How to Run Your First OSR Campaign if You're Coming From One D&D | 5e | 5.5 | 6e

#dnd #dungeonsanddragons #dnd5e
I got the idea for this video from Greg Stafford, who in a comment in my last video asked for “Suggestions for an adventure for a newbie to try older system where I’d take players who have only players 5e?” So I decided to answer it here, talking about how best to start an OSR style campaign using all that we learned over the years. Don't do it the old way that we used to, but do it in the old school style. Two different things. I hope you enjoy the video.
My original video is here:
Not Happy with One D&D 5e 5.5 6e ? Check Out the OSR! An Introduction
• Not Happy with One D&D...
Links to videos referenced in this one:
Erik Tenkar of Tenkar’s Tavern: The OSR is NOT What We Remember it to Be - How Many Sandboxes or Hex Crawls Did You Run?
• The OSR is NOT What We...
Greyhawk Grognard Joe Bloch did a video on it: How did you Play D&D Back in the Day?
• How did you Play D&D B...
Benoist Poire: Tabletop RPG Talk: The OSR is not like it was "Back Then"
• Tabletop RPG Talk: The...
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[@petegiant]

The way to do sandbox is to ask the players at the end of each session what they plan to do next session.

[@dmjamesplaysosr]

Another great part of the OSR is how inexpensive many OSR games are, many are free.

[@dinbabwa452]

Developing a whole world that adventures may not see seems like a tragic waste of time

[@stillmattwest]

The biggest OSR myth is that we used to avoid combat back in the day. Maybe some groups did but mine didn’t. We brawled.

[@baileywatts1304]

My group never bought modules, so the published adventures never really gave us the direction for how it was supposed to be played. It was 90s for us, not the 80s so the Gazeteer series was a big influence on us. Lots of hex crawling with delving into ruins we'd find along the way. Exploration was the main thing. Our hex map was blank at the start of the campaign and we'd filled the thing in with colored pencil a couple years later and it felt good.

[@SteveBonario]

Rule systems exist to give the group an agreed upon framework for the game -- so everyone knows what the bounds are. Yes, rules can also affect the style of game, but a DM can always run a game in a certain style regardless of rules. I run what I think of as "old school" D&D, inspired by tropes from Fritz Lieber's Fafhrd and Gray Mouser stories, but using 5e rules. Dragonlance was released under the

[@felisleo101]

Props to mentioning both Peter Zeihan and Baron de Ropp. 👍

[@chrisragner3882]

My return to DMing I gave the players their binding background that they met in the military and one moved to a village to be its blacksmith. He had a letter written (he can’t read or write) to his buddies to come help rescue the daughter of a beloved farmer who was kidnapped. I had an idea of what the kidnappers wanted and that was about it. It became a full blown adventure for two years just in the surrounding community and still more to come. And it took little effort.

[@joelkurowski9276]

I'm happy to see someone using Forgotten Realms as it should be- a toolbox and set of resources rather than a scripted, metaplot-driven backdrop for NPC Theatre that it has become in the days since the Old Grey Box. A lot of people rag on it as a setting but there's so much good to be mined there, not least of which are the amazing maps. I personally like to set things in Damara- my own little undeveloped corner of the Realms that I've made my own.

[@dmjamesplaysosr]

My B/X and AD&D games were sandbox, I used B2 as a starting point.

[@freddaniel5099]

T1Village of Homlet continues to inspire me. There are so many good stories to explore outside of what the module focuses on.

[@jeremymullens7167]

Gygax had advice to just pick options that made sense. Pick the monster, pick the treasure. It was always supposed to be a mix. The random tables was there for when you didn’t have time or the cart went off the track.

[@zantharian57]

I just ordered the entire catalog of Old School Essentials material, I plan on converting my D&D5e group over to OSR. You are one of the first people I watched on this subject, thanks!

[@joerama]

Truly inspiring (independent of the OSR byline). Great tips on RPG adventure and fostering role-play mentality. Whirlwind introduction to world-building basics, leveraging what you’ve got. Great sample maps without overdoing it. Love the tips on making a mega-dungeon into “a living, breathing environment” (@25min). Oodles of GM wisdom. Well done and… TY!

[@gamearttutorpl3174]

I really like the pre-determined random encounters idea!

[@deathbare5306]

Brother you nailed it. You described exactly what I’ve been doing - much more eloquently than I could. Keep up the content!

[@crumbling1192]

Hi Joe, I just discovered your channel and am quite enjoying it. I'm also an OG, and played my first D&D game in '80 or '81 (memory fades), but veered off into other genres and systems before finally returning to my first love during the pandemic (and finally dragging my similarly long-toothed group into the 21st century and the wonders of VTTs).

[@jeffallen559]

Back in the 80's we did a mix of hex crawl, TSR modules and dungeons that we created. The plot was never very complicated. Mostly hack and slash. I think the only difference now, if I would run something now, it would still be a sandbox in the sense that the players pretty much guide the plot but things that happen would be more logical. If there is a dungeon there would be a good reason for one rather than just some weird dungeon plopped into the game for no good reason.

[@seanhruz3063]

Really inspiring video! Made me want to gi and get to work. Kinda had to hit pause after you talked about designing a starter village. I wanna make sure I master the foundational aspects first. Keep up the good work!

[@ratiquette]

Really helpful advice, thank you. I’ve had a lot of success running sci-fi campaigns and making the setting feel vibrant and alive, but having a hard time transferring that over to a fantasy system. When you said that dungeons are there but not the focus it really clicked together for me.