Why all the rules for torches in caverns? Rules for the darkness, for light and torches, spring up among OSR games like a new cockroach infestation - first you see one, but a thousand more hide in self-made dark recesses. And like cockroaches, the rules are not new. They're simply out in the light, presenting …

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I love the notion of OSR books - the bare minimalism, the daring reinvention and questioning of schemas and tropes. So here are my musings on some OSR-style mechanics.1 Goals like old D&D don't fill the character sheet with 1,000 special skills short rules lethal game-play, forcing players to be clever Why HP? If we're …

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The cost of learning a new RPG system is...well just the cost of learning a system. Even for those who like the process, it takes time, and it limits those who can play the game. Ask a regular gaming group of four people to try 'FISHBLADE: The Diceless RPG', and chances are high that at least one will veto the …

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Software engineers regularly jump into others' open source, and help out, but the RPG community do not do the same, because they do not have the right tools. Look throughout the history of any number of software projects and you'll find a slew of apparently random people, unknown to the software's creator, jumping in …

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My recent background-watching videos covered the Old School Renaissance ('OSR'), which looks to revive a lot of old-school D&D-style play. I started with Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, so a renaissance intrigued me. Strange Premises While I've not heard of some of the more egregious rules returning (thieves tracking 10% …

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