Podcast - The GROGNARD Files

Episode 26 – HeroQuest RPG (with Ian Cooper) from GROGMEET 18

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INTRO: This is an unusual GROGPOD as it was recorded live at GROGMEET 18. Ian Cooper talks about HeroQuest and there’s a chance for you to win a copy of the game thanks to our friends at bonhomiegames.uk

Show us your favourite handout, character sheet, floor plan, prop, mini or any other physical item you’ve produced for your gaming before the end of Feb to be in with a chance of winning.

INTERVIEW: Ian Cooper talks about his formative years in gaming, oral story telling, Greg Stafford, HeroQuest and his Coming Storm campaign.

GAMESMASTER’S SCREEN: Blythy joins me in the Room of Role-Playing Rambling to talk about generic systems. Want to know more about Judge Dredd in the world of GUMSHOE? Then check out Steve Ray’s play reports.

OUTRO: Patreon thanks, the latest news about the GROGZINE and the plans for the next episode.

Episode 22 (Part 1) RuneQuest RPG Renaissance (with Michael O’Brien aka MOB)

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INTRO: Three years of GROGPODing and Forty Years of RuneQuest seems like a great point in time to revisit the game that we played the most back in the day. RQ3 contributed to us stopping playing, so this is a chance to revisit the game and see what happened when we stopped playing. The sound is a bit haywire on this podcast, hope it doesn’t spoil things too much.

OPENBOX: Chaosium’s Vice President tells the stories of his formative years in role-playing and how RuneQuest in Glorantha was so important to him. He was instrumental in keeping the flame alive as a fan as he wrote and developed Sun County, the first RuneQuest supplement produced for 8 years, following Avalon Hill acquiring the game in 1984. He wrote a report in the early nineties for The Tales of the Reaching Moon explaining how the game could be revived. This is a great chat about the nineties renaissance.

THE WHITE DWARF: A survey of RQ3 as it appeared (and disappeared) from White Dwarf, written by the wonderful @dailydwarf

JUDGE BLYTHY RULES! Dirk and Blythy pick over the bones of RQ3 and there’s a monster quiz!

OUTRO: Check out the RuneQuest Actual Play with The Smart Party . If you’d like the GROGZINE 19 and The Collected Daily Dwarf Vol 3 and Judge Blythy’s Book of Judgments — then please chuck us a tip in the beret and join the Patreon campaign

Episode 21 – Night’s Black Agents RPG (with Gareth Ryder-Hanrahan)

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INTRO (00:00) The GROGNARD files finally sells out to one of those new fangled games. There’s a new iTunes review too, that compares us to Ridley Scott’s Hovis advert.

OPEN BOX (with Gareth Ryder-Hanrahan) (0:07) We are joined by Gar who tells us about his formative years in RPGs, his role in relaunching some of the 80s classics for Mongoose and his role in developing adventures for Night’s Black Agents.

ACTUAL PLAY (41:31) The Virtual GROGMEET twittercrew take on Operation: GROUNDWORM.

JUDGE BLYTHY: (1:02:00) Judge Blythy sinks his teeth into the finer points of spending points.

OUTRO (1:40:02) Up date from the Patreon Projects.

Episode 20 (Part 2) Golden Heroes RPG (with Simon Burley)

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INTRO We’ve had a great, positive response to the first part of the episode, and a new iTunes review from Steve Race, host of Squadron Chatter, the Unofficial Podcast for Squadron UK RPG.

GM SCREEN (with Simon Burley) Simon Burley returns, to talk about Imagine magazine, his role as a ‘zine editor, his passion for the UK convention scene and the design principles behind his Code of … series of games.

POST BAG We head for birthday drinks in the hubbub of the Las O Gowrie snug and review some of the correspondence that we’ve received

WHITE DWARF @DailyDwarf has written an essay about the articles and scenarios that appeared in White Dwarf to support GOLDEN HEROES.

SHAGGY DOG A long rambling story about the worst game ever.

OUTRO The usual parish notices and thanks to Patreons.

Episode 19 – Paranoia RPG (with Paul Baldowski)

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INTRO: Thanks to a Poll of Patreons, we are examining a game that we never played back in the day … PARANOIA.

OPEN BOX: (with Paul Baldowski): Paul Baldowski was a writer for the Mongoose edition. He’s also runs Just Crunch which publishes The Cthulhu Hack. Also, make sure you check out the Fighting Fantasy accessories at All Rolled Up.

WHITE DWARF: @dailydwarf provides a survey of the surprising amount of PARANOIA material that appeared in White Dwarf after Games Workshop printed the second edition in the UK

ACTUAL PLAY: A sample from an online game of PARANOIA. You can’t beat a bit of bully.

GAMESMASTER’S SCREEN: One of Blythy’s clones talks about the game and why we never played it back in the day.

