tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post2499784967922082294..comments2024-03-28T20:36:33.364-04:00Comments on GROGNARDIA: The Fantastic Fun of Dungeons & DragonsJames Maliszewskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comBlogger40125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-53568140678219048442022-01-28T23:23:40.823-05:002022-01-28T23:23:40.823-05:00I bought the gray wooden blocks and floors at a ga...I bought the gray wooden blocks and floors at a game convention in Michigan when I was in high school, I still have them. My friend and I bought them, they were like $20 bucks, which was a lot back then. They look to have a double or triple set. The floors pieces covered about 9 of the painted squares in a 3 by 3 square. 4 boards per set. I graduated HS in 1981, so I'm guessing we bought them in 79. Michaelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11656554193044378009noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-44181171577663781542021-05-12T09:03:01.741-04:002021-05-12T09:03:01.741-04:00Shocked indeed. You'll be closing Rick's ...Shocked indeed. You'll be closing Rick's Cafe Americain, I suppose?<br /><br />Your winnings, sir. :)Dick McGeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14521293874696659063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-20798708094755610002021-05-12T07:09:16.639-04:002021-05-12T07:09:16.639-04:00The map on the wall is definitely the War of the R...The map on the wall is definitely the War of the Ring map. That white circle is the tracker for the Dark Power player's shadow points (which measure what Sauron can do in a turn).Sir Harrokhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11064391207365006286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-31086341615139845312021-05-11T22:08:08.405-04:002021-05-11T22:08:08.405-04:00Thank you for the clarification. That is an aweso...Thank you for the clarification. That is an awesome post by Sarah. jdh417https://www.blogger.com/profile/14541882649762424101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-54982972523654066702021-05-11T10:24:41.690-04:002021-05-11T10:24:41.690-04:00I'm shocked – shocked! – by this revelation.I'm shocked – <i>shocked!</i> – by this revelation.James Maliszewskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-91345030083910179022021-05-11T10:11:53.905-04:002021-05-11T10:11:53.905-04:00@Dick McGee That is interesting. I don't beli...@Dick McGee That is interesting. I don't believe I personally ever saw them for sale, but I'm sure I was not looking in the right places. I saw this article about a year before I started playing D&D, so it was just a memory when I started visiting hobby shops, looking at figurines, etc. It wasn't until the internet that I rediscovered this article and managed to identify some of the figures. The ability to revisit ephemera like this is astounding. <br /> It is something no other generation has ever had.DeepOnehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00282424549858372283noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-43819657137264056942021-05-11T09:53:37.714-04:002021-05-11T09:53:37.714-04:00For more discussion of the photographs and article...For more discussion of the photographs and article, you can check out the following link.<br /><br />https://www.sarahdarkmagic.com/content/how-picture-girls-playing-dd-went-cool-awesome<br /><br />Scroll all the way to the bottom for a note from the original photographer. He reveals that the only "real" D&D player in the photo was the ... drumroll please ... guy you would have expected in the middle. The two young ladies were that guy's girlfriend(!) and her friend.DeepOnehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00282424549858372283noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-55875130467648998212021-05-11T09:18:40.109-04:002021-05-11T09:18:40.109-04:00Ha. Looks like an entry for Dynamite's "...Ha. Looks like an entry for Dynamite's "What's Wrong With This Picture?' feature.<br /><br />Dynamite magazine was the best. I remember Fonzie on the cover, the Invisible Man, the Six Million Dollar Man, Welcome Back Kotter and the Sleestaks. Etrimynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12412524174369676893noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-61605093720131884222021-05-11T08:47:56.017-04:002021-05-11T08:47:56.017-04:00Sarah Darkmagic covered this a few years back. Sh...Sarah Darkmagic covered this a few years back. She even got some email from the photographer talking about that scene.<br /><a href="https://www.sarahdarkmagic.com/content/how-picture-girls-playing-dd-went-cool-awesome" rel="nofollow">https://www.sarahdarkmagic.com/content/how-picture-girls-playing-dd-went-cool-awesome</a>Timothy S. Brannanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02923526503305233715noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-75180829570770365392021-05-11T08:13:58.699-04:002021-05-11T08:13:58.699-04:00@DeepOne I thought those looked familiar. Our lo...@DeepOne I thought those looked familiar. Our local hobby shop had the whole Superior range way back when, their Starfleet Wars figs and rules were really popular back in the day. I was glad to see Monday Knight Productions bring them back into production.Dick McGeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14521293874696659063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-57011806653821220842021-05-11T08:10:39.720-04:002021-05-11T08:10:39.720-04:00Thank you! Must have searched every possible comb...Thank you! Must have searched every possible combination of "ness" and other words except that one. "Ness" by itself gets so many lake monster results it's hopeless for finding the book by itself.