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Bones Kickstarter #2 Discussion


ladystorm
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So I asked my resident gaming expert* about the word "grognard."

 

He says so far as he knows it refers to very old-school tabletop wargamers, the ones long ago who played Napoleonic games and were offended that D&D introduced *fantasy* to wargaming.

 

So it does not seem quite appropriate to apply it to D&D afficionadoes. Nor does it strike me as an accurate description of people on this forum.

 

(I will confess, D&D has rarely been my main focus. I gave it up quickly upon reaching college when I discovered other, better written, less shambolic systems and other genres. For decades I played mostly homebrew systems as well as Runequest, Champions, Paranoia, Teenagers from Outer Space, etc., and was I will confess a little snobbish towards D&D. Then we took it up again when our children reached the age of reason because the rules were easy for them to grasp.)

 

Oh, and he pronounces it "gro-NYAH" too.

 

 

*My husband has been playing since D&D was a three pamphlet supplement to the Chainmail tabletop wargame.

Grognard = You KIds! Get off my lawn!

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I'm with you on most of those suggestions Pingo but I ain't eating baby food just to get the jar lids. It ought to be a crime to feed a human some of that stuff. ::D:

 

Meh...some of the time you just need to coax them into eating it by showing them how yummy it really is.

 

 

Given that babies will pick up random stuff off the floor to stick in their mouths, the fact that you need to convince them to eat something should tell you that it's really made of toxic waste.

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Baby food jars also make really nice tea light lanterns, if you need further reason to purchase baby food. In addition I've found that most people who actually have babies will be happy to save the jars/lids for you.

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He says so far as he knows it refers to very old-school tabletop wargamers, the ones long ago who played Napoleonic games and were offended that D&D introduced *fantasy* to wargaming.

That is certainly the style, but keep in mind the word itself has been used in this context for decades. The D&D/fantasy RPG players who used to refer to Napoleonic wargamers as grognards now are the very old school gamers.

 

From my own experience, Ive never even come across any Napoleonic players to have heard them referred to... Every instance Ive heard somebody called a grognard, or call themselves a grognard, in the last 15 - 20 years has been somebody who is a RPG player or modern-style wargamer, most commonly D&D or Warhammer.

 

 

Same here - I've only heard it applied mainly to D&D players, and in that case mainly to the older-edition D&D players - specifically, I've really mostly only seen 3rd, 4th, and 5th edition players referring to original, 1st, 2nd, and often 3rd edition players as grognards.

 

Whether it's considered an insult or not in that context seems to depend on which side of that fence the player is sitting on: folks on the WotC side use it as an insult, folks on the TSR side wear it like a badge of honor.

 

It is a funny hobby when you include a grain of salt, and look at it from a safe distance from time to time :)

Edited by YronimosW
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Am I the only one who's buying the minis only for the pleasure of painting them?

 

I never used a mini for playing (my last trial with a board game was as a master of D&D).

 

Well I tend to buy minis with the pretense of playing games with them, but I game so infrequently that I'm really just painting them.

 

 

I'm painting miniatures in preparation for the ultimate game of Basic D&D played on a thousand square foot tabletop in the restaurant at the end of the universe, which will take place while watching the heat-death of the fabric of space and time and the resultant implosion of the cosmos happening beyond the large picture windows.

 

There will also be curly fries.

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I am stil pages behind in catching up, but had a few questions about the word "grognard."

 

Since "grognard" actually *is* French, can I assume it is pronounced "gro-NYARD" rather than "grogg-nard"?

 

Also, is it actually a term of approbation? Or merely descriptive? Who uses it?

 

What is the definition exactly? I can work out the basic idea from context, but if there are subtleties I am missing them.

 

Pronunciation seems about 50/50 to me. (People who have played lots of Napoleonics, especially with miniatures, seem a bit more likely to use the French pronunciation.)

 

It's used in pretty much the same way as "curmudgeon" for gamers. Which is to say it's an insult to some and a badge of honor to others.

 

"Well back when I started gaming, we used lead miniatures and we liked it."

 

"Kids these days. No appreciation for the history!"

 

"That rule was stolen from Terrible Swift Sword. And it was a bad idea then."

 

"Board gamers. Feh. Gave the "Best Historical Miniatures" award to System 7 Napoleonics*. They're not even miniatures."

 

 

Grumblers. The ones that have a sense of humor are pretty good folks.

 

 

* Really happened, hacked off a bunch of historical miniatures gamers, and it's usually thought to be the impetus for the creation of the HMGS.

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Wow -- I'm having a hard time keeping up with this thread and only now found the link onyxGuenhwyvar has provided to the awesome interactive "wave your cursor around and start slobbering at the close-ups of all the minis you are getting from this Kickstarter" thingamadoodble (that's internet tech talk right?).

 

I want to express my profound thanks to onyxGuenhwyvar for taking the trouble to do this. It really gives people a chance to appreciate the beauty of the figures in this Kickstarter. Everyone in the universe needs to study this document minutely.

 

I am now off to slobber some more ...

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I'd like to know how big the Dracolisk figure is.

I'd also like to know all the sculptors and artists who are at reaper central right now and will be there for the party.

Oh Sir Forscale?

 

Where'd he wander off to now?

;)

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@Carnacki

 

So Spencer what brings you to the ultimate D&D Game, is it the miniatures? "Nope" Is it to watch the universe unwravel? "No sir"

"Well why ARE you here then?"

"You had me at curly fries!"

 

I have been thinking of picking up the 2e D&D player handbook and combining it with 4e D&D and my home rules. I have been pondering if D&D Next will be any good or if Pathfinder is good. Mind you my only player is my 12 year old daughter who has a 68% grade average in math and ends up unconscious every other game.

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