Cool New Endeavor - The Griffin & Gargoyle

The fiftieth anniversary of Dungeons & Dragons is fast approaching and there are plans by a large contingent of companies to celebrate the birth of this great hobby. One of those is the restaurant, lounge, retail gift shop/game store, and play space known as The Griffin & Gargoyle.

Conceptually the aim is to provide an immersive experience with not only the various settings, it will also have a story behind it within which patrons and visitors can participate. I hope to have more on this aspect in the future, because what I know already makes this sound like an opportunity for role-players to engage with the world history behind The Griffin & Gargoyle in a fun way.

Intended to become a destination spot for fans of role-playing and Dungeons and Dragons in particular, the developers are not lumping everything in that one basket. Of course the goal is to bring in customers from all over, including the locals and to make the business viable all year long. To that end the restaurant will have in their words, a unique and extensive menu. This establishment will not be for gamers on a pilgrimage alone, it will cater to everyone.

Speaking of catering, I heard that catering is something they might also handle, and weddings too.

Themed areas within the building are not just limited to The Griffin and Gargoyle Tavern (restaurant), they also include Curated Curiosities (retail space), The Gnome Alchemist (bar/lounge with all sorts of interesting concoctions), and a sequestered area for private role-playing sessions on custom built tables.

There are a number of gaming luminaries that are being tapped to contribute. Hammered Game Tables (if you've followed the blog you may known I own one of the early prototype HGT builds), and Stefan Pokorny of Dwarven Forge among them.

The Griffin & Gargoyle people have a lot more planned and a single blog post is insufficient to handle all of the information. With luck maybe the developers will spare a little time to provide us with occasional tidbits and updates as we get closer to March 2024.

Here is a link directly to the source!  https://griffinandgargoyle.com/   <---- Link

Dwarven Forge Kickstarter 6: Caverns Deep - Afterthoughts

As mentioned in the previous post, lack of motivation sapped my interest in posting to the blog, even about things I would normally enjoy discussing. That includes this years DF Kickstarter which normally would have been the topic of several posts before and during the event. Here are some thoughts about how it went.

The project end with a total of over 3.3 million dollars and over 3,000 backers. Included in the themes for this year were caverns in standard color and Underdoom paint, crystal caverns, ice caverns, and the new outdoor terrain Dreadhollow Forest.

Variety seems to have been the objective this year, not only in themes, but in piece types. Multi use pieces called trifecta pieces are part of just about every encounter option in the project except for the forest. Diagonal walls and swell walls are also a major addition and enhance builds that can be created with the cavern pieces from the Kickstarter 2 Cavern sets allowing for more natural shapes to your layouts. The mix of shapes is impressive. Sadly getting enough of particular pieces is a costly endeavor.

Every year the designs get more detailed, and more complex which drives the prices higher. Increased inclusion of magnets, metal, and LED features (some that can change colors through use of a remote control) also factors into the price inflation. As a collector I love the bling, but as one of many with low or no budget, it seems that the idea of making Dwarven Forge terrain more affordable to a wider audience has been forgotten.

Too many themes being presented contributes to a paralysis when trying to decide on what to buy and what to skip, hoping to pick them up later through the web store. Trying to get some of everything leads to "feeling like butter spread over too much bread". I imagine people new to DF terrain get migraines trying to figure out how to maximize versatility while having variety.

Since I don't want to sound like a Negative Nelly, let me state that I love what I saw offered in this Kickstarter and if I had a budget this year as in previous years, well, my participation would have run pretty deep.

The new forest terrain is gorgeous. The modular trees and depth of detail left many wondering if the factory would be able to match what the very talented crew of artists have created. So far the painted prototypes coming back from the factory indicate that they indeed are up to the task. A full set of the Dreadhollow Forest (painted) runs about $900, and if you want greater table coverage the cost climbs from there, especially once you include the extra items that were added during the pledge manager phase. If you want incredible looking wilderness terrain you can't beat this set.

 The cavern pieces are also quite lovely. The attention to detail and to grand elevation pieces really defines these sets as among the best work Dwarven Forge has created. The artists involved deserve high praise.