Writer and game designer, Tristan Zimmerman, returns to the podcast today. Tristan and I discuss three historical topics and situations you can use in your RPG campaigns right now. We tackle a Florentine feud, the genesis of the mysterious Piasa bird, and a scam colony in the South Seas. Tristan and I give you tips and scenarios for how you can work these topics into your role-playing game sessions and campaigns today.
Dec 22, 2021•1 hr 15 min
Mark from the D4 on the Floor podcast joins m on the dicegeeks show today. We discuss his years of running Shadowrun and how to effectively run tabletop RPGs. He fills us in on the D4 on the Floor podcast and lets us know about its rich fantasy world using D&D. Any fan of TTRPGs will gain a lot from this conversation.
Dec 15, 2021•49 min
Patrick Kanouse returns to the podcast today to talk about running science fiction RPG campaigns. In the first interview, we learned Patrick has done a lot of sci-fi role-playing so this topic was right up his alley. We dive into the elements of what makes a great science fiction RPG campaign and Patrick drops some great gamemaster wisdom along the way. Also, we discuss his new RPG After: The Machines.
Dec 08, 2021•57 min
Writer and game designer, Richard Davis with Explorer's Guild Publishing, joins me on the podcast today. We have a wide-ranging conversation touching on many areas of game master advice as Richard let's us in on how he runs RPG sessions. Also, we talk about Richard's Explorer's Guild Publishing and his RPG resources.
Dec 01, 2021•1 hr 7 min
Filmmaker and author, John Walsh, returns to the podcast. Today we discuss his new book Escape from New York: The Official Story of the Film . We dive into the making of the classic John Carpenter film. John Walsh fills us in on fascinating behind-the-scenes information and sets the stage as to how Escape from New York was made. We talk about the special effects, the era of the late 70s and early 80s filmmaking, the countdown device, and much more.
Nov 24, 2021•1 hr 8 min
RPG writer and streamer, Travis Legge, joins me on the podcast today. We have a wide-ranging conversation touching on a variety of topics. Onyx Path Publishing, They Came from Beneath the Sea , the 1970s, nuclear war, and filmmaking are just a few of the topics we discuss. Along the way, we talk about running RPGs and writing for RPGs.
Nov 17, 2021•1 hr 17 min
Today on the podcast, I welcome two guests: DJ Shewmaker and Kenny Moore with DragonSoul Dice. We talk about the liquid core role-playing game dice for which DragonSoul Dice is known. We discuss their look and how they roll. Plus, we dive into our current RPG campaigns and what characters we are playing right now. Also, we dive into the card game Magic a bit as well.
Nov 10, 2021•55 min
Brendan Lasalle, Goodman Games staff writer, joins me on the podcast today. Brendan lets us know how he began playing role-playing games with D&D and then quickly moved into playing other games. We discuss GMing and how players can improve how they play. Brendan fills us in on what Goodman Games is and what kind of RPGs they produce. We talk about Dungeon Crawl Classics and more. Also, Brendan is the designer of the game XCrawl and he lets us know how a new edition is in the works.
Nov 03, 2021•55 min
Forrest Harris, the owner of Knuckleduster Miniatures me on the podcast today. We discuss his miniature game Gunfighter's Ball and wargaming in general. We dive into the wild west and western films. Plus we dip into the weird west with orc outlaws and much more.
Oct 27, 2021•57 min
Austin Trunick, the author of The Cannon Film Guide , joins me on the podcast today. Cannon Films produced some of the greatest 80s action movies. The podcast discussion ranges from behind-the-scenes history of Cannon Films to specific movies like Invasion USA, Firewalker, Bloodsport , and more. We talk about how Cannon Films jumped on and helped fuel the ninja and breakdancing crazes of the 80s. Plus Austin used to play D&D and is now getting back into the hobby and we touch on an RPG campa...
Oct 20, 2021•1 hr 19 min
Writer, game designer, and blogger, Tristan Zimmerman, returns the podcast today. As always, we examine several historical topics to learn how we can use them in our RPG campaigns. Tristan dissects a bizarre court-martial, African ruins, and the emissary to the Mongols. Learn how each of these situations can be used as fuel as we run role-playing game sessions and campaigns.
Oct 13, 2021•1 hr 13 min
My guest today is game master and Obsidian Portal emissary, Zac Harrison. We have a wide-ranging conversation touching on a variety of role-playing game topics. We discuss running RPG campaigns with low or no-prep. Other topics include: game master tips and tricks, paid GMing, and more. Plus we talk about organizing your RPG campaigns in Obsidian Portal
Oct 06, 2021•1 hr
Writer and editor, Jonathan Oliver, joins me on the podcast today. The conversation spans writing, editing, publishing, and Jon's love of RPGs. We cover what editors are looking for and the trend of self-publishing. Plus Jon was the editor of my novel The Spaceport Gambit, so we discuss it a bit.
Sep 29, 2021•1 hr 5 min
Comicbook writer Josh Barbeau returns to the podcast. The discussion is a deep dive into story hooks and RPG campaign hooks. We talk about how to give your players or readers questions that will carry them through the story. We draw examples from comic books, movies, role-playing games, and more.
Sep 22, 2021•55 min
CinnamonRoll Studios CEO Je'Don Carter joins me on the show today. We talk about his new virtual reality role-playing game tool that gives traditional tabletop games a VR environment. Plus, we discuss his introduction to Dungeons & Dragons and his first experiences DMing.
Sep 15, 2021•48 min
Long-time gamer, retired Air Force pilot, and game designer, Joel "The Major" Burt, visits the podcast today. Our conversation spans his introduction to RPGs, D&D, and more. However, the main focus of the discussion is his three rules to be a great dungeon master. We explore his rules and delve deep into what it means to be a truly great dungeon master.
