Saul and Jolene discuss this useful tool to utilize when running RPGs. What it an X-Card? When should you use it? Why should you use it? Saul and Jolene talk about these topics and Saul remembers when he thought he didn't need to use such a tool because he didn't run "those" type of games. As usual Saul deviates from the topic, but there is some relevance to his meandering stories. Thanks to all the people to download and listen to our podcast from England, Canada and many states in the U.S. Tha...
Mar 17, 2019•33 min•Ep. 51
In this episode we decided to change things up a little and discuss a skirmish/miniature game called Gaslands by Osprey Publishing. This neat little miniature game that uses Hot Wheels or Matchbox cars uses an easy set of rules to play. The setting is a near post apocalyptic setting where deadly races are televised across the Earth. At a local game con, Dundracon, Saul played with his good friend Bay, Augustin his son and Ian with very little prep or terrain. We all had a blast. Jolene pointed o...
Mar 10, 2019•31 min•Ep. 50
In this Episode Saul and Jolene talk about Magic Items in your campaign. They discuss what thoughts and processes they use to come up with magical items. First decision for the GM is how much magic is in your world. Whether its a home brew world or one that you buy this first decision has a great impact on the amount of magic in your world and therefore the amount and type of magical items in that world. Saul spills the beans on why he puts up magic shops in his world even though he personally d...
Mar 03, 2019•32 min•Ep. 49
Fresh from going to Dundracon, Saul and Jolene talk about one of the most influential literary works that has influenced Fantasy Role Playing Games. Middle-Earth the world created by J. R.R. Tolkien is one of the most well known worlds in the fantasy genre. Saul proposes that if it were not for The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings books that RPGs as we know them probably would not have existed or at least not in the way they are today. That is because, Saul says that Gary Gygax was influenced gr...
Feb 24, 2019•36 min•Ep. 48
We got all kinds of people to join us on the microphone as we recorded Live at DunDraCon on Sunday. We would like to especially thank David Jones for coming back to us to tell us what his DDC experience had been. We had a Pre-DDC interview where we got to know David. Mike E. the executive producer of Kublacon and shared us new things happening at his game convention. We got Dundrcon staff Rachelle B the Publicist, Ariel P LARP coordinator, Meg C Demo coordinator and Con Reg Deputy, Becky T. Teen...
Feb 19, 2019•1 hr 55 min•Ep. 47
Saul and Jolene attend one of the favorite local gaming conventions called DunDraCon, which was nice enough to give us room in their very busy and packed to the gills convention to do a live recording of our podcast. For us we learned a great deal about setting up our podcast for live recording. But it was a lot of fun and we got some great comments by con attendees that stopped by our table. This was our first recording in a crowded space so the level of background noise if much higher than our...
Feb 19, 2019•1 hr 36 min•Ep. 46
The Last but not least of the Pre-Dundracon interviews, this one is with Ezra Denney. I got to know these GM's by going to local gaming conventions. Ezra is one of the best at running games that uses a lot of improvisation, which is not an easy skill to develop. I had the pleasure of playing in one of his Paranoia games at Big Bad Con about 5 years ago and it is the best Paranoia game I have ever played in. So when I sent out a call to do the interviews, Ezra was one of the first ones to sign on...
Feb 14, 2019•39 min•Ep. 45
The Second Interview with a GM that is attending and running games at Dundracon. Shannon is a very accomplished GM and usually has many people trying to get into his very well regarded games. Saul and Jolene will be doing a live recording from Dundracon on Sat and Sun. Hope to see you all there. Thanks to Shannon for taking time out of his busy schedule to do this interview with us.
Feb 14, 2019•22 min•Ep. 44
Saul and Jolene are taking Gaming Perspectives on the road when they attend DunDraCon taking place over President's Day weekend. This is the first GM David Jones. He will be running a Tales From the Loop game on Friday Night. You can see the DDC program online. We would like to thank David for taking time to do this interview. See you at DunDraCon!!!
Feb 14, 2019•22 min•Ep. 43
Saul and Jolene discuss what systems are good for running mystery adventures. Saul really likes the Gumshoe line of RPGs which are specifically made for running mystery games. Also good for mystery games is the Fate Core system as it is not a combat heavy game. Jolene reminds Saul that he had run a couple mystery games using Pathfinder and 5th Edition D&D. Other subjects relating to mysteries are discussed in relation to rpgs from movies like Murder on the Orient Express and tv shows like, T...
