* (0:33) Brodeur went to Gamehole Con, and Dan can’t take other people’s money.
* (8:08) How age changes what you care about.
* (10:02) The end-of-year blackhole that consumes our schedules (and, by extension, our games).
* (11:23) Brodeur loses his motivation to GM.
* (15:28) Player satisfaction does not necessarily equate to GM satisfaction.
* (21:49) Fighting the burnout that strips away your enjoyment of the hobby.
* (31:28) The buy-in of the whole group to relieve one person’s pain.
* (40:38) Letting go of the unneeded prep in order to get to the part that’s actually fun.
* (48:49) Time and the other finite currencies of life.
Hosts: Brodeur, Chad, Dan, Wayne
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* (0:32) Fear the Con’s room block number is 2413940. You can place your room reservations at this link, which should prepopulate the con dates.
* (1:08) Brodeur’s second product pick from the con circuit: Never Going Home.
* (6:13) The “World of Darkness” problem, when games sit too close to real-world ideas people hold near-and-dear.
* (13:46) Why this occurs in some modern-day games but not others.
* (30:36) Prepping for a game that will hit close to home. Argument from Anecdote.
* (35:43) GM-enforced conformity. When it’s more lifestyle than game.
* (43:03) Brodeur goes furry in defense of World of Darkness.
* (44:29) Going back to solving it in session zero.
Hosts: Brodeur, Chad, Dan, Wayne
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
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* (0:28) Dan is the new Brodeur.
* (4:51) Fear the Con coming up June 16th – 18th, 2022.
* (5:52) Brodeur hits a few conventions. We start by talking attendance numbers.
* (15:33) The companies that were conspicuously absent, and those that filled the void.
* (18:45) Was the change for the better?
* (22:46) The problem of talking about problems.
* (28:09) Companies may no longer feel they need conventions.
* (37:12) Accidental engagement and unexpected discovery.
* (42:25) Brodeur’s post-Gen-Con product pick: Stat Trackers.
Hosts: Brodeur, Chad, Dan
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
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* (0:28) Fear the Con coming up June 16th – 18th, 2022.
* (2:54) Making a plot that’s personal to the characters, without falling back to cheap shots.
* (9:42) If you don’t want purely violent responses, don’t rely on purely violent hooks.
* (15:43) An example about a Firbolg. Our two episodes on West Marches games can be found here and here.
* (23:52) Finding out you were the villain’s stooge.
* (32:33) Why overdoing any motivation can end in meta-game problems.
* (41:19) Looking at the facts you know about a player-character to create something interesting to explore.
* (44:51) Tying in all of the characters, not just one. How involvement creates interest.
* (54:13) When the characters don’t yet care about each other.
* (59:27) Fear the Boot’s actual plays can be found here.
Hosts: Chad, Dan, Wayne
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
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* (0:29) Introducing Vece. You can find the Skies of Glass playtest on our Patreon.
* (1:35) Brodeur continues hurting himself. You can find his podcast here.
* (11:35) What got us thinking about playtesting a roleplaying game. Gage’s playtest survey.
* (14:43) Why you may not know what you need to ask.
* (18:35) Taking feedback seriously, while remembering no one’s opinion is “right”.
* (25:58) Testing obscure facets of a game.
* (31:58) Playtesting the fluff (i.e. setting, introductory text, explaining the RPG hobby).
* (44:16) Deciding the order in which you’ll complete tasks.
* (56:19) Making incremental changes instead of over-correcting.
* (59:42) Testing the minimum viable product and building up from there.
Hosts: Brodeur, Dan, Vece, Wayne
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
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* (0:30) Let the bodies hit the floor!
* (5:24) Defining the “action economy”. The video of three master fencers versus 50 random people can be found here.
* (14:57) Consider not using a lone enemy.
* (17:48) Using objectives instead of enemies.
* (27:37) The erosion of the Game Master’s enjoyment. The idea of “action equity”.
* (37:58) The value of a cooperative table, where the GM and players aren’t trying to one-up each other.
* (46:22) Setting the tone for your table.
Hosts: Brodeur, Chad, Dan, Wayne
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
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* (0:28) Dan’s situation with his Blades in the Dark character.
* (2:21) The “play cycle” of an RPG.
* (6:06) Designing a character that works in the play cycle, but not very well outside of it.
* (24:54) Why not just play another character or revise the existing character traits?
* (32:55) “That’s not what my character would do!”
* (37:28) Adding onto what exists.
* (48:27) An issue of sympathy.
* (50:51) Chris Hussey’s AP for Pinnacle can be found here: part 1 and part 2.
Hosts: Chad, Dan, Wayne
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
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* (0:33) Brodeur’s ongoing work to blind himself.
* (2:40) Gaming when down a person. Putting some parameters on the discussion.
* (7:53) Avoiding cliffhangers that hinge on a single character.
* (11:58) Subtly reframing the scene to obscure the unknowns.
* (16:31) Get a few what-if tips from the missing player to help you guide the scene.
* (20:33) Being flexible, not just in executing the situation, but also in adjusting the outcome.
* (22:44) Using pacing to avoid the issue completely.
* (40:54) When the player’s absence is felt by the party, even though there was no cliffhanger.
* (47:18) Gatekeeping interactions with the absent character. Owning your choice to create a cliffhanger.
* (53:56) Keeping your perspective straight. You can hear our Actual Plays here.
Hosts: Brodeur, Chad, Dan
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
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* (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 |
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