March Newsletter: Goblins and Growlers Gazette

šŸ‰ Hasbro CEO talks AI in D&D, NASA's fantasy adventure game, Daggerheart's story-driven playtest, No-magic paleolithic 5E game reaches Kickstarter goal!

āš” (Total read time: 3 minutes) āš”

Good Thursday to you. Iā€™m working on this newsletter as we get ready to roll on down to Winston-Salem, NC, for Triad Anime Con to do some tabletop panels and performances ā€” hope to see you there while we enjoy some Cheerwine and Krispy Kremes. Some interesting stuff this month with D&Dā€™s ā€œForbidden Doorā€ of content breaking down, the Hasbro CEO openly talking about AI use, and NASAā€™s fantasy RPG setting. (And if you havenā€™t, please subscribe to the GG YouTube channel šŸ“ŗ )

P.S. I think this is the one-year anniversary of the newsletter? Thanks for reading!

In this monthā€™s newsletter:

šŸ—žļø 3 must-know gaming news nuggets
ā¤ļø 1 awesome playtest you need to try
šŸ”„ 2 hot takes from the podcast
šŸ§­ Goblins in the wild: Upcoming events

šŸ—žļø 3 must-know gaming news nuggets

  • āš”ļø Kobold Pressā€™ ā€œTome of Beasts 1ā€ now available on DnD Beyond. (Dig Deeper)

    • The latest in a trickle of third-party D&D content to appear on the WotC-owned platform.

    • You can add ToB1 to your DnDBeyond library for $39.99.

    • If youā€™re on the jazz for more third-party materials, Hit Point Pressā€™ ā€œHumblewoodā€ is there for $49.99.

  • šŸ¤– Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks talks about AI uses for D&D and MtG (Read the Interview)

    • Cocks says the company is currently doing R&D on AI use.

    • He mainly focuses on the idea of mining D&Dā€™s 50-years of content by uploading it into a large language model that can remix it for audiences.

    • The interview is worth a read and we analyze it and speculate on Mondayā€™s episode of ā€œThe Goblins and Growlers Podcast.ā€ (plz subscribe)

  • šŸ‘¶šŸ§Š Born From Ice hits its KS funding goal. (Dig Deeper)

    • Loren Smallā€™s paleolithic no-magic 5e setting reached its $40,000 target with plenty of time to spare.

    • Thereā€™s a stretch goal for Neanderthals as a playable species if they make it to $50,000.

    • The KS runs through April 2, so you still have time to support it.

    • Check out this episode of ā€œThe Goblins and Growlers Podcastā€ for an interview with Loren. Video below ā¬‡ļø

ā¤ļø 1 awesome playtest you need to try

šŸ—”ļøā¤ļø Daggerheart. This game from Darrington Press has been making some noise as itā€™s in its open beta playtesting phase. Think of it as an RPG system thatā€™s kind of a midpoint between a stats-driven system such as 5E and a purely narrative game like ā€œThe Quiet Year.ā€ According to their website, itā€™s slated to release in 2025, but you can sign up for the free beta now and get an incomplete but totally playable version of their core rules. Thereā€™s also a fair bit of cinematic play mixed in with a combat system thatā€™s devoid of initiative or rounds and instead relies on narrative guidance from players. And the ā€œHopeā€ and ā€œFearā€ dice system offers the kind of ā€œsucceed with costā€ and ā€œfail forwardā€ mechanics I like to see in my games more and more.

Daggerheart art by Jessica Nguyen

šŸŽ§ 2 hot takes from the podcasts

  • šŸ”­ Hubble Trouble. Some folks in the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center wrote and released a system-neutral, educational tabletop roleplaying game centering around the Hubble Telescope. Itā€™s an interesting mix of science, magic, and a little bit of Quantum Leap. If youā€™re looking for a way to get younger kids interested in space AND tabletop games at the same time, then look no further into the Cosmic Background Radiation than this. (Spotify)

  • šŸ‰šŸ““ Alarian Archives: Josh (Solanar) and Alex (Aelita) do a ā€œQuid Pro Rollā€ deep dive into Vyrionā€™s Chromatic Dragon Priests and discuss Ilpihelā€™s origin in this behind-the-scenes episode. (Spotify)

šŸ§­ Goblins in the wild: Where to find us.

  • šŸ”ŗšŸ—¾ Triad Anime Con. The Goblin contingent will be returning to Triad Anime Con March 29-31 in Winston-Salem, NC. Panels! Performances! Hanging out and chatting with folks in the vendor room! Come see us if youā€™re planning on hitting up the con.

  • šŸ„³ Richmond-area RPG Social. If youā€™re in the neighborhood this weekend, local gaming store One-Eyed Jacques in Carytown is hosting an RPG meet-and-greet on March 30 from 2 until 6. Supes casual setting for folks to meet up with other gamers and gaming orgs in the area. A few of our folks will be there flying the G&G flag.

  • Also: Follow us on Facebook and join the Discord for our public gaming events

šŸ•ļø Time to start planning camping trips

Itā€™s cold and rainy as I write this, but weā€™ve had enough warm weather that Iā€™m excited about camping season. Years ago, we talked about hosting a G&G camping event thatā€™s basically D&D in the woods. Let me know if thatā€™s something folks are interested in and we might be able to make it happen.

Have a good one!
Brandon

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