* (0:30) Dan runs a game a bit too literally.
* (4:12) The intersection of technology and roleplaying in a way that isn’t required by the game.
* (7:32) Why multimedia doesn’t pay-off the way it does in other forms of storytelling.
* (13:36) The prep time technology adds, and the stability it takes away.
* (15:59) The time spent digging up the right asset on-the-spot.
* (20:52) The physical space taken up by technology. Playing “follow the leader” at a subconscious level.
Hosts: Dan, Doug, Mary, Wayne
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* (0:29) Why talk about intelligence? The Why Files episode about Cicada 3301.
* (9:24) A game takes an unhelpfully long break, only to be replaced by another RPG.
* (12:44) The lack of a bottomless “buffet of ideas” in a closed setting.
* (14:24) Use minimal starting information to give you room to work.
* (18:12) How to run a school (everyone go play Persona 5).
* (24:48) Create a wide variety of NPCs and give them their own lives.
* (30:38) Keeping the party together, even if it doesn’t quite make sense.
* (31:57) PC-specific NPCs, so you know the players are bought it.
Hosts: Dan, Mary, Wayne
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
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* (0:22) Picking out the point we became curmudgeons and what exactly that means.
* (4:48) Being too set in our ways.
* (11:19) The self-destruction that comes with stagnation.
* (21:32) Wii have a solution.
* (24:32) Ducking new games while at a convention. Playing The Quiet Year on an airplane.
* (32:57) The role of pragmatism. Why expand your horizons when no one lets you go there, anyway?
* (38:43) There’s always going to be something wrong.
* (41:09) A lesson learned from The Why Files.
Hosts: Dan, Doug, Wayne
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
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* (0:29) Reintroducing Julia’s husband, Mike.
* (2:24) Lowered expectations, inspired by a post-pandemic world.
* (7:25) Being a bit more experimental.
* (13:18) Playing online instead of returning to the table.
* (19:18) Returning to the table instead of playing online.
* (23:58) The commonality of not being able to find an active gaming group.
* (31:54) Not lower expectations—just different ones.
Hosts: Dan, Mary, Mike, Wayne
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
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* (0:29) Thanks to Eric Van Note for Swole Mole!
* (3:15) The value of terrible GMing.
* (8:42) Everyone is their own most inept critic. Sojourn Volume 2.
* (15:28) The worst possible outcome: something being forgettable.
* (22:20) Asking Doug to grade his own game.
* (25:35) The value of creating art, simply for the act of creation.
* (37:04) A few too many contacts in someone’s eyes.
Hosts: Dan, Doug, Mary, Wayne
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts |
* (0:29) Dan prefers affiliated groups, Wayne does not.
* (2:15) Cohesion, identity, and help.
* (9:35) Affiliations you start with as opposed to those you pick up along the way.
* (11:56) The party’s direction and motivation. Affiliating with an ideal.
* (20:23) Affiliations create an obvious pool of NPC relationships.
* (25:40) External versus internal affiliations, and how they’re not mutually exclusive.
* (32:06) Taking extreme positions just to highlight the topic.
Hosts: Dan, Doug, Julia, Wayne
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts |
* (0:28) An update on the Actual Play.
* (4:48) The InSpectres RPG (at least temporarily back in print!) and our AP interlude using its rules.
* (8:09) Why play InSpectres as an interlude to the main campaign? Apparently only Dan has heard of Michelle Jenneke.
* (12:58) Plus an extra player.
* (16:10) The, “yes and,” style of gaming.
* (21:31) Assisting new players when they’re stuck.
* (26:24) Seeing roleplaying games as a starting point, not a finished product.
* (33:43) It’s not just a game; it’s on the mics.
* (39:19) No takebacks!
Hosts: Dan, Mary, Wayne
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
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* (0:28) Things are getting set for Fear the Con! An intro to RPGs game is available for newcomers.
* (2:03) A shared Minecraft server. You can find more information on Discord.
* (5:52) Realigning your game with a mid-campaign session zero. Special thanks to Gaming with Gage.
* (8:46) Making the case to have one.
* (12:59) Remembering the times we did this during the Skies of Glass campaign.
* (16:38) Reusing or reviewing the exact same work you did in session zero.
* (23:15) Being too specific or too general.
Hosts: Dan, Mary, Wayne
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts |
* (0:29) Julia ruins everything.
* (1:35) Things are getting set for Fear the Con! An intro to RPGs game is available for newcomers. You can also announce your games on Discord.
* (9:03) Coming out of a period of deep fatigue. How one game still never missed a week.
* (16:18) Spoons and other finite resources.
* (20:06) Why it might be best to bite off a bit less. You may not be gaming as much as you think, anyway.
* (26:41) Does gaming with strangers help the problem?
* (31:37) Kids, you’re already in the real world.
* (34:32) Strange schedules and cascading cancellations.
* (37:42) Gambling with the eleventh dollar.
Hosts: Dan, Julia, Mary, Wayne
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts |
* (0:28) Running a game when someone else knows the setting a whole lot better than you do.
* (2:07) The lack of pronunciation guides in most games.
* (3:16) Narrowing down the task by asking what’s important about the setting to the players.
* (7:59) Getting the essence or feel of the setting right. We need a Thug Notes recap of BattleTech lore.
* (12:53) Start small and work outward, learning just what you need for each step along the way.
* (21:15) Tell your players you only know some canon and therefore will only use some canon.
* (24:01) Setting an ending to the canon so you can tell your own story. Breaking continuity early to get it over with.
* (28:35) Keeping a chunk of authentic setting. Otherwise, why run it at all?
* (33:56) Asking your setting experts to give you limited homework.
* (35:09) We look forward to seeing you at Fear the Con!
Hosts: Dan, Mary, Wayne
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts |
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