0:00

It's a new phone. It's got AI built

0:02

into it. It's got AI built into it.

0:04

I've no use whatsoever. It just thinks

0:06

like summarising your emails. Yeah. So

0:08

you've read them twice. It summarizes

0:10

it. You don't trust it. Yeah.

0:13

It gets it wrong. Grugme. Yeah.

0:15

So I've gone through the list

0:17

and contacted it. And it said.

0:19

Grogme, unable to attend,

0:21

and I thought, oh no,

0:23

okay, I'll look down. He

0:25

doesn't say that at all.

0:27

What it says is that

0:29

planning on coming, but it's

0:31

an open day at college

0:33

and he's trying to get

0:35

cover. So he might be coming.

0:38

He might be coming. See, A,

0:40

I has told me that it's

0:42

not. A, a, a, a, bobby

0:44

lumps. Have you seen me dice,

0:46

dice, back? The

0:49

Grognard Files! Hello, my

0:52

name is Doug the Dice

0:54

and this is the Grognard

0:56

Files podcast where we

0:58

talk Bobins about tabletop

1:01

RPGs from back in

1:03

the day and today.

1:05

I'm coming live from

1:07

my den here in the

1:09

heart of the North West

1:11

of England. I'm completely surrounded

1:13

by my stuff. This podcast

1:15

is hot on the heels

1:17

of the recent Ben Aranovich

1:20

interview about the Rivers of

1:22

London RPG. You can see

1:24

this is a bit of

1:26

a little bit on the

1:28

side. You know, something that's

1:30

been stuffed into a second

1:32

hand copy of Rivers of

1:34

London that you can't quite

1:36

work out its significance. Is

1:38

it a shopping list? Is it

1:40

a receipt? A recipe? A recipe?

1:42

or the rumblings of fools. I've

1:44

had a bit of a clear out.

1:47

The futon has gone from the

1:49

den. It was one of those

1:51

items of furniture which were useless.

1:53

Whichever way you looked at it,

1:55

it was rubbish as a seat

1:57

because it was hard on your ass.

1:59

I'm rubbish as a bed, because

2:02

it was hard on everything

2:04

else. But it was an

2:06

extraordinary clutter collector. Now

2:08

that it's gone. It allows me a

2:10

bit more freedom to roll on my

2:12

office chair. If I roll back now,

2:14

I can get a few feet before

2:17

the fish tank gets it. I have

2:19

to do a slalom around the

2:21

piles of books, of course, that

2:23

remain here, despite of the new

2:25

bookshelves. I have talked you about

2:27

the new bookshelves on there. In

2:30

this episode, I'm joined in

2:32

the room of role-playing rambling

2:35

by Judge Blithe, our resident

2:37

rules lawyer, and we cast

2:39

our eyes over a year

2:42

on the grog. The ups

2:44

and downs, highlights and low

2:46

lights of playing in 2024.

2:49

It was good to have

2:51

an in-person chat face

2:53

to face in the

2:55

cold attic space, clutching

2:58

a hot brew and

3:00

some slightly shocked damaged

3:02

hobnobs. Ramblers, let's

3:04

get rambling. Crogkeys!

3:06

20! 24! Welcome to the

3:09

room of role-playing rambling and

3:11

it is a revocation where

3:13

we are in the room.

3:15

We're up in the attic.

3:17

with the one-eyed pigeon tapping on the

3:20

window like tiny tin. And it is

3:22

cold. It is cold. It is cold.

3:24

It is, isn't it? It is, isn't

3:26

it? It is, isn't it? There's no

3:28

heating on in this. I'm hypothermia. It's

3:31

broken up here. Yeah, but it is

3:33

quiet. It is quiet. You know, you've

3:35

got to, you know, take the rough with

3:37

the smoothness of this. Yeah. And we were

3:39

going to enjoy the delights of some.

3:41

non-alcoholic beer to celebrate. The fridge in

3:44

the works fridge, there are two tins and

3:46

non-alcoholic beer, which is okay actually, it doesn't

3:48

test, it's not, it's not, we've moved on

3:50

from the days of calibre, haven't we, tested

3:52

like potatoes and, which are obviously peas or

3:54

something. Yeah. We've moved on from like, it's

3:57

alright, but it's so cold up here, we've

3:59

got a brew. Just to keep us

4:01

alive, yeah, just to keep us starting.

4:03

Yeah, otherwise, you know, we'd be like, we're

4:05

greedy in the thing, wouldn't we? Yeah, it's

4:07

at the time of the year, but we're

4:09

on a bit firmer ground because we

4:11

did the Grogies, didn't we, for 1984,

4:14

but we'll zoom ahead to 40 years

4:16

in the time machine and bring us up

4:18

to date, to this year,

4:20

went to 24, looking back

4:22

on this year, and you

4:24

had some grand plans, Mr.

4:26

Mr. Blide Mr. Blidy blithelydey

4:28

blithelydey blithelythe, Did I? Did I

4:30

have some grandplants? You did, yeah, you

4:32

sat out at the beginning of this

4:35

year. You remind me of things

4:37

I've said in the past. People

4:39

can't do index. I don't like

4:41

it. People can remind you of

4:43

things I've said. I'm going to

4:46

stop saying things. I can't remind

4:48

you of things. I'm going to

4:50

stop saying things. I've said. I've

4:52

said something and people remind

4:54

me. You said this. Stop

4:57

remembering things I've said. Sometimes

4:59

you just say them, don't you? Just

5:01

say things. You might just say something

5:04

in the whole, but no one will

5:06

remember, but apparently they do.

5:09

But anyway, that's what were

5:11

we grandplants? Okay, let me look

5:13

at my little book. You said

5:15

in January. I feel like I'm in

5:17

court. 2024? God did that. You said

5:20

that you would run more savage

5:22

world one shots around a table.

5:24

How many of you don't prove it?

5:27

And then I say, in the podcast,

5:29

you did. Oh, you can't pray with

5:31

you. Yeah, none, none. None, yeah, no,

5:33

none. None, I've not run any.

5:35

Savage World's Watch, that's a lot.

5:37

No. And we were complaining last year

5:39

when we're doing this, that, oh, he's

5:42

gone a bit of, he's been on

5:44

a bit of a, Savage World's dreamt.

5:46

Yes. And it continued this year, this

5:48

year, a bit, as it has, yeah.

5:51

I think the problem with the one,

5:53

yeah, this thing is, it's like anything,

5:55

isn't it? When you get to one-shots

5:57

with convention games and things like that.

6:00

I don't know, it's always difficult to make a

6:02

decision about what to run, isn't it? Because

6:04

you sometimes have an idea that I like

6:06

to run more of that, but when it

6:08

comes to the crunch, you always think, yeah,

6:10

but what would I deal with it? You

6:12

know, I think this is a bit of

6:14

a problem with savage worlds, though, because I've

6:16

got the savage worlds fantasy, but it's quite

6:18

like, and I've got the horror one,

6:20

got the superheroes one. There's not much

6:22

out there for them. You know, they

6:24

do these plot point campaigns, aren't they?

6:27

Pinnacle. And they're all right, they're good,

6:29

but they're not really suitable for one

6:31

shot, are they? I do have a

6:33

quite, I do have a memory of

6:35

earlier in the year looking at fantasy

6:37

stuff to a virtual grog me, thinking,

6:39

I might run some fantasy, we never,

6:42

we might run some fantasy version of

6:44

it, have we? That could have written

6:46

me on thing, but I was looking

6:48

for something, something to base an idea,

6:50

something to base an idea, but they

6:52

did. There's not many one-shot scenarios. They

6:54

do those page scenarios, don't they? But

6:56

those are the things you look at

6:58

and think, it's not going to fill

7:00

three hours this. You know? You can't

7:02

between two stools of, this is a

7:05

bit thin, this might be an hour

7:07

and a half, not long enough. Oh,

7:09

it's a plot plan campaign. The only

7:11

savage world that I ran this year

7:13

was that battle beyond the planet. One

7:15

of one of the scenario I'm never

7:17

going to do it again again in

7:19

the system, and that was quite fun.

7:21

And that was quite fun. And Savage

7:24

World's did that quite well even though

7:26

I didn't have the science fiction and

7:28

something. I just used the good games.

7:30

It's a good game. It's one of

7:32

our favorite games, certainly one my favorite

7:34

systems. So I don't know kind of

7:37

delides people a bit, but I think it's

7:39

a really good system. Sometimes it's

7:41

hard to know what to do

7:43

with it. One of the better

7:45

gamesmasters that we've experienced playing Savage

7:48

World because of his tactical notes

7:50

is Mark. And we had the

7:52

tail end of... the writ campaign

7:54

that we completed. We've had a

7:56

break haven't we? And we've

7:59

got to... come back to it.

8:01

I think this is what this

8:03

year has told us is I'm

8:05

perhaps going to talk about how

8:07

travel is done this. The excitement

8:09

of mechanical elements in a game

8:11

and how that can create action

8:13

and excitement. Because you remember that

8:15

I picked battle in the deserts. Yeah, it's

8:17

the moment. That's something out of the mummy

8:20

wasn't it? Yeah, it was out of the

8:22

mummy real, but it was, yeah, it was

8:24

a good, it's a great fight. Lots of

8:26

incident in it. Yeah. And

8:28

where... I'd be tempted as ever to

8:31

handway things. Mark just went. He's dead

8:33

firstly through the tactical rules and there

8:35

was a cast of thousands wasn't there

8:37

in that battle. It came down really

8:39

didn't it to one of the minions.

8:41

Yeah it was. It was the minion

8:44

wasn't the woman who was the archaeologist's

8:46

minion who was kind of relatively insignificant.

8:48

It became quite important and she managed

8:50

to get a lucky shot at something

8:52

and finish off the mummy. King of

8:55

the mummies or something like that. Yeah.

8:57

Because it was one of those

8:59

situations where a bit like the

9:01

end of a football game where

9:03

everything was at stake so we

9:05

pushed everything forward, even the archaeologist,

9:08

Minion, played by Caroline Monroe. And

9:10

we had a similar experience, didn't

9:12

we, later in the year, with

9:14

Traveller? Yeah, where we were playing

9:16

parish and drinax and there was

9:18

a spaceship battle. That was a

9:21

very tense battle driven by the

9:23

mechanics. The cold hard... mechanics

9:25

of the game, the dice rolling, the

9:28

rules drove the tension because

9:30

you were aware there was no

9:32

way of narrating your way out

9:34

of the trouble you were in. I

9:37

got stuck with that thought because I

9:39

think I've run what's not systems

9:41

and what I've realized is

9:43

I don't really I don't

9:45

think as a GM and maybe

9:47

not as a player those kind

9:50

of narrative story game systems. They're

9:52

not really for me. Well, I

9:54

prefer, I prefer again that has

9:56

game type mechanics and I like

9:58

that to drive. story. Yeah. I

10:00

remember one years ago, a few years ago,

10:03

I got into fate. I never found it

10:05

satisfactory because it always felt a bit from

10:07

wavy and vague at times or story elements.

10:09

Or you've been injured, oh well let's come

10:12

up with some kind of injury. Well no,

10:14

no, let's not. Let's roll on the table

10:16

and it'll tell you where you've been injured.

