In this episode, we return to the world of RPG zines and speak to John Power of Wyrd Science magazine.
John Power at virtual GROGMEET
Thistime on The GROGNARD Files, we’re joined by Wyrd Science editor John Power to talk about his vision for modern RPG magazines, the return of tabletop print culture, and why zines still matter in the age of PDFs and podcasts.
Dirk and Blythy then travel back to 1983 to create their own fantasy RPG fanzine packed with the kind of content they would have loved as teenage gamers.
Wyrd Science is an award-winning tabletop gaming magazine covering RPGs, wargames, board games and gaming culture, available in print and PDF direct from the official store and itch.io.
In the latest episode of the podcast, we look at the use of chaos in RPGs.
In this episode, we are in Manchester Central Library talking to GROGSQUAD member Tomas Rawlings. He has a long history of working in video games, but he also has many interesting thoughts on role-playing games and he’s currently writing a book about the evolution of Warhammer 40k.
In our discussions we talk about how developments within Games Workshop shaped the nature of chaos and its popularity as an aesthetic.
In this episode, Kalum from the Rolistes Podcast is in the zoom of role-playing rambling to talk about French speaking RPGs. He has spoken about Nephilim elsewhere and he tells us more in this episode.
He’s also Kickstarting his game The Magic of Inventorying which will be familiar to attendees of virtual GROGMEET.
Blythy and Dirk review their year in role-playing and give out GROGGIE awards.
The weekend of 9th-10th January 2026 was GROGMEET 2026 – no shacket was required, but in hindsight, it was useful!
Last weekend was GROGMEET. We have just about thawed out and our eyes have reacclimatised to daylight following a terrific time with the GROGSQUAD united to play games together.
GMs and Players bring their best to this event. There is a huge array of games available, old and very new, and everyone is ready to engage and get the best out of the experience. They embrace the shambolic, easy-going event to make sure it’s welcoming and fun.
This time we had Storm Goretti and a so called ‘weather bomb’ to contend with prior to the event, but the GROGSQUAD battled on. There were some delays and a degree of last-minute shuffling, but it all worked out in the end.
Acceptable
Friday afternoon is usually the ‘multi-tabled’ themed event. This time we returned to a lower complexity idea of reviving some of the classics of yesteryear which we affectionately dubbed “acceptable in the eighties.” Scenarios and supplements from the 80s (and earlier) were given a new breath of life across 10 tables. It might not have had the same bonkers energy as Gatsby and the Great Race that we ran last year, but we are still recovering from that experience, so it was probably for the best.
There were hidden Easter eggs to be found in the games. This year, the event was sponsored by Chaosium to mark its 50th Anniversary, each game featured some hidden references to the company. Brian Duguid was judged to have been the winner and was awarded this year’s Mike Hobbs Memorial Award.
The rest of the weekend was filled with the usual gaming excitement and high-level socialising, followed by Sunday at Manchester Occasional Role-Playing.
Thanks to everyone who made it possible, especially Vaughan and Gareth for helping with the logistics.
Next time, it will be 10 years since GROGMEET began. What have we got in store for that?
Set up crewTime for a cheeky one.X Marks the spotThe Chegwin Heel was revived by John using DragonBaneGolden Heroes AssembleDirk the Menace and FriendTwo coats reunited with a mystery packet of Hob NobsMikey with his winning shacketWho is the trickster Duck?Call of Cthulhu campus comedy? A very peculiar practice with a shoggoth stuck in it.“The Other Guys” – Call of Cthulhu from the point of view of the bad guys. Where SAN goes up “Why are we doing this?” and the enemy Investigators “come in fives!”“Has anyone seen my triffid?” – Twilight 2000 with a twistPaul takes on “The Punch Bowl” Unleash the funnel. The cult of DCC was very much in evidence over the weekend. Someone stage an intervention!These are the droids we were looking for …Brian is photobombed by Dirk’s glamorous assistantThe Last of Us – the singing gnome at closes down the 4am ClubRob turns up the grimdark in Mork Borg“Summon goats” – the weekend comes to a close under “spiteful, churning hooves”
Rick Meints, President of Chaosium, joins us in the room of role-playing rambling to find five items from the history of the company.
Chaosium is celebrating 50 years since the company was founded by Greg Stafford. Their games have always been at the core of what we play, so it was great to have more time with returning guest, Rick Meints.
Rick is the president of Chaosium, perhaps more importantly, he is the Head of the Department of Nostalgia, the custodian to the extensive, if chaotic, archive of the company. He started as a collector, and ended up heading the company.
We set him the challenge of finding five items from the archive that represent the development of the company over fifty years. What products are the milestones of progress in the history of Chaosium?
There are some unexpected items in there. Let us know what you think.
The interview was recorded in front of an audience as part of GROGMEETish in November. In the room of role-playing rambling, I’m joined by resident rules-lawyer Judge Blythy to review GROGMEETish. We also talk about NPCs or Games Master Characters and how to handle a ‘cast of 1000s’.
The advert is for Eldritch Stories from Mason and Fricker.
Why not support us on Patreon? Offers are now available apparently.
This is a collection of off-cuts from recent episodes, normally for Patreons, but a festive gift for you.
Do you need a companion as you wash up after a big day of festivities? Here you go. What do YOU do with your left overs? Here at the GROGNARD files, we don’t like them going to waste. We like to splice them together to create a treat for Patreons.
Given it is the season to be jolly, we are giving this edition Dirk’s Dossier in the main feed for you to enjoy. You’re welcome.
In here Judge Blythy talks about Into the Dungeon Revived, Graham Bottley talks about Savage Gladiators while we reflect on running our fantasy, mass-participation online game of Gladiators before more from Magnus Seter.
If you would like to hear more of this bobbins in the future, follow the Patreon
Thanks to Fandrake, the publisher of Outside the Box, we have books to giveaway. Share this episode and make a comment below to be in with a chance of being drawn from the hat (finishes on 31st December 2025).
Judge Blythy is in the Room of Role-Playing Rambling talking about Mutant: Year Zero RPG.
The return of The GROGNARD files, we talk about stuff we are playing
September and October have been replete with gaming sessions. Can you have too much of a good thing? That’s the question we ask this episode.
Dirk is joined in the Zoom of Role-Playing Rambling by Graham Bottley from Arion Games, which is celebrating 20 years publishing games and supplements. It has had the licence for Advanced Fighting Fantasy, Mealstrum and more, so continues to publish vintage RPG material.
