Love all of those systems. One that recently caught my eye is Outcast Silver Raiders and The Black Sword Hack. Lesser known games but still awesome. You of course know I love Shadowdark and Knave though. Totally backed Dolmenwood too 🍻
Hyperborea and Outcast Silver Raiders! Though Dolmenwood over the years has been shaping up to be tremendous, too. Looking forward to finally getting my hands on the final product.
@@PaladinProse Outcast Silver Raiders has the very best introduction and explanation of "how to run a game, specifically an OSR game" at the beginning of its Referee's Guide. Some real great advice that covers a wide variety of topics.
Sensei noticed me! 👁️👄👁️ Thank you so much, sir. You (and Deathbringer) or two of my biggest inspirations on the platform. Your support means the world to me. 🤘
Ah professor Dungeon Master is here. I doubt you will care about this as I am just one person but I have wanted to express this criticism to you for a while. I used to be subscribed to your channel and watch your content regularly then you made a video where you claimed that BECMI and 5E are equally as lethal by minimally theory crafting Morgan Ironwolf in both systems. I find that ridiculous that in order to make that claim you had to ignore Fighting Styles and Second wind not to mention the fact that 1st level 5E fighters get their full Hit dice at level one, while BECMI fighters roll for HP. You call yourself Professor Dungeon Master yet you did not do the research or even prove your theory by running the combat of Morgan Ironwolf vs a hobgoblin in both systems in the video. I can't respect your thoughts and opinions if you're going to publish a video like that.
I am in a Basic Fantasy group. You can't beat the price. As I watched this video, I had the Cairn book open on my desk for a first time read. Quite a coincidence.
I’m with you, OSR is so much more than the games, it’s a community and a great place to get creative. If you are not aware, last year a small group of creators started “OSR October” - though in typical OSR fashion, some call it “OSoctober” much of what happens is on the podcast world, but it would be cool to have more creators involved. If you are interested, Let me know and I can point you in the right direction - or you can do your own thing, it’s the OSR after all 😊
Woah! I love your channel man 🥲 it's an honor to have you here. And yes, I'd love to hear more, that sounds amazing! Feel free to shoot me an email, would love to chat with ya
The OSR/Indie wave has inspired me to really go after my own game design. Even if my own system doesn’t turn out like I’m envisioning, I know that there is a lot of genius coming out of the indie scene, and I’ll always have something good to play. Now, back to work. I just noticed some problems with my basic resolution mechanic and a couple of systems in the game.
Just find something that is closest, and homebrew that which you want to change. Like Five Torches Deep, but also like karma dice and hero dice from EZD6, add it. Or start with 5e Essentials rules and add what you like. Like the crazy roll to hit and mishap tables of DCC or Shadow Dark, steal it. It isnt hard to do.
Thanks I started with Shadowdark, and its super easy to pick up. I was able to learn how it works in about 10 minutes. My only other exposure to games like this were Wargames.@@PaladinProse
The OSR subreddit was very friendly when I was looking for an idea of what game to start my osr journey with. Sand even friendly when I was asking dumb questions. For the most part.
Hyperborea 3E Mentioned is an absolute W. Anyway, my favorite OSR systems, right now, have to be the holy (or unholy) trinity of Swords & Wizardry Complete, Hyperborea 3e, and Mork Borg. They all scratch a different and more particular itch than any other game I've played, though that's not to say that I don't love me some OSE as well!
Did I really just click off of listening to Etrian Odyssey music just to find a video recommended by Bandit's Keep with Etrian Odyssey music in the background? For a moment, my brain sort of wondered if I had actually clicked your video at all.
One thing he left out, is that most OSR games have a vastly lower cost to entry than 5e. Many times a single book provides everything required to do everything (PHB+DMG+MM).
@JMcMillen I know I'm late to the conversation, but to add on, most OSR and indie publishers will also provide you with the pdf in addition to the print. Makes it much easier to get into and read in spare time when you don't always have your books with you.
@@ravenstudioproductions3139 Stars Without Number even puts out a version of its PDF for free. It's got some optional rules held back for the full version, but you can absolutely play and run an entire campaign with the free version. I'm GMing Pathfinder at the moment, but when that campaign is wrapped up, I'm switching to the "Without Number" games. As someone who enjoys custom making settings for my own games, the GM tools have me really excited.
I'm a huge Basic Fantasy rpg fan! Sure it's not as flashy as OSE (a great game as well), but I enjoy the hackable system and of course it's generosity.
I'm pretty new to the OSR, but I always felt like if you can play a game and it's backwards compatible with and to the original 1975 ODnD, its OSR. Its pretty simple how i see it at least lmao Great vid btw!!!
One of the best things about many OSR games is how easily you can run an adventure written for one OSR game system while using a completely different OSR game system. Most share so much in common it's really not hard to convert any good material over to the flavor of OSR you prefer.
2:26 "And then there's Old School Essentials. The overachieving sibling that deserves all the honors they get. But tends to take the spotlight away from everybody else." So based on this, OSE is the most popular or #1 OSR system? Anyone know what the top few most popular or used OSR systems are?
Keep in mind this video is very much opinion based, hehe. That said, in my experience, the most popular OSR systems seem to be: Old School Essentials Dungeon Crawl Classics Shadowdark Mork Borg (although I suppose it's debatable if Mork Borg is truly OSR)
Every time I try to go to any other game I keep wishing I was running something OSR. Something about having entire toolboxes for sandbox adventures and extreme intercompatibility just speaks to me. Worlds Without Number is my OSR system of choice and I love its dying earth setting as well as the gargantuan toolbox it gives me in its core and expansion book. To me, OSR isn't dwarf-as-class or descending AC, it's all about being able to rapidly generate usable adventure content, about prewritten adventures that are mechanically compatible with very little conversion work, and about making stories at the table rather than during prep. Also, love the Etrian Odyssey music in the background. Somehow always a good vibe for OSR.
Hehe nice ear! I love Etrian Odyssey. And hey man, I know what you mean. You can totally add a lot of OSR-inspired philosophy into your games no matter what system. But yeah, the compatibility and modularity between OSR systems is hard to beat and easily my favorite part about the scene, too!
I'm with you man. Like Paladin said, it's as much a mentally/philosophy as it is any specific features. I've hacked together my own Notion with tables from ShadowDark, Knave, Pathfinder, etc. What keeps me coming back is the ability to always be around to that toolkit.
Im all about the rules lite . Easy math, more roleplay and story telling right now. THANKS TO THE OSR. Games are much more enjoyable from a GM and Player perspective
Really loving Sacrifice from Blackoath lately. It's an OSR rule set aimed at solo and single player DM tables. Grimdark medieval low fantasy in a demonic world, the author Alex T calls it 'incense & iron.' It's a real blast. It's set up as PC vs the world and has a really great set of tools and setting for solo play. Supplements allow you to expand the game to a traditional party based game and there is a tabletop skirmish game with OSR rule, Warlord Ascendant if you want to get tactical. Warlord Ascendant has solo play rules as well.
