tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post5863968869123382661..comments2024-03-19T04:29:47.922-04:00Comments on GROGNARDIA: The FallJames Maliszewskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-22600122072183461662012-09-29T19:32:33.599-04:002012-09-29T19:32:33.599-04:00"Fantasy as such always causes melancholy.&qu..."Fantasy as such always causes melancholy." -- Kierkegaard<br /><br /><br />Imagining a lost pseudo-medieval or pseudo-ancient milieu (whether set in the past or the distant future) is part of the genre's roots in romanticism.Michael Rooneynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-11882429173574351572012-09-28T13:53:22.491-04:002012-09-28T13:53:22.491-04:00Autumn is, by far, my favorite time of the year, a...Autumn is, by far, my favorite time of the year, and it's not just fantasy related. It's when politics heat up, when football and basketball arrive, when all the hard toil of the year finally pays off. It's the time of Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, time to have fun and enjoy one another's company, to sip hot tea and munch on treats by a warm fire.<br /><br /><br />I become nostalgic in the autumn thinking about Bilbo or Frodo's hasty flight out of the Shire, I think of gaming and friends from my youth when Final Fantasy 6 was released on Halloween on the SNES and we spent the entire evening playing it instead of trick-or-treating. I think of my youth playing games like Warhammer, HeroQuest and other fantasy board games in the fall. It's the smell of cookies baking, the sight of jack-o-lanterns glowing, the sound of tinkling bells on the Christmas Tree. It's the feeling of warmth and safety.<br /><br /><br />I love you Autumn! I wish we had you all year long!GaelicVigilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-51067591763168309282012-09-25T21:50:26.347-04:002012-09-25T21:50:26.347-04:00With Dave G. Maybe more posts along these lines?With Dave G. Maybe more posts along these lines?Jack Campbellhttp://www.facebook.com/jack.campbell.98434noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-36270099824598014742012-09-25T13:15:47.779-04:002012-09-25T13:15:47.779-04:00Whenever I think of Fall and D&D, my mind turn...Whenever I think of Fall and D&D, my mind turns to this bit of cover art...<br />http://www.deigames.com/ref21st.htmlJohn Stephensnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-24907640202662537142012-09-25T11:29:10.894-04:002012-09-25T11:29:10.894-04:00What a pleasant post. I thought I was always the ...What a pleasant post. I thought I was always the one who got an itch to watch fantasy films or read some form of myth/fantasy around this time of year. I imagined it was because of when we covered certain things (like studying Beowulf) in school. Those genres always seemed to be at the beginning. But I guess there are other reasons. I'm not even much of a fantasy fan, but I admit, in the fall I find myself dusting off LoTR or watching Excalibur.Dave G.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-24511509290455695502012-09-25T03:35:37.488-04:002012-09-25T03:35:37.488-04:00Seasonal definitions can be quite useful.
I quite...Seasonal definitions can be quite useful.<br /><br />I quite like the seasonal descriptions of covenants in <i>Ars Magica</i> for example. A spring covenant is just being started, full of enthusiasm and potential growth. A summer covenant is at it's height. An autumn covenant has started to turn inward. And a winter covenant is more concerned with what is happening within it than without and is at it's end. But as far as magical power is concerned, the winter covenants are the most powerful, but also the ones most likely to "bud" new spring covenants.Reverance Pavanenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-6228893562314443152012-09-25T00:01:22.583-04:002012-09-25T00:01:22.583-04:00The quintessential image of this for me is Dave Tr...The quintessential image of this for me is Dave Trampier’s pseudodragon in the first edition AD&D monster manual.Jerry Strattonhttp://capvideo.hoboes.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-47611133943120318112012-09-24T23:47:46.447-04:002012-09-24T23:47:46.447-04:00I recall there being an actual practical explanati...I recall there being an actual practical explanation for this in the revised 2nd ed DMG: you have to have a reason why there's all this great treasure lying around in ruins for the PCs to find. Take our modern world, a civilization at its apex as far as technical progress goes; nukes are heavily guarded, knowledge is neatly organized in libraries, and supplies are for sale in large stores. Not much room for ruffians with swords and black magic to go roaming around in. But go post-apocalyptic, and now you've got high-tech guns and old books as treasures, and mutated monsters guarding them.<br /><br /><br />Summer's nice to live in, but not so much to adventure in. The best stories to be in aren't the best ones to hear about, as a great fantasy writer said.Nullnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-27711453851484647342012-09-24T23:37:48.723-04:002012-09-24T23:37:48.723-04:00Don't forget BattleTech, either.Don't forget BattleTech, either.KevinWnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-65653392785306986622012-09-24T21:30:02.891-04:002012-09-24T21:30:02.891-04:00I have spent more than three decades enjoying the ...I have spent more than three decades enjoying the transition to autumn: watching the leaves turn golden, fog forming across harvested fields, canning fruits from the garden, looking forward to cooling rains, and anticipating fires being lit in the fireplace--and suddenly feeling compelled to call friends and family at this time of year, more than any other, to play D&D. Or read a tale of epic fantasy, or revisit old movies like Excalibur and Dragonslayer (set in Fall/Winter time frames for some reason).<br /><br /><br />There is definitely something about Autumn that turns thoughts to older, simpler, idyllic, or fantastic places. As Daniel said, there is something about it that resonates.Jack Campbellhttp://www.facebook.com/jack.campbell.98434noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-80120626014116647222012-09-24T20:00:30.035-04:002012-09-24T20:00:30.035-04:00How would I have turned to D&D if it wasn'...How would I have turned to D&D if it wasn't for grey, rainy, Pacific Northwest Fall days and me daydreaming about some lonely ruin under the same skies, soaked with the same rain? What horror would have the courage to risk itself under the sun, veiled behind dark clouds?Prince of Happinessnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-14186198867368617402012-09-24T19:04:16.148-04:002012-09-24T19:04:16.148-04:00Viriconium is another great example of this, with ...Viriconium is another great example of this, with its Afternoon and Evening cultures.<br /><br /><br />I feel much the same as you regarding my preferred tenor of fantasy; fall is certainly my season.<br /><br /><br />I would also suggest that this is similar to the Japanese concept of mono no aware, sometimes translated as the wistfulness of things. It is an appreciation of transience.Brendanhttp://untimately.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-89186313481473710782012-09-24T16:54:39.781-04:002012-09-24T16:54:39.781-04:00I wonder just a bit if this quality of Fantasy isn...I wonder just a bit if this quality of Fantasy isn't its root to history. After all, we stand on the ruins of Rome, and even in the modern cities of the "New World" stand on lost and forgotten temples. A long, long time ago, I played one session with strangers in a setting that had no preceding history: it was (if you will - I can't remember details) the Golden Age at the Dawn of Man.<br /><br />I couldn't follow it one bit. It was too alien to my experience!<br /><br />Great Autumnal post, James: a musing that surely resonates far more than you can know.Danielnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-87311244911589274252012-09-24T16:36:46.561-04:002012-09-24T16:36:46.561-04:00And those miserable piles of bones that gather tog...And those miserable piles of bones that gather together to walk at night when the villagers bolt their doors and windows and even the owls seem afraid to leave their barn roosts to hunt. Bryguy138https://www.blogger.com/profile/13445655987736995155noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-55834600873993185832012-09-24T16:06:27.088-04:002012-09-24T16:06:27.088-04:00Don't forget the sounds of Autumn too among th...Don't forget the sounds of Autumn too among the ruins... the sorrowful wind, overcast skies, cool brisk air.. all lends itself to epochs on the wane.the byteknightnoreply@blogger.com