Josh and Art take some time to highlight upcoming crowdfund indie titles. They start with talking about Absurdia, a modern take on paranormal TTRPGs.

Hey! We produce a ton of Patreon-exclusive episodes! Check us out on Patreon (http://www.patreon.com/goblinsgrowlers) for bonus Deep Dive videos along with early access to the video and audio of the podcast.

Telephone, Telegraph, Tell a Friend about the Goblins and Growlers Podcast.

→ Bonus episodes and early access on Patreon (http://patreon.com/goblinsgrowlers) → Subscribe to our monthly gaming newsletter (https://goblinsandgrowlers.beehiiv.com/subscribe) → Join the Goblins and Growlers Discord (http://bit.ly/goblindiscord)

LISTEN, RATE, AND SUBSCRIBE!

If you like the show, please tell a friend about it. And if you want to tell more people, then please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts and/or your podcatcher of choice. You can find and/or support us at all the places below:

https://patreon.com/goblinsgrowlers

https://facebook.com/GoblinsAndGrowlers

https://goblinsandgrowlers.podbean.com (and basically any other podcatcher) https://quidproroll.podbean.com (our sister podcast, the best narrative play)

Josh and Art are joined by special guest, co-founder of Dice Dungeons Jarrett Butler to talk about their upcoming Kickstarter campaign for their cryptid-themed bestiary, P.T. Lamark’s Cryptid Codex. Jarrett shares insights into a few of the creatures we can expect blocks for, as well as an exploration into the design philosophies of the book, including a couple of illustrations by Zora.

On Patreon: Check out this week's bonus podcast

Critical Role shocked fans by choosing 5E for Campaign 4. What does this mean for Daggerheart’s future?

Critical Role stunned fans by announcing Campaign 4 will be played in Dungeons & Dragons 5E instead of their own system, Daggerheart. Inverlyst is joined by attorney and podcaster Noah Downs (@MyLawyerFriend) and TTRPG streamer Captain Robear (@CaptainRobear) to break down the decision. Was this a cautious business move, a matter of playability, or a sign of hesitation in their homegrown game?

----more----

Together, they explore community expectations, the risks of multi-table West Marches-style play, and what this pivot means for third-party creators, streaming platforms, and the future of TTRPG dominance.

BEHOLD THE RELEVANT LINKS

✦ Patreon: Get extra goblin bants and rants - http://patreon.com/goblinsgrowlers

✦ Discord: Join the goblins in the communal goo - http://bit.ly/goblindiscord

✦ Guest, Noah Downs: Noah Downs, boss friend to the stars, can be found as @MyLawyerFriend (Email me!) on socials and on his podcast, Forgotten Paths -https://www.podbean.com/podcast-detail/xfmyi-24a540/Forgotten-Paths-Podcast

✦ Guest, Captain RoBear: Cap't RoBear, streaming engagement demon and irl teddybear, can be found as @CaptainRoBear on socials and on his channels over on Twitch (https://twitch.tv/captainrobear) and YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@CaptainRoBear)

Critical Role isn't using Daggerheart for Campaign 4! There are a lot of good business reasons for that, but there's still an element of poor planning there that's hard to overlook.

WotC's new Unearthed Arcana is an air raid siren telling us that they're planning a Dark Sun release, likely in 2026. This is a huge change from perceived sentiments a couple of years ago that the setting was "too problematic" to get a 5E conversion. Did Crawford, Perkins, and Lanzillo leaving Dungeons & Dragons have anything to do with this shift in opinion?

Check us out on Patreon (http://www.patreon.com/goblinsgrowlers) for bonus Deep Dive videos along with early access to the podcast, and original gaming content.

Telephone, Telegraph, Tell a Friend about the Goblins and Growlers Podcast.

→ Bonus episodes and early access on Patreon (http://patreon.com/goblinsgrowlers) → Subscribe to our monthly gaming newsletter (https://goblinsandgrowlers.beehiiv.com/subscribe) → Join the Goblins and Growlers Discord (http://bit.ly/goblindiscord)

LISTEN, RATE, AND SUBSCRIBE!

If you like the show, please tell a friend about it. And if you want to tell more people, then please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts and/or your podcatcher of choice. You can find and/or support us at all the places below:

https://patreon.com/goblinsgrowlers

https://facebook.com/GoblinsAndGrowlers

https://goblinsandgrowlers.podbean.com (and basically any other podcatcher) https://quidproroll.podbean.com (our sister podcast, the best narrative play)

In this week’s Goblins & Growlers Podcast, Inverlyst welcomes Alex of Alpha Comics & Games to pull back the curtain on writing romance into your tabletop games. Together, they tackle the messy realities of GMing smoochable NPCs, avoiding bleed, and why player-to-player romance can derail a campaign faster than a crit fail.

