I am stepping off into the wilds. I am going to talk about the game that I really want to run and I am going to invite you to do the same. This episode is filled with contentious statements and provocative claims. Take it as you like. Even I’m not sure how serious I am about doing this, but I am keen to share the idea. There’s a game that I REALLY want to run. It’s not something that everyone else around me necessarily wants me to run. It’s the game that I want. The world that excites me. That m...
Jun 08, 2019•35 min•Season 3Ep. 7
This episode was largely recorded during the school break when I was off work for a week. It's a mash-up of two elements: the usual ups and downs of my own life as a GM plus a whole bunch of lovely call-ins from listeners who had something to say about losing momentum, the last episode's key moment. There are some heart-felt replies to my question as to whether I am alone in this problem. Clearly, I am not. Thank you to everyone who called in and shared their own perspective on the question of m...
Jun 05, 2019•43 min•Season 3Ep. 6
Janet Forbes is the Director of World Anvil, a purveyor of world-building advice, a singer, writer of novels and worshipper of cats. Based in London, England, Janet and her husband Dimitris lead a small team in the development of an online set of tools specifically designed for world-building. She is the face of World Anvil on Youtube where she presents an excellent series of tutorials and advice on, you guessed it, building worlds. Check out World Anvil: worldanvil.com Show Contact Details: Voi...
Jun 01, 2019•49 min•Season 3Ep. 6
Another week of random thoughts from my GM's Journal. The main topic is momentum and how to lose it. There's also an unboxing in there plus a wonderful surprise from a Roleplay Rescue supporter. Lots to ponder... as long as you don't mind the raw, rambling peek into my inner life as a gamer. Enjoy! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
May 29, 2019•40 min•Season 3Ep. 5
Do you remember when Frank T called in and asked me about my choice of system for our fantasy roleplaying game? Frank’s getting his wish today because I wanted to respond to the question and didn’t feel like I could do it justice in just a short reply. Thus, I’ve decided to sit down with a few notes and share my thoughts on why I chose Castles & Crusades for my new fantasy adventure campaign. Useful Links: Troll Lord Games: trolllord.com TLG Online Store: www.trolllord.com/tlgstore/#!/Castle...
May 25, 2019•28 min•Season 3Ep. 5
Another instalment of my dronings about Gamemastering a roleplaying campaign. Good news with the teenaged gaming group, not so much with the adults. As ever, this is a laid-bare peek behind the GM's screen and not for the faint-hearted. Enter at your peril! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
May 22, 2019•30 min•Season 3Ep. 4
Whatever your rules system, there are two other big elements that you’ll want to create as you get started with your game. The first of those is the world. The second of those are the game structures that you want to employ. As a beginning Dungeon Master, I’d recommend keeping things simple. This episode is about creating a short adventure in a lightly sketched world using the Dungeoncrawl game structure. It's also an episode in which I ditch the script and record off the cuff. Hope it's not too...
May 18, 2019•41 min•Season 3Ep. 4
GM's Journal becomes a regular fixture at Roleplay Rescue with our first scheduled Wednesday release. This episode sees me focused on preparing for the new fantasy roleplaying campaign that the Friday Night Gamers have asked for. Along the way we visit antics at the school club and hear an update on Saturday night online gaming. As ever, it's a candid peek behind the GM's screen which assembles my audio notes into a rough edit. There's the odd naughty word and there are spoilers for players in m...
May 15, 2019•37 min•Season 3Ep. 3
I wanted to create more episodes that explore other well-known roleplaying game systems. To do this, I decided it’d be a good idea to talk to people who already enjoy those games. Today’s episode is the first of these in which the brief was to create a Dungeon World 101. Yochai Gal is an avid fan of the Dungeon World roleplaying game who hails from Massachusetts, USA. He maintains the Dungeon World Syllabus, a repository of links useful to anyone who wants to get into the game, and is highly act...
May 11, 2019•1 hr 5 min•Season 3Ep. 3
Here's the latest Journal in which I burble on about deciding what to do with the Friday Night Roleplayers. A decision is made. As usual, this episode features my audio notes recorded here and there. Assembled into a rough edit, these notes form a journal and let you take a peek behind the GM’s screen. But be warned: there are spoilers aplenty for anyone who plays at any of my gaming sessions. It’s a pretty candid and messy snapshot of my inner life as a gamer - you have been warned! Hosted on A...
