How did I not know about this? I’ve just discovered a treasure trove of British Old-School podcasts on Anchor.fm, and it’s bloody brilliant.
I already knew about The Grognard Files (required listening if you’re interested in the B-OSR), as well as Improvised Radio Theatre – With Dice (glorious), the Good Friends of Jackson Elias (a brilliant horror role-playing podcast, mostly covering the latest edition of Call of Cthulhu but often talking about their experiences gaming back in the day), and What Would the Smart Party Do? (who cover all sorts of games, though I’d especially recommend their retrospective of roleplaying in the 1970s).
Apparently, however, there’s an entire community of British Old-School podcats out there that I’ve only just discovered, including:
– Delvecast by Scott Malthouse: “A bite-sized podcast about roleplaying games. The official Trollish Delver podcast with Scott Malthouse, creator of Quill, Romance of the Perilous Land, USR and more.” [Check out episode 2 on the British Old-School! – Ed.]
– Dragons Are Real by Pete Jones: “A podcast about tabletop role playing games.” [Note episode 35 on Dragon Warriors – Ed.]
– dpercentile by Dave Aldridge: “Guerilla rpg podcast. Old school gaming with an indie spirit. Loving those random tables, procedurally generated dungeons and all things low prep. Keeping it rules lite.”
– Expedition to the Grizzly Peaks by Andy Goodman: “How a lapsed gamer returned to the hobby and what happened to him on the way.”
– Goblin’s Henchman by same: “Random thoughts on RPGs”
– Loco Ludus by same: “Tabletop game modifications, homebrew, DIY, etc., all out of love for the hobby and the brilliant work of so many designers! Let us know what projects you’re up to or which games you find benefit from tweaks here and there.”
– Keep off the Borderlands by Free Thrall: “Welcome to Keep off the Borderlands. A podcast about not playing RPGs, where amazing things may or may not happen.”
– Purple Worm by Divers Hands: “A group of British RPG-ers discuss various topics of interest, with a highlight on UK-based or inspired RPGS.” [Check out the episode from 3 February 2020 on the British Old-School – Ed.]
– Roleplay Rescue by Che Webster: “Did you used to play roleplaying games back in the day, delving dungeons with funny dice in hand? Why’d you stop? Find out how to reclaim your RPG hobby as a working adult.”
– Roll to Save by Iain Wilson: “Roll to Save is an infrequent podcast dedicated to RPGs from yester-year. Episodes will cover the history of old roleplaying games, their backgrounds and their systems.”
– Shadow of the GM by Barry Dewey-Robertson: “The musings of GMsShadow on all things TTRPG!”
– Spikepit RPG Podcast by Colin Green: “Spikepit RPG Podcast, where Colin ponders ideas related to Dungeons and Dragons and other tabletop role playing games with a view to engaging and entertaining the community.”
– The Red Dice Diaries by John Alan Large: “A rambling journey through the wonderful world of RPGs from the viewpoint of a long-time GM and player.”
– Unguarded Treasure (B52) by ShandyAndy: “The ramblings of a grognard about tabletop roleplaying.”
I love how they built a community, sending one another questions and comments via call-ins. Plenty of content to munch my way through, so I’m happy as Larry.
I’m sure there are more British Old-School podcasts out there that I’ve missed, so let me know if you happen across one that’s not on the list.
ShandyAndy says
Your Ranger skills have tracked us down!
Barry Robertson says
A few more are Goblin’s Henchman, Expedition to the Grizzly Peaks, and Shadow of the GM.
One of those is mine so I’m biased.
Red Dice Diaries says
Hi there, thanks for the shoutout to the OSR Anchorite Community, enjoying reading through your blog posts at the moment.
Uncaring Cosmos says
@Red Dice Diaries
Ta very much! I’ve also been having a read through your blog – but it will take me a while, given you’ve been writing it since 2013!!! Cracking stuff.
Uncaring Cosmos says
@Barry Robertson
Cheers! I’ve added all to the list – and looking forward to giving them a listen.
Uncaring Cosmos says
@ShandyAndy
And well worth it, too! Glad I invested points in my Find Podcasts skill :-D
Michael S / Chgowiz says
Welcome to the Anchorite community! Hope you’ll continue to pass the word around and continue to listen!
Uncaring Cosmos says
@Michael S / Chgowiz
Cheers! I’ll absolutely be sticking around and listening (including to The Dungeon Master’s Handbook Podcast).
Pete Jones says
Be very prepared to enter the rabbit hole as you get deeper and deeper into the OSR Anchorite podcasts. Loving the 8 bit graphics…Arcadians still my all time favourite video game!
Uncaring Cosmos says
@Pete Jones
Cheers, Pete! I never played Arcadians, but my school had an old BBC Micro (the only computer in the school!) and I remember playing a lot of Granny’s Garden.
Red Dice Diaries says
I’ve got to asked Uncaring Cosmos did you create all the 8-bit graphic stuff yourself? Because I’m loving that pixel-graphic look :)
Uncaring Cosmos says
@Red Dice Diaries
Hehe, it’s mix. I mostly adapt, colour, or tweak graphics rather than create my own out of whole cloth. I did make most of the overland map graphics for the computer game I’ve been working on (although even those are highly derivative of the early Ultima games).
Anytime I use someone else’s graphics, I make sure it’s properly licensed and listed on my Credits page.