10:18

and that will make it more tense

10:20

and more exciting. I don't know whether

10:23

I completely agree with that. I think

10:25

there's something to be said for both

10:27

because even like Savage has a bit

10:30

of metacourancy doesn't it? So you've got

10:32

the bennies where you can alter things

10:34

and even in that game of travel

10:36

it tends as it was and it

10:39

all depended on the dice rolls. We're

10:41

using what to sway things in our

10:43

face. You have got there. That's true.

10:46

they still feel like

10:48

tactical game-based decisions, whereas

10:50

some role-playing games have to lose

10:52

some more narrative things in

10:55

it. I think you had a

10:57

you had that experience. You were

10:59

complaining about recently. I can't have

11:01

much gaming one. But it's one

11:03

of these games where you've got

11:05

some kind of background, a career

11:08

background on a character sheet. And

11:10

he's that always. All right, this,

11:12

but everyone just says... Oh but surely

11:14

surely my career as a bartender

11:17

would help me negotiate with the

11:19

CIA operatives who are guarding the

11:21

building because of bartenders good at

11:23

talking to people yeah and it's

11:25

like no rubbish that that's what

11:27

I mean that kind of thing

11:29

I'm not there was a time

11:31

that's quite enamoured with that kind

11:33

of thing I'm less enamoured with

11:35

it now because it feels like

11:37

what I'd rather what I'd rather

11:39

say is what what she persuaded

11:41

skill. Let's roll your own persuade

11:43

skill, let's not say that because you

11:46

were a bartender, you've got some

11:48

kind of charm, you know, where

11:50

you can... That kind of thing

11:52

goes. Balance of both, because I

11:54

think to make the actual thing

11:56

where the table interested, so in

11:58

that bartender case... I think somebody has

12:00

to put forward what are the tactics that

12:03

are using but what are the things that

12:05

are just saying it hanging on a roll.

12:07

But I find it. It's just a kind

12:09

of thing that's occurred to me this year.

12:11

A lot of the games I like. If

12:13

you ask me to do top five games,

12:15

a lot of the games in that, they're

12:18

more driven by the dice rolls and where

12:20

the dice rolls might take you within that

12:22

story rather than where everyone agrees

12:24

to go in that story, if

12:26

that makes sense. where that's been

12:28

the case. Yeah, I mean that

12:31

was a dramatic moment when everything

12:33

was hinging on one dice roll,

12:35

whether we were going to change

12:37

the fate of the campaign on

12:39

one dice roll and it just

12:41

didn't go in our favour. But

12:44

we narrowly, narrowly missed it by

12:46

a few points and that was

12:48

very exciting. But I think there's

12:50

a place for that and there's

12:52

also a place for talking. I'm

12:55

not saying that. I'm not saying

12:57

people shouldn't play those games. I

12:59

don't know. I'm just saying I've

13:01

realised perhaps they're less for me

13:04

than I thought. Yeah. Well we've gone, we're

13:06

not even started yet and he said

13:08

if you were asking me to name

13:10

me Top Five. Hmm. I'm glad

13:12

you're in that kind of frame

13:14

of mind because it's the award

13:16

season. That's what we do. The

13:18

gold and envelopes ready. The spear

13:21

is golden envelopes. We're being piked.

13:23

We're ready to distribute the other

13:25

ones. You're apparently golden envelopes.

13:28

Yeah, they're right here. You do miles.

13:30

But before we do that, I've got

13:32

a prefab spread game for you. Okay,

13:34

gone. I'm going on holiday in a few

13:36

days. Where are you going? Should people

13:38

listening. Should should people listening.

13:41

This is the artifice of this

13:43

podcast. Next you'll be suggesting

13:45

you've really got gold envelopes. Where

13:47

are you going? Don't dice? On

13:49

your holiday for the benefit of

13:52

people listening. You don't see every

13:54

bloody day like I do. It's just ways

13:56

I'm going to stop home. Yeah. Yeah. Stop.

13:59

But what? Stop. I thought I

14:01

would do a Swedish role-playing

14:03

games, prefabs, right, gone. Okay,

14:06

so I'm going to give

14:08

you two options here. All

14:11

right, okay. One of them

14:13

is a significant element of

14:15

Swedish role-playing. And the other one is

14:18

a place that I'm going to visit.

14:20

There's only three of them, so I

14:22

don't worry. It's not a particular time.

14:25

I've got these from outside the box.

14:27

How Sweden conquered the world of role-playing

14:29

games by Magnus Sutter. I was giving

14:31

a review copy. I'm going to review it early

14:34

in the new year. So, can you say, though,

14:36

as well? Why do we find ourselves in

14:38

the position where almost everything we

14:40

do on this podcast? We carry,

14:42

you on struggle pronouncing things we're

14:44

talking about. things we're talking about.

14:47

Colcadilly and we've never

14:49

pronounced any of it. But here we

14:51

go again. Yeah, we're playing it, playing

14:53

to our strengths here. We're going to,

14:56

go on, go on, how are you?

14:58

Well I think it's a bit, we

15:00

do have Swedish listeners, so we challenge

15:02

for that. Yeah, for them to understand

15:05

what I'm saying in a Bolton accent.

15:07

We are hard for them to understand

15:09

as I mangle the language. Okay, go

15:11

on, go on, here we go. autograph

15:14

isca. Or photograph

15:16

Iska? Yeah, yep. Or Drucker ouch

15:18

Dimene. Which one of those

15:20

is a role-playing item? The

15:23

second one, I think. Drucker

15:25

oons Dimene? Adden that's Dragon

15:27

Ben. Is that right? Yeah, yeah,

15:29

yeah. Yeah, it's the source of

15:32

Dragon Ben, yeah. Basic role-playing

15:34

inspired game. And what's the

15:36

other one? We'll do them

15:38

as a place. Is it?

15:41

Yeah, it's photography museum. Yeah,

15:43

that was quite easy, but

15:45

we didn't get hard on

15:48

it. Okay, right there.

15:50

Sinketus. Sinketus.

15:52

Sinketus. Sinketus.

15:54

Yeah, okay. Or, Ostamau's

15:57

solo hall. I have no

15:59

idea. I'm going to

16:01

say synchitis. synchitis. Yeah, synchitis

16:03

was a magazine. And a

16:05

bit inspired by different worlds.

16:07

Oostomoms, through the hall, is

16:09

the historical food market. See,

16:11

you learn. Could it be

16:13

three out of three? Could

16:15

it be a hat? Should

16:18

it be a first to

16:20

the free club? I hear

16:22

it. Yeah. I feel a

16:24

lot of pressure now. You're

16:26

going to get a golden

16:28

gavel. Savaval Vinta.

16:30

Oh, Waldo's Master. I'm

16:32

gonna go for Savaval

16:34

Vinta. Well done, Savaval winter

16:36

is a campaign for Drakalundimana.

16:39

Oh, there we go. The

16:41

Golden Gaval. The Golden Gaval.

16:43

He's a gold envelope. Yeah.

16:45

I'll give it to you

16:47

now. I'll warn it at

16:50

the end. Ignore this. It's

16:52

a rug covering a hole.

16:54

20, 24, looking back, how's

16:56

it being for you? Well,

16:58

from a game perspective, it's been

17:00

a week. We said every year, it's been

17:03

a funny old, it's been a funny

17:05

old year. Well there's been a funny

17:07

old year because some of the things

17:09

that cause the patterns and the routines

17:11

in our normal year have not been

17:14

there because we decided not to go to

17:16

export. We didn't attract export and

17:18

I think we both agree that

17:20

was possibly a bit of a

17:22

mistake. I don't think he could have

17:24

done it anyway, could he? Well,

17:26

no, because of the elections, yeah,

17:29

that's true. It would have, that,

17:31

when we did say that, we

17:33

decided not to go, and we

17:35

didn't expect a 4th of July

17:37

general election, but of course,

17:40

yeah, it would have probably scuppered

17:42

it. Because we should say that, you

17:45

are an electoral administrator, administrator for some.

17:47

So you've been busy, isn't it? It

17:49

does. in part of those. Does a

17:52

bit. And grog meat of course we

17:54

didn't have like. Grog meat has been

17:56

moved doesn't it? Yes. The rhythm of

17:59

yeah you're right. rhythms of the year.

18:01

Been, yeah, disrupted slightly. You said earlier, some

18:03

of the gaming rhythms of the year have

18:05

been different. Like Savage World's stops. We've not

18:07

played much called Cathoula this year. No, we

18:09

did write at the beginning. I ran something

18:12

for you and Eddie, right. They begin the

18:14

year. And that's all because we've all, we've

18:16

commented before and we've always been playing some

18:18

Cathoula. So there's two games there that have

18:20

kind of, and I don't think they've drifted

18:22

off the drifted off the radar because we've

18:25

fed off the radar because we're fed up

18:27

with them. kind of almost accidental thing, isn't

18:29

it? I think we'll go back to do

18:31

both of them. It's not like we've

18:33

fallen out with them. I think we

18:35

used to thrill actually at these Ogroggy

18:37

Awards by the number of systems that

18:39

we played during the year, just like.

18:42

amazed that, you know, at one time

18:44

we would only be playing a handful

18:46

and know we were playing like 30

18:48

different systems. I think this year it

18:50

settled down. When I've gone back over

18:52

it, it's more like 10 different systems.

18:54

It does settle down, you know, and

18:56

again another thought that I've had this

18:58

year. The system master thing is an

19:00

increasingly important factor when I'm running

19:03

something. I'm not saying I'm a

19:05

master of these systems, but that's

19:07

not an error, isn't it? But

19:09

what I've realized it. easy and

19:12

more relaxed experience. What one of

19:14

us in New Year's resolutions was

19:16

going back to basics for that

19:18

reason, just going back to some

19:21

of those games that we enjoyed

19:23

and connected with. So a lot

19:25

of traveller, a lot of B.

19:27

Yeah, yeah, this year really I've run,

19:29

I've run the only new game

19:31

that I've run that talked about

19:33

this later to is the Doctor

19:36

Who role-playing game which I've

19:38

got this year. At the year I

19:40

declared that I wasn't going to

19:42

touch big book campaigns. And

19:44

that's how true apart from

19:46

over recent weeks, but perhaps

19:49

come onto that where we

19:51

started looking at the Berellis,

19:53

which is for fall of

19:55

Delta Green. That book campaigned

19:57

our Monday group, another element

19:59

about... routine times. Yeah it tells

20:01

us isn't it yeah a bit more

20:03

difficult for you didn't it Monday's just

20:06

became a bit of a difficult yeah

20:08

and in talking about difficulties I've gone

20:10

through the calendar looking over the past

20:12

year and it's first time that I've

20:14

seen the words canceled next to game

20:17

sessions. compared with previous years. Yeah,

20:19

or post-bourned. Real life has been

20:21

disappeared. Real life. There's a constant

20:23

tussle, isn't there, between real life

20:25

and gaming? That's always been the

20:27

case. And some years, I think,

20:29

real life wins a bit, and

20:31

sometimes gaming wins a bit. I

20:33

think it's fair to say that

20:35

this year, real life has been

20:37

heavy on the balance sheet. Yeah. But

20:39

that put aside. It was a

20:41

rich and varied. Oh, this is,

20:44

isn't it? We're playing well, the

20:46

way I've ever played really. So

20:48

we can't, you know, I really

20:50

complain. This is a funny year.

20:52

Like you said, the biorems of

20:54

the year have been slightly different.

