Now that Saul and run Bladerunner the RPG three times and has gone over the Bladerunner RPG by Free League, Saul and Jolene decided to do a quick review of the game. Saul pre-ordered the Core book and the Starter Kit. Though Saul really liked the components of the Starter Set the scenario was quite to Saul's liking. Saul would call himself a fan of the Original Bladerunner movie, Jolene on the other hand has a slightly different opinion. But no matter what her opinion of the movie was she really...
Jun 29, 2023•48 min•Ep. 291
In this episode we interview Sean Nittner of BigBadCon. Saul and Jolene have a great talk with Sean Steward of BigBadCon a convention in the Bay Area that is one of the most inclusive and loved gaming cons on the West Coast. We discuss with Sean his vision of Big Bad Con, the Pandemic effect and the post pandemic recovery. What Big Bad Con Does for the gaming community. Big Bad Con is a charity con so you can have a great time playing games and feel good about donating to an official non-profit ...
Jun 26, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 290
For this episode Saul was trying to come up with his current favorite RPG game system. As Saul was discussing his favorite system Jolene asked about another system, then another and then another. You all get the picture. After some discussion Saul and Jolene decided to make an episode of Saul's favorite RPG Game System. Thank you all for listening. Web Art by Jim Foster Episode Art by Michael Shean-Jones Music by Phaze 2 Jazz, song My Favorite Guy, off the album Options Available from Tribeofnoi...
Jun 21, 2023•34 min•Ep. 289
Social rules in Rpgs is something that is usally overlooked or not included in RPGs. As the hobby gets more and more people outside the Wargame Hobby the idea of rules including social conflict rules. Looking at posts about this subject many of those posting stated that they did not like the idea of one simple roll of the dice to determine social conflict. From convincing the guard to let them in without an invitation, trying to get information from a witness not wanting to cooperate, to gaining...
Jun 08, 2023•40 min•Ep. 288
Location, location, location. Everyone knows how important locations are in real estate, but what is less known is the importance of locations in RPG adventures. No matter the genre or the game, locations are where the adventures take place. Saul and Jolene dicuss the importance of location in rpgs games and adventures and how each location does not and should not be mapped out in detail but that means some might have to be. For a GM it is important to know which ones are need details and others...
Jun 01, 2023•39 min•Ep. 287
In this episode Saul and Jolene talk about what you should look for in a RPG for brand new players. At first it seems like an very easy thing to assertain. Pick a super easy rpg to run. But there are other things to consider other than just what game to run. What are the players expectations, what genre are they interested in, what kind of adventure do you want to experience. These and many more considerations will help you determine what RPG you should choose to run. Thank you all for listening...
May 25, 2023•39 min•Ep. 286
Saul and Jolene were talking about some bad dice rolls that were happening in the last session of their Shadowrun 5th Edtion game. The discussion covered how players usually do not want to roll bad and be reletively successfull in all their characters endeavors. But what when rolls go bad, really bad. The idea of Leaning into Bad Rolls came up and Saul and Jolene decided to do an episode on "Leaning into Bad Rolls". Not simple failures as in missing in combat or failing a skill roll but failing ...
May 16, 2023•42 min•Ep. 285
The new D&D Movie: Honor Among Thieves has been out for about a month. Jolene and Saul went to go see the movie and decided to do a Spoiler Free episode. No Spoilers. If you have seen the trailers then you should feel safe listening to this episode. So what are Saul going to be talking about? Three things. How is the setting of the movie, Forgotten Realms presented to the viewers of the movie. Did they spend a lot of time describing, presenting or discussing the world of the Forgotten Realms...
May 04, 2023•34 min•Ep. 284
Jolene has always liked Gnomes( She pronounces gnome with a hard G) and when we were thinking of a new episode we thought about the last couple of episodes dealing with Elves and Dwarves. We agreed that Gnomes was a good topic to continue our discussion of playing other character races other than humans. Gnomes for Saul had been one of those groups that he had never played. Saul usually played humans and possibly played one elf back in AD&D days so he could play a multi-class character. Thou...
Apr 29, 2023•31 min•Ep. 283
Saul was persuing the internet looking at Steam Punk RPGs and stumbled across Carbon Grey a Diesel Punk RPG by Magnetic Press. It uses a slightly tweaked version of the Classic Star Wars D6 system. Its quick and easy to understand and play. That Star Wars D6 system has always been liked for its playablity and fun. Carbon Grey is set in a alternate world where the 1st Kaiser is saved by a shepard that was struck by a meteorite which gets lodged in his chest and games super powers. The Kaiser make...