From sexy smiths to sahuagin brothels, Alex shares her hard-earned lessons on slow burns, narrative flags, and why romance should challenge players instead of pandering to them. Whether you’re a GM curious about adding intimacy to your campaign or a player wondering why your bard’s “roll to seduce” isn’t working, this episode sets the groundwork.

✦ Discord: bit.ly/goblindiscord ✦ Guest: @LexieSunshine on socials ✦ Alpha Comics & Games: facebook.com/AlphaComicsAndGames

Critical Role's Daggerheart is shaking up the TTRPG licensing world and we've got legal insight you won't find in your average rules breakdown. Inverlyst is joined by returning guest Noah Downs (a.k.a. @MyLawyerFriend) to unpack the Community Gaming License (CGL), its potential legal pitfalls, and whether it's truly the heir (or foil) to the OGL. We dig into fan content protections, revocability risks, VTT carve-outs, and what creators should know before building under this framework.

Oh, and there’s toothpick sponsorship. You’ve been warned.

BEHOLD THE RELEVANT LINKS

✦ Patreon: patreon.com/goblinsgrowlers

✦ Discord: bit.ly/goblindiscord

✦ Nerd Immersion Episode: youtube.com/watch?v=d4NidxlgMmk

“What do you get when you mix a thousand-legged centipede, a skeleton butler, and an emotionally resilient owlbear cub? A Paul Hughes interview, of course.”

In this special episode of GGP, Inver and Josh are joined by Pets & Sidekicks co-creator Paul Hughes, longtime EN World writer and TTRPG monster crafter. Together, they delve into:

✦ The design philosophy behind scalable companions in Advanced 5E

✦ Balancing action economy with adorable, devastating pets

✦ The evolution of owlbears, undead stealth features, and companion mechanics

✦ Narrative tips for GMs and players using sentient sidekicks

✦ A few spicy skeleton jokes (because, obviously)

Whether you’re a game designer, monster-crafting aficionado, or just really into fantasy fur babies, there’s something here to chew on.

For you CR crunchers out there, Paul promises a future Deep Dive on CR calculations, action economy balancing, and high-level companion builds. Get ready.

🎙️ Audio Note: The sound quality in this one had a bit of a rough roll, but we promise the content is still legendary. Blame neither Paul nor Scott. All honor to our audio wizard.

And now, for the RELEVANT LINKS:

✦ Support Pets & Sidekicks on Kickstarter at https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/enworld/companions-compendium

✦ Peek behind the curtain at Paul’s mad genius: blogofholding.com

—

And, you know, if you really love us... feel free to:

✧ Join our community Discord Server (http://bit.ly/goblinDiscord)!

✧ Listen to our sister show Quid Pro Roll (https://quidproroll.podbean.com/)!

✧ Find bonus episodes, early drops, and Deep Dives through our Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/goblinsgrowlers)!

Telephone, Telegraph, Tell a Friend about the Goblins and Growlers Podcast.

→ Bonus episodes and early access on Patreon (http://patreon.com/goblinsgrowlers) → Subscribe to our monthly gaming newsletter (https://goblinsandgrowlers.beehiiv.com/subscribe) → Join the Goblins and Growlers Discord (http://bit.ly/goblindiscord)

Jess Lanzillo got a new opportunity with White Wolf and Todd Kenreck got the boot. Both are gone from D&D for very different reasons, but it raises the question of what's going on over there? Why's the old guard looking to get out (Lanzillo) and why are they eliminating one of the main faces of their 2024* relaunch (Kenreck)? Couple that with Chris Perkins and Jeremy Crawford heading to Darrington Press and it paints the picture of rebooted or more corporatized internals for D&D going forward, especially with their move toward a franchise model.

Check us out on Patreon (http://www.patreon.com/goblinsgrowlers) for bonus Deep Dive videos along with early access to the video and audio of the podcast.

LISTEN, RATE, AND SUBSCRIBE!

If you like the show, please tell a friend about it. And if you want to tell more people, then please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts and/or your podcatcher of choice. You can find and/or support us at all the places below:

https://patreon.com/goblinsgrowlers

https://facebook.com/GoblinsAndGrowlers

https://goblinsandgrowlers.podbean.com (and basically any other podcatcher) https://quidproroll.podbean.com (our sister podcast, the best narrative play)