thread: 2011-07-06 : I <3 the OSR...
On 2011-07-14, Bwian wrote:
@David
Yep. That's it.
I'm not claiming that it will meet your requirements... but it does have a minimal set of techniques/methods.
Is it enough to run a game? A good game? That depends 1) what game you want to run; 2) what transferable skills you already have; 3) your audience etc.
I hear what you're saying about 'old news'.
Talk to me about 'useability'. What do you mean by that?
Focus I think you get in Moldvay, since its so small (although, as I say, the player-centred presentation throws it off a bit)
The six 'must master' items in Moldvay (p B60) are listed as:
- That's not in the rules! (GM improvises rulings)
- There's always a chance (allow a saving throw)
- DM is Boss (resolving conflict over rules/rulings)
- Everyone is here to have fun (focus on the fiction, keep the game moving)
- Everything is balanced (threat vs. reward, adapting to group preference)
- Your character doesn't know that (enforcing character ignorance)
pp. B60-B61 also add ten 'optional suggestions' ranging from Mapping (getting players to draw a map of the dungeon as they explore) to Playing Surface (using a 'battlemap' or similar for tactical display).
Add to this what is covered in the main body of the rules (designing scenarios, dungeons etc), and you have 'a GM toolkit'. Is it the perfect toolkit? *shrug*
Its not beautifully laid out. But it is short. That's a BIG virtue.
Something that has never really happened is tool descriptions at the level of 'micro-skills', although this was partly covered by 'examples of play'. Your cartoons are a step in that direction. Good luck! :)
As for needing a 'brilliant GM'... I don't know. I have always found some players easier to please than others. 8)
What games were you playing in, say 1990?