Apr 20, 2023•36 min•Ep. 282
We got a text asking about the different version of OSR RPGs so Saul and Jolene read through some of the OSR games that Saul has collected in printed and PDF format. Jolene also looked at various blogs and Youtube vidoes for some of the more popular OSR games that Saul did not have in his library. From Original D&D to 2nd edition there are several OSR games for each version of "Old School" RPGs. What is really interesting is that they each have their own reasoning for making their version of...
Apr 13, 2023•42 min•Ep. 281
In this episode Saul and Jolene discuss using your good skills while running RPGs. All GMs have skills and talents. Saul and Jolene agree that when GMs do this they make better games for their players. Along with strengths, GMs have weaknesses, we all do. Saul and Jolene also believe that we as GMs learn and progress with every game we play and run. As we realize these weaknesses we can then counter them by working on getting better on those items we as GMs stumble with. Thanks for listening. We...
Apr 06, 2023•39 min•Ep. 280
Dwarves in RPGs, Saul and Jolene discussed Elves in a previous episode and they could not ignore the other popular RPG race, Dwarves. Saul again harkens to Tolkien origins but doesn't believe that Tolkien was as much a fan of his Dwarves than his Elves. Jolene found quite a bit of articles and posts about how people liked or disliked playing Dwarves in RPGs. Though disliked less than Elves there seemed to be quite a bit of 'love/hate' dichotomy in players preferences. When the subject of Dwarves...
Mar 30, 2023•40 min•Ep. 279
After reading about a shortage of DMs in New York article and on different social media Saul and Jolene looked into this idea. First of all is there a DM shortage? The article was in Hellgate an online local "newspaper". In it the author states that there is a large calling for DM by a large number of new players that want to play Dungeons and Dragons. Saul thinks that this might be a D&D 5th edition and specifically in New York City problem,, due to a variety of factors. Jolene and Saul dis...
Mar 23, 2023•34 min•Ep. 278
Saul and Jolene are back to chatting about AI Chat. After dismissing doing an episode on AI Chat Bots and RPGs, a few articles they each read convinced each of them to discuss this subject on the mics for an episode. Saul talks about his foray into Chat GPT and his attempt have the AI make a Bladerunner adventure. It was a very interesting endeavor . Jolene read a few articles and saw a few Youtube videos though she is a bit hesitant to talk about AI as she doesn't want any reprecution from any ...
Mar 17, 2023•33 min•Ep. 277
In this episode Saul and Jolene discuss Elves in RPGs. From how they are portrayed in books, myth and popular culture. Some GMs ban players from playing Elves for various reasons. Playing Elves has been a popular race/culture to play since Original D&D was published in 1974. Saul and Jolene discuss where the idea of Elves comes from and how they became a mainstay of many fantasy roleplaying games. But why would playing an Elf be so difficult or why would certain GMs ban players some playing ...
Mar 09, 2023•39 min•Ep. 276
At the end of 2022 AI art websites started to emerge. In RPGs where art is utilized from the making of RPGs and supplements in various forms to, GM using art to help describe their world, to players who usually like to have a picture of their favorite character art and RPGs is a long and close relationship. Saul and Jolene heard about this and at the time didn't think it was a subject to make an episode for our podcast. But A.I. art has grown in usage and it has been learning at an incredible pa...
Mar 05, 2023•36 min•Ep. 275
In this episode Saul and Jolene discuss Class based RPGs Vs Classless RPGs. What are the advantages each has and how they work. Whether a RPG is classless or class based it affects gameplay both in the short term and the long term. Saul states which he prefers when GMing and which he likes when he plays. Jolene as always makes sure that Saul stays on topic. Thank you all for listening all we ask is that you share our podcast. Web Art by Jim Foster Episode Art by Michael Shean-Jones Music by MidM...
Feb 24, 2023•36 min•Ep. 274
We did this interview a while ago. There was some recording issues on our end and Saul had to do a lot of editing and post production in other to get the sound as best as possible. Julian Kay had a successful Kickstarter for Mutants in the Now which was an homage to Teenage Mutant Turtles. Saul happens to be a Teenage Mutants fan and actually collected the early comics of Eastman and Laird back in the late 80's and early 90's. Saul reached out to Julian for an interview and Julian agreed. At the...
Feb 14, 2023•50 min•Ep. 273
In this episode Saul and Jolene discuss different ways to create an adventure. Saul calls it "Big Picture" Vs "Detailed" games Each have their advantages. Big Picture for Saul means coming up with big idea for a game with less details. These RPG adventures tend to be open ended, player driven and can end up in situations that the GM never envisioned. Detailed games are those where the GM takes more notes, maps, encounters and sets plots for the players to follow. A bonus is no OGL discussion. Wo...
