The #OldSchoolRenaissance- we’re not ALL that bad.

Once upon a time, I set out to make this a spiritual (New Age, not the other kind) blog. My number one goal when writing was to keep things positive every time I sat down. Then, a self-proclaimed guru, a yogi named Sri Akarshana started talking mad shit about how he treats his employees and how everyone else should do the same. I’m sorry. In the words of my generation, “Aw HELL NAW!”

There comes a point, no matter how hard I try to keep my mouth shut, I just can’t let shit go by unchallenged. When I see people acting as an open detriment to others and a blight on society, I feel compelled to speak up. Even now, there’s a certain large, scuzzy corporation that tries to pull some junk about once per month and I won’t let it go unchallenged.

About two years ago, in December of 2021, in the ugly depths of my depression, I decided I was going to do some rebranding of my blog and my YouTube channel (*yeah, I know…) TableTop RolePlaying Games have always been my interest, my passion, and my hobby. I want to write games that amuse and inspire players. I want to make games that make other people hopefully smile.

My spiritual journey didn’t stop just because my focus did.

One thing I learned during my spiritual awakening period is that everything is energy. Nikola Tesla once explained that everything in the Universe is energy, frequency, and vibration. This is also tied heavily into Law of Attraction. You, me, the desk, the electricity flowing through wires, and even emotions are ENERGY. Without getting into the whole explanation, everything has a frequency and a rate of vibration. (Ironically Tesla was a scientist and not a philosopher. Straight up genius, though.)

In the spiritual community, we have a saying, “Your tribe is your vibe,” meaning the people one surrounds oneself with tends to be closer in frequency. We see it when old friends stop coming around and new friends appear in our lives. It’s similar to changing the dial on a radio. Gradually one moves far enough up or down the dial and things appear completely different than before.

I spent some time exploring more of the psychological end of self-growth and development. I’ve listened to some powerful skeptics when it comes to the “New Age” and Ufology communities that I have been a part of. I learned a great deal about toxic positivity, and I’ll come back to that in a future article. I’ve learned that there are multiple angles to every issue and some of them aren’t as rosy as we’d all probably like.

Okay, Jeff. What’s this got to do with the #OSR and TTRPGs in general?

Another piece of background I should mention is I’m trained in both Journalism and Sociology. I’ve also studied a lot of Anthropology. I see so many layers of cultures and subcultures within the greater TTRPG hobby. We’re not a village any more- we’re a nation. Nations can be broken down into so many different cultures and subcultures. The OSR is just one movement, one subculture under the greater whole.

Ultimately, the OSR is just one circle in a massive Venn diagram of a dozen or more. Yeah, there are some real bigoted individuals out there who claim pride in the OSR the same way they claim pride in, uh, that other thing. (Groan.) There are also so truly warm, wonderful, caring people who claim the OSR as home. I can think of a few games, in fact, that represent the very best the OSR has to offer and they’re free of social media or political drama.

Some of us genuinely believe roleplaying games should bring people together around the table. We’re all family in the TTRPG group. Sure, family squabbles. But family also has fun together. We laugh and cry together. We come together for two to six hours and spend time with one another. Many of us even learn to leave all of our baggage at the door and just game.

I don’t think people understand family and tribe the way I refer to them.

Honestly, I’ve always been a little leery of using the word “tribe” for much of anything in a day and age where it might send the wrong message. If I lived in a commune where we had drum circles every night and everyone shared everything- I’d call that a tribe. Any large, tight-knit community with multiple families sharing in the love, challenges, labor, and rewards might be defined as a tribe. I know what I mean, but I fear it could be misconstrued as something less appropriate.

That’s why I often refer to us as #ttrpgcommunity or even #ttrpgfamily. Simply put, when I say community or family, it means we’re all equals. We’re all valid. We all share a common or even multiple common interests. All TTRPG fans are a community, with a culture. The OSR is one of many subcultures that adores the original way of playing fantasy TTRPGs circa 1970-1990 or in that style.

Family just means I’m gonna love you no matter what happens. I might get plenty irritated with some people, but I’d still take a bullet for you. My #ttrpgfamily is the group of gamers I most closely identify with, whose values are closest to my own, and some actual blood relatives. Most of you probably know who you are at this point.

I still hold that high-minded goal that someday Earth will unite.

It really doesn’t seem like it will ever happen on this planet. The issue in Gaza alone right now makes me wonder. The way I see people treating one another on social media makes me wonder. Every time someone opens their mouth and bigoted nonsense falls out of it I wonder if humans will ever extract their heads from their butts as a collective society.

Someday, possibly many years in the future, I would love to see a planet with no political borders, no racial divide, no inequality or financial lack. It can be accomplished, but only in very small steps. It takes individuals stepping forward and saying, “Today will be better.” It means trying something new and probably uncomfortable for some. But there’s a catch. No one can tell anyone else how to do it.

My theory is that maybe we can unite one group at a time under the TTRPG hobby banner. Maybe if we can get around the idea of a fantasy game, we can start to unite away from the game table. There was definitely a time in the hobby when no one cared about race, social status, sexual orientation, gender, hair color, or safety tools. Some things have already changed for the better and we’re growing as people. We’re growing together as a hobby and none of it was forced.

We still have a long way to go. YouTube is still rife with narrow minded assholes on certain channels. We still have to put up codes of conduct and expectations at conventions. Friendly Local Game Stores still have to occasionally eject people for being hostile and stupid. It sucks, but that’s reality at the moment.

Thanks for stopping by today. I appreciate you. Keep on gaming.