* (0:36) Adapting the show to current realities.
* (1:52) The history of West Marches and the context of the advice we gave. Ben’s blog on his game. Another contribution of his to the hobby: Microscope.
* (11:17) More information on the Skies of Glass play-test document, slated for release on Patreon on April 21st.
* (14:28) The mental and social impact of COVID, including what you can do for yourself and others. The relevant Reuters article.
Hosts: Dan
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* (0:46) Repeating the announcement regarding Fear the Con 2020.
* (2:14) New content and general improvements for our Patreon.
* (7:10) Explaining what a West Marches style game is. The West Marches game through GamersTable can be found on their Discord in the Star Trek Adventures area.
* (17:08) The nature of character relationships in an ever-shifting party.
* (19:06) Sharing information between the participants.
* (22:18) A different style for different people. Cameo appearances.
* (29:46) Some random thoughts on maps and technology to aid a campaign.
* (34:36) Keeping everyone on the same page regarding game events, creative boundaries, and such.
* (49:08) The origin of the name, West Marches, and the idea’s history can be found here.
Hosts: Brodeur, Chad, Dan, Wayne
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TLDR: We have had to cancel Fear the Con 2020. The funds collected on Kickstarter will be used to pre-fund Fear the Con 2021. We’ll be contacting people with backer rewards to see how they’d like those handled. We’re also looking into an online con we can conduct on the same weekend.
I don’t think I need to explain that Coronavirus is a thing, nor the changes it’s making to our society. And unfortunately, those changes are unfolding quickly and unpredictably. Heck, just between the time I wrote this and you’re reading it, it’s possible they’ve changed things again.
Speaking just for our own area, both county and city officials just dropped a new round of restrictions on us, effective today. We’re not allowed to have gatherings of more than 10 people, they’ve closed all stores that don’t sell food or medicine, they’ve shutdown restaurants and tourist destinations, and they’ve made it a misdemeanor crime for us to even leave our houses apart from a list of essential activities.
To complicate things further, we have cancellation deadlines for the con space that hit very soon, and once those pass, we lose deposit money. So we have to make our gamble based on what we know before those cutoffs, not simply before the con occurs. We’re also aware that you guys have to make hard choices about time off, the risks of being around groups of people, and what you’re able to spend while this hardship persists.
As mentioned in the TLDR, we are trying to preserve as much as we can. We’re moving every penny of the Kickstarter funding from 2020 to 2021, so at least in theory, the next FtC is already paid for. We’re also looking into an online version of the convention we can conduct that weekend so at least some form of con occurs.
If you had a Kickstarter reward related to the con, we’ll be in touch with you over there to discuss options for fulfilling those.
I beg your patience, because we have no script for handling this. But we’re going to try very hard to make the best of this, accepting in advance that nothing we can do will be perfect for the people involved (hosts, vendors, or attendees).
If you already have travel reservations that aren’t refundable, please check with the airline again. Over the past couple of weeks, many previously non-refundable tickets have been made fully refundable. Brodeur and I benefited from this when returning from GAMA Expo.
If you cannot cancel, transfer, or credit a particular expenditure at all, please let one of us know. I’m not sure what the law will even allow us to do, but we’ll at least see what’s possible come June.
March 23rd, 2020 in
Blog Entries |
1 Comment
* (0:41) Some unfortunate news about Fear the Con 2020. A blog post with some more information is coming soon.
* (4:14) Brodeur’s new endeavor can be found here (as of this episode, the site is still very heavily under construction).
* (7:55) Dan and Brodeur go to GAMA Expo! The usual relationship between tabletop games and conventions.
* (14:57) Why the con-to-game relationship seems to be breaking down this year, and what that may mean for our hobby.
* (27:04) The potential impact on retail.
* (31:11) Answering some of the questions the listeners asked us to look into.
* (41:18) How all of this affects the end consumer.
* (47:36) The misuse and abuse of Kickstarter.
* (57:03) The resilience of the tabletop gaming hobby.
Hosts: Brodeur, Dan
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* (0:24) Betrayal to the keys to power.
* (4:40) Why Wayne abuses utility powers.
* (6:19) Chad passes judgment. It might be easier to say, “no,” upfront than to have the fight later.
* (13:02) Fear of the unknown. Wayne’s confessional mini-show, now available on Patreon.
* (16:53) Getting Dale’s perspective as a publisher of game supplements. You can find his online shop here.
* (24:25) Dale’s advice for the splat-averse.
* (32:34) How Dale can attract people to his products. Splat certification?
