People who have been following me on my rambles know that my early imprinting by D&D manifests itself today primarily in my love for Paizo (and their Pathfinder RPG and its third party publishers) and the OSR (and its multitude of bloggers, do-it-yourselfers, cloners, and pontificators). The OSR can be (and
has. Oh boy, has it.) analyzed in multiple ways, but at least one way of looking at it is by distinguishing between the
nouveau professionals and the do-it-yourself crowd. I'm glad they are both there. They have the potential for different strengths and weaknesses, and I believe this is another one of those areas of life where pluralism is a good thing. But as somebody squeaking by as an adjunct until the big money comes a-callin', (and, okay, I have through one of my family lines a good infusion of Scots) I really appreciate the sharers out their who give their hard work and inspiration away. We should all be rewarding these folks with appreciative comments and critical feedback (and I'm saying this to myself, above all). But sometimes the relatively commercialized, that is, the for-pay folks, offer one of their products for free. This I also appreciate, and I was reminded by the recent appearance of The Marg that not everyone may have stumbled across these lovely giveaways. Now is a great time to get two pay OSR products in PDF format for free for a limited time.
The new issue of Oubliette:
And an old issue of Fight On!
It's a great time to get a feel for what OSR zines have to offer -- just click on the covers linked above. For those who, like me, have to hold off on any further subscription for the time being, some gamers Down Under produce
ENCOUNTER magazine. You know, that makes me curious to see the insides of
Knockspell, which I've never seen.
:-)
A big thank you to the generosity of the gamers involved in the above enterprises, whatever their ideologies. If they are out to earn an honest buck, I hope that their generosity pays off. If they are committed to free gaming, then may their generosity return to them. And remember, if it's nae Scottish, it's crap!
