tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post2514250702318246851..comments2024-03-18T20:22:06.331-04:00Comments on GROGNARDIA: Retrospective: Monster CardsJames Maliszewskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-41454837538795839612010-12-03T22:44:50.930-05:002010-12-03T22:44:50.930-05:00The one important piece to my mind is the only ill...The one important piece to my mind is the only illustration I know of the wind walker (by Otus).Michaelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08868302412533031659noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-71649447010246252512009-05-15T08:22:00.000-04:002009-05-15T08:22:00.000-04:00I remember those! I had one or two sets.
Never ac...I remember those! I had one or two sets.<br /><br />Never actually used them, but they were kinda neat.carmachuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06037584604296331790noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-88119058184975978532009-05-14T08:10:00.000-04:002009-05-14T08:10:00.000-04:00I suspect such a product might sell better these d...I suspect such a product might sell better these days, given the more complex stat blocks for 3rd and 4th edition.Knightskyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08397391662639446678noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-63859544664184353652009-05-14T07:41:00.000-04:002009-05-14T07:41:00.000-04:00I use the 2nd edition set for quick NPC generation...I use the 2nd edition set for quick NPC generation and quick lookup of stats for wandering monsters where the encounter has a lot of diferent types of monsters in it (e.g. orcs + goblin slaves + wolves + ogre mage).Pete Kinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03438651595079082035noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-43095534742179645552009-05-13T16:47:00.000-04:002009-05-13T16:47:00.000-04:00I think I still have my copies of those cards. I *...I think I still have my copies of those cards. I *know* I have the Arduin cards as I recently found them in my office. The 'generic' Herculoids monsters included in the Arduin set are great, as are the Barsoom monsters.Tetsubohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00339621610619347842noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-78020920861455291072009-05-13T15:45:00.000-04:002009-05-13T15:45:00.000-04:00Oh, and James, you may want to take a look at this...<I>Oh, and James, you may want to take a look at this comment....</I><BR><BR>A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin -- or kobold -- of little minds. ;-)<br /><br />More seriously, yes, I remember writing that comment now that you remind me of it. I think, as I've refined my feelings about old school art and esthetics generally, I've come to like Roslof's art less than I once did. I don't think it's irredeemable, mind you, but there's something about that no longer sits well with me. There's a certain cartoonishness to it, as there is with Dee and Willingham, that doesn't always work for me.James Maliszewskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-15994574819647517762009-05-13T14:37:00.000-04:002009-05-13T14:37:00.000-04:00I've got to say, Erol Otus's ghoul is one of the m...I've got to say, Erol Otus's ghoul is one of the most richly weird pieces of artwork to come out of early TSR (only topped, maybe, by his work on myconids for the Slave Lords modules). Also, the succubus was <B>hawt</B>.<br /><br />I collected all of the cards, and never used them, except in a sort of improvised "war" game with my little sister (I think we compared hit dice). Beyond the points you make, the cards were impractible for gaming purposes primarily due to the odd selection of monsters. It was unlikely you'd ever use more than two or three of the cards in a single adventure, due to both thematic and hit dice concerns, so if you needed quick aids for the monsters in your campaign, you were going to have to have a system outside of the cards anyways.<br /><br />That being said, they're a real indispensable treasure to me-- they have more personality as artifacts than a lot of the more-useful supplements. The golden age of gaming was, as you say, pretty visually captivating, and it was great to get such a good dose for what I think was still a pretty reasonable cost.Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16100876956828606209noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-61577723901433111402009-05-13T14:35:00.000-04:002009-05-13T14:35:00.000-04:00@Restless, thanks!
Oh, and James, you may want t...@Restless, thanks! <br /><br />Oh, and James, you may want to take a look at <A HREF="http://jrients.blogspot.com/2008/06/roslof.html?showComment=1213372440000#c8515189869669109652" REL="nofollow">this comment</A>....<br /><br />;)Jayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07997164906328234122noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-31157324526394001152009-05-13T13:15:00.000-04:002009-05-13T13:15:00.000-04:00Yeah, just like you, I owned all four, thinking I'...Yeah, just like you, I owned all four, thinking I'd use them, which I did maybe once. A neat idea, but not thought through very well.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-49954364967136944612009-05-13T13:11:00.000-04:002009-05-13T13:11:00.000-04:00I got the four seats on e-bay recently. I guess Mo...I got the four seats on e-bay recently. I guess Monster Cards were pre-historic minis. Don't agree with most illustrations, don't have much use for them. <br /><br />On the other hand, I have a bunch of visually oriented players, what I do is, use my photo printer to print out relevant illustrations of creaturtes, places and NPCs from the world wide web, from scanned in books and from my photo collection. It works wonders, especially portraits of NPCs that players encounter in the course of role-play.Brooser Bearhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08487438364129415650noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-53310774673386892412009-05-13T12:07:00.000-04:002009-05-13T12:07:00.000-04:00Oh, I had all four sets too. Like you, all I reall...Oh, I had all four sets too. Like you, all I really did was shuffle though them to look at the pictures. Long gone now, I'm afraid...