Why we game. How did we get into gaming? What keeps us in the hobby and why is it important to us? We go into a bit about our motivation for partaking in our favorite hobby – playing role-playing games. We share some personal stories along the way. Announcements Gaming & BS social hour to...
Screw the rules. We come across rules that we don’t use, but why do we overlook them. Aren’t they part of the roleplaying game? Maybe it’s a complicated rule that slows down play. Perhaps we have a better way of doing things. We discuss the rules we don’t use and why. Announcements G&BS Social Hour...
It’s ok to fail. As a player, we learn from our mistakes. We can admit our shortcomings, well everyone but Sean. We’re working on that. Like many not-so-positive topics we cover, there can be something good on the other side of the die. This is no different. It teaches us valuable lessons. Failure helps us...
Imprisoning player characters can take away agency from the players, no question. Game masters can certainly present this to the players, but should be careful not to take it too far. Take it too far and players will get frustrated and ruin a game. Just getting the player characters into a prison situation may be a...
Character building questions stems from the bonds that rpg Dungeonworld uses to help solidify, or establish, relationships between player characters. It typically starts before kicking off the game and prevents a player character from lacking the motivation for being with the other player characters. We look at this from the player side as well as from the Game Master’s...
Campaign creation, a topic posed to us by Michael Drescher. We throw in the Fronts from the Dungeonworld rpg as a point of reference and a good way to approach fleshing out your campaign. Our thoughts, or approach, is not the be all end all to creating a campaign. Sean tends to start with prepublished modules but...
Random encounters in role-playing games, they were frequently found in many first edition Advanced Dungeons and Dragons modules and adventures. We look back at how we used them or they were used against us. It doesn’t have to be rolling on a table to see what is coming down the hall to consume the player...
Board and card games, Brett and Sean talk about their preferences and some of the games they play when not playing RPG’s. While they’re certainly fun to play, they are certainly a different type of game to play when compared to roleplaying games. Both types of games are certainly more competitive, one of things Sean...
Humor in roleplaying games, there’s a time and place for it. It can bring levity, but how much is too much and what happens when it gets out of control? Is it really worth killing a player…character over it? It can depend on the game you’re playing. Some games like Paranoia can certainly bring humor...
Powerful items in rpg’s, game masters give them out from time-to-time. It’s the +5 Holy Avenger or some ancient artifact that can grant Wish or Resurrection spells. You run the risk of breaking your game, or do you? We as Dungeon Masters may regret providing these powerful magic items, but what do you do after one of the members...
Keeping players engaged, there are a few things you can do. Often times it’s because they’re bored or not engaged. As a GM you can do a few things. Hell, Brett goes as far as doing one-on-ones. “How are you liking your character? What goals are you trying to achieve?” It’s gotta be his promotion...
Interpreting die rolls, or do you use degrees of success with systems that don’t facilitate such a mechanic? Of course there are role-playing game systems like Fantasy Flight Games Star Wars RPG or Powered by the Apocalypse Dungeon World, and even Savage Worlds all have some type of heightened success or failure. But what about the popular...
Collecting role-playing games, we treasure our beloved tomes of rules, maps and scenarios. We keep things because they can be used as resources. Or maybe it’s nostalgia. But in this episode Brett and I visit Alex Kammer, Director of Gamehole Con [sponsor], at the Gamehole where we talk to him about being an avid collector of TSR’s Dungeons...
GM screens are great for referencing rules without having to page through a thick rpg rule book. Some of us choose not to use them because they can be intrusive and create a physical barrier between the players and the game master. Use them or not, there can be some pretty creative screens out there...
Secret conversations in rpgs. We pass notes. Game Masters pull players aside to talk about something that may not be privy to the in-game situation. Does it matter if the rest of your group hears these conversations? Sometimes this can take attention from others. Like the theater diva of the group seeks attention, so would...