The OSR's biggest boon to the community, I think, is that shock to the system that you can truly make a game your own. When I grew up playing 3.5, 4e, and Pathfinder 1e, I always accepted everything n the book as coming from words on high, people who know better than me about what they're doing, and everything I could fathom in an RPG would start with that as a base. And back then, when I was in high school, maybe that was true! But getting into RPGs now, it's about the freedom, the customization, the ability to go off book and still right the train. In OSR, you are encouraged to brave the wilderness and make your own system with as few rules as possible to get you onto the table and playing, or even just embrace that old ruleset that people think is busted but might just have some great ideas. It's about taking bits and pieces to make a new whole. It's so freeing to have just a few pages of rules rather than a few _books_ of rules. It makes me realize just how easy it is to find your own way and do your own thing and not have to dance at the whims of the big companies. It's great, even just for that.
Great video. I've recently gotten into Shadowdark which is just spectacular and so easy to run. I picked up Mork Borg a few months ago but have yet to run a game, the design and quality is just beautiful.
Because you need to do your homework to know the basics about a subject. It's very hard to do that when you're spending your time reviewing Mork Borg and reducing lotfp as being just an edgy b/x clone.
Great explainer! Definitely gonna pass this one to OSR-curious friends. Is there a good way to get in touch with you about potential OSR game coverage on the channel?
IMO, OSR is a very specific term and a lot of things that claim to be actually aren't. IMO, OSR is specifically Emulating or directly returning to older editions of D&D as accurately as possible. a lot of stuff that claims to be OSR is not, but its still under the wider branch of Oldschool Gaming. Its just the not the very specific niche goal of trying to go back to AD&D or Basic D&D or LBB. P.S. OSR can be "punk" but if anything its very staunchly traditionalist.
Loved this video! Choosing a favorite OSR game is like choosing a favorite child. They each bring unique aspects that you love, but it is hard to put a finger on the “best”… which is perhaps why my shelves are overflowing. Lol
While Castles and Crusades isn't OSR mechanic , it is very first edition in character class style and perhaps should be considered OSR. Gaey Gygax once said that, if he had written the 3rd edition for D&D, he would have basically made C&C.
Basically, the whole thing is about nabbing rules from here, there, and everywhere! That's how you can very easily come up with your own ruleset. In fact, Shadowdark basically takes a lot of the best already established rules from OSR and puts them all in an easy-to-use book.
Great video! You did a great synopsis of OSR in 5 minutes. And OSR is growing -- OSR is going from OS Renaissance to OS Revolution. Tons of great OSR games out there and it's not like you're considered weird anymore if you play OSR games - it is definitely becoming more mainstream. 🙂
This is mostly accurate as an observation of what is going on, but misses some elements that are important to me. That's okay, but I'm going to add my own thoughts. To me OSR is about seeing WHY the old rules worked and either keeping those rules, or keeping the same effect, even if you change the rules. Threat of death, character development through play emphasized over builds made out of the rule book, player skills emphasized over character sheet reading skills, fewer choices at character creation make a better game at the table. You did get me good with this video, though. I am writing my own OSR system now, so you know what you're talking about.
While a majority of OSR games are related in some form to one of the Pre 3.X versions of D&D, OSR also includes other non-D&D Games that have been around just as long including Traveller, Gamma World, to name a couple. Even TSR's Marvel Super Heroes (which is forbidden to be sold online by WotC because of copyright issues) has FASERIP clones that I would consider falling under OSR. Honestly though, I thought this was going to be another OSR is dead vid and was pleasantly surprised at your take and enjoyed the vid. Personally I fall under the Basic Fantasy camp though I have a lot of my own self-published Home Brewed rules for the game.
Yeah, I was thinking about mentioning Traveler and some other games but there's only so much I can cover in 5 minutes hehe. The classic Marvel Super Heroes game has always interested me. Would love to look into it sometime. Cheers, man!
Thank you for the video, but unfortunately it made me even more confused... I have heard the term OSR being used for retro-clones; for any games based on basic mechanics of D&D, besides 5e clones created for copyright reasons and besides Pathfinder for some reason (I have seen people insisting that ICRPG is OSR, while I guess the author himself claimed that it wasn't); and for any ttrpg played "the old way" (thing like simplicity, randomly generated disposable characters, embracing some problematic aspects and so on) with no regards to D&D or to any particular system for that matter (it's how this term is used in my local community). These are three very different groups, and it's kinda confusing that I never know which one is meant in every particular case.
Yeah man, that is the crux of it, and why I decided to make this video. At the end of the day, the OSR started out as a small movement of bloggers writing about how they were bringing back the "old school" style of play to their tables. As the years have gone on, the term has been appropriated by the community as a kind of buzzword, catch-all term and no one agrees on what makes OSR OSR. "The truth is that no one really knows, just don't tell the grognards I let you in on that little secret." As long as you're having fun, that's all that matters my dude!
You know how Space Marine 2 feels like a breath of fresh air amongst politics-infused games? You know how the CEO of Saber came out saying how he wants games to return to being fun games? The OSR is Space Marine 2. We want games to be fun games again.
Games are not “politics infused.” They do reflect the values of their creators., because they are art. It sounds like a game glorifying space fascists just reflects your values.
I started playing AD&D 45 years ago but when I first heard the term OSR, it made me think of OD&D from 1974, the white box set. I never considered OSR to be AD&D 2nd edition and "behind." (That was funny, BTW). Although, your definition here makes sense to me and I guess OSR can be what I started with. Because of my incorrect definition, I never picked up any of the games that used OSR but now I may have to. Thanks for bringing this "alternate" definition to my attention.
Love OSR and PBTA, I am more of a PBTA guy, but the OSR guys are great, and I support their playstyle wholeheartedly. They focus on the spirit of the game. Great video!
My personal favorite OSR system right now is OSE. I have played 5e for a year and i just cant get back into it. OSE’s ruleset is simple, easy to master. Just started to get a good demo of hackmaster 5e as well.
I’m 49. Came into gaming in 1986 We guys LOVE ANYONE who wish to explore this type of gaming! Our arms are wide open! Many forums, etc exist for all of us to learn from one another! 🙂
I've pretty much left Dnd5e/Hasbro outside of one game I play in. For me, if I run something, it will be Cyberpunk (my main), Forged in the Dark, Cy_BORG, MCC/DCC, and Black Sword Hack.