Feb 10, 2019•30 min•Ep. 42
In this episode Saul and Jolene talk about Player Narrative Control in RPG's. It is sometimes difficult to define some of the terms that pop up in Role Playing games. Saul defines what Narrative Control means to him and Jolene questions his definition. Saul and Jolene discuss this term and what it means in role playing games. Saul describes games that don't have implicit narrative control like old school games like Original D&D, Space Opera, Shadowrun and those that do like Feng Shui, Fate a...
Feb 03, 2019•31 min•Ep. 41
Can roleplaying games be more than games? Saul and Jolene talk about psychology in roleplaying games. Jolene curiosity was piqued when this subject was brought up in the many esoteric conversations she has with Saul. After a bit of research and discussion with Saul the present episode was born. There has always been talk about how rpgs can be used other than a game. It turns out there have been many programs and research on the subject of roleplaying games. Below are articles and programs where ...
Jan 27, 2019•32 min•Ep. 40
In this Episode we talk about the TV cult hit Supernatural RPG. It is a favorite show of both Saul and Jolene. They discuss the Supernatural RPG published by Margaret Weis Productions. Saul talks about why he liked the system, now called, Cortex Classic. And of course the show the RPG is based on. It is a modern day monster hunting game. Saul tells a story of Jolene trying to play from the couch until she finally has enough and joins the table to play. The game creator was Jamie Chambers not the...
Jan 20, 2019•27 min•Ep. 39
In this episode Saul and Jolene talk about how they make encounters and things they consider when making those encounters. Jolene talks about killing Saul's newly made Paladin character in the first session he gets to play in. Well luckily for Saul they are playing 5th Edition D&D so the Paladin only went down for a couple of rounds. So Saul and Jolene discuss what goes through their minds as they try to make encounters that are challenging and fun but not overpowering. A few examples of enc...
Jan 13, 2019•33 min•Ep. 38
Saul and Jolene talk about Kickstarter. They discuss both the pledging and creating Kickstarter Campaigns. As a long time supporter of a few Kickstarter campaigns, Saul discusses why people support Kickstarter campaigns. Jolene attests to the number of KickStarter that Saul has pledged and who has been pretty happy with most of the pledges. Saul discusses the help that is out there for creators and talks about specific Kickstarter campaigns he has supported in the past and one that is currently ...
Jan 06, 2019•35 min•Ep. 37
So the whole D&D "Band" can't get together on the next session. Don't cancel play a D&D Boardgame to get your D&D fix. Saul and Jolene talk about D&D themed boardgames that might scratch the D&D itch just so most of you that can get together can still play. Saul and Jolene discuss Castle Ravenloft and some of the other themed games using the same game system. A different type of game is Lords of Waterdeep a worker placement game set in the Forgotten Realms D&D Campaign Se...
Dec 30, 2018•33 min•Ep. 36
The Ranger Class first introduced to Dungeons and Dragons players was way back in 1978 in the Advanced D&D Player's Handbook. The class had first been seen in Dragon Magazine issues. In the Players Handbook the Ranger really saw the light of day and it drew many players to this homage of Tolkien's novels. The Ranger has been in D&D ever since in all editions to this day. As a sub-class of a fighter the Ranger is a departure from that class in a sense that Rangers are not a heavy combat c...
Dec 23, 2018•31 min•Ep. 35
This week Saul and Jolene talk about where they get Inspiration for the RPG adventures they run. They discuss normal avenues of inspiration for adventures such as movies, tv and books. They also discuss other things that can inspire and help you get an idea for your next adventure. Locations, news articles and many other things have inspired Saul and Jolene to come up with some very entertaining and popular games for conventions and at home. Please share our podcast in your social media which wo...
Dec 16, 2018•30 min•Ep. 34
The classic Cleric is discussed in this episode. Saul thinks they are like the last class to be picked by players, like that last kid picked on the sports team. Why does it seem that everyone thinks a party should have a Cleric but then its a hassle because nobody wants to play one. Saul uses playing Overwatch, a computer game, where the healer is always the last character chosen. Jolene disagrees with Saul on how no one wants to play one. Saul and Jolene discuss the benefits of playing a Cleric...
Dec 09, 2018•30 min•Ep. 33
This week Saul and Jolene talk about last years role-playing game Tales From the Loop. Its a Swedish game translated into English and published by Modiphius where players play kids from the 1980's solving mysteries. Its an RPG about roleplaying in the"80's that never was." which is and era both Jolene and Saul grew up in. We talk about what it was like in the 80's growing up in small towns which is the setting of Tales From the Loop. We each give our insight into playing kids in the time of ridi...
