Sara and I talk about the value of taking Session Zero (a meeting that a tabletop gaming group holds prior to starting a new campaign) and splitting it into two separate sessions. There are a number of benefits to it! Especially for folks who record actual plays. — (I’m sorry to say Sara passed away in July of last year. I held onto this recording for quite a while before I felt ready to edit and release it, which was a process that I needed to take my time with. She was a wonderful person, and ...
Apr 16, 2024
A little while ago I got a hankering to record some discussions of geek and gaming-related things, and my friend Sara agreed to come along for the ride. In this episode we talk about puzzles, riddles and mazes in tabletop RPGs and how a GM might approach them in a way that’s fun for everyone. … DOWNLOAD...
Jun 26, 2023
In today’s podcast I talk about my recent leap into the media phenomenon that is Twitch streaming. I discuss some of the things I find interesting about the platform and how it’s affected my gaming habits. … … Here, have some links: My Twitch Channel Monte Cook Games’ Channel Off the Table The Greyhawk Channel (YouTube Archive) Life on Marr’d Session 1 (run by Grant Ellis) The CypherCast – Episode 18 (with Darcy Ross) The raw, unedited video of this episode’s live recording! DOWNLOAD...
Oct 24, 2018
Believe it or not, I’m finally wrapping up my series on canon! In this last entry, I talk about my favorite author, Douglas Adams and discuss the continuity between various versions of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy . I also discuss the Dirk Gently series, the computer games Adams worked on and his nonfiction work. I ramble a bit about the work others have done to adapt or continue Adams’ stories as well. And I wrap things up by trying to directly address the question I’ve been asking for ...
Jun 17, 2018
We’ve made it to Discworld! In this episode, I talk about the canon of Terry Pratchett’s fantasy-comedy series. I also wander off into another rant about the use and meaning of the word “multiverse.” This series has a huge number of books in it – they’re all in continuity with each other, and yet you can pick up virtually any one of them to start with and not be too terribly confused by it. How does Pratchett do it?! I’m still figuring that out. DOWNLOAD...
Mar 11, 2018
I have returned to continue rambling about canon! In this episode I talk about the Cthulhu Mythos and stumle over several nigh-unpronounceable names for entities whose merest concepts could drive an ordinary human mad. I also discuss how the nature of the Mythos makes it extremely difficult – perhaps even impossible – to nail down exactly what counts and what doesn’t. NOTE: As it turns out, the publishing company Arkham House might not be quite as dead as I may have made it sound in this episode...
Feb 07, 2018
James D’Amato, creator of the One Shot group of tabletop gaming podcasts, stopped by to talk about his newest project, Dungeon Dome! Dungeon Dome will be presented to audiences as a series of matches between larger-than-life characters played out on the tabletop. It’s a delicious mashup of D&D and professional wrestling. If you haven’t heard any of James’ podcasts, they are outrageously entertaining! I strongly suggest giving them a listen: http://oneshotpodcast.com/ The Kickstarter for the ...
Jul 12, 2017
I ramble for way longer than I’d planned about the various versions of White Wolf ‘s World of Darkness tabletop RPG titles. For the last quarter of a century, four (soon to be five) editions of WoD games have been released, along with two editions of games set in the alternate reality of the Chronicles of Darkness. With a history like that, the games’ continuity has grown ponderous indeed. But how do you even approach the idea of canon when every story is told by an unreliable narrator? I talk a...
May 30, 2017
I misguidedly attempted to wrap up my canon series only to realize I had much more to say than I’d initially reckoned. Ahaha. So, here’s the next part, wherein I tackle two franchises: Star Trek and DC. I also tangent for a bit at the beginning into the recent Darkwing Duck controversy . I also make a terrible pun about an obscure DC character I happen to like, bring up my distaste for there being so much segmented metal in science fiction nowadays and get a tad defensive about the fact that I d...
Oct 17, 2016
The delightful writer and podcaster KT Bryski and I chatted about her recent release, Six Stories, Told at Night . The audio drama folds traditional French-Canadian folktales into a series of stories about the relationship between two young friends. Those stories are in turn folded into a third overall narrative. It’s excellent stuff and you can hear it FOR FREE ! I highly recommend it. We were attacked a few times by the Skype Demons during the interview and while I’ve done my best to edit arou...
