On this episode of Total Pebble Knockdown: Are you getting enough sleep? Not in real life, we already know the answer to that is "No". Instead, are you getting enough sleep in games? We're looking at sleep, resting, curfews and other annoyances that games will use to make you end your business day, even if you were doing something cool. Does this work? Should it be changed? Are there better ways to use the nature of sleep to engage players rather than distract them? Your players walk into a bar ...
Sep 06, 2022•1 hr 8 min
On this episode of Total Pebble Knockdown: On this episode of Total Pebble Knockdown: Wizard Presents 2022 gave us many big announcements concerning Dungeons and Dragons and Magic: The Gathering. We are somewhat familiar with these things, so let's break down some of the big announcements, from Warhammer cards to the upcoming supplements to the huge One D&D reveal. Wizard Presents 2022 So, One D&D was a big announcement, but what can we expect from the updated rules? Luckily, Wizards rel...
Aug 29, 2022•52 min
On this episode of Total Pebble Knockdown: If you have ever watched a movie or TV show, played a game or read a book, you have probably noticed some typical character archetypes. At a certain point these become tropes that are easy to fall back on as writing devices. But does that mean you should play one in your games? We look at a list of 15 character tropes to see how these could work in your games and whether they should. Along the way, we find the worst character tropes that are being addre...
Aug 22, 2022•1 hr 41 min•Season 1Ep. 44
On this episode of Total Pebble Knockdown: While magic items may often be powerful, they can also prove to be rare and expensive. But what about secondhand magic items? You know, the “gently used” items pawned off to a traveling merchant for resale? What if your players got ahold of those? We ponder the possibilities of broken, worn and mysterious used items that have more intrigue than your standard fare and might not break the bank to acquire. Leveling can be an exciting and important mechanic...
Aug 08, 2022•57 min
On this episode of Total Pebble Knockdown: It’s rare that we have good news to share regarding NFTs, but we’ve found some this week. Mojang announced that NFTs and blockchain will not be allowed in Minecraft. Yay! However, NFT Worlds plans on building their own Minecraft so they can make the crypto-paradise happen over there. Not yay! Let’s break some of this down in a Weekly Muse. We love our secret levels in video games. Take me back to Whimsyshire, please. But the question we have this week o...
Aug 01, 2022•55 min
On this episode of Total Pebble Knockdown: The trailer for a new D&D movie just dropped at San Diego ComicCon. So, I guess that's what we're talking about on Weekly Muse. We discuss some of the monsters, classes and spells showcased in the trailer and if it looks good. Alex also attempts to explain that older D&D movies existed, although you likely don't remember them. Nathan's character may have been affected by the curse of lycanthropy. But as many D&D players may know, lycanthrope...
Jul 25, 2022•1 hr 19 min
On this episode of Total Pebble Knockdown: When exploring worlds of imagination, you want to make them feel alive. But if we are escaping from reality, the worlds themselves should reflect that. How can we set our fantasy, sci-fi, post-apocalypse, etc. apart from the here and now? How do we introduce those elements? Let's discuss that in a Delving Deeper. We play our fair share of RPGs. Before you can start, however, you need to have a character. Some games do a better job establishing that than...
Jul 18, 2022•1 hr 8 min
On this episode of Total Pebble Knockdown: During a recent D&D session, the party ran across some wererats. This forced the mostly martial party to get creative with dealing damage and that led to a completely unorthodox usage of Heat Metal. What is Heat Metal? How are you supposed to use it? How did we change it? The answers may surprise and annoy you. Heat Metal is an interesting spell Wererats don't care about your swords The numbers are in and it appears that Diablo Immortal, like many m...
Jul 11, 2022•1 hr 8 min•Season 1Ep. 39
On this episode of Total Pebble Knockdown: June was a big month for gaming. We’ve already talked about the Xbox & Bethesda Showcase, but on this Weekly Muse we take a look at the Summer Games Fest, a repository of sequels and remakes. Also, a few original titles. Some of it is likely worth your time, but exactly how much has yet to be seen. We mentioned in passing the oddity of choosing a barbarian lifestyle in D&D. In this Delving Deeper, Alex tries to make sense of why barbarian is a c...
Jul 04, 2022•1 hr 8 min
On this episode of Total Pebble Knockdown: The Xbox & Bethesda Showcase 2022 had many announcements, some of which were of particular interest to Nathan and Alex. So, let us discuss a new entry from Squanchy Games, a new cthulhu-vania title, Hideo Kojima, Hot Wheels, giant spiders and souls games for some reason. And, of course, we have an extended discussion of Starfield. One of the other titles we got at the Showcase was for Ark 2, featuring a very Vin Diesel-ly Vin Diesel. Funnily enough,...
