Chaosium is celebrating 50 years since the company was founded by Greg Stafford. Their games have always been at the core of what we play, so it was great to have more time with returning guest, Rick Meints.

Rick is the president of Chaosium, perhaps more importantly, he is the Head of the Department of Nostalgia, the custodian to the extensive, if chaotic, archive of the company. He started as a collector, and ended up heading the company.

We set him the challenge of finding five items from the archive that represent the development of the company over fifty years. What products are the milestones of progress in the history of Chaosium?

There are some unexpected items in there. Let us know what you think.

The interview was recorded in front of an audience as part of GROGMEETish in November. In the room of role-playing rambling, I’m joined by resident rules-lawyer Judge Blythy to review GROGMEETish. We also talk about NPCs or Games Master Characters and how to handle a ‘cast of 1000s’.

The advert is for Eldritch Stories from Mason and Fricker.

Why not support us on Patreon? Offers are now available apparently.

Dirk

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Do you need a companion as you wash up after a big day of festivities? Here you go. What do YOU do with your left overs? Here at the GROGNARD files, we don’t like them going to waste. We like to splice them together to create a treat for Patreons.

Given it is the season to be jolly, we are giving this edition Dirk’s Dossier in the main feed for you to enjoy. You’re welcome.

In here Judge Blythy talks about Into the Dungeon Revived, Graham Bottley talks about Savage Gladiators while we reflect on running our fantasy, mass-participation online game of Gladiators before more from Magnus Seter.

If you would like to hear more of this bobbins in the future, follow the Patreon

The GROGNARD files episode is coming soon.

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In this episode Dirk talks to Magnus Seter about Outside the Box, How Sweden Conquered The World of Role-Playing Games. Learn the fascinating story of how RPGs reached Sweden and were transformed by the play culture.

Thanks to Fandrake, the publisher of Outside the Box, we have books to giveaway. Share this episode and make a comment below to be in with a chance of being drawn from the hat (finishes on 31st December 2025).

Judge Blythy is in the Room of Role-Playing Rambling talking about Mutant: Year Zero RPG.

Make sure you keep it Eldritch by listening to Mason and Fricker’s Eldritch Stories.

The play out music is Mumble One by Aidan

Support the podcast and the stuff we do by joining Patreon.

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September and October have been replete with gaming sessions. Can you have too much of a good thing? That’s the question we ask this episode.

Dirk is joined in the Zoom of Role-Playing Rambling by Graham Bottley from Arion Games, which is celebrating 20 years publishing games and supplements. It has had the licence for Advanced Fighting Fantasy, Mealstrum and more, so continues to publish vintage RPG material.

In September, we participated in Glorantha Games, Owl Bear and the Wizard’s Staff, and MORPcon as well as playing loads of games. We talk about Hidden Isles, Blade Runner RPG as the NEW games that we have played.

We are trapped in the worlds of Gareth Ryder Hanrahan as we are playing in Pirates of Drinax for Traveller, The Borellus Connection for Fall of Delta Green and Dirk is about to do Dracula Dossier in 24 Hours.

The conversation also covers Planescape and much more.

An advert for Mason and Fricker’s Eldritch Tales.

To support the podcast, you can tip some coins in the beret over at Partreon

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This time we return to the topic of Dungeon Crawl Classics (DCC) with Judge Blythy, our resident zealot.

Appendix G, our never-ending list of influences, expands with the wonderful Swords Series from Fritz Leiber nominated by Dave Paterson.

We talk about our preparation for a busy September of gaming.

Paul Fricker has released Gatsby and The Great Race for 7th Edition Call of Cthulhu.

Please support us on Patreon.

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It was 10 years ago today, that we first came out to play! In this episode we jump every shark in sight by reflecting on the past ten years of the podcast.

We invited listeners to ask us anything, as long as it was looking back over the past 10 years, so we could lean back in our armchairs and reflect on what we have done.

Also, joining the fun is @dailydwarf, who looks back on Small Ads and letters in White Dwarf, in an adapted essay that first appeared in the GROGZINE.

We head to the shed at the end of the garden to see Eddy the Armchair Collector in Chief, who hasn’t appeared for a while.

Meanwhile in the Room of Role-Playing Rambling Judge Blythy works through the Thunderphase questions at a medium-fire pace.

Thanks to everyone who has supported us over the years. Especially anyone who has contributed to the Patreon, or commented, given us a review and passed it on.

The post 10 Years of The GROGNARD Files first appeared on The GROGNARD Files.

In this GROGPOD, Judge Blythy talks about his initiation into the cult of DCC. We look at what makes it work.

Goodman Games, the publisher of DCC, is hosting DCC Day on 19th July 2025.

We are joined by Brendan LaSalle who talks about DCC and his futuristic variant, XCrawl Classics where you can have a spectator sport in the dungeon.

Next time we will look at some more settings.

You can support the GROGNARD Files on Patreon.

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In this episode, we continue our examination of magic in Role-Playing Games with a look at Ars Magica with Science Fiction author Adrian Tchaikovsky. He talks to us about the setting, the rules and the way that magic works in the game.

We haven’t had chance to play it yet, so Dirk and Blythy meet in the Lass O Gowrie pub in Manchester and discuss the difficulties of ‘fitting it all in’.

We have been to UK Games Expo so we give our initial views of attending the event this year.

Dirk has been on Orlanth Rexes Gaming Vexes and What Would the Smart Party Do? recently.

Patreon has been refreshed – annual contribution at discount and ‘it’s your birthday’ award for the top level of support. Thanks for all who listen and contribute.

The post Ars Magica RPG (with Adrian Tchaikovsky) Ep 82 first appeared on The GROGNARD Files.

Returning guest Stephen Brotherstone, co-author of the Scarred for Life series of books and shows, joins us in the zoom of Role Playing Rambling to examine the witchcraft and horrors that haunted our childhood years.

You can see Ste as his show is on the road during 2025 and the latest volume of the series is now available. Highly recommended as it is packed with gaming nostalgia content.

Also in this episode, Dirk and Blythy watch The Hammer House of Horror (1980) together and consider what impact it had on them at the time and how it can inform our games now.

We also reflect on the games that we played at virtual GROGMEET, including Liminal, Mutant Year Zero, The Dee Sanction and Savage Worlds.

You can see Tim Olsen interviewed by Toni Arthur.

If you want to support the podcast and get access to additional podcast content, then please consider supporting us at Patreon.

The post Scarred by Magic in the 70s & 80s (with Stephen Brotherstone) first appeared on The GROGNARD Files.

Magic in RPGs is a continuing obsession for Dirk the Dice and Blythy in this latest episode of the podcast.

We talk about Advanced Dungeons and Dragons (AD&D) and Powers and Perils (Pee & Pee) and marvel at how we played in the early 2000s, when we didn’t know any better and were more willing to freeform and ‘make stuff up’.

Also in this episode, we are pleased that GROGSQUADer
China Miéville provided his first, last and everything.

I think that I need to find out more about Tales of Argosa .

Mike and Roger over at Improvised Radio Theatre with Dice have an interesting discussion about magic – following our mention of it last time.

Please consider supporting what we do on Patreon.

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