So Delta’s blog is one of the oldest OSR ones, specifically focusing on OD&D that you can still find. Started in 2007 and is still going today.
I looked back on the posts from 2007, and most of it is talking about OD&D as a viable game and comparing it to then contemporary 3.5 edition. The tail end of 2007 has him talking about the announced 4th edition.
We all know how that went. Maybe it’s a good game in and of itself, but it’s not D&D.
I digress. There are a bunch of posts looking at various aspects of OD&D and Delta modifies and house rules them to make them even simpler, borrowing an idea here and there from modern gaming.
There is no specific post that I would consider “old gold” but he has since compiled all his house rules onto a single page on his blog. If you’re wanting to try OD&D give them a look.
The stuff for encumbrance and combat are good mods, but I’m not looking to go back in time for my ruleset, and while his rules are better than the originals in play, they’re still more granular than I like.
(Currently running Black Hack 2e, for comparison).
If you want to see what the earliest days of “OSR” blogging was like, and see some intelligent looks at old rules and improvements to them, check it out. Delta is a good writer and good at rules analysis. Probably comes from being a teacher and stuff.
Here is the main link to the blog: http://deltasdnd.blogspot.com/
Here’s a link to his house rules all collected in one place (mostly what he blogged about in 2007): http://deltasdnd.blogspot.com/p/primary-house-rules.html
If you prefer, he’s also got a link to his games company page where you can get his house rules combined with the full rules of the OD&D-based game. He’s got free rules for players and judges, and some other stuff on Lulu that you can buy. http://www.oedgames.com/
Currently, in addition to still blogging, he appears pretty active on his YouTube channel called Wandering DMs. I might check that out but currently, I’m more in reading mode than watching. Catch this here: http://www.oedgames.com/
I’m going to continue reading into 2008 and beyond at some point, but for now I am going to dig around for some more stuff circa 2007.
Oh, and sidebar, the comments on Delta’s blog are funny, because he will have comments from a decade later, which he still answers. Kind of shows that the content is evergreen, and people still find their way to the content. Those blog comments have also been a good way to get plugged into more “lost” OSR content from back in the day, looking at blogs by his readers and blogs that his readers follow.
You’ll hopefully see me posting more about those at some point, too.