To speak to Troika just a bit as someone who read the rule book and played like one session:
A lot of the Troika book is character profiles/archetypes/etc. if you tell someone this is a wild game, make up your craziest character, they will probably not be as “out there” as the provided archetypes. You roll 2d6, and get a refined alien cannibal (well, not exactly a cannibal, I guess, someone who wants to eat other characters) or a character that has become “enlightened” (chemically, surgically? I can’t remember) to the point they have very little thought. So anyway, between wacky characters and wacky skills, that’s what in the troika book. Some simple rules, No setting aside from a one session adventure, but flavorful skills and character ideas.
Thanks! I kind of got that sort of vibe from descriptions of Troika I found online, but I looked for a quickstart and couldn't locate it, so I wasn't sure.
What I don't understand is what common elements Troika and Electric Bastionland, for example, share with Dungeon Crawl Classics or Old School Essentials. They seem to me like completely different kinds of game, in tone, mood, rules, and everything else besides.
Not that this is a bad thing, I just get confused about what's OSR and a bit frustrated that it seems a bit cliquey in the end. Like you gotta be an insider to get it and if you don't get it then you don't need it explained.
I think the troika connection to OSR is somewhat tenuous, but the game system is inspired by the Fighting Fantasy series of “interactive” novels that were popular in the UK in the 80s. But I think it is essentially a cliquey thing. It is general approach or attitude, plus just who is friends with a game designer that makes something OSR. It’s a scene.
A lot of the Troika book is character profiles/archetypes/etc. if you tell someone this is a wild game, make up your craziest character, they will probably not be as “out there” as the provided archetypes. You roll 2d6, and get a refined alien cannibal (well, not exactly a cannibal, I guess, someone who wants to eat other characters) or a character that has become “enlightened” (chemically, surgically? I can’t remember) to the point they have very little thought. So anyway, between wacky characters and wacky skills, that’s what in the troika book. Some simple rules, No setting aside from a one session adventure, but flavorful skills and character ideas.