May 05, 2019•57 min•Season 3Ep. 2
Over recent weeks, there have been a few people in the Anchorite OSR community talking about the current edition of Dungeons & Dragons. As someone who got involved playing the Fifth Edition right from the days of the D&D Next Playtest, I feel it’s high-time we gave the game some serious consideration. This episode I want to ask: What’s wrong with 5e? Why not just play the world’s most popular roleplaying game? Useful links: D&D5e Basic Rules: dnd.wizards.com/articles/features/basicru...
May 04, 2019•33 min•Season 3Ep. 2
Welcome to the Roleplay Rescue Game Master’s Journal. This episode covers the two week period from the end of Season 2 and the start of this new series. Each journal episode features my audio notes, recorded here and there over the days between my regular gaming sessions. Assembled into a rough edit, these notes form a journal and let you take a peek behind the GM’s screen. But be warned: there are spoilers aplenty for anyone who plays at any of my gaming sessions. It’s a pretty candid and messy...
Apr 28, 2019•42 min•Season 3Ep. 1
Welcome to Season 3 of Roleplay Rescue! Today we take a look at the meaning and importance of Escapism. We learn that we are healthier when we seek escapes that are focused on self-expansion rather than self-suppression. Through a brief glance at modern psychology, we find out how roleplaying games allow us to do do cool stuff AND become friends with people with whom we discover how to work with collaboratively. If that isn’t a cool reason to get back to the table, I don’t know what is. Show Con...
Apr 27, 2019•30 min•Season 3Ep. 1
In Episode 58 of Plundergrounds, Ray Otus challenged his listeners to record a one-off podcast on the theme of "Something old, something new, something borrowed, and something out of the blue". Despite finishing my series for the holiday, the challenge has been bugging me. Haunting me, even. Here, then, is my response to the challenge. Find Ray Otus on Plundergrounds: anchor.fm/plundergrounds Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Apr 15, 2019•9 min•Season 2Ep. 11
Today’s episode is the last of Series Two. It began as a question posted on the MeWe group entitled “The Arduin Grimoire by Dave Hargrave”. From this stepped forward today’s guest. We arranged to chat online but, on the night, the technology let us down. After some tinkering and typing, we agree to hop onto the Anchor app and record the interview using our phones. Gabriel Roark is a Californian, married, and the father of one. An archaeologist, focused on California Indians and historic archaeol...
Apr 13, 2019•57 min•Season 2Ep. 10
Well, GM's Journal #8 wasn't the last entry. Oh no. You guys got on Anchor and sent me a barrage of lovely voice messages which I have collected together in this episode. Additionally, I've hacked together the thoughts and mumblings from the past four or so days into a follow-up journal. The long and short of it is that I have come to realise something very powerful about my Gamemastering. As ever, this is a laid-bare peek behind the GM's screen and not for the faint-hearted. Enter at your peril...
Apr 10, 2019•57 min•Season 2Ep. 10
Rough edit from a rough week at the table. Shennanigans at the school club leading to the death of four characters, followed by the fourth Friday Night Roleplay session on the Isle of Fire going ... erm ... badly, leading to a TPK. As ever, this is a laid-bare peek behind the GM's screen and not for the faint-hearted. Enter at your peril! Will this be the last entry in the Journal? You decide! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Apr 06, 2019•36 min•Season 2Ep. 9
What if you don’t want to play in a fantasy roleplaying game? What are the options for getting a science-fiction game up to the table? Is anything different? In this episode, we delve into the second major RPG genre - the science-fiction game - and take a quick peek at the options available to the gamer who wants to boldly go where no-one has gone before. For me, science-fiction roleplaying adventure is a wonderful alternative to the traditional fantasy game. Through the years, many science-fict...
Apr 06, 2019•35 min•Season 2Ep. 9
Mash-up of clips from my day out to Birmingham on Saturday 30th March to attend Glorantha Games 2019, a convention held at Geek Retreat to celebrate the world and games of Glorantha. Organised by Pookie and Darren Happens, the show was run to raise money for Shelter and bring together the tribes of UK Glorantha fandom. It was my first convention in about 15 years and an amazingly positive experience. Forgive the awful audio quality at times - I just wanted to share some of the moments I experien...
