Why Do I Need All This Stuff?

I have a nice 5E collection based around the fantastic Level Up Advanced 5E set of rules from EN World, and I am forever ignoring 2014 and 2024 D&D. I can't stand the drama and associated YouTube noise around that blasted game anymore; every week, new drama and clickbait is feeding off of it.

You get a free "+2 ring of drama protection" with either Level Up or Tales of the Valiant. You are out of that market. I don't worry about "class changes" or "power levels," if something is broken over here, I house rule and fix it. I do not subscribe to the YouTube "What did Wizards do this week?" crowd. I needed to walk away to keep optimistic about gaming.

Unlike many, I don't rely on D&D Beyond for character creation. I cherish the freedom and personal touch of crafting my characters by hand. For Tales of the Valiant, I use Hero Lab. I steer clear of the D&D Beyond system, as I believe the data could be used to train AI, potentially compromising the privacy of our characters. Do you really want your character's backstory used to train AI models?

Also, 90% of the third-party books I use for characters do not exist on the D&D Beyond system. If I am stuck in that service, it is a waste of money, and I will never get to use it. I know you can input user data, but ...why?

What often turns me away from 5E are these unconventional old-school games. OSE, DCC, Shadowdark, C&C, and others offer a similar experience to 5E - and in some cases, even better. If I'm in the mood for a classic 'dungeon crawl,' any old-school games deliver it faster, with less complexity, and without the extensive knowledge required by 5E. They offer a new world of discovery and exploration.

Some of them sacrifice the 5E complexity and wisely put it in areas that deliver more fun per page, like the DCC spell system. This balance and efficiency in game design keep me engaged and satisfied.

Others boil the game down to the "essential concepts" and rebuild every aspect of the game for a "table experience" like Shadowdark.

5E has far too many rules. The character sheets are too complicated. Too many "fiddly bits" to a character do not matter unless a specific situation happens. If something happens "once every few sessions," - it is not worth making special rules for it or keeping it on a character sheet.

Sometimes, I like the depth 5E, so I have Level Up (and Tales) and my older books. I don't need to pay $200 for a new set; this works amazingly well to "get my money's worth" from my 5E gaming investment.

But if I do not want that fiddly, complicated depth, much of which is suspect in terms of "work to fun" effort, I will go gonzo old-school any day of the week. DCC does more in terms of "dangerous magic" and "gonzo heroism" than 5E ever could dream of doing, and 5E is not modular enough to support a system like that. When you get a flavor of 5E, it is like buying a video game console, and some things are just too hard to play on the system.

If I want to play 5E and save time sorting through choices and building a character, I will either play Shadowdark or Tales of the Valiant. But even ToV, with Hero Lab, is woefully short of options, and I miss all my 3rd party book content. Online character builders just "ain't it."

OSE, DCC, C&C, or any other "pre-5E" game works amazingly well for anything else. Do I want a "special character ability?" Talk to the referee! Adopt a disadvantage for that power so it balances out. This is old-school gaming; you can throw any temporary or permanent change, remarkable power, or condition on a character anytime!

Did your character touch an ancient statue and gain a once-per-day Charm power?

It is there!

You don't need a rule for that!

Did you rule a character gets a +1 permanent STR adjustment for knocking down an evil temple by rolling a natural 20 on pushing a giant stone pillar down?

Done!

I just ruled it!

Wow, this game is fantastic! It lets you do what you want!

You do not need to worry about 'character validation' in old-school games; it does not exist. You can do this in 5E (and Shadowdark), but I feel too many feel "legal characters" should be the only ones played. Many frown upon doing this sort of "freeform character design" and updating a character during play.

If I want a free-form play and do not want complicated characters, 5E falls flat for me. There are times when "I just don't have the time or mental energy" to do a full session of 5E, and it does not really matter.

That is when I ask, "Do I really need all this stuff?"

