The state of Post-OSR content

[Hemlock]

I think I was more curious about the effect of triggering an event in realtime than an actual play report since most of that 5e(?) crunch went right over my head. I've done 5-10 sec countdowns. Often out loud. But never had a 'this needs to happen before the end of the game session' trigger before.

Oh, the players responded positively, even though it made their life more difficult because Vecna showed up while they were in the middle of the battle. (They didn't necessarily know that's what the timer was for but I don't think it was hard to guess.)

All of us knew we were there specifically for a test-fight with Vecna. I view the metagame timer as a way of respecting the players' and my own time--to put it another way, a way of avoiding a pathological outcome where the main event is an afterthought. The lack of negative outcome is how I know it worked.

I wouldn't use it in a scenario where there was an in-game reason for Vecna to arrive or not arrive at a particular time, but I've used such things for events that are essentially random from the player's perspective: e.g. someone has been kidnapped, and they might get executed at any time, but since any time is as good as another, the kidnappers might as well kill the hostage at whatever moment happens to coincide with the players and DM running out of time instead of at a time determined by rolling dice. They are both quasi-random methods of choosing a time.

I've also used it for things like poison expiration: "the drow sleep poison you just looted off the fallen drow warriors will last until, um, the end of next month in real-world time." Same logic: when an event must happen but the timing is arbitrary, might as well pick a time that's convenient for everyone and that empowers the players to make good decisions.

 

[The Heretic]

There are Eyes that see in places that are hidden. Little birds that listen and watch where I go not.

*ahem*

Is this an oblique way of saying that your position as a site admin lets you get information beyond the pseudonym? Not that there's anything wrong with that, but it does leave the rest of us confused, sometimes.

(also don't rely on little birds, they tend to crap all over the place)

 

[The Heretic]

I've seen that term a couple of times over the last year. What's that even supposed to mean?

NuSR is probably a portmanteau of OSR and nu-metal. So, similar to nu-metal, NuSR thinks they are doing this new, innovative thing but everything else makes fun of them behind their backs and comments on how lame the Nu really is. That's just a guess though.

 

[Beoric]

*ahem*

Is this an oblique way of saying that your position as a site admin lets you get information beyond the pseudonym? Not that there's anything wrong with that, but it does leave the rest of us confused, sometimes.

(also don't rely on little birds, they tend to crap all over the place)

I took it as Prince basing his opinion on the unknown slander of an unidentified slanderer.

Whatever the reason, I would rather Prince didn't hound him off the site; I think he adds to the conversation in a way that, say, DP and Logruspattern didn't, and unlike them I don't find him obnoxious at all.

 

[Hemlock]

I took it as Prince basing his opinion on the unknown slander of an unidentified slanderer.

Whatever the reason, I would rather Prince didn't hound him off the site; I think he adds to the conversation in a way that, say, DP and Logruspattern didn't, and unlike them I don't find him obnoxious at all.

For whatever it's worth, I found the article "The OSR Should Die" interesting enough to bookmark and read at length, especially for the curated list of links to other blogs.

I didn't particularly agree or disagree with the article itself, but the links were very thought provoking and well chosen.

 

[Pseudoephedrine]

Oh, missed this one!

There are Eyes that see in places that are hidden. Little birds that listen and watch where I go not.

This is an extraordinarily funny way of saying that it's a publicly known fact, easily discovered across my internet presence, that I periodically interact positively with Ava, Warren, Marcia, and even Gus. But beware! The conspiracy grows - there are tens, perhaps even dozens, of other people I interact with, read the works of, and sometimes even comment on the ideas of. Who else belongs to this nefarious order, and how are right-thinking individuals to spot them?

A sly indirect comparison, off-handed. Your tutors have taught you well. You are incorrect. The term has always been incoherent and used to describe an aesthetic and a social club more then a philosophy. You can refer to Patrick Stuart's original delineation in my post.

You must have been in the Swine War. Have you recanted your master's teachings?

Referring to Pundit as my "master" is also pretty funny if you know anything about our very public disdain for one another. If you don't, feel free to go search the theRPGsite for this username. I particularly enjoy this one: "Whiny Bitch Pseudoephedrine Proves the Pundit Hater Theory". Sometimes when I'm feeling down, I go and read it until I burst out laughing. If that thread isn't sufficiently entertaining, I recommend the one where he loses his shit and bans me from theRPGsite when I bring up the mildly antisemitic Robotech fan fiction that he wrote on Usenet as a teenager (sadly, most of it is lost with the rest of Usenet).

More substantively, I think if "artpunk" is meant to describe an aesthetic, it's fine, but when it's inflated into just kind of a empty signifier that floats around to designate one's enemies, its analytical power evaporates and it becomes basically a personal term of opprobrium of little interest or value to others. As a great believer in power of dialectical reasoning, I think the latter is basically a failure state for any sort of analytical term.

*ahem*

Is this an oblique way of saying that your position as a site admin lets you get information beyond the pseudonym? Not that there's anything wrong with that, but it does leave the rest of us confused, sometimes.