You can do what you want, but the fact that you name checked the parent company of the parent company tells me you didn’t see through the misinformation influencers put out.
even if it's not officially OSR I would add Dungeon Crawl Classics to the OSR awesome gang, it fucking rocks and embraces appendix N and old school design
It’s amazing that basically 100% of my interactions with OSR people have been negative, and a majority of those were aggressively antagonistic and rude. I 100% associate the OSR with “bad people”. But I’ve only been playing for 35 years. I’m sure they’re not all bad. That’s impossible. But my experience interacting with OSR has been overwhelmingly bad.
Yeah, like anything else, I think the online community is typically the loudest, and unfortunately, the most negative. Sorry to hear the bad apples are spoiling the bunch for you. I'm hoping to keep bringing the positive vibes to the community.
One thing I may need to try using is that weapons vs armor adjustment table from 1st ed. Makes the weapons and armor have distinct purposes based on interactions
I've spent so much money on OSR books and it's still less than I've spent on the 5e stuff I'll never use again. Mork Borg is the one that tickles my fancy the most, through.
@@PaladinProse The visuals are what sold me initially, but after reading through it, I got another couple dozen printed supplements for it. Supporting indie creators is the only way to cut into megacorp profits and maybe force them to be less shitty. That or a good ole fashioned revolution, but one is more likely and more practical than the other.
The thing I hate about osr is that ttrpgs have to be done their way or not at all. It's not a system, it's not a philosophy, it's an attitude, a bad attitude
Even though I think most of the OSR is just repeated drek of retroclone after retroclone of basic 40 year old game design there are some that actually are different enough to be worth looking at. Thats Hyperborea, ACKS II, any Kevin Crawford rpg and Hackmaster.
OSR, just a short way to say "Drop Dead Hasbro". D&D has become the Kleenex of role gaming. "What are you playing?" D&D is the best answer, even if you are actually play WarhammerFRPG. Because outside of England... well they likely don't know much about D&D either. But the world isn't just the official brand goods. Of course some of the alternatives cost just as much. I LIKE Troll Lord games as a publisher, but Castles and Crusades costs the same as 5th Edition. If you want D&D you CAN get a copy of Whitebox. A puny (even for digest size), thin (even for digest size) softcover item that is as complete as a DM requires it to be sort of original D&D wannabe. Price, less than fast food for 2 persons. OSR is at it's core, 4 races 4 classes, cliche D&D fighting and magic and the usual monsters. And if your DM can't glue in 'stuff' from any other D&Dish design fire them. I think Basic Fantasy Role-playing Game owns the best in performance. Free pdfs a great one book hardcover for under 30 bucks, and a ton of support gear, all with free pdfs. So while you might love the new kid on the block (Shadowdark), if it isn't 30 bucks for hardcover or totally free in pdfs, it loses the competition. I own C&C and OSE, and Basic, and OSRIC and Dark Dungeons X, The Black Hack and WhiteBox as well as BECMI Rules Cyclopedia and my first love AD&D 1st edition. So ask yourself, are you playing at home, or do you have to carry the game to the game session? Who has the best 1 book only challenger? Special mention for the OSRIC hardcover.
Basic Fantasy if 30 bucks is your limit, Shadowdark if you want the best and here take my money. I have both. There are a lot of choices in the middle. Most are ok. Anything past 1st edition was more about selling you books than about making the game better. Given a choice of 80 bucks for Shadowdark or every book in original release form from 2nd to 5th edition, I just laugh knowing I'd merely sell all the 2nd through 5th and buy a lot of copies of Shadowdark and have fun giving some away to friends. 2nd through 5th is for fools who are easily parted from their cash.
I think Basic Fantasy would be more successful if we charged more and did less. At present, we're like that accommodating love interest that still secretly dreams you'll marry us despite the many years of neglect and your endless drunken philandering. And frankly you're getting a big gut and we wish you'd shower more and you really weren't that good looking to start with, but... whassat? WHAT? YES! YES!! A THOUSAND TIMES YES!!! (wakes up) Oh, man... :(
@@PaladinProse Thank you! I liked the video a lot. We're actually a pretty good-humoured bunch and we're happy for people to use our materials regardless of which RPG they prefer! Stay tuned for two brand new titles coming to print soon, plus some expanded and revised re-releases under CC-BY-SA.
@@PaladinProse I agree it has many nostalgic fans. I just feel it’s the edition where rules bloat set in, with all the splat books. Thanks for the video!
So, C&C is a modern RPG like I've told numerous people. It CAPTURES the flavor of TSR's D&D with MODERN game mechanics. D&D 5th "borrowed" mechanics from it.
OSR - I still don't get it. I was around in the early 80s and I don't see what all this fuzz about OSR is all about. "In the old days gold meant experience!". Materialism at its best. Yeah, I really loved it when Aragorn and Gimli plundered the treasures in Moria... oh wait, didn't happen. "Characters died!" I hated characters to die because of some stupid chance. "Orcs were evil" - okay. I subscribe to that. Love myself monster means monster means free to kill them games. I'm with you on that. There are no good orcs or goblins or kobolds in in my games you don't get to play any monsters. They're there to be killed - or eat little children, do things with your pet dog and create half orcs unless you kill them all first. My favourite OSR system? Rolemaster minus the magic. The less magic, the better. Sounds like "Adventures in Middle-Earth for 5e" to me... maybe OS Games really sucked? No, I remember the red box and the blue box fondly. Many, many good memories. Until I found MERP. Never looked back to the old D&D except to be thankful I had it at that time. So glad that things have moved on (except "fricking orcs are civilized too" whining these days).
In Germany The Black Eye is a very popular system. I hate it in modern times, it's miles up it's own ass and has just objectively bad rules. I could rant for hours about how bad this game is. But I have fond memories of the 3rd edition of this rule system. It was at that time already bad. Like Your Character Creation is rolling your stats and writing down 30+ Skills with different values and if you even dare to test for anything, you roll 3 D20 and do some math mumbo jumbo to get if you succeded. So I took it upon me, to write a "DSA OSR" System, which fixes hopefully most of the bad stuff. I just don't know if OSR is the right term, since it is not using DnD or it is a homage for the original system, since I don't like the original system ^^
Old school reinessance is correct. I forget which youtube did the deep dive but the founders never used "revival". Maybe Bandit's keep? Reinessence is "too european"... for some people. Pretty francophobic if you ask me..
I'm still having trouble understanding the point of OSR. Is it JUST nostalgia? It sounds an awful lot like throwing away decades worth of learned lessons about game design. Or is this like a reaction against the increasingly narrative style of modern RPGs?
Most people in the 'osr' space are too young to be motivated by nostalgia. They played 5th Edition D&D and found it unenjoyable. Beyond that, it is a complicated topic. I would caution you against assuming that newer is better. Corporations capture brand names all the time, and their products are often NOT based on any sound principles of game design. We see the same thing in video games where AAA games are often unimpressive failures.
