Wednesday, September 15, 2010

165 Old School RPG Blogs Ranked by Followers

There was a lot of interest in my recent post ranking the top old school RPG blogs by Follower number. As a follow-up, here I present a ranked list of all 165 old school RPG-related blogs I am aware of. I don't have a particular agenda in presenting this list, but I do think it's reasonable to assume that Follower number is an approximate indicator of reader interest and/or blog longevity.

A few thoughts about the list:

First of all, this list is remarkable because it's so huge. 165 blogs is a lot. I really wonder if any other RPG or tabletop gaming subculture has this many blogs associated with it...? Do any of you have a feeling for this? I wonder how this compares with the Warhammer, D&D 4e, or World of Darkness blogospheres.

Second, a lot of the blogs have a lot of followers. There are over 60 blogs with more than 50 followers. This suggests an overall high level of reader interest.

Third, many of the blogs lower on the list are newer blogs with a lot of very interesting and creative content. If you have time, I'd recommend checking some of them out. If you like them, show your appreciation by becoming a Follower!

DISCLAIMERS:
1. Only blogger.com blogs are included. There are a number of excellent blogs using Wordpress and other platforms. I did not include these simple because I don't how to assess the number of Followers or RSS feeds for these types of blogs.
2. Of course I am overlooking some blogs. I encourage you all to post links for interesting blogs I have missed - I will try to include these next time I make a list!
3. Some of these blogs may be only tangentially related to old school roleplaying. I'm not claiming anything more than a fast-and-loose curation of the list.
4. Some of these blogs may be inactive - I have not gone back to systematically verify the activity levels of these blogs.

NOTE: I updated this list on September 21, 2010. It now includes 209 blogs. The blogs at the end with no followers listed are non-blogger.com sites for which no data are available.

You can find direct links to all blogs here.

Here's the list:

1
GROGNARDIA - 643 followers
2
Playing D&D With Porn Stars - 510 followers
3
Jeffs Gameblog - 376 followers
4
LotFP: RPG - 259 followers
5
Beyond the Black Gate - 223 followers
6
ChicagoWiz's RPG Blog - 220 followers
7
Lord of the Green Dragons - 212 followers
8
The Society of Torch, Pole and Rope - 183 followers
9
Monsters and Manuals - 175 followers
10
A Paladin In Citadel - 170 followers
11
B/X BLACKRAZOR - 167 followers
12
Dungeons and Digressions - 161 followers
13
The Hopeless Gamer - 154 followers
14
I SEE LEAD PEOPLE - 151 followers
15
Bat in the Attic - 149 followers
16
The Underdark Gazette - 149 followers
17
Greyhawk Grognard - 146 followers
18
Trollsmyth - 145 followers
19
The Lair of the Evil DM - 133 followers
20
Swords Against the Outer Dark - 128 followers
21
The Gallery: Russ Nicholson - 125 followers
22
HeroPress - 121 followers
23
Ode to Black Dougal - 120 followers
24
The Grand Tapestry - 119 followers
25
The Tao of D&D - 118 followers
26
Old Guard Gaming Accoutrements - 117 followers
27
Tankards & Broadswords - 115 followers
28
Akratic Wizardry - 113 followers
29
Cyclopeatron - 111 followers
30
How to Start a Revolution in 21 Days or Less - 111 followers
31
TEMPLE OF DEMOGORGON - 111 followers
32
The RPG Corner - 111 followers
33
OEF - 107 followers
34
The Keep on the Gaming Lands - 105 followers
35
Sham's Grog 'n Blog - 101 followers
36
Daddy Grognard - 98 followers
37
Back in '81 - 96 followers
38
Joethelawyer's Wondrous Imaginings - 95 followers
39
Telecanter's Receding Rules - 94 followers
40
PLANET ALGOL - 93 followers
41
The Savage AfterWorld - 92 followers
42
Gothridge Manor - 90 followers
43
The Warlock's Home Brew - 86 followers
44
Destination Unknown - 85 followers
45
From the Sorcerer's Skull - 83 followers
46
The Other Side blog - 83 followers
47
Havards Blackmoor Blog - 80 followers
48
Green Skeleton Gaming Guild - 79 followers
49
Dungeonmum - 77 followers
50
I Waste The Buddha With My Crossbow - 76 followers
51
Uhluht'c Awakens - 76 followers
52
Delta's D&D Hotspot - 75 followers
53
It's okay; Gary sent us. - 74 followers
54
THE LAND OF NOD - 74 followers
55
A Hamsterish Hoard of Dungeons and Dragons - 71 followers
56
Save Vs. Poison - 71 followers
57
Troll and Flame - 70 followers
58
HUGE RUINED PILE - 68 followers
59
Axe & Hammer - 67 followers
60
SANDBOX EMPIRE - 66 followers
61
Aeons & Augauries - 63 followers
62
Dungeonskull Mountain - 63 followers
63
Vaults of Nagoh - 63 followers
64
Grimmhaus - 62 followers
65
Sickly Purple Death Ray - 61 followers
66
Warning - Mutagenic Substance - 61 followers
67
Dungeon Mistress - 58 followers
68
Discourse and Dragons - 57 followers
69
Risus Monkey - 55 followers
70
Tenkar's Tavern - 55 followers
71
Weird Worlds of Geoffrey McKinney - 55 followers
72
What a horrible night to have a curse... - 55 followers
73
Back to the Dungeon! - 52 followers
74
Bite The Bulette - 51 followers
75
Rule of the Dice - 50 followers
76
The Nine and Thirty Kingdoms - 50 followers
77
elves ate my homework - 49 followers
78
Terminal Space - 49 followers
79
aldeboran - 48 followers
80
Tower of the Archmage - 48 followers
81
Carjacked Seraphim - 47 followers
82
Fabled Lands - 47 followers
83
Mandragora: The Mandrake March - 47 followers
84
The Metal Earth - 47 followers
85
EXONAUTS! - 46 followers
86
The Frothy Friar - 46 followers
87
Superhero Necromancer - 45 followers
88
Sword and Board - 43 followers
89
Castle Dragonscar - 42 followers
90
Old School Heretic - 41 followers
91
The Blog That Time Forgot - 41 followers
92
The Delve - 41 followers
93
Roles, Rules, and Rolls - 40 followers
94
Drawings & Dragons - 39 followers
95
In Like Flynn - 39 followers
96
Swashbuckler's Hideout - 39 followers
97
The Omnipotent Eye - 39 followers
98
There's a Bugbear in my Kitchen! - 39 followers
99
Reviews from R'lyeh - 38 followers
100
The Library: Retro and Classic Fantasy Games. - 38 followers
101
The Lands of Ara - 37 followers
102
Like Being Read To From Dictionaries - 36 followers
103
THE WHEEL OF SAMSARA - 36 followers
104
Semper Initiativus Unum - 35 followers
105
Valley of Blue Snails - 35 followers
106
Asshat Paladins - 34 followers
107
malevolent & benign - 34 followers
108
Blood of Prokopius - 33 followers
109
Coffee swillin' analog gamer - 33 followers
110
Shouting Into The Void - 33 followers
111
Tales from the Flaming Faggot - 33 followers
112
Carto Cacography - 32 followers
113
chirine's workbench - 32 followers
114
Places to Go, People to Be - 32 followers
115
Spell Card! - 32 followers
116
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition - 31 followers
117
Hill Cantons - 30 followers
118
Sorcery & Super Science! - 30 followers
119
Swords of Minaria - 30 followers
120
SWORD & SHIELD - 29 followers
121
The Moldy Vale - 29 followers
122
Threads of Adventure! - 29 followers
123
Saturday Night Sandbox - 28 followers
124
For A Fistful Of Coppers - 27 followers
125
Swords of Abandon - 27 followers
126
Archive of the Rotted Moon - 26 followers
127
Forgotten Runes - 26 followers
128
Jasoomian Dreams - 26 followers
129
Lawful Indifferent - 26 followers
130
Oubliette Magazine - 25 followers
131
The Contemptible Cube of Quazar - 25 followers
132
FightingFantasist - 24 followers
133
The Vorpal Spork - 24 followers
134
Middenmurk - 23 followers
135
The Polyhedral Dicebag - 22 followers
136
Kingdoms in Trevail - 21 followers
137
A Wizard in a bottle - 20 followers
138
Age of Ravens - 20 followers
139
Mike's Amazing RPG Fun Pad - 20 followers
140
Polar Bear Dreams and Stranger Things - 19 followers
141
SAVE OR DIE! - 19 followers
142
THE DOOMED WASTELAND - 19 followers
143
ENCOUNTER - 18 followers
144
Trollish Delver - 18 followers
145
gnotions - 17 followers
146
Stocking The Dungeon - 17 followers
147
The Weirdlands of Xhuul - 17 followers
148
Wilderlands of Runequest - 17 followers
149
Cimmerian Chronicles - 16 followers
150
Crawdads and Dragons - 16 followers
151
Fame & Fortune - 16 followers
152
KOK'ed Dice - 16 followers
153
DUNGEON ADVENTURES - 15 followers
154
Redbeard's Ravings - 15 followers
155
The Badger King's Den - 15 followers
156
The Hydra's Grotto - 15 followers
157
Iron Rationales - 14 followers
158
The Fantastical Art of Walter Simon - 14 followers
159
Tombs of Horrors - 14 followers
160
Unfrozen caveman dice-chucker - 14 followers
161
Where'd my Vorpal Sword Go? - 14 followers
162
Bloody 20s - 13 followers
163
Let's Make Believe - 13 followers
164
World of Wonder - 13 followers
165
My RPG characters - 12 followers
166
Rocket-Propelled Game - 12 followers
167
Ramblings of a Gentleman Gamer - 11 followers
168
Creative Mountain Games - 10 followers
169
MF WARS - 10 followers
170
No School Like The Old School - 10 followers
171
No Signal! - 9 followers
172
BigDungeon - 8 followers
173
Embrace the Dungeon! - 8 followers
174
Gaming All Over The Place - 8 followers
175
Romance Monsoon - 8 followers
176
Tower of Zenopus - 8 followers
177
Tremulous Antennae - 8 followers
178
Disambiguation - 7 followers
179
I Remember Lemuria! - 7 followers
180
O RPG da Vida Real - 7 followers
181
Teleleli - 7 followers
182
The Grumpy Old Troll - 7 followers
183
The Incredible Fétide Grigou Rôliste Show - 7 followers
184
The Paradigm Traveler - 7 followers
185
The Realm of Zhu - 7 followers
186
Visions of Paradise - 7 followers
187
GAME SNOB - 6 followers
188
Quickly, Quietly, Carefully - 6 followers
189
The Devil's Janitor - 5 followers
190
Cradle of Rabies - From role to games - 4 followers
191
Musings from Myern - 4 followers
192
Tempora Mutantur - 4 followers
193
The City of Iron - 3 followers
194
Rather Gamey - 2 followers
195
The Purple Wurm - 2 followers
196
DungeonCurmudgeon - 1 follower
197
Penguin Overlord - 1 follower
198
The Zonked World of Holmold - 1 follower
199
Welcome To Dungeon! - 1 follower
200
A character for every game
201
Ancient Vaults & Eldritch Secrets: a tradit...
202
Crypt of the Sorcerer/Caverns of Doom project
203
Joeskythedungeonbrawler's Blog
204
Lord Kilgore
205
NeoGrognard
206
Old School Rant
207
Paul's Blog
208
Robertson Games
209
The Dwarf and the Basilisk

