Postcards from the Dungeon

Jeb and Steve discuss the second Captain America movie, “Captain America: The Winter Soldier.” Then Jeb shares his experiences visiting comic book stores on the most recent Free Comic Book Day. Resources and References Movie: Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) RPG: Marvel Heroic Roleplaying by Margaret Weis Productions TV: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2013-) Comic: […]

Jeb, Mikey, and Steve discuss how rules and rolls can assuage the insecurities of some players while hampering the freedom of others, and perhaps how to find a balance. They use the metaphor of the “Magic Tea Party” borrowed from ‘mean_liar’ and finally discuss how false choices can both keep the players satisfied with their […]

Jeb and Steve discuss ways to encourage player characters to work together, including just asking the players why their PC’s would! Then they discuss some games they look forward to playing at Fear the Con 7 in June of 2014. This leads to a revisit of an old topic, Cyberpunk, and how it’s changed in […]

Jeb, Mikey, and Steve discuss ways to start an RPG campaign. How do you avoid the awkward phase in which players are unsure what to do first or how to introduce themselves? Then they discuss some memorable campaign starts and what worked and didn’t work for them. You’re very much encouraged to share stories of […]

Jeb and Steve speak with Josh, a Private Investigator with many years of experience in multiple fields of PI work. They find out what PI work is really like, what media representations of PI life are accurate and which are laughably outdated. Resources and References Book: The Continental Op by Dashiell Hammett Book: Nightmare Town: […]

Jeb and Steve discuss their experiences with and hopes for the Fate RPG. They go on to discuss one way to tackle problematic topics in RPG campaigns, and finally discuss why Fate may be well adapted to domain management / organizational conflict games. Resources and References Movie: The Lego Movie (2014) Movie: Aladdin (1992) RPG: […]

Jeb, Mikey, and Steve talk about stories like the current HBO series “True Detective” that uses flashback’s and a fixed end point to tell a story. Is it possible to use this technique in an RPG? If the players know, in advance, that their character would be or would not be dead, does this remove […]

Jeb, Mikey, and Steve discuss Forty years of Dungeons & Dragons and how it affected them and the hobby they love without the soaring hyperbole or fervent reverence. Resources and References Website: The Funny Music Project (FuMP) Podcast: Pros and Cons Website: February Album Writing Month Wikipedia: Dungeons & Dragons Wikipedia: Gary Gygax Wikipedia: Dave […]

Jeb and Steve discuss the types of horror in fiction, the nature of fear, and provide a few suggestions for including both in your game. Resources and References Music: The Funny Music Project (FuMP) Movie: American Hustle (2013) Wikipedia: FBI’s Abscam sting Movie: Twelve Years a Slave (2013) Book: Twelve Years a Slave by Solomon […]

Jeb and Steve discuss the second installