into documentaries, check out Terry Jones' Medieval Lives (which has a nice tie-in book) and Secrets of the Castle.

Most importantly, steal from fiction. Throw in not-Han-Solo who's a gnome airship pilot. That's more interesting than explaining the difference between serfs and yeomen.

>What's a good way to learn about medieval Europe to improve my setting and GMing?
A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century. It's free online here:
erenow.com/postclassical/distantmirror/

It's the best book I've read on the topic that's not a source text. False Patrick did a hilarious review here: falsemachine.blogspot.ca/2017/09/a-bunch-of-fucking-idiots-barbara.html

My blog also has a bunch of weird odds-and-ends articles designed to introduce non-historians to the medieval worldview. coinsandscrolls.blogspot.ca/search/label/feudalism

>That's more interesting than explaining the difference between serfs and yeomen.
So true. So don't explain the difference. You can go full medieval without having to explain the difference between a gambeson and a castanet.

There's no need to overspecialize. Focus on the core.

Thanks! Great stuff

Oh yeah, other stuff.
youtube.com/watch?v=JGbPShUpjpg for comfy.

And
youtube.com/watch?v=11sMDQIgggA
For not-comfy but very very thematic and evocative.

It's funny because it's true.

BFRPG or FH&W?

Halloween is coming! (eventually)

What is/would be your go to module for a Halloween oneshot?

Neither. MHOH&P

My players are used to classic horror halloween bullshit.

This year, I'm running 1 group through Ravenloft (except it's completely feudal, no magic, just angry peasants and a weird old baron).

The other group is getting this: falsemachine.blogspot.ca/2016/04/who-will-stop-worlds-most-evil-dog.html

>It's free online here
Oh, sweet, I was thinking of picking it up after reading the review.

>Oh, sweet, I was thinking of picking it up after reading the review.
Do that too. It's cheap and it's worth keeping on your shelf for future reference. Only pirate stuff if you're not sure if it's worth buying.

Water Weird.

Never heard of that to be honest, what does it stand for? Didn't find anything on Google

The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh.

Where is the new Referee book Raggi? REEEEEEEEE!

Make Horrible Old Homebrew and Playtest

>Hell, just in general, I'm actually a functional human being with actual ambitions for the first time in my life, instead of suicidal depression.
That's pretty cool, bro!

>How do I get started on actually producing content?
My advice would be to start a blog first and post shit, talk to other OSR creators (assuming you do OSR stuff, that is), drum up the interest to be a guy people recognize and whose work they like -- even if it's just like, a single rule; Jeff Rients is universally beloved and AFAIK the only actual rules of his anyone uses is the Carousing thing (although damn near everyone loves that rule, on the other hand). That also lets you produce publicly, as you said, and do it with rapid turnover and rapid feedback. And it's entirely within the realm of possibility; Skerp here will be able to tell you with better precision himself, but he's certainly made the leap from "/osrg/ user" to "guy whose blog is in Rients' sidebar and who regularly gets comments from recognizable dudes who like his stuff".

Then you can go for compilations or bigger work for money later. The one thing I'd say about this one is, in my experience layout programs are basically all vile, so if you can get someone else to do that part for you that's ideal. (Layout is like accounting IME: people get into it mainly because nobody wants to get into it, to the point where you can make a good living if you'll bite the bullet)

Are there any really weaboo modules or retroclones?

>OSR is a niche inside a niche, it doesn't sell even 10% of what a single book of 5e does
The funny thing is the OSR books still make their writers a metric assload more money.

>What's your favorite obscure or homebrewed monster?

U L A Z O O
L
A
Z
O
O

>Zak is a serial harasser meme
Genuinely please, faygot.

Read up on Kevin Crawford's guide to TSR book design and take a look at Smoking Pillars of Lan Yu and Exemplars and Eidolons for layout practice/inspiration. He wrote those just to make an example. If you want to make money out of this, I suggest tracking down his posts and interviews all over the internet. He's the sensible business guy of the OSR. Do note however, that making serious money out of creative work WILL suck the fun out of it at times and make it feel like work. If you want to make shit for fun, then feel free.

I fucking wish man. If only Break!! will come out. Other than that, try playing BECMI and using the aesthetics and tone of Record of Lodoss War and Shadows Over Mystara. That's the biggest overlap between old school D&D and anime that I know.

I really want to run the Barrowmaze.

Been reading the book and it scratches me in all the right places. Old school megadungeon with a hexcrawl on the top "barrows" where each one is an encounter unto itself but some feature entrances into the dungeon below.

What I like is that players can break into the dungeon from numerous points, depending on how they explore. It means they can both get into crazy spots on accident but they can also discover "shortcuts" to cut down on traveling time or to be able to rush back to town.

It has a lot of old school charm in the NPCs and baddies, and I'm really liking the room and encounter designs, despite its size everything is a new experience.

>The funny thing is the OSR books still make their writers a metric assload more money.
>writers
Most of the OSR stuff is free or very cheap, just two or three guys actually make money