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Thoughts and Review
Hobbs and Friends of the OSR - the original podcast by Jason Hobbs - has evolved beyond convention play into a wellspring of gaming media. Although the schedule of said content is capricious, said schedule is - for the most part - published in enough advance time to consume according to your preferred mechanism: live or after the fact.Full Disclosure
Watching the archive of video, there are several main games that Hobbs runs. The majority of episodes fall into four main categories:| West Marches in B/X (Kalmatta) | West Marches in Low Fantasy Gaming |
| Traditional Campaign in B/X | Traditional Campaign in Low Fantasy Gaming |
This review was largely formulated perusing the Kalmatta series, episodes in the 20s and 30s. I have intentionally been watching the newer contributions on Twitch to verify its accuracy - however I do not watch the Low Fantasy Gaming segments and campaigns. Nothing against the games - nothing against Low Fantasy Gaming: just a matter of personal preference.
As such, this review is based exclusively on the host's B/X and OSE content.
What I Like
First and foremost, it is evident by the flow of the game that Hobbs has been running games for a long time. He is fluent in the system, he is comfortable with the procedures, and an onlooker need not know how to play in order to figure out how it works. Additionally, he embodies and embraces the tenant of Rulings over Rules - most frequently, if a rule is called into question or a situation is unclear as to how to proceed, he's able to make a call and move the game forward, sticking to the call so as to promote consistency and ease of play. He deals well with rules lawyers - thankfully few appear - and keeps the game moving.Next, the quality of the material presented evidences a mountain of preparation. Although there are some points in different adventures where some improvisation with Roll20's mapping tools has to happen, by and large, it is obvious that Hobbs invests a great deal of time in his game: both to the benefit of the players and to his audience. This actual play convinced me on Roll20 sessions - prior to, I was on the fence about whether or not they can provide the same kind of experience sitting around the kitchen table can. This stream manages to do that.
Lastly, games run on Hobbs' stream feel fun. The players are engaged, the inside jokes become community jokes, and - especially with the Kalmatta series - it exudes welcome to onlookers. A lot of streams manage to produce a good game - not a lot of streams manage to produce the community this one does. One could argue that, as a fair number of Hobbs' players are from the G+ days of the OSR and thereby have history together, this hypothesis is countermanded by the open nature of his West Marches style campaigns: and likewise, having not joined the G+ community, myself, before the end, the original sentiment that the OSR movement tried to evoke bleeds through, at least, to this internet late-comer.
What I Don't Like
If I were to complain about any aspect of this stream, it would be about the editing: or the lack thereof. In the case of the live stream, it makes sense, however in uploaded videos as well, different players using different microphones and different cameras on internet connections of differing quality can make the conversation difficult to follow - especially if one mic is noticeably loud and a separate mic is noticeably soft. It would do a world of good for the post-live event experience at a bare minimum to equalize the sound.In Conclusion
If you want to learn how to run an OSR game, watch this stream.Specifically, his Kalmatta games - which regrettably have not been as prolific as of late - are one of the few examples of actual procedural hex crawling that I've seen online. Some episodes are better than others - but that mirrors reality, as some sessions are better than others. Knowing that, I highly recommend this content to both newcomers and long-timers of the movement surrounding old school play.
Additional Listening
As the host will tell you - he hosts two podcasts in addition to live-streaming his games:- Hobbs & Friends, wherein he talks to RPG industry figures and publishers who are connected with the OSR movement.
- Random Screed, wherein he talks about... stuff. Occasionally gaming.
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