“Clean Slate One” is on fire. Relatively speaking. So, here we are writing part two.
Am I Old School or New School?
What the hell do those terms even mean? I mean they’re like genre labels in that I believe the function as much as limiters as definers. I shun the prefix neo- and the suffix -punk. Something is either pulp or it isn’t and most of the punk stuff isn’t even remotely, but I digress. Again.
If Old School is about the games you play – if it is about system, not setting – then I am not Old School. I still cling to a few of the old books and there are a handful I miss really bad. I don’t honestly think I will ever play them again though. “I want a PHB of each edition… just in case…” Sure.
If Old School is about setting? Then, still no. maybe if I had my old Greyhawk box still (whiiine), but I don’t; I have half remembered images of the maps and the heraldry, but it just didn’t stick. I was too young. I didn’t really start to get into published settings until the Star WarsRPG from WEG, Planescape, and James Bond. Maybe, Star Frontiers… Gods… I had forgotten FASA Star Trek until just now.
I think it says something that the first games that made me think about setting beyond, “Keep of the Borderlands” style dungeon/wilderlands stuff were mostly movie or TV licenses. I don’t know what exactly, but it says… something.
If New School is meta-game and story or Dragonlance-style railroad* plot, then that would be a no. In the respect that I think player skill is as important or even more important than the skill list on the character sheet, then it would seem I am Old School.
Look. I put it to my readers to decide whether or not I am Old School or New School. Here.
- I think there is a place for meta-game and player skill, but not even the most eloquent of players can be a hundred percent all the time. Sometimes you need that Charisma check.
- I think story is great, but keep it out of my players’ way! Players define the plot, not me. This is an important one I’ve forgotten over the years and my most recent games are reminding me of. I would rather have a character gen session, let the players figure out the hows and whys of the group, and most importantly, let them control the direction of the game. Adventure Paths, Plot Points, Campaigns, Module Series… Whatever. They’re scripts. I like the spontaneity of improvising all that and need to get back to that style.
- On the other hand I just want to roll dice and play a game; sometimes I just want to play with toy soldiers.
- I like a happy medium between FATE or FUDGE and d20. Rules heavier than d20 make my brain hurt. Rules lighter than FATE (or gods forbid Risus) just make me scratch my head. The BD&D rules of my extreme gamer youth I would call lighter than Savage Worlds, but then again I’m thinking of the red box here… Maybe, taken as a whole as in the D&D Cyclopedia, they constitute a sort of medium. I really dig Savage Worlds (not a revelation, I know). I feel it strikes a nice balance between lite and heavy.
- A random list of my favorite games, genres, and settings might be helpful here – in no particular order: either World of Darkness, Planescape, Spelljammer, Star Wars, Call of Cthulhu, pulp, supers, XPG (at least as it is presented in the Red Dwarf RPG), post-apocalypse… and stuff that crosses one or more of the above streams without devolving into a Rifts or Torg style kitchen sink game. Fine line I know.
Honestly,I don’t really care; hacking out this dreadful post helped me realize that. I think I’m Old School. That is good enough for me, but I’m curious. I think there are some self-styled grognards out there who would disagree with my self-assessment. I’m no grognard; my evolution as a gamer is backwards (I think I’ll move from RP to war-gaming someday), then again the definition of grognard seems as fluid as the schools.
I open the floor to debate.
Later: OK… I’ve determined I don’t care how others define Old vs. New (not that I’m not curious, just apathetic), next I might try to answer the question, “Why is Doctor Checkmate Old School?” Clean Slate Three may also answer the question of why the Clean Slate series is not under the Gamer category. Might not. Might raise more questions.
* Railroad is completely not the word I’m looking for… Scripted? I like to use the word railroad though, so it stays.
Old school? New school? I’m “If you’re not having fun, you’re doing it wrong” school.
Amen.
It being any given variable.
See… I have a hard time saying that you or I are either. Old school conjures up images of the people who never left the old games, or who simply never appreciated those that game after their chosen favorites. New school makes me think of the people who only play these relatively newer games, and have no idea about, or possibly respect for, the older games.
Can I look back at WEG Star Wars and say I had fun times? Yeah. Do I prefer it d20 Star Wars? That’s another yes. Was I thrilled to hear about the return of Traveller? Am I missing TORG? Do I ever long for the days of 2nd ed. AD&D? No.
There isn’t so clearly defined a label for us. I continually refer to myself as an elitist, because I have a harder and hard time relating to the (key word here) majority of gamers. I think you might have that problem too…
I think I’m going to go with ” ‘If you’re not having fun, you’re doing it wrong’ school.”
In the light of day that really looks like the way to go.
“Do I ever long for the days of 2nd ed. AD&D?”
But, in a way, I do. I had a certain style of play and DMing then that was later molded by WEG d6 and White Wolf. And then… Then d20 happened, and I invested a lot of time in trying to make that system work for me. Much like I tried very hard to like Episode I, but when I watch it now I literally get so angry I hurt.
I want to re-capture the seat of my pants, “rulings, not rules,” no ocean of books at the table, player (not DM or designer) driven story style of my “Old School” days.