The GROGNARD Files

Image by Lee Williams Following our podcasts about home computing in the 1980s, we turn our attention to the emerging culture of ‘Cyberpunk’ and how it shaped a new imaginative space – especially for gaming. We look at Neuromancer by William Gibson, with writer Alister Davison who has added the novel to Appendix G, the list of media that has inspired us. Do you have any suggesions? Judge Blyhty is...

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...

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. T...

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 ThunderPh...

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...

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 c...

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 ou...

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 De...

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...

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...

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 M...

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...

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...

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 a...

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 list...

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 poin...

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...

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 D...

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...

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 ....

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 appea...

At GROGMEET22 we had a great gaming experience with members of the GROGSQUAD. In this podcast we look back on some of the highlights. Introduction to Chris McDowall. Chris talks about his formative years as a gamer and the influences on his design choices. 12:00 A GamesMaster Prepares – Dirk and Blythy discuss their experiences GMing the multi-table Mothership game and the other great games. 42:00...

This is the GROGPOD naked. There’s no interviews or GROGSQUAD sections, it is just Dirk and Blythy talking bobbins. Swordbearer was a game that we played a lot for a brief period. We liked it, but for some reason it didn’t connect and become a game that did not stick in our repertoire. Why not? Intro: This is The GROGNARD files and we are talking SwordBearer Speed-Dating: Open Box, Judge Blythy Ru...

This is the second part of our episode all about Savage Worlds. This time we look at some of the settings that we have enjoyed playing in over the past few years. 3.15 Titan Effect, interview with Christian Nommay. The new Declassified edition is available on Drive Thru RPG 24.43 The GamesMasters Screen – Judge Blythy joins me in the Zoom of Role-Playing Rambling to look at Deadlands , Slipstream...