20:57

Okay, let's get into the awards

20:59

and the first envelope

21:01

I've got is the

21:04

Messianic Megalomaniac Games Master

21:06

Award. Now, again. Anually, we have this

21:08

discussion, what does it mean? What does

21:10

it mean? What does it mean? What

21:12

does it mean? Yeah, we're going to

21:14

have that again of it, because I

21:16

never cry sure what it means. Is

21:18

it just, is it a way of you

21:20

getting an award? If you need an award,

21:22

I don't mind. What I observed last

21:24

time, if you remember, is that these

21:27

awards things that we normally do. We're

21:29

known the kind of, we've been French

21:31

for a long time. Yeah, like 40

21:33

odd years. But when it comes

21:35

into this, it always has like

21:37

a bit of an element of

21:39

hostility. I think it's because you

21:41

called it the Megalomaniac messianic. If

21:43

you'd said GM of the year, we could

21:46

say, oh it's such and such, but because

21:48

you've titled it that, that suggested

21:50

that they're a messianic Megalomaniac. It

21:52

was all you happy with that

21:55

title. Well let's agree to drop

21:57

it. Because last year if you

21:59

never... But we said, to take

22:01

the hostility out of it, the adversarial

22:03

nature of it, that it would be

22:06

your favorite GM experience of the

22:08

year, and my favorite gym, and we

22:10

don't have to decide which is the

22:12

best. They can both be equal as

22:14

good as it does. Is this like

22:17

one of those school sports days? Is

22:19

it a daily mail bangs on the

22:21

back without true? Walk, walk, walk her

22:23

outie podcasters, give everyone a prize. There

22:25

we go. So our best, our best

22:27

GM and XP. Yes, your, my bet,

22:29

right. Yeah, you go. No, you can

22:31

start. Okay. Well, I'm gonna go and

22:34

I've been banging on about this. And

22:36

I do worry. I do worry that

22:38

me banging on about it. More than

22:40

others indicates. I probably have enjoyed this

22:42

more than the place. And that doesn't

22:44

matter. That's all right. You think that's

22:46

all right. Yeah, probably. And that is

22:48

reviving the reckless campaign. I'm going to

22:50

continue that through that through that through.

22:52

next year because I really enjoy it

22:54

because I think it's because the way

22:56

that I've done it for virtual drug

22:58

meet there were some prequels sort of

23:01

like some one-shop little stories that everybody

23:03

people participate in and those were the

23:05

foundations for the campaign that you did

23:07

and Mark was part of a couple

23:10

of those. So he had a bit

23:12

of praying all his before the start.

23:14

Yeah, it's kind of interesting that. Yeah,

23:17

it kind of overlaps a bit and

23:19

one shots here and there are kind

23:21

of interconnected. I'm like, yeah. But I

23:23

get the view of that. So for

23:26

me, I think, Grogmi, I've got a

23:28

couple of scenarios. It is very much

23:30

a medlemania. Okay. Yeah, absolutely. So

23:32

I've got a couple of one

23:34

shots and I think Mark's playing

23:36

in one of those for his

23:38

character. Yeah. Because at the end

23:40

of the campaign period it was

23:42

a point where the king had

23:45

been revived. The city was surrounded

23:47

by various factions who were ready

23:49

to take over. A storm demon

23:51

was approaching and we decided at

23:53

that point we were going to

23:55

pause. Paws for review. Cliffanger. End

23:57

of season cliffhanger. However, these little

23:59

one shot. are going to influence

24:01

what happens next because you know

24:03

one of them goes out and

24:06

they're going to assassinate one of

24:08

the war leaders or not oh

24:10

yeah and they can choose which

24:12

one they go for them so

24:14

that might have an impact yeah

24:16

and the other one is the

24:18

one that marks being part of

24:20

it's just going intercepting the people

24:22

approaching with a storm demon to

24:24

see if can bring it under

24:26

control again you I have nothing

24:29

to say about this experience of

24:31

playing it. You played 10 sessions

24:33

of it. I've enjoyed it. I've

24:35

enjoyed it. I've enjoyed it. It's

24:37

very good. It's good to go

24:39

back to Racklash, the place that

24:41

it's kind of good to go

24:43

back to something that we invented

24:46

in your bedroom 40 years

24:48

ago and really just left half

24:50

baked I suppose. Well what

24:52

you've kind of made it more

24:55

alive as a place. in

24:57

ways that, you know, some bit,

24:59

some, and some of it's familiar,

25:02

but some of it's not,

25:04

because obviously things have been invented

25:06

and added on to it.

25:08

I think it's the epitome

25:10

of the messianic myglomaniac, in that.

25:12

It's a me of it, yeah. But

25:15

it leaves you speechless. Well, you can't

25:17

show up about it. I think what

25:19

it's, what it's interesting, yeah, the

25:22

rack thing go is. I think

25:24

at one point. You were, I

25:26

think it might have been when

25:28

you were preparing the very first

25:30

one shots before we were playing

25:32

it on Wednesday now. You said

25:34

to me, the problem with this

25:36

is, I'm kind of thinking it's

25:38

old daft. Yes. And that's

25:41

because you've made it up. Yeah.

25:43

Isn't that odd thing with this kind

25:45

of, it's all daft. But when

25:47

it's a pre-written scenario

25:49

or campaign that you're working

25:51

with. And I don't just

25:54

mean following a... pre-written scenario slavishly

25:56

because we all adapt these things

25:58

and I quite like getting a

26:00

pre-written one and adapting it. But,

26:02

because the foundation of it is

26:04

written by someone else, there's a sense

26:07

of like, well if people think it's

26:09

doubt, it's not my fault. Yeah. Because

26:11

if you make it all up, and

26:13

I've done the same, I've done scenarios

26:15

and things at conventions, I've made it

26:18

all up. And it seems to have gone

26:20

down well and it seems fine, but there

26:22

is an anxiety as a GM where you

26:24

think, but I've just made this up.

26:26

Yeah. It's stupid. Because you could argue,

26:29

Greg Stafford just made up a glance

26:31

at it, didn't it? And it's all made

26:33

up. For some reason, if you've made

26:35

it up, you feel quite vulnerable, I

26:37

think. Yeah, so there's a vulnerability, though.

26:40

There's no excuses if this falls flat.

26:42

It's all on me. Because it's a

26:44

kind of vulnerability, though,

26:46

there's no excuses if this falls

26:48

flat. You know, I really like this campaign.

26:51

It's a bit flawed and there's a bit,

26:53

bits in it that are a bit stupid.

26:55

But that wasn't your fault, was it. But

26:57

if you create something yourself, it's,

26:59

oh well, it's my fault. And

27:02

maybe it was that shadow of

27:04

the source of a campaign for

27:06

Conan that persuaded me at long

27:08

last just to write my own

27:10

campaign, because I think that's what

27:12

we started here. That I have

27:14

not actually, this is, the reason

27:17

why I'm so thrilled to be

27:19

running by class, it's good to

27:21

have any back playing as well,

27:23

that's another good element of

27:25

it. But also, it's... I don't know it's

27:27

going to end. Whereas you get those

27:30

big book campaigns, it's all predetermined. I

27:32

don't know which way this is going

27:34

to go. That's true. That is one

27:36

of the problems, isn't that? That is,

27:39

as we've said a few times about

27:41

me running Paris-Drinaks, that's what's good

27:43

about Paris-Drinaks, is that I don't

27:45

know how it's going to end.

27:47

We're some of these big campaigns.

27:49

They are going in one direction. Yeah.

27:52

That's where you're going in one direction.

27:54

as a gym, you get a bit

27:56

tired of them, can't you? And that

27:58

other aspect of that corner... campaign was

28:00

loads of exposition. A cast of thousands.

28:03

I can create a cast of thousands.

28:05

I know of the Allah because I'm

28:07

making them all. And when I'm giving

28:09

them all. Yeah. And when I'm giving

28:11

the exposition, I'm only giving the expedition

28:14

that I've managed to make up on

28:16

the hoof. Yeah, I suppose it's a

28:18

thing that I say it's a thing

28:20

of there's campaigns and campaigns. So there

28:22

are some campaigns like your backlash thing. where

28:24

anything could happen and then you have to

28:27

react to it as a GM. Yeah, so

28:29

this will happen and then you'll have to

28:31

go away and think, right, well that's happened,

28:33

what am I going to do about that? Yeah. As

28:35

opposed to it being a programmed set series

28:37

of events that are leading to a particular

28:39

climax. Yeah, almost like, doesn't really matter what

28:42

you do. Yeah, you're going to have to

28:44

face down this badder at the end and

28:46

that's that, because that's what keeps it keeps

28:49

it fresh. But again, it is a

28:51

strange thing, I think, that when you're

28:53

making stuff up, you can feel quite

28:55

vulnerable. Yeah, particularly

28:57

like fantasy, because, again, it's one thing

29:00

to sort of make something up and

29:02

go, well, I tell you what, I'm

29:04

going to set this in the

29:06

real world, it's called cathedral, and

29:08

it's going to be set, I

29:10

don't know, in the houses of

29:12

parliament during the Thatcher government, or

29:14

something like that. You still basing

29:17

it on something real. Yeah, and

29:19

he's just made up. Because as

29:21

well as doing the scenarios, you're

29:23

also doing that secondary world building,

29:25

aren't you? What are you trying

29:27

to avoid? You're using cliches, but

29:29

you're trying to avoid it, just appearing

29:31

like another version of something else that

29:33

you could try to mask the cliches,

29:36

you need the cliches, because that's what

29:38

makes it familiar for players and manageable

29:40

for everyone around the table. But at

29:42

the same time, you try and just...

29:44

veil the cliches or twist them or

29:46

turn them a little bit so they're

29:48

not quite as cliches they may see.

29:50

It's kind of fine balancing act isn't

29:53

it of yeah this is familiar but

29:55

I want it to be unfamiliar as

29:57

well and a bit different that's quite

29:59

difficult to do. Gainsmassen, the

30:01

reckless campaign is when I'm giving

30:03

the award, so what about you? I

30:05

suppose my big, big GM in

30:07

experience this year is again about,

30:09

it's relax, isn't it? Because I

30:11

was, GM in here the beginning

30:13

of the year, then we had

30:15

the summer break, and GM in

30:18

it again. It is a, and

30:20

I think you should rightly claim

30:22

that as your GM award, because

30:24

it's, it's, it's, particularly over recent

30:26

months, recent sessions, because it's, recent

30:28

sessions, because it. has got a

30:30

bit more abstracted and a bit

30:32

more larger scale. I feel like

30:34

in the last, this last

30:36

season, has taken a different

30:38

tone and a different level. Well

30:41

there is a different, yeah, and

30:43

we're playing it tomorrow morning now,

30:45

and you will find there is

30:47

a different tone to it. It does

30:49

kind of change a bit in terms

30:52

of the way the game works and

30:54

the way the dice kind of role.

30:56

It's a much bigger thing in terms

30:58

of what you then trying to do

31:00

when you're trying to form an empire.

31:02

You know, going around planets, kind of

31:04

recruiting people and doing some piracy is

31:06

quite granular. What happens when you have a

31:09

fleet? Where you have a massive naval battle,

31:11

which you might need no spoilers, but you

31:13

might need to do that at some point.

