Dec 8, 20233 min read

The Weekly Grind - December 8th, 2023 Newsletter

"Better late than never." "It's the thought that counts." "It's a good problem to have."

I have been very busy lately as this is the first update I've been able to type out in about 4 or 5 months. I'm way behind on updates so I'm not going to look back too much and just let you know about new upcoming things and just keep going.

TOMORROW!! Saturday, December 9th, from 11am - 5pm we're hosting a Holiday RPG Day Fundraiser benefitting Extra Life. Extra Life is a non-profit that raises money through gaming for local children's hospitals. Extra Life Chicago directly supports Lurie Children's Hospital.

We have 3 GMs running various holiday-themed sessions.

Reserve Your Seat

To join, players will provide a $10 donation. That will cover a seat at the table, 1 raffle ticket toward a prize, $1.00 off a cafe purchase, and 1 Benefit Reward card to be used as you see fit during your game.

Sessions you can join:

Neon Blues (A neon-noir RPG) - 4 Players - Character Sheets Provided

Session 1:00pm

"An entire supply of presents have been stolen, and with only one night left to deliver then can your Crew find the gifts and deliver them before morning comes? Descend into the murky, merrily lit depths of the City to save the holidays."

D&D 5E - 6 Players - Character Sheets Provided.

Sessions at 11:30 am & 3:00 pm

"With Strahd’s defeat and the beacon of Argynvost lit, the spirit of Christmas has returned to Baroiva……or has it?"

Vermin - 5 Players - Character Sheets Provided

Session at 11:30am

"Tis the season In post-apocalyptic France, and you're trying to keep morale up. Things are bleak but to raise spirits you want to decorate for the holidays. You and your party need to get to the mall and back without being detected or overrun by the hordes of vermin running the streets."

Note: TMNT and Other Strangeness had to be canceled do to a scheduling conflict for the DM. If you're still interested in playing sometime, let Dana know and y'all can coordinate a session sometime.

Additional Rewards can be purchased with additional donations. Non-Players can still participate to the fundraiser by purchasing any of the following for players, the DM, or themselves.

Re-Roll ($2.00): re-roll any die roll.

Advantage ($3.00): Use advantage during the game, for yourself or another player.

Disadvantage ($3.00): Give another player, or the DM, disadvantage

Heal on Up ($2.00): Potion of Healing, ($4.00): Potion of Greater Healing. ($8.00): Potion of Superior Healing [[or something comparable for the system being played]]

Sponsor a Monster ($1.00 per monster level) The DM/GM will throw a monster or enemy at the players. The level of the encounter will correlate to the amount donated.

Critical Success ($20.00): Auto Succeed on whatever shenanigans you're trying to pull.

Raffle Tickets: $5 each or $20 for 5.

Raffle Items were donated from the following businesses: Critical Grind, Extra Life, Fox Burrow Studios, Wandering Dragon, Abbott's Hollow, Paper or Plastic, Studio Agate, Axial Creations, and possibly more.

We'd like to say Thank You to everyone who voted for the Best in Will County competition through The Herald. We were so honored to receive One of the Best in Family Recreation. There's no way we could have gotten here without you.

Saturday, December 16th we have an excellent & experienced DM coming in to teach a little seminar about "How to DM." We're going to cover topics like Session 0, consent in gaming, saying 'yes, and...' world-building, and more.

Show off your love for Critical Grind with some Critical Grind MERCH! We officially have a shop set up. Various T-shirt styles, hats, and notebooks are available for print-on-demand.

Saturday, December 23rd will be our 2nd annual cocoa and gaming with Santa event. We have DIY ornament kits again, plus hot cocoa flights, and pictures with the big jolly guy himself.