deadEarth is one of the weirdest RPGs I’ve seen. It features a d1000 mutation table. Back in 2015, Tom, Aaron, and I went up to St. Louis to catch the live Night Vale show. Before that though, we went through character creation in deadEarth. We also discuss deadEarth’s setting and starting adventure, Caleb shares his thoughts on the game, and we talk about Roar, the craziest goddamn movie ever made. Join the RPPR Patreon to get access to the entire archive of RPPR After Hours, get full RPG scena...
Jul 25, 2025•2 hr 45 min
I’ve written a new action horror RPG called Labyrinth Signal. It’s a d20-based system inspired by survival horror games like Silent Hill and Alan Wake. It uses an innovative combo meter mechanic for combat that adds tactical depth to fighting monsters and mitigates the swinginess of normal d20 fights. I talk about the mechanics and inspirations with Caleb. You can get the beta PDF on the RPPR Patreon, which comes with a full scenario, Peak Nightmares . I ran an actual play of it last month on RP...
Jul 15, 2025•45 min
We review Rifter #13, Palladium’s own magazine about their games. We also talk about headcanon, which is the idea of making your story behind a fictional story – like the cop wizards of Payday 2. This episode is from April 2015 but making fun of Palladium is timeless! If you enjoy this episode, join the Patreon to get access to all 10 years of After Hours! I’ve uploaded a beta of my new action horror RPG, Labyrinth Signal, to the RPPR Patreon. It contains a full adventure and all the rules you n...
Jun 18, 2025•1 hr 44 min
In this episode, we review Darktek, a supplement for Dark Conspiracy filled with odd gear choices, and Warrens of the Ratmen, a 3E supplement about ratmen and their warrens. We also talk about the Superbowl and 50 Shades of Grey. This episode was originally posted in March 2015 so enjoy this blast from the past! News: You can now gift memberships to the RPPR Patreon! Share RPPR with your gaming friends!...
May 27, 2025•1 hr 26 min
We’re celebrating 10 years of the RPPR Patreon by releasing the first year of the After Hours podcast on the public feed! You can listen to the very first episode of After Hours here on the main feed but until now, this episode has been Patreon exclusive. We’re looking at Ravenloft’s supplement on Darklords in this episode. Find out what a Manther is and his tragic backstory. Join Caleb, David, Tom, Aaron, and I as we plunge into the mists of Ravenloft. If you back the RPPR Patreon at the $2 lev...
Apr 08, 2025•1 hr 10 min
Have you heard of galvanized square steel, the Munger dorms or Dahir Insaat? Bridget, Caleb, Fae, and I explore weird architectural stories and videos on the Internet. This is a preview of Scheduling Snafu, a new series on the RPPR Patreon , where the RPPR cast discusses weird stuff we find on the Internet. This episode has been mirrored on Youtube so you can watch it and see what we saw during the recording . All of the episodes have video and can be watched on the Patreon....
Jan 20, 2025•1 hr 31 min
Red Markets is back! Caleb has spent over a year playtesting and revising Red Markets, improving negotiation, combat, and other core mechanics for the game. He’ll be posting an open beta of the game on the Hebanon Games Patreon so you can download and play it yourself. We talk about the process of updating a game’s rules and I give an update on my next RPG, now titled Labyrinth Signal. Follow Hebanon Games on DrivethruRPG and Itch.io ....
Jan 13, 2025•53 min
Do you struggle with writing RPG scenarios for your home group quickly? I’ve been writing scenarios for the RPPR Patreon so I’ve had to learn how to get a good scenario out without spending a lot of time on it. I’ve figured out a few tips that can help you. This episode is on Youtube with visuals to go along with the narration. News : I am writing scenarios for the RPPR Patreon – check out the modern horror scenario After You Die, Tell God He’s Next and the Mausritter scenario Gunpla Island. The...
Nov 01, 2024•20 min
I interviewed the CEO of Free League Publishing, Tomas Härenstam at Gencon this year. We talk about Free League’s approach to creating games, current trends in RPG design, and their upcoming second edition of the Alien RPG. Learn more about Free League Publishing on their website.
Sep 23, 2024•13 min
I caught up with Gareth Hanrahan at Gencon this year to talk about the Borellus Connection, a new campaign for Fall of Delta Green. Find out the secrets behind this globe hopping 1960s campaign! This interview has been mirrored on Youtube.