Mar 31, 2019•23 min•Season 2Ep. 8
This episode is a grab-bag of moments from the week: unboxing the Black Hack, prep for the school game, thoughts on Traveller, and ending the week with a trip to Ludorati in Nottingham. As ever, this is a laid-bare peek behind the GM's screen and not for the faint-hearted. Enter at your peril! Not sure how coherant I am but you guys are used to the format, right? Game on! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Mar 30, 2019•33 min•Season 2Ep. 8
Following the interview with Rob Twohy, I’ve been feeling slightly more confident about putting together an episode on the the various online gaming options. As is true of this podcast generally, the whole question of playing fantasy adventure games online has been a learning curve for me. Today, I’m going to share what I’ve learned and see if I can offer some further ideas on the whole question of online options for roleplayers. On top of that, listen to the end because there's a bit about the ...
Mar 30, 2019•29 min•Season 2Ep. 8
Mainly, this is a regular GM's Journal episode with my blitherings from the last week of gaming, highs and lows included. I've changed the format slightly - adding in the voice messages in roughly timeline order as received, rather than all at the start. I've also added a bit at the end in which I talk about the launch of my Patreon page for this podcast. Patreon allows listeners to support the podcast by chucking some dollars in the hat and joining the member community. There are no rewards, no...
Mar 24, 2019•51 min•Season 2Ep. 7
I’ve been getting a lot of questions about getting started with online gaming and, frankly, I’ve been really struggling to put together an episode addressing those questions. Because I’m not an expert on the topic, I decided to reach out to someone who truly is an expert. Rob Twohy has been playing Dungeons & Dragons since 1981. He has a strong passion for the hobby and brings that enthusiasm to the community by hosting live games and tutorials for the D&D 5E community via Twitch and You...
Mar 23, 2019•49 min•Season 2Ep. 7
The twists and turns in my hobby over the past week or so, in what has been one of the toughest in my career, along with many of the joys that come from gaming. While editing it occurred to me that roleplay adventure games might be the cornerstone of my sanity. More detail on the school club and a post-game ramble after the Saturday night game using Fantasy Grounds. As ever, this is a laid-bare peek behind the GM's screen and not for the faint-hearted. Enter at your peril! Hosted on Acast. See a...
Mar 17, 2019•30 min•Season 2Ep. 6
Taking a bit of a risk, this episode discusses five games that have had a great impact on me. Along the way, I also touch on various matters of taste and icons who have influenced my play style. It's a bit of an indulgence through which I hope others might also find some inspiration. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Mar 16, 2019•37 min•Season 2Ep. 6
A third dose of my GM prep ramblings during which I share my preparation for the Rise of The Dragon Kings campaign using Castles & Crusades. I touch on where the school club game is and mumble some thoughts on the Saturday night game too. This is a laid-bare peek behind the GM's screen and not for the faint-hearted. Enter at your peril! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Mar 10, 2019•31 min•Season 2Ep. 5
Mike Mason began roleplaying with what he calls “Purple Box” Dungeons & Dragons. Nowadays he is the Line Editor of Call of Cthulhu for the Chaosium. He is the co-writer of the 7th edition Keeper's Rulebook and the recently released Call of Cthulhu Starter Set. Call of Cthulhu is a roleplaying game of mystery and horror, in which players take on the role of investigators to uncover the secrets of the cosmos. In the course of a game, the investigators may find themselves battling against crazy...
Mar 09, 2019•1 hr 6 min•Season 2Ep. 5
Follow-up to the first bonus episode which records my #SoloAModule month efforts, this is the first adventure from the Alternity Starter Set 1999. I've tried to make my gibberings more entertaining but, in the end, it's one man gaming alone. But I did have a good time. Enjoy! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Mar 04, 2019•56 min•Season 2Ep. 4
It's Solo A Module Month and, following the last episode on getting into solo play, I thought I would take part. In short, Spencer Salyer from the Lone Wolf Roleplaying group on MeWe (formerly on G+) has set the guys there the challenge to solo play a module sometime during March 2019. I got the itch to play my all-time favourite SF RPG just before #SoloAModule was announced and decided to throw my lot in to do a very special blast from the past. This is a very rough intro to my plan for March i...
Mar 03, 2019•55 min•Season 2Ep. 4
What if you can’t find any players or a game to join? Is it possible to roleplay on your own? In this episode, we explore the slightly misunderstood world of solo roleplaying. I take you through the reasons behind solo play, even as far back as the 1970s and the hey-day of D&D. From there, we explore the Mythic RPG and the many approaches to solo roleplaying in a practical sense. By the end, I hope to convince you that solo RPG play is a good and sensible option. Useful Links: Kenny Norris' ...
Mar 02, 2019•27 min•Season 2Ep. 4
