The GROGNARD Files

We’ve talked about our formative years in RPGs, what about computers? They were as important as a common-ground to become friends. In this episode Dirk and Blythy talk about their exposure to computers in the 80s. Also, we discuss Rippers for Savage Worlds and the crisis of confidence when creating a setting. Please consider supporting us on Patreon. The post 80s Computers and RPGs Ep71 Pt2 first appeared on The GROGNARD Files.

At this year’s virtual GROGMEET we were joined by Dan Whitehead, the author of Speccy Nation, who took us on a tour of The ZX Spectrum. The 8-bit computer was a staple of our every day lives in the 1980s. There’s an advert for Third Floor Wars which recently featured Burn After Running’s Guy Milner. The next season of the Book Club features classic science fiction. Please support us on Patreon. The post ZX Spectrum Games (with Dan Whitehead) Ep.70 Pt. 1 first appeared on The GROGNARD Files.

Welcome back, just when you knew you had enough of Dirk the Dice and Judge Blythy rambling on and on about TTRPGs, they’re back with more. These are the answers to the GROGPOD listener questions that didn’t fit into the first part. There’s also a Post Bag section, where we talk about to the favourite covers of White Dwarf identified by our listeners. Please support us on Patreon The post ThunderPhase! TTRPG Questions and Answers Ep.70 Pt.2 first appeared on The GROGNARD Files.

The return of @dailydwarf with an article about Good, the Bad and downright Odd covers of White Dwarf from 1 – 106 (when they stopped doing RPGs). Join us as we go into a time capsule and review some of our favourites. If you’d like to play along and let us know your favourite White Dwarf cover, then head to Daily Dwarf’s site where he has helpfully put together a catalogue of the covers. Dirk and Judge Blythy join in the fun as well as answering listener questions. There’s more to come (sorry about that). There’s an advert for Orlanth Rex’s Gaming Vexes Podcast, where Dirk recently appeared talking about ‘Why we RPG’. If you would like to know more about the symposium Dirk attended, then follow the substack. Support the podcast by giving 5 star reviews at your favourite podbox and joining the Patreon. The post White Dwarf RPG Covers (with ThunderPhase) Ep. 70 Pt. 1 first appeared on The GROGNARD Files.

In this episode, we have a very special guest. Marc Miller is the creator of the Traveller Role-Playing game and in this interview he talks to Dirk the Dice about his first encounter with Dungeons and Dragons. He also talks about the origins of Traveller and his trip UK Games Day. Judge Blythy, our resident rules lawyer, revisits the rules that we looked back at in Episode Three and assesses the changes that have been developed in the latest version. We are playing Traveller regularly again, and really enjoying it. Space Ship art by Ian Stead (thanks for making the contact!). The outro music is My Face will Murder Me by The Static Music Club (Omari) Please support us on Patreon. The post Traveller RPG Revisited (with Marc Miller) Ep 69 first appeared on The GROGNARD Files.

This episode follows the theme of the previous one, where we looked at Adventure Design. This time at the book club we have the amazing Johnn Four who shares his Five Room Dungeon method and explains how story techniques can add to our gaming. Judge Blythy and Dirk the Dice look back at the games that they have played over the past 12 years and try to identify what made them work. They also set out their resolutions for 2024 – a year on the grog. Dirk is recommending the following podcasts: The Rest is History, The Rest is Entertainment, Immortals, Land of the Giants: Twitter, ACFM, Scarred for Life, Mason and Fricker’s Eldritch Tales, Bud and Griff’s Gaming Creepshow, and Between 2 Cairns. Please support us on Patreon. The post Five Room Dungeons (with Johnn Four) Ep. 68 first appeared on The GROGNARD Files.

