The GROGNARD Files Podcast – Episode 75, Part 2: "1984: A Year in RPGs"
Date: December 18, 2024
Host: Dirk the Dice

Overview

This episode is a vibrant, reflective deep-dive into the year 1984 as experienced by two lifelong tabletop gamers, focused through the lens of their own memories, group dynamics, and the then-pivotal White Dwarf magazine. Blending group reminiscence, personal highlights, and contributions from "Daily Dwarf," the hosts look back at games played, formative campaigns, and the changing landscape of RPGs as seen from the UK. The episode is both a tribute to a formative period of British gaming culture and a call for listeners to help them rediscover overlooked gems from that era.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

[00:17] - Setting the Scene: A Clip Show of 1984 Gaming Memories

• Dirk notes this episode's structure as akin to a television "clip show," a parade of nostalgia and highlights from 1984, framed by their own gaming experiences.
• Emphasis that understanding this episode is helped by hearing Part 1.

[02:00] - Daily Dwarf’s “White Dwarf 1984 and All That” Retrospective

• White Dwarf issues 49–60 are spotlighted, covering a "Golden Era" with standout adventures and the magazine's expansion to more mainstream newsagents thanks to the Games Workshop and the fighting fantasy boom.
• Departments and columns expanded:
  • Fiend Factory, Starbase, Rune Rights
  • New entries: Crash Course (Car Wars), Lose Views (Dr. Pulsifer), Tabletop Heroes (miniatures), Counterpoint (board games), Micro View (microcomputers, then-new tech)
  • Critical Mass review column joined by these new departments.

“Was the magazine becoming hidebound by this rigid structure? Was the room to innovate limited? Was the Golden Era coming to an end?” – DailyDwarf [03:30]

Daily Dwarf’s 1D6 Retrospective (Five Highlights & One Fumble)

1. The Black Brew of Dieskund adventure (RuneQuest scenario, issue 51)

• Praised for adding environmental challenge ("squeeze" passages) and danger, beyond just monster bashing.
• Map described by fan as: "Looking like a mad woman's knitting." – [05:00]

2. Mark Harrison’s ‘The Travellers’ Comic Strip

• Divisive Traveller-themed humor, laden with inside jokes, sci-fi references, and frenetic art.
• Harrison’s later fame with 2000 AD noted; his art style described as “a bit fuzzy at the edges.” – [07:00]

3. OpenBox Reviews: Time-Rich, Cash-Poor

• A year when new RPGs like Daredevils and Espionage! appeared alongside big expansions for Call of Cthulhu, Traveller, and the first Dragonlance module.
• The hosts recall longing for new games but lacking resources:
  “While I had plenty of time to play RPGs... I was not at home to Mr. Disposable Cash. Now of course that ratio is reversed.” – DailyDwarf [09:00]

4. “To Live Forever” (Traveller, issue 52)

• Andy Slack’s article on character immortality—exploring not just mechanics (drugs, clones, surgery), but philosophical and societal impact.
• Provided food for thought far from the usual “amoral piracy fare.” – [10:40]

5. “It’s a Trap!” (Issue 58)

• Practical design philosophy for traps, focused on fairness and gameplay over instant death.
• Memorable advice: “A trap should not leave too much mince.” – Stephen Dudley [12:00]
• Nod to modern game Electric Bastionland for carrying on this legacy.

Fumble: The Mid-Year Wobble

• DailyDwarf confesses to having become "jaded" after years of AD&D and other mainstays — even skipping purchase of issue 56, though loyalty soon returned.
• White Dwarf in 1984 wasn’t as good as previous years, but still a UK RPG cornerstone.
  “If I'm honest, I don't think it hit the heights of the previous two years... There’s still some gems.” [14:40]
• Concludes with a tongue-in-cheek Orwellian warning:
  “If you want a picture of the future, imagine a space marine's boot stamping on your wallet. Forever.” [16:00]

The GROGGY Awards & Reminiscences

Messianic Megalomaniac Award – Best Games Master of 1984 ([17:31]–[27:49])

• Two nominees debated:

  • Simon: Noted for narrative-heavy, low-interaction AD&D games ("just had to listen to NPCs talk to each other"), an "early adopter" with new ideas and a CD player, but with a megalomaniacal streak.
  • Herbs: Transformed their games with imaginative scenarios, over-the-top encounters, and generosity with loot (e.g., “room full of power storage crystals”), but also highly improvisational (famously using random Traveller supplements as adventure inspiration).

  “He wasn’t afraid to have proper powered-up characters and allow characters to be… I mean, we mentioned before the infamous Java Blast.” – Dirk [21:31]
  “But he also brought epic battles... 15 brew all with weird and wonderful appearances.” – Dirk [22:00]

• Anecdote: Orchestrated (perhaps unfairly) a "character assassination" to deal with a power-gaming, rules-lawyering player.

  “There was an element of megalomania about it because it was about the story rather than about players influencing things.” – B [19:56]
  “I think Herbs deserves to be…” – Dirk [27:46]

Random Roll on an Encounter Table – New Friends and the Arrival of Eddie ([27:58]–[29:56])

• Meeting Eddie in 1984, who introduced them to Call of Cthulhu, marked a seismic shift—his proximity and like-mindedness cemented him as a core member, versus fleeting, more distant players.

