Review of 2022 (with Bud’s RPG Reviews) Ep 58

The Armchair Adventurers have had another incredible year of gaming. Dirk and Blythy roll out the red carpet to the GROGGIE awards. At the Book Club, Bud talks about Viral: A Modern Call of Cthulhu Scenario.

It has been another incredible year for The Armchair Adventurers. We review the experiences that we have had with games old and new and reflect upon the year in general. There may be some irrelevant Beatles chat too.

INTRO – A new review and a breakdown of what to expect in the latest issue (including a ‘less’ v ‘fewer’ subtext).

GROGGIES Part 1. (4.10) Find out more about Red Markets in our appearance on Orlanth Rexes Gaming Vexes.

Bookclub (31:00): We were joined in the Book Club by the You Tuber Bud from Bud’s RPG reviews to talk about Viral the Modern Day Call of Cthulhu scenario.

GROGGIES Part 2.(51:00) Banging on about The Beatles for the UNIT campaign and awarding GROGGIE of the year for an amazing experience.

Outro. The annual round up of the new podcasts that have been added to the roll call this year. Appearances on The Smart Party Podcast, twice on Frankenstein’s RPG and performing on Tale of the Manticore. Recommendations include Baz’s incredible RuneQuest Year Zero, Ludo and Joerge’s The God Learners, The Titterpigs RPG Podcast, Beatles Books, and The Video Archive.

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Scarred for Life by RPGs (with Stephen Brotherstone) Ep. 54 (Part 2)

This is the second part of our exploration of Scarred for Life, the fantastic series of books about growing up in the dark decades of the seventies and eighties. Gen X-rated popular culture shaped our imaginations and informed our gaming.

Buy the books here.

Content warning for this one as we quote directly from a couple of controversial games from the 80s.

I’ve had a go at putting chapters on this one. In case they don’t pull through, here is the menu:

00:00 INTRO: The incredible ghost voices that appeared on the free flexi-disc from The Unexplained magazine.

03:53 The GAMESMASTER’s Screen. Ste Brotherstone give us insight from the forthcoming volume of Scarred for Life. Phoenix Command, Alma Mater, The Unexplained: Mysteries of Mind, Space, & Time, The Price of Freedom, and 2000ad. I also mention the wonderful Save for Half podcast who did a recent episode on East Texas University.

57:30 Library Use. Judge Blythy joins me in the Room of Role-Playing rambling to look at Unexplained magazine. I make a mistake – it didn’t last for 115 issues, it was 157!

1:33:0 Advert. Frankenstein’s RPG podcast – I appeared on a recent episode about Magic/ PSIonics and Investigation in SF role-playing games.

1:34:0 I’ll Get mi Coat. Closing time chatter about Agon, Delta Green and a brief mention of the UNIT campaign.

1:46:Outro. The Book Club is on the first Sunday of every month at 09:30 GMT for 90 minutes. Owl Bear and The Wizard’s Staff convention is scheduled to take place on the weekend 2nd September. I will be supporting an online version of the event. Watch this space for more details.

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King Arthur Pendragon RPG (with David Larkins) Ep.53 (Part 2)

One of the foundational films that shaped the games that we played is Excalibur (1981). In this episode we look back on the film and consider how it can continue to inspire our gaming.

To see some of the issues of Starburst that we refer to in this episode, you’ll find images over at Dirk Malcolm’s World of Film where I have written a couple of pieces about how the magazine covered the film.

Also in this episode, David Larkins, Line Editor of King Arthur Pendragon at Chaosium, talks about Berlin Wicked City, The Esoteric Order of Role-players and much more.

Sam Vail adds Robin of Sherwood to the Appendix G.

Please consider supporting the podcast at Patreon.

Extra – Dirk and Blythy grogMEET Frankenstein (with Ian Cooper and Paul Fricker)

Dave Paterson hosts Frankenstein’s RPG with Dirk, Blythy, Paul and Ian

Welcome to another extra all about this year’s GROGMEET. This time it includes a live recording made at Fan Boy Three.

Frankenstein’s RPG podcast has been pulling together the best bits of role-playing games this year to produce an epic monster of a game. We got together to decide which would be the best supplement to support the game.

You can catch up with the Frankenstein’s RPG over at anchor.

Also in this extra podcast, I give a personal reflection on the games I played and recommend some podcasts that you may enjoy.