31:15

Yeah, it has some different rules, which are

31:17

a bit more abstracted, because it

31:19

has to be, because we'd be there all

31:21

day, wouldn't way, if you had 30

31:23

ships on either side. I've never finished it,

31:26

would we? Yeah. So there are some, there

31:28

are some mini games within it to

31:30

form the empire and do certain things,

31:32

slightly outside of them. Yeah, so yeah,

31:34

there's back. And I suppose, yeah, I

31:37

suppose it is my, it is my

31:39

favorite thing that I've jammed this year

31:41

because it's so kind of so

31:43

present, isn't it? For me as a

31:45

GM, everything else is one shot. I

31:47

mean, I'm running a bit of DCC

31:49

landmark for our Wednesday group now, but

31:51

that's only just started, so that probably

31:53

doesn't quite qualify, does it? No, and

31:55

I think it has a similar effect

31:57

on news, the backlash, as I mean.

32:00

that it's giving you a bit of a

32:02

few nots to untangle and yet. And I

32:04

can see that, I can see that, that

32:06

is the thing isn't it, as a GM

32:08

with both more backlash thing and my power

32:10

string acts, it gives you things that after

32:12

the session you have to go away and

32:14

think about and think right they've done that,

32:16

I didn't expect them to do that,

32:18

but they can do that because it's kind

32:21

of open ended, it's sandbox, they can

32:23

do that, they've done that. How does

32:25

the world react to what they've just

32:27

react to what they've just done? Yes.

32:29

What's going to happen if they do

32:31

this and if they do that, that

32:34

kind of thing. Yeah. And always surprises

32:36

me that as players you do things

32:38

that I'm not expecting you to do.

32:40

Yeah, different attitudes about certain things. That's

32:42

so yeah, I suppose that that has

32:44

to win it. Another good experience though,

32:47

kind of was a ransom called cathedral

32:49

for you and Eddie. Yeah, the

32:51

cultural cathedral book, that Angelus Thurst.

32:53

And it was a good scenario.

32:55

I enjoyed, I enjoyed running it.

32:57

It's got some mixed reviews scenario,

32:59

but I think it was a

33:01

strong one. I felt it was

33:03

very atmospheric. I thought it was

33:05

very well, I thought it was very

33:07

well put together because as

33:09

an investigation, it does give you lots

33:11

and lots of options in how to

33:13

investigate it. And as a gem, it

33:16

gives you all the characters. And there's

33:18

a sense in which, you know, like

33:20

some investigation sometimes feel a bit

33:22

linear. So you do get

33:24

some investigative scenarios that all hinge

33:27

on. You go here, you must find that

33:29

clue, that'll take you there. You must

33:31

find that clue, that'll take you there,

33:33

and then you find this clue, and

33:35

that'll lead to the confrontation. They do

33:37

feel quite linear, but that ain't just

33:40

not really like that. It's obviously

33:42

taking you to a certain confrontation,

33:44

but you can do it in different

33:46

ways, can't it? That's what's what's

33:49

quite good about. And it'll depend

33:51

upon your... obsessions as well as

33:53

so you can hook on to

33:55

an element of it that you

33:57

find fascinating as a player. Yeah,

33:59

I want. to kind of dig into

34:01

more. And it'll yield a bit more

34:03

as well. Because we got a bit

34:05

obsessed about the architecture of the place.

34:08

So we're examining it and we went

34:10

probably further into that. Yeah. So you

34:12

can investigate the architecture and the architect

34:14

is one thing. There's mobsters involved in

34:16

it at some point. You can go

34:19

into that or maybe not go into

34:21

that. And then there's this weird church

34:23

and you can investigate. So you've got

34:25

a few options. It's a lot of

34:27

work being put into it. that if it

34:30

was something I was writing, there'd

34:32

be a lot of work to

34:34

write about things that may not

34:36

come to fruition. That is one

34:38

of the, that's sometimes a good

34:40

thing about pre-written scenario, that if

34:42

they've put the working to give you

34:45

all these options, some of which inevitably

34:47

will not be investigated. Yeah,

34:49

but I have not had

34:51

to do that work. You don't do accents.

34:53

I don't do accents. And early drama.

34:55

But I felt like the NPCs were

34:58

very distinct. just by the way obviously

35:00

they're giving you clues on what the

35:02

attitude yes is different yeah yeah yeah

35:05

yeah yeah there is a really good

35:07

really good scenario really good kind of

35:09

interesting scenario with yeah a lot going

35:11

on and a bit of the miss

35:14

as well I think the mystery was

35:16

good in that you didn't he didn't

35:18

quite you didn't know what was going

35:21

on and I know it's like It's

35:23

a mystery, because you don't know

35:25

what's going on. But sometimes, again,

35:27

an investigative scenario, sometimes it's a

35:29

bit obvious where to go. It's

35:31

obvious what's going on, and it's

35:33

obvious where to go. But in that, it's

35:35

not particularly obvious. At first, what's

35:38

going on? You're not quite sure,

35:40

are you know? You're brought into

35:42

it in quite an innocuous way.

35:44

Some taxi drivers got missing, hasn't it?

35:46

Yeah. And of course. That's not. That's

35:48

your way in, but that's not

35:50

really what's going on. And there's

35:53

also where some of those might

35:55

have, like, one little twists that I'll

35:57

send you in other different

35:59

directions. There's quite a few little.

36:01

Yes, that's what I mean. There's

36:03

a few little elements to it

36:05

that can send you in different

36:07

directions. And they're all quite well

36:09

written and quite well fleshed out.

36:11

So you know, you might go

36:13

to some garage on. There's like

36:15

this industrialist that you go to

36:17

a garage. Those NPCs have fleshed

36:19

out quite well in terms of

36:21

what they know, what they think,

36:23

what they think, what they think

36:25

of you, or they might think

36:27

in a mob. But then you

36:29

don't have to go there have

36:31

to go there. There. It doesn't

36:33

have to go there. It doesn't

36:35

have to go there. It doesn't

36:37

really matter. It doesn't really matter.

36:40

And you will eventually get where

36:42

you need to be. At the

36:44

end of the last year, I

36:46

think I said that Cots of

36:48

Catalonia was one of the best

36:50

supplements that come out. And I

36:52

still think that's the case. I

36:54

think it's a really strong supplement

36:56

that's awful lot to be. Yeah,

36:58

I would agree. Because as well,

37:00

the book itself gives you. A

37:02

kind of like a, it's a

37:04

phrase, a deep, it's a deep

37:06

dive into the cult of cathedral.

37:08

So yeah, you can kind of

37:10

understand that cult more than. So

37:12

you've got two GM experiences there

37:14

for content. Are you landing on

37:16

one at ages? Oh, land on.

37:18

Well, I don't know. You can

37:20

have to say. No. The Daily

37:22

Mail will be outraged. You can't

37:24

give us both in award and

37:26

then give me too. You can't

37:28

give you on mad. There'd be

37:30

lollipopsps for everybody next for everybody

37:32

next. Stop it. Stop it. I

37:34

don't want to be dragged through

37:36

the tabloid press for giving awards

37:38

to everyone. No, I'll go for

37:40

Paris, Jeanette. Well deserved, well deserved,

37:42

yeah. We're just passing ourselves on

37:44

the back, it hardly seems like.

37:46

Right, here goes. Next is the

37:48

Olive Kennesburg, plays, plays, and people

37:50

who play award. Right, okay. Fusing

37:52

award. Confusing award. Confusing award. Confusing,

37:54

award. Confusing. Confusing award. Confusing. Confusing.

37:56

is what's the best game you

37:58

played in. What's your favorite character?

38:00

All right, then we landed on

38:02

that last one. Well I'm going

38:04

to say my favorite game of

38:06

the year that I've played in.

38:08

And I played in lots of

38:10

good games. Again, that's a great

38:12

thing about the moment. I think

38:14

a lot of the games are...

38:16

played have been very enjoyable and

38:18

again we can't pronounce it oh

38:20

it's Halvezia I've enjoyed really enjoyed

38:22

Halvezia we've been criticized actually I'm

38:24

just pick up on this yeah

38:26

so yeah so yeah oh no

38:28

bye who sort of something he

38:30

said that we called alvasia alvasia

38:32

and why is it well no

38:34

they said it was alvetica but

38:36

alvetica is it's a type fair

38:38

thing like a fountain just yeah

38:40

So I'm sticking with Alvasia. We'll

38:42

stick with Alvasia. We'll do it.

38:44

We know what we mean. We'll

38:46

vary it. We'll vary. Yeah, we'll

38:48

just vary it and just stick

38:50

to it. Like we have with

38:52

not massive an athlete set. Pronades

38:54

an athlete set, wrong, but we're

38:56

sticking with it. It's 40 years

38:58

of mispronunciation. Yeah, we're sticking with

39:00

it. I really enjoyed it. So

39:02

it's a game. And this is

39:04

what, and I've said this to

39:06

Christianx, so I know this will

39:08

not offend it. What you've suggested

39:11

it? I thought, oh really? Is

39:13

this going to be fun? It

39:15

is a game, it's based, the

39:17

system itself is based around like

39:19

D and it's a D&D type

39:21

system. So the systems like, there

39:23

are some tweaks here and the

39:25

different rules about virtue and stuff

39:27

and the magic. But basically it's

39:29

a D20 armor class kind of

39:31

system. That's nothing, nothing I suppose

39:33

unusual about that. And the rules

39:35

hardly seem to matter. Let's just

39:37

put that to one side. Well

39:39

I think the rules matter if

39:41

you want them to matter. I

39:43

think it depends. But go on,

39:45

go on, anyway. But it's set

39:47

in a kind of imaginary. What

39:49

would you say? 16th century, 17th

39:51

century Switzerland. So he's setting the

39:53

cantons of Switzerland, but in an

39:55

imaginary fantasy version where there is

39:57

magic. and there are miracles and

39:59

there are some monsters. It has

40:01

a sort of, I would say

40:03

it has a kind of brother's

40:05

grim feel to it. So you're

40:07

not, you know, the world's not

40:09

a wash with monsters, it's just

40:11

that there are legends about monsters

40:13

and strange things, magic, witchcraft and

40:15

that kind of thing. So it's

40:17

setting up a brother's grip and

40:19

it is, it describes itself as

40:21

Picard, it's a very, Alexander Dumas,

40:23

I don't really know. There is

40:25

a bit of swashbookling. And I

40:27

suppose as well. And this is

40:29

maybe why I like it. Maybe

40:31

you like it. There is a

40:33

kind of fancying thing to it

40:35

as well. It's not like the

40:37

dying earth. It's not that kind

40:39

of fantasy world, because that's a

40:41

very, very different world. But I

40:43

think the characters that you end

40:45

up playing and the scrapes that

40:47

you get into did feel very...

40:49

They felt like something cool or

40:51

clever might get involved in it.

