I’ve been thinking about PCs relying too much on NPCs. In a couple games I’ve been running/playing in, it seems like almost every time a question gets asked or a decision has to be made, the PCs say, “What does the NPC think? Does the NPC know the solution?” Basically, the PCs want to follow...
Game Master’s style, it’s not about whether a game master is good or bad. It’s about the things they do. One GM may be strict rules-as-written, another may go with the flow at the table. We all have our own style. Random Encounter Mike Watkins sends in voicemail about spell components and resources Mike Watkins...
Episode 296 it was all about the resources in tabletop rpg’s. We talked about the idea of tracking gear and food and such as a possible way to help make certain adventures/stories fun. Now let’s see if we can come up with some methods for tracking this stuff so it’s not too much work. Random...
This episode is full of good feedback on previous topics. It proves BS’ers are smarter than BS.
Ok, I have 3 torches; rations, iron, 2 weeks; 1 waterskin and 20 arrows. We know the ruins are a week’s journey, one way. Time passes. Now you are down to 5 arrows, no water, and the bear ate your food, what do you do? This is a different type of game, but what challenges does it present to players? What now drives the direction? Instead of taking the road, we should probably travel along the river, but we know what lurks near the river… Connect with us... GamingandBS.com/Forums GamingandBS.com/...
In episode 294 we talked about applying pressure to the player characters in order to add a sense of tension. We never outlined how to apply pressure and tension. We make an attempt at doing that in this episode. Next Episode Subscribe on iOS or Android so you don’t miss our next episode. GamingandBS.com/Forums GamingandBS.com/Twitch...
Walking through the woods and you come across a “insert creature here”. Fight it, win. But what about applying more pressure to pc’s? “You are in a spaceship, the engines are out, there’s a creature making its way down the corridor and you have been poisoned with the antidote three decks below you.” Keep things...
Skill piling in tabletop rpg’s, the fail and subsequent “I check” from another player, and another, and another. We list examples, determine if it’s a good idea, and whether it apply to all role-playing games. Announcements Event registration for Gamehole Con is live. Nov 5-8th, 2020 Con of Champions, May 23-25, online. Proceeds go to...
Low Fantasy Gaming is the title of an actual role-playing game by Pick Pocket Press. We have Jason Hobbs from Hobbs ‘n Friends podcast to provide us some insight to this cool fantasy rpg. Is this an OSR type of game? System only – no setting? The Midlands, Adventure Frameworks Versions of the game (“standard/original” v....
“This is something I’ve fallen prey to. If you decide to run a campaign for your group that you’ve previously run for another group…be very careful. Your expectations are going to run along with what the previous group did. I can guarantee you the new group will probably go in a direction you never thought...
In D&D 5e, what does a shortbow, spear, javelin, trident and hand crossbow all have in common? That’s right, they do the same amount of damage. Why do we, in certain games, have such “detail” of weapon types that all do the same damage? While we start with weapon damage, we get off that a...
Sean has talked about Mothership before, and is/has run a game for some BS’ers so let’s dig into this game and see what we can learn from Sean. Mothership is a tabletop role-playing game of sci-fi horror published by Tuesday Night Games. If you like John Carpenter’s The Thing, or Alien(s) movies, you’ll appreciate Mothership. Announcements Brett running Streets of...
We are going to be running some games for Patrons of the show, and lots of folks are running tabletop rpg’s online, so we wanted to talk about some of the behaviors that gamers need to be aware of, and possibly change, to help make these on-line sessions the most fun they can be. Need...
Sometimes it may be a better idea for the GM to roll some dice for the players – like those time when your ninja is trying to move silently, or your Street Samurai is trying to hear if anything is behind the door, or maybe your wizard is trying to spot the book that has...
Non-combat encounters in RPG’s… Don’t make encounters about “combat”. What are our thoughts on that? Asks Sky. Create an encounter, it’s up to the players if they make it combat-based…but not always. We also touch on resolving the encounter, typically social in nature. https://forums.gamingandbs.com/t/286-non-combat-encounter-design/524 Announcements Survey to gauge interest in playing online with Brett, Sean...
