The European OSR

It's 8:12pm in Seattle, Thursday night. In Hohenroda, Germany, it's 5:12am on Friday. 

Yesterday (German time) was the first day of Cauldron 2024, the second unfolding of the "OSR" EuroCon...a celebration of "old edition" gaming, mainly AD&D (1E) with a little OD&D, Basic, and assorted wargaming (Chainmail, Braunstein...even Diplomacy) thrown in. Last year, I attended the first Cauldron. This year, I am home in Seattle.

Of my own choice. 

That's important to the next bit I want to write: I have the money ("gamer money," the pittance I earn from selling books) which would have paid for my airfare and con ticket. I chose to stay home with the family this year, and I'm glad I did: my son's last weekend of his final middle school season of soccer (with playoffs and championships on the line), my daughter's (two) soccer games (I'm coaching both), getting ready for Halloween (our family is into the costume thing), mi suegra is in town, plus Autumn is my favorite time of year in Seattle. I wanted the year off.

But Cauldron...I miss you.

The gaming, of course: always excellent to play D&D with adults, always excellent to play 1E with anyone. But MAINLY just the people...good people from so many countries and cultures, all joined together by their shared love for fantasy gaming, all on the same damn page. Breaking bread together. Tipping beers together. Rolling dice together. Being kind to each other.

Even for non-gamers out there (who might be reading this blog): I fervently hope and wish for you to have a similar experience in the hobby/passion of your choice. 

*sigh*

I chose this year not to be there. But I still wanted to be there, at least, in spirit. I wanted to take part...I wanted to contribute. D&D is what I do. It is my "claim to fame" (as much as I have any such claim)...and after last year's extraordinarily enjoyable event, I wanted to do something to add to the convention experience of those attending this year.

So I offered the con administrators a tournament module: something that could be run at the con, similar to the old tourney adventures of Gilded Age GenCons. A shared experience for the con-goers...a touchstone adventure that would provide a memorable reminiscence (hopefully a positive one) for those in attendance. 

Kindly, they accepted my offer with six DMs stepping up to run the thing. 

As I said, I want to be here, in Seattle, right now. I have a lot going on. And I have no regrets of my choice, no Fear Of Missing Out on the con. What I DO miss, mostly, is the people and the shared camaraderie. It is not often...or ever!...that I find myself surrounded by so many kindred spirits. I have attended conventions in the U.S. where I felt far more out of place. Strange as it sounds, as far as gaming cons go, I felt less a stranger in Germany than in my home country.

And so I provided Cauldron with an adventure. It is not the same thing as being there, even if it IS a piece of me...of my creative expression. But it is something...something to mark that I was thinking of the folks there. That I was considering them. That I was cheering for them to have good games, and solid D&D fun.

I'm weird like that.

The title of this post is "the European OSR." That's because I want to write a (short) series of posts about these European aficionados of old edition gaming. Why? Why not. Okay, perhaps more than that: there is a group of European gamers who are as sincere and passionate about these old games as any geezer American (like me), despite being 'late to the party.' Many were only introduced to D&D with latter day editions: 2E or 3E or (maybe) Mentzer's BECMI sans context...a problem in and of itself, regardless of translation issues. Somehow, this group has found their way over to my side of the game...some of them even making the commitment to 1E years before I got my own head screwed on correct and re-pledged my love to the King of Games. And I want to write about them; I just do.

This is just the first of those posts. I have European D&D on the mind (no wonder!), and I hope to yoke that inspiration. 

But right now, I'm heading for bed. I've a long day tomorrow, even if doesn't involve DMing games for Germans and Hungarians while quaffing tremendous amounts of bier und palinka.

; )

Later, Gators.

[11:21pm, Seattle time; 8:21am (Friday) German time; paused for dinner]