April Newsletter: Goblins and Growlers Gazette

⚡ (Total read time: 2.6 minutes) ⚡

Hello hello. We’re glad you’re here and hope your spring has sprung. If you’re new to the email list because we met you at Triad Anime Con or one of our recent Richmond events, welcome! In this issue, we’ve got a huge RPG bundle for a good cause, Roll20 being dragged into the modern age, AI in D&D, and Crusader Kings (sort of) in TTRPG form.

Let us know what you’d like to see in this newsletter. We’ve been doing these monthly for about a year and want to continue giving you want you want. Hit us up at [email protected]. Or, you know, Discord.

(And if you haven’t, please subscribe to the GG YouTube channel 📺 )

In this month’s newsletter:

🗞️ 3 must-know gaming news nuggets
❤️ 1 awesome playtest you need to try
🔥 3 hot takes from The Goblins and Growlers Podcast
🧭 Goblins in the wild: Upcoming events

🗞️ 3 must-know gaming news nuggets

• 🌈 TTRPGs for Trans Rights bundle. (Dig Deeper)

  • This year, purchases benefit Project Rainbow, West Virginia’s only LGBTQ+ shelter and advocacy center.

  • You can get 529 mostly indie TTRPGs for $5.

  • With just over a month to go, they’re close to 30% of their $50,000 goal.
    

• 🎲 Roll20 Discord Integration Coming. (Dig Deeper)

  • Service will allow you to run a fully featured version of Roll20 within Discord along with voice and chat functions.

  • Beta testing begins April 30.

  • At least one party member needs a Roll20+ Pro subscription.

• 💸 Hasbro in “turnaround” phase in 2024. (Dig Deeper)

  • Dicebreaker article is a great summary of their Q1 investor call outlining their wins, struggles, and strategies going into the year.

  • WotC and Digital are carrying the company thanks to continued revenue from “Baldur’s Gate 3.”

  • WotC revenue is expected to be down 7-12% from 2023 with BG3’s influence waning and no MTG set with the potential of Tales of Middle-Earth.

👑 1 awesome generational RPG you need to try

🏰 Kingdoms. If you’ve ever played Mork Borg and thought “I wish this were more like ‘Crusader Kings’” (or vice versa), then you should check out “Kingdoms” from Sophia Tinney. The game plays on the familiar micro-level of adventuring and combat, but also on the macro level of building your civilization, ruling it, going to war, etc. But you also play generationally; characters move through different life stages in each session and then you play the next generation in the subsequent session. There’s a (whole) lot more to it than that, but if you dig that kind of complex, multilayered play, then this is can’t miss. You can get the PDF for $10 and the Print + PDF for $20. The book has a zine feel and is worth getting in print.

🎧 3 hot takes from The Goblins and Growlers Podcast

• 🤖 Hasbro CEO: Let’s Use AI in Dungeons & Dragons. Chris Cocks gave an interview where he discussed the active R&D they’re doing to figure out how to “mine 50 years of D&D content” and pair it with AI. We discuss. (Spotify)

• 🃏 Heckna, Heckna, Read All About It: We review Hit Point Press’ 5E-compatible campaign that reminds us of a fancy version of a sketchy carnival. Was it influenced by Ravenloft? Maybe. Was it influenced by Kefka from Final Fantasy 6? Definitely. (Spotify)

• 🪟 Castle of the Wind-ows 3.1: Josh takes us back to his childhood to talk about this Shareware gem from the late 80s. It’s a great roguelike RPG, but it also underscores why Win 3.1 was a business OS and not designed for gaming. (Spotify)

🧭 Goblins in the wild: Where to find us.

• No major events in May aside from our regular gaming events at Stone Brewing and Unplugged RVA. Join the Discord for more info! We’ve got a couple of events coming up in June, so stay tuned here for info on those.

🕹️ When not rolling dice, he can be found…

Sometimes I feel like I talk about tabletop stuff too much, but I bet my friends will tell you that I talk about arcade games or Star Trek too much. What’s your favorite non-tabletop gaming hobby/thing to do?

Have a good one!
Brandon