“Our thoughts form the universe.”
— G’Kar, Babylon 5
Foreword
The first issue of Bent Worlds is finally in (virtual) hand! Thanks so much for subscribing and I hope you find it worth your time.
As a project, everything about this will be in flux and change as I come to grips with this particular medium and figure out what works for you, my dear readers and partners on this journey. With that in mind, please let me know what you’d like to see, what you don’t want to see, and any other comments. I shall do what is within my powers to oblige.
Excelsior!
The OSR in 2021
What OSR means in 2021 has been on my mind of late. As with past years, there are endless discussions about what it is, what it isn't, what belongs and what doesn't belong. In my latest YouTube video, I took a shot at looking at it and, I think, perhaps immodestly, that I found a someone unique angle on it.
Not that I or anyone else could hope to solve this unsolvable quandary. My point, besides perhaps that it's time to retire the phrase altogether, is that OSR systems, as I see them, prioritize procedural mechanics over what I called "interactive" mechanics.
I'm not at all sure that interactive mechanics are the right phrase for this. What I mean are mechanics that create interlocking effects, currencies, synergies and their opposites, with play coming as a result of the web of all these different things influencing and playing off each other.
An example might be illustrative. Surprise in OSR tends to be a flat roll, generally a one or two in six chance, regardless of most factors like level or class, and made as a group. Contrast that with determining surprise in 5E, with all the factors that might enter into the calculations, such as (passive) Perception, in-born abilities, class features, etc., usually done on a creature by creature basis.
Neither of these is better than the other but I saw a clear difference in the approach these two types of systems use. OSR tends to have a very mechanical, almost board game type resolution: each turn, do X, Y, Z. If situation A, engage mechanic B. 5E and other games take a much more fluid, idiosyncratic approach. This is why, I think, sandbox games work so well in OSR but can be much more difficult in 5E. There's a lack of this rigid systemic structure in favor of a more narrative focused, freeform organization.
I got a lot of great and interesting comments on YouTube, Reddit, and elsewhere on this topic (as expected). For some folk, the determining factor of OSR-ness is simply age, for others different cultures of play. If you have an opinion or point of view, I’d love to hear it so let me know!
Worldbuilding Blocks:
Settlements
Let’s talk settlements for a sec. Am I the only one that obsesses over trying to formulate some kind of order for them?
Because I like to plan as little as possible from session to session, I lean into random and procedural generators a lot, whether of my own Rube Goldberg design or by someone smarter and resourceful than I. For settlements, if I’ve either pre-determined that, yes, some folk have decided to settle on this spot, or, in the spur of the moment, realized, I guess there is a settlement here, I like to classify the size of the place and then use that to determine what resources might be there.
Roughly speaking, I break it down like this:
Outpost: very isolated, a handful of families or less, 1 in 6 chance of any ONE thing being there (ie. if we’ve determined that there is a blacksmith’s forge there, that’s it, no chance of any other thing, say a fletcher’s, being there.)
Hamlet: a handful or two of families, a 1 in 6 chance of any three things being there.
Village: a dozen or more families, a 2 in 6 chance of any three things being there.
Town: two or more dozen families, a 3 in 6 chance of any four things being there.
Market Town: dozens of families, 4 in 6 chance of any thing being there.
City: a hundred or more families, at least one of any thing is there.
Capital: at least one hundred families, multiples of any thing are there.
By things, here I’m talking about resources and institutions, such as a blacksmith, fletcher, bowyer, etc. Every settlement larger than an outpost will have a religious presence of some sort. Every settlement larger than a hamlet will have some sort of military or paramilitary presence and some kind of defensive perimeter (ditch, palisade, wall, etc.) If there’s no immediate (para)military presence, then there’s usually a nearby power source that provides it, either a larger settlement, a castle, or some other locus of authority.
Note that my settlement sizes are generally modest, compared to settings like Faerun.
By the time I’ve picked a size and rolled some dice, I’ve got a pretty good sketch of the place. At that point, I like to answer a couple of questions about it to supply some unique color or flair:
Who Thinks They Run the Place?
This is the person or organization who either claims to be in charge or seems to be in charge of the place.
Who REALLY Runs the Place?
This is the person or organization who wields the real authority here: the power behind the scenes.
What Do They Celebrate?
What is the spirit of the place? Do they celebrate seasonal milestones? Do they wrap themselves in nostalgia of past events or local legendary personalities? Do they count themselves as mystics or learned sages or great bards?
What is a Secret that They Don’t Want Revealed?
Every place has a skeleton in its closet. What thing, past or present, does the settlement try hard to keep hidden away.
If I go through this process, at the end of it I’ve got a mental picture of the place. While I don’t yet have any particulars, I’ve got enough notes to play with that I feel I can comfortably roll with things at the table.
Example: Nob’s Hill
Market Town (approx. 80 families plus others; capital of the Viscounty)
Has: an inn, blacksmith, general supply, fletcher, bowyer, and barber-surgeon.
Who Thinks They Run the Place: the Viscount
Who REALLY Runs the Place: No one
What Do They Celebrate: the town lives in the nostalgia of its founding story of a legendary warrior who defeated a giant named Nob and took this place from them.
What Secret Do They Keep: that the town is spiraling downwards due to the lack of leadership and direction from the Viscount who has essentially given up practical governing without any individual or group present to take up the reins.
Flotsam and Jetsam
And now for something completely different… links!
When I come across interesting or useful stuff, I try to bookmark it somewhere so I can retrieve it later. Here’s a selection of the most interesting or useful stuff that is in my link pile at the moment. Feel free to send me your links if you’ve found, or made, something that you think is worth sharing.
“Productive Scab-picking: On Oppressive Themes in Gaming” by Allandaros
“Exploding the Encounter Die” by W. F. Smith
“Sorcery is a Sword Without a Hilt” by Rise Up Comus
“Hex Power Flower – Weather” by Goblin’s Henchmen
That’s all for now, thanks for reading! If you aren’t already subscribed, press the button below. Please share this if you think it sharable and leave a comment if you’ve got one!
Game on!
First, as always, great work.
Also, I haven't gotten to hit all the links, but I do so love that weather generator from Goblin's Henchman.
I really like your settlement process. I'm for sure writing that down. Quick and easy. Love it.
Cheers,
Laramie