Hosts: Chad, Dale, Dan, Wayne
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* (0:24) Putting Dale in the hotseat as a Game Master.
* (10:01) Pitching the same idea to Chad and Wayne as theoretical players.
* (17:13) Judging the regularity of and motivation for playing unusual characters.
* (23:52) Kicking the pitch back to Dale again.
* (32:46) The unique problems of playing from splat you wrote.
* (38:17) Flipping the script and using splat to empower other characters. But it did get worse.
* (43:52) Dan’s trouble with trust.
Hosts: Chad, Dale, Dan, Wayne
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* (0:24) Why Chad doesn’t have a strong opinion on splat. Getting to the player’s real reason for the request. Allowing unusual requests as a form of collaborative world-building.
* (4:20) Why Chad’s games more easily accommodate weird ideas.
* (7:22) Re-skinning existing content instead of creating new content. Abusing splat.
* (8:17) Not trusting the players to self-moderate.
* (19:54) Why Dale, as a player, likes splat.
* (27:49) Putting Dale in the hotseat as a player.
Hosts: Chad, Dale, Dan, Wayne
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* (0:28) Our history with podcasts and…iPods…?
* (4:44) Fear the Con player and GM signup is ready to go. Fear the Boot new Patreon levels. Getting some old hosts back and relocating the recording studio.
* (12:42) A disagreement over splat books creates a show.
* (19:41) Around the table, asking who thinks what about splat books.
* (21:26) Knowing the content or at least trusting its creators.
* (25:04) Splat as a relief from burnout.
* (28:04) How publishers break their own games.
* (31:49) Trying to solve the problem after the game has been broken.
* (35:58) The FCD pitch versus genuinely contributing to the game. Doing your own homework and balancing.
Hosts: Chad, Dale, Dan, Wayne
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Fear the Boot’s Patreon
Fear the Boot has been on Patreon for almost four years. I fealt it was time to review and adjust to give our backers the best and most consistent content we can as a thank you for your support. Server hosting, audio equipment, and an editor add up and your support is what helps keep this podcast going. Every penny goes back into the product and there are some much needed improvements we hope to implement. So with a strong sense of gratitude I am pleased to announce a new structure for our Patreon Benefits.
Booter Tier. $1 a month.
First you get our gratitude. We truly are grateful for your support. In addition you will be our taste testers. You will be the first we engage when we have new ideas. The ability to help shape our content by being included in periodic polls.
Player Character Tier. $3 a month.
In addition to the Booter Tier benefits you will get copies of any playtest materials produced for roleplaying games to be released by Fear the Boot LLC. To help with this you will get access to a channel on the Fear the Boot Discord server for Project feedback. Finally you get a custom green color on the Fear the Boot Discord server.
Behind the GM Screen Tier. $5 a month.
You get all benefits from the Booter and Player Character Tiers. Starting at this Tier you get access to the raw recording files of episodes as they are recorded before being edited. Previously when an episode fell into territories that would violate the ratings we have chosen for the show they were labeled as negative and not released. As part of the patreon these such episodes and ones created specifically for this purpose will be released to you. Finally a new mini podcast called Fear the Boot Game Notes will be released starting at this level. It is a weekly show under 30 minutes focusing on the process of gameprep and GM insecurities.
Baron Von Badass Tier. $7 a month.
In addition to all the benefits from the lower tiers you will get access to two exclusive Discord channels. You can directly interact with the hosts in the text channel asking for game advice, chatting, or providing show suggestions. The new voice channel will be used for AMAs, preshow chats, and an option for moving conversations from the text channel to voice. Hosts are dedicated to interacting in the text channel and doing atleast one scheduled voice interaction a month.
March 2nd, 2020 in
PSAs |
No Comments
* (0:25) Introducing Kimi from Happy Jacks, The Mary Sues, and Golden Lasso Girl (Twitter, Instagram).
* (7:07) The Decuma Kickstarter, which can be found here.
* (11:03) What Decuma is meant to do, and how it plays.
* (16:20) Establishing characters and a setting so we can do a live demo.
* (20:41) Playing the game demo, starting with character connection cards. A side note on how to shuffle a tarot deck.
* (26:55) What we got from just two cards, including plot points for the GM.
* (29:12) The world dynamics card, between the character connection rounds.
* (34:09) Two location card examples.
* (38:44) Building an area map as you work through the cards.
* (40:50) The meaning of the name Decuma.
Hosts: Chad, Dale, Dan, Wayne
Guests: Kimi
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