I played Paranoia with Iain Wilson, you can catch some of his actual plays and discussion on his podcast Roll to Save.

Pookie makes quizzes and reviews RPGs.

Newt Newport is a publisher D1o1 games and organises Go Play Manchester.

Tale of the Manticore

What am I Rolling (Vurt actual play)

Breakfast in the Ruins (Wizardry and Wild Romance)

Fictoplasm (Corum)

Weird Studies

Gaming & BS

The Gauntlet Podcast

Fear of the Black Dragon

Smart Party (Jason Cordova interview)

Orlanth Rex’s Gaming Vexes

Titterpigs

You can find out more recommendations by following the newsletter on Patreon.

Episode 46 (Part 2) DragonQuest RPG (with Chris Klug)

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Whatever happened to March 2021? We may never know, let’s hope that April restores normal service.

In this episode we continue the discussion with Chris Klug about his career in game design:

James Bond RPG (which we covered in Episode 15), Aidyn’s Chronicles, and his work for Chaosium, such as The Smoking Ruin for RuneQuest Glorantha.

Judge Blythy hands over his gavel for Judge Blythy Rules and we introduce a new segment to discuss Deadlands and other matters.

You can support The GROGNARD files by putting a tip in the beret at Patreon.

White Dwarf Book Club Issue 14

Another low roller, this time the d100 was rattled by Bud from Bud’s RPG Review, the ‘First, Last and Everything’ contributor for the latest episode of the GROGPOD. In the episode we celebrate 5 years of producing the pod which all began with Runequest. In the first episode, @dailydwarf declares Lair of the White Wyrm to be the best Runequest scenario: it’s a classic zoo-dungeon showing off the Gloranthean bestiary to the full.

It may feel a bit slight compare to some of the other issues we have looked at, but it’s a significant issue not least because Ian Livingstone, fresh from a trip to Origins, includes an interview with Gary Gygax. In the editorial, Livingstone wonders if Brits will ever have the stomach for a three day convention.

Last weekend, it was the virtual version of UK Games Expo, which included streamed-seminars where former member of the editorial team of White Dwarf Marc Gascoigne gave a shout out to The GROGNARD files. Much has changed over the past 40 years, not only can the Brits stomach three day cons, we can enjoy them from the comfort of our own homes.

If you’d like to play Lair of the White Worm, then come and join me and others at Glorantha Games where I will be running it using 13th Age Glorantha.

Let us know what you think of this issue by responding in the comments below.

P.S. You can find links to the issues in the comments of the first Book Club.

Episode 41 – Five Years of The GROGNARD Files (with Jason Durall)

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Blimey, we’ve been doing this bobbins for five years! Good grief! In this episode, we go back to the beginning to look at RuneQuest with Jason Durall, as well as other highlights from his career in role-playing.

Blythy and I face the randomly selected Thunder Phase suggested by Patreons.

First, last and everything is presented by Bud RPG Reviews.

I make a reference to Full Fathom Five, a Call of Cthulhu game that’s currently on Drive Thru Rpg via the Miskatonic Repository.

Here’s to another 5 years!

A year on the GROG – 2019

IMG_0149.jpegI’ve been making the plans for 2019 game. Mrs ‘The Dice’ took one look at January and said, “that’s a game twice a week, isn’t it?”

“Well,” I said, “some of them are shorter than others, so don’t really count as full sessions.”

She gave me the eye-brow raised, eye-rolling combo followed by a “oh yeah, I forgot about the ‘short ones’.”

It has been a project four years in the making, but once again, gaming is my everything and I’m saying: “it’s a good thing”

GROGPOD

I’ve scheduled in the programme of podcasts for the next year. We’ve at least 12 months material to keep us going. I was concerned when a long time listener complained that there were too many interviews, but I think it’s talking to others from back in the day that keeps it interesting and draws new listeners to the GROGPOD, so I’m sticking with the format.

We have some great guests lined up too. They’ll be helping us explore our (very) loose theme this year: what were the influences on our gaming back in the day and how can they continue to inspire us?

The long promised episode featuring our musings on Robin of Sherwood is in production and will debut a brand new feature. GROGGLEBOX will be Eddy, me and Blythy talking about Seven Four Knights from Acre (season 1, episode 4). Do your homework before mid-February.

In the meantime, why not vote (classes 8th Jan) for us and the rest of your favourite podcasts in a new poll hosted by EN World.

