The Gosumbas of Greyhawk

Play-Cast Name: Lord Gosumba Where I Listened: YouTube Where It's Available: Twitch, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram System: TSR AD&D

Chainmail, with Shield

Thoughts and Review

Lord Gosumba, a content producer primarily hosted and run by DM Jay Scott, is a series of semi-episodic, very beer-and-pretzels, campaign plays set in the World of Grewhawk. DM Jay runs what I would dub TSR AD&D - which is to say, a combination of first and second edition AD&D, combined with a generous helping of houserules built up over the course of 40 years.

What I Like

Dude uses a ruler! I love this guy. There are no grids - there are minis and terrain: 1 inch on the table is 10 feet in the game world. When talking about dice, he says "die" - so, d6 is pronounced "die-six" rather than the more common "dee-six" vernacular. This, among a dozen other quirks and qualities of the dungeon master take me back - I feel like it's 1990 again and I'm just beginning to transition from wargames, wondering what game this "Chainmail" line of minis that sit beside the GW product are intended to support. DM Jay is old school: it oozes from his pores.

Continuing from the above, majority of episodes are played on a physical table with physical terrain and minis while players, themselves, are on a virtual window. An obvious parallel to this practice can be drawn with Swords of Jordoba - which was the first time I had seen physical miniatures and abstract combat used in conjunction with a virtual - that is, voice and video rather than in-person - game. It's a good comparison, too, because where Swords of Jordoba has ample dungeon maps and dungeon terrain, its outside-the-dungeon terrain is limited: minis were used, as I recall,     Special Aside
I unironically love that folks' grandkids/kids periodically show up and interact with them. In my viewing of this channel over the last few weeks, it happened maybe twice. But seeing these players drop out of the zone, engage with these kids, ... it makes me happy. A treat for parents hiding deep in the hundreds and hundreds of hours of content sitting in the back catalog
for external-to-dungeon activities, however the terrain was limited to the township. In this regard, Lord Gosumba excels: not only does he utilize cave and cavern terrain, but he also employs dioramas, masonry and wooden buildings - all manner of diverse props that, in an in-person game, would help to push immersion and on an online stream, really brings the viewer into the game. You forget that you're sitting at the computer (or on the elliptical, as may be) instead of in the Dungeon Master's basement with him.

As mentioned above, the game is very beer and pretzels. It can get in the way of the experience as a viewer - as it can disseminate some of the immersion when the group enjoys a pop culture reference - but it likewise is important, knowing that this represents a school of play that is not uncommon in old-school circles. The players rarely take their characters seriously, attempt to take advantage of situations as best as possible, and have no qualms about looting the corpses of their allies. This can be a good thing. The morbidity of OSR systems and the fragility of characters in OSR games can easily lead to thinking of characters as pawns rather than avatars of the self: something that a new or aspiring OSR player or referee is likely to encounter.

Lastly - most appropriately to this review - DM Jay takes time, when discussing rules, to intentionally and explicitly highlight which rules are houserules, which rules are actual rules, and the differences between editions that his players might be more familiar with. Although there is substantial role play and banter - as is to be expected from any functioning game - but when the dice hit the tray, DM Jay is very concise and simultaneously generous in his explanation of rules and procedures in use and how they compare to similar concepts in other editions of the game.

What I Don't Like

The only element this channel is missing is the hex crawl. This is understandable, it's largely forgivable, because in a true home game, the hex map is less a player-facing device and more a referee tool: its a way to manage movement and distance from points of interest abstractly, such that the party may not actually see it, but the referee is able to track progress in a procedural manner.

But a viewer can dream.

In Conclusion

Lord Gosumba runs a clean game in a manner consistent with how D&D was meant to feel by the original team writing the little brown books. For this reason, I give it a rating of Chainmail, with Shield. It's a game that doesn't take itself too seriously, but illustrates Greyhawk and the Advanced game well: and one that's easy to enjoy watching - being an in-person or simulated-in-person experience. 

Didn't you ding another actual play for not doing hex-rules? Yes. And truthfully, the absence of hexes and hex rules - like with other actual plays lacking the same - is the only reason this review isn't Plate.

Delve on, readers!