Genuinely there are two camps, in my brief experience. One is more nostalgic, opting for the same rules, art, style and philosophy all in a handful of books, rather than the dozens for AD&D or D&DB. These are your DCCs, your OSEs, Basic Fantasy Roleplay, etc. In the other camp, opting towards Mork Borg and Shadowdark and Cairn are the folks who follow the OSR in philosophy and general style, but do opt for simplified/streamlined rules. In the last year following the OGL stuff with 5e, I've seen an explosion of these types of games.
I would dispute "throwing away decades worth of learned lessons about game design." It first assumes that the OSR community ignores developments in other RPGs, which isn't true as many systems, including one of the first four, Basic Fantasy RPG, adopted ascending armor class. The advantage and disadvantage mechanic from 5e is a common house rule in the community as well. Second, it assumes that the "learned lessons" were good lessons to learn. Single family homes and running freeways through our cities was the accepted ideal in urban planning from the 50s onwards, but the past couple of decades have had us learning that both of those were awful mistakes, that are hollowing out our cities. Loading up character sheets with "action buttons" (defined skills) and various combat feats was a step in the wrong direction if your gameplay style is more oriented to exploration and creative problem solving. The OSR playstyle is more focused on exploration and puzzle solving than the combat heavy orientation of modern D&D. It prefers open worlds and player agency over narrative. It's more interested in the gameworld than in one players' singular character. Characters die but the world goes on. Basically, it is more "gamist" and "simulationalist" (at least from the standpoint of the game world not hinging on the PCs contributions) than the more "narrativist" leanings of modern D&D. (Excuse the Forge terminology. It's the easiest shorthand I know of to refer to what I mean.)
It is throwing away the garbage that is 5th Edition (and 4th edition). It is throwing away the 4 hour combat sessions (with everyone either tuned out on their phones or staring at their rulebooks thumbing through their 2700 pages of "core and optional rulebooks"), nerfed encounters so the characters ALWAYS win, instant and damn near never ending healing, and every other bit of the game designed for the participation trophy generation.
You're not only misunderstanding and ignorant of the OSR, but TTRPGs as a whole. If this wasn't RUclips I'd address the things you bring up, but I'm not gonna write an essay in the comments.
![Old-School Essentials Explained in 5 Minutes [OSR RPG REVIEW]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/qzd6BPXJ1Us/mqdefault.jpg)
What's your favorite OSR system? I love me some Old School Essentials but Knave, Shadowdark, and Dolmenwood are all looking pretty 🔥
Love all of those systems. One that recently caught my eye is Outcast Silver Raiders and The Black Sword Hack. Lesser known games but still awesome. You of course know I love Shadowdark and Knave though. Totally backed Dolmenwood too 🍻
Hyperborea and Outcast Silver Raiders! Though Dolmenwood over the years has been shaping up to be tremendous, too.
Looking forward to finally getting my hands on the final product.
Oh yeah, I've been following Dolmenwood for years. Cannot wait 🧚♂️
Hyperborea is sooooo rad dude!!! I'll have to check out Silver Raiders
@@PaladinProse Outcast Silver Raiders has the very best introduction and explanation of "how to run a game, specifically an OSR game" at the beginning of its Referee's Guide.
Some real great advice that covers a wide variety of topics.
This is the best video ever. I was rolling with laughter the whole time. Then Deathbringer showed up. Subscribed.
Sensei noticed me! 👁️👄👁️
Thank you so much, sir. You (and Deathbringer) or two of my biggest inspirations on the platform. Your support means the world to me. 🤘
Ah professor Dungeon Master is here. I doubt you will care about this as I am just one person but I have wanted to express this criticism to you for a while. I used to be subscribed to your channel and watch your content regularly then you made a video where you claimed that BECMI and 5E are equally as lethal by minimally theory crafting Morgan Ironwolf in both systems. I find that ridiculous that in order to make that claim you had to ignore Fighting Styles and Second wind not to mention the fact that 1st level 5E fighters get their full Hit dice at level one, while BECMI fighters roll for HP. You call yourself Professor Dungeon Master yet you did not do the research or even prove your theory by running the combat of Morgan Ironwolf vs a hobgoblin in both systems in the video. I can't respect your thoughts and opinions if you're going to publish a video like that.
That's some spiffy misdirected rage you got there, Mr. BS berserker dood.
@@vincejester7558 yeah fair point. I think it mostly comes from my experience of running games with 5E players.
@@PaladinProse Cool! I've been watching all your vids. Just watched your review Crown & Skull. Really nice job. Filming mine soon.
I am in a Basic Fantasy group. You can't beat the price.
As I watched this video, I had the Cairn book open on my desk for a first time read. Quite a coincidence.
Love Cairn!
The price is free, so there's no way to beat it!
I’m with you, OSR is so much more than the games, it’s a community and a great place to get creative. If you are not aware, last year a small group of creators started “OSR October” - though in typical OSR fashion, some call it “OSoctober” much of what happens is on the podcast world, but it would be cool to have more creators involved. If you are interested,
Let me know and I can point you in the right direction - or you can do your own thing, it’s the OSR after all 😊
Woah! I love your channel man 🥲 it's an honor to have you here. And yes, I'd love to hear more, that sounds amazing! Feel free to shoot me an email, would love to chat with ya
The OSR/Indie wave has inspired me to really go after my own game design. Even if my own system doesn’t turn out like I’m envisioning, I know that there is a lot of genius coming out of the indie scene, and I’ll always have something good to play.
Now, back to work. I just noticed some problems with my basic resolution mechanic and a couple of systems in the game.
Good luck!
Just find something that is closest, and homebrew that which you want to change. Like Five Torches Deep, but also like karma dice and hero dice from EZD6, add it. Or start with 5e Essentials rules and add what you like. Like the crazy roll to hit and mishap tables of DCC or Shadow Dark, steal it. It isnt hard to do.
I love BFRPG because it doesn't even bother with alignment, it doesn't do that weird race as class BS. And I like how open it is
All fair points! Lots to love there.
OSR is to RPGs what Linux is to operating systems.
this is a helpful video for someone like me who isnt really exposed to DND or PF and just sorta started. Thanks
Welcome to the thunderdome! You're in for a hell of an adventure, man. Happy to help, and thanks for the support! 😎🤘
Thanks I started with Shadowdark, and its super easy to pick up. I was able to learn how it works in about 10 minutes. My only other exposure to games like this were Wargames.@@PaladinProse
The OSR subreddit was very friendly when I was looking for an idea of what game to start my osr journey with. Sand even friendly when I was asking dumb questions.
For the most part.