 

INFORMATION SUPER-HIDE-AWAY

As much as I enjoy putting the podcast together, it’s only a means of finding more games and more players. I have some regular sessions continuing into the new year which is scratching that campaign itch that I’ve not been able to reach with one-shots. This has been thanks to online play, which allows me to disappear in my den for a few hours and be transported to other multiverses, while the rest of the family are waiting for a Hollywood handshake on The Great British Bake-off.

I’m looking forward to continuing the ongoing games as I’m playing with really great people. We’re currently in the dustbowl of Oklahoma in The Two-Headed Serpent for Pulp Cthulhu. All of the chapters are atmospheric, but I really like this one as it has a different mood that some of the others we’ve done. I really hope that we can sustain the momentum to the end of this campaign as every session has been both richly interesting and edge-of-the-seat exciting. There’s more adventure to come, I only hope that the game can continue at the punch and pace we’ve achieved so far.

The HeroQuest Glorantha Coming Storm campaign is getting to an interesting point in the story. Our Red Cow convoy as stopped off to make trade in Jonstown. Although our crew are mocked by the tribe as ‘Generation Cow Jumpers’ due to our disastrous initiation, we’ve chosen our sides and started a black-market of weapons for the Free Sartar movement, and it feels that we are becoming more important and valuable.

The one-shot that couldn’t be contained is continuing for Warhammer 4e. Hopefully you’ll have enjoyed the actual play recording of Lady Magdelena and her rag-tangle entourage as we try to make our way through the Old World. Gaz has offered to keep things going while they’re still interesting as we are loving playing the characters and discovering a game that completely passed us by 30 years ago.

We’ve also got further travels on board USS Thunderchild for Star Trek Adventures. I’m not a trekkie and the 2d20 system seems over-engineered for this ship’s engineer, but its really good fun because the players are great to be with and I’m enjoying playing a Tellerite with Vulcan tendencies.

Can I really squeeze in another regular online game? Turns out that the Wednesday night crew are back for one, last job in the form of D&D 5e Dragon Heist. I’ve decided, the time has come for me to play a monk.

On the 12th/13th April we’ll be hosting virtual GROGMEET (more details very soon) which is a great chance to learn online play and to get the GROGMEET experience if you can’t make it to the live event in November.

WHITES OF THEIR EYES

Online play is great, especially now the technical issues are minimised through practice and improvements in the platform, but it’s a synth-substitute to the real thing. Nothing beats the table.

Our sessions around Eddy’s table in his humble shed is one of the highlights of the month. It’s not the game or the cups of tea, it’s just great catching up with the three of us, doing what we’ve been doing for years. Eddy is enforcing his ‘corrective’ and making sure that we do not stray from ‘the old school’ by running Classic RuneQuest scenario set in Judge’s Guild Duck Tower. I’m looking forward to it as it will be the first time that I’ve been a player character in RQ since we finished playing Borderlands three years ago.

I’d been scheming with Neil Benson about setting up an irregular session in Manchester when Newt Newport announced the re-opening of Go-Play Manchester: a monthly club of one-shot games at Fan Boy Three. I’ve no doubt that having a regular game club on our door-step is going to feature heavily in our gaming experiences in the new year.

We’ll be on the road again too. We are heading for UK Games Expo. I’ve submitted some games to GM. On Friday evening I’m running my ‘The Savage Worlds of Strontium Dog’; Saturday Afternoon is an adapted version of FGU PSI World (I love it. 1980’s nostalgia for the 1950s riddled with teenage angst and nuclear anxiety) and Sunday morning is Lyonesse, The Design Mechanism’s stand-alone game based on Mythras, which won’t be out, but I’ve been promised a preview to share.

We’ll also be attending Convergence, The OwlBear and The Wizards Staff as well as hosting GROGMEET 19.

ZINE SCENE

I’m behind with the layout and preparation of the GROGZINE, so I will be turning my attention to it over the coming weeks. I also have an idea of a side-project that will start to appear in Spring. On the You Tube channel, I’ll be showcasing a scrapbook of zines from the British scene in the 80s. This is Doc Con’s collection that will be archived for the nation.

I have loads more plans and schemes, but I need to put them to one-side while I perfect the manipulation of time and space, before Mrs The Dice’s eyes turn from a roll to a permanent spin. Dirk