(also don't rely on little birds, they tend to crap all over the place)

I'm actually eighteen Guses in a trenchcoat and false moustache.

 

[The1True]

similar to nu-metal

Aw c'mon. Sepultura's Roots was pretty fkn awesome

 

[The1True]

Logruspattern

Holy shit, I had to dig back a WAYS looking for that one...

 

[The Heretic]

Aw c'mon. Sepultura's Roots was pretty fkn awesome

Psh, wasn't Sepultura thrash metal, not nu-metal? Nu-metal was more like Limp Bizkit, and, uh, I have already quite thankfully forgotten the rest of the bands in the nu-metal canon.

 

[Beoric]

Holy shit, I had to dig back a WAYS looking for that one...

You just have to look in Prince's signature.

 

[robertsconley]

1:1 time is for DMs who have one campaign no matter how many player groups are playing in it at the same time. "At the same time" being the key term. There is one calendar for everyone, and while it can be stretched forward by individual groups it waits for none of them.

It only matters if the players have a reasonable chance of affecting one another. Generally, it works out that simultaneous campaigns are set in different regions of the Majestic Wilderlands. One group is adventuring in the City-State of the Invincible Overlord and the other is in Viridstan. Even when in the same region the two groups are often in different social or cultural circles so their chances of interaction are low.

The nice thing is I don't have to metagame this. I just do my usual thing of saying "Here are some places to adventure in, some situations for characters to deal with. Which one do you want to try for this campaign?". It is rare that the two different groups pick something where I would have to track time strictly. But I do always keep track of the calendar.

Later when their characters are most established and capable of having a wider impact (i.e. wealth, power, at an Olympic caliber level of experience, etc.) interaction between different groups is more common but still rare. And since the late 90s easily handled by getting the involved folks connected via email or posts rather than having them show up at a session. Prior to that I would ask for instructions from the involved parties independently along with passing along any letters or notes.

I never had a situation where I was located at a place (house or game store) and had to track multiple groups doing their own thing. The closest was running various game store campaigns. And most of the time it worked out that a plausible reason could be created why a character wasn't there one week but not the next. For example, if the party was exploring a vast dungeon, like Tegal Manor, the missing character left and returned to the party's camp.

After playing a lot of live-action roleplaying in the 90s and running buffer LARP events, I experienced firsthand what would happen if you had dozens of adventurers milling around all doing their own thing and pursuing their own agenda. As much of a genius Gygax was, the whole keep strict time record business doesn't really do the job compared to how it really works. So like any good referee, I use that experience in my tabletop to play things by ear to create enough verisimilitude to make the experience feel right when it pertains to time, and characters dropping in and out.

 

[PrinceofNothing]

I've seen that term a couple of times over the last year. What's that even supposed to mean?

NuSR is a term floating around the internet for a while. It's a semi-arbitrary delineation between different generations of OSR games like ACKS or DCC and the newer stuff coming around like Troika, Mork Borg, Mothership, Into the Odd etc. etc. There probably is some sort of hard point of divergence to be found, but it is not identified.

 

[PrinceofNothing]

*ahem*

Is this an oblique way of saying that your position as a site admin lets you get information beyond the pseudonym? Not that there's anything wrong with that, but it does leave the rest of us confused, sometimes.

(also don't rely on little birds, they tend to crap all over the place)

No. I do not abuse this site's admin powers for any reason. I have never felt the inkling to peek at everyone's covert information for nefarious purposes and I never will. If I get absolutely fed up I might do the odd edit or silly title but revealing or misappropriating information is another matter.

 

[PrinceofNothing]

Referring to Pundit as my "master" is also pretty funny if you know anything about our very public disdain for one another. If you don't, feel free to go search the theRPGsite for this username. I particularly enjoy this one: "Whiny Bitch Pseudoephedrine Proves the Pundit Hater Theory". Sometimes when I'm feeling down, I go and read it until I burst out laughing. If that thread isn't sufficiently entertaining, I recommend the one where he loses his shit and bans me from theRPGsite when I bring up the mildly antisemitic Robotech fan fiction that he wrote on Usenet as a teenager (sadly, most of it is lost with the rest of Usenet).

Lmao, I didn't refer to Pundo as your master bucko, I was well aware of your prior antipathy (and prior collaboration would have been highly unlikely in any case for ideological reasons). I'll try to be more explicit so as to avoid further confusion on your part. You strike me as a candidate for a GNS theory guy, I was referring to Ron Edwards. I know I know not everything is a monolithic conspiracy theory put down the tinfoil hat blah blah but you can hardly blame me for asking.

Edit: Credit where it is due, that thread is extremely funny and aged like absolute fine wine. Peak Pundit fragility must have been the early 2010s.

This is an extraordinarily funny way of saying that it's a publicly known fact, easily discovered across my internet presence, that I periodically interact positively with Ava, Warren, Marcia, and even Gus. But beware! The conspiracy grows - there are tens, perhaps even dozens, of other people I interact with, read the works of, and sometimes even comment on the ideas of. Who else belongs to this nefarious order, and how are right-thinking individuals to spot them?