There's always some stinkers in any community, and the OSR definitely attracts a fair amount of grumps. Glad you're finding a lot of positivity!
Hyperborea 3E Mentioned is an absolute W. Anyway, my favorite OSR systems, right now, have to be the holy (or unholy) trinity of Swords & Wizardry Complete, Hyperborea 3e, and Mork Borg. They all scratch a different and more particular itch than any other game I've played, though that's not to say that I don't love me some OSE as well!
Awesome choices. I love Hyperborea, such an awesome setting. OSE is just *chefs kiss* as far retro clones go imho
Did I really just click off of listening to Etrian Odyssey music just to find a video recommended by Bandit's Keep with Etrian Odyssey music in the background? For a moment, my brain sort of wondered if I had actually clicked your video at all.
Hehe that's awesome! I love Etrian Odyssey
I like 5e and don’t have the time to explore an alternative philosophy like OSR, but I really appreciate this intro to the OSR community.
I really appreciate YOU! nothing wrong with having fun my man
One thing he left out, is that most OSR games have a vastly lower cost to entry than 5e. Many times a single book provides everything required to do everything (PHB+DMG+MM).
@JMcMillen I know I'm late to the conversation, but to add on, most OSR and indie publishers will also provide you with the pdf in addition to the print. Makes it much easier to get into and read in spare time when you don't always have your books with you.
@@ravenstudioproductions3139 Stars Without Number even puts out a version of its PDF for free. It's got some optional rules held back for the full version, but you can absolutely play and run an entire campaign with the free version. I'm GMing Pathfinder at the moment, but when that campaign is wrapped up, I'm switching to the "Without Number" games. As someone who enjoys custom making settings for my own games, the GM tools have me really excited.
I'm a huge Basic Fantasy rpg fan! Sure it's not as flashy as OSE (a great game as well), but I enjoy the hackable system and of course it's generosity.
As a stalwart OSE fan, I believe we are brothers
This great. Well done video. How about a video on key points where OSR contrasts with modern styles? Thanks.
Thanks for the kind words and the suggestion! I'll add it to my list \[T]/
I’m an OSR fanatic. Have spent so much money on it and absolutely love it. It taught me to truly enjoy TTRPGs.
Same here man!
I'm pretty new to the OSR, but I always felt like if you can play a game and it's backwards compatible with and to the original 1975 ODnD, its OSR.
Its pretty simple how i see it at least lmao
Great vid btw!!!
Thanks for the support, man! I agree. The compatibility of OSR stuff is probably its greatest strength.
Not even 2e D&D wasn’t backwards compatible to OD&D. Totally different levels of hp, etc
Hell yeah! Such a great episode of Paladin Prose 💪🏼🤘🏼🔥💀🛡️🍻
Thank you for all the support and inspiration brutha!
@@PaladinProse Agreed! Great episode man :)
@@Jdufore19 hey thanks so much dude! Having a blast, stay tuned for more
Loved it! Great overview!
Woah dude, huge honor coming from you! Love your channel.
One of the best things about many OSR games is how easily you can run an adventure written for one OSR game system while using a completely different OSR game system. Most share so much in common it's really not hard to convert any good material over to the flavor of OSR you prefer.
Compatibility is huge!
2:26 "And then there's Old School Essentials. The overachieving sibling that deserves all the honors they get. But tends to take the spotlight away from everybody else."
So based on this, OSE is the most popular or #1 OSR system?
Anyone know what the top few most popular or used OSR systems are?
Keep in mind this video is very much opinion based, hehe. That said, in my experience, the most popular OSR systems seem to be:
Old School Essentials
Dungeon Crawl Classics
Shadowdark
Mork Borg (although I suppose it's debatable if Mork Borg is truly OSR)
Every time I try to go to any other game I keep wishing I was running something OSR. Something about having entire toolboxes for sandbox adventures and extreme intercompatibility just speaks to me. Worlds Without Number is my OSR system of choice and I love its dying earth setting as well as the gargantuan toolbox it gives me in its core and expansion book.
To me, OSR isn't dwarf-as-class or descending AC, it's all about being able to rapidly generate usable adventure content, about prewritten adventures that are mechanically compatible with very little conversion work, and about making stories at the table rather than during prep.
Also, love the Etrian Odyssey music in the background. Somehow always a good vibe for OSR.
Hehe nice ear! I love Etrian Odyssey. And hey man, I know what you mean.
You can totally add a lot of OSR-inspired philosophy into your games no matter what system.
But yeah, the compatibility and modularity between OSR systems is hard to beat and easily my favorite part about the scene, too!
I'm with you man. Like Paladin said, it's as much a mentally/philosophy as it is any specific features. I've hacked together my own Notion with tables from ShadowDark, Knave, Pathfinder, etc. What keeps me coming back is the ability to always be around to that toolkit.
Im all about the rules lite . Easy math, more roleplay and story telling right now. THANKS TO THE OSR. Games are much more enjoyable from a GM and Player perspective
\[T]/
I hate the old school D&D retroclone mechanics of OSR content but I love everything else about the OSR.
I recommend Into the Odd. It's simply revolutionary. And not a Wisdom save in sight.
Anybody who argues that THAC0 is better or simpler than modern (sane) resolution mechanics loses 100% credibility with me. And that’s a lot of people.
My favs? hyperborea, Shadowdark, Death in Space, and Mothership
Really loving Sacrifice from Blackoath lately. It's an OSR rule set aimed at solo and single player DM tables. Grimdark medieval low fantasy in a demonic world, the author Alex T calls it 'incense & iron.' It's a real blast. It's set up as PC vs the world and has a really great set of tools and setting for solo play. Supplements allow you to expand the game to a traditional party based game and there is a tabletop skirmish game with OSR rule, Warlord Ascendant if you want to get tactical. Warlord Ascendant has solo play rules as well.
The OSR's biggest boon to the community, I think, is that shock to the system that you can truly make a game your own. When I grew up playing 3.5, 4e, and Pathfinder 1e, I always accepted everything n the book as coming from words on high, people who know better than me about what they're doing, and everything I could fathom in an RPG would start with that as a base. And back then, when I was in high school, maybe that was true! But getting into RPGs now, it's about the freedom, the customization, the ability to go off book and still right the train. In OSR, you are encouraged to brave the wilderness and make your own system with as few rules as possible to get you onto the table and playing, or even just embrace that old ruleset that people think is busted but might just have some great ideas. It's about taking bits and pieces to make a new whole. It's so freeing to have just a few pages of rules rather than a few _books_ of rules. It makes me realize just how easy it is to find your own way and do your own thing and not have to dance at the whims of the big companies. It's great, even just for that.
Absolutely. I experienced that same shock after years of assuming 5e was the end all be all, because that's all I knew. The rest is history
That was so awesome, it brought a tear to my eye.
