The GROGNARD Files

This GROGPOD features a special recording of an interview with writer Ben Aaronovitch, the creator of The Rivers of London series of books. An RPG has been developed by the team at Chaosium. Ben talks about the project, his formative years in gaming and gives insight into his creative process. The interview was recorded live as part of GROGMEETish which took place in November. It features additional questions from the GROGSQUAD. Dirk the Dice gives a quick review of the game based on his experience of playing the game over recent months. Music is by Static Music Club. Please support what we do at PatreonThe post Rivers of London RPG (with Ben Aaronovitch) Ep76 first appeared on The GROGNARD Files.

Following Part 1, we are now ready to open the spurious envelopes on our 1984 experiences. We also issue a challenge to listeners to help us discover new enthusiasms. At Daily Dwarf returns with an overview of what was happening in the pages of White Dwarf. Please pass on The GROGNARD files to your RPG friends and consider supporting us at Patreon. The post 1984: A Year in RPGs Ep75 Pt2 first appeared on The GROGNARD Files.

Welcome to the zoom of role-playing rambling where we are looking backwards to look forwards. This time we are transporting you back to the heady days of 1984. We are joined by the fabulous Bob Fischer who shares the highlights from his 1984 diaries. Judge Blythy, our resident rules lawyer, joins Dirk to determine the RPG Highlights of 1984, but get distracted (see part 2) Make sure you check out the wonderful projects from the Haunted Generation. You can support the podcast at Patreon.The post 1984: a year in RPGs (with Bob Fischer) Ep75 Pt 1 first appeared on The GROGNARD Files.

En garde! Yes, this time we are investigating the worlds of 17th Century Europe and asking, “is this the true mode of all fantasy role-playing high-adventure?” We are joined by Graham Kinniburgh, who tells us about his Oscar night triumph with An Irish Goodbye and what it was like being at The Battle of the Bastards. He is adding The Three Musketeers to Appendix G. In the Zoom of Role-Playing rambling we talk about Flashing Blades. You can read more from the author, Mark Pettigrew, in this interview. We also cover En Garde!, 17th Century Minimalist, Seventh Sea, and Barbarians of Lumuria. You can join the Patreon by following this link.The post Flashing Blades RPG Ep. 74 first appeared on The GROGNARD Files.

Welcome to the third and final part of our Monsters in Role Playing Games (RPGs) episode. This time we are joined in the Room of Role Playing rambling by Tomas Harenstam from Free League. He talks about his formative years in Swedish role playing and how to create a great Bestiary. Dirk and Blythy answer listener Monster questions before having a chat about When we were Wizards. Support the Patreon for access to exclusive content.The post Bestiaries in Role Playing Games (with Tomas Harenstam) first appeared on The GROGNARD Files.

We continue to explore the worlds of monsters in role-playing games (RPGs). In this episode, we are joined by James Holloway, from the Monster Man podcast. He adds a new entry into the ever expanding Appendix G. Judge Blythy and Dirk talk about the famous monsters of Hollywood and beyond and consider what we can learn from them. The end music is Concrete by Omari, from Phunk Media Please support us on Patreon and update your podcatcher feed with the Patreon audio – RSS feed to get some additional content. The post More Monsters in RPGs Ep 73 Pt 2 first appeared on The GROGNARD Files.

This time we are looking at bestiaries from our book shelves. We talk about: Numenera, Forbidden Lands, Call of Cthulhu, Dragon Warriors, 13th Age, Vaesen, This was at the request of GROGSQUADer China Miéville who Dirk talked to at an RPG Symposium earlier this year. Next time, James Holloway, Monster Man joins us, because monsters are great. Support the podcast on Patreon.The post Monsters in RPGs Ep.73 Pt.1 first appeared on 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 in to Roome of Role-Playing Rambling to look at Cyberpunk Red and its influnce. Please support us on Patreon The post Cyberpunk RPG Ep.72 first appeared on The GROGNARD Files.

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 appeared on The GROGNARD Files.

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.The post ZX Spectrum Games (with Dan Whitehead) Ep.71 Pt. 1 first appeared on The GROGNARD Files.