The Goblins and Growlers Podcast

Review: Critical Role’s “The Legend of Vox Machina” Episodes 4-6 | The Goblins and Growlers Podcast

Review: Critical Role’s “The Legend of Vox Machina” Episodes 4-6
Episode Introduction
Brandon and Gabe are back with a review of episodes 4-6 of "The Legend of Vox Machina" from Critical Role and Prime Video. This batch of episodes feels so much more cohesive than episodes 1, 2 and 3. The story gets rolling kept us engaged through all three 24-minute installments. After the somewhat bumpy episodes 1 and 2, it feels like the show has hit its stride. We're invested now and would be binging them for our own enjoyment even if we weren't recording reviews! Also: it's a spoiler review.
A couple of notes:
- No timecodes for this one. It was a much less structured discussion because we didn't have to rehash things like animation quality, etc. It's more or less chronological through the episodes.
- Next week's review should come out on Monday. This one came out Tuesday because Monday was already the regular bi-weekly GGP release.
These second batch of three episodes of this 12-episode series dropped on Friday, Feb. 4. Three additional episodes will be released every Friday with the season concluding on Feb. 18.
P.S.: Minimal editing on this one given the tight turnaround, folks. Forgive all the “ums,” “uhs,” and “likes.”

Amnesia Campaigns: Who Am I? Why Am I Here!

Amnesia Campaigns: Who Am I? Why Am I Here!
Episode Introduction
Noah Downs (he's a lawyer, but he's a cool lawyer) returns this week to talk with us about amnesia campaigns. How fun is it when your players have no idea who they are or what they're doing. If you're not as old as me, you can Google "Admiral Stockdale debate" to see the first thing I thought of when we discussed talking about this topic.
Noah's reasons for discussing this aren't entirely altruistic, however. He has a new amnesia campaign actual-play podcast to push. Follow "Forgotten Paths" on all the podcast platforms to join Noah and his players as they answer the who, what, where, when, and why of their existence.
About Noah: Noah Downs (@MyLawyerFriend) is an experienced gaming, entertainment, and intellectual property attorney at Premack Rogers P.C.. He is also a part-time GM on Twitch, and is the GM/Lead Writer for the Forgotten Paths D&D 5E Live-Play Podcast. You can find Noah on Twitch, Twitter, and TikTok at @MyLawyerFriend, and you can find the Forgotten Paths Podcast on your favorite podcatcher, or by following @paths_forgotten on Twitter.
Production note: I've listed the topics below in order, but no time codes, because I wrote them all down BEFORE I realized I hadn't trimmed some stuff from the beginning or added music, so they were all off my a few minutes. We can only do the best we can and try to do better the next time.

Review: Critical Role’s “The Legend of Vox Machina” Episodes 1-3 | The Goblins and Growlers Podcast

Review: Critical Role’s “The Legend of Vox Machina” Episodes 1-3
Episode Introduction
Josh was busy this weekend, so Brandon and Gabe hijacked the podcast to do a review of the new “Critical Role” animated series, “The Legend of Vox Machina.” Gabe is a casual fan of “Critical Role” who fell out of regular listening because of the episode length. Brandon actually has never seen or listened to an episode of “Critical Role,” so he’s going into this series knowing nothing but with an open heart and open mind. Join them as they discuss the ups and downs of the first three episodes, the first two of which were essentially a two-part pilot, followed by a third episode that sets up the Briarwood arc. Spoilers within. Timecodes after the jump.
These first three episodes of this 12-episode series dropped (to the public) on Friday, Jan. 28. Three additional episodes will be released every Friday with the season concluding on Feb. 18.
Spoiler you won’t mind hearing: We enjoyed it.
P.S.: Minimal editing on this one given the tight turnaround, folks. Forgive all the “ums,” “uhs,” and “likes.”

How to Legally Publish Your RPG Content, Interview with Attorney Noah Downs | The Goblins and Growlers Podcast

How to Legally Publish Your TTRPG Content
Episode Introduction
We’re joined by guest Noah Downs (he’s a lawyer, but he’s a cool lawyer) to talk about OGLs and SRDs, the alphabet soups of publishing tabletop role-playing game content. Noah tells us about how Wizards of the Coast’s Open Gaming License works and how you can use the Fifth Edition System Reference Document to legally create content you can publish and monetize. We also discuss fan-content policies for podcasts and copyright and trademark basics.
About Noah: Noah Downs (@MyLawyerFriend) is an experienced gaming, entertainment, and intellectual property attorney at Premack Rogers P.C.. He is also a part-time GM on Twitch, and is the GM/Lead Writer for the Forgotten Paths D&D 5E Live-Play Podcast. You can find Noah on Twitch, Twitter, and TikTok at @MyLawyerFriend, and you can find the Forgotten Paths Podcast on your favorite podcatcher, or by following @paths_forgotten on Twitter.

”The End,” a tabletop RPG about the Apocalypse

”The End,” a tabletop RPG about the Christian Apocalypse
Episode Introduction
Josh and Brandon discuss 1995’s “The End” from Scapegoat Games. It’s a role-playing game based on the Christian Apocalypse and was kicked out of GenCon for its use of religious imagery. It’s bleak, interesting, and maybe came before its time. They also start down a rabbit hole of investigation and mystery as they try to get in touch with its creator to talk about how it came to be. Hopefully there will be a Part 2 to this with interviews!- Full show notes after the jump -