Castles & Crusades Added

This isn't in the gonzo genre, but it can be. I love this game so much that I put it away for a while to focus on other games; it just tends to "take over" every other fantasy game in my thinking and play.

It is that amazing.

I felt it wasn't "gonzo" enough, that deadly mix of tension and old-school difficulty that defines the genre. C&C has always been more of an AD&D 2nd Edition style "story game" to me that is compatible with the classics but feels more suited for stories like Dragonlance and the other classics of the 1980s and 1990s.

It is one of my "best of all time" games.

I felt that removing it would help me focus on this blog better. Well, I was wrong about that. I tend to do better with a more narrow focus, but in light of people trying to divide the old-school community, we should not reject any old-school game from any space.

C&C can be a "gonzo" game if you play it that way. It takes adopting that gonzo look and feel, but it can be done. I always felt this was one of the more "serious" retro-games, so it did not feel in this genre, at least not to me.

But let's give it as chance.

In light of the dumb comments many are making about Shadowdark and trying to split the old-school community, I am adding C&C coverage here. We can't be divided. It is funny, when big companies release updates to their games (and try to signing players up for live services), lots of trouble is stirred up in the old-school gaming sphere.

Many troublemakers are trying to stir up anger and division, but we should not let them drive us away from this fantastic place with amazing fans. The value of the old-school community is far greater than the drama they are trying to create.

All old-school games belong together.

I am sorry, I am unsubscribing from any YouTube channel that feeds into this division. I am also tired of the "D&D Beyond and Wizards" drama clickbait channels too; they are going on my unsub lists. I never used D&D Beyond, and I don't care. The last time I used an electronic character sheet was in D&D 4 days, and I learned back then that those online character services are only supported for longer than 5-10 years, and you will lose it all someday.

I still have 40-year-old index cards with characters that are still playable for dozens of games. They are yellowed, but "data retention" on a hand-made character sheet beats many media formats and cloud services.

I still need to find shelves to commit to C&C.

And I need to do a better job balancing all these amazing games.

It is a nice problem to have.

All Old-School Games Belong Together

I love all the old-school games, and OSE sits beside my copy of Shadowdark. There is a mess of fighting in a few circles about these games, which is best ignored.

I would rather spend my time playing and having fun.

To some, everything has to be a fight, and all I do is unsubscribe from their YouTube channels. I don't care if I agree with one side or the other if they call each other idiots and bad actors; sorry, you get an unsub today. Some of them hurt losing because I liked them, and they provided great old-school content, but I'm sorry, I don't support feeding into this anger, and I don't even watch the rants. I don't reply to Twitter threads, I don't share them, and I let it go.

Again, I suspect this is less about anyone having a problem with these games and more about people coming in from outside the community to cause drama and fights. People smell a fight, and they jump in to stir the pot. Most of them probably never touched any of the games they complain about.

As a result, I am storing a few creators' games. If they feed into this circular firing squad, I am out. Some of them I really liked, but now they leave a bad taste in my mouth.

I will replace them with companies that take a "no drama" stance, like Shadowdark and C&C. I am now rethinking Castles & Crusades and may include coverage here (it is fantastic, but it is just not that gonzo-style). I like companies that "keep the drama out" and focus on the game and players.

All old-school games belong together.

Shadowdarkification

My take?

Shadowdark isn't "destroying" the OSR. By the numbers, Shadowdark has likely taken 1,000 times more 5E players than OSR players. If anything, the Shadowdarkification applies more to the 5E player base than any OSR game, as people walk away and see what a bloated pay-to-play mess D&D is these days.

People want to create a wedge for two reasons:

• Grognards don't want "normies in the hobby."
  
• 5E players are running a stop-loss campaign to "save" 2024.

The whole idea of a wedge existing here at all is dumb. There isn't. Someone invented it to get attention.

Shadowdarkification is an excellent description of what is happening to 5E, not the OSR. The "pressure" being applied here is on the market leader, not the indies. Wizards of the Coast has yet to develop a strategy for younger or casual gamers. They expect everyone to use the website and VTT software and pour through thousands of pages of rules, costing about $200 for the entire game, in an online reader.