Another year comes to a close, we review the gaming highlights and award The GROGGIES … We talk about our highlights and low lights of the year. Well done to the GROGGIES of the year: https://bonhomiegames.uk/ We mention our appearance on Orlanth Rex’s Gaming Vexes Unconventional GMs What would the Smart Party Do? You can find all of Gaz’s community content listed below: Call of Cthulhu Burning Desire A year after the investigators defeated a daemon-summoning cult, their allies have been in touch. Murder, arson, disappearances. Could the Siblings of Burning Desire be back? The investigators must return to the scene of their former victory and get to the truth lest disaster befall them, their friends and everything they hold dear. https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/463092/Burning-Desire Vaesen Unbearable The small village of Alsen has enjoyed a peaceful and traditional existence in harmony with the natural world for many generations.A new world is upon us though, the old ways wane and the vaesen are forgotten. Sadly for the villagers, their vaesen do not forgive and forget. https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/363819/Unbearable Sugar and Spice Progress descends on the rustic lands of Sweden, and it is not only the people who must move with the times. Vaesen are displaced and rub up against each other, causing frictions that will lead to disaster if left unattended. Thursday’s Children must learn what is going wrong and fix it for the sake of the actual children of the village. https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/445162/Sugar-And-Spice–Vaesen Midnight Hunt An ancient tradition in the wilds of Sweden has become problematic, as new-age mysticism messes with old ways and a city slicker huntsman sets his sights on one last expedition. Strange beasts stalk the night and villagers are going missing. Can the investigators resolve the mystery before perhaps they too disappear? https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/391679/Midnight-Hunt–Vaesen Tales From the Loop Puppy Love A chance encounter with a missing pet leads to a missing child, and then altogether too many pets and children. Can the Kids learn what’s going on, get things back to normal, before they find themselves in Trouble? What will the Kids do when faced with a moral dilemma? https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/362159/Puppy-Love Looking Glass School football captain Sture Lagerwall, is a popular, well-liked kid and so when he is out of sorts, it’s time for the Kids to investigate what’s wrong. Sture’s mother is an ambitious scientist of no small vision. Where has she gone, and more importantly, what fresh hell has her experimentation wrought? https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/436852/Looking-Glass D&D (DMs Guild) The Bone Alchemist A missing prince, nefarious magical goings on and fantastical beasts combine for a thrilling adventure taking characters from 1st level through to 3rd level in the style of Arabian Nights mixed with The Golden Voyage of Sinbad. https://www.dmsguild.com/product/356191/The-Bone-Alchemist Shadow of the Devourer Who will put a stop to the desperate plans of the deranged cult to summon a world-eating daemon? Dynamic struggles in ancient tombs awaits! (Levels 3-5) https://www.dmsguild.com/product/382966/Shadow-of-the-Devourer The post Review of 2023 in RPGs (with Gaz Bowerbank) first appeared on The GROGNARD Files.

Live from GROGMEET 23, join us as we roll back the years with Mike Mason. We look at the key moments in the history of Call of Cthulhu: its origins and its early campaigns. In Library Use, Blythy and Dirk look at Cults of Cthulhu and Different Worlds and consider the world populated by people who are ‘tuned in’ to Cthulhu. Mike Mason and Paul Fricker have a new podcast project You can support the GROGNARD files at Patreon. The post Cults of Cthulhu (with Mike Mason) Ep 66 first appeared on The GROGNARD Files.

A homecoming. The GROGNARD files returns to Glorantha, the setting where our RPG life began. 4mins – Jeff Richard joins us at the Book Club to talk about The King of Sartar, Greg Stafford’s epic book of The Dragon Pass. The discussion also includes The Cults of RuneQuest. 26 mins – Judge Blythy and Dirk are in the Library looking at Different Worlds issue 1 and Wyrms Footnotes 5. 44 mins – Closing time chat about Liminal and adapting old White Dwarf scenarios. Want to see some Glorantha action with vim and vigour? Check out Unconventional GMs, don’t forget your cow. Join the GROGSQUAD tribe at Patreon. The post Glorantha (with Jeff Richard) first appeared on The GROGNARD Files.

Behold the man! Michael Moorcock joins us in the room of role-playing rambling to talk about memoir, the multiverse, movies and much more. I recommend Sanctom Secorum and Appendix N Bookclub interviews too. I have appeared on Breakfast in the Ruins talking about Letters from Hollywood. I recommend Moorcock’s latest trilogy The Sanctuary of the White Friars. Please support us on Patreon. The post Michael Moorcock Ep. 64 first appeared on The GROGNARD Files.

In this episode, we continue looking for inspiration from urban horror/fantasy. C.K. McDonnell joins the book club to talk about his career and his series of novels set in Manchester, The Stranger Times, about a newspaper covering the supernatural. There are three books in the series, with another coming in a couple of months, and a podcast that supports the novels. Dirk and Blythy are in the Las O’Gowrie discussing the seventies children’s TV Classic, The Children of the Stones. If you want to find out more about the book club, including the forthcoming guests, then follow the page on this site. Please support us on Patreon.

Welcome to the world of Liminal. Dirk and Blythy are in the throes of discovering a world where the ordinary and extraordinary interact. Joining us in the Room of Role-Playing Rambling is the creator of Liminal, Paul Mitchener who has provided an insight into the game and its influences. Support the GROGNARD files on Patreon.

Another repeat! This the next in the ongoing campaign to remaster the files from the early GROGPODs. Some of the early ones are difficult to hear, so this has been equalised. It does result in some strange gaps and distortions, but nothing too distracting I hope. The roll of dice are missing from here because I got complaints about it hurting peoples’ heads. I mention Improvised Radio Theatre with Dice, which is still going strong. GAMESMASTER’S SCREEN Behind the screen I have a table of Call of Cthulhu supplements. I’m joined by Judge Blythy who rolls the 1D100 to select 5 for detailed discussion. ED’S BARGAIN SHED Ed, The Armchair Adventurer’s Chief bargain-hunter provides an e-Bay price index for the supplements under discussion. POSTBAG A selection from listener comments, including a fascinating look at The Lovecraft Variant – an early Cthulhu adaptation for Tunnels and Trolls. The Lovecraft Variant is now a fully fledged game. Follow me on Twitter @theGROGNARDfile

It’s that time again! We went on the road in a charabanc and headed to England’s 4th City, Birmingham, for the UK Game Expo 2023. We report on the games we played, the people we saw and the stuff we bought in a spectacular weekend. Learn how we became Pookie Porters carrying his impressive haul, which can be seen revealed on this video. There is also news from our bar-side chat with Paul Fricker and his podcast recommendation of Filthy Ritual, the true crime podcast. He has also written about it on his substack. Dirk participated in a panel of fellow podcasters with the RPG Repair Shop. There is an edited sample featured here, but if you want more, then listen at Frankenstein’s RPG. If you would like to support the podcast, then please support us on Patreon. Thanks.