Sep 27, 2016
Here we have the third part of my ridiculously long ramble about canon in popular media, this time focusing on the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I chat at length about some of the differences between the movies and the TV shows, the comics and all manner of other things as we continue to explore the question of whether or not any of those differences matter. I also briefly wander into a tangent about Battlestar Galactica and laugh maniacally a couple of times. DOWNLOAD...
Aug 15, 2016
Behold the Destroyer of the 4th Wall, She Who Breaks Reality With Her Song of Farewell! Here’s the second part of my epically long pseudo-rant about continuity and canon in popular media. I love Star Wars, but in this episode I talk about why I think it’s best to err on the side of caution when chatting about its canon with fellow fans. For many folks, Star Wars is a build-your-own-canon situation, and I talk about dealing with that. I also misattribute a quote by Jebediah Orne to Old Man Whatel...
Jul 01, 2016
I set out to do a quick talk about the role of canon in various fandoms and it turned into a massive lecture that I’ll have to split into multiple parts. So, here’s the first part, wherein I talk at length about the canon of Doctor Who (and quite possibly tick off some of my fellow Whovians). NOTE: I’ve noticed I use the word “series” a lot in this episode. For the most part, I’m using the American meaning of the word (the entirety of a single show’s run), though there is one point in the middle...
May 24, 2016
A few days ago I did a quick interview with Charles White about his crowdfunding project for Olympus, Inc. It’s the first foray into a full-blown RPG setting for his company, Fabled Environments , and it presents a very interesting take on Greek mythology – as seen through the lens of the modern world. The Indiegogo campaign is ending very soon! It’s running until Tuesday, April 26th , so I urge everyone to go and check it out! You can find that campaign HERE . DOWNLOAD Music by Kevin MacLeod...
Apr 22, 2016
My friend Michael Carlucci (of the Chaotic Neutral podcast) and I sit down and interview the developers of the second edition of the glorious fantasy Restoration-era tabletop RPG 7th Sea! We talk about the game’s origins, the ongoing Kickstarter for the new edition and the nature of the changes we can expect to see. We even take some time out to get a 7th Sea location pronunciation guide on record and take a few quick side trips down various geeky memory lanes. The Kickstarter runs through March...
Mar 04, 2016
A few weeks ago I went to the SCARAB Gaming Convention in Columbia, South Carolina. I had the opportunity to hang out in the media room with some of the folks behind the con along with a couple of gentlemen running some of its events. As it happens, some of them were fellow podcasters! We had a nice, rambling, chaotic chat and talked about the con, our favorite games, costumes and all manner of other things. Jon Maness and Ruby Jones are on the SCARAB staff and also run the SCARAB Swarm Cast . T...
Jan 31, 2016
Let’s chat for a little while about the idea of using one kind of game to generate ideas for another. I go deep into gamer geekery this episode to explore the idea of creating scenarios for tabletop RPGs using other role playing games or even board games. In my ramblings I bring up a blog article by James Walls about using Small World in this way – that article can be found HERE . I also mention a few other games that may be of interest – here are some links for those: Dungeon Crawl Classics Fia...
Dec 06, 2015
Society has changed a heck of a lot over the last half-century. I suspect we’re missing some element we used to have and that we’ve become more hollow and paranoid as a result. But when I try to figure out the exact cause of this problem, I can never quite put my finger on it. So feel free to download this little bit of rambling about the hints at societal change I noticed from watching different versions of the game show “ Make Me Laugh .” You’ll get to hear me flail about and spiral into near-...
Oct 30, 2015
After dealing with several life-altering bits of oddity over the last few months, here finally is a discussion I recorded with some folks a while back as a post-mortem to ConCarolinas this year. Of course, as you’ll hear, there’s already a bit of time-bending in our conversation (as none of us could quite recall what day or week it was, most likely due to an unfortunate combination of alcohol and time travel), so I’m sure posting it at the end of August will make it all the more strange and conf...