<br /><br />And the Thri-Kreen rock. I'd forgotten those. They're going into my gameworld now, though. :)Reese Laundryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02225208626688676372noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-80441301739017644092009-05-13T12:01:00.000-04:002009-05-13T12:01:00.000-04:00I've still got all 4 sets. Think they might be in ...I've still got all 4 sets. Think they might be in a cubby hole on my desk from the last time a was looking through them.Davehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06234869701106258699noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-63289805071933613742009-05-13T12:00:00.000-04:002009-05-13T12:00:00.000-04:00There are four sets of Labyrinth Lord monster card...There are four sets of <A HREF="http://www.dragonsfoot.org/php4/archive.php?sectioninit=CD&fileid=240" REL="nofollow">Labyrinth</A> <A HREF="http://www.dragonsfoot.org/php4/archive.php?sectioninit=CD&fileid=241" REL="nofollow">Lord</A> <A HREF="http://www.dragonsfoot.org/php4/archive.php?sectioninit=CD&fileid=243" REL="nofollow">monster</A> <A HREF="http://www.dragonsfoot.org/php4/archive.php?sectioninit=CD&fileid=244" REL="nofollow">cards</A> available. Does anybody use these?Restlesshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04586442439173490257noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-48038616986546502352009-05-13T11:51:00.000-04:002009-05-13T11:51:00.000-04:00I can see how you think they'd be useful. I al...I can see how you think they'd be useful. I also agree with BPF above that the best use would be as visual aids ("You see a monster that looks... like THIS!").<br /><br />My buddy BFM does great work with always having visual aids for creatures & NPCs. When I ran "Isle of the Ape" I did something similar -- took a box of dinosaur flash cards, taped AD&D stats to the back side. <br /><br />It seems like this would be best for new, novel, or unusual monsters (both to show players & remind the DM of the stats on the back). For well-known D&D monsters, not so much. (Which is a bit of a Catch-22 for the product concept: best for rarely-used monsters, but therefore rarely used.)<br /><br />Sometimes I do wish I had this product. But you're right, I probably wouldn't use it and it would be one more piece of clutter on the table.Deltahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00705402326320853684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-23913959884999030952009-05-13T11:50:00.000-04:002009-05-13T11:50:00.000-04:00@Jay: Yes, on both counts.@Jay: <A HREF="http://jrients.blogspot.com/2008/06/roslof.html" REL="nofollow">Yes, on both counts.</A>Restlesshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04586442439173490257noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-61656603849310535762009-05-13T11:38:00.000-04:002009-05-13T11:38:00.000-04:00the thri-kreen itself is, in one of those ironies ...<I>the thri-kreen itself is, in one of those ironies that often afflicts overly litigious corporations, a knock-off of Arduin's phraints.</I>Not only that, but the Monster Cards themselves were "borrowing" Hargrave's game accessory idea. Arduin's already published game cards included monsters as well as magic items.Sham aka Davehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14329116400656617173noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-32758758912649765532009-05-13T11:24:00.000-04:002009-05-13T11:24:00.000-04:00"I particularly dislike Jim Roslof's kobolds..."
..."I particularly dislike Jim Roslof's kobolds..."<br /><br />I seem to recall Reints did a post on really loving the Kobold. Unless I'm thinking of something else--but I believe it's the one in his blog's masthead. Am I correct?Jayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07997164906328234122noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-49519612499743389532009-05-13T11:18:00.000-04:002009-05-13T11:18:00.000-04:00Heh. I have 3 of the 4 sets (all picked up at Wal...Heh. I have 3 of the 4 sets (all picked up at Waldenbooks) and have really only used them as visual aids. My kids find them interesting now, though.BigPhillyFrankhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07104085053889075343noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-86702381045914085262009-05-13T11:04:00.000-04:002009-05-13T11:04:00.000-04:00Oops...posted before I was finished.
I did use th...Oops...posted before I was finished.<br /><br />I did use the cards for a while as a visual aid; we were under the spell of the illo booklets from the S-series modules. It was a bit unwieldy, though, and all the cards got rubber-banded and placed in a storage box a long time ago.KenHRhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11613789646908929989noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-5973471714254422009-05-13T11:03:00.000-04:002009-05-13T11:03:00.000-04:00I still have all four sets, inherited from my brot...I still have all four sets, inherited from my brothers. In pre-MM2 days, I was the only one in my circle who knew what Thri-Kreen and Galeb-Duhr were.... :)<br /><br />The goblin illo was my favorite.KenHRhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11613789646908929989noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-12726326195112151982009-05-13T10:24:00.000-04:002009-05-13T10:24:00.000-04:00I must have ha a set of these; they sound so famil...I must have ha a set of these; they sound so familiar. I'll be it's buried deep in my game collection.Anthonyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01254215329246851683noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-54893202588505051492009-05-13T10:05:00.000-04:002009-05-13T10:05:00.000-04:00Sadly, my sets disappeared eons ago, as did so muc...Sadly, my sets disappeared eons ago, as did so much cool stuff of my youth! At least I still have all my oldest modules and other D&D books...Keith Sloanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07319879076978887933noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-85611066289321188042009-05-13T10:01:00.000-04:002009-05-13T10:01:00.000-04:00Oh, man. I picked up Set 2 at the bookstore in the...Oh, man. I picked up Set 2 at the bookstore in the mall when I was a kid (was either a Waldenbooks or a Little professor), pretty much entirely because they looked cool (and they definitely looked cooler than the NPC book with 'Strongheart, Good Paladin' they were also selling*)<br /><br /><br />They then proceeded to sit in a drawer and eventually get thrown out, and to this day I can only remember four or five of the pictures. Man, definitely brings back memories. <br /><br />-Rob D.<br /><br />* Though I did, I admit, eventually get the puffy stickers with Strongheart et al and recognized the ones who showed up in the D&D cartoon.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14216103531396452644noreply@blogger.com