Sep 01, 2024•11 min
Do you have questions on actual play podcasts? Talk to Ross Payton (RPPR), Caleb Stokes (Dead Channels), Rob Stith, (Orpheus Protocol) and Ethan Cordray (Technical Difficulties) for all the answers you want! We talk about creating shows, running them, editing, marketing, and many other topics related to running an AP
Aug 20, 2024•54 min
This episode is also on Youtube with original video of Gencon 2024. Check it out! We’re back from Gencon 2024! We recorded panels, played and bought new games, and a lot more. Caleb won a Gold Ennie for God’s Teeth! I wanted to get out a quick summary of Gencon
Aug 11, 2024•9 min
Art for tabletop RPGS is not technically necessary but it does help. Chris and I discuss the role of art in RPGs and review Art by Nohr, a book by Mork Borg co-creator, Johan Nohr. We’re experimenting with video with this episode, so subscribe to us on Youtube for Gencon
Jul 26, 2024•33 min
I have begun working on a new role playing game. It is called Labyrinths of Lost Futures, a modern day dungeon crawling hauntological fantasy. Delve into weird ruins with an enchanted gun and cellphone. Fight cryptids in a haunted trailer park. Escape a time loop based on a person’s childhood
May 09, 2024•45 min
The Kickstarter for season 3 of the Ludonarrative Dissidents podcast is now live! Back it today to help us fund another full season of this podcast. The Lady in Blue, a mysterious figure of cosmic power, enlists a band of simple peasants for a strange task. They are to follow
Mar 04, 2024•1 hr 18 min
Mega Dungeon Meandering is a deep dive into one of the best reviewed mega dungeons of all time, Stonehell: Stonehell Dungeon is a classic-style mega dungeon, filled with enough monsters, traps, weirdness, and treasure to keep you gaming for a long, long time. Explore over 700 rooms, encounter more than
Feb 16, 2024•1 hr 3 min
We conclude the post mortem discussion of Impossible Landscapes, after the interruption from the previous episode. We now have a campaign index page, so you can easily find al of the episodes and other relevant bits for the campaign. Maddy as Ryan West, paramedic Thad as Marley Madelyn, FBI agent
Dec 26, 2023•1 hr 19 min
Our actual play run of the surreal horror campaign, Impossible Landscapes, is now done. The cast and I discuss the characters, plot, and more! Find out the secrets behind the campaign and my advice for running this challenging but rewarding campaign. Maddy as Ryan West, paramedic Thad as Marley Madelyn,
Dec 11, 2023•1 hr 13 min
We’re back for another episode! I found a bottle of Blanton’s bourbon and to celebrate my discovery, we recorded a new episode. Spencer even has a new food rating system! Back The Night Clerk zine! A modern horror RPG scenario from Ross Payton! We’re talking about a wide range of
Sep 18, 2023•1 hr 37 min
The Flash is a spectacularly bad movie. Caleb, Spencer, and I got together to discuss exactly WHY it was so bad. I was part of a podcast called The Mixed Six for nearly 6 years. I had a blast making it and I’m proud of the episodes we made. It
Sep 16, 2023•31 min
Architectural horror is a subgenre of intention. Novels like House of Leaves, movies like The Shining, the Saw series, and games like Control can all be called architectural horror, but what does that mean? Rob Stith of the Orpheus Protocol and I talk about the genre and my new scenario,
Sep 05, 2023•1 hr 8 min
A system-less RPG scenario is designed to be able to run in any system for a particular genre. Writing one is just as challenging as writing one for a single system. I’m launching a crowdfunding campaign on Backerkit for The Night Clerk, a system-less modern horror scenario, as a zine.
Aug 14, 2023•1 hr
Many RPGs use d20s for resolving combat, like D&D, 13th Age, and Lancer. Caleb and I have been playing a lot of d20 games recently and we wanted to talk about the nature of d20 combat. It’s a very swingy system, where every combatant can miss in a single round,
Jul 24, 2023•1 hr 23 min
We ran a Fate Core campaign called Cointract Island on RPPR Actual Play. Over 16 episodes, a trio of heroes explored an island overrun with genetically engineered and cybernetically enhanced creatures. In this post mortem, Bridget, Fae, Lydia, and I discuss the campaign’s themes, the Fate system, and crypto bro
Jun 22, 2023•1 hr 6 min
I talked with Greg Stolze, author of Reign, Termination Shock, co-author of Unknown Armies, and writer on many other books (and my co-host on Ludonarrative Dissidents podcast) about his new Kickstarter for Ships, a supplement for Termination Shock. We talked about the core mechanics for Termination Shock, game design, and
Jun 10, 2023•1 hr 14 min
Delta Green is a popular horror RPG but it can be hard to understand how to get its tone or its procedural elements. Caleb, Jason, and I discuss some media to look at when trying to ‘get’ the Delta Green vibe. This is a preview episode of our new series
May 16, 2023•1 hr 7 min
Caleb is back discussing his progress on Red Markets. After a recent gaming retreat, Caleb developed a theory he wanted to discuss in this episode, about the obscene and the scene. The scene represents the public, socially acceptable aspects of a given object or activity. The obscene refers to the
May 05, 2023•1 hr 5 min
In this episode, James Wallis, co-host of Ludonarrative Dissidents podcast and author of “Everybody Wins: Four Decades of the Greatest Board Games Ever Made,” and I talk about what RPG designers can learn from board games. We talked about the history and influence of board games, the challenges of playtesting
Apr 21, 2023•1 hr 19 min
Wizards of the Coast has stepped on a series of rakes with a series of proposed changes to the Open Gaming License (OGL). What is the OGL and why is WOTC is trying to destroy a popular thing in the industry? Caleb and I discuss what’s going on and what
Jan 22, 2023•1 hr 11 min
Caleb and I discuss the possibility of creating a second edition of Red Markets and Base Raiders. It’s a major task, so examining the pros and cons is a necessary first step. Updating the mechanics, revising the lore, and improving the information design are all big challenges, not to mention
Dec 05, 2022•1 hr