Nine-year-old kids are running Shadowdark for their families. Show me how D&D does that. I know some OSR games that can be run like that, too, OSE being one of them. Many other games just fail this test.

Once people have tried Shadowdark, they will be drawn to explore similar experiences here. OSE, DCC, and many other great games offer unique experiences and are part of a vibrant community that can expand your gaming horizons and bring a fresh perspective to your RPG journey.

I have seen many OSE players saying they love Shadowdark, too, but still see OSE as the game they would play for greater depth and long-lasting campaigns. OSE is the spiritual successor for B/X and BECMI, and in a way, OSE was the "Shadowdark" to the entire OSR back when Swords & Wizardry, Labyrinth Lord, and many other retro-clones were out there preaching the gospel.

OSE is the more "in-depth" game. It does not have some of Shadowdark's "board game" aspects. It is better suited for classic campaigning, wilderness exploration, and long-term campaigns and delivers the classic game feeling. OSE has far more options than Shadowdark regarding classes, races, spells, magic items, monsters, and play options with hirelings, ships, land travel, expeditions, and even realm construction.

You can't claim a hex, attract followers, and settle the land in Shadowdark with realm play. That is "built into" OSE at the high level for every class. The two games don't compete, and it is a dumb idea to suggest it. They are very different games with different focuses.

Shadowdark can teach 5E players how to play games like OSE and DCC very well.

DCC is a totally different beast. There aren't many light and encumbrance rules or even a codified gear list in the game. It is more of a "gonzo experience party game" where crazy things happen constantly in an Appendix N stream of consciousness.

OSE came in with a highly organized, easy-to-use, simplified, clean, and fun "common version" of the game that played very old-school. OSE was the Shadowdark of the OSR, and products like this that "change the narrative" become de-facto leaders. I loved Labyrinth Lord, but OSE was a cleaner, easier-to-use, and more presentable product to a larger audience than LL. Shadowdark is that, but compared to 5E, it is the same experience but better.

Where Shadowdark shines is in "dungeon play" at a table, with a ticking clock and limited resources. It is like the classic HeroQuest board game mixed with D&D; it is the best version of that experience. D&D wants to be an "identity game," so that is where their focus is, and it is not on classic dungeon crawling.

OSE and Shadowdark sit side-by-side on my gaming shelf.

Right next to my DCC dice sets I use to play them all.

Shadowdark is Easy to Explain

I was chatting with a few folks familiar with 5E but only a little else. They're not hardcore gamers, just casual players who enjoy a good game of D&D now and then.

When I introduce Shadowdark to them, they quickly grasp its concept and mechanics, demonstrating the game's simplicity and ease of understanding. Knowing it's simple enough this should make you feel at ease and comfortable with the game.

• It has a torch timer!
• No ancestry can see in the dark!
• The darkness is very dangerous! Disadvantage! Double encounter chances!
• You take zero-level characters through a gauntlet!
• You get random rewards as you level!
• It is a one-book game!
• Stitch bound, heavy paper, and a bookmark!
• High-quality book! Easy to read and understand!
• It uses 5E rules!

That's it; five or six points out of the above sell them the game. Especially the one-book game part is a relief for many who are tired of spending a fortune on D&D books. With Shadowdark, you get a high-quality game with a single-book buy-in, making you feel financially secure and smart for choosing this cost-effective option.

I can't describe Old School Essentials or Dungeon Crawl Classics similarly. Shadowdark is a straightforward sell to 5E players, and you have to step outside your "gamer shoes" and look at this from a mass-market perspective. Shadowdark is as easy to sell to people as Monopoly.

• Easy to play.
• Compelling bullet-point rules.
• Single book buy-in.
• High-quality product.
• Familiar system.

