I've asked this question elsewhere, but it's worth throwing open to a larger audience: which Grognardia posts do you consider your favorites? Alternately: which posts, irrespective of your liking for them, do you consider essential?
I ask because I've long considered the possibility of putting together an anthology or digest of Grognardia containing only my best and most significant posts. However, I'm not always the best judge of this sort of thing and can always benefit from others' perspective.
Feel free to post your picks in the comments or, if you'd prefer, send them to me directly via email address included on the "About Me" tab. Thanks in advance!
My favorite content are the Retrospectives. That is my number one reason for coming. I love remember old products and read discussion on them.
ReplyDeleteFor me, personally, the most enjoyable posts are - generally speaking - about the history/historic aspects of the TTRPG hobby, with an emphasis on anything D&D related.
ReplyDeleteWhich perhaps says 'everything' and 'nothing' simultaneously. Sorry I cannot be of more help.
This is actually quite helpful. Thank you.
DeleteThanks. I might add that I mean that in the broadest possible sense, so also (but not limited to): reviews/descriptions of old(-er) TTRPG (related) modules/products, the influence(s) of pulp/fantasy/sci-fi on the TTRPG hobby (but not so much the 'strict' reviews of books or magazines), and opinion pieces (like 'How Dragonlance Ruined Everything', which I like even though I do not share your dislike of the way things turned out).
DeleteYeah, I always liked the Retrospectives, and I love the Pulp Fantasy Library posts. They've added plenty of books to my TBR pile!
ReplyDeleteRetrospectives are the best
ReplyDeleteI am glad readers have been enjoying the Retrospectives, but I must admit that I am mildly surprised that they're as popular as they are.
DeleteYou do a fantastic job of capturing the spirit of a product in them; your review of Boot Hill does such an amazing job of lovingly examining it and sparking the imagination of "what if we used this to it's full potential"
DeleteI love the Retrospectives because you're putting together, in a pithy blog post, what was good, mediocre, or bad about them. Realistically I will never go back and read them myself. Without having to dive deep and read all of those magazines I can experience them vicariously through your seasoned viewpoint.
DeleteTotally agree with this!
DeleteI enjoy stuff about D&D, especially old D&D modules, Judges Guild, Tekumel (though not campaign updates - just not a fan of actual play), the OSR; basically things that talk about products of the old days in a nostalgic way. Hope that helps.
ReplyDeleteIt does! Thanks.
Deletemost useful? for me as a some-times GM the minutes and descriptiones of your games session. most fun? the reviews and retrospectives. thank you for your research and your commentary
ReplyDeleteI liked the one on OSR dungeon design tips, the Gugaxian dungeon you were developing after your hiatus, and all the Dwimmermount series including the behind-the-scenes and worldbuilding posts.
ReplyDeleteTo go back to your words of March 2008 - "The subsequent history of D&D is one of its ceasing to be an engine of popular imagination and in turn being influenced by the very imaginative movements it helped to create" - I think that these are the most important and informative and it's this original history that you as a player from all those years ago should be putting into an anthology. Very few of the original designers and players from 1974 and just before are still around and there's a need to record the early history as it was experienced.
ReplyDeleteLike others I also enjoy the retrospectives.
Retrospective, Pulp Fantasy Library, and "Top Ten" posts, or posts where you rank things. I'm not as interested in homebrew settings or reviews of magazines. Love Grognardia!
ReplyDeleteThe Ages of D&D, https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2009/01/ages-of-d.html, phenomenal post! It provides necessary historical framing for future generations. Gygaxian Naturalism runs a close second, https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2008/09/gygaxian-naturalism.html, by explaining what drove all that world building.
ReplyDeleteYour Gamma World ruminations, whenever you are in the mood to offer them, are favorites of mine.
ReplyDeleteMine, too.
DeleteThe Pulp Fantasy Library and magazine reviews are by far my favourite articles. I do, however, enjoy all of this blog greatly.
ReplyDeleteI've been enjoying the Tekumel campaign reports, as it's an area of D&D/RPGs of which I have zero experience.
ReplyDeleteThey would perhaps be inappropriate for a general Codex Grognardia, but a specific Tekumel book would be nice, combining a general look at the game/setting with your own campaign.
The PH Cover post, the review of the 4th Ed MM Cover (I've used that in talks before), and the series you did on DMG musings. Also your posts reflecting on the artistic differences between older and newer.
ReplyDeleteI came here for the OSR/memories of what the old days were like. and I was there, we are close to the same age.
ReplyDeleteso I vote for an anthology of "what it was like to be there"
Pulp Fantasy D&D
ReplyDeletehttps://grognardia.blogspot.com/2008/06/abstract-combat.html
ReplyDeletehttps://grognardia.blogspot.com/2008/10/picaro-and-story-of-d.html
https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2010/11/anti-clerics-redux.html
https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2020/10/in-praise-of-small-dragons.html
https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2021/03/general-rules-for-dungeon-designers.html
https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2021/11/were-doing-something-wrong.html
https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2023/11/in-defense-of-evil-characters.html
James, what grips me are the ruminations about the fundamental philosophies of old school play, including what it felt like being initiated into the hobby. It's evolution from wargaming roots, player ability rather than character ability, and the scarcity of products that encourage the use of one's imagination - all things I love reading about.
ReplyDeleteDiscovering this blog and systematically reading through the entries was like discovering a RPG time capsule of my youth!
Yeah, same here! Reminds me of good times and that voyage of discovery.
DeleteI value most in this blog the things I’d like to do but don’t. So all reviews/retrospectives of new and old RPG products. Going through magazines that I’ll not likely get around to doing. These are all the most valuable to me — even if I don’t agree I enjoy the read.
ReplyDeleteThat's like asking about a favorite child. What would help me help you is to list the categories of your posts and I could rank those. As much as I like the magazine reviews, I would guess those would not be a great compilation. You cover history, philosophy, criticism, literature, pop culture. When organizing anything I always say "group first, then sort, then repeat."
ReplyDeleteI know a format that I might be enjoyable: Blog posts, as they were originally written ("in situ"), organized by topic and sorted chronologically, with afterwords about how you've kept or altered your views since then (either as a group or individually), the comments summarized and/or highlighted. I've always enjoyed Larry Niven's collections of stories with his commentary (and reading one now, which prompted this comment).
ReplyDeleteUseful: Old School Dungeon Design Guidelines
ReplyDeleteFavorite: Picaro and the history of D&D
My favorites are:
ReplyDeleteRetrospective Reviews
Pulp Fantasy Library
Locale and Plot (which is essential!)
DMG Random Rolls
Art Reviews
Best Adventure lists
Thanks!
Like others, I really enjoy reading your Retrospectives and Reviews. I also enjoy your Pulp Fantasy Library commentary. Recently, I really liked how you have gone through various magazine issues (i.e. Dragon, White Dwarf, Polyhedron, etc). These are things I've read some of but also missed out on others, so it has been interesting to get a glimpse of them in publication order). But really, I enjoy reading most of your content, regardless of the subject matter. Since I grew up around the same time as you, it is interesting to get an alternative perspective on the hobby of that era! I hope you continue and thanks for all the work you have put into it over the years!
ReplyDelete