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Thoughts and Review
Grewhawk Awakening is the name of a series of videos, a playlist to be explicit, set in the World of Grewhawk, in and about the village of Hommlet, first made famous in the T-series for AD&D. The campaign runs in a traditional format, following the adventures and development of a mostly stable group of players and their characters. In terms of system, the stream describes itself as using 3e at the core, while "incorporating elements of AD&D and one mechanic from 5e," which is the Advantage / Disadvantage mechanic.
A Companion ReviewThis review comes on the heels of a previous review, Lord Gosumba. In truth, I found this actual play series first between the two (and wrote this review before writing the review for Lord Gosumba) having learned about DM Jay from his guest appearance in the prologue episode to Greyhawk Awakening, Hallia's Betrayal. So - that's something to note: if the Episode 0 DM seems familiar, it's because he is - but on a second note, if the following, normal episodes feel and run different, it's because they are. While Lord Gosumba is called out routinely as a friend of Blue Box - his game is definitively a different experience than Greyhawk Awakening.
From that perspective, though - and from the understanding that I was consuming those two actual plays essentially side by side, some references are made, comparisons drawn, between the two - the intent is not to draw them into comparison into the reader's mind, as well, but a byproduct of the proximity of my own consumption.
In any case, game on, Jay; and game on, DM Neuromancer!
A Note to Start With
In addition to Greyhawk Awakening, the BlueBox RPG Twitch and YouTube channels produce several avenues of content: a great deal of which is content for 5th Edition. The purview of this blog being to talk Old School Renaissance - and the purpose of this review series being to help new and prospective OSR players and referees to understand what to expect in an OSR game - I did not review (nor do I intend to review) the 5e content offered.
Without doubt, its quality is on par with the Greyhawk content I did watch, without doubt its community engagement is similarly involved; as such, it's not to throw shade on those playlists: but, having not seen it, I can't vouch for it, personally.
What I Like
Like Lord Gosumba - and Swords of Jordoba
- the first thing that stands out to me about this channel is its use of physical miniatures. I mention that Swords of Jordoba focuses primarily on the dungeon - with some scenes from town, etc. - and that Lord Gosumba then expands on this field, opening up outdoor spaces and expanding on in-town buildings. On that front, Greyhawk Awakening truly takes physical miniatures to another level. From the beginning to the end - every major event has a set. The characters delve into caves and dungeons; the characters trek through temperate grasslands, rocky spaces, or even snow-draped forest-scapes; the terrain, the miniatures, and the appropriateness of both to the campaign as presented is phenomenal in Greyhawk Awakening.
Lastly, to refocus on system - the stream "incorporates elements of AD&D": most notably, though they do use miniatures, the combat is abstracted - the players don't move tokens, but they are there to provide relative positioning to augment theater of the mind. Also group initiative. This, tacked on to 3/3.5 and I suspect either more from 5e than they admit or some elements from other games, a la Pathfinder or a miscellaneous d20 (they consistently refer to "stealth" or "perception" - where my old 3e PHBs call those "move silently" and "spot") - but where the rules come from is immaterial to the direction I want to take this point: the moral of the story, they are playing a Frankenbrew!
They have a thousand Twitch followers and they are playing a Frankenbrew!
This is beautiful! If there was one thing that would embody, for me, the spirit
of the OSR - wherein we seek to recreate the wonder and excitement of our
earliest D&D experiences, the game as it was meant to be played - it's this: rulings over rules - homebrew melted over kosher product. Yes
- AD&D was built to standardize: but the purpose of that standardization
was to empower tournament play and to assist with conformity in supporting
product. The message conveyed here - you don't have to run RAW to make a good
game; you don't have to pass a purity test to have an engaging campaign. And
with houserules coloring and fleshing out every home game I've ever played in,
it provides a key lesson and key perspective - that it's OK to tweak the rules to fit your table: this providing an illustration of how those tweaks can (and ineluctably will) change game flow.
The Elephant in the Room
When talking about OSR games - part and parcel for many is TSR compatibility: specifically, compatibility with the Gary epoch. This AP runs a mishmash - but their self-proclaimed core, the engine around which the system they play is built, is D&D 3.5 - WotC. With that in mind - per my point regarding the inclusion of houserules changing how the game flows at the table - the core of WotC D&D brings to bear several central differences between the two generations.
- There are elements of player skill, but there are converse elements of d20 character skill rolls.
- There are long, exciting battle sequences! But there isn't really a focus on treasure, nor in carving your name into the bark of the living wild.
Remembering that the OSR began as a reaction against the changes 3e brought, powered by the OGL that 3e introduced - the nature of this AP is different than a game run using TSR compatible product (which you are, as an aspiring OSR player or referee, going to encounter). For that reason, this AP has a limited amount of OSR-specific lessons to impart.
Where those versed in old D&D will recognize mechanics and imports from OSR-friendly editions, watching it will teach those unversed in old D&D how to play new D&D: not old D&D. It teaches 3.5 well, truthfully: there are moments of player clarification where the DM explains the rule, which edition it's from, and how it differs from 5e, which is what the players are use to. And this is the crux of the review's rating.
Excellent production, great story, wonderful community engagement - but it's not really OSR.
What I Didn't Like
Further - on another point - to the immersive ambiance used in the game, everyone at the table is very in-character. This is normally a good thing, but it's important to note there is a difference between drama and melodrama. While by and large, the game proceeds in a smooth narrative, there occur instances wherein, in building tension or complimenting the spirit of the scene - the table falls victim to over-acting. Be it responses exaggerated to the severity of the situation, be it in-character quips that border on action clips you'd find in video games - I found myself on occasion skipping forward along the stream to get out of the moment and back into the play.
Of Streams and Systems
As with most streaming actual-plays, the table at
Greyhawk Awakening interacts with the stream, with the community. A
lot. They give away prizes, they talk to and remember subscribers - which is
great for building a following: for which they deserve kudos.
But why isn't this in the "good things" section, CWR? Well, it's a good thing
during the stream - and it's a great way to build community - but you have to skip past it when you're on YouTube. That
said - they are very well telegraphed: as are breaks and the startup time, literally employing a countdown timer - it makes it very easy to
skip forward;
very convenient to get back into the action on the prerecorded line.
As an aside, some of the earlier episodes have issues with user audio: some of the mics echo, some of the players are quieter than others - but after the first handful of episodes, those issues are largely resolved. It's a common thing for actual plays to have better audio and fewer glitches as the episodes proliferate: Greyhawk Awakening is no different - they consistently improve as they consistently work towards a better product.
In Conclusion
Greyhawk Awakening is a well-produced, fun to watch actual play with some hints of old-school sensibility, with a primary selling point is in its production value, its narrative qualities, and its amazing support and cultivation of a community. It's purpose is not in teaching how to play OSR D&D. For that reason, I wanted to present it as an option for the entertainment-value watcher, or perhaps the errant 3.5 refugee with a yearning for home: I wasn't sure, then, how to rate it - so I settled on Leather.
Interested in learning how to play B/X? This is not the right place.
If you have fond memories of 3e? Does system not matter? This stream is the stream for you!
Delve on, readers!
Public domain image downloaded from
The Public Domain Review and adapted for thematic use. Attribution in alt text.
Haven't played D&D for many years but watching the video has my palms itching. Perhaps it's time to investigate online play. Good write up.
ReplyDeleteThank you - and absolutely, do! I love APs for their inspirational quality: game on, Jane!
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