Two games enter! One game leaves! And the YouTube algorithm dances in the blood!

But seriously, this is a great conversation with Gavin Norman of Old School Essentials and Mike Mearls of 5E D&D. Gavin is the mind behind Old-School Essentials and Dolmenwood. Fellow Ben, Ben Milton at Questing Beast, praised Dolmenwood as the best release of 2025. Gavin's work is famous for taking the wild, dangerous spirit of classic fantasy roleplaying and presenting it with modern clarity: clean, usable, and elegant at the table, while Dolmenwood brings that eerie fairy-tale vibe: moss, mushrooms, and the kind of folklore that smiles at you right before it bites.

Next up is Mike Mearls. Meals will likely be able to eat out on the fact that he was the co-lead of D&D 5E for the rest of his life. For my money, it was the best version of the game ever published by Wizards. The quality of 5th edition was one of the factors leading to the RPG golden age of the 21st century, making Mike into something like a D&D Michaelangelo or Leonarodo Da Vinci. Welcome Mike!

Get ready for Gavin's crowdfunding campaign for DEMONIC GRIMOIRE here: https://www.backerkit.com/c/projects/exalted-funeral/old-school-essentials-demonic-grimoire/launch_party The OSE adventure Mearls talked about is here: https://necroticgnome.com/products/adventure-anthology-1