DCC: I can explain it, but it is not as easy since I am trying to convey "Appendix N" concepts. It is easier to explain DCC in terms of Shadowdark, like an "Advanced Shadowdark," if that makes sense. DCC is also a harder sell since it uses dice people don't typically have, and those are a bit pricy, too. DCC is the "old school style on crack." Selling DCC is like trying to sell a feeling, idea, way of life, or lost ancient art. When people "get it," things are amazing.

But DCC is too big for most people and has far too many charts for everything. I could not "sell" people on this; it's not as easy to communicate the "why" as Shadowdark.

I still love my DCC books, though. The DCC adventures have replaced all my classic TSR modules as my "new classics." These inspire me. DCC and Shadowdark are more fun to read than D&D books, which is another plus for both of them.

OSE is "like the old ways of playing," but again, you need a frame of reference to the old game to understand it. If you ask most people, "What was it like to play in the old days?" You will get blank stares or a million random answers.

If people played 5E, they would know all the basic rules of Shadowdark. They have the dice. They have a frame of reference. They also know what a challenging game is like, like Dark Souls or Elden Ring. They are likely hardcore players tired of the weight of 5E or new players who bounced off the complexity and buy-in. Also, character creation is fast, without flipping through books or using a premium website.

When I said, "uses a simple version of the 5E rules," they were sold.

The game is also comfortable and familiar. Where D&D needs to overdo it on the art and ship a thousand pages with far too many rules and options, Shadowdark can get the same thing done in a single book, and the player-facing parts of the game are mostly what is on the character sheets. Most of Shadowdark are tables with which to create adventures and GM-focused material. Even then, there is little to running Shadowdark that a player couldn't pick up in one session. I saw one YouTube video where a family's nine-year-old was refereeing the game quite successfully.

Shadowdark succeeds because explaining the game to people who played 5E once or twice is effortless. One or two of those bullet points, and they are like, "I am interested in this." Also, the awards it won make it even more compelling since people in the mainstream tend to avoid uncertain and unrecognized things. When I said, "Won awards at Gen Con," suddenly, it wasn't just my word that they were taking. They knew Gen Con. They could go verify the awards and see the excitement.

Awards matter.

In other games, I have more difficulty explaining "what this is." When you have to "sell" a game to get someone interested, Shadowdark has many features that make it easy.

Back in Stock: Shadowdark RPG (Physical Book)

https://www.thearcanelibrary.com/products/shadowdark-rpg

The print versions of Shadowdark are back in stock. After all of the awards, these will probably be selling fast, so grab a physical book if you have always wanted one!

Old School Essentials is Amazing

Old School Essentials is still the gold standard of B/X and classic gaming. In the past, I dismissed this for not having enough "flash" in the characters, or some games implemented a little more to the fighter class than this—but coming back, this game does more than enough. The fighter is comparable compared to other character classes; the fighter holds their own and is a valuable class to have in a party.

A fallacy of game design is always thinking you need to give "toys" to players to keep them interested. Fighters in OSE can be very overpowered, not only in being the best at fighting and advancing quickly, but they can establish a stronghold at any level and put an army together. Most classes must wait until the 8th or 9th level to do this. If you score a big haul of gold in OSE at the 4th level and claim land, build that castle and roll around with your knights and archers, and the sky is the limit if you have the gold. Your posse can start brutally punishing random encounters in hexes, and you will wonder why you spent so much time with inwardly focused "5-me."

OSE revels in the joy of retainers, hirelings, and small armies. This is a joy only a few players know or appreciate. This is an "epic story-level play" more than the solo superheroes of modern games, where you are playing a Game of Thrones-style experience with apprentices, hirelings, small units of loyal men, and specialists tagging along. 5E actively discourages you from hiring help because the game will break if you get 20 archers together and kill dragons in one turn.

Barbarians get even more insane, and you start wondering if you are playing a tabletop wargame at the 8th level and above the 10th, you are building longboats and sacking kingdoms.

Even bards get their college, troupe, manor, or band at the 11th level. What game gives you a free rock band?

