Writing is hard. Josh and Brandon discuss the very specific kind of writing you have to do for a public/pick-up D&D game. It’s a lot different than writing for a home game, but should it be? Obviously, folks should do what works best for them and their players, but there’s definitely value in examining how you write for your home game.

Handy gaming tools: A useful DMG? Early access and bonus content on PatreonSubscribe to our monthly gaming newsletterJoin the Discord We collected a bunch of news about the upcoming 2024 Dungeon Masters' Guide release. Word on the street is that this version of the DMG is going to be a much more useful tool than previous iterations from editions past. We talk about the return of Greyhawk, adventure-writing coaching, and bastions/strongholds. Honestly, if this version of the DMG is even half...

GAME WITH ME IF YOU WANT TO LIVE: AI in D&D Early access and bonus content on PatreonSubscribe to our monthly gaming newsletterJoin the Discord With Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks basically tripling down on his commitment to the use of some form of AI in Dungeons & Dragons, we talked through what that might look like. Is there even a path for the responsible use of AI in TTRPG gaming, or is it an already slippery slope that they're coating with butter, oil, and other lubricants? Check us out...

2024 PLAYER'S HANDBOOK IS HERE! Early access and bonus content on PatreonSubscribe to our monthly gaming newsletterJoin the Discord Wizards of the Coast released the new 2024 Player's Handbook last week. It's the first of the 2024 update releases of the Core Rules, with the Dungeon Master's Guide coming in November and the 2024 Monstrous Manual coming in... 2025. Is the update a unique and beneficial experience compared to the 2014 rules? Is this just a cash grab to keep the product cycle...

We debrief on D&D Direct and talk about the new 2024 Players Handbook, the upcoming "total rewrite" of the Dungeon Masters Guide, and potential balance issues to look out for until the new Monstrous Manual comes out. Also, we try to decide Wizards of the Coast employees were actively trolling Josh on the pronunciation of "Sigil" during GenCon, and Brandon makes another push for new box set releases when we talk about the two new Forgotten Realms books coming out as part of the 2024...

A great treat today. After probably about 6 weeks of comparing schedules and various people fighting COVID, we were finally able to get together and chat with Kate, Kerby, and Britt from Nomnivore Games. We've run into the Noms a handful of times at various cons and it was great to get a chance to sit and talk with them. While you might know them from games like "Dungeons & Dinos" and "Emberwind," they're here to talk to us about their live Kickstarter for "Nomventure," a modular,...

In our efforts to become more pro, we sent Josh to GenCon as a correspondent because we were able to get invites to a bunch of industry networking events. It's a tale of long-haul driving, spaceship administration, and insomnia. Despite being a multi-year veteran of DragonCon, this was Josh's first trip to the Hoosier state for THE largest tabletop gaming convention. Josh was able to chat with Jess Lanzillo, the head of D&D for Wizards of the Coast, and Kobold Press COO, Alexander...

Back from our break, sort of. Josh is out sick, so I'm joined by my friend and occasional legal counsel, Noah Downs. I'm in the last couple of weeks of my grad school experience, so Noah was kind enough to suggest this episode's topic, too, to give my brain a bit of a break. We're talking about the virtues, vices, and play strategies for dice-heavy players versus role-playing players. Role versus Roll. Also: Get "City of Six Moons" so we can all talk about it together:...

Just where is the future of third-party content going? There's been some doomsaying about the level of support those kinds of Kickstarters are getting now compared to what they were. We take a look at some Kickstarters in the continuing analysis of the OGL fallout from last year.  We also dig in a little on the philosophical differences between efforts like DC20 and Tales of the Valiant. And you know we have thoughts on Tales of the Valiant.  Some days, we get dangerously close to analytical...

Josh takes a look at the new Vecna book from Wizards of the Coast. It's been hyped a bunch and is the marquee release of the year (unless you care a whole whole lot about the revised Core Rules). One of the top contenders for the name of today's episode was "Quantum Leap Fetch Quest." Do you dig on full campaign books? Do you actually get through them, do you buy them for shelf decoration or completionism, or do you cherry pick little things from the campaigns for your own homebrew?   GET OUR...

A bit of a news breakdown today. Wizards of the Coast is surprisingly adding the new Core Rulebooks's updated SRD to Creative Commons. But then they juke in another direction and make some unpopular changes to D&D Beyond! Kobold Press issues has some things to say about the reception of their Black Flag Reference Document, and Josh compares *just how similar* it is to D&D's 5.1 SRD (spoilers: a lot). D&D Beyond Changes:...

It's simple this week: We play Castle of the Winds and talk about it. The game holds a special place in Josh's personal gaming history. Castle of the Winds is a PC RPG/Roguelike from the Windows 3.1 era, which is a weird time for games. We get into this in the episode but, basically, Win 3.1 was very much primarily a business application and its native games were like a square peg in a round hole. All the good games were on DOS anyway. GET OUR MONTHLY GAMING NEWS...

Join the Revalia with "Heckna!" from Hit Point Press. This is a campaign setting that seems to take a little bit from Final Fantasy 6 and a little bit from Ravenloft. It's described as a sandbox setting, but there are a couple of arguments as to why it might not be. It's 300 pages, incredibly well done, and professional... which you'd expect from a Kickstarter that raised more than $600,000! If you decide to pick up a copy, be sure to let us know what you think and whether we're totally...

