Bonus Episode 4 – Battletech, oh how we love thee
by Dan Repperger

In this bonus episode, we talk about how and why we love Battletech.  As always, this bonus show is unscripted and unedited.

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Episode 11 – dealing with first games
by Dan Repperger

Since several people have asked about the cons we’ll be attending, we start episode 11 with our convention schedule. We then pause to talk about our first two episodes which seem to have offended a few first-time listeners. While we won’t take them down, we do suggest you start listening at later episodes instead.

Chris sent us an email about judging morality by periods in history, which we discuss. We also respond to an email from Harping Mick who requested our detailed views on LARPing. Finally, we offer some advice on surviving a campaign’s dreaded first game and then close out by listing a few of our favorite “game killers”.

Hosts: Adam, Chad, Dan, John

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Bonus Episode 3 – the internet aspect of making this podcast
by Dan Repperger

The third bonus episode — and the final one on this topic, at least for now — is a discussion of the internet-related tasks that go into making a podcast.  We talk about posting the show online, getting listed in podcast directories, and so on.  This episode was recorded several weeks ago, but I was a bit slow getting it posted, so expect some “dated” comments.

After listening to all three bonus episodes in this series, I think I’d like to re-record these at some point, making them more complete and more serious.  We’ve learned quite a bit even in the short time since these were recorded.  We made these episodes because people asked us how we made our show, not because we considered ourselves particular experts on the subject.

Also, a reminder to everyone that we do not edit these episodes for quality, so expect a lot of background noise and other screw-ups that don’t normally appear in our shows.

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Episode 10 – ladies podcast
by Dan Repperger

Episode 10 is an anomaly for our show. For this one episode, we turn over the mics to our wives. They give us a woman’s perspective on gaming and what it’s like to be a non-gamer married to a gaming dork.

If this is your first time with Fear the Boot, please be aware that this is not the normal format for our show. If you’re looking to see what this show is typically like, we recommend you go back and listen to episode 9 first.

Hosts: Dawn, Karla, Melina, Teresa

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Episode 9 – small topic round-up
by Dan Repperger

We were down a host for this episode, and a bit more serious than normal, but we still covered a lot of good information.

The episode starts with a discussion of the overuse of setting in some campaigns, followed by our musings about D&D alignment, character behavior, and real-life violence around the gaming table. We struggle with the age-old question of “tail or wings” and then finally (having promised this for many episodes) bash out our opinion of the d20 system.

We conclude with an email from a listener and some advice for unusually large or small roleplaying groups — including the possible use of multiple GMs to co-manage a game.

Hosts: Chad, Dan, John

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Episode 8 – combat encounters
by Dan Repperger

We start this show by discussing various character- and player-related problems that can occur during a roleplaying game.  Topics include Adam’s difficulty naming his characters, deciding between 1st and 3rd person RP, ridiculous inventories, and dealing with “setting lawyers”.  The last half of the show is spent discussing the design and exceution of combat encounters, as well as handling the positive and negative consequences that follow.

* FYI, the “two sets of keys” comment was just a figure of speech.  None of the hosts actually does anything like that.

Hosts: Adam, Chad, Dan, John

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Episode 7 – when players break your plot
by Dan Repperger

Episode 7 begins with us trying to figure out how to pronounce Aram’s name. He regales us with his single, tragic experience with D&D, the details of which get us thinking about how roleplayers tend to insert RPG elements into other areas of their lives.

We take some time to thank the other podcasts that have been uniquely supportive of Fear the Boot. This includes HarpingMick of HarpingMonkey.com, JJ from Fist Full of Comics, and Chuck and Lonnie of Dragon’s Landing Inn.

Since we had the entries in hand, we select a winner for the “origin of Fear the Boot” contest and tell you the real story behind our name. Adam had a Rifts book handy, so we also pause to discuss the ups and downs of the Palladium games and generic rules systems in general.

Our advice portion focuses on dealing with players that break your plot, straying places you never expected them to go. We offer quite a few tips for getting them back on track and keeping them there without resorting to heavy-handed tactics.

Hosts: Adam, Aram, Chad, Dan

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Bonus Episode 2 – the hardware aspect of making this podcast
by Dan Repperger

Our second bonus episode covers the hardware (mics, mixer, etc) we use to make the podcast.  I want to remind everyone the bonus episodes — unlike our regular shows — are completely unedited.  There’s no intro music and our mistakes are all left in.

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Episode 6 – plot design
by Dan Repperger

Episode 6 begins with a discussion on using the Monstrous Manual as a campaign setting and plotline!  Please don’t ever do that.  We then pause to remind everyone about the ways you can get in touch with us, such as Odeo, email, and our new forums.

Since several people have been asking where the name “Fear the Boot” came from, we decided to turn it into a contest.  All you have to do is come up with a good story about how you think “Fear the Boot” originated.  Please keep it to about one paragraph in length, with no obscenity, and post your entry on our forum.  The winner will have their entry read on the next podcast and get a custom forum-user title.

Next, we read an email from Scott, answering his question about how to find a replacement gamer for his group.  That transitions into a conversation about playing characters that lend themselves to shallow stereotypes (a thought I don’t think we sufficiently developed).  Finally, after asking ourselves why we talk about Shadowrun so much, we roll into the advice portion with tips on creating a good plot.  Since we can’t resist tangents, we also give some tips on how to quickly name the NPCs your players come across in your game.

Hosts: Adam, Chad, Dan, John

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Bonus Episode 1 – the creative aspect of making this podcast
by Dan Repperger

This is the first in a series of bonus episodes we want to release.  These shows are 10 – 20 minutes long and cover topics that don’t fit in the scope of our normal podcasts.  They’re completely unedited, so there’s no intro music and our flubs have been left in.  We won’t have a bonus show every week, but when we do, we’ll be releasing them on Wednesday night.

The first three bonus episodes talk about the creative, hardware, and marketing aspects of making this podcast.  We made them in response to a listener that asked how we put the show together.  If this topic doesn’t particularly interest you, or you don’t like the prospect of a rather raw recording, you won’t miss too much by skipping over it.

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