Jun 27, 2022•1 hr 9 min
On this episode of Total Pebble Knockdown: In a less than angry Soapbox, Nathan makes the completely reasonable argument that your in-game store informs everything about your world. Alex has some disagreements about that and makes those very known. Who’s hill will we die on? Perhaps each others… perhaps! Since Nathan now has a Level 5 Bard in the TPK D&D game, he took a 3rd Level spell called Plant Growth. After reading through the description, he started thinking of new and wild ways to uti...
Jun 13, 2022•55 min•Season 1Ep. 36
On this episode of Total Pebble Knockdown: E3 2022 is dead. We killed it... with shrugs. But in it’s wake, a whole bunch of game company streams will be flooding our lives over the next couple weeks. What companies are not having conferences? Do we know about any games being announced? Could we ever hope for a new IP? Will E3 2023 be more for gamers then the industry executives? Sorry, I made myself laugh there… Also, was Frostpunk good or bad? E3 has ceased to be - E3 2022 - Digital and Physica...
Jun 06, 2022•1 hr 12 min•Season 1Ep. 35
On this episode of Total Pebble Knockdown: * It appears that video games are the new go-to medium for film adaptation. What a wonderful time to explain that video games and movies are different things. Is Super Mario Brothers a movie masterpiece? Why would you want silent protagonists to suddenly recite dialogue? Why has Master Chief not gotten to the freakin' ring world the whole game series is named after!? Oh, and are they actually gonna try making a Fallout series? Why? * We grow very attach...
May 30, 2022•1 hr 18 min•Season 1Ep. 34
On this episode of Total Pebble Knockdown: Recently, Twitch was all ablaze with streamers playing an early build of Overwatch 2 and views were off the charts. Then, on Day 2, views were off the charts in a very different direction. So, why did enthusiasm for the game go away so quickly? We will look at a few possibilities and ask what Blizzard might be able to learn… from other Blizzard games.Overwatch 2 viewership drops - Overwatch 2 With Drastic Viewership Drop on Twitch | gamepressure.com Som...
May 23, 2022•1 hr 17 min•Season 1Ep. 33
On this episode of Total Pebble Knockdown: In news we thought had already happened, Wizards of the Coast has purchased D&D Beyond, bringing the online service under the umbrella of the D&D parent company. Will this change anything about the core offerings for the users? Will you need a WOTC account? Can we wish for integration between digital and physical books? Time to dig into this acquisition. For more details on the deal to buy D&D Beyond - D&D Beyond comes under the wing of ...
May 16, 2022•1 hr 24 min•Season 1Ep. 32
On this episode of Total Pebble Knockdown: * So, Bethesda is letting it's game launcher go. Fly free little launcher! What happens to everyone's data, their save games, their libraries, their friends lists? And the question on everyone's mind: What about Fallout 76!? Also, a few old Bethesda games become available for free on Steam on the heels of this news. Coincidence? Maybe! Bethesda Launcher we hardly knew ye - https://www.pcgamer.com/bethesda-is-dropping-its-launcher-in-favor-of-a-return-to...
May 02, 2022•58 min•Season 1Ep. 31
On this episode of Total Pebble Knockdown: * Launched on April 12, two TTRPG Kickstarters hit the $1 Million mark in mere days of release. So, on this Weekly Muse, we talk a bit about that. Should we make monsters more interesting in Flee, Mortals! from MCDM? Should we bow down and worship the Old Gods of Appalachia from Monte Cook Games? Why isn't there an RPG set in a mall? Why has Alex not gotten his '90s themed Scholastic Book Fair game? What's the real difference between zombies and mindfla...
Apr 25, 2022•1 hr 6 min•Season 1Ep. 30
On this episode of Total Pebble Knockdown: * After hearing about the horror that is the false hydra, Nathan started thinking about rectifying player knowledge versus character knowledge. If you know how to combat a monster that is imperceivable by normal means as a player, should your character prepare to fight it accordingly? Should I pick Silence as a spell knowing what I know? How much of this becomes meta-gaming and does that affect the campaign? A whole lot of questions, which means we have...
Apr 18, 2022•1 hr 8 min•Season 1Ep. 29
On this episode of Total Pebble Knockdown: * Well, we had a weird one on the last episode, which pretty much sets up the whole premise of this episode. To start things off, we're going to have a Crit Think asking if games can be so bad they are good? Some examples are given and personal experiences are relayed. Perhaps the whole thing is subjective. But also, Nathan played Kattastik, so... * Sometimes a bug, flaw, coding error or technical limitation has unexpected consequences. In some cases th...
Apr 11, 2022•1 hr 24 min•Season 1Ep. 29
On this episode of Delve: * Once upon a time we discussed the "good" party and the "bad" party, but we never discussed the "morally ambiguous" party. You know, the neutral party that really doesn't have a stake in affairs of the state or society, but just has a job to do and wants to get paid for their services. Basically witchers, but with less personal investment. What do you do when your party of personified shrugs enters a world full of intrigue to which they have no interest in getting invo...