So some banter in fact may be extracted from your otherwise dry, doddering soliloquys if a little pressure is applied to you, that is good to know. Can you point me to the appropriate stimuli to inhibit your passive aggressive, weasel-like tendencies? I am positive we can turn you into a real boy.

Whatever the reason, I would rather Prince didn't hound him off the site; I think he adds to the conversation in a way that, say, DP and Logruspattern didn't, and unlike them I don't find him obnoxious at all.

There will be no hounding. Pseudoepinephrine can certainly stand up to a bit of verbal horseplay if he actually got Pundo to ban him instead of just turning tail and running.

More substantively, I think if "artpunk" is meant to describe an aesthetic, it's fine, but when it's inflated into just kind of a empty signifier that floats around to designate one's enemies, its analytical power evaporates and it becomes basically a personal term of opprobrium of little interest or value to others. As a great believer in power of dialectical reasoning, I think the latter is basically a failure state for any sort of analytical term.

Like any man-made label with vague attributes it is always going to be variably applicable depending on personal interpretation but much like the term 'OSR' it can be applied definetively to a small group of self-defined authors and adventures and more broadly to a larger group with varying degrees of accuracy. It is, how do you like to say it, a spectrum?

 

[The Heretic]

Ive run all the classic Vecna adventures. Two in 2.5e and one converted to 3.0 I believe. Fighting Vecna was significantly more difficult for my players. Maybe the rules systems, maybe players inexperienced with high-level play?

Come to think of it, is this really the same Vecna, or is it the "Vecna(s)" from Stranger Things?

 

[Hemlock]

Come to think of it, is this really the same Vecna, or is it the "Vecna(s)" from Stranger Things?

I would argue that WotC's Vecna, though ostensibly the same entity as TSR's Vecna, is an unworthy impostor. Ironically, WotC's Vecna does make a surprisingly good Kas: life-draining and hard-hitting attacks, high mobility. Swap his dagger out for a sword and he *is* a vampire-lord extraordinaire.

 

[PrinceofNothing]

Referring to Pundit as my "master" is also pretty funny if you know anything about our very public disdain for one another. If you don't, feel free to go search the theRPGsite for this username. I particularly enjoy this one: "Whiny Bitch Pseudoephedrine Proves the Pundit Hater Theory". Sometimes when I'm feeling down, I go and read it until I burst out laughing. If that thread isn't sufficiently entertaining, I recommend the one where he loses his shit and bans me from theRPGsite when I bring up the mildly antisemitic Robotech fan fiction that he wrote on Usenet as a teenager (sadly, most of it is lost with the rest of Usenet).

This is a fascinating read, particularly if the accompanying RPG.net thread is included (start at page 1). I essentially accuse you of being in cahoots with a bunch of unpleasantly smelling shady characters that indulge in backhanded double-dealing and smear campaigns to advance their interests and make a point of calling out the duplicitous modus operandi of accusing people behind closed doors and allowing them no means of defending themselves. I provide for these two points no factual basis or evidence whatsoever. Your response appears to be to agree that my initial assessment is entirely accurate while also trying to make a a point that this should be obvious (not understanding that this was not obvious to the spectators I was addressing), make a big point on how you prefer dialectic (thereby signalling that you consider yourself well versed in these types of exchanges), then provide evidence of yourself accusing a person of various perceived misdoings in a location where he cannot defend himself and deadnaming poor Jonathan Urbanovski.

I don't know how one usually handles conflicts in your circles, I assume lots of pig noises, hair pulling and purse swinging is involved ( perhaps with the occasional unaccountable 80% disparity in upper body strength) but I must admit that the current configuration has me baffled. Am I adressing the rhetorical equivalent of Wimp Lo? Is this verbal Face to my Foot technique?

 

[squeen]

Logruspattern sort of lost it instantly when Prince asked him to tone down the politics. It was weird.

All this stuff between Prince and Psuedo is sailing right past me. I haven't a clue what they are talking about.

 

[The1True]

Logruspattern sort of lost it instantly when Prince asked him to tone down the politics. It was weird.

All this stuff between Prince and Psuedo is sailing right past me. I haven't a clue what they are talking about.

Yeah, not sure why we're picking a fight here. Maybe it's all in good fun to the participants? We're doing that thing where we start digging into the syntactics of the opponent's response from which there is rarely a good outcome...

Where's @Osrnoob when we need him?!

 

[Hemlock]

Logruspattern sort of lost it instantly when Prince asked him to tone down the politics. It was weird.

All this stuff between Prince and Psuedo is sailing right past me. I haven't a clue what they are talking about.

I am glad you said so because I thought I was the only one. I even Googled "Jonathan Urbanovsky" but still came up empty. I understood Prince of Nothing's early posts in this thread but the recent, cryptic diatribes are Greek to me.