<br /><br />Man, that had been driving me crazy.Dick McGeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14521293874696659063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-41774950509259018082021-05-11T07:59:01.358-04:002021-05-11T07:59:01.358-04:00"OK Nerd, I'm trying to break into my mod..."OK Nerd, I'm trying to break into my modelling career by posing for pictures for this stupid magazine, and that's it. Don't get any closer or try to talk to me. [smiles for camera and points] What's that grody monster thing over there? JEFFBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08862106711059104379noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-52623039169822165622021-05-11T06:08:29.261-04:002021-05-11T06:08:29.261-04:00Could it be a 20th century version of two of the B...Could it be a 20th century version of two of the Brontë sisters with their younger brother playing an updated version of their story/wargame game?Krhysdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10584640780539225554noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-48688969087083859822021-05-11T00:51:09.129-04:002021-05-11T00:51:09.129-04:00Erin Grey...sigh.Erin Grey...sigh.Narmerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08635665594860371230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-22858043296724171012021-05-11T00:16:15.766-04:002021-05-11T00:16:15.766-04:00I call shenanigans on that picture starting the ar...I call shenanigans on that picture starting the article with one really nerdy-looking boy and two cute girls playing D&D. I'm having a hard time seeing that scene happening in real life in the 80's.jdh417https://www.blogger.com/profile/14541882649762424101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-52844743926302066182021-05-10T21:07:49.711-04:002021-05-10T21:07:49.711-04:00If you can find it, I'd love to know.If you can find it, I'd love to know.James Maliszewskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-83133176251252022362021-05-10T21:05:26.270-04:002021-05-10T21:05:26.270-04:00I've seen it, too...perhaps on another blog.I've seen it, too...perhaps on another blog.JBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03263662621289630246noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-51867621533766396822021-05-10T20:11:43.180-04:002021-05-10T20:11:43.180-04:00Thanks for the link. That's very useful.Thanks for the link. That's very useful.James Maliszewskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-58641551173365503252021-05-10T19:58:25.214-04:002021-05-10T19:58:25.214-04:00Not sure about all of the figures, but the wizard ...Not sure about all of the figures, but the wizard and orc are from a range of 90mm figures from Superior. http://www.miniatures-workshop.com/lostminiswiki/index.php?title=Fantasy_9000<br /><br />Looks like some in the background are from that range too.<br /><br />The setup looks homemade. I'm guessing plywood base with a grid pattern painted on it, and wooden "blocks" with a pattern of stones and doors painted on. You can see that they ran out of painted blocks and used the unfinished wood around the perimeter. <br /><br />It's a cool looking setup and fired my imagination when I first saw it. Tried to make my own and failed miserably. Way too unstable.DeepOnehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00282424549858372283noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-90532781407915274402021-05-10T15:26:10.831-04:002021-05-10T15:26:10.831-04:00Yep, Bananas was also published by Scholastic.Yep, <i>Bananas</i> was also published by Scholastic.James Maliszewskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-42965337495480207452021-05-10T15:20:35.654-04:002021-05-10T15:20:35.654-04:00I loved Dynamite. There was another, similar magaz...I loved Dynamite. There was another, similar magazine, perhaps by Scholastic or maybe a competitor called...Bananas? I am not certain.<br /><br />I have Scholastic and RIFF to thank for many of my earliest book purchases.Adam Dicksteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04840144928096089178noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-30779442133344048602021-05-10T13:50:27.440-04:002021-05-10T13:50:27.440-04:00AFAIK the earliest slottabases were 1985, so proba...AFAIK the earliest slottabases were 1985, so probably not. Could be wrong though.Dick McGeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14521293874696659063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-40008106819478026432021-05-10T13:36:23.675-04:002021-05-10T13:36:23.675-04:00What I would like to know is where the figures and...What I would like to know is where the figures and the dungeon setup came from. Were they commercially available? Does anyone recognize them?John Brinegarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12123235797335728124noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-38630445307423416432021-05-10T13:32:06.047-04:002021-05-10T13:32:06.047-04:00Yes; this is "The Day of the Ness" by An...Yes; this is "The Day of the Ness" by Andre Norton, illustrated by Michael Gilbert. It is still in print.John Brinegarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12123235797335728124noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-70816437785446643172021-05-10T13:22:51.330-04:002021-05-10T13:22:51.330-04:00It looks like a 20mm slottabase, yes.It looks like a 20mm slottabase, yes.thekelvingreenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01928260185408072124noreply@blogger.com