Apr 04, 2022•1 hr 7 min•Season 1Ep. 27
On this episode of Total Pebble Knockdown: * In case you were not aware, basically every licensed property in existence has decided to dive into the tabletop market. On this Weekly Muse, Nathan slightly breaks Alex with news of a Power Rangers RPG, Disney theme park board games, a 5E compatible version of Runescape and a shocking list of super successful Kickstarters with recognizable brands. And since we're looking at all of those, let's also discuss possible games from intellectual properties ...
Mar 28, 2022•1 hr•Season 1Ep. 26
On this episode of Total Pebble Knockdown: * Somewhere in Nebraska, video game enthusiasts uncovered a treasure trove of cartridges from the Genesis and SNES era and lost their collective minds. Early estimates suggest that it could be worth millions with most of the cartridges still factory sealed. Does this sound like an over-estimate? What other digital antiques could be worth money? What should we have kept around? Also, Ninja Turtles and Pokemon Cards. Local news shows plastic cartridges - ...
Mar 21, 2022•51 min•Season 1Ep. 25
On this episode of Total Pebble Knockdown: * It might not be well-known, but Alex and Nathan have been playing... oh, what is it called... Dungeons & Dragons. Alex has been running a module and Nathan is playing a bard, so this is a new experience for both of us. We discuss what it's like running a module compared to making your own campaign and how you can still make it your own. We also think about what backstory will make Nathan's character more realistic, but in the terms of a fantasy ro...
Mar 14, 2022•1 hr 14 min•Season 1Ep. 24
On this episode of Total Pebble Knockdown: * Nintendo came under some fire for shutting down their WiiU and 3DS game stores without offering another option to enjoy a ton of classic games once that happens. Besides spawning a clear response from academics and the Video Game History Foundation, this brings up a serious issue about the preservation of video games in the digital age. Also, why can't Nathan find Oni anymore and what are we supposed to do to avoid losing old games to the ether? Artic...
Mar 07, 2022•1 hr 15 min•Season 1Ep. 23
On this episode of Total Pebble Knockdown: * With Horizon Forbidden West and Elden Ring now released, media outlets have already begun the discussion about what shall be the Game of the Year. On this Soapbox, we make the simple statement: NO! And while it is far too early to be calling a contest such as this, we might as well discuss why GOTY is a thing and if we really need The Game Awards. Horizon Forbidden West review: Game of the year already? 'Elden Ring' Is the Game of the Year | WIRED * A...
Feb 28, 2022•1 hr 19 min•Season 1Ep. 22
On this episode of Total Pebble Knockdown: * We welcome our first guest to the show, Chris Bissette, creator of Loot the Room, writer of The Wretched and Co-Writer/Publisher of The Unquiet Dark on Kickstarter right now. How quickly will this episode go off the rails? You probably know the answer. * Dark Souls has a tabletop game now, as does Devil May Cry and Darkest Dungeon apparently. Not really sure if this was a good idea, but Chris wanted to discuss it, possibly because he actually cannot g...
Feb 21, 2022•1 hr 37 min•Season 1Ep. 21
On this episode of Total Pebble Knockdown: * And so, Nathan arrives at 77 hours into Cyberpunk 2077 and Alex has also been playing quite heavily. So, now we get to discuss the game you didn't think we'd play... as much as we actually have. Why was this the game we keep playing? What did CD Projekt Red do right that often gets overshadowed by a disastrous launch and company response? Could this still be known as one of the great RPGs in the future? Should it be? We discuss some missions, story, m...
Feb 14, 2022•59 min•Season 1Ep. 20
On this episode of Total Pebble Knockdown: * So, Activision Blizzard was acquired by Microsoft for a whole lot of money and now we have to discuss the biggest purchase in video gaming history. Mostly, we need to talk about whether this was a good idea. Will Microsoft be able to justify this price tag in the future and how would they plan on recuperating the cost? The good, the bad and the microtransactions on this Weekly Muse. To prove we didn’t just make this up - Microsoft to acquire Activisio...
Feb 07, 2022•1 hr•Season 1Ep. 19
On this episode of Total Pebble Knockdown: * Techland has a big game coming out shortly called Dying Light 2: Stay Human. To promote the release, they sent out a message saying the game would be 500 hours long and a lot of people did not take that news well. Techland had to clarify that 500 hours would be specifically to do everything in the game and the main game would be 20 hours. So, have we come to a time where players want shorter games and why would that be? We discuss that on Weekly Muse....
Jan 31, 2022•1 hr 13 min•Season 1Ep. 18
On this episode of Total Pebble Knockdown: * Have you ever wanted to be a video game character in real life? Well a new place called Bam Kazam is building experiences that let you live out your digital dreams in the analog world. What world would we explore and which ones are we trying to avoid? Bam Kazam in Scottsdale turns you into a video game character, literally Bam Kazam Homepage * So Dark Alliance is back... well, kind of. What does this new take on the series tell us about companies, the...
Jan 24, 2022•1 hr 24 min•Season 1Ep. 17
