May Newsletter: Goblins and Growlers Gazette

⚡ (Total read time: 2.9 minutes) ⚡

Hello, friends! This month we’re talking alien languages, free minis, and changes to D&D Beyond. Check out this great short interview with D&D’s lead designer (and many other things), Jeremy Crawford, in Gayming Magazine. He’s being honored on June 25 and talks about what D&D meant to him growing up and how it was a safe, inclusive, and representative space. He calls out a lot of the things that we love about TTRPGs.

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 extraterrestrial game you need to try
🔥 1 hot take from The Goblins and Growlers Podcast (there might actually be a few)
🧭 Goblins in the wild: Upcoming events

🗞️ 3 must-know gaming news nuggets

• 🧛🏼 Do you want a free Strahd mini? (Dig Deeper)

  • WizKids has announced three free minis for Free RPG Day 2024 on June 22.

  • One is a super-cool Strahd and the other two are gem dragon wyrmlings.

  • Best practice: Call your friendly local gaming store ahead of June 22 to make sure you’ll be able to get one of these!
    

• 🤖 WotC Publishes an FAQ on generative AI use. (Dig Deeper)

  • It’s in response to the recent public instances of AI assets finding their way into D&D and Magic.

  • They don’t address every instance publicly.

  • They’re trying to balance transparency with privacy.

  • It’s worth a read if for no other reason than to finally get an idea where their head is at after a lot of confusion and multiple vague statements.

• 🛌🥓 Yazeba’s Bed & Breakfast released. (Dig Deeper)

  • Kind of a lo-fi collaborative storytelling game where you build on the lives of residents of a B&B and surrounding area.

  • Raised $300k on IndieGoGo to produce some gorgeous hardback books

  • “The Quiet Year” creator Avery Alder was a developmental consultant so, if you like that game, you’ll love this.

🏺 “Is this what being an archaeologist is like??”

🌙 City of Six Moons. I dare you to read this Dicebreaker story and not want to buy this game immediately when it comes out in June. CoSM is a board game written in an entirely alien language that the player has to decipher in to play. It’s a single-player game and that single player has to both use and challenge their own cultural biases regarding an alien civilization. Sagan would be proud. The designer, Amabel Holland, says that players will never know if they’ve cracked the code and that she isn’t going to answer any questions about the rules. I cannot, I repeat, cannot, overstate how excited I am for this game to come out. Keep an eye on their website for release.

This whole premise is basically “The Chase,” one of my favorite episodes of “Star Trek: The Next Generation.”

🎧 3 1 hot takes from The Goblins and Growlers Podcast

• 🛍️ WotC nixes D&D Beyond a la carte purchases. We dive into this and a few other news items like the new SRD also being added to Creative Commons and an update on older editions of D&D being released into CC. (Spotify)

• We took Memorial Day off for self-care, but we’ll be back with a full release slate in June.

🧭 Goblins in the wild: Where to find us.

• RippleCon. June 22 at the Richmond Public Library main branch. We’ll have a booth and will be doing a few panels throughout the day. Come say hi and help us share the TTRPG love with RVA.

• TooManyGames. We’re heading back to Philadelphia June 28-30. Come see us and a bunch of other gaming and tabletop folks if you’re in the Philly/Oaks area at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center.

🍿 What snacks can you not buy anymore?

Some years ago, Kroger released a private-label brand of prime rib and horseradish-flavored potato chips. They were ambrosiac and I bought many, many bags. Then they pulled them a few years ago. I miss them. What favorite snacks of yours have been discontinued?

Have a good one!
Brandon