22 June 2026 Old School Rules

 I've mentioned the BrOSR before. I'm reading one of their books, Winning Secrets, which is a re-hash of a blog run by the champion of this sort of play, Jeffro Johnson, along with commentary about how these ideas were (re)discovered, applied, etc. It's a fun read, and despite how acerbic all of this was on Twitter a few years back, I'm finding the movement's insights to be thought-provoking (there are some politics involved re: Jeffro's less than pleasant comments about...stuff, but at this point, I just don't give a fuck anymore). In any event, I'm thinking through all of this (again) and finding it compelling. A few points:

1. I have gotten rid of 75% of my ttrpg books. It's not that I don't love them: I do, but...with the exception of core rule books for systems I have/will play (AD&D, LotR, OSE, C&C, BRP, DCC) why have tons of games just sitting there? I'm not going to play Basic Fantasy, Dolmenwood, Shadowdark, Hyperboria, or any Call of Cthulhu variants (maybe Gaslight...someday). I love world books, so I'm keeping those (Glorantha, Midgard, Aihrde). I got rid of a bunch of modules. I got rid of a bunch of supplements. Why? Because I want to use my imagination, and not have others imagine things for me. This summer, I am going to use four or five books while I design adventures: the 1e DMG, PHB, MM, FF, and maybe MM2, along with my 1982 Greyhawk book. That's it. (Note: C&C, too, since that's the system I am currently running). Old school for sure. 

2. One of the more thought-provoking ideas in the BrOSR is having players with multiple characters running around in the same campaign setting. I love that idea! It will only work using 1:1 time, but I think it would be great, especially during the summer when I have a lot of free time (#teacher).

3. Having my players be factions--that is, have them actually run factions, bastions, and powerful NPCs to make the world move and feel alive is brilliant! They can make stuff up and I can adjudicate how all those moves go in the game. So imagine if Dan is the orcs, Ed is the elves, and Dennis is the humans. With proper background info. and some limitations on what they can do week to week...suddenly we have a ballgame.

4. Add mass combat rules, which might(?) be harder on a VTT, but not if we simply scale up (1 token =s ten guys or something ) and figure out a way for the PCs to interact with the fighting. Maybe each person could run their faction. I have to think more about this (and actually learn how to do Chainmail/Fields of Battle).

5. With regard to PC level play: 3d6 down the line, henchmen, adding the weeks of training to level up rules, and other fiddly things that will change the overall vibe of the game to make it more in line with AD&D. Maybe let the dice decide who your character is? Much to think upon!