OSR is Punk Rock to me!

I know, I know. Most of people associate the OSR with Heavy Metal, and they may have their reasons, with all the fantasy wierd lyrics of metal bands, one of the big names in the OSR being really influenced by heavy metal, and all that. I get it.

Well, not so much. Maybe because I am not an native English speaker, I have a harder time understanding heavy metal songs, and I can’t really play instruments that well (most heavy metal that I know needs a lot of skill to play their songs). I never had this problem with Punk Rock though.

And the Punk Rock culture has a lot in common with the OSR culture, at least the way I see it. It basically taking something old, solid and simple and making something new, personal and creative with it. It doesn’t have to be polished. We make do with what we have. I can be dirty, it can be aggressive, you just do it because you can and you don’t give a fuck about what others might think of it.

Like the 3 chords from Punk Rock, the OSR has the Old D&D Rules to riff with and do their own thing. It’s simple, it works and almost anyone can try to play with it. You do not have to be a musician to play Punk Rock, you don’t have to be a graduate in Game Design to create OSR stuff.

Like the many garage Punk Rock bands, we have hundreds of games, zines, supplements, adventures and what not created by all sorts of people, from all around the world, with minimal or astronomical experience with games.

And like Punk Rock, all you need to start playing with it is simple things and basically no training at all. Just get a graph paper, a rule set that has been there for almost 50 years and mess around with it.

So let’s rock!

I love Punk Rock. I love the Ramones. I love the OSR.

Yeah, yeah. Not a very useful post gaming wise, right? I will start posting about Anttelius, the setting toolbox for Sharp Swords & Sinister Spells tomorrow, I promise.

While we wait, why don’t you take a look at the complete text of Solar Blades & Cosmic Spells RPG?

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Old Skulling

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