If they vow to cleanse the lands of evil, paladins can get help from their holy order and possibly get their stronghold and followers for free. The rules say "permission," but they don't mention cost. Since paladins must tithe, their order may chip in and help (or pay for it entirely if they have been very generous over their career). Also, note clerics get half-price strongholds. That is an outstanding deal.

Even DCC doesn't do this gonzo, clash of armies, end-game that well. Refrain from letting the low power level fool you at the start. OSE can be a powerhouse end-game where you are laying claim to hexes and changing the map. You are not getting laser-pistol cantrips on your fingers like 5E, but you get so much more in the endgame that it does not compare.

A referee can award XP and treasure at an accelerated rate (OSE Referee's Tome, page 5), so if a group wants, the endgame can come quickly. You could milestone XP and advance a level a session (OSE Player's Tome, page 88) by just house ruling this advancement rate (OSE Player's Tome, page 8).

Old School Essentials is a game that thrives on versatility. Whether you're a Classic or Advanced style fan, this game has many options to keep you engaged. Despite having less content than Advanced, the Classic book is a treasure trove of fun that I hold dear. This versatility ensures the game can adapt to different play styles, making it a top choice for gamers.

Advanced takes the game in a new direction, with classes and races that were not in the original game but feel right at home alongside the others. This is more of the familiar B/X and AD&D mix of how we played. It is very similar to Labyrinth Lord but also different in allowing for many more races and classes.

Unlike Shadowdark and Dungeon Crawl Classics, OSE does not have the "roll to cast" plus corruption systems in using magic, nor does it have the rolling to cast in divine magic where a cleric's god can be angered (though a referee could rule this). Shadowdark leans closer to classic board-game dungeon-crawlers such as Dungeon! or Hero Quest in some ways and also 'board games' in some parts of the experience. This is an excellent thing since 'games were meant to be played together,' and enhancing the small-group experience is why Shadowdark is as popular as it is - it understands its audience and the settings the game is played in.

I love Shadowdark. This is a transformative game in the 5E space, reminding people why they play with others. D&D has pushed identity too hard and forgotten about group dynamics and play. Wizards adopted the Critical Role "play acting" style and leaned far too hard into that space. Shadowdark is unafraid to jettison power gaming, identity builds, blaster videogame cantrips, play-acting, cartoony ancestries, and things that distract from the core experience.

When all distractions are removed from the game, the group dynamics remain. When a ticking clock element, like the torches, is introduced, that group dynamic is stressed, and people are forced to work together. The fewer distractions, the better the game gets. Spells, player actions, movement, combat, ability checks, and everything in the game are designed to be distraction-free with clear choices. What you say your character does, where they look in a room, and what they poke with the 10-foot pole is essential. You can't "passive your way through" a dungeon with a radar build.

Shadowdark one-shot-killed the 30-minute player turn like a backstab rolling a natural 20, and D&D is sitting there wondering what happened.

OSE is more traditional and, compared to Shadowdark, can be a higher-powered game. When you play Shadowdark, you are being trained to play OSE correctly. The mindset is there. After you experience Shadowdark, you understand where OSE is coming from. A player who has only experienced 5E will pick up OSE and wonder what the big deal is? Where are the high-powered feats? Why can't I blast my way through a dungeon with cantrips? People say 5E is "fixed 4E," but a lot of 4E is still in this game, especially the MMO mentality.

I have seen 5E players experience Shadowdark, and then they clicked and understood OSE completely. Whereas Shadowdark offers a narrow and focused experience, OSE traditionally offers the entire old-school experience without the group timer and other dynamic gameplay elements. I love the group dynamics, discovery through play, and focused rules of Shadowdark, but OSE also runs a lean and classic campaign experience. Shadowdark tends to be more survival and character-focused, whereas OSE does the grand campaign with strongholds and followers quite well.

Both games are very complimentary to each other, and the cross-over between them is very easy.