I first got started playing Dungeons and Dragons sometime around1977. I used to think that I was somewhat rare, in that I was around for the Silver Age of gaming, and that I still had passion for the hobby long into adulthood. But I was wrong. I was not alone
I didn’t go to conventions, or hang out at game stores, and current friends and acquaintances just didn’t seem like player material. So after my last group broke up I just figured I was done. But lo and behold, after several years I have a new group, and games are going strong. I was so relit with passion for games, I started going online to check out the gaming community, and found it teeming with gamers old and young. Not only that, but old schoolers like me were swarming all over the place. There was even a term for people like me:”Grognard.”
I was posting thoughts to an online forum on Meet-up.com, and some guy called me “Grognard”. What the fuck! I didn’t know what it meant, but it sure sounded insulting. Maybe because the word “nard” was in there (as a kid “nard” was what we said instead of “nad”). Anyway, I told the guy to shove it. Later I would find out it was a somewhat endearing term for people who preferred the pre-second edition D&D rules. At least, I think that is what it means.
I always used 1st edition AD&D, and never moved up to newer editions. In part that was because I had multiple copies of the old books and didn’t want to buy new ones. But when I looked at 2nd edition, I could see that it was slowly evolving away from the game I loved. I mostly culled my players from people who had little or no experience with gaming, so I never got many complaints for using 1st edition. My latest group, mostly used to playing 3rd edition, were happy to go down that old school road, and we are really enjoying classic AD&D games.
I was never much of a blogger, only occasionally dropping one into my Myspace page two or three times a year. But having found tons of great old school blogs going on, I decided to toss my hat in the ring. The most inspiring blog for me has been Grognardia, an old school D&D blog by a guy named James Maliszewski. I heard him as a guest on a podcast, and when I checked out his site, I could see that he was a very smart old schooler who started around the same time I did back in the day. Up until a few months ago, I thought other 40 or 50 – something gamers who started in the 1970’s were grumbling, gray-bearded old fat dudes, wearing green army jackets – sitting in the back of dingy game stores and bitching about how the hobby has changed ,and stinking up the place. But James M. has proven me wrong (well, I’m sure they still exist, but the smarts ones are blogging). I’m not sure I can blog with as much intelligence and insight as James – I tend to come from a baser, more emotional place. But I hope emotion will serve me well in my postings as I try to describe aspects of gaming I have loved and hated in my 30 years in the hobby. I am Grognard, hear me roar.
I didn’t go to conventions, or hang out at game stores, and current friends and acquaintances just didn’t seem like player material. So after my last group broke up I just figured I was done. But lo and behold, after several years I have a new group, and games are going strong. I was so relit with passion for games, I started going online to check out the gaming community, and found it teeming with gamers old and young. Not only that, but old schoolers like me were swarming all over the place. There was even a term for people like me:”Grognard.”
I was posting thoughts to an online forum on Meet-up.com, and some guy called me “Grognard”. What the fuck! I didn’t know what it meant, but it sure sounded insulting. Maybe because the word “nard” was in there (as a kid “nard” was what we said instead of “nad”). Anyway, I told the guy to shove it. Later I would find out it was a somewhat endearing term for people who preferred the pre-second edition D&D rules. At least, I think that is what it means.
I always used 1st edition AD&D, and never moved up to newer editions. In part that was because I had multiple copies of the old books and didn’t want to buy new ones. But when I looked at 2nd edition, I could see that it was slowly evolving away from the game I loved. I mostly culled my players from people who had little or no experience with gaming, so I never got many complaints for using 1st edition. My latest group, mostly used to playing 3rd edition, were happy to go down that old school road, and we are really enjoying classic AD&D games.
I was never much of a blogger, only occasionally dropping one into my Myspace page two or three times a year. But having found tons of great old school blogs going on, I decided to toss my hat in the ring. The most inspiring blog for me has been Grognardia, an old school D&D blog by a guy named James Maliszewski. I heard him as a guest on a podcast, and when I checked out his site, I could see that he was a very smart old schooler who started around the same time I did back in the day. Up until a few months ago, I thought other 40 or 50 – something gamers who started in the 1970’s were grumbling, gray-bearded old fat dudes, wearing green army jackets – sitting in the back of dingy game stores and bitching about how the hobby has changed ,and stinking up the place. But James M. has proven me wrong (well, I’m sure they still exist, but the smarts ones are blogging). I’m not sure I can blog with as much intelligence and insight as James – I tend to come from a baser, more emotional place. But I hope emotion will serve me well in my postings as I try to describe aspects of gaming I have loved and hated in my 30 years in the hobby. I am Grognard, hear me roar.
