swearing

[Bloodstone Mage]

Unless it is a modern or future era game, I don't use anything outside of "biblical profanity".

Just out of curiosity, doesn't the origin of the F-word date back to the Dark Ages? I heard that once, and also that it was used in a much different context as it is today. But that's just what I heard. Anyone care to shed some light on this?

Cheers!

 

[Azure Trance]

Unless it is a modern or future era game, I don't use anything outside of "biblical profanity".

Just out of curiosity, doesn't the origin of the F-word date back to the Dark Ages? I heard that once, and also that it was used in a much different context as it is today. But that's just what I heard. Anyone care to shed some light on this?

Cheers!

The first usage of the F -word AFAIK dates back to Chaucers Canterbury tales in the late 14th century. I think it was used in reference to a lecherous nun or monk. Go 11th grade High School English!

 

[Bloodsparrow]

"Fie" has always served me well. Plus it starts with that wonderful hard "FFFFFFF" sound that never fails to satisfy.

Swearing by the bodyparts and possesions of dieties, well known people, and/or one's parents is also a good way to go, and it's a lovely rainy day sport.

Something like,

By (insert name) (insert optional adjative) (insert bodypart or possesion)!

Some of my favorites...

garters
teeth
bones
beard
frilly undies/small clothes

And I'm not sure what it has to do with the subject... But I'm Irish (or rather of Irish heritage) as well...

 

[Trickstergod]

Swearing? Depends on if there's an audience of any sort; i.e, people in the house who aren't involved in the game.

If there are, there might be a censoring of the ship.

Otherwise, eh. It happens. No one cares. It's not a big deal. As a matter of fact, I find the majority of invented curse words to come off as sounding rather silly. As it is, unless it can be exclaimed in one or two words, it's not that great of a swear.

I was rather proud of one Warhammer fantasy RPG game (or something along those lines), where my wizard, Avran the muddled, exclaimed, "By Slaneesh's uninipple," at one point, then at another, expanded it with, "By Slaneesh's uninipple, do I love Sigmar." There was much joy and rejoicing at that.

But, yeah, swearing? Eh, nobody pays it any mind whatsoever with my group.

 

[ScyldSceafing]

And the trophy goes to ...

My group would probably win the swear-off, and as the DM, I'm leading the charge. I don't know how it happened, but of the seven people at the game every week, probably five of them swear like sailors, if the sailors in question had stayed up for three days straight standing in a pile of offal then been surprised by a group of xill. Or something. We swear artfully and artlessly. We swear to curse defeat and to celebrate success. We swear as a greeting and to say farewell.

This creates some difficulty when trying to communicate that some culture is rather degenerate. Orcs, for example, tend to sound like the group does when out of character, except that the orcs seem to have come down with a bad throat infection.

Ah well. Love our group, love our game. I do somehow manage to find ways to convey evil besides using words you shouldn't say to Eric's grandmother.

 

[Kastil]

I had one character use the word 'frell' from Farscape a lot. She had quite the mouth

The character(s) I currently play aren't as 'harsh' but I 'borrowed' something akin to my Ren Faire days (IE God's Teeth!) but put it to the Forgotten Realms setting:

Sweet Tap Dancing Tymora! (okay, I kinda put a spin on Mr Garrison from South Park's many catch phrases)

and uttered when I didn't believe the halfling of the party, after many cries of 'wolf', that there was a big spider behind me.

Great Lloth's !

Whoreson is also good but you can always make them up too.

I have to agree with the 'round table' gamers (I play online). Swearing with the youngsters around is just opening up a big can of words. I know from experience.

Mommy- "Joshua leave that damn cat alone!"
Joshua- "Come here damn cat!"

Oops

 

[Bagpuss]

The first usage of the F -word AFAIK dates back to Chaucers Canterbury tales in the late 14th century. I think it was used in reference to a lecherous nun or monk. Go 11th grade High School English!

If that's its first usage in a book you can bet its actually usage goes back well before then. Indeed it does... Origins of the F word. Seems its origins are likely to be from the Viking invasion, leadning to the Middle English "en", comming from the Dutch "fokken" or German "ficken", although there are many other interesting possibilitys for its origin this seems the most likely. Amazing thing this internet.

 

[s/LaSH]

I don't swear (well, I have, let's see, three times by accident in the past 20 years). There isn't much swearing at the table, unless it sounds medieval and epic enough.

In my scifi writings, I use religious swearing quite a bit as it fits the times. But then, it's not typical scifi, and telling someone to be damned is a little more serious than normal.

Now for an unuseful aside, the F-word (according to Oxford) was first spotted in the early 16th century; its origins are unknown.

 

[bondetamp]

There used to be a fair bit of swearing in my HöL game.

There was also an awful lot of swearing among the players when we went through Grimtooth's "Dungeon of Doom".

 

[Buttercup]

Well, I play an ugly, pyromaniac loud-mouthed cleric in Clay's Tuesday night online game, and she swears up a blue streak. A person listening to her for a while would think that her god, Balcla, is afflicted with all sorts of horrid medical problems. To wit:

By Balcla's bleeding gums!
By Balcla's aching elbows!
By Balcla's bruised knees!
By Balcla's bloody discharge!
By Balcla's infected pimples!
By Balcla's painful rectal itch!

I have a great time thinking these up.

In the game I run, it isn't unusual to hear swearing when someone rolls a 1. In game, hmm. I guess there isn't that much unless it's in-character.

I think it's interesting to note though, that most of the words we Americans consider "dirty" are fine old Anglo-Saxon words for bodily functions. It's funny how it is fine to say, for example, poop. But it isn't fine to use an ancient synonym for the same thing. We people are strange, eh?