June Newsletter: Goblins and Growlers Gazette

⚡ (Total read time: 2.6 minutes) ⚡

I’m in a huge hurry. I’m writing this at 10 p.m. on June 27 and I have to leave for Too Many Games in Philadelphia at 7(ish) a.m. on the 28th, so I gotta get to bed. This month has some sad news about news but some good news for folks who care about the air-speed velocity of an unladen swallow. Be sure to check out the Goblins and Growlers Podcast this month, too, as we look at the overall economic situation for non-D&D tabletop in these uncertain times.

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:

🗞️ 2 must-know gaming news nuggets
❤️ 1 awesome bite-sized game you need to try
🔥 2 hot takes from The Goblins and Growlers Podcast
🧭 Goblins in the wild: Upcoming events

🗞️ 3 2 must-know gaming news nuggets

• 📰 Dicebreaker shut down after IGN purchase (Dig Deeper)

  • What a bummer. Dicebreaker was one of the best sites for tabletop news and they were all laid off after IGN bought the site’s parent company.

  • It’s the same old story of consolidation that’s affecting all legacy and digital media. Ask me about it sometime. I worked in the news industry for 15 years.

  • Site’s still live, but no updates since May 😟 
    

• 👑 Pendragon 6E releases. (Dig Deeper)

  • Get the newest edition of Chaosium’s classic Arthurian RPG system in hardcover and PDF for $49.99 and $24.99, respectively.

  • I’ve wanted to play this forever because it offers my second-favorite game feature: generational play. You can have kids and then play as them.

  • They’ve released a campaign, The Grey Knight, along with the Core Rules. It’s $14.99 on DriveThruRPG.

👛 Let me give you my card.

💰 Dungeons & Wallets. OK, so this isn’t anything groundbreaking, but I found it charming. Dungeons & Wallets is a zero-prep, GM-optional game that you play with no more than 8 business cards. It’s simple, it’s easy, it’s fun and I like any game that lowers the entry barrier to play. Plus it’s pay what you want on creator Archmage Arispen’s itch.io page. And, if you want something you can put your hands on, they’re selling physical versions on their Etsy page. I love these because I like the challenge of writing one-page dungeons and seeing how much of a compelling story I can create with limited space, so this is a little next level.

🎧 2 hot takes from The Goblins and Growlers Podcast

• 🔮 Will We See Another Massive TTRPG Kickstarter? After Tales of the Valiant and DC20, will third-party creators be able to hit seven figures on Kickstarter for their new systems? We perform some minor analytical journalism to find out. (Spotify)

• 💀 That New Vecna Book. Josh takes a look at the new Vecna book from Wizards of the Coast. It's been hyped a bunch and is the marquee release of the year (unless you care a whole whole lot about the revised Core Rules). One of the top contenders for the name of today's episode was "Quantum Leap Fetch Quest." (Spotify)

🧭 Goblins in the wild: Where to find us.

• TooManyGames. We’re heading back to Philadelphia June 28-30. In fact, we’re getting on the road at right about the same moment this newsletter is going out. Come see us and a bunch of other gaming and tabletop folks at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center if you’re in the Philly/Oaks area.

🥹 Let’s be joyful and remember joyful things.

I hate to end on a down note, but Dicebreaker shutting down has got me in that mood so let’s try and generate some positive memories. What’s a website you used to go to all the time, but now it’s either not around anymore or you just grew out of it? Do you still think about it and the joy it brought you for a time? For me, it’s a toss-up between YTMND and the SomethingAwful Forums.

Have a good one!
Brandon