How much 'GrimDark' is to much?

[Renegade]

So you guys know that I am looking for some models for my friend to add some 'juves' in is army. This has got him some ribbing on some other sites, but nothing bad.

So the question is: How far can one go before the invisible line is crossed?

Your thoughts?

[fuzzbuket]

in the newer 'cheerier fluff' that would be too much but frankly as long as the minis look good and arnt too graphic there should be no problem! remember GW used to have a SOB codex on the self, and that book was awfully grimdark :P and also befor the website update i remember a showcase of a IH dread thats front opened up to show the'pilot' inside :P eww


so if it looks good and isnt overly disturbing why not
-fuzz

[doom-kitten]

Truthfully, who cares. Your army is yours to create, if you want to cross some 'line' then go ahead. I'd fight an army regardless of it's intent and what the message behind it is, if it's to much to handle I can easily choose not to play it. Hell, half the Imperial stuff in the artwork has a lot of imagery reminiscent of the Third Reich and of course the Romans. Actually when I first got my army my dad asked my why I was painting futuristic Third Reich women (apparently the word for them is banned), and it was kinda hard to deny it. As long as the owners not doing it to intentionally bother or make crude comments then it should be alright.

[Psychosplodge]

New cheerier fluff? O_o

[Denzark]

What is the invisible line? Am I missing something? Is there a Hitelrjugend type joke about juves or is it a joke about kiddy fiddling?

I admit I don't get either, but neither subject is particularly grimdark - when lined up against intergalactic xenocide...

[Psychosplodge]

To be fair I think I missed it too.

[Rev. Tiberius Jackhammer]

Prior to the current Imp Guard codex, Cadian "Conscripts" were child soldiers (Whiteshields), soooo there's precedent.

The typical grimdarkness - intergalatic xenocide, eating 1000s of psykers, is all pretty safely sci-fi. If you bring close parallels for real world tragedies into it (like child soldiers), those close to the issue will likely be hurt/offended.

[Renegade]

What is the invisible line? Am I missing something? Is there a Hitelrjugend type joke about juves or is it a joke about kiddy fiddling?

I admit I don't get either, but neither subject is particularly grimdark - when lined up against intergalactic xenocide...

Because it is all fun and games in till someone thinks your army is crossing the line.

The local GW store once had some passer by complain about how racist the Tallarn army a player was using was... I guess it comes down to what you are sensitive about.

[ElectricPaladin]

I honestly think this is one of those "there's no accounting for taste" situations. You can always offend someone. Do your best to figure out where your line is and then act accordingly - but be prepared to listen to someone else's complaints. Keep an open mind and be willing to change it if someone gets hurt. That's really all you can ever do.

That said, I don't think I'd be offended by someone who had child soldiers in his Imperial Guard army. It's a little bit raw, sure, but this is a dark setting, and this is the sort of thing that happens here.

I suppose a lot of my opinion would also depend on exactly how it was done. Are you creating a few soliders - or perhaps a squad or two - of young-looking soldiers holding guns and trying to look brave? That's not a big deal. Are you greenstuffing footy pyjamas and bloodstained teddy bears onto your troops? Are you painting them to look like they're young teenagers who have wet themselves in terror? That would be too much.

[Psychosplodge]

The most important thing is to remember how you offended, so you can do it again...