This basically sums up how the last few weeks went for me. 🤺
#engarde
En Garde!
Subtitle:
Being in the Main a Game of the Life and Times of a Gentleman Adventurer and his Several Companions
I was woefully ignorant about En Garde! (mind the exclamation mark) until recently, when I tried to investigate why this roleplaying game seems so popular for play-by-mail games, despite being mostly forgotten in normal tabletop RPG circles.
It’s to the point that Margam Evans currently publishes the 4th edition of the game, which is nearly unchanged from the 2nd edition from 1977, which itself was not such a leap from the 1st that came out in 1975.
Yes, this is one of the earliest published role-playing games after the original White Box came out, and it came out in the same year as Tunnels and Trolls, making it likely the third or fourth published rpg. And yet barely anyone talks about it.
When people writing about the history of the hobby write about it it will get a mention, and then not be discussed anymore. And the reason I think is quite simple: it is very much still a wargame, albeit one focused on single characters, and with a weirdly abstracted approach to actual war, and people noticed quickly that playing it at the table was not the best way to use the rules. En Garde! instead has been a mainstay of postal games (that is turn-based play by mail or play by post gaming) since it’s inception.
Now, other roleplaying games of the time dabbled in this as well. Dungeons and Dragons had postal games running, and a multitude of paid dungeon crawler games tried to bring the experience of DnD to people with no other local players available. Tunnels and Trolls was conceptualized as suited for postal games. En Garde! Likely came by it more by coincidence. It originally started as a system for sword duels, which did not actually use dice all that much*, instead accepting programmed written orders for the duel.
Fascinating as this was, a small roleplaying system was attached to it that gave a reason WHY any two presumably reasonable gentlemen on the streets of 17th ct. Paris might want to duel themselves. One might meet the other party on one’s mistresses’ doorstep for example. Or be treated a bit too familiar by someone with too low a station. Or be in a regiment the other onr considers an enemy.
In any case, raison!
Soon enough it turned out that the tacked on roleplaying system that was supposed to supplement the duelling game was much more enjoyable than the duels themselves. It concerned swashbuckling, carousing, womanizing gentlemen in 17th century France, roughly in the vein of the Three Musketeers (especially the 1973 Richard Lester film which still was in everyone’s memories).
Characters in En Garde! are gentlemen, but they are always trying to increase their social status. They do this in a variety of ways, from openly carousing expensive spirits (showing they have the money to do that), toadying to other characters (getting some of that reflected glory), up to enjoying female companionship. It’s never defined what you actually are DOING with with that female companion, important is only you are seen with a female companion.
Yes, the answer is likely sex, but the way the rules float around that issue you might just visit a very dedicated embroidery circle together. Especially as I don’t think it’s ever established one can only play men, just that female companionship is necessary.
In any case the important part of the game is being seen doing stuff that shows your character is wealthy, rich, and manly. You’re the sword-wielding It girl of Paris.
Every once in a while characters will come across one another in complicated situations, and demand satisfaction.
All of that ideally is being recorded and transmitted to the other players somehow. The rules do not actually specifiy how, but the main way as established is by society papers. And that’s basically where the roleplaying happens. At the end of every round the referee puts together a gossip sheet of rumors, statements, duel results, and messages between characters. Most established campaigns identify themselves via the name of their respective gossip rag. The Paris Tribune for example, or Les Petites Bêtes Soyeuses. The latter actually is an ongoing and paid continuation of a campaign that has run since 1986, and the GM went and bought the rights to En Garde! when the last publisher folded.
There are a few running games, although it definitely doesn’t seem to have the clout DnD or Tunnels and Trolls has. The website has a list, and you might notice that not all the games are set in 17th ct. France. Different DMs often use variations on the rules, or set the game somewhere else, from 18th ct. London to Glorantha or Mars.
They also use some other variations. A character might e.g. join the Church and rise in power there, marry, run a business, or any other sort of shenanigans.
I have been thinking of integrating this with my current DnD/LL game. Outside of the name (Brillon) and a few other tidbits, nothing about the capital of the kingdom my campaign is set in really was established. I think one easily could have a game where characters in an En Garde game would be sent to “the Borderlands” and have to deal with local issues. In fact, the Castellan of Burg Aberwacht (as well as the bailiff and the curate) might be appointments given to characters going “on
The main issue is that combat skill is rather different between both systems, meaning it might not map to one another 1 to 1.
Oh, and I either have to raise the tech level of Aberwacht, or drop the one for the En Garde part. After all En Garde is based on the Three MUSKETeers.
Have to think about it.
Footnote:
*A survey of the rules shows there is a single mention of random dice-based determination of things in the main rules.
Let's Swash some Buckles in this happy go lucky swordfighting action game!
Live with En Garde!
#engarde #stream #action #videogame
#letsplay
https://www.twitch.tv/plane_shifter
🗡️ 🤺 En Garde! itxurosoak ezpata dueluak umorez betetako istorioarekin eta estetika koloretsuarekin elkartzen ditu.
@katukinabarra|k analisi sakona eskaini dio gure blogean.
The latest #HumbleBundle Is a banger.