55 comments:

  1. I've always considered my blog (HeroPress) to be 'old school', although I'm certainly not as eloquent or erudite as the majority of OSR blogs I follow ;)

    I also don't write exclusively about gaming - which is why my site might have slipped under your radar(I also embrace films, TV, comics and general geekiness)

    http://www.heropress.net

    ReplyDelete
  2. @Flea and everyone: I know I've definitely missed some great blogs. I'm only human and there are lot of blogs out there. Understand that if I missed a blog it's no reflection on the quality of that blog, only that I accidentally missed it.

    PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE let me know about your blog if I've overlooked it! Don't be shy! This is my formal request to everyone!

    I probably won't go back and fiddle with this post, but I will try to post an updated list sometime soon.

    ReplyDelete
  3. The Tao of D&D has 117 followers, but I don't see it up there. It may just be me though.

    Anyway, I'm actually surprised to find myself in the top 100. Don't you people know there is free porn on the internet?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Here's my blog: Kingdoms in Trevail, not updated very frequently but it is OSR-ish being focused on Classic D&D (BECMI/RC). 19 Followers, w00t!

    http://kingdomsintrevail.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  5. @Aos:
    Wait... there's porn(!) on the internet too? Cool!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thanks for the list a few of those blogs just got one more follower.

    ReplyDelete
  7. While I really appreciate the add, and anyone who wants to come and read my rambling is welcome. I'm not sure if I really fit the bill for " Old School RPG Blog ".. I play Dungeons and Dragons yes.. but almost strictly a 4th edition player with only some 3.0 and 3.5 under my belt. I've never had the pleasure to play OD&D or AD&D before.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Rightfully Hill Cantons should hold the mighty position of 101. So sad to be slighted by those pretenders ; )

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hooray! I hit the top 40! I feel like a Lady Gaga!

