Today we discuss impactful NPCs in your games. What details do I need to know about the NPC? How do you give them more life? How do you add them to the group? How can you make players care about them? These are just a few questions we answer in today's episode. Leave us an email for feedback, questions, or thoughts at levelupyourgamingpodcast@gmail.com or Follow us on Facebook and engage with us at https://www.facebook.com/LevelUpYourGaming Please leave us a review or a five star rating wherever...
May 13, 2020•37 min•Ep. 19
In this episode we dive into how to do horror in your games or incorporate scary scenes. How do you put players in scary situations? How do you make your monster scary? How can you use atmosphere to enhance the horror? What should you avoid? We dive into these questions and more in this episode. Leave us an email for feedback, questions, or thoughts at levelupyourgamingpodcast@gmail.com or Follow us on Facebook and engage with us at https://www.facebook.com/LevelUpYourGaming Please leave us a re...
May 06, 2020•41 min•Ep. 18
In this episode we dive into two specific player types from Robin's Law, The Specialist and The Power Gamer. We look at what makes these two types tick and how they meld together well. How do you challenge these players to break some of their habits and try out different character types? How do you manage these players in your game? These are just a couple of questions we look to answer in today's episode. Leave us an email for feedback, questions, or thoughts at levelupyourgamingpodcast@gmail.c...
Apr 29, 2020•35 min•Ep. 17
Today we talk about time in games. How do you manipulate time and manage it in game? How can you move the passage of time without breaking immersion. How do you merge two time streams that are moving at different speeds? These are just a few of the questions we answer in today's podcast. Leave us an email for feedback, questions, or thoughts at levelupyourgamingpodcast@gmail.com or Follow us on Facebook and engage with us at https://www.facebook.com/LevelUpYourGaming Please leave us a review or ...
Apr 22, 2020•37 min•Ep. 16
In this episode we talk about your players and when they metagame. How do you handle your players when they are metagaming? Do you allow any metagaming at the table? What if you just let it continue? These are just some of the questions we dive into in this weeks episode. Leave us an email for feedback, questions, or thoughts at levelupyourgamingpodcast@gmail.com or Follow us on Facebook and engage with us at https://www.facebook.com/LevelUpYourGaming Please leave us a review or a five star rati...
Apr 15, 2020•34 min•Ep. 15
Today we discuss house rules in games and the differences between spoken and unspoken rules. How do these rules come into play? Doesn't the core game have everything you need? How do you augment the system to your play style and create these rules? These are just a few things we discuss in the podcast. Leave us an email for feedback, questions, or thoughts at levelupyourgamingpodcast@gmail.com or Follow us on Facebook and engage with us at https://www.facebook.com/LevelUpYourGaming Please leave ...
Apr 09, 2020•39 min•Ep. 14
Given the global crisis we felt it important to talk about how you can continue gaming with your group via online tools. We discuss what you should set up and tools we've used over the years to facilitate this need. We know this is a tough time and hopefully we can provide you a way to continue to enjoy your hobbies with your friends. Leave us an email for feedback, questions, or thoughts at levelupyourgamingpodcast@gmail.com or Follow us on Facebook and engage with us at https://www.facebook.co...
Apr 01, 2020•36 min•Ep. 13
In this episode we talk about consequences for your players in game. How should you use consequences? How harsh should they be? What's the point of having consequences? We answer all these questions and more. Leave us an email for feedback, questions, or thoughts at levelupyourgamingpodcast@gmail.com or Follow us on Facebook and engage with us at https://www.facebook.com/LevelUpYourGaming Please leave us a review or a five star rating wherever you get your podcast....
Mar 25, 2020•34 min•Ep. 12
Today we talk about playing heroes and villains in games. We discuss some pros and cons of playing each type in games. What are the challenges we face with playing villains? Why is it so rewarding to play the hero? These are just a few questions we talk about in today's podcast. Leave us an email for feedback, questions, or thoughts at levelupyourgamingpodcast@gmail.com or Follow us on Facebook and engage with us at https://www.facebook.com/LevelUpYourGaming Please leave us a review or a five st...
Mar 18, 2020•37 min•Ep. 11
In this episode we talk about 9 things we think you should avoid when running a game. We've done them and found they just don't work very well when it comes to running a game. Jared and I get vocal in the episode and I it should make for a good listen. Leave us an email for feedback, questions, or thoughts at levelupyourgamingpodcast@gmail.com or Follow us on Facebook and engage with us at https://www.facebook.com/LevelUpYourGaming Please leave us a review or a five star rating wherever you get ...