Feb 10, 2023•40 min•Ep. 272
Hey there everyone, Jolene would just like to say to you all this is the last episode on the OGL Saga. So quite a few events happened since our previous episode about the OGL and this is episode is about the most of the important aspects of all the events. Big news dropped on Jan 27th from WOTC and it set the TTRPG community a buzz with reaction. So Saul and Jolene decided it was neccessary to close the look on the the ramifications of WoTC's actions and the OGL as it stand now. As Always thanks...
Jan 31, 2023•40 min•Ep. 271
This this Episode Saul and Jolene talk about coming up with a new campaign. From the first thoughts to gathering the players together around the table to play. Saul explains for him the ideas for a campaign can come from books, movies, TV show or anything that spurs an idea to begin a RPG campaign. The campaigns can be for any genre you want to play in. Saul thinks the best way is to get an idea and go from there. What is important is the first spark of an idea that you want to see played out. T...
Jan 27, 2023•39 min•Ep. 270
Hey There Listeners, Saul and Jolene were not going to enter the fray with the OGL "Contraversy" but news about the subject keep coming every day. From the leaked new OGL called 1.1, to the reaction by those from the gaming community we had friends and listeners asking our opinion. Though it seemed like a question of a legal matter, as it deals with contracts and we are not lawyers, it seemed out of our realm to dicuss that we really didn't want to do an episode on the subject. But so much has h...
Jan 19, 2023•50 min•Ep. 269
Why do we play TTRPGs? The simple answer is to have fun. Other than the simple answer what other reasons do we play RPGs and what can we learn from playing RPGs. Jolene came up with this topic reading various sources and the discussion she had with Saul is the basis of this Episode. Saul and Jolene discuss various things that players can learn from RPGs and what players can gain. Thank you all for listening. Web Art by Jim Foster Episode Art by Michael Shean-Jones Music by Harry, Larry and Georg...
Jan 06, 2023•40 min•Ep. 268
Happy New Year! As 2022 ends Saul and Jolene decided to do an episode of Top Ten RPGs they want to play in 2023. Saul cheated on number 10 and threw in a quick list of 8 games that he wants to get to the table in 2023. The list is not top ten of new RPGs just RPGs that have been in Saul's library for a while and have not seen any or enough action at the RPG table. This list come mainly from Saul but Jolene added one or two to the list. Some on this list is just published as in Blade Runner RPG o...
Dec 30, 2022•45 min•Ep. 267
Jolene came across a blogger discussing some comment he had heard or been told. Those were along the lines of "Your not a 'Real' GM if you don't make your own world or setting". Your not a Real GM if you run modules, run one-shots, run games for kids etc. Jolene told saw about the blog and he took a look at it and just to frustrate Jolene he thought of some ideas why someone would make these kind of statements. Jolene and Saul decided to do an episode on these of other statements like these. As ...
Dec 14, 2022•36 min•Ep. 266
In this episode Saul and Jolene discuss the idea of "What Kind of Player Are You?". This topic is from a Reddit post that Saul read in the RPG forums. The original poster had put of a panel with a little bit of an explanation of each"type" of player. Though it is a way for a player to figure out what they enjoy most about RPGing, Saul thought it would be useful information for a GM to mine. Web Art by Jim Foster Episode Art by Michael Shean-Jones Music by Noel Griffin, song Player One, off the a...
Dec 11, 2022•33 min•Ep. 265
In this episode Saul and Jolene discuss shopping in RPGs. This topic was put forth by a Facebook post asking Saul to read a blog about shopping. Saul mentioned it to Jolene who didn't think there would be much opinion on the subject, but even Saul was surprised by how adament people's opinion on the subject was. From the players and GMs that absoulutely hated shopping in a RPG session to some that made it a feature of starting of their campaign. Saul and Jolene discuss their experiences with sho...
Nov 29, 2022•35 min•Ep. 264
This episode came about from Saul reading a Facebook post about Storytelling and Railroading. As gamers we all know the terms railroad and storytelling but Jeff Dee an artist and RPG author posted that he did not think "Storytelling" was an approbiate term for "Roleplaying". As usual a large group of people responded with their ideas and that discussion lead to this episode. Saul and Jolene discuss the ideas of why someone would not consider the term "storytelling" a good term for what roleplayi...
Nov 22, 2022•41 min•Ep. 263
In this episode Saul and Jolene talk about Space Combat in Science Fiction RPGs. There have been many SF RPGs and they all have to deal with combat in space in one way or another. From developing a certain set of rules just for space combat or using their core mechanic into a set of space combat rules. The problem many SF RPGs have is that space combat is very different animal than character combat. Saul believes that those players that really relish roleplaying are usally put off by space comba...
Nov 10, 2022•44 min•Ep. 262