Dec 02, 2018•32 min•Ep. 32
This week Saul and Jolene talk about using Miniatures(Minis) or using the Theatre of the Mind in your roleplaying games. The discussion covers why minis are used in many rpgs and how Theatre of the mind is used in many independent or roleplay heavy games. Jolene solidly gives her opinion on what she rather use and why. Music by Derek Clegg, song My Mind Never Bends. Available at FreeMusicArchive.com
Nov 25, 2018•30 min•Ep. 31
Saul and Jolene talk about Running a Player Friendly game. We discuss things we think you should consider when trying to run a game that is player friendly. Jolene says there are two basic type of players. Saul and Jolene discuss how and why knowing his is important for running a fun game for all players. Also there are certain techniques that help making sure that all players at your table will have fun. And in the end that is why we play games to have fun. Music by The Zombie Dandies, song The...
Nov 18, 2018•33 min•Ep. 30
Saul and Jolene talk about the Rogue character. We talk about playing a rogue in D&D but as in most cases you can translate this character type into any genre or RPG game. Saul and Jolene discuss the origins of the rogue class that goes way back to Advanced Dungeons and Dragons Thief class. We talk about how it evolved into the Rogue class. Saul and Jolene discuss how the latest incarnation of the Rogue class offers more RPG opportunities. Music by Podington Bear, song A1 Rogue. Available fr...
Nov 11, 2018•28 min•Ep. 29
Saul and Jolene discuss the alternate history setting of Weird War. There are many alternate settings and one subject that is very popular is Weird War. Saul and Jolene talk about some different rule sets that let you play in that setting. Each set of rules usually deal with different aspects of the setting. Jolene states what kind of Weird War she rather play. Saul talks about a Weird War game that started as a regular World War II game and broke the rule of not doing a bait and switch. Saul an...
Nov 04, 2018•26 min•Ep. 28
Starting a new Campaign? What about a setting? Buy one or make your own. Saul and Jolene this important decision that every GM has to make. We use D&D as an example but really the reasons we discuss can be used for any genre and any rules set. Jolene leaves no question which she would rather do but Saul like the freedom that making your own can have. If you listen to our podcast all we ask is that you share or tell your friends about it. Music by Bortex, song Thank You For This World Availab...
Oct 28, 2018•30 min•Ep. 27
In this episode Saul and Jolene discuss the often maligned character class of the Bard. Beginning with when the Bard was introduced in Advanced Dungeons and Dragons and on through 5th Edition D&D. Saul and Jolene talk how the Bard class has changed for a class that everyone thought was intresting but nobody played to one that more players think a Bard is a viable option. Still Saul thinks that is a class that still is not picked by players due to the role the Bard has in D&D. Saul and Jo...
Oct 21, 2018•27 min•Ep. 26
In this episode Saul and Jolene discuss running a RPG game in another favorite setting Star Wars. We talk about the running a RPG in one of the most famous and loved science fiction/fantasy settings. We discuss the different rpg rule sets that have been published for running Star Wars games. From the early West End Games Star Wars through WOTC Star Wars D20 rules and to the latest and highly regarded Fantasy Flights rules for running Star Wars. Music by Stealing Orchestra, song Star Wars and Twi...
Oct 14, 2018•33 min•Ep. 25
In this episode of Gaming Perserpectives with Saul and Jolene, we look at Mages. We discuss the Mage from the first editions of D&D to the latest incarnation of the venerable spell slinger. We then move the discussion to "mages" in other genres from modern games to space opera setting. We talk how mages can get their abilities to throw spells from other sources than arcane ones. Song by Graham Fialkiewicz, song Melts Into Air. Available from Freemusicarchive.com...
Oct 07, 2018•30 min•Ep. 24
In this episode we have our first interview with Mike Eckert the new Executive Producer of KublaCon. Kublacon is Northern California's biggest gaming convention. We ask Mike about his gaming roots. When he first starting going to conventions in the SF Bay Area and how that led to helping and running of conventions over 20 years ago. After all those years of helping run Kublacon he is now the Executive Producer, he basically runs the show. We talk about Kublacon's humble beginning and now that he...
Sep 30, 2018•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 23
In this episode Saul and Jolene talk about the GM changing the dice rolls, as known as "Fudging the Dice". Saul and Jolene talk about what reasons a GM would have to "fudge" the dice. They discuss situtations that would push a GM to change dice rolls from saving characters or fixing mistakes a GM might make in designing an encounter. Saul admits to fudging the dice in the past but how he has evolved in trusting the players to be mature enough to be responsible for their characters actions. Music...
Sep 23, 2018•36 min•Ep. 22