Aug 30, 2015
A quick update to let you know I’m still among the living and to watch for more content soon! EDIT : If anyone is in any doubt about the subject of this post in future, it turns out my friend Chris has kindly provided us with a resource that we can check at any time around the clock to see if I am, in fact, dead. Many thanks to her for thinking of it! http://isjimdeadyet.com/ __ DOWNLOAD...
Aug 27, 2015
Howdy! I’ve got a bit of a storytelling experiment to share with you. I’ve put together three short pieces of semi-abstract audio fiction for you to listen to. I’ve linked them down below the audio for this entry’s podcast. Listen to them in any order you like – I’m curious to know if that makes a difference or not – and let me know what you think in the comments or via e-mail (JimRyanMedia at gmail.com). (Also – I’ll be doing a live version of Crucible at Realms at ConCarolinas 2015! Right now ...
May 25, 2015
Forgive me, Internet, but I’m going to discuss The Dress. You probably know the one I’m talking about – you know, the one whose colors people can’t agree on. What fascinated me about this recent phenomenon wasn’t so much the optical illusion but the sheer amount of rage people exhibited. And the opportunity this one particular dress has given us to learn about ourselves. DOWNLOAD Here, have some links: Caitlin McNeill’s tumblr post (WARNING! SEEING THIS PICTURE MAY CAUSE ARGUMENTS AND, PERHAPS, ...
Mar 02, 2015
To kick off 2015 I decided to do something a bit different: a roundtable discussion! There’s much to be said for Peter Jackson’s Hobbit movies, but how do major Tolkien fans feel about it? I was curious to find out, so I grabbed four people steeped in Hobbit lore and held a discussion full of delicious nerd rage. We talked about the changes made for the movies, the nature of Hollywood, and the difference between dragons and wyverns, among many other topics. This episode’s panelists were: Richard...
Jan 15, 2015
I thought I’d end up with no posts this month, but just as I was giving up hope, I stumbled across the hysterical brilliance of the #TalesFromBlackFriday hashtag and felt the need to share it. DOWNLOAD
Nov 30, 2014
or Man’s Crisis of Identity in the Earlier Half of the 21st Century This one’s a bit different from my normal ramblings, and is much more introspective than usual. I had something of an epiphany the other day after a slip of the tongue at our local Geek Gala that led me to remember something very basic about myself. Something I haven’t thought about for a good, long while, and which gets at what’s pretty much the root of my identity. In this episode, I talk about this realization. I also say “He...
Oct 30, 2014
I ramble for a while trying to put my finger on exactly what it is that bothers me about the way social media has changed since the late 00’s. UPDATE: Since recording this, I’ve gone ahead and joined Ello. Here’s my page for anyone who’s currently in the Beta and wants to look me up there and say `ello: https://ello.co/otherdoc (cockney slang not required, but appreciated…) — DOWNLOAD...
Sep 28, 2014
In this ramble recorded a few weeks ago (way back in July – remember July?) I talk about going to see Monty Python Live (Mostly) and my relationship with Monty Python in general. And I digress. A lot. DOWNLOAD
Aug 13, 2014
For the second year in a row, one of the other podcasts I’m involved with, Transmissions from the Ninth World , has been nominated for an ENnie Award! So I decided to ramble for a bit about the topic of that podcast, the tabletop RPG Numenera . I look at it as a game that could be a potential bridge between different kinds of gamers and a gateway to greater gaming diversity. A new Gaming Valhalla, perhaps? DOWNLOAD...
Jul 17, 2014
Once again a lot of craziness has been going on so I haven’t had time to put together a proper episode. So here’s another monologue! (Which, as it happens, appears in my book Abduction Etiquette !) DOWNLOAD
Jul 03, 2014
I go on a reflective kickabout and talk about the increasing pressure to do fewer social activities in favor of getting creative work done. This is something that’s been bothering me a lot lately and I decided to talk about it in the hope of relieving a little bit of the pressure. As a result, this episode is a wee bit more serious and soul-searching than most. DOWNLOAD
Jun 20, 2014