A little over £11 gets you a few great games including #AmericanArcadia, #EntropyCenter and the wonderful #EnGarde.
Hab mich ein paar Stunden an En Garde! versucht. Das gab es zuletzt über Amazon kostenlos auf GOG.
Jedenfalls. Grafik putzig. Dialoge lustig. Gameplay schwer repetitiv. Und für mich selbst auf Einfach viel zu schwierig. Man wird mit Gegnermassen zugeworfen, die einen überhaupt nicht mehr agieren lassen. Das macht mir echt keinen Spaß.
Bin froh, dass ich es so ausprobieren konnte. Hätte es mir fast mal im Sale gekauft.
https://invidious.nerdvpn.de/watch?v=ED9qcV9VL0I
#engarde #gaming
Track 01 - En garde!
Produced by: Sean Bowie
Length: 03:54
Starting off with confrontation, this track is chaotic, upbeat, and in your face. “Unknown Pleasures” marked my first step into the music industry and I wanted to evoke opening doors for the first time. I was recording lines for my character in Dead Cells when this one line spoke to me, “En garde!” I got the bizarrest vision: answering the door and instantly being met with a fencing match.
Durchgespielt: #EnGarde!
Sehr leichtherziges, kurzes Fechtspiel, das hübsch aussieht. Man kämpft sich von Arena zu Arena, kontert, schmeißt mit Töpfen um sich und hat Spaß. Schon etwas fordernd, aber das Spiel stellt einem genügen Umgebungselemente zum "Schummeln" zur Verfügung. Mich nervt persönlich, dass alle Charaktere mit spanischem Akzent sprechen, aber es keine spanische Sprachausgabe gibt. Kamera kann manchmal stören, aber es gibt Checkpoints ohne Ende. #gaming
Finished **En Garde! (2023)** and... it is okay given the design and scope. While it is on the easier side of difficulty, it focuses more on crowd control which can be appealing.
Not sure if I can recommend this though because of its camera annoyances and lack of comprehensive challenge. The most fun I had was not in the main adventure but in the roguelike mode which is strange to say.
Trailer: https://youtu.be/r9uhIcMsIPk
Haudegen - Unter die Haut (Offizielles Video)
https://spectra.video/videos/watch/ab648566-c026-4f9e-b269-91e9e129f1dc
Ce soir 21h30 sur Twitch on se lance dans "En Garde!" du studio Montpelliérain Fireplace Games
Une aventure dynamique d'environ 4-5h avec un style graphique tout à fait charmant 🥰
Endlich eine neue Folge für euch! In der Vorweihnachtszeit geht es bei uns um die Spiele, die uns besonders beeinflusst haben, sei es bezogen auf Hobby, Musikgeschmack oder neue Genres. So geht's um #starwars #tonyhawkproskater #unrealtournament - eine bunte Nostalgiemischung! In der #indie-ecke geht's um #engarde und swashbuckling Action, auch sprechen wir kurz über Züge und Survival. Also viel Spaß in den Feiertagen und nutzt die Zeit für ein bisschen #podcast hören! https://www.podcaster.de/simpleplayer/?id=channel~uqemfz~oneuppodcast&v=1630766252
Go play #enGarde
#games #gaming #videoGame #videoGames
Next Fest Showcase 12/4/23
Josh Bycer presents more favorite games of nextfest.
0:00 Intro
00:19 A Void Hope (Steam)
1:51 En Garde! (Steam)
4:16 Tagline (Steam)
5:58 Born of Bread (Steam)
7:33 Thronefall (Steam)
https://setsideb.com/next-fest-showcase-12-4-23/
#indiedevshowcase #indies #abathor #avoidhope #bornofbread #crimeoclock #engarde #indie #indiegameshowcase #lunaabyss #megacitypolice #nextfest #tagline #thronefall #toziuhanight
I've recently picked up this game on steam called "En Garde!" It's got a very cartoonish tone, with no-one dying despite all the swords and grenades around and a lot of banter, but honestly, after so much doom and gloom in so much media, it's actually really refreshing. The gameplay's fun, too. #videogames #engarde
En Garde! – Un Pour Tous et Tous Pour un
#jeuxvideo #capeetepee #test #engarde
https://www.gaming-family.com/en-garde-un-pour-tous-et-tous-pour-un/
#Cooking #Breakfast, using a pot lid like the shield of a Roman gladiator after the oil got too hot and started popping in my face.
#EnGarde! ⚔️🛡️😆
Finally a game with adults! A 4 player session of the Osprey game #engarde. It was a renaissance theme on a beautiful table. Spaniards vs German mercenaries. A bloody tussle for control of the tower. The Spanish war dogs and swordsmen got stuck in but it was a German victory on points at the end of the six rounds. Great game, and written by a #canberra based designer! A bit of home town pride and a fun arvo of gaming for my mate’s birthday. #Tabletop #Wargaming #wargames #historicalwargaming
I am now official 2nd in the world in my En Garde speedrun category 🤺 ♥️ 😊 🥳 🤺 ♥️ 😊 🥳 🤺 ♥️ 😊 🥳
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