  “Eddie’s the one who stuck, isn’t it? …Eddie was more like us… he lived right around the back of my house.” – B [28:26]

• Call of Cthulhu scenario "Fungi from Yogurt(h)" especially remembered.

• Remembrance of "Olive Kingsburg," a notable character who died in that scenario, giving her name to an award.

Players Playing and Character Attachment ([29:56]–[36:44])

• 1984 marked a period of relentless character churn; few memorable PCs because characters died quickly and were optimized for survival rather than depth.

• Contrast with modern play: Greater variety and trust between GMs and players now, leading to more distinct, memorable characters.

  “You couldn't get a close association with them because they didn’t last very long.” – Dirk [34:02] “Nowadays we’re very different, aren’t we?” – B [35:16]

• Notable: Creation and later revival (decades on) of the island setting "Rash" for a play-by-mail game, and reflections on how returning to it as adults changed not just the tone, but the experience of play.

New Kids on the Top Tabletop – 1984’s New Games & Missed Opportunities ([43:10]–[47:51])

• The hosts reflect on their resistance to new, oddball games (Toon, Indiana Jones RPG, Advanced Fighting Fantasy), noting a preference for familiar territory due to a small, cautious gaming group and limited finances.

  “We were very earnest, weren’t we?” – Dirk [44:14] “There was a reluctance to go for anything a bit crazy… there was an element of that we were kind of isolated.” – B [45:40]

• MERP (Middle-Earth Role Playing) was the only one bought and played: "hard work and complicated, but back in the day, we tolerated a level of complexity.” – B [45:05]

• Dirk’s pick: Mercenary Spies and Private Eyes, a rare foray into a genuinely different genre for them.

• Acknowledgment they’d barely scratched the surface of what was out there.

Call to Listeners: Advocate for Overlooked 80s Games ([50:28]–[53:14])

• The duo now seeks to fill these gaps:

  “I think we should lay the challenge down for people to advocate their game... We play it with them... and have a fight club to say whether it’s any good or not.” – Dirk [51:02]

• Reflection that their "golden era" of RPG discovery was shorter and narrower than they'd remembered, missing swathes of now-classic games.

• Warm acknowledgment that gaming has underpinned and maintained their long friendship.

  "Even just looking at one year, it’s proven we know even less… We’ve always admitted to knowing not very much, but we know even less now. There’s no point listening to us anymore." – B [52:35] (tongue-in-cheek)

• Ends with philosophy and a Taylor Swift joke:

  “As the philosopher T. Swift said, you need to calm down. You’re being too loud.” – Dirk [53:14]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On nostalgia and discovery:

  “I think what I've come to realize is that I'm enjoying playing games now much more than I ever did then. Even though we've got this kind of nostalgic affection… I'm getting more value from it because back then I was only really scratching the surface and not very good at it.” – Dirk [47:51]

• Character mortality and old-school play:

  “If you created some character, it was weak and interesting but not particularly combat orientated… Be dead within a week because the games were quite brutal.” – B [35:59]

• Campaign improvisation folklore:

  “He reached into his bag without looking and pulled out a Traveller Zhodani spaceship supplement...and that’s where we were going to be. Didn’t matter where—that’s where we were.” – B [22:59]

• A self-aware podcast moment:

  "If anything, what this podcast has been about is like a journey of discovery, isn’t it?” – Dirk [53:00]

Important Timestamps

• [00:17] – Introduction, 1984 as “clip show,” importance of listening to Part 1
• [02:00] – DailyDwarf’s White Dwarf 1984 overview essay begins
• [05:00] – The Black Brew of Dieskund, RuneQuest scenario highlight
• [07:00] – Mark Harrison’s “The Travellers” comic strip discussed
• [10:40] – To Live Forever, immortality for Traveller characters article
• [12:00] – “It’s A Trap!”—trap design philosophies
• [14:40] – DailyDwarf’s “fumble”: losing faith in White Dwarf, then regaining it
• [17:31] – Messianic Megalomaniac GM Award – Simon vs. Herbs debate
• [27:58] – Random Encounter Award: The meeting of Eddie, Call of Cthulhu impact
• [29:56] – Attachment (or lack thereof) to characters; campaign and character churn
• [36:44] – Creation, legacy, and revival of "Rash," their PBM island setting
• [43:10] – New games in 1984; hesitance, missed explorations
• [47:51] – On enjoying gaming more now than then; effects of adult friendships and nostalgia
• [50:28] – Call for listeners to pitch their favorite overlooked games
• [53:14] – Philosophical wrap-up, Taylor Swift joke

Listener Challenge & Call to Action

The hosts invite listeners to share their own formative RPGs from 1984—especially lesser-known games that escaped their notice. They are determined to experience these classics (or oddities) with their advocates, then report back in future episodes.

“Invite people to proselyte—about games that they loved. Convince us that we missed out.” – Dirk [52:25]

Tone and Style

• Warm, self-deprecating, and frequently humorous, with a strong “old friends reminiscing” vibe.
• Pop culture references and in-jokes abound; the hosts balance affection for the past with sharp awareness of their own youthful blind spots and modern perspectives.
• Despite the nostalgia, they prize discovery and inclusion—enthusing about their own continuing journey in the hobby.

Summary prepared by The GROGNARD Files Podcast Summarizer