    ReplyDelete
  10. It's amazing, not just the number of blogs out there (I actually think there are closer to 200+ OS blogs, some updated with greater or lesser frequency) but also the really insightful comments and brilliant ideas being generated from them.

    The blogs in the top 10 certainly deserve to be where they are, as they are consistently putting out interesting content.

    Looking at that list of great blogs -- it easy to conclude that we in the OSR are suffering from an embarrassment of riches!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Ho ho, Cyclopeatron - looks like you've made a rod for your own back here as the "unofficial tally-man of the OSR". ;)

    Hope I didn't come across as snotty or accusatory - certainly didn't mean to. And I wouldn't for one moment consider myself in the same league as many of these blogs, particularly the top 10 or 20!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Hey, I was feeling like 1000+ posts in my blog reader wasn't quite enough--thanks for making it easy for lazy me to see more of what's new and happening in the blognardosphere!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Thanks for this post and all these links.

    Though with my recent postings of D&D4 Essentials, my Old School street cred might not be as strong as some of the others here that have fewer followers than me.

    Since you are on Blogger you might want to make this into a "page" for future access.

    ReplyDelete
  14. @Tim Brannon: Good idea. Maybe next week I'll make a dedicated page with actual clickable blog links in it...

    ReplyDelete
  15. I feel pretty good about being #50, considering how rarely I was posting for a while there, and how little actual rules content I there is on my blog. I'm pretty sure your previous list netted me a follower or two, so thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  16. I knew it! I'm just not Old School enough :(

    ReplyDelete
  17. Yay! 64th place! Too bad that I'm not publishing new stuff very often (and too bad that my English sucks!)

    ReplyDelete
  18. @Dungeonmum: Sorry about the accidental omission - I'll definitely add you to the list!!

    ReplyDelete
  19. @ Cyclopeatron: that's okay ;) and thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Hey Mr. Tally-man, tally me a game blog...

    What an enormous undertaking - to list and rank all these blogs! Thanks very much; I really appreciate this as a resource for finding still more great old school blogs to read. I'm also absolutely astounded to find myself in the top 100 - very gratifying considering that I'm a newbie swimming in a sea of top notch quality of so many of the blogs.

    ReplyDelete
  21. I've got two blogs up there. Bwahahaha....several hundred followers to go and I'll ...well, post more often?

    ReplyDelete
  22. Man! That's impressive! Are we still a niche of a niche?

    ReplyDelete
  23. I've said it before, but those numbers are amazing. I've only had the current blog for a couple months, and already have more followers than I ever had for Thool or Wilderlands OD&D. If you put out regular content, it ramps up FAST compared to a couple years ago.

    ReplyDelete
  24. That's a lotta blogs. Just as a point of info, over at FTW,BoLS, and YTTH, there are a good several hundred 40K blogs listed.

    I'm one of 3 bloggers that covers WOD on any sort of regular basis. I cover lots of other stuff, so I'm not sure who wants to claim me. (It's sure not OSR)

    Thanks for an interesting read!

    ReplyDelete
  25. Hey, don't forget me. :(

    I'm barely literate and only vaguely original, but if you cut me open, I damn /bleed/ BECMI. That counts, right?

    ReplyDelete
  26. Maybe mine? http://towerofthearchmage.blogspot.com

    I have 46 followers, and 81 subscribers via google reader.

    ReplyDelete
  27. I had no idea my blog had that many followers. Woot!

    ReplyDelete
  28. Eh, I'm mostly old school on my blog, but indi games grab my attention more often then not. Nice list tho. The Blog Roll, she be a changing soon it seems. More is definitely better ;)

    ReplyDelete
  29. I'd have tied at 58 tho... damn Skippy!

    BTW, i pay google a whole 10 bucks a year to have tenkarstavern.com as my domain name... that an an email domain i dont even use... so im blogger w/o saying blogger... kinda sorta

    ReplyDelete
  30. Thanks for this! I've obviously been missing out on a lot of great blogs. I really appreciate you putting this together in an easy to find place, which saves me having to trawl through everyone's friends lists :-)

    Also thought I'd add my name to your list. My blog is only updated when my whims and free time converge, but generally fits the bill.