It's retro+ house rules with new art.
I have many decorating my shelves :P
lot of good stuff in the OSR (what ever it stands for)
Often Super Rad! Hehe, I totally agree man 😎👉👉
This is the way
🫡
Great video. I've recently gotten into Shadowdark which is just spectacular and so easy to run. I picked up Mork Borg a few months ago but have yet to run a game, the design and quality is just beautiful.
That's awesome, Shadowdark really seems to be resonating with the community. Love to see it
Why'd you leave off OSRIC, the retroclone that basically propelled the OSR movement, and Swords & Wizardry, the other of the first four?
Because you need to do your homework to know the basics about a subject. It's very hard to do that when you're spending your time reviewing Mork Borg and reducing lotfp as being just an edgy b/x clone.
Great explainer! Definitely gonna pass this one to OSR-curious friends. Is there a good way to get in touch with you about potential OSR game coverage on the channel?
Hey Caleb, that's awesome! Thanks for sharing. And yeah, you can shoot me an email at paladinprose@gmail.com !
Truly laughing in pain, some of your comments are so very much on the nose. Oh yhea, subscribed.
Haha, thanks man! I'm glad I could make your day a bit brighter. Your support is incredibly appreciated \[T]/
IMO, OSR is a very specific term and a lot of things that claim to be actually aren't.
IMO, OSR is specifically Emulating or directly returning to older editions of D&D as accurately as possible. a lot of stuff that claims to be OSR is not, but its still under the wider branch of Oldschool Gaming. Its just the not the very specific niche goal of trying to go back to AD&D or Basic D&D or LBB.
P.S. OSR can be "punk" but if anything its very staunchly traditionalist.
Yup, it's definitely evolved over time
Using Battlefield - Storm from Etrian Odyssey IV as your opening track tells me everything I need to know about you. Subbed.
Hehe I love it when a fellow etrian enjoyer joins the order! Cheers homie, new content soon!
Loved this video! Choosing a favorite OSR game is like choosing a favorite child. They each bring unique aspects that you love, but it is hard to put a finger on the “best”… which is perhaps why my shelves are overflowing. Lol
Say one thing for the OSR, say it's ripe with options.
While Castles and Crusades isn't OSR mechanic , it is very first edition in character class style and perhaps should be considered OSR. Gaey Gygax once said that, if he had written the 3rd edition for D&D, he would have basically made C&C.
Basically, the whole thing is about nabbing rules from here, there, and everywhere! That's how you can very easily come up with your own ruleset. In fact, Shadowdark basically takes a lot of the best already established rules from OSR and puts them all in an easy-to-use book.
Absolutely! \[T]/
The Sine Nomine stuff is amazing. Worth checking out as well.
The old standards - S&W, LL + yes, OSE and now ShadowDark. BFRPG, it was around at the origins of the OSR as well.
All great choices, too many to fit into these goofy 5 minutes \[T]/
@@PaladinProse Was a GREAT video even if a little tongue in cheek - looking forward to Dolmenwood :)
Great video! You did a great synopsis of OSR in 5 minutes. And OSR is growing -- OSR is going from OS Renaissance to OS Revolution. Tons of great OSR games out there and it's not like you're considered weird anymore if you play OSR games - it is definitely becoming more mainstream. 🙂
Becmi with B/X thief skill tables and fighters getting extra attack at 7th and 13th level. That’s my favorite system
Right on!
This is mostly accurate as an observation of what is going on, but misses some elements that are important to me. That's okay, but I'm going to add my own thoughts. To me OSR is about seeing WHY the old rules worked and either keeping those rules, or keeping the same effect, even if you change the rules. Threat of death, character development through play emphasized over builds made out of the rule book, player skills emphasized over character sheet reading skills, fewer choices at character creation make a better game at the table.
You did get me good with this video, though. I am writing my own OSR system now, so you know what you're talking about.
Hey man, that's awesome! Best of luck with your system.
While a majority of OSR games are related in some form to one of the Pre 3.X versions of D&D, OSR also includes other non-D&D Games that have been around just as long including Traveller, Gamma World, to name a couple. Even TSR's Marvel Super Heroes (which is forbidden to be sold online by WotC because of copyright issues) has FASERIP clones that I would consider falling under OSR. Honestly though, I thought this was going to be another OSR is dead vid and was pleasantly surprised at your take and enjoyed the vid. Personally I fall under the Basic Fantasy camp though I have a lot of my own self-published Home Brewed rules for the game.
Yeah, I was thinking about mentioning Traveler and some other games but there's only so much I can cover in 5 minutes hehe. The classic Marvel Super Heroes game has always interested me. Would love to look into it sometime. Cheers, man!
Thank you for the video, but unfortunately it made me even more confused... I have heard the term OSR being used for retro-clones; for any games based on basic mechanics of D&D, besides 5e clones created for copyright reasons and besides Pathfinder for some reason (I have seen people insisting that ICRPG is OSR, while I guess the author himself claimed that it wasn't); and for any ttrpg played "the old way" (thing like simplicity, randomly generated disposable characters, embracing some problematic aspects and so on) with no regards to D&D or to any particular system for that matter (it's how this term is used in my local community). These are three very different groups, and it's kinda confusing that I never know which one is meant in every particular case.
Yeah man, that is the crux of it, and why I decided to make this video. At the end of the day, the OSR started out as a small movement of bloggers writing about how they were bringing back the "old school" style of play to their tables.
As the years have gone on, the term has been appropriated by the community as a kind of buzzword, catch-all term and no one agrees on what makes OSR OSR.
"The truth is that no one really knows, just don't tell the grognards I let you in on that little secret."
As long as you're having fun, that's all that matters my dude!
Fantastic Heroes & Witchery, best ever. Love everything that was introduced or changed.
Never heard of it, I'm gonna have to check it out!
@@PaladinProse you can find a free version on its website
You know how Space Marine 2 feels like a breath of fresh air amongst politics-infused games?
You know how the CEO of Saber came out saying how he wants games to return to being fun games?
The OSR is Space Marine 2.
We want games to be fun games again.
Games are not “politics infused.” They do reflect the values of their creators., because they are art. It sounds like a game glorifying space fascists just reflects your values.
I started playing AD&D 45 years ago but when I first heard the term OSR, it made me think of OD&D from 1974, the white box set. I never considered OSR to be AD&D 2nd edition and "behind." (That was funny, BTW). Although, your definition here makes sense to me and I guess OSR can be what I started with. Because of my incorrect definition, I never picked up any of the games that used OSR but now I may have to. Thanks for bringing this "alternate" definition to my attention.
Hah, that's awesome! Welcome to the club and thanks for watching and showing support!
Where was The Crying Blades?