Counting coup in rpgs, it stems from an old tradition of the Native Americans. In roleplaying games it can be considered a different way to handle combat. It doesn’t always have to be ‘to the death’! What if a nonplayer character needs the party to do some bidding, yet they still need to convey their...
Inclusion in the RPG hobby, there are times when we are not doing our best at welcoming others into awesome world of role-playing games. Even when interacting with people of other genders, ethnicity, etc, we can say the wrong thing without even being aware of the fact. Of course there are people that consciously choose...
No shows at rpg cons, it happens. Before being perturbed, it is possible that someone had an emergency come up and could not get to to the convention. But what can you do? Well, the con organizers probably have some method of refunding your ticket or getting you into another game if you’re a player...
Dedication to system, or system mastery, is often used in the same context. While it may take ‘dedication to an rpg system’ in order to gain mastery of its rules, it’s not always the case. There are advantages and disadvantages to being dedication to sone system. System mastery is obviously an advantage, but what about...
Player versus player in roleplaying games, without agreement and understanding in advance it can turn out to be a royal fiasco. We specify player versus player and character versus character. Brett talks about how there has been positive gaming experiences when players go back and forth with their characters, but it doesn’t always happen that...
We talk Savage Worlds RPG, and solicit some help from Kristian Serrano and Ron Blessing from the Savage Bloggers Network. Published by Pinnacle Entertainment Group, Savage Worlds’ motto is ‘Fast, Furious, and Fun’. We talk about what makes it fast, furious, and fun. Target number four, raises, wild die, bennies, wild cards and extras, and playing cards for initiatives are just some...
Latency in rpg combat occurs from time to time. Sure there are roleplaying games that have higher rates, or delays, in how combat is resolved. What causes this ‘latency’ we speak of? It could be that many players simply don’t know all the rules. Maybe there are too many rules to remember. How does a...
Starting the rpg campaign takes some previous thought. How much depends on a few things, what you’re going to play and how you’ll approach your players are just two thing to consider. There is quite a bit of social contract, knowledge gathering and dissemination of information. Players are going to want to know the type...
We typically use opposed die rolls in rpgs to resolve a contest between player characters or between player character and nonplayer characters. We may use skills – my push to your pull, or more like sense motive to the other’s deception. Some systems could have a different approach, re: Star Wars Edge of the Empire by Fantasy Flight...
Monsters and non monsters in roleplaying games. As Game Masters we throw them at the players, but the big bad is typically a humanoid or human. That is not necessary true. Is it? By saying this we are considering monsters as just fillers. They may be the creatures that do the bidding of some more...
We talk about the Gumshoe RPG system developed by Robin D. Laws and published by Pelgrane Press. Ken Hite, author of Trail of Cthulhu, wrote the game using Gumshoe system because a Call of Cthuhlu game could come to a screeching halt if a player character does not find the clue, or the gamemaster would have to scramble to...
Roleplaying games are about discovery and some of that includes some type of investigation. Sure, there are games that have mechanics that help facilitate an investigative game, Gumshoe by Pelgrane Press is just one, but what about the games that don’t have investigation at its core? There is the ‘investigation’ skill in D&D 5e, but...
Roleplaying game classes, there are rpg systems that involve classes for their player characters. Examples include fighter, magic-user, thief, etc. Dungeons and Dragons and respective derivatives are ones that lead the way with player character classes. Other systems, like Basic Roleplaying, GURPS or Savage Worlds are more generic. In those games you typically build your...
Part 2 of our coverage of Dungeon Crawl Classics roleplaying game. We didn’t chase off Jen Brinkman from part 1. She joins us again to keep us on track and ensure the info we convey is accurate. In this episode we mention alignment in DCC and skill checks. We continue on with the feel that...
This week we talk about the Dungeon Crawl Classics (DCC) role-playing game by Goodman Games. We ask Jen Brinkman, from Spellburn and Sanctum Secorum podcasts, to help us explain the rules and mechanics of this cool fantasy-based rpg. Inspired by the original Appendix N, DCC is a game that makes it clear that adventuring is dangerous,...