The ideal game group for role-playing games is more than just the perfect amount of participants. It encompasses a wide array of things like types of players, the games you play, whether you game master or play, whether you have game masters as players. Of course we don’t want bad players at the table, but...
The year? 2020. The tabletop industry at its core is still books, pen, paper, and dice. PDF’s are just electronic versions of role-playing game books. With all the technical advances in today’s modern era, are there different ways of delivering and presenting rpg’s? Announcements Survey to gauge interest in playing online with Brett, Sean and...
Brett and Sean had a couple people comment on our forums, here, and here, about the use of audio for your rpg. Whether it is a soundtrack that helps paint the scene or if it’s ambient sound that sets mood…we touch on it. Announcements Brett steps down from Evercon Leadership role. Survey to gauge interest...
Sometimes, there’s no shortcut for experience. We talked with Tim D about this a bit when we had him on to talk AS&SH. We need to try and do and keep trying and doing to get good at something. It’s been said you need 10,000 hours to be proficient at a skill. Does this apply...
We’ve chatted about player character health before, but Brett thought he’d bring it back up as part of the “things I learned” from his Delta Green game around lethality and tracking damage. When a game is lethal it seems to be logical for GMs and Players to want to know exactly what part of a...
Brett is trying something new with his upcoming home game. We start with talking about campaign length but divert to the aforementioned change in Brett’s rpg. Random Encounter Laramie on Folklore Foes Laramie comments on the forums about Folklore Foes COMMENTS!!! I know I for one don’t really care when the show is recorded or...
Folklore Foes – how can we use the aspects of folklore monsters/foes to make our encounters new and fresh? Take a creature and give it different immunities and vulnerabilities. Inspired by Zee Bashew’s video on youtube. Random Encounter Josh Wallace writes in his favorite house rule Hail and well met! I’m a bit behind on...
We talk about Astonishing Swordsmen and Sorcerers of Hyperborea role-playing game, by Jeffrey Talanian. But we need some help so we enlist our friend, and big fan of the game, Tim Deschene! From Hyperborea.TV: “Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea is sword-and-sorcery role-playing at its pinnacle. Now in its second edition, AS&SH™ has been expanded to...
A lot of role-playing gamers have backed a gaming/rpg product on Kickstarter. What products are available? Why do you choose to back a specific rpg Kickstarter project? Thanks to Peter and Alex for the suggestion! Announcements Avalon Adventures on DTRPG Random Encounter Harrigan writes in to clear up GM intrusions Alright, just to set something straight...
Sean realizes just how complicated running an RPG encounter can be for anyone, but especially those new to the hobby. This and Random Encounters! Announcements Avalon Adventures on DTRPG #5 Tabletop RPG Talk Podcast of 2019 on EnWorld Random Encounter Sean comments on the forums Check it here. As I was running the group through this...
What system neutral GM aids you keep in your toolbox, to help you craft your games and worlds? Do you have any that you find yourself coming back to time and again? Announcements Avalon Adventures on DTRPG Random Encounter Gabe aka Eirvit on our forums commented on about The Next Game The metaphor I devised for...
“The fallacy that ‘the next game’ is the one that will make you happy. It’s nearly identical to the consumer fallacy that the next thing you buy is the thing that will make you happy. Until you ‘fix’ the game you are in and learn how to have fun NOW, the next game is simply...
Consequences in role-playing games. We talk a lot about how “If the PC or Player does something ‘stupid’ they should pay the price for it’ – but is one way of doing this better than another? Announcements Evercon.org – some BSer’s are running games at the con, be great to have more! Grab a copy...
Last episode (271) we spoke about house rules in rpg’s. We got some pretty good feedback on the topic. Announcements Evercon.org – some BSer’s are running games at the con, be great to have more! Grab a copy of IRON SHOES and BLACKSMITH’S FOLLY written by Bart Bochinski Random Encounter George Sedgwick hit us up...
House or home rules. What games do you implement your house rules? Do they make the game system better. Are there times that a house rule works across different role-playing games? Thanks to Peter Isaacs for the suggestion. Announcements Evercon.org – some BSer’s are running games at the con, be great to have more! Avalon...