40:53

Yeah, and the NPCs that you

40:55

encounter have all got the motivations,

40:57

it might spiteful, bit cruel. Yeah,

40:59

everyone's spiteful, jealous, arrogant, vain people,

41:01

which I think we ended up

41:03

playing characters like that, which was

41:05

quite funny. Yeah. And I think

41:07

it's the first time where we

41:09

use this expression sandbox. But that

41:11

campaign. is a genuine sandbox, isn't

41:13

it? Yeah, it's like a hex

41:15

crawl, isn't it? Well, I don't

41:17

think we've ever, we have played

41:19

games campaigns and run campaigns, the

41:21

sandboxes. Often a sandbox can have

41:23

a plot, but how you deal

41:25

with a plot could be anything

41:27

you want. How is it doing

41:29

that? A sandbox in the, you

41:31

do have a plot, but you

41:33

can do it anywhere. Whereas with

41:35

this one, is it's a genuine

41:37

hex crawl, where there is no

41:39

plot. You go from hex to

41:42

hex to hex and encounter things

41:44

and you can engage with those

41:46

things. Or you know all of

41:48

them. It's up to you. Yeah.

41:50

And that's what... I found quite

41:52

fascinating. Yeah, we've never really, all

41:54

the four years, been doing these

41:56

games. I've never really done that.

41:58

And so the coaches were playing,

42:00

I was playing Ulrich, the German

42:02

Cleric Priest, who had a pachanfer

42:04

drinking. Yeah. And you know, I

42:06

was saying Antonia, who was a

42:08

Spanish lady, she was a dualist,

42:10

Spanish dualist, with a very low

42:12

virtue. So has a thing called

42:14

virtue. If you're a... I mean

42:16

my character was a fighter, Julie,

42:18

so it didn't really matter, but

42:20

if you are a priest you

42:22

can do like miracles, can't you?

42:24

But you have to keep your

42:26

virtue high. So you have to

42:28

do things. And this is, I

42:30

suppose this is the thing about

42:32

rules, I suppose, isn't it? I

42:34

don't go back to the rules.

42:36

It isn't about just being virtuous.

42:38

And everyone agreeing that you be

42:40

virtuous. And if you're a... or

42:42

it's called student, which is like

42:44

a black magician or a witch.

42:46

You have to keep your virtue

42:48

all, because if you become too

42:50

virtuous, the devil won't give you

42:52

the powers that you need. And

42:54

you're virtue tracked, isn't it? There's

42:56

points that you lose and gain

42:58

points. So if you're a witch

43:00

and you do too many good

43:02

things, imagine it won't work, because

43:04

you're virtue got too high, and

43:06

you as a priest, if your

43:08

virtue drops. and that impacts on

43:10

you. So there is a kind

43:12

of rule system tracking your virtue

43:14

and it affects other characters as

43:16

well because I think if your

43:18

virtue drops to zero I think

43:20

the devil kind of comes to

43:22

claim your soul wasn't it? Yeah

43:24

so it even matters and our

43:26

companions and our Swedish soldier wasn't

43:28

it? Yeah Swedish soldier wasn't it?

43:30

Yeah Matthew was a French... rogue

43:32

wasn't the footpath on the rogue

43:34

yeah yeah so we were all

43:36

kind of quite colorful characters and

43:38

I did I did really enjoy

43:40

it because I think I think

43:42

at first when we started playing

43:44

We were probably a bit puzzled

43:46

because we thought of what we

43:48

were supposed to do here. But

43:50

once you get your head round,

43:52

let's just engage with this. So

43:54

we went to like a tavern,

43:56

didn't we? Where these fish people...

43:58

And again, you didn't know whether

44:00

they were real or not. And

44:02

that was a good thing about

44:04

the tavern man kept saying, these

44:06

fishmen keep coming and wanting to

44:08

steal this idol from my tavern.

44:10

Is he bonkers? Previously, we then

44:13

came to people who were deluded.

44:15

Exactly. Yeah, we met a guy,

44:17

a guy in a cottage, you

44:19

thought he was a king, and

44:21

acted like everything, but there was

44:23

a castle. It's like mad. I

44:25

think, I think, what happened a

44:27

few sessions, a few sessions in,

44:29

and you, you know, you know,

44:31

you know, is a realisation, a

44:33

hex quarrel, that what Cus was

44:35

doing was just presenting the situation

44:37

to us. And I think you

44:39

and Mark, well, played with you

44:41

a lot, a naturally cautious place.

44:43

So when presented with something, he's

44:45

trying to tactically work out, right?

44:47

What's going on here? What's going

44:49

on here? What's tracked? I would

44:51

be tracked, right, something. Yeah, yeah.

44:53

And however, what it needs is

44:55

for, you need to provoke, you

44:57

need to poke a stick. Yeah,

44:59

and that was like, oh, the

45:01

tavern guy, he was like, well,

45:03

he's turning on his fish people,

45:05

and we thought, well, I tell

45:07

you what, let's try and start

45:09

this out out for him. Yeah,

45:11

it was kind of a great,

45:13

a great adventure where, I mean,

45:15

it's maybe spoilers this, isn't it?

45:17

But the fishermen gave him some

45:19

scales that turned into silver, but

45:21

of course, we stole the scales.

45:23

and when you get in the

45:25

daylight they turn back into scales

45:27

and are not coins anymore. It's

45:29

kind of got a big rask

45:31

ending that we were quite roguish

45:33

and thought we were stealing money

45:35

in the end we weren't. And

45:37

it did lead to Mac the

45:39

greatest MPC portrayal of the year.

45:41

Yeah. Chris Sharpe's Fishman. Yeah we

45:43

don't have an award for this

45:45

but I think we'll give a

45:47

special award for Fishman of the

45:49

year. With Fishman here. What I

45:51

said, well there's a Fishman's there.

45:53

Fishman's there. And he went and

45:55

he went. It just says. Oh

46:00

right, okay. Oh I can't

46:02

speak to these fishmen, never

46:05

mind. Yeah, NBC of the

46:07

Year, Fishman, hell this year

46:09

Fishman, this year Fishman, well

46:12

I think the Olive Kinnesburg,

46:14

plays, plays and people who

46:17

play, yeah, award, goes too.

46:20

Alvesia for Alatonia and for Ulrich. Yeah,

46:22

it was a double hack, weren't it?

46:25

It was quite the drunken priest and

46:27

a slightly, a slightly selfish woman who

46:29

was quite a bit. It was a

46:31

very, very entertaining game and I think

46:34

as well it warrants the award as

46:36

well because of all the games we've

46:38

played, it's the one that surprised me

46:41

the most. Yeah, because when it was

46:43

suggested, well I've never heard of it,

46:45

I've never heard of it. But I

46:48

do think it's some very kind of

46:50

colourful and creative game and lots of

46:52

stuff in it that you can. An

46:55

example of one of those games is

46:57

one of that you come away from.

46:59

And you think, you know, you experience

47:02

it in the moment, it only exists

47:04

in that moment, but you come away

47:06

and then you remember all the things

47:08

that happened. And it is like a

47:11

story, you could write it down. Yes,

47:13

and we think we said that didn't

47:15

we after some of the... We thought

47:18

you could write this session down and

47:20

it would be a story, it would

47:22

be a good story. That's why it

47:25

reminded me like Jack Vance. It would

47:27

almost be like a vancier, a vancian

47:29

tale of we were swapping letters and

47:32

forging letters. That's right. Yeah, we've got

47:34

a lexer, didn't we? Several people were

47:36

after and it ended up being this

47:39

far-soilmost of forging a letter. And you

47:41

make, you're a priest making a bad

47:43

forge. Because of a drug. I was

47:45

a drug. Yeah, three versions of it.

47:48

And different people who wanted it, trying

47:50

to pass it off to different people.

47:52

They're trying to convince a woman that

47:55

the letter had appeared in a fish

47:57

and a fish. Oh, really, really, really

47:59

good, really good. game and very enjoyable.

48:02

And like I say, you can surprise

48:04

me, that's a good thing isn't it?

48:06

We play a lot of games and

48:09

sometimes it's good to play something that

48:11

just takes you by surprise in a

48:13

good way I think. Oh no, they

48:16

sat in our chairs. New Kid on

48:18

the top, the tabletop. Okay. So this

48:20

is the game that we... Oh, new

48:22

to us. It's not the main show,

48:25

you know, you can get it to

48:27

us. You need to us. Go, do

48:29

you want to start with that? Well,

48:32

there's been very few games actually that

48:34

I played for the first time this

48:36

year. There's one exception, but I'm going

48:39

to put forward, but I don't really

48:41

want to talk a lot about it

48:43

because I think it's going to be

48:46

the part of a future episode coming

48:48

soon. And I played quite a bit

48:50

of West End games, Star Wars. Oh

48:53

yeah, we did play that didn't we?

48:55

I played it with Eddie, you and

48:57

Eddie, you ran the Mannhorn, was the

48:59

Mannhorn? Yeah, and that's a manhorn, which

49:02

I've run a couple of times, yeah.

49:04

And it's all, it's worked out different,

49:06

again, it's one of those scenarios that's

49:09

worked out differently each time. It is

49:11

really a scenario that you're meant to

49:13

play over a series of sessions, but

49:16

I did one of my compressions, to

49:18

put it into a one shot. Neat

49:20

little system. Just a good system, yeah.

49:23

A D6 system, which you can have

49:25

a lot. Just, you know, coming back

49:27

to that thing of rules, it's very

49:30

light on its feet in terms of

49:32

rules, but it replicates that fastenless feeling

49:34

of the Star Wars and the Star

49:36

Wars universe. I think you're out and

49:39

what's good about it is. It's got

49:41

quite a light rule set, but there

49:43

are enough rules and enough things in

49:46

it to make it feel like Star

49:48

Wars. Yeah. and hold it together as

49:50

a game of Star Wars rather than

49:53

like they're not overdone it on the

49:55

rules and sometimes games when people are

49:57

designing something around a specific. film,

50:00

a tick idea, they'll put lots

50:02

of extra rules in to make

50:04

it seem like that setting. Yeah,

50:06

but they don't do that, but

50:08

it still manages to hang together

50:10

as Star Wars, I think, quite

50:12

an achievement area. Yeah, quite sophisticated

50:14

in. how it can scale as

50:16

well. So you can do it

50:18

for combat, so combat rules for

50:21

example, work on face-to-face combat, but

50:23

you can use them for a

50:25

ship-to-ship combat, the same principles that

50:27

you're playing, and I think that's

50:29

quite clever. So yeah, I think

50:31

the new kid on the top,

50:33

the tabletop, is West End Games,

50:35

Star Wars, which I want to

50:37

play some more of this year.

50:39

Yeah. Go. In 2020-25. What about

50:41

you? I think mine is a

50:43

clear-cut winner I suppose because like

50:45

you I've not I've not really

50:47

encountered and certainly not bought any

50:49

new systems this year apart from

50:52

doctor who the doctor who role-playing

50:54

yeah the second edition is a

50:56

story-based game by any chance I'm

50:58

not sure it is it has

51:00

things cause story points but to

51:02

be honest It is, I think

51:04

it's one of those story games.

51:06

I think it is. I think

51:08

it is. Maybe I won't, well

51:10

I'll never play again then. Go

51:12

on. It's, yeah, but I think

51:14

the, it's called the Vartex system,

51:16

isn't it? Yes, it does work

51:18

very well. It does work well.

