Back in 1995, we had a club in Stroudsburg, PA called Spanky's. We had some great bands come through there--Texas is the Reason, 108, Good Riddance, The Scofflaws, Murphy's Law, H2O, Ignite, Mustard Plug, Shift, Supertouch, Shades Apart, Mephiskapheles, Weston, the list goes on.
We also had a local band, Feeble, that was a raucous blend of hardcore and punk and ready to make that next big jump. Toby from H2O was wearing their shirt on tour and was ready to take Feeble on the road with them. Less Than Jake was ready to do a split with them (and this was right as Pezcore was breaking). Then all of a sudden they broke up. The members (and fans) who liked hardcore more went one way, the members (and fans) who liked punk more went another. All of a sudden, the punk, ska, and hardcore shows which got 150 people in the club were getting less than 50. All kinds of shit was being talked. People were convinced that they "knew what punk rock was all about" and loved to proselytize about it. Friendships ended when friends wouldn't end friendships with people that didn't subscribe to that person's theory of punk rock. Spanky's ended up closing its doors and the scene here in the Poconos never recovered.
While OSR is supremely more of a niche hobby than punk rock, I see a lot of people who want to tell me what OSR is all about.
Go fuck yourself.
I've been there already. I've seen something I poured every cent I scraped together at a shitty job and every free moment that job gave me into the punk rock scene and when it all fell apart because people's egos couldn't handle the competition, it sucked.
I'm not going to have someone's fragile ego dictate what I do with my money and time. I've earned it and I'm going to do what I goddamn please with it.
If you don't like Dungeon Crawl Classics? Don't fucking play it. If you don't like the artwork in the Grindhouse Edition of Lamentations of the Flame Princess? Don't fucking buy it.
But don't you get up on some soapbox and tell the fucking world that you speak for me. The only person who speaks for me is Dennis Fucking Higgins. And I'll tell you what, Dennis Fucking Higgins loves Lamentations of the Flame Princess. He's got mixed feelings about Dungeon Crawl Classics, but he at least applauds the attempt. I'll give any game a whirl once. Hell, I even looked into making a Synapse character when the challenge went out. You'll note that I didn't post about it. I didn't enjoy the experience and I'm not a fan of the game at all. I didn't talk shit on it because at least someone is trying to push new boundaries.
Just because I support your endeavors doesn't mean you speak for me.
I'm pissed that this finally got to me. I'm pissed that something that has been part of me since I was nine years old is a source of frustration these days. I'm pissed that I'm more prone to "mark all as read" than see what is up in the blogosphere.
Grrr. Rant over. Joesky Tax Time.
Generic Riot Cause Generator (or "Why have the Citizens Taken To The Street?") (d10)
We also had a local band, Feeble, that was a raucous blend of hardcore and punk and ready to make that next big jump. Toby from H2O was wearing their shirt on tour and was ready to take Feeble on the road with them. Less Than Jake was ready to do a split with them (and this was right as Pezcore was breaking). Then all of a sudden they broke up. The members (and fans) who liked hardcore more went one way, the members (and fans) who liked punk more went another. All of a sudden, the punk, ska, and hardcore shows which got 150 people in the club were getting less than 50. All kinds of shit was being talked. People were convinced that they "knew what punk rock was all about" and loved to proselytize about it. Friendships ended when friends wouldn't end friendships with people that didn't subscribe to that person's theory of punk rock. Spanky's ended up closing its doors and the scene here in the Poconos never recovered.
While OSR is supremely more of a niche hobby than punk rock, I see a lot of people who want to tell me what OSR is all about.
Go fuck yourself.
I've been there already. I've seen something I poured every cent I scraped together at a shitty job and every free moment that job gave me into the punk rock scene and when it all fell apart because people's egos couldn't handle the competition, it sucked.
I'm not going to have someone's fragile ego dictate what I do with my money and time. I've earned it and I'm going to do what I goddamn please with it.
If you don't like Dungeon Crawl Classics? Don't fucking play it. If you don't like the artwork in the Grindhouse Edition of Lamentations of the Flame Princess? Don't fucking buy it.
But don't you get up on some soapbox and tell the fucking world that you speak for me. The only person who speaks for me is Dennis Fucking Higgins. And I'll tell you what, Dennis Fucking Higgins loves Lamentations of the Flame Princess. He's got mixed feelings about Dungeon Crawl Classics, but he at least applauds the attempt. I'll give any game a whirl once. Hell, I even looked into making a Synapse character when the challenge went out. You'll note that I didn't post about it. I didn't enjoy the experience and I'm not a fan of the game at all. I didn't talk shit on it because at least someone is trying to push new boundaries.
Just because I support your endeavors doesn't mean you speak for me.
I'm pissed that this finally got to me. I'm pissed that something that has been part of me since I was nine years old is a source of frustration these days. I'm pissed that I'm more prone to "mark all as read" than see what is up in the blogosphere.
Grrr. Rant over. Joesky Tax Time.
Generic Riot Cause Generator (or "Why have the Citizens Taken To The Street?") (d10)
- A heinous crime (murder, rape, etc.) has gone unpunished. Roll a d6. 1-3: They are lynching the perpetrator 4-6: They are simply demanding justice.
