* (0:29) A listener, James, gets us talking about integrating player-character backstories into your game. It starts with the players giving you something to work with.
* (3:01) Sitting for too long on too much information, or mining the backstory abusively.
* (7:43) Finding the possible connections between backstories.
* (11:08) Let’s do it live! Dan sets up a D&D game with Wayne as his player. Building story by eliminating coincidences and undefined areas.
* (19:22) Wayne sets up a Skies of Glass game with Brodeur as his player. Remembering that NPCs have their own lives that still go on, even when the PC isn’t around.
* (30:02) What’s the “therefore” there for? Continuing thoughts that seemed otherwise complete.
* (31:42) Integrating character backgrounds into a story that’s already written. Even the most fleshed-out plot still has gaps that can be filled with player-made content.
* (37:59) Too little, too much, or no background at all.
* (42:35) Punting Mary’s insight, because it deserves its own episode.
* (44:32) Paying attention to backgrounds for what should be important in your game, because it’s important to that player.
Hosts: Brodeur, Dan, Mary, Wayne
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* (0:29) How awful can a few years be? (Spoilers: Multiple things got worse since this recording!)
* (3:49) An experiment in unequal levels of preparation and participation.
* (8:34) Not all players will bring the same level of contribution, nor do all games encourage it.
* (14:32) Pattern versus incidence.
* (18:52) Reasons to not just sit it out.
* (20:43) Why using past experiences of what was to infer what ought to be may not be the best approach.
* (25:11) Setting expectations for the division of labor.
Hosts: Brodeur, Dan, Julia, Wayne
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* (0:24) Releasing episodes out of order.
* (1:24) The little convention that could, despite how hard life tried to stop it.
* (6:59) All of the hurdles that weren’t COVID.
* (14:00) The obstacles that came up during the convention.
* (24:24) In spite of everything arrayed against it, the con went really well.
* (31:42) Thanking Eric Van Note for the picture of Gnarl, which you can see here. You can contact him for your own commission at: vannoteillustration@gmail.com
* (33:50) Wishing we’d had more time to talk to people and paced ourselves better.
* (39:11) A request, an idea, and a placeholder. June 15th, 16th, and 17th are the tentative dates for Fear the Con 2023.
* (43:46) A big “thank you” to our community!
Hosts: Brodeur, Caleb, Dan, Wayne
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* (0:29) Interrogating Mary on her gaming history.
* (1:33) The last few days before Fear the Con!
* (4:54) The distinct moral perspective of a child.
* (7:39) Leif responds to our show on vertical creativity.
* (13:58) A thought exercise on who should win the 51/49 preference: players or GMs.
* (15:41) Wayne and Dan’s answers.
* (18:09) Mary’s answer.
* (21:12) Brodeur’s answer.
* (26:15) Dan’s retort about the assumed-risk of the Game Master.
* (30:51) The courtesy inherent in having a group with multiple GMs.
Hosts: Brodeur, Dan, Mary, Wayne
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* (0:29) A difficult GM learns a lesson from an Uno game.
* (4:10) Navigating the internal conflict between “roleplaying” and “game”.
* (11:20) The need for control that ultimately comes from fear.
* (16:45) Giving the players their wins.
* (23:34) The ugly math about how many people aren’t that good at a given task.
* (29:32) The importance of having rapport before doing this.
* (32:29) Saying, “yes,” while camouflaging the railroad.
Hosts: Brodeur, Caleb, Dan, Julia
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* (0:29) Fear the Con appears to have catering, but we could still use more GMs!
* (5:21) Laundering identities.
* (7:03) Game Masters getting fixated on things that aren’t important to the game they’re running.
* (12:00) A lack of flexibility. The three clue rule.
* (19:36) GM distress when the party solves something too quickly.
* (26:32) Let’s get passive-aggressive and make the GM solve their own problem! Obstructionist Game Masters.
* (33:39) Problems should have purpose.
* (43:24) Difficulty that’s out of place.
Hosts: Brodeur, Dan, Julia, Wayne
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* (0:29) A new show type on the horizon: phone the Boot, or something similarly clever.
* (2:04) Kids’ games at Fear the Con. Our episode on gaming with children can be found here.
* (4:15) Brodeur goes on Safest Family on the Block and My 10th Level Paladin.
* (6:17) Brodeur gets invited to crash someone else’s game as a guest GM.
* (10:02) The whole situation is awkward, starting with the style of game.
* (16:59) The gut-punch of unintentionally outshining the person that invited you.
* (18:51) Or, maybe outshining the other person isn’t such a bad thing.
* (25:42) Expect the players to keep doing whatever you allow to work.
* (33:10) The right kind of consultant.
Hosts: Brodeur, Dan, Julia, Tex
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* (0:29) A shoutout and thanks to WashingCon!
* (1:09) Fear the Con is coming up in mid-June.
* (2:25) Wayne annihilates his player-characters in a Legion of Liberty game, and they love it. Our episode on action economy.
* (10:22) The perspective that comes from getting your butt kicked.
* (13:52) The difference between the party getting defeated, the party getting cheated, and the party getting destroyed.
* (19:44) Rewinding as opposed to setting up round two.
* (27:35) Consequences don’t have to be applied directly to the player-characters.
* (33:35) Allowing players to choose the form of their defeat.
* (36:44) Brodeur terrorizes his staff.
Hosts: Brodeur, Dan, Julia, Wayne
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* (0:29) June 16th, 17th, and 18th for Fear the Con! You can see Mikey Mason’s material on BandCamp.
* (2:40) Reviewing the idea of horizontal and vertical creativity.
* (4:56) Horizontal creativity doesn’t mean the player has to get lazy. In fact, it may mean the GM is getting lazy.
* (12:35) How horizontal creativity can add complexity to the story.
* (16:22) Understanding why a GM is limiting something.
* (20:56) Players taking ownership for how far off the ranch they’ve gone.
* (31:59) Learning more about the game through player experimentation.
* (36:27) It’s OK to just let players have their fun.
Hosts: Brodeur, Caleb, Dan, Wayne
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* (0:29) – Bordeur, Dan, and Julia will be at Washingcon this weekend: March 26th and 27th, 2022.
* (2:23) – Defining how we’ll be using “vertical” and “horizontal” creativity over the next two shows.
* (5:45) – The laziness that often accompanies horizontal thinking.
* (8:08) – Creativity within seemingly narrow (i.e. “vertical”) ideas.
* (11:10) – Playing within the GM’s parameters and rules.
* (19:16) – What is it about the player that refuses to conform?
* (28:27) – How horizontal creativity forces the GM to tell a story they may not have wanted to tell.
* (31:08) – Why is it so hard to compromise a bit?
Hosts: Brodeur, Caleb, Dan, Wayne
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
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