51:20

I suppose it, I don't know

51:23

what you mean, but I suppose

51:25

the story, yeah, I call story

51:27

points, but there's a bit like,

51:29

a bit like Benny's in them,

51:31

savage world, but really what you

51:33

use in them, you would just

51:35

roll so it's not you can

51:37

use them to come up with

51:39

story detail but generally they use

51:41

they use mechanically I suppose that's

51:43

that's thing about but it's quite

51:45

I like it it's a second

51:47

edition and they always shied away

51:49

from buying the first edition because

51:51

I know myself and I know

51:54

my bank account yeah and then

51:56

the other, if I'd have bought

51:58

the first edition, all those separate

52:00

books about each doctor had a

52:02

bought more. He had bought them

52:04

all, because we did play it,

52:06

didn't we? You ran some. Yeah,

52:08

and we've done an episode on

52:10

it. Quite like it, but they've

52:12

done a second edition. which is

52:14

very similar it tweaks the game

52:16

a bit but not not much

52:18

I mean it's very much backwards

52:20

compatible as it is yes yes

52:22

yeah very much so but I

52:25

suppose what's kind of appealing about

52:27

it is they've condensed all the

52:29

stuff about the doctors into two

52:31

volumes so rather than buying 14

52:33

volumes got just by two yeah

52:35

all the background for all the

52:37

different ears of the doctor but

52:39

it's I suppose it was interesting

52:41

is what you said about Star

52:43

Wars It's very true about

52:45

Doctor Who. It's a very light,

52:47

easy system. But there's enough in

52:49

it to make it interesting. Yeah.

52:51

And it does capture Doctor Who.

52:54

It captures the stying of Doctor

52:56

Who. I mean, I know Doctor

52:58

Who in style has changed over

53:00

the years. You know, you look

53:02

at Tom Baker one and Joe

53:04

DiWittico one, they're a bit different.

53:06

But generally some of those kind

53:08

of key things. Give it the

53:10

feeling of Doctor Who. So you

53:12

can create time agents or unit

53:14

soldiers. There's all sorts of options.

53:16

But if you run a traditional

53:18

doctor who's story where there is

53:20

one of the doctors, oh you

53:22

create your own time lord, they're

53:24

a lot better, but they have

53:26

very few story points. Whereas the

53:28

companions are a bit rubbish, but

53:31

have loads of story points. And

53:33

they can argue that roles more.

53:35

than the doctor. So the doctrine

53:37

away is the sliding more jeopardy

53:39

than they are. And I ran

53:41

it at all there and I've

53:43

run it around it for you,

53:45

didn't I? For her Wednesday group.

53:47

And I think it's just a

53:49

really nice, it's a nice system.

53:51

I like, I like the system.

53:53

Yeah. I was still content. I

53:55

mean, I'm not being provocative. But

53:57

what I'm saying that, the space

53:59

for different types of games. And

54:01

you're right, you know, that. jeopardy

54:03

feeling of things hanging on a

54:05

dice is the experience that travel

54:08

abroad but I do think with

54:10

this the vortex system I think

54:12

it is really good it has

54:14

a certain flexibility around using story

54:16

elements that you because we came

54:18

up with a fantastical way of

54:20

it does it you're right it

54:22

does but I suppose it's I

54:24

suppose what I it's still comes

54:26

back to some roles at the

54:28

end of the day. Yeah, but

54:30

I never, at any time when

54:32

I'm playing that, I never feel

54:34

at any point where anything particularly

54:36

high risk. Yeah. Because it isn't

54:38

in Doctor Who, is it? It's

54:40

like it's my own jeopardy. No.

54:42

But I think what's interesting about

54:45

it, and I've not really done

54:47

this because the two times I've

54:49

run it, it's not really come

54:51

to that. But there is a

54:53

certain lethality with the weapons. So

54:55

some of the weapons in it,

54:57

yeah, have a thing where they

54:59

are lethal. So if they hit

55:01

you and you, they do a,

55:03

what's called a brilliant success. So

55:05

they roll two dice. One of

55:07

the dice is a six and

55:09

they do it. It's lethal. So

55:11

you are dead. You are dead.

55:13

Yeah. And the story points can

55:15

be used to adjust that role.

55:17

If you run out story points

55:19

and the Dalic hits you. Yeah.

55:22

But I know what you mean.

55:24

As long as you've got the

55:26

story points, you can avoid that

55:28

as in doctor who you can.

55:30

And another kind of good thing

55:32

about it is how quite a

55:34

very simple mechanism of combat order

55:36

gives it the feel of doctor.

55:38

Yeah. And that, yeah. What happens

55:40

in combat is. You talk, if

55:42

you want to talk, you can

55:44

talk, you want to run, you

55:46

can run, and then it's fighting

55:48

at the end. So if you

55:50

confront it by some darlacks, you

55:52

can try and talk to them

55:54

and fool them before they shoot

55:56

you. They can't shoot you until

55:59

you've either tried to fool them

56:01

or run away. And that is

56:03

very doctor, who is there. A

56:05

darlick never kind of fire first.

56:07

They're always... talk to him, don't

56:09

they? He offers him a jelly

56:11

baby or something. You know, that's,

56:13

yeah, and it's a very simple

56:15

thing, but it captures the flavor

56:17

of those stories very, very well.

56:19

Yeah, but, no, I enjoyed playing

56:21

it, it would be good to

56:23

play that more. I think we've

56:25

got in the, in the locker,

56:27

some actual play that we recorded,

56:29

if the aortons, I've never put

56:31

it out. Yeah, yeah, we did,

56:33

didn't we, with the original game.

56:35

The original game's good, let's say.

56:38

It's not, that's hugely different. There's

56:40

a bit of controversy. People who

56:42

like the first edition don't like

56:44

the second one, but I think

56:46

the only controversial thing for me

56:48

is that I have now got

56:50

a rulebook with a picture of

56:52

Bradley Walsh on the front cover.

56:54

So this is where we talk

56:56

about... stuff that we've done, events

56:58

that we've attended. And it's been

57:00

relatively, not been a lot of

57:02

it this year. There's no, because

57:04

I suppose like we say Grogner,

57:06

the Bayor rhythmsms, isn't it? Export,

57:08

export, Elber, Grogmy. But we've been

57:10

to, we've been to, women to

57:12

Elbert, Elber, the Wizards of Staff,

57:15

that's the one that's seen, Lemington

57:17

and Sbar. gaming film in the

57:19

regular. And my nomination is I

57:21

had the trip to that of

57:23

the fancy of London. Oh you

57:25

did, didn't you? I did, and

57:27

I went to an event that

57:29

was being held in a gallery

57:31

and it was a symposium about

57:33

role playing games, world building. It

57:35

was all of a very erudite.

57:37

Yeah. And interesting. It was like

57:39

the setting. I've wrote about it

57:41

on the blogs where you interested.

57:43

You can read about it there,

57:45

but it was like the setting

57:47

of, do you've problems in the

57:49

1980 in the 1980. In the

57:52

1980s. I don't you. Yeah, I

57:54

know like a concrete, it's something

57:56

that'd be on channel 4 with

57:58

her. You mean like the youth

58:00

program on the young ones, present?

58:02

Yeah, like Elton, thank you to

58:04

him. Yeah, yeah, yeah, that kind

58:06

of youth. for a year. Yeah.

58:08

It's scaffolding and bits of concrete

58:10

here and there. Are they not

58:12

finished it? It doesn't look like

58:14

it's finished. One of the people

58:16

that was there but wasn't there

58:18

but was beaming him from the

58:20

swamps of New Jersey. Stu, Horvam.

58:22

When he came on because he

58:24

does a vintage RPG podcast. He's

58:26

had a bookout this year and

58:29

he was there and he's been

58:31

interviewed interviewed and he gave. a

58:33

bit of wisdom that I've written

58:35

down of. I've got it held

58:37

and I've thought about it. Oh

58:39

yeah, and that is, RPGs defy

58:41

analysis. Yes, yes, it's a good

58:43

point though, isn't it? Yeah, a

58:45

very good point. And you can

58:47

see how most of the controversies

58:49

around RPGs, how you play them,

58:51

which are the best games, etc,

58:53

etc, etc. It's hard to analyze

58:55

it. You've got people doing actual

58:57

plays that you can watch and

58:59

go, oh, that's one way of

59:01

doing it. But a lot of

59:03

our PG's, they're just played by

59:06

people in online, like us, Roll

59:08

20, every other Wednesday. We do

59:10

our thing with people who like,

59:12

that's what we do. We do

59:14

it our way. There's no way

59:16

you can really say it's right

59:18

or wrong. Yeah. And I think,

59:20

in a way, that's the interesting

59:22

thing, isn't the modern, the modern,

59:24

the modern world world world where

59:26

you hear things where you hear

59:28

things, where you hear things, where

59:30

you hear things, where you hear

59:32

things, where you hear things, where

59:34

you hear things, where you hear

59:36

things, where you hear things, professional

59:38

GMs. I saw something online. I

59:40

think it was like a pub.

59:42

I can't remember what it was

59:45

called now. It was a pub

59:47

or a bar, right? But it

59:49

was, it ran D&D. It said,

59:51

oh, you come to this pub

59:53

and we'll show you how to

59:55

play D&D. It seemed to be

59:57

like latching on to the idea

59:59

that D&D was become more and

1:00:01

more popular and therefore people want

1:00:03

to play it. So you come

1:00:05

to our pub and we'll run

1:00:07

again. We have... professional GMs will

1:00:09

show you how to do it.

1:00:11

I'm sure you how to... to

1:00:13

do it. I didn't know why,

1:00:15

I think now I know why.

1:00:17

I think it is because it

1:00:19

is E20, this is more than

1:00:22

that, blah blah blah, courts. But

1:00:24

at the same time, like I

1:00:26

said, it puts me back up

1:00:28

a bit for that reason I

1:00:30

think. And it always has to

1:00:32

be. And until you quoted that

1:00:34

at me, I didn't know why.

1:00:36

I think no, I know why.

1:00:38

I think it is because it's

1:00:40

people trying to bracket it and

1:00:42

define it as this is how

1:00:44

you do it. This is how

1:00:46

you do it. Don't do it

1:00:48

like that. Do it like this.

1:00:50

We're professionals. Pay me money to

1:00:52

run a game because I know

1:00:54

what I'm doing. You don't know

1:00:56

what you do at. Doing this

1:00:59

game. You don't know what you're

1:01:01

doing. I know what I'm doing.

1:01:03

And that's the kind of thing

1:01:05

that I'm not sure you do

1:01:07

because it defies analysis. People do

1:01:09

all sorts of things with it,

1:01:11

don't they? Yeah. And people want

1:01:13

different things from it. So you

1:01:15

can take exactly the same game.

1:01:17

People will play it in totally

1:01:19

different ways. Even something like fifth

1:01:21

edition. D&D. You could take that,

1:01:23

the most popular game, etc, etc.

1:01:25

There are people who play it

1:01:27

as a dungeon crowd, but people

1:01:29

who play it wandering around water

1:01:31

deep, ordering the breakfast and buying

1:01:33

a fancy hat and never rolling

1:01:36

it, hardly rolling the dice. Then

1:01:38

there's other people who play it

1:01:40

as if it's about some geopolitical

1:01:42

campaign about people trying to control

1:01:44

different parts of the world and

1:01:46

all that kind of thing. They're

1:01:48

all playing the same game in

1:01:50

different ways. Yeah. It's actually fine.

1:01:52

Yeah, it's fine. And that's the

1:01:54

thing, he's right, he buys analysis.

1:01:56

Yeah, it's what's frustrates people about

1:01:58

it. It frustrates people about it.