- There is a shortage of a staple. Roll a d6. 1-2: Food 3-4: Beer 5-6: Water
- Two rivals started a scuffle and it escalated. Roll a d6: 1-3: Guildsmen 4-6: Gangs
- They found a witch and now they want to burn her.
- It's all just a drunken miscalculation.
- The puritanical powers-that-be put an end to a popular event. Roll a d6: 1-2: Theatre Production 3-4: Gambling Ring 5-6: Fighting Ring
- It's a carefully calculated plot designed to serve as cover for a much more nefarious act. Roll a d6: 1-3: It's criminal in nature 4-6: It's political in nature
- Some supernatural entity caused it and is feeding off of it.
- One neighborhood is jealous of the relative affluence of another and is handling it poorly.
- It was a celebration gone awry.
Nice table. Though I'd make it a d20...
ReplyDelete1. A heinous...lynching
2. A heinous...justice
3. shortage...food
4. shortage...beer
5. shortage...water
6. rival...guildsmen
7. rivals...gangs
8-9. witch
10-11. durnk miscalc
12. puritanical...theatre
13. puritanical...gambling
14. puritanical...fighting
15.plot...criminal
16. plot...political
17. supernatural entity
18. jealous..poorly
19-20. celebration gone awry
Shifts the odds slightly but you do get everything in one roll
YAYFREESHITTHANXYOUARERAWK!
ReplyDeleteALSO OSR IS JUST LIKE YOUR PINKMETALLS SCEEN BECUZ
THEY BOATH ARE FOR 150 PEEPLES!!!1
:p
-NUNYA
Amen, from another PA brother.
ReplyDeleteYea, verily!
ReplyDeleteWow. If you don't like what the guy has to say don't read it. Isn't that the same point you're trying to make? Free speech and all that jazz. Your post is the height of hypocrisy like many of the other bloggers. Poeple can publish what they want, people can say what they want on their blogs. And another blog bites the dust for me. I won't be immature and curse and insult like so many OSR blogger seem to enjoy doing. Grow up.
ReplyDeleteYou know, the same thing goes for the other side. I was playing Holmes Basic before Zak was alive, yet he routinely trolled my blog to critique my methods. Who the hell is he to do that? Yet whenever I or my readers would jump in his shit, we got the usual, "Your arguments are based upon subjective morals and are therefore irrelevant."
ReplyDeleteBut that's how it is with Zak. If you aren't doing it his way he tells you you're wrong. When you call him out, he says it's all relative. Such a load of garbage.
And here Zak is, making nice on your blog, trying to make friends after the beating he and Raggi received on other sites. I bet this is the first post he's ever made here. I noticed he's been making the rounds, saying flattering things on blogs where he's never posted to previously.
I'm an old school gamer (as well as new school), but the OSR and it's poster children can go to hell.
@Zanazaz - The difference, Zanazaz, is that, among other things, Greg tried to co-opt Higgipedia for his agenda. It's not that Greg can't post whatever the hell he wants. But we have the right to speak our mind about what he says. And if you're going to be a dick, you'd better be prepared to catch some flak. Free speech is a bitch! If you don't like what someone says, you can ignore it, disagree with it, publicly or otherwise, or choose some other course.
ReplyDeleteYou're making the mistaken assertion that someone's respecting Greg's rights to free-speech precludes them from telling him he's full of shit!
@Christian - We're choosing sides now? Because, I gotta tell ya, speaking for myself alone, I had a blogfight with one person. For my own reasons. It had absolutely nothing to do with your being pissed of at Zak!
ReplyDeleteAnd just how many OSR folk have pissed you off, to the point that we can all go to hell?
Great post!
ReplyDelete@ Zanazaz, saying that you're annoyed at something someone says is also exercising free speech. Saying that you wish they'd shut up is free speech -- they are free to completely ignore you. Where's the hypocrisy?
No one is shutting anyone down! Everyone is talking! It may be tiresome, but I think it's the most entertaining thing that's happened in the OSR blog world in a long time, so I kind of hope it lasts at least a little longer.
I have nothing to add, except I am just a little sorry I didn't name my kid Dennis F***ing Higgins.
ReplyDeleteI love your table... I've run a few riots in my games and this is a great set of reasons for throwing a riot... like it.
ReplyDeleteAs someone who is definitely playing new-school games but loves old school and really enjoys reading the OSR blogs for the memories... I gotta say, this whole argument really is sad. But I'm with the poster here. If you don't like the game, don't read or promote the game -- and if you are really offended, feel free to approach others with you ideas in a respectful way. When someone starts dictating to -- or presuming to speak for -- others, that's a problem.
Mmmm, Good Riddance. Good shit.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFkpCwOaxPM
Lets not forget that none of the blogosphere's pompous asses have the right or authority to tell me or anyone for that matter what we have to like. My OPINION is that - pretty art notwithstanding; DCC is SHIT(for the idiotic non standard dice if not the "every spell is random BS). LOTFP Grindhouse is too graphic for my game group (which inclides a couple 12 year olds)
ReplyDeleteYou are free to like and purchase whateve you want, and I dont have an issue with that.... but you are the epitome of douchebag if you think you can tell me what I LIKE.