* (0:24) Maybe combat shouldn’t be played to the point of annihilation. Violence as part of the human experience.
* (5:50) The social contract of a fight. Jason Brick’s Safest Family on the Block show.
* (9:43) Playing the enemies sub-optimally, or managing combat according to your strengths as a GM.
* (21:18) The “soft” rules that different RPGs offer for resolving combat.
* (33:47) The freedom that comes from what’s never seen behind the GM screen.
* (38:54) GMing under the sword of Damocles.
* (44:21) The joy of an un-antagonistic table culture.
Hosts: Brodeur, Chad, Dan, Wayne
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts |
* (0:29) Wayne gives a shoutout to Old Man Hussey. (Unfortunately, there doesn’t appear to be a link to the AP he ran.)
* (3:15) Brodeur gets us started on the joys of combat in roleplaying games. How initiative balances the spotlight.
* (7:05) Why fight at all?
* (11:31) Intermixing roleplaying and combat.
* (16:09) Rolling back to spotlight management.
* (23:10) Creating tension in combat through narrative or numbers.
* (32:15) When the game doesn’t allowing for fudging.
Hosts: Brodeur, Chad, Dan, Wayne
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts |
* (0:52) A love that makes Brodeur and Wayne uncomfortable.
* (4:37) Actor has a seat at Brodeur’s table but doesn’t seem to enjoy it.
* (10:14) The importance of looking for context and motive to understand a behavior.
* (18:50) Someone else’s struggles don’t invalidate your boundaries.
* (26:33) Getting perspective, possibly with the help of a third party. Fault vs responsibility.
* (35:49) Sometimes something has to be broken to create a new opportunity.
* (41:05) The power in just talking to someone.
* (45:08) The healthy and unhealthy act of venting.
Hosts: Brodeur, Dan, Phoenix, Wayne
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts |
* (0:27) Where’s Brodeur?
* (2:00) Fear the Con Online, June 25th – 27th. You can create and sign up for games on the website.
* (4:04) Having patience for people, whether in discomfort or just struggling with old habits dying hard.
* (6:42) Neglected gaming spaces and snack stashes.
* (13:01) Change up your gaming traditions.
* (14:54) Have minimal expectations for your first gathering.
* (19:20) People may have fundamentally changed.
* (25:43) Put together all of the gaming supplies that weren’t needed online, but are needed in-person.
* (36:39) Consider adjusting the plot or chasing a side story.
Hosts: Chad, Dan, Julia
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts |
* (0:28) And the cat came back…!
* (1:13) Fear the Con Online, June 25th – 27th. You can create and sign up for games on the website.
* (4:00) As we get close to gaming face-to-face again, we look back at over a year of online gaming.
* (5:43) It’s better than not gaming at all, and there’s no commute.
* (8:38) The self-consciousness that comes from being on camera.
* (16:19) No one has to host the game.
* (22:41) You’re not away from your nest.
* (26:26) Electronic resources are accessible from the same device you use for online gaming.
* (30:06) Better isolated side-talk.
* (33:04) You can game with people drawn from a deeper pool.
* (34:16) The frustration of technical difficulties and missed social cues.
* (39:25) Being home can make you a bit too accessible. The social flow of the game.
* (44:11) You don’t get out of the house.
* (52:48) The loss of tactile objects and environmental ambience, particularly when technology won’t come close to replacing them.
* (58:10) Being stuck to The Chair™.
Hosts: Chad, Dan, Julia, Wayne
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts |
* (0:39) Silver milk.
* (7:54) Spotlight vs. validation.
* (12:40) Being a fan of the players.
* (18:27) Evaluating whether the idea is genuinely bad, or you’re just being judgmental.
* (23:39) Asking players why they think their ideas would work.
* (27:25) Picking the hills that are worth dying on.
* (36:36) Not punishing someone’s moment of bravery.
* (41:39) Why is this on the Game Master?
* (46:08) The inherent risk of shooting someone down. Separating success from validation.
Hosts: Brodeur, Chad, Dan, Wayne
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts |
* (0:40) Delusions of Reference (or not) in a Mexican restaurant.
* (21:16) Wayne’s weird skill of making eating interesting.
* (23:45) A Dresden game gets a bit depressing, but not all entertainment needs the same tone to succeed.
* (30:47) An engaging story, that’s true to your creative vision, is worth more than cheap thrills.
* (35:09) Stories don’t have to have a single tone.
* (41:12) Not wanting to be pigeon-holed as someone that has no range.
* (47:28) The value of narrow questions and immediate feedback.
* (53:46) Your story doesn’t have to be what you expected.
Hosts: Chad, Dan, Wayne
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts |
* (0:22) Hating on Zoom, and welcoming Tex and Old Man Hussey.
* (1:48) Welcoming author and former Assistant BattleTech Line Developer Ben Rome, and other/new Tex from Tex Talks BattleTech (his recommended episodes for BattleTech veterans and the one for non-players).
* (6:21) BattleTech in the 80s, including the greatest piece of art it inspired.
* (11:05) Virtual World and early VR gaming.
* (21:45) If Virtual World drove the nature of Clan ‘Mechs, then what real-world events drove BattleTech’s story’s other inflection points?
* (29:45) Maintaining consistency and continuity in such a detailed setting.
* (34:53) Is there a freedom of story-writing that accompanies a fundamental shift in the physical products?
* (39:41) Attack of the tripods.
* (43:16) Handling inconsistencies in the previously-written canon.
* (48:45) Popularity and product runs.
* (53:09) The bashfulness of new Tex.
* (56:06) Real-world romances inspiring fictional ones.
Hosts: Ben, Chris, Dan, Tex (new), Tex (old)
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts |
* (0:24) Blades in the Dark as a Charles Dickens’ book, rewritten by H.P. Lovecraft. Fallen London as a genre. Richard Trager from Outlast.
* (8:06) Where Dan’s plans for his character diverge from what our game can reasonably handle.
* (15:42) Balancing resources a player wants for their character.
* (27:36) Not doing the work, but wanting the reward.
* (38:38) The freedom that comes when trappings matter more than rules.
* (40:15) Being fixated on a particular way of accomplishing a goal.
* (46:13) Brodeur gives a shoutout to Joshua A. and…uh…something else.
Hosts: Brodeur, Chad, Dan, Wayne
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts |
* (0:29) Sharing space with other GMs and three kids.
* (7:40) XP and loot in a West Marches game.
* (11:57) And a child shall lead them…
* (19:22) Lifelines to sanity. Wayne’s blog and fiction fragments.
* (21:16) Player negotiation with the Game Master. Seven questions to help develop characters.
* (29:17) When players want something without understanding its context in the world.
* (32:37) An example from our Blades in the Dark actual play.
* (36:25) A big thanks to the people giving us feedback on the Skies of Glass rules alpha!
* (37:27) Back to the Blades in the Dark character example.
Hosts: Brodeur, Chad, Dan, Wayne
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts |
Apple Podcasts
Discord
Facebook
Google Play
Pandora
Patreon
RSS
SoundCloud
Spotify
Stitcher
Twitter
YouTube
