The Goblins and Growlers Podcast

Review: Critical Role’s “The Legend of Vox Machina” Episodes 1-3 Episode Introduction Josh was busy this weekend, so Brandon and Gabe hijacked the podcast to do a review of the new “Critical Role” animated series, “The Legend of Vox Machina.” Gabe is a casual fan of “Critical Role” who fell out of regular listening because of the episode length. Brandon actually has never seen or listened to an ep...

How to Legally Publish Your TTRPG Content Episode Introduction We’re joined by guest Noah Downs (he’s a lawyer, but he’s a cool lawyer) to talk about OGLs and SRDs, the alphabet soups of publishing tabletop role-playing game content. Noah tells us about how Wizards of the Coast’s Open Gaming License works and how you can use the Fifth Edition System Reference Document to legally create content you...

”The End,” a tabletop RPG about the Christian Apocalypse Episode Introduction Josh and Brandon discuss 1995’s “The End” from Scapegoat Games. It’s a role-playing game based on the Christian Apocalypse and was kicked out of GenCon for its use of religious imagery. It’s bleak, interesting, and maybe came before its time. They also start down a rabbit hole of investigation and mystery as they try to...

James Bond 007: Role Playing In Her Majesty’s Secret Service Join Josh and Brandon as they enter a world of espionage, intrigue, and dice-rolling, with Victory Games’ TTRPG “Role Playing in Her Majesty’s Secret Service”. A brief news item about Wizards of the Coast rebooting and retconning in their latest Errata to eliminate more insensitive portrayals and stereotyping from Dungeons and Dragons. N...

Low Magic? No Magic? No Problem! We Finance! What kind of settings do you enjoy more? Heavy magic, low magic, or a more realistic milieu with near-zero casting? This episode we discuss merits and preferences on the level of magic in a gaming setting. Just a freewheeling discussion about magic levels. Tweet at us or email at contact@goblinsandgrowlers.com to tell us what you think! We also quickly...

Interview with game designer Cezar Capacle So, we all know you don't necessarily need dice for a fun tabletop experience, but can you get away without waking consciousness? In today's episode, Brandon interviews Cezar Capacle, a game designer from Brazil who's trying to push the limits of what a TTRPG can be. Cezar talked to us while he was in the middle of making a huge trans-Atlantic change in h...

Restoration Games' Return to Dark Tower "Dark Tower" is an early electronic board game from way back in the early 1980s. It was pretty revolutionary (and legitimately fun) for the late 70s/early 80s, but you definitely could put it in the category of "reach exceeded grasp." Imagine if someone used the Antikythera Mechanism to play Fortnite. It was expensive, easy to break, and Milton Bradley stole...

Unearthed Arcana: Travelers of the Multiverse A couple of things going on here, so we've included some timestamps! First, right before we started recording we found some news about the Star Wars RPG we'd been talking about for a couple of episodes, so we give an update on that. Then next (9:18) we talk about the new Travelers of the Multiverse Unearthed Arcana from Wizards of the Coast -- Giff, Th...

How to use gothic horror in your games Happy Halloweek! We, along with our guest, Gabriel Perez *, talk about TSR's 1994 Second Edition boxset, "Masque of the Red Death" and, more broadly, gothic horror an TTRPGs. "Masque" takes the rules of Second Edition and lays them on top of a Victorian-Era earth filled with subtle mystery and magic. It's under the Ravenloft branding, but it's just different...

Part Two of our discussion/rediscovery of the (former) Fantasy Flight Star Wars RPG. We didn't get cocky. --- SCHEDULING NOTE! We're publishing a new episode next week for Halloween week! We're talking about the Ravenloft: Masque of the Red Death box set from 1994. If you have a favorite spooky/scary/terrifying adventure or module then let us know about it at contact@goblinsandgrowlers.com. --- Th...

We're talking about Star Wars. Despite making plans for what to talk about, we ended up half-remembering names of planets and totally forgetting names of Jedi from "Knights of the Old Republic." Anyway, we learned that the "Star Wars" RPG has changed ownership at least once in the last year. Josh was especially surprised about this because he loves the game. But I guess we all had some other thing...

Take a trip with us to a weird mountain with vegetable creatures, metallic people, and strange weapons that shoot light. It's all beyond your ken, trust us. This is one of the classic D&D modules and has been an inspiration to me (and others) looking to take their games beyond the usual elves-in-the-forest trope of fantasy adventuring. The Goblins and Growlers Podcast is produced by Goblins and Gr...

Crunchiness and Adaptability in Game Systems Sure, 5e is easy, but is it versatile? This episode we talk about adapting the system for other types of games, the evils of dice pools, Powered by the Apocalypse, and more! The Goblins and Growlers Podcast is produced by Goblins and Growlers, a Richmond, Virginia-based tabletop-roleplaying-game content and events company. Brandon Dingess ( Twitter ) an...

What's the best dragon? One Dragon, Two Dragon, Red Dragon, Blue Dragon. Wizard's of the Coast's upcoming "Fizban's Treasury of Dragons" goes through all the usual dragons: chromatic, metallic, gem. But I ask you where, in this modern age of industry and innovation, are the industrial dragons made of graphene, advanced polymers, and plywood? The Goblins and Growlers Podcast is produced by Goblins...

What's your most off-the-rails gaming experience? Nothing ever really goes to plan when you're running a game, but what about when it REALLY doesn't go to plan? The Goblins and Growlers Podcast is produced by Goblins and Growlers, a Richmond, Virginia-based tabletop-roleplaying-game content and events company. Brandon Dingess ( Twitter ) and Josh Maltby ( Twitter ) are fully 50 percent of the comp...

Your staff was glowin' Mage robes, no skin showin' Hot night, dice were rollin' What do you think you're castin', baby? Hey, I just hit you, and this is crazy But what's your number? Did I beat your AC? The Goblins and Growlers Podcast is produced by Goblins and Growlers, a Richmond, Virginia-based tabletop-roleplaying-game content and events company. Brandon Dingess ( Twitter ) and Josh Maltby (...

What's the value of creative content? What's your work worth? Do people tell you that you shouldn't charge so much for creative work you've sweat and bled for? The Goblins and Growlers Podcast is produced by Goblins and Growlers, a Richmond, Virginia-based tabletop-roleplaying-game content and events company. Brandon Dingess ( Twitter ) and Josh Maltby ( Twitter ) are fully 50 percent of the compa...

Can you have too much science fiction in your fantasy setting? Brandon and Josh of Goblins and Growlers are talkin' 'bout mecha as they discuss the AD&D 2e module "Earthshaker!" about a giant robot that just wants to crush kingdoms. Topics: Giant Robots, "You got Sci-Fi in my Fantasy!", Adventure Aesthetics & Theming The Goblins and Growlers Podcast is produced by Goblins and Growlers, a Richmond,...