So it was Grogmeet 2025 last Saturday, and I spent eight hours in the Whitworth Locke side of the convention, running games and catching up with folk.
This is the Grognard Files podcast’s annual convention, attended by Grognards of all ages. It is not specifically an OSR or OSR-inspired convention, but games tended to hark back to the 80s and early 90s, when many attendees took a break for careers and raising families (aka going into deep freeze) before returning to gaming recently.
It was the convention of the Ziggurat! If you followed the madness that was the Raise the Ziggurat sale at the end of last year, I brought it, and a couple of tubs of old 80s Citadel figures and some aquarium scenery to act as props for my two games.
Game 1 Saturday Morning: Ziggurat of Gloom
System: Grim and Dangerous (an Oldhammer RPG)
Beddington’s Brewery has hired your battalion of adventurers to escort a wagon train carrying barrels of its finest brew from Dwarfchester across the Painine Way to the thirsty students at the Royal College of Magic in the town of Uddersfield.
The problem is that Night Goblins are following you and have been forced to take defensive positions off-road at the strange rain-soaked stone structure locals call The Ziggurat of Gloom!
Grim and Dangerous is a reimagined roleplaying game inspired by the early editions of Warhammer, aka Oldhammer. It has a simple roll under D20 mechanic, with characters having career focuses and special abilities to distinguish themselves from one another. This adventure draws heavily on the White Box of Warhammer, Warhammer 1st Edition. Please note that this game is in development at playtest stage.
I’ll be posting more about Grim and Dangerous in its own future post when it gets revealed. This is game in development looks hard at the Oldhammer games (Warhammer 1st, its second edition Warhammer Fantasy Battle, up to first edition Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay) and inspired by the feel of those games and does its own rules light roll under skill on a D20 thing. This was its inaugural game, and overall, the prototype rules held up and did what I wanted them to, aided and abetted by players who grasped its concepts and ran like heck with them.
Special thanks to Andy Hemming (pictured on the far right in the above photo), who provided the entire force of Night Goblins (from the 80s!), some female adventurers and dignified elven followers to compliment my scruffy 80s Citadel lead. To say Andy was like a child in a sweet shop would be an understatement.
Intermission: Newt Socialises!
A three-hour break(?) due to unexpected scheduling adjustments gave me ample opportunity to catch up with folks I’ve not spoken to in a couple of years. This was one of my aims of the day, because I unexpectedly had to drop out of my regular convention attendance a couple of years ago due to family commitments. This really was nice because the space and time around the games to chat and catch up really makes a con for me.
Then all of a sudden, the gaming room filled up, and it was time for Game 2.
Game 2 Saturday Afternoon: The Pyramids of Marn
System: Beyond Dread Portals
Three pyramids have been discovered in the jungles of the world of Marn. Three factions are bidding for a license to explore them in the Hall of Departure in the Explorers Guild of Ys. Ys ruler, the Autarch, to prevent in-fighting, is only allowing one group at a time to walk through a portal in the Guild Hall to the ancient ruins. Since your explorers will be risking life and limb in this strange world, they get to choose who will be their patron for this expedition. Choose wisely. Not only will it determine how profitable the visit to Marn will be, but who you potentially make enemies of.
Beyond Dread Portals is a world-hopping D20 Fantasy game by Paul “The Tweed Meister” Mitchener. Loosely based on early D&D, modified to meet the needs of the setting. A baroque decaying renaissance-era world of the city of Ys and the worlds connected to it by a system of magic portals. As members of the Explorer’s Guild, there are expeditions to join, loot and secrets to be found, and a web of powerful patrons to navigate carefully. All under the deathly gaze of the undead ruler, the Autarch!
Regular readers of this blog will know Beyond Dread Portals by now. It’s within a hairs breath of being released (just waiting for a proof). This adventure was quickly conjured up, as an excuse to use the Ziggurat again on the table. Combined with the aquarium scenery, that worked very well, and a list of bullet points was fleshed out to become a weird and wonderful game of exploration. Despite the characters being capable 5th level, they managed to weasel their way away from getting involved in any combat, with some very clever problem-solving. I’ll be writing this one up for future release in some format.
And then it was all over and home to an evening back in the loving embrace of my family.
Big thanks to all my players and co-organisers Chris “Dirk the Dice” Hart and Blythy.
Here’s to 2026.
BTW, if you are wondering where I got the Ziggurat from, it is made by Ian from Fenris Games and is available via his website.