I have been hearing OSR since about 2014. Every few weeks the flavors change but the grit and grime does not.
💯
Love OSR and PBTA, I am more of a PBTA guy, but the OSR guys are great, and I support their playstyle wholeheartedly. They focus on the spirit of the game.
Great video!
That's what it's all about man, rolling bones and telling tales!
I wanna release my system to the masses now.
Dewit
i like that cairn is getting more recognition
Definitely a ton of value in Cairn!
My personal favorite OSR system right now is OSE. I have played 5e for a year and i just cant get back into it. OSE’s ruleset is simple, easy to master. Just started to get a good demo of hackmaster 5e as well.
I know what you mean about OSE, it should feels like the purest distillation of what "D&D" truly is.
I’m 49. Came into gaming in 1986
We guys LOVE ANYONE who wish to explore this type of gaming! Our arms are wide open!
Many forums, etc exist for all of us to learn from one another! 🙂
We salute you! Thanks for the support.
I've pretty much left Dnd5e/Hasbro outside of one game I play in. For me, if I run something, it will be Cyberpunk (my main), Forged in the Dark, Cy_BORG, MCC/DCC, and Black Sword Hack.
Dope, have fun!
You can do what you want, but the fact that you name checked the parent company of the parent company tells me you didn’t see through the misinformation influencers put out.
even if it's not officially OSR I would add Dungeon Crawl Classics to the OSR awesome gang, it fucking rocks and embraces appendix N and old school design
I haven't had the chance to play DCC yet but I really want to check it out!
@ you definitely should! Its AWESOME
It’s amazing that basically 100% of my interactions with OSR people have been negative, and a majority of those were aggressively antagonistic and rude.
I 100% associate the OSR with “bad people”. But I’ve only been playing for 35 years.
I’m sure they’re not all bad. That’s impossible. But my experience interacting with OSR has been overwhelmingly bad.
Yeah, like anything else, I think the online community is typically the loudest, and unfortunately, the most negative. Sorry to hear the bad apples are spoiling the bunch for you.
I'm hoping to keep bringing the positive vibes to the community.
Fun, funny, and on point!
Cheers, thanks for the support!
I was trying to get into D&D, it was just too much and I found OSR stuff, more what I was looking for
Yeah man I find OSR games are a great gateway, especially if you're not interested in getting bogged down with rules.
Nice summary
It ain't much but it's honest work👨🌾
Well shit... I'm already writing a more modern(ish) ttrpg but now I want to contribute to the OSR
Por que no Los dos?!
@PaladinProse Heh, I suppose that's the plan now. I'll have to play more OSE and Dragon slayer to get a further handle on style
One thing I may need to try using is that weapons vs armor adjustment table from 1st ed. Makes the weapons and armor have distinct purposes based on interactions
@@asimplethievingbat5978 that's a fun idea!
I've spent so much money on OSR books and it's still less than I've spent on the 5e stuff I'll never use again. Mork Borg is the one that tickles my fancy the most, through.
It's just nice to support indie creators. I think the amount of creativity coming out of the Borg scene is really phenomenal
@@PaladinProse The visuals are what sold me initially, but after reading through it, I got another couple dozen printed supplements for it. Supporting indie creators is the only way to cut into megacorp profits and maybe force them to be less shitty. That or a good ole fashioned revolution, but one is more likely and more practical than the other.
So, when are you making your own system and releasing it to the masses?
Haha, probably never! I'm more focused on adventure design, personally!
The thing I hate about osr is that ttrpgs have to be done their way or not at all. It's not a system, it's not a philosophy, it's an attitude, a bad attitude
There can definitely be some bad apples and grumpy grognards, but I think overall the community is a net positive, personally
Even though I think most of the OSR is just repeated drek of retroclone after retroclone of basic 40 year old game design there are some that actually are different enough to be worth looking at. Thats Hyperborea, ACKS II, any Kevin Crawford rpg and Hackmaster.
OSR can't be defined but you know it when you see it.
Amen!
You didn't mention DCC aren't they technically OSR?
Yup, they are!
Great vid - subscribed! One nitpick: It's "Groan Yard", not "Grawg Nard".
Hey thanks!
I feel bad for Castles & Crusades. They were one of the first (and best IMO) and they get overlooked.
There's just so many games out there, only so much I can cover in five minutes. But I've liked what I've seen from C&C!
Nice. That about sums it up.
Nice 😎👉👉
Basic Fantasy is the best happened since the pandemia
So it's just a game genre?
my captain!
🫡🫡🫡
OSR, just a short way to say "Drop Dead Hasbro". D&D has become the Kleenex of role gaming. "What are you playing?" D&D is the best answer, even if you are actually play WarhammerFRPG. Because outside of England... well they likely don't know much about D&D either. But the world isn't just the official brand goods. Of course some of the alternatives cost just as much. I LIKE Troll Lord games as a publisher, but Castles and Crusades costs the same as 5th Edition. If you want D&D you CAN get a copy of Whitebox. A puny (even for digest size), thin (even for digest size) softcover item that is as complete as a DM requires it to be sort of original D&D wannabe. Price, less than fast food for 2 persons. OSR is at it's core, 4 races 4 classes, cliche D&D fighting and magic and the usual monsters. And if your DM can't glue in 'stuff' from any other D&Dish design fire them. I think Basic Fantasy Role-playing Game owns the best in performance. Free pdfs a great one book hardcover for under 30 bucks, and a ton of support gear, all with free pdfs. So while you might love the new kid on the block (Shadowdark), if it isn't 30 bucks for hardcover or totally free in pdfs, it loses the competition. I own C&C and OSE, and Basic, and OSRIC and Dark Dungeons X, The Black Hack and WhiteBox as well as BECMI Rules Cyclopedia and my first love AD&D 1st edition. So ask yourself, are you playing at home, or do you have to carry the game to the game session? Who has the best 1 book only challenger? Special mention for the OSRIC hardcover.
Basic Fantasy if 30 bucks is your limit, Shadowdark if you want the best and here take my money. I have both. There are a lot of choices in the middle. Most are ok. Anything past 1st edition was more about selling you books than about making the game better. Given a choice of 80 bucks for Shadowdark or every book in original release form from 2nd to 5th edition, I just laugh knowing I'd merely sell all the 2nd through 5th and buy a lot of copies of Shadowdark and have fun giving some away to friends. 2nd through 5th is for fools who are easily parted from their cash.
I think Basic Fantasy would be more successful if we charged more and did less. At present, we're like that accommodating love interest that still secretly dreams you'll marry us despite the many years of neglect and your endless drunken philandering. And frankly you're getting a big gut and we wish you'd shower more and you really weren't that good looking to start with, but... whassat? WHAT? YES! YES!! A THOUSAND TIMES YES!!!
