Becoming a Grognard

[Shemeska]

Well that depends, 'round here it seems that you have to suffer an edition change and do not like the new edition.

But what if you don't like the new edition but you're still younger than the people who made the new edition?

 

[S'mon]

One should have played OD&D immediately when it came out, though I have to admit that as time goes on that particular point will fail to work for the majority of even the oldest gamers: red box veterans will have died out.

At what point, though, can one be said to be more than simply a gaming veteran, and become a grognard?

When you know, and truly understand, that Red Box D&D is not OD&D.

 

[PapersAndPaychecks]

But if I were to amble over to Dragonsfoot or especially Knights & Knaves, where folks are standing at perpetual attention in salute of 1e, 0e, and all things "gygaxian", I'm just another youngster without a clue because I arrived on the scene too late to see any real gaming.

A bit off topic, but please, sir, my forum's being misunderstood! Knights & Knaves does welcome grognards of all ages and has more than one prolific poster who started in the 2e era.

But, yeah, we're unashamedly Gygaxian, for a given value of "Gygaxian". (LA doesn't get all that much attention on K&KA.)

Back on topic, I've just looked into how to become a grognard. I always knew that "grog" is Navy rum but I was interested to see that apparently, "nard" is either a Persian boardgame or a kind of pink flower that grows in the Himalayas. The latter option suggests that maybe there could be a Potion of Grognard...

 

[MichaelSomething]

The most general definition of being a gronard that I know is a person who plays versions of D&D that were not developed by WOTC. That's the simplest starting point for me.

 

[Lord Captian Tobacco]

Preferably, printed versions. (Red Box, #2001, 2nd ed, etal.)

Oh, the horror. Home brewed D&D.
"...A Jedi is sort of a psionisist and a Paladin dual classer..."

 

[Doug McCrae]

At what point, though, can one be said to be more than simply a gaming veteran, and become a grognard?

It's once your beard extends to below your belt buckle.

This can by achieved by lengthening of the beard, raising of the belt buckle (a common phenomenon amongst old men) or both.

 

[diaglo]

I'm curious to know at what point I can describe myself as a Grognard.

did you serve under Napolean in the artillery?

or did you at least play with Napoleanics before trying roleplaying games?

 

[Ulrick]

Here's my definition slightly adapted from wiktionary....

grognard - Wiktionary

Grognard:
Etymology -- From French Meaning "Old Soldier"

Noun (plural -- Grognards)
1. Old Soldier
2. A gamer who plays historical tabletop wargames or boardgames of similar vein.
3. An RPG gamer who is no longer part of the target market of Wizards of the Coast.
4. A wargamer who will not buy the latest edition of Warhammer 40k or Fantasy Battles because "he's bought enough figs to last a lifetime."
5. A middle-aged person who will never die because he has hundreds (if not thousands) of gaming miniatures he still needs to paint.

 

[FireLance]

Since I believe "grognard" has its roots in the word "grumbler", my own personal definition of "grognard" is:

Someone who spends more time grumbling about the games he's not playing than endorsing the games that he is.​

 

[Votan]

Since I believe "grognard" has its roots in the word "grumbler", my own personal definition of "grognard" is:

Someone who spends more time grumbling about the games he's not playing than endorsing the games that he is.​

Hmmm... That is a tough definition. I think of myself as a Grognard due to my edition preferences but I am dubious that I'd meet this definition. I see the D&D version as at least partially being a preference for older versions of the game over the newer ones.