    ReplyDelete
  31. There's quite a few of us out there.

    Thanks a lot to all my followers. I'm humbled, and delighted!

    ReplyDelete
  32. I'm on Wordpress and I don't really use Gmail much so I don't have any Blogspot/Blogger subscriptions. Wordpress's subscription feature seems to be a turn-off. I have just four subscribers! But get about 300 visits a day. I don't know if either number means anything.

    ReplyDelete
  33. I understand that my blog JasoomianDreams flew under the radar with merely 23 follows; however, my blog is about Gaming and Edgar Rice Burrough's Barsoom.

    According to EGG, it doesnt get anymore old school than . . .

    "These rules are strictly fantasy. Those wargamers who lack imagination, those who don’t care for Burroughs’ Martian adventures where John Carter is groping through black pits, who feel no thrill upon reading Howard’s Conan saga, who do not enjoy the de Camp and Pratt fantasies or Fritz Leiber’s Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser pitting their swords against evil sorceries will not be likely to find Dungeons and Dragons to their taste."

    ReplyDelete
  34. mine has 29 followers:

    http://addsecondaedizione.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  35. I'm honored that the Amazing RPG Fun Pad is not only on your list, but counted among a mass of truly great RPG blogs.

    ReplyDelete
  36. How many reviews of Old School books do you have to do to qualify for demi-old school blog status?

    http://rlyehreviews.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  37. I'm honored and humbled to be on the list.

    Party on Wayne! Party on Garth!

    ReplyDelete
  38. I'm in the top 25? Unreal! I had no friggin idea!

    ReplyDelete
  39. I'll throw my hat into the ring; "of Pedantry" at http://antiledo.blogspot.com/

    Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  40. I used to carry more followers, but I changed up my blog. It used to be "The Call of the Dungeon", but now it's "Embrace the Dungeon."

    JM.

    ReplyDelete
  41. I got a little somethin' somethin' at Saturday Night Sandbox

    http://saturdaynightsandbox.blogspot.com/

    Since you asked.

    ReplyDelete
  42. I'm not really OSR, but I do post about classic D&D, the Wilderlands, and - especially - Pendragon, which I consider to be one of the all-time great old school games.

    http://shirosrpg.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  43. Whoo-hooo! #23! I'm'a gunnin fer you, Tao of D&D!
    Maybe I should post something really insulting to get my numbers up?

    This is a neat idea, Cyclopeatron. I do wonder how much of this is us,(rpg bloggers)just following each other in circles though.
    Do you think this indicates that we're having any impact on the larger population of gamers who arn't specificly interested in OSRish gameing?

    ReplyDelete
  44. @Everyone - Thanks again for your input. I think I'm caught up now - at least for another 5 minutes...

    @E.G.Palmer - Good question... While there is a certain level of cross-following, when I browse the the followers of my own blog I get the impression that most of them are not bloggers themselves. This being said, blogs like GROGNARDIA, Playing D&D With Porn Stars, and Jeff's Gameblog are definitely the major gateway blogs into our niche.

    ReplyDelete
  45. THis is a really nice list you put together for OSR. I will have to check some of these guys out. I do mostly newer stuff like Pathfinder using Forgotten Realms (or my own setting) as a background. I do enjoy doing Call of Cthulhu and playing Tales from the FLoating Vagabond, Traveler, Gurps and the occasional game of Paranoia though. Keep up the great work!

    ReplyDelete
  46. *ahem*

    http://wastedlandsfantasy.blogspot.com/

    59 followers.

    ReplyDelete
  47. I'll pimp my blog...

    http://henchmanabuse.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  48. I don't do the follow thing, so I won't appear on this list ever, but this is a great way to discover some new blogs.

    http://www.rolang.com/

    ReplyDelete
  49. I want to thank everyone who shared a new link with me. I am tracking all of these links on the "RPG Blog List" page. At some point in the future I will make an updated Follower ranking and these newly added blogs will be included.

    ReplyDelete
  50. were these linked to the blogs before, or was I imagining that?

    ReplyDelete
  51. were these linked to the blogs before, or was I imagining that?

    You can find links on the big alphabetical list page! Click Here.

    ReplyDelete
  52. Sorry for coming at this late, but THANKS for this great resource and please note another good one, "Back Screen Pass" (43 followers):
    http://backscreenpass.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  53. You're missing Once More Unto the Breach! (41 followers):

    http://unto-the-breach.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete

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