I've been trying to diagnose my frustrations with OSR style games. Of course, there is a chance that these games just aren't for me, but I've had a few really fun sessions.
Upkeep/bookkeeping. I thought I would love this, because I love looking over lists of stats, gear, items etc. But in practice, I just find myself getting frustrated and restless when I have to stop constantly to erase numbers and update stats and gear. I need some ways to simplify all of this. I guess some little life counters or spin down dials I've seen at my FLGS might work for hp, but I don't know what to do about the inventory issue.
Dungeon diving is fun. I like the process of mapping a dungeon and dealing with various threats. But I'm always missing that story excitement that keeps me moving forward. I'm learning that I like the narrative a lot more than I thought I would when I got into this hobby. Dungeons are such cool places in video games and board games, but when I sit down with one of these ttrpgs, I always feel like something is missing. Regardless, I've had my most fun with OSR when I just plop my character in a dungeon and roll up some random things. I struggle to connect these dungeons to the larger world.
XP being tied to loot is a pain in the ass. This is a concept I like in theory, but in practice, I get annoyed having to sort through the tables and add and erase a bunch of things from my character sheet. Then I have to calculate all the gold cost and then convert it all to xp. I don't know what to do about this. Shadowdark, the game I really want to play more since I bought this fancy book, doesn't offer an alternative. It's just this added layer of bookkeeping I don't want to do. I want that feeling of progression I get from video games and board games, at least I thought that's what I wanted. But maybe ttrpgs aren't the space for that and I'm placing unrealistic expectations onto this thing.
Don't take all of this as complaints or criticisms. These are just thoughts I want to share and get some feedback on. Solving these puzzles, and tweaking all these settings to my liking is an aspect I really like about this hobby. Just looking to bounce some ideas off of some of you.