Mar 11, 2020•37 min•Ep. 10
Today we talk about the important task of controlling your table. You are the host to those who join your games and it's important to ensure everyone is engaged in the game. We talk about important things like managing turn order, introducing new players to the table, and engaging players in the game at all times. Leave us an email for feedback, questions, or thoughts at levelupyourgamingpodcast@gmail.com or Follow us on Facebook and engage with us at https://www.facebook.com/LevelUpYourGaming P...
Mar 04, 2020•38 min•Ep. 9
In this episode we discuss how to set a tone using music in your games. We discuss how to spice up a combat or pack that emotional punch with a sad song. How do you make a scary scene even more frightening or creepy? We'll be sure to let you know in this weeks episode. Leave us an email for feedback, questions, or thoughts at levelupyourgamingpodcast@gmail.com or Follow us on Facebook and engage with us at https://www.facebook.com/LevelUpYourGaming Please leave us a review or a five star rating ...
Feb 26, 2020•34 min•Ep. 8
In this episode we discuss how to add more description and flavor into your combats. What happens when you swing and miss the enemy? How should they react when they take damage? How do you scale a combat to handle my bruiser? These are just a few of the topics we hit on to improve your combat scenarios. Leave us an email for feedback, questions, or thoughts at levelupyourgamingpodcast@gmail.com or Follow us on Facebook and engage with us at https://www.facebook.com/LevelUpYourGaming Please leave...
Feb 19, 2020•37 min•Ep. 7
This is a continuation of our previous episode, Planning A Game v1. We dive deeper into the win loss conditions mentioned in the previous episode and give some more background as to why it's important to have them. We then drive right into the maintenance mode of game development and give tips and suggestions on how to keep your game a well oiled machine. Leave us an email for feedback, questions, or thoughts at levelupyourgamingpodcast@gmail.com or Follow us on Facebook and engage with us at ht...
Feb 12, 2020•38 min•Ep. 6
How much time should I put into planning my game? What do I need to have ready before my first night of game? How should I design my game? These are just some of the questions that we answer in today's episode on planning your game. We start broad by identifying the two phases of game planning and then focus on the development phase of a game. Leave us an email for feedback, questions, or thoughts at levelupyourgamingpodcast@gmail.com or Follow us on Facebook and engage with us at https://www.fa...
Feb 05, 2020•40 min•Ep. 5
In this episode we talk about what happens when your plans for your game go off the rails. Your players decide to go left when you want them to go right and are screwing everything up. Not to fear Aaron & Jared give you advice and techniques to bring the players back to your story or adapt to the situation you're in. Always remember "The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry. Leave us an email for feedback, questions, or thoughts at levelupyourgamingpodcast@gmail.com or Follow us on ...
Jan 29, 2020•36 min•Ep. 4
Aaron & Jared talk about how to build a better villain in your games. What motivates the individual and how to you give more life to your villain to impress your players. We talk about the traits of a good villain and the organization around them. Disclaimer: The episode gets a little themed toward an adult audience around 17 minutes in. If you have young kids listening just be aware of this. Leave us an email for feedback, questions, or thoughts at levelupyourgamingpodcast@gmail.com or Foll...
Jan 23, 2020•40 min•Ep. 3
On today's episode we talk about knowing your players and how that makes for developing better games around their play style. We do get a little off topic but we cover the important "Robin's Law" analysis that you should do to make better games for your players to get them more engaged in the game. Leave us an email for feedback, questions, or thoughts at levelupyourgamingpodcast@gmail.com or Follow us on Facebook and engage with us at https://www.facebook.com/LevelUpYourGaming Please leave us a...
Jan 15, 2020•34 min•Ep. 2
In our first podcast we talk about one of the most crucial parts of starting a good game, The Gathering. We discuss different types of gatherings and their effectiveness in engaging your players. Leave us an email for feedback, questions, or thoughts at levelupyourgamingpodcast@gmail.com or Follow us on Facebook and engage with us at https://www.facebook.com/LevelUpYourGaming Please leave us a review or a five star rating wherever you get your podcast.
Jan 08, 2020•39 min•Ep. 1
Just a little about your hosts, Aaron and Jared. We talk about how we got into gaming and how long we've been doing the hobby. If you'd like to get right into content please see Episode 1: The Gathering. Leave us an email for feedback, questions, or thoughts at levelupyourgamingpodcast@gmail.com or Follow us on Facebook and engage with us at https://www.facebook.com/LevelUpYourGaming Please leave us a review or a five star rating wherever you get your podcast....
Jan 08, 2020•14 min