James Bond 007: Role Playing In Her Majesty’s Secret Service

James Bond 007: Role Playing In Her Majesty’s Secret Service
Join Josh and Brandon as they enter a world of espionage, intrigue, and dice-rolling, with Victory Games’ TTRPG “Role Playing in Her Majesty’s Secret Service”.
A brief news item about Wizards of the Coast rebooting and retconning in their latest Errata to eliminate more insensitive portrayals and stereotyping from Dungeons and Dragons. Not surprising and another step in their reaction to 2020. It’s a good move.  (01:19)
A second item about Ernie (son of Gary) Gygax’s new TSR and its nonsensical lawsuit against Wizards of the Coast for trademarks of old TSR content. They also were demanding removal of WotC’s legacy disclaimer. Come on, now.
Main discussion: 1983’s “James Bond 007” roleplaying game from Victory Games. It places you in a world of espionage taken straight from the world of Ian Fleming’s master spy: Bond, James Bond. You can play as known quantities from the movies such as Bond, Felix Lighter, Anya Amasova and others or create your own Double-O agent (or rookie). We also talk about our favorite Bond movies! (10:41)
Click here for full show notes, including links to what we talk about and images

Magic Versus Realism in Your Game Setting

Low Magic? No Magic? No Problem! We Finance!
What kind of settings do you enjoy more? Heavy magic, low magic, or a more realistic milieu with near-zero casting? This episode we discuss merits and preferences on the level of magic in a gaming setting. Just a freewheeling discussion about magic levels. Tweet at us or email at contact@goblinsandgrowlers.com to tell us what you think!
We also quickly touch base on a new release for "Boy Problems," the Carly Rae Jepsen TTRPG. Go to boyproblems.itch.io to check out "Side B" and support this creator. And you can check out our episode on "Boy Problems," too!
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The Goblins and Growlers Podcast is produced by Goblins and Growlers, a Richmond, Virginia-based tabletop-roleplaying-game content and events company dedicated to inclusivity through TTRPGs.
LINKS!
Sister podcast, an actual-play: Quid Pro Roll
Support: Patreon, itch.io.
Discord: Join the Goblins and Growlers Discord! We've even got a channel dedicated to discussing new episodes of GGP!
Twitter: Brandon Josh

Can you play a game in your sleep? Interview with game designer Cezar Capacle

Interview with game designer Cezar Capacle
So, we all know you don't necessarily need dice for a fun tabletop experience, but can you get away without waking consciousness?
In today's episode, Brandon interviews Cezar Capacle, a game designer from Brazil who's trying to push the limits of what a TTRPG can be. Cezar talked to us while he was in the middle of making a huge trans-Atlantic change in his life, so we really appreciate him taking the time to talk.
You can show your appreciation, too, by checking out his itch.io store at https://capacle.itch.io/. Follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/capacle. If you want all his links, you can grab them at https://capacle.bio.link/
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The Goblins and Growlers Podcast is produced by Goblins and Growlers, a Richmond, Virginia-based tabletop-roleplaying-game content and events company dedicated to inclusivity through TTRPGs.
LINKS!
Sister podcast, an actual-play: Quid Pro Roll
Support: Patreon, itch.io, and BigCartel!
Discord: Join the Goblins and Growlers Discord at bit.ly/goblindiscord! We've even got a channel dedicated to discussing new episodes of GGP!
Twitter: Brandon Josh

Return to Dark Tower

Restoration Games' Return to Dark Tower
"Dark Tower" is an early electronic board game from way back in the early 1980s. It was pretty revolutionary (and legitimately fun) for the late 70s/early 80s, but you definitely could put it in the category of "reach exceeded grasp." Imagine if someone used the Antikythera Mechanism to play Fortnite.
It was expensive, easy to break, and Milton Bradley stole the idea from the original creators. Now it's still expensive, mostly broken, and incredibly difficult to find. Fortunately Restoration Games is bringing it back in a more modern form. Josh and Brandon discuss the game, its history, and spend an awful lot of time talking about Orson Welles.
Are you missing out if you've never sat and watched Maurice LaMarche going on and on in his Orson Welles impression? Yes, Always! 
Restoration Games: https://restorationgames.com/return-to-dark-tower/
Orson Welles Dark Tower Commercial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxrY7MWEkwE
Dark Tower Tabletop Simulator: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYV6btuD5-I
Orson Welles Frozen Peas Audio: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyko_oQ0da8
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The Goblins and Growlers Podcast is produced by Goblins and Growlers, a Richmond, Virginia-based tabletop-roleplaying-game content and events company dedicated to inclusivity through TTRPGs.
LINKS!
Sister podcast, an actual-play: Quid Pro Roll
Support: Patreon itch.io and BigCartel!
Discord: Join the Goblins and Growlers Discord at bit.ly/goblindiscord!
Twitter: Brandon Josh

Unearthed Arcana: Travelers of the Multiverse

Unearthed Arcana: Travelers of the Multiverse
A couple of things going on here, so we've included some timestamps!
First, right before we started recording we found some news about the Star Wars RPG we'd been talking about for a couple of episodes, so we give an update on that. Then next (9:18) we talk about the new Travelers of the Multiverse Unearthed Arcana from Wizards of the Coast -- Giff, Thri-Kreen, Plasmoids, and more. We know there's a multiverse book coming out, but does this mean we're also going to get 5e setting guides for Dark Sun, Spelljammer and Planescape? I sure hope so.
Brandon mentions an amazing Dark Sun history video at about the 46-minute mark. Here's a link to that. It's almost three-hours long, but it's absolutely worth it if you want to learn about the setting.
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The Goblins and Growlers Podcast is produced by Goblins and Growlers, a Richmond, Virginia-based tabletop-roleplaying-game content and events company dedicated to inclusivity through TTRPGs.
LINKS!
Sister podcast, an actual-play: Quid Pro Roll
Support: Patreon itch.io and BigCartel!
Discord: Join the Goblins and Growlers Discord at bit.ly/goblindiscord!
Twitter: Brandon Josh