The CEO of Dungeons & Dragons' parent company, Chris Cocks, gave an interview where he talked about AI and Hasbro's research and development into how to apply it to Dungeons & Dragons. It's an interesting interview (link below the jump) that more or less spells out that they're likely to use it for some kind of virtual DM - but that's still just speculation. We discuss the likeliest manifestation of something like that and how they could make it work while respecting the work of human...

This week, we're looking at the new (free) system-neutral TTRPG adventure that NASA wrote and released to keep everyone hyped about Hubble. It's designed to be educational, but does its fantasy setting muddy that goal a little? Also, Josh updates us on the Vecna adventure coming out soon, and we respond to the longest YouTube comment I've ever seen! GET OUR MONTHLY GAMING NEWS NEWSLETTER:  https://goblinsandgrowlers.beehiiv.com/subscribe SUBSCRIBE TO THE YOUTUBE...

Today we talk with Loren Small, the creator of "Born from Ice," a 5E-compatible setting with a few twists. It’s a complete tabletop setting that’s built on Fifth Edition but takes place on Paleolithic Earth. All cavepeople, all the time. Oh, and I should probably mention that there’s no magic, so everything is harder. It has some other cool aspects like generational play. BFI’s Kickstarter launches Tuesday, March 5 and you can check it out here (once it’s live). It’s coming with a core rule...

Good Goblin Monday! Today's episode is from a recent Twitch stream that we did. We did a live online version of our "Help! My Game Is on Fire!" convention panel where GMs and players bring their tabletop problems to us and we offer advice on how to navigate them. These can be anything from handling bad fits at the table to untying narrative knots. It's always a blast and the experience is different every time. Hope you all enjoy! We want to plan more of these live-on-Twitch recordings for...

Good Goblin Monday! This week, we take a look at the (spoilers) fantastic "Deck of Many Things" after its delayed release thanks to production issues. We also talk about the Tales of the Valiant Game Master's Guide and this new D&D virtual reality game that seems to be in development. Deets after the jump. Also, on Wednesday, Feb. 7 at 8 p.m. EST, Josh and Brandon will be doing a live recording of the podcast over on our Twitch channel. We hope you can join us for the first podcast...

Good Goblin Monday, everyone. This week, we're analyzing an essay that claims we're at the end of "The Golden Age of Tabletop Roleplaying Games." As you might expect, the writer is using the 2023 OGL Crisis as the jumping-off point for their argument, so this should be coming right after our "D&D is Stronger than Ever" episode. The essay has all the hallmarks of a hyperbolic reaction that blows things out of proportion, but some nuggets of truth in there are hard to disagree with. Full...

Josh was under the weather, so we were lucky enough to snag Noted TTRPG Attorney Noah Downs, Esq., to come and talk about and offer his on-the-ground perspective about the tumultuous last 12 months in Dungeons & Dragons and the tabletop gaming space overall. Do you think Wizards of the Coast/Hasbro has recovered from the PR nightmare that was the Open Gaming License controversy? I'd argue that even with last month's layoffs, D&D is far stronger now and better positioned to thrive than...

Happy Christmas Eve! We figured we'd stick a present under your virtual tree and release this episode a day early! We hope everyone's had a great holiday season so far and we'll see you in the new year! GET OUR MONTHLY GAMING NEWS NEWSLETTER:  https://goblinsandgrowlers.beehiiv.com/subscribe CHECK OUT OUR YOUTUBE AND GIVE US A SUBSCRIBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtSPHOe-0jQARPpxvi0xgHQ SUBSCRIBE TO OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL: https://www.youtube.com/@goblinsandgrowlers Despite being the...

On Today's Goblins and Growlers Podcast We’d planned today to talk about Kobold Press’ “Tales of the Valiant"/Project Black Flag, but had to change things up a bit. Brandon and a few of the other Goblins were at PAX Unplugged the weekend before last when Wizards of the Coast announced the 2024 lineup of Dungeons & Dragons books. So, much like last year, we decided to dive into the list a little bit to see if anything excited us. It's an interesting slate, but also very different from what...

We finally get a chance to talk about Wizards of the Coast's new 5E Planescape release. It's snazzy as "box set"-style releases go these days, but is it worth your gold if you're looking for something new and different?  What do you think of the new Planescape release? Let us know in our Discord! SIGN UP FOR OUR MONTHLY NEWSLETTER (Indie game recommendations, TTRPG news, podcast updates) https://goblinsandgrowlers.beehiiv.com/subscribeJOIN 800+ GOBLINS ON OUR DISCORD...

Following long on the heels of our massively successful "Unpopular Dungeons & Dragons Opinions" episode, we're back with "Unpopular D&D Opinions Part 2." We once again have solicited some controversial and curmudgeonly thoughts on the state of Wizards of the Coast's TTRPRG crown jewel. Do you have some unpopular opinions about D&D? Drop 'em in our Discord -- if we get enough, we'll do a Part 2.5!   Check out today's sponsor, Throne Exchange! Sign up between now and November 27th,...