Thank, Greatwyrm; anthroslug was a great interview subject!

This episode was fantastic. Matthew was a great guest with lots of fascinating things to say; and Steve, you were a great host - knowledgeable on the topic at hand, but able to let the guest talk and take center stage. Great stuff - one of my favorite PFTD episodes so far.

Interestingly, not a ton of RPG-specific discussion; not inherently a bad thing, obviously, but worth noting. I'd love more discussion of making realistic histories, cultures and geographies. Bring Matthew back at some point for more of that!

As an undergrad almost done with a degree in Paleontology I really liked this episode. I kept wanting to speak out on behalf of paleontologists whenever the subject came up. XD

I completely agree! Need more Anthroslug ...



Was it in annoyance at my conflating "people who dig stuff out of the ground" part near the beginning? I feel kind of dumb for that.

Hey, one of my favorite authors (Caitlin R. Kiernan) is a published Paleontologist who actually got to name a new species of quadroped (Selmasaurus russelli) - before leaving the sciences and becoming a writer full time. She plays a lot of MMO's, and used to attend parties / functions in a full-on Nebari costume! That's pretty cool in my book ...


[She's the tall one on the right.]

I had alot of fun and would come back anytime you like.



Was it in annoyance at my conflating "people who dig stuff out of the ground" part near the beginning? I feel kind of dumb for that.
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It is probably the most common conflation o'jobs that people make. Figure it this way - I grew up with a father who worked in or with the military all of his adult life, but it wasn't until you guys discussed the military on PftD that I realized just how varied many jobs within it are. I didn't know some of the distinctions between military jobs and I grew up around it. By contrast, your questions about archaeology, history, and paleontology showed that you had put alot of thought into the matter.

Well I wanted to clarify several things. Paleontologists don't just study extinct organisms, we study "ancient life". Something can be old and still survive in some capacity. Crinoids are pretty damn old and they still exist today.

In my case I'm interested in Pleistocene animals and many of the species I'm interested in still exist such as wolves, bison, bears, etc. We also study ancient ecosystems and the evolution of species and their relation to each other.

Paleontology, like archeology is incredibly varied and nuanced. You can be a functional morphologist, phylogonist, paleoecologist, paleobotanist, etc.

I've already said that if PFTD is ever interested in discussing paleontology I'd be more than happy to step up and talk about what I know.

Hell, an archeologist and paleontologist could discuss the ecosystems and species in an area and how that would affect the societies living there. Large and dangerous predators might warrant some form of fortifications around living spaces, pest species would affect the survival of societies (such as the spread of disease or consumption of their food supply), and some animals would provide the basis of the society.

There are fossilized sites of mammoth material that have been stacked into huts. The Mezhirich site in the Ukraine is a great example of paleontology and archeology intertwined.

There are fossil sites of massive animal kills that have evidence of human presence there from knife fragments and scoring on the bones showing that these animals were butchered by humans. Something like a bison is incredibly hard to kill and quite dangerous but if a group was able to drive them off of a cliff then they remove a lot of risk of injury from themselves.

A feat like that would require advanced communication and cooperation amongst the people involved and the ability to process all or most of the meat acquired that way could indicate a society large enough to need it, an environment that is bountiful enough to excuse the waste, or an explanation to a contributing factor of species extinction.

I want to hear this, because while I have some ideas on that sort of thing, it's been a while. I could use a refresher and some thoughts that haven't been bouncing off the inside of my skull for the last decade.

I'm not the kind of GM who rides on "A wizard did it". I want my world to make some damned sense.

hmmm. fantastic episode topic suggestion.