OUTRO: Thanks to Patreons and best wishes to Kalum of the Roliste Podcast

Episode 18 (Part 2) Judge Dredd RPG (with Marc Gascoigne)

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INTRO A new review on iTunes

WHITE DWARF @dailydwarf “2000ad and Me” a personal reflection on the Galaxy’s Greatest Comic

GAMES MASTER’s SCREEN Marc Gascoigne returns to talk about Fighting Fantasy, EarthDawn (!), The Black Library and Angry Robot. Also, the famous ‘lost’ RPG – Dark Future.

JUDGE BLYTHY RULES an examination of the system and setting of Judge Dredd RPG

OUTRO Details of the GROGSQUAD patreon campaign and an interesting project to document the early years of Games Workshop.

Great Universal Role-Playing Survey

Since returning to the hobby, I have always been GURPS curious. Recently, my curiosity has been piqued further by its coverage by the Improvised Radio Theatre with Dice podcast. The hosts, Roger and Mike, are fans of the versatility of the system. They will often refrain, “I’d have to have a good reason not to do this in GURPS” when faced with a new RPG concept or setting.

From an outsider, faced with the overwhelming number of publications supporting the system, I just can’t find a way in … even if it is a ‘forced entry’.

How do you get started with the game? How do you navigate through the editions and different source books? Why does it have a reputation for lethal, simulationist crunch? If it is such a generic system, how does it change to accommodate different settings? People said that is dead, can it be brought back to life? What is Bane Storm any way?

Whatever you do, don’t head for ‘GURPS for Dummies’, head for Mike and Roger answering these questions. Apparently, I am from an Empire from the North. I was glad to send an emissary to Buckinghamshire to discover the unknown pleasures of GURPS.

Find out more at Improvised Radio Theatre with Dice.

Episode 18 (Part 1) Judge Dredd RPG (with Marc Gascoigne)

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INTRO: Warning, there’s an unnecessary David Bowie impression in this bit, as the Judge Dredd Board Game appeared in Labyrinth.

POTTED HISTORY: (00:05:00) A brief publication history of Judge in RPGs and news of the forthcoming game from EN Publishing.

OPEN BOX (with Marc Gascoigne): (10:44) We are joined by a giant in the world of Science Fiction and Fantasy publishing. He tells stories about his time editing DragonLords fanzine , working with Games Workshop and designing Judge Dredd.

DAILY DWARF: (00:48:24) @dailydwarf writes an introduction to some of the great material that appeared in White Dwarf, before the sun set on its coverage of RPGs.

ATTIC ATTACK: (01:07:00) Blythy joins Dirk in the loft to reflect on 2000ad and how it influenced our play.

OUTRO: (01:37:00) Dirk is running Judge Dredd at Spaghetti ConJunction in Birmingham on 10th Feb 2017. Also, there’s news about how to get PDFs of the GROGZINE and the forthcoming Virtual GROGMEET.

Episode 14 (Part 1) RPG Fanzines (with Ian Marsh)

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INTRO Welcome to the world of fanzines.

OPEN BOX (with Ian Marsh) The first part of an interview with Ian Marsh, who was the editor of DragonLords fanzine and went on to become the editor of White Dwarf.

DAILY DWARF For one episode only @dailydwarf becomes the Daily Dagon as he looks at Dagon and why he thinks is was such a special zine.

OPEN BOX Another one? This time it’s with Blythy as we look at our experience in the world of PBMs.

OUTRO: Thanks to Shop on the Borderlands for providing a copy of DragonLords issue 7 for discussion.

Let us know your favourite ‘zine and send us pictures for discussion in the next episode.

Why not show your love for the podcast, and join the activities of the GROGSQUAD by becoming a Patreon?

Episode 12 (Part 2) Games Workshop & Citadel (with Tim Olsen)

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INTRO – We’re still taken aback at the scale of response to the first part of this episode, but we’re conscious enough to issue a warning about Hob Nob balls.

POTTED HISTORY (3.49) – Kindly provided by @hobgoblinorange who provides an overview of the major players and developments in the miniature figure art in the early 80s. He recommends the site The Stuff of Legends which features lots of images of Citadel miniatures from back in the day.

GMSCREEN (11.29) We return to the wonderful Las O Gowrie in Manchester to continue the interview with Tim Olsen, the former manager of Dalling Road branch of Games Workshop. TV and ZZ Top emerge as he faces the annecdotamator.

If you want to see Tim’s TV AM appearance you’ll find it here from 16:00 (John Noakes!)

THE WHITE DWARF (25.45) @dailydwarf returns with the second part of his Small but Perfectly Formed essay, examining miniatures in White Dwarf before it became all about miniatures.

ATTIC ATTACK (37.14) We climb into the attic of the all-new Dirk Towers to look at some of the interesting minis from our collection.

POSTBAG (01.06.34) There’s been a great response from listeners to the last episode, share some of the game shop memories from all over the UK. Including Alegis Downport who did a great piece on Tunnels and Trolls on his blog. There’s also the last word from Tim Olsen.

Thanks to everyone who joined the Patreon campaign this month. You’ll get a name check next time when I’ll share the details of the next ‘zine.