Sep 08, 2021•1 hr 19 min
DriveThruRPG's Indie Publisher Representative Adriel Wilson joins me on the podcast today. We talk about the do's and don't of publishing role-playing games on DriveThruRPG. The conversation begins by discussing tips and advice for those new to publishing. Then it moves into more advanced tips for experienced RPG publishers. Topics touched on include stock art, social media, software tips, and more.
Sep 01, 2021•59 min
Today, my guest is Peter Corless, a game designer who worked for West End Games and once owned the Pendragon RPG. In our conversation, we discuss his work on the Paranoia RPG and how he drew the map of the Millennium Falcon map for the WEG Star Wars RPG. We talk about Pendragon and what sets it apart from other role-playing games.
Aug 25, 2021•1 hr 1 min
Writer and game designer Tristan Zimmerman returns to the podcast once again. Today's history topics include a murderous mail robbery in France, a Ming Dynasty invasion fleet, and the Pilgrimage of the Dead. Tristan covers these real events and then we break them down showing ways you can use them in your RPG campaigns. This episode provides a wealth of ideas and situations gamemasters can use in their games tonight. Murder, hasty trials, foreign conquering fleets, special wine, and vision of th...
Aug 18, 2021•1 hr 37 min
Keith Ammann, the author of The Monsters Know What They're Doing: Combat Tactics for Dungeon Masters , joins me on the podcast today. The conversation kicks off with Keith telling how he was introduced to TTRPGs and how he played D&D. We discuss how important it is to understand what NPCs in the game world know because that determines how they act. We talk about the combat tactics of D&D monsters and dive deep into goblins, kobolds, and more. Plus we talk about Keith's other D&D book...
Aug 11, 2021•59 min
Archeologist Scott Smallwood returns to the podcast to discuss treasure hunting and looting in real life and in role-playing games. His perspective as an archeologist is thought-provoking and insightful. We also check in on his RPG design projects and end up talking about ancient Norse rap battles.
Aug 04, 2021•1 hr 11 min
RPG designer and writer, Shawn Merwin, joins me on the podcast today. We discuss Shawn's history with role-playing games and how he began writing RPG adventures. We talk about his work on the Acquisitions Incorporated sourcebook for D&D 5e. Plus we talk about his current work with Ghost Fire Gaming and, of course, he drops role-playing wisdom and advice along the way.
Jul 28, 2021•1 hr 6 min
Ryan McHargue, co-host of the Geezers of the Game podcast, joins me today on the show. We discuss what not to do when GMing and other role-playing game advice and tips. We talk about creating planets for Star Wars and Star Trek RPGs, FASA Star Trek, and Ryan's work with his RPG podcast. Plus we go on a rant about Star Trek 2 and 3 as well as take a detour through the feature film directorial career of Leonard Nimoy.
Jul 21, 2021•1 hr 2 min
Tales from the Magician's Skull magazine editor and author Howard Andrew Jones returns to the podcast. In the discussion, we define the sword and sorcery genre. We cover the submission guidelines for Tales from the Magician's Skull magazine and Howard tells us feelings about dwarf and elf detective stories. Howard enlightens us as to why stories shouldn't include whiny characters when writing. We also talk about why simply writing up our RPG campaigns usually does not work as short stories. Plus...
Jul 14, 2021•48 min
Game designer Luke Miller joins me on the podcast today. We talk gamemaster advice, writing, and running solo tabletop role-playing games. The discussion kicks off with how Luke was introduced to tabletop RPGs and how he became a dungeon master. Then we talk about his new adventure in creating a solo RPG called Journey.
Jul 07, 2021•59 min
Gamemaster and game designer Guy Sclanders joined me on the podcast. Guy runs the How to be a Great Gamemaster YouTube Channel where posts incredible GM advice. In our discussion today, we touch on various aspects of running tabletop RPGs and Guy gives excellent advice on how to up your game. We also talk about his new diceless TTRPG called Bounty Hunter.
Jun 30, 2021•1 hr 2 min
Director, producer, and author, James L. Conway, joins me on the show today. We discuss his television directing career including shows like MacGyver, Star Trek: TNG, Star Trek: ENT, Smallville, Charmed, The Magicians, and many more. I ask James about storytelling, directing, writing, and more. We talk about his time working on various Star Trek shows and how he was a fan of the original series. The discussion ranges from his television work into novel writing, and more.
Jun 23, 2021•50 min
Role-player and audiobook narrator Zac Katz-Stein joins me on the podcast today. The discussion ranges from dungeon master advice to playing your character to cutting down your GM prep time. We dive deep into tips and tricks that can help tabletop RPG gamemasters. Also, we touch on how Zac began playing RPGs and his work as an audiobook narrator.
Jun 16, 2021•1 hr 12 min
RPG adventure designer and novelist Beth Ball drops in on the podcast today. Beth and I have a wide-ranging conversation discussing playing role-playing games with one gamemaster and one player, sometimes called one-on-one or duet play. We talk about strategies for effective one-on-one role-playing. We touch on the dreaded gamemaster player character (GMPC) and how it can be used correctly in duet RPGs. Beth gives us insights into writing and designing D&D duet adventures. Plus Beth and I di...
Jun 09, 2021•1 hr 1 min
Writer and game designer Tristan Zimmerman joins me once again to take real history and work it into our RPG campaigns. We discuss a Hungarian crown heist, fated rulers in Africa, and a monk with an awesome name. The conversation ranges from an overview of these topics to taking bits of them and working them into your existing tabletop games. Get ready for an action-packed episode with tons of situations that will enhance your role-playing games.
Jun 02, 2021•1 hr 14 min