1:02:00

I suppose it's what keeps people

1:02:02

in podcasts, isn't it? It is

1:02:04

on the TV podcast trying to

1:02:06

define it. But it also means

1:02:08

that's why when you go to

1:02:10

a convention, we've had this experience,

1:02:13

you go to a mention and

1:02:15

you find yourself playing a game

1:02:17

at a convention who thinking, well,

1:02:19

it's... I don't know, I don't

1:02:21

know, do it like this. But

1:02:23

that's just me not quite enjoying

1:02:25

that style, but that doesn't mean

1:02:27

it's wrong. It isn't, you know,

1:02:29

it's just a device to explore

1:02:31

something in the way that you

1:02:33

want to explore it. Yeah, so

1:02:35

that was, it was good there.

1:02:37

It was good just to have

1:02:39

a trip down till one did.

1:02:41

went into it and came away

1:02:43

and came home. It's really well

1:02:45

organized. It was called Plano Effect

1:02:47

Gaming Imagineries. It was by David

1:02:49

Blondett and Jamie Sutcliffe. So that

1:02:52

was really good. But he gave

1:02:54

me an idea. I don't know

1:02:56

if they'll have got enough on.

1:02:58

But we'd be good to organize

1:03:00

this symposium up here, won't they?

1:03:02

Other public chat. Yeah, a proper

1:03:04

chat about the thing that can't

1:03:06

be defined. Try and define the

1:03:08

thing that can't be defined. It'll

1:03:10

go. If you walk in, there's

1:03:12

a sign, don't worry, it can't

1:03:14

be defined, go to the pub.

1:03:16

So I get to see what

1:03:18

this time? Well, that's my random

1:03:20

in Kent. What's your random in

1:03:22

Kent? It's not that random, because

1:03:24

it's Paul Fricka. We know Paul,

1:03:26

don't I? So it's not Paul

1:03:29

Fricka. We know Paul, don't I?

1:03:31

So it's not really random. So

1:03:33

it's not really random, but it

1:03:35

is a random question thrown at

1:03:37

me. And what's the conversation about

1:03:39

the menu in the Indian? The

1:03:41

words conversation with the menu is

1:03:43

confusing menu. Yeah. It is a

1:03:45

bit like one of those role-playing

1:03:47

supplements that tells you everything about

1:03:49

the world in which these curries

1:03:51

come from. Yeah, yeah, yeah. The

1:03:53

history of the curries for 700

1:03:55

years. Yeah. I'm not out. 700

1:03:57

years of this career has been

1:03:59

made traditional in the Southeast Asia.

1:04:01

You think, yeah, what is it?

1:04:03

What is it? What am I

1:04:06

actually going to be getting here?

1:04:08

Yeah, I think me and Paul

1:04:10

were eating a green thing with

1:04:12

potatoes and it was like green

1:04:14

stuff with potatoes. But anyway, it's

1:04:16

quite nice. But it was, it

1:04:18

weren't all gel-fresi. But anyway, but

1:04:20

that's beside the point. But after

1:04:22

that, after we don't go over

1:04:24

the menu. He presented me with

1:04:26

this question. He said, what kind

1:04:28

of world? What kind of world,

1:04:30

fantasy world, is the world of

1:04:32

day and day? And I said,

1:04:34

what do you mean? He said,

1:04:36

well, you think about it. People

1:04:38

often talk about the world of

1:04:40

day and day being like this,

1:04:43

like that, like the other. But

1:04:45

it's not really like any fantasy

1:04:47

world. And yet, everyone understands it.

1:04:49

The world of D&D is like

1:04:51

Lord of the Rings. It's not

1:04:53

like Lord of the Rings, does

1:04:55

it really? It does elements of

1:04:57

that, but it's not like Lord

1:04:59

of the Rings. Is it like

1:05:01

Dineth, you know? No, it's not

1:05:03

like Dineth. No, it's not really

1:05:05

like any one fantasy. It's like

1:05:07

an amalgam. So he's talking about

1:05:09

like magic portions. He said, people

1:05:11

magic potions all over the place

1:05:13

in Lord of the Rings are

1:05:15

not really, is that. No. Or

1:05:17

in many. In anything, yeah. But

1:05:20

it's Alice and Wonderland. Magic Poetians,

1:05:22

Alice and Wonderland. So it's kind

1:05:24

of like brings together all these

1:05:26

different components of fantasy and make-believe

1:05:28

into this world that is a

1:05:30

world in its own right. It's

1:05:32

indeed is its own world. But

1:05:34

not just as its own world,

1:05:36

but it's a world. People understand

1:05:38

very quickly. Yeah, it's like a

1:05:40

linga franca of world. Yes, yeah,

1:05:42

yeah. That if you put it

1:05:44

in front of somebody, they instantly

1:05:46

get where it is, but it's

1:05:48

everything and nothing. It's everything and

1:05:50

nothing. Yeah, yeah. And he just

1:05:52

kind of paused his question to

1:05:54

be had a conversation about it

1:05:57

and like that. Again, that's kind

1:05:59

of stuck with me. It's sort

1:06:01

of weird thing of, yeah, it's

1:06:03

everything and nothing at once, isn't

1:06:05

it? It is really odd. And

1:06:07

it resonatesates as well, because I

1:06:09

think in the last podcast I

1:06:11

talked about. for grog meat, running

1:06:13

an old A&D module, because a

1:06:15

secret of bone health. And I'm

1:06:17

not doing that now. And one

1:06:19

of the reasons I'm not doing

1:06:21

it is because when I started

1:06:23

working on it, it all felt

1:06:25

a bit bland. It's a bit

1:06:27

like... Like you say, everything or

1:06:29

nothing. The world of D&D is

1:06:31

everything and nothing all at once.

1:06:33

This is a strange world where

1:06:36

there's some magic potions here, there's

1:06:38

a magical, this magical, that. There's

1:06:40

something very familiar about it and

1:06:42

you can see why it's a

1:06:44

popular game because in a way

1:06:46

if you present that to people

1:06:48

who've never played a role-playing game

1:06:50

and this kind of poles point

1:06:52

I think, they would cut on

1:06:54

to it very quickly. As I

1:06:56

was saying earlier, it's the problem

1:06:58

presenting a secondary world, isn't it?

1:07:00

Where it's not Earth, it's not

1:07:02

Earth, it's Earth, so what do

1:07:04

you present to people? With D&D,

1:07:06

it's cliched, but it also defines

1:07:08

cliched because it's its own thing.

1:07:10

Yes, it's its own thing, yeah,

1:07:13

it's pseudo medieval, not really. No,

1:07:15

it's like a mixture of times

1:07:17

in a way, ranging from Dark

1:07:19

Age, it's right through to... I

1:07:21

think we talked about this in

1:07:23

a podcast earlier this year, bordering

1:07:25

on 17th century kind of Europe.

1:07:27

It's had everything in between all

1:07:29

at once. With a bit of

1:07:31

the frontiers of Western America as

1:07:33

well. Yeah, yeah, a bit of

1:07:35

well western there as well. There's

1:07:37

a bit of everything. Like it's

1:07:39

a bit of lot of the

1:07:41

rings, a bit of lankmar, a

1:07:43

bit of a bit of corner.

1:07:45

a bit of Alice and Wonderland,

1:07:47

a bit of all sorts of

1:07:50

things that are in there that

1:07:52

comprise this world that people do

1:07:54

understand quite readily, whereas they say

1:07:56

other settings, maybe people wouldn't quite

1:07:58

understand those settings or get, not

1:08:00

so much understand them, but I

1:08:02

suppose maybe a false point is

1:08:04

very easy to slot into it

1:08:06

and operate as a player in

1:08:08

that world. Yeah, whereas you might

1:08:10

understand the world. at the universe

1:08:12

of travel, for example. You could

1:08:14

explain it to someone, but maybe

1:08:16

it's a bit trickier if you've

1:08:18

never played a role play again

1:08:20

to fit into that world. You

1:08:22

see what I mean? Yeah. That

1:08:24

was kind of really interesting conversation

1:08:27

because a bit like... a bit

1:08:29

like that and the thing about

1:08:31

the defy explanation when someone says

1:08:33

it you go yes I've always

1:08:35

thought that but you never thought

1:08:37

it I never thought it but

1:08:39

no you've said it that's what

1:08:41

I've been thinking and there's a

1:08:43

bit like Paul's comment I thought

1:08:45

oh yeah that's right that's the

1:08:47

thing I've always struggled with a

1:08:49

bit and like this secret of

1:08:51

Bon Hill I'm now running something

1:08:53

in the middle of the middle

1:08:55

of using Old School essential. That

1:08:57

has a little just got more

1:08:59

flavor to it and it's quite

1:09:01

a specific setting. Whereas day and

1:09:04

day is like, yeah, it's nothing

1:09:06

all at once. Oh sure, it's

1:09:08

my round. This point of the

1:09:10

year, we also like to reflect

1:09:12

on stuff that way. Quite glad

1:09:14

to see the back of. So

1:09:16

we imagine ourselves on a balloon.

1:09:18

Oh yeah, lifting. And so what

1:09:20

if you chucked out of the

1:09:22

balloon this year? No, I'm not.

1:09:24

I took out of the balloon.

1:09:26

You see, normally there's been some

1:09:28

kind of bad experience, hasn't it?

1:09:30

And I've chucked out of the

1:09:32

tower. There's been a really bad

1:09:34

experience. Game-wise? There's been some bad

1:09:36

experience life-wise, but game-wise, are there

1:09:38

anything? Well, I actually packaged those

1:09:40

things that have been bad in

1:09:43

life and chucked them. They've got

1:09:45

in the way of gaming. Yeah,

1:09:47

chucked them over the side. I

1:09:49

think that's what's going on. This

1:09:51

was the year that I finally

1:09:53

cut ties with Twitter. I'd agree

1:09:55

with you now, yeah. I suppose,

1:09:57

do you know, aren't they? But

1:09:59

it was, it was strangely... It

1:10:01

was a strange break up because

1:10:03

the Grognard file started as a

1:10:05

Twitter concept, which started on there,

1:10:07

myself and at Daily Dwarf. We

1:10:09

started about the same time and

1:10:11

we started reflecting on gaming from

1:10:13

the past and it became this

1:10:15

podcast. I just think it's made

1:10:17

me reflect a bit on the

1:10:20

whole thing of engaging on social

1:10:22

media. which was probably a biggest

1:10:24

percentage of the friction in my

1:10:26

life, my day-to-day existence a couple

1:10:28

years ago than it is now

1:10:30

and I feel better for it

1:10:32

that it's not as important as

1:10:34

it was. Yeah, I have a

1:10:36

very similar out. But I mean

1:10:38

you've always engaged with a bit

1:10:40

more than me, but there was

1:10:42

a point where I engaged with

1:10:44

Twitter. I think for a few

1:10:46

years now, actually, when I was

1:10:48

on Twitter, I've drifted away from

1:10:50

it. I kind of there, and

1:10:52

I like things, and it's good

1:10:54

for sending messages, gaming group messaging.

1:10:57

Direct messaging was quite useful, but

1:10:59

I agree with you. I'd certainly

1:11:01

for the last two, two and

1:11:03

a half years before coming off

1:11:05

it. I'd stopped really engaging with

1:11:07

it in terms of posting things.