Join Dirk the Dice, climbing to the top of Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh for an episode that we used to label ‘extra’ but who cares if they have an episode number? Jon Cohen from Tale of the Manticore joins us to share his First, Last and Everything. He mentions Mythic and The Quiet Year in a conversation recorded at this year’s virtual GROGMEET. Blythy and Dirk are in the Las O Gowrie answering listener questions in a Thunderphase! segement. Join our Patreon to support the podcast and get a ‘a little extra’.

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. This is a remastered version of episode 2 (part 1) with some additional edits and the levels balanced and an extra segment reflecting on the episode eight years later. Open Box – reliving the memories of playing the game for the first time and the faltering start. Judge Blythy Rules! – The Armchair Adventurers’ Resident Rules Lawyer discusses the finer points of the rules and style of play. We also speculate on what horrors have faced British Prime Ministers. White Dwarf – @dailydwarf talks about his early experiences of playing Call of Cthulhu and selects his favourite item from the pages from the halcyon days of the UK’s best gaming magazine. An invitation to listeners to contribute their stories of playing Call of Cthulhu in the early days. Look out for a Micro Grog Pod coming soon featuring a list of our favourite CoC supplements and a current online pricing guide. Episode 3 will feature TRAVELLER RPG

Still Dirk. Star Frontiers returns. This time we are looking at the adventures that were created for the game. Dark Side of the Moon and Face of the Enemy were very sophisticated modules produced by TSR. Wayne Peters joins us to talk about Space 1999 and add it to the every-expanding Appendix G. We mention a great Call of Cthulhu adventure, Of Sorrow and Clay, which we played at virtual GROGMEET. Why not support us on Patreon?

Join the Galactic Legions with Dirk and Blythy as we explore Star Frontiers. Introduction: An apology for the misreading of the shrine last time. The background to Star Frontiers as a setting explained. Book Club: Ben Riggs joins Dirk in the Zoom of Role-Playing Rambling to talk about the history of TSR as explained in his book. Slaying the Dragon. Daily Dwarf: The triumphant return of the Daily Dwarf essay looking at how Imagine magazine covered Star Frontiers. Speed-Rating: Judge Blythy and Dirk give the low-down on the game including the highlights and the things that don’t quite work. Save for Half: an advert for our friends at The Save for Half podcast I’ll get mi coat: Monster of the Week and Planescape, our latest obsessions Outro: Virtual Grogmeet, the Book Club and join us on Patreon. I guess I was Never There – new EP from Omari (Dirk Jnr)

Introduction: We look at the Satanic Panic in this episode. We have touched on it before, during our interview with Tim Harford. We are part of the Scarred for Life generation, so were met with mild bemusement rather than a moral panic. I somehow manage to croak through this … apologies … normal service will resume as soon as the Lemsip kicks in. Open Box (3.45) Author of Dangerous Games, Joseph Laycock, Professor of Religious Studies at Texas State University, joins us in the zoom of role-playing rambling to explain the history of RPG moral panics in America. GROGGLEBOX (34:41) Blythy and Dirk watch the made for TV Mazes and Monsters (1982) It has been released on BluRay with friends of the show, Scott Dorwood, How we Roll and Seth Skorkowsky Appendix G (01:11:00) Kehaar aka Clarky adds Dr Who and the UNIT campaign to Appendix G and talks about he became the poster-boy for satanism on The Wirral. I’ll Get My Coat (1:22:00) Dirk and Blythy look forward to the forthcoming Moorcock Weekender and reflect upon the end of the first season of The Pirates of Drinax. Outro (1:31:0) sniffle … Bookclub …. Substack ….sniffle …. virtualGROGMEET … sniffle … thanks for being a Patreon. *coughs*

INTRO – What was one of the triggers that stopped me playing back in the day? The discovery of cult movies. In this episode we explore the late night television schedules in the form of Moviedrome. Starburst Memories: 4.15 – we are joined in the room of rambling by Mr Jim Moon of the Hypnogoria podcast. We talk about the fabulous first season of the Moviedrome, presented by film-maker Alex Cox. Speed Rating: 51. Blythy tries to resist the taste of Summer by hiding in the stock cupboard and talking about one of his current favourite games: Vaesen from Free League. Save for Half – we are proud to advertise one of the greatest vintage games podcasts out there (and a friend of the show). I’ll Get Mi Coat: Weakness, thy name is Dirk. Please support us on Patreon.