(wakes up)
Oh, man... :(
*hugs* to the Basic Fantasy community, you guys are great!
@@PaladinProse Thank you! I liked the video a lot. We're actually a pretty good-humoured bunch and we're happy for people to use our materials regardless of which RPG they prefer! Stay tuned for two brand new titles coming to print soon, plus some expanded and revised re-releases under CC-BY-SA.
2E AD&D is much closer to 3E than OSR imo.
True, but I do feel that's kind of where the unofficial cut off ends. Of course, it's all up for interpretation anyway
@@PaladinProse I agree it has many nostalgic fans. I just feel it’s the edition where rules bloat set in, with all the splat books. Thanks for the video!
@@maxducoudray oh yeah, it's definitely where the rules started stacking (I kinda low-key love 2e tho hehe). Thank YOU for the support \[T]/
@@maxducoudray for me the 2e core books are the line of demarcation. Everything published after is post old school, including the 2e splat books.
@@donovanpeterson837 Quite reasonable.
I now feel like I understand OSR even less and hate it just a little more.
Bacon dragon?
👁️👄👁️
Awesome
So, C&C is a modern RPG like I've told numerous people. It CAPTURES the flavor of TSR's D&D with MODERN game mechanics. D&D 5th "borrowed" mechanics from it.
Nice, I need to check out Castles and Crusades sometime.
OSR - I still don't get it. I was around in the early 80s and I don't see what all this fuzz about OSR is all about.
"In the old days gold meant experience!". Materialism at its best. Yeah, I really loved it when Aragorn and Gimli plundered the treasures in Moria... oh wait, didn't happen.
"Characters died!" I hated characters to die because of some stupid chance.
"Orcs were evil" - okay. I subscribe to that. Love myself monster means monster means free to kill them games. I'm with you on that. There are no good orcs or goblins or kobolds in in my games you don't get to play any monsters. They're there to be killed - or eat little children, do things with your pet dog and create half orcs unless you kill them all first.
My favourite OSR system? Rolemaster minus the magic. The less magic, the better. Sounds like "Adventures in Middle-Earth for 5e" to me... maybe OS Games really sucked? No, I remember the red box and the blue box fondly. Many, many good memories. Until I found MERP. Never looked back to the old D&D except to be thankful I had it at that time. So glad that things have moved on (except "fricking orcs are civilized too" whining these days).
It's an oversaturated market buzzword that means its intended for middle aged consoomers to buy product.
Oh god its true, Im working on an osr rpg right now hahahha
Runolfsdottir Lodge
Champlin Locks
Tressie Branch
DCC is my favorite.
I really need to try DCC
In Germany The Black Eye is a very popular system. I hate it in modern times, it's miles up it's own ass and has just objectively bad rules. I could rant for hours about how bad this game is. But I have fond memories of the 3rd edition of this rule system. It was at that time already bad. Like Your Character Creation is rolling your stats and writing down 30+ Skills with different values and if you even dare to test for anything, you roll 3 D20 and do some math mumbo jumbo to get if you succeded.
So I took it upon me, to write a "DSA OSR" System, which fixes hopefully most of the bad stuff. I just don't know if OSR is the right term, since it is not using DnD or it is a homage for the original system, since I don't like the original system ^^
Blackoath Games are great I love Alex's work and of course anything Mork Borg ha
In the words of William Murderface: "Pretty metal!" 🤘
Still no idea what OSR really is. But I guess not something I like.
And hey, that's okay!
Rock on brother
Thanks for your support my dude \[T]/
Abbott Radial
oh we know...
😅
Noice
Noice 😎👉👉
Basically: a Cult.
A cult of....fun!
2nd edition??? naaaaaaaahhhhh
No one really knows (that's the secret!)
Old school reinessance is correct. I forget which youtube did the deep dive but the founders never used "revival". Maybe Bandit's keep?
Reinessence is "too european"... for some people. Pretty francophobic if you ask me..
Pardon my french but I prefer Old School Renaissance myself hehe 🥖
I'm still having trouble understanding the point of OSR. Is it JUST nostalgia? It sounds an awful lot like throwing away decades worth of learned lessons about game design. Or is this like a reaction against the increasingly narrative style of modern RPGs?
Most people in the 'osr' space are too young to be motivated by nostalgia. They played 5th Edition D&D and found it unenjoyable. Beyond that, it is a complicated topic.
I would caution you against assuming that newer is better. Corporations capture brand names all the time, and their products are often NOT based on any sound principles of game design. We see the same thing in video games where AAA games are often unimpressive failures.
Genuinely there are two camps, in my brief experience.
One is more nostalgic, opting for the same rules, art, style and philosophy all in a handful of books, rather than the dozens for AD&D or D&DB. These are your DCCs, your OSEs, Basic Fantasy Roleplay, etc.
In the other camp, opting towards Mork Borg and Shadowdark and Cairn are the folks who follow the OSR in philosophy and general style, but do opt for simplified/streamlined rules. In the last year following the OGL stuff with 5e, I've seen an explosion of these types of games.
I would dispute "throwing away decades worth of learned lessons about game design." It first assumes that the OSR community ignores developments in other RPGs, which isn't true as many systems, including one of the first four, Basic Fantasy RPG, adopted ascending armor class. The advantage and disadvantage mechanic from 5e is a common house rule in the community as well. Second, it assumes that the "learned lessons" were good lessons to learn. Single family homes and running freeways through our cities was the accepted ideal in urban planning from the 50s onwards, but the past couple of decades have had us learning that both of those were awful mistakes, that are hollowing out our cities. Loading up character sheets with "action buttons" (defined skills) and various combat feats was a step in the wrong direction if your gameplay style is more oriented to exploration and creative problem solving.
The OSR playstyle is more focused on exploration and puzzle solving than the combat heavy orientation of modern D&D. It prefers open worlds and player agency over narrative. It's more interested in the gameworld than in one players' singular character. Characters die but the world goes on. Basically, it is more "gamist" and "simulationalist" (at least from the standpoint of the game world not hinging on the PCs contributions) than the more "narrativist" leanings of modern D&D. (Excuse the Forge terminology. It's the easiest shorthand I know of to refer to what I mean.)
It is throwing away the garbage that is 5th Edition (and 4th edition). It is throwing away the 4 hour combat sessions (with everyone either tuned out on their phones or staring at their rulebooks thumbing through their 2700 pages of "core and optional rulebooks"), nerfed encounters so the characters ALWAYS win, instant and damn near never ending healing, and every other bit of the game designed for the participation trophy generation.
You're not only misunderstanding and ignorant of the OSR, but TTRPGs as a whole.
If this wasn't RUclips I'd address the things you bring up, but I'm not gonna write an essay in the comments.