* (0:42) Dan’s phone betrays him. Spoilers and thpoilerth.
* (14:10) Chopin makes you a superior person.
* (14:52) Premises that are meant for one character but invite storytelling for many characters.
* (18:17) Wayne tries one-to-many, and it doesn’t quite work out.
* (22:15) Distilling a premise down to what really matters.
* (27:03) The chosen one.
* (33:39) Subdivide the premise so it works for multiple characters.
* (40:08) A world big enough to ignore an individual.
Hosts: Chad, Dan, Wayne
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* (1:07) The glory and horror of self-insert.
* (3:37) Dan does Shadowrun.
* (16:45) Wayne does D&D.
* (26:43) Chad does Star Wars. Sort of.
* (40:31) Julia does Narnia.
* (48:17) Dan does Battletech.
* (56:42) A bit of gaming advice.
Hosts: Chad, Dan, Julia, Wayne
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* (0:31) Brodeur and the broken finger.
* (2:57) Fear the Conline is set for June 21st and 22nd. You can sign up for games here and ask questions on Discord here.
* (6:55) Explaining what B-plots are.
* (10:00) How B-plots spread the spotlight, build investment, and strengthen the game.
* (15:00) Building the marketplace of ideas.
* (19:41) Don’t punish the players for shopping.
* (25:15) Likening an RPG to a Ken Burns documentary. Unpacking an individual’s story.
* (30:51) Encouraging a B-plot.
* (39:04) Connecting the A-plot and B-plot.
* (51:48) B-plots humanizing the parties in the A-plot.
* (54:04) The B-plot as free content or wasted effort.
Hosts: Brodeur, Caleb, Chad, Dan
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* (0:30) The distinction between GM exposition and NPC voice.
* (7:12) Confusion borne from seeing the same person say everything.
* (11:14) Distinguishing the source and type of information.
* (12:51) All parties being flexible.
* (15:57) The nuance of truthful—but misleading—communication.
* (25:20) When the player disbelieves.
* (33:07) Earning the right to deceive.
* (53:13) Summarizing the gaming advice.
Hosts: Chad, Dan, Wayne
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* (0:28) Dan’s chewing monster.
* (0:51) Making a lot of money on motion sickness medications.
* (11:11) Creating a world where order remains in spite of the players being agents of chaos. Dan’s magic trick.
* (20:01) An example of competing freedoms.
* (27:33) Counterfactuals as a tool in RPGs.
* (35:22) Soft concepts versus hard fact.
* (38:04) The finite reach of the player characters.
* (41:29) Describing motivation in simple, flexible terms.
* (44:23) Giving NPCs Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.
* (54:24) Fear the Boot’s actual play site.
Hosts: Chad, Dan, Wayne
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
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* (0:28) A possible online convention in place of this year’s Fear the Con. You can place your vote and find out more on Discord.
* (1:04) Cell phone jammers.
* (4:13) Accept creative solutions.
* (12:36) Control the table.
* (20:53) Don’t confuse delay with plot.
* (23:02) Don’t always make the players roll.
* (27:22) Get me back in the action.
* (36:24) Love the PCs more than your NPCs.
* (42:11) My backstory should matter.
* (47:24) Your obsession is not the group’s problem.
* (52:51) Be invested in each other’s characters.
Hosts: Chad, Dan, Wayne
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android |
* (0:54) A possible online convention in place of this year’s Fear the Con. You can place your vote and find out more on Discord.
* (5:07) An episode of Gamers Table inspires a topic (special thanks to Gaming with Gage).
* (15:17) Whether to keep an NPC or remove them.
* (20:35) Keeping the NPC in the periphery
* (26:53) Leveraging an NPC’s ties to other characters.
* (34:10) Camp followers.
* (37:34) The right way to dispose of an NPC.
* (41:21) Tying an NPC to the plot.
* (47:19) When adopting NPCs goes wrong.
Hosts: Caleb, Chad, Dan, Wayne
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
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* (0:28) Secretary Chad brings a glorious gift.
* (3:50) Give a backstory the GM can use.
* (5:47) Be open to the GM’s input on your character.
* (12:06) Learn something about the rules.
* (17:18) Bring something to the table.
* (22:30) Put away your electronics and don’t make me repeat myself.
* (27:44) Try to engage.
* (39:20) Humor me.
* (42:10) Don’t be a speed bump.
* (49:31) Be creative.
Hosts: Chad, Dan, Wayne
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
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* (0:29) Wayne learns object permanence.
* (2:14) A player gets voted off the island.
* (9:12) Not invested in the game or not invested in the group?
* (12:16) Picking the kicker.
* (22:40) Evaluating how the person responds to getting kicked.
* (35:29) Along came an X-card.
* (58:07) Final judgment.
Hosts: Brodeur, Chad, Dan, Wayne
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
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* (0:28) The Itty Bitty Writing Space Kickstarter.
* (3:47) A topic from Wendell on our Discord server.
* (4:49) Playing to genre, themes, and moods.
* (12:59) Hijacking the experience everyone signed up for.
* (18:54) The distinction between assenting to a social contract and losing agency. The Richard Pryor game.
* (23:26) Why one person may be playing out of sync.
* (31:06) When the contract turns into a railroad.
* (32:56) The limited recourse available when someone breaks the contract.
* (42:10) Freedom within limits.
Hosts: Chad, Dan, Wayne
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android |