1:11:09

It brought a lot of people

1:11:11

together, a lot of people that

1:11:13

are now our friends, formed through

1:11:15

that kind of community that was

1:11:17

built up. And you see Blue

1:11:19

Sky in many ways, as a

1:11:21

look and feel of Twitter 10,

1:11:23

8 years ago. But I feel

1:11:25

very little need to replicate that

1:11:27

experience of 8 years ago. glad

1:11:29

for it to just be a

1:11:31

kind of a side element. Well,

1:11:34

you know, I think someone said

1:11:36

this boy, the thing that, you

1:11:38

know what I dislike about social

1:11:40

media and the most, don't you?

1:11:42

What's that? It's the social aspects

1:11:44

of it. Do you know, I

1:11:46

like the most about social media.

1:11:48

Is it the social aspects of

1:11:50

it? That's kind of a irony

1:11:52

of it, really. It's like the

1:11:54

fact that there's all these people,

1:11:56

some of you just, people you

1:11:58

just don't just don't know. Banging

1:12:00

on about stuff. You think, oh,

1:12:02

for God's sake, I've been at

1:12:04

some more often party full of

1:12:06

people, you don't know of, but

1:12:08

what you're talking about. Well, the

1:12:11

other book, but equal, it's, if

1:12:13

it wasn't for Twitter, none of

1:12:15

this kind of would be happening.

1:12:17

So, the social side of it

1:12:19

is also a great thing. It's

1:12:21

kind of, boom. earlier this week

1:12:23

I went to co-op live to

1:12:25

see Paul Heaton, the beautiful side,

1:12:27

or the beautiful side that it

1:12:29

was written on the side and

1:12:31

he did a performance that and

1:12:33

it was full of people who've

1:12:35

packed and I saw a few

1:12:37

friends that some familiar faces and

1:12:39

they came over and said a

1:12:41

moment. went there. Then a part

1:12:43

way through it all kicked off

1:12:45

and people started punching each other

1:12:47

around me and that's a move

1:12:50

out. I thought that's Twitter isn't

1:12:52

it? Yes that's a good yeah

1:12:54

good analogy yeah you meet people

1:12:56

you like but then eventually everyone

1:12:58

start punching each other yeah if

1:13:00

you don't know we'll start punching

1:13:02

each other and somehow you'll be

1:13:04

caught in the middle of it.

1:13:06

Yeah that's exactly it. Yeah it's

1:13:08

a strange strange thing of The

1:13:10

social side of it is great.

1:13:12

We're all here to try and

1:13:14

enjoy ourselves, but if you decide

1:13:16

to ruin it, you decide to

1:13:18

ruin it by punching each other

1:13:20

here. Anyway, that's Twitter. Yeah, maybe

1:13:22

we both agree for once, that's

1:13:24

the thing that's going on the

1:13:27

side. Go by Twitter. Next up

1:13:29

is the Grogg pod of the

1:13:31

year. What would be your choice?

1:13:33

It's hard to judge, yeah, I

1:13:35

won work. I've been doing it

1:13:37

for the last hour, so you.

1:13:39

I haven't listened to the interviews

1:13:41

until they go out. No, no.

1:13:43

Yeah, I do have a different

1:13:45

check on it. You edit it,

1:13:47

so you've listened to it endlessly.

1:13:49

I record. Endlessly. Record it. Endlessly.

1:13:51

I might cut out one of

1:13:53

those endlessly, but I might leave

1:13:55

them only. Endlessly. Endlessly. Yeah, go

1:13:57

on. Endlessly. So yeah, I listen

1:13:59

to them once, but I try

1:14:01

to know. I always made it

1:14:04

difficult to pick a favorite, really.

1:14:06

Because I suppose, although I don't,

1:14:08

although I don't have that. I

1:14:10

have not edited them, but I

1:14:12

always have a bit, you've still

1:14:14

got a bit of knowledge behind

1:14:16

the scenes about, is it one

1:14:18

that you think, is it one

1:14:20

that you think, oh this is

1:14:22

going to be any good, oh

1:14:24

it is quite good, oh I

1:14:26

struggled with that, but it sounds

1:14:28

alright for me. editorial point of

1:14:30

view we wanted to again go

1:14:32

back to basics at the start

1:14:34

of this year and just going

1:14:36

to kind of turn over a

1:14:38

bit more in nostalgia a few

1:14:41

nostalgia buttons and that was a

1:14:43

deliberate choice and this year and

1:14:45

I think that we have done

1:14:47

it I do think in the

1:14:49

year ahead it would be good

1:14:51

just to as we said last

1:14:53

time just explore some games that

1:14:55

are not familiar to us but

1:14:57

it might be familiar to others.

1:14:59

Okay, do you want to know

1:15:01

what the, what the, what the

1:15:03

great, grog, grogly public. Well this

1:15:05

year, as you know, has been

1:15:07

a year of elections, so this

1:15:09

is a, I think in the

1:15:11

history, more people in the world

1:15:13

this year have engaged in the

1:15:15

democratic process. Yeah, that's true. And

1:15:18

any other side of the history,

1:15:20

I think the way it's all

1:15:22

fallen, I read that somewhere, yeah.

1:15:24

Okay, so this is the vote.

1:15:26

So we've got a joint second

1:15:28

place. Okay, yeah. Joint second place

1:15:30

at 15% of the vote. And

1:15:32

that is for the white wolf

1:15:34

covers with thunder phase. Okay, white

1:15:36

dwarf covers with thunder phase. Do

1:15:38

you remember that I do? Yeah,

1:15:40

I remember that. And the second

1:15:42

one was a joint second place

1:15:44

is monsters. with James Holloway monsters.

1:15:46

Oh yeah, yeah, I can see

1:15:48

that. That's a good, good interview,

1:15:50

some good insights into monsters I

1:15:52

think. I enjoy putting those monster

1:15:54

episodes together. And again, we've talked

1:15:57

about Paul Fricki's comment and the

1:15:59

comment from your symposium, but I

1:16:01

think James Holloway's comment has stuck

1:16:03

with me as well. Again, another

1:16:05

one of those things where you

1:16:07

think, yes, I've always known that,

1:16:09

I've never been out to articulate

1:16:11

or articulated where he said, the

1:16:13

things that I will oppose you

1:16:15

because generally the players will create.

1:16:17

their own characters, but the things

1:16:19

that are there in the game

1:16:21

book that I created for you

1:16:23

are the monsters. Yeah, it's true,

1:16:25

isn't it? In any game, it's

1:16:27

what's the opposition? What's the problem

1:16:29

that you're facing? Who are the

1:16:31

enemies? Who are the bad guys?

1:16:34

The antagonist shaped the game. Yeah,

1:16:36

that's right. The antagonist shaped the

1:16:38

game. It could be companies, monsters,

1:16:40

monsters, aliens, whoever. But that's, yeah.

1:16:42

but you've said it, but you've

1:16:44

said it. Obviously you stick to

1:16:46

say it. There you go. And

1:16:48

by a bit of a landslide

1:16:50

the one that our listeners enjoyed

1:16:52

the most was Traveler Revisited with

1:16:54

Mark Miller. Oh, right, okay. So

1:16:56

a big ban on the headline

1:16:58

end. You know, yeah, you get

1:17:00

that Spotify all wrapped up thing.

1:17:02

Oh yeah, yeah. Do you like...

1:17:04

Remind you things you were listening

1:17:06

to when you were drunk. Yeah.

1:17:08

Why steps on this? Oh, I

1:17:11

remember, yeah, I didn't know you

1:17:13

drunk or not. Number three artists.

1:17:15

Yeah, listen to tragedy a too

1:17:17

many times. 700% more people listen

1:17:19

to that episode than any other

1:17:21

episode. Really? So I, but it

1:17:23

had to come in, did it,

1:17:25

because the statistics would, like, be

1:17:27

on an even keel that, wouldn't

1:17:29

they? It's come back and it's

1:17:31

7% the next one and the

1:17:33

next one. So people came to

1:17:35

us, it's a Mark Miller, heard

1:17:37

us talk about hard knobs and

1:17:39

never came back. Yeah, yeah, I

1:17:41

thought the Mark Miller interview was

1:17:43

great, but then they started talking

1:17:45

about arm knobs in incomprehensible, it's

1:17:48

educational. And last and not least,

1:17:50

we award the groggy. Yes. of

1:17:52

the year, Groggy of the year,

1:17:54

we award a member of the

1:17:56

Groggs squad who we think and

1:17:58

he's as I shall mention. Yeah.

1:18:00

Worthy winners in the past. Yeah.

1:18:02

Go on. Open the Golden envelope.

1:18:04

And the Golden envelope. And it's

1:18:06

Roderick Hamilton. Organiser of Mark Khan.

1:18:08

Margaret has a special mention because

1:18:10

we said doing it with that

1:18:12

this year we've had a relatively

1:18:14

few conventions that we've attended. So

1:18:16

having a regular face-to-face group on

1:18:18

our doorstep in Manchester has been

1:18:20

good. It has had a regular

1:18:22

pattern. And it just goes to

1:18:25

show I think if you've got

1:18:27

somebody who is willing to... Keep

1:18:29

it going. Keep it going. Yeah,

1:18:31

and it used to be go

1:18:33

play and that stopped and he

1:18:35

and Roderick kind of picked up

1:18:37

the bat and so speak and

1:18:39

carried on with more come and

1:18:41

That's a good thing because without

1:18:43

him it would have stopped and

1:18:45

for us It's a it's our

1:18:47

like you say it's a face-to-face

1:18:49

thing we get five or six

1:18:51

face-to-face games in every year with

1:18:53

different people through that and it's

1:18:55

they sit on our doorstep. So

1:18:57

yeah, and it's a nice friendly

1:18:59

group of people who go there

1:19:02

happened to come along with play

1:19:04

a game and go for a

1:19:06

drink afterwards. Yeah, what's not to

1:19:08

like about that? So thanks Roderick

1:19:10

for keeping that going. Yeah, a

1:19:12

worthy winner. Right, that's it. Live

1:19:14

for another year. Yeah, no, yeah.

1:19:16

Where did they go? years. Better

1:19:18

they come from, but there we

1:19:20

go. 20-25. This going to be

1:19:22

the year. Once we hit August.

1:19:24

Oh, we've been doing this nonsense

1:19:26

for 10-year. It does

1:19:28

longer. It does. There is

1:19:31

another bit. So there you

1:19:33

have it. 2024. As I'm

1:19:35

recording this, I'm just on

1:19:38

the brink of doing 2024s.

1:19:40

Grog meat, which has been

1:19:42

deferred to January 2025, for

1:19:45

reasons I won't go into

1:19:47

right now. Yes, I've not

1:19:49

got a lot of time

1:19:52

available, so I'm going to

1:19:54

keep this one quite short,

1:19:56

just to say thank you

1:19:59

for listening. Thank you for

1:20:01

sharing. Thanks for reviewing. Thanks

1:20:03

for staying with us all

1:20:06

through this year. And particular

1:20:08

thanks to the patrons, old

1:20:11

and new, who have contributed

1:20:13

to making sure that this

1:20:15

thing stays on the road. Please,

1:20:17

in 2025, if you do nothing

1:20:20

else, pass it on to someone

1:20:22

else. Yes, this is going to

1:20:24

be the 10th year of the

1:20:26

Grognard files and we've got a

1:20:28

few things planned up our sleeves

1:20:31

but until then adiosome he

1:20:33

goes.