Warning: Political Post Ahead or The OSR has Political Parties?

 

So, color me ignorant, but I was cruising through posts on an OSR group, when I ran across one blasting three names I wasn't familiar with. It was a short, sweet blast to the effect of F this guy, that guy and this guy too. Reading through the comments failed to bring forth any real explanation, though some were asking for one. I did notice in the comments that others decried other individuals names, and it became clear as I read that some of the names they were vilifying were people I know and respect in what I would call the OSR community. There were some comments shared from conversations on other platforms as proof, reason, or evidence of these later mentioned names and their alleged crimes. The evidence was largely of the nature of political disagreements, pro Trump support, anti-socialist statements, etc. 

Now, I am an avowed political moderate, at least I consider myself moderate. I am not affiliated with either party and vote as an independent. I have voted on both sides of the aisle. I am also not super politically active. I try to stay relatively well informed (hard to do in today's age) listen to NPR, BBC, read the Times, the Wall Street Journal (mostly online) and the Salt Lake Tribune (I'm from Utah). I am religious, but what those in my faith might call liberal in my theology--which is why I stay quiet most Sundays :-). I am pro gun rights, but support more restrictions to gun ownership. I support actions to preserve, balance and restore the environment, but am supportive of well managed land use involving hunting, recreation and farming. I believe in climate change and feel we need to take strong action to reverse human induced warming trends. I tend to be fairly libertarian in regards to social issues, and believe most personal choices should be left with the person making the choice. I'll admit I struggle with how to handle termination of pregnancies, but do not claim to know the right/best decision on if/how the government should be involved on that count. For that reason I leave that choice in the hands of the woman making the decision. 

But ... and this is a big but, it is mine after all. I think the system is really, really big. We individually have very little pull anymore. I believe in voting, and think it is critical. I wish I had more time and motivation to get out there and be politically active. I have friends who have, some ardently so. And in almost all cases it leads to heart break and disappointment. I know one who ended up in therapy and medicated because of it. Politics, or the dynamics of power, is an ugly, messy business. Some call it a necessary evil. Most of the time it just seems evil. And admittedly, with the quote ringing in my ears “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing,” I tend to busy myself with other matters. I certainly don't risk friendships over such things.

But the sad fact is that in this huge megalithic system we live in, we feel so powerless to change things that we often resort to yelling louder than everybody else. The whole squeaky wheel phenomenon I suppose. If we can get enough people mad about something then change will occur. And this isn't  always wrong. Just sure can be toxic. But then I suppose some people feel that war is justified when the currently existing circumstances are too toxic to put up with.

However, I'm not going to choose or not choose something based on the politics of someone who made it. From Mists of Avalon to Judges Guild, I buy products because I like them, not necessarily the people who create them. Most of the time I barely know them, let alone their politics or personal proclivities. 

Now, some argue that their creations are unavoidably contaminated by their creator's sins or contrary views. I suppose this could be true. But isn't this just human. Whatever you say about Lovecraft, his works weren't a political tract on pro-racism stances. Marion Zimmer Bradley wasn't writing a how-to book on pedophilia or BDSM in Mists. And Gygax was writing a mysoginistic treatise. And I personally never read them as such. Now, was Lovecraft racist, seems likely. Was Gygax mysoginistic--I don't really think so, but he certainly was a product of his time; as was Lovecraft. And was Bradley complicit in some heinous activities on the part of her husband--the evidence isn't greatly in her favor. But let's go back some more ... was Lincoln a racist? Given the views of his day I am sure he was very progressive, but he was still a product of his time. What about Ghandi? Who happens to sleep with young girls to test his chastity? Or was Jesus perhaps a little too Jewish in who refusing to teach those outside of his religion? How many stones do we want to throw? 

I personally believe we can grow personally and as a people. And yes, there are certainly bigots out there who defend racism, mysogyny and other forms of prejudice and deserve to be rightly called out for it. But I personally refuse to throw the baby out with the bathwater. We are all human, and we are not any one view we express at a certain time. We are more than that. And where judgment is leveled, judgment is sure to come. 

I'm a D&D Luddite: Digital D&D Woes

 

Is it just me, or does the sight of virtual tabletops, tablets, and laptops at the table make you cringe. I suppose I'm like the old man yelling "Get off my lawn!!!" 

Or like the stick in the mud shouting you're not having fun right!!!

Perhaps it's just the nostalgia hound in me, but for me it really breaks immersion the more technologized a game becomes. Now, don't get me wrong, I love my cell phone as much as the next guy. Love my laptop and bathe in streaming services. But when it gets into my game, well, something in me dies a little bit. 

Which, of course has got me to thinking ... Clearly this is a personal opinion. There are those who love these gadgets and fusing them into their gamer brain has made them better, not worse gamers. I have GMed and played on Roll 20 and got into all the added little effects one could optimize into your game. I'll still admit to preferring an in person game to a virtual one, but have to agree that virtual gaming has extended gamers abilities to connect and game more than they would otherwise. 

I also have to ponder on whether I'm trying to recreate an experience of 40 years ago, or really making a justified critique. For instance I never really used minis or maps for game play--until that is D&D 4e. Now, as much as I ended up disliking 4e it changed me. I now rarely run combat without maps and minis. 

Very similar to my home map

I've played Roll20 and without a VTT and just by Skype and Zoom. I have not become converted. In fact it is the primary reason why I am not playing now. When I refused to DM 5e anymore, or any other game I'm not really interested in investing time in, I was left with me AD&D books, my Hackmaster Books, Call of Cthulhu and a few others that I simply couldn't find easy play for. 

Here lately I'm rethinking my position. My lawn is so lonely without all those kids playing on it. I think it's time I take down my anti-digital, luddite fence and maybe look for some digital gaming groups. 

Things I noticed in the DMG: Great Advice Hidden in Saving Throws

AD&D Dungeon Masters Guide 1st Edition, page 80

"As has been often pointed out, AD&D is a game wherein participants create personae and operate them in the milieu created and designed, in whole or in part, by the Dungeon Master and shared by all, including the DM, in imagination and enthusiasm. The central theme of this game is the interaction of these personae, whether those of the players or those of the DM, with the milieu, including that part represented by the characters and creatures personified by the DM. This interaction results in adventures and deeds of daring. The heroic fantasy which results is a blend of the dramatic and the comic, the foolish and the brave, stirring excitement and grinding boredom. It is a game in which the continuing epic is the most meaningful portion. It becomes an entity in which at least some of the characters seem to be able to survive for an indefinite time, and characters who have shorter spans of existence are linked one to the other by blood or purpose. These personae put up with the frustrations, the setbacks, and the tragedies because they aim for and can reasonably expect to achieve adventure, challenge, wealth, glory and more. If player characters are not of the same stamp as Conan, they also appreciate that they are in effect writing their own adventures and creating their own legends, not merely reliving those of someone else's creation."

There are a few places where Gary Gygax writes passages which can be said to capture the spirit of the game. This is certainly one. I can't recall the last time I read it, if ever. Most of us who learn to game do so by word of mouth. We may have read the rulebooks at one time, but most of us go deep only later. In our quest to master the game, we re-read the books with a practiced eye. We begin developing our skill and facility with the rules, and also our understanding of what the game is truly meant to be. Can be. The above quoted portion from the DMG is not earthshattering in its revelation. I quote it more because of what it confirms by way of the scale of the game. Cleary the game is heroic, most of us know that--and this has certainly been the focus of more recent iterations of the rules. What is special here is that it also cites the other elements of the game, comedy, drama, foolishness and even boredom. And though the last line doesn't stand true in modern version of the game, it was certainly the case in 1e. But it gets better...

"Yet because the player character is all-important, he or she must always--or nearly always -  have a chance, no matter how small, a chance of somehow escaping what otherwise would be inevitable destruction. Many will not be able to do so, but the escapes of those who do are what the fabric of the game is created upon. These adventures become the twicetold tales and legends of the campaign. The fame (or infamy) of certain characters gives lustre to the campaign and enjoyment to player and DM alike as the parts grow and are entwined to become a fantastic history of a never-was world where all of us would wish to live if we could." 

The very risk of death is what makes a game epic. The unpredictability of escape and victory allows for epic storytelling. It also allows for pathos, humor, and drama. This unique combination of factors really only comes into its own when the game is played as much as a game as it is a storytelling engine. In this small justification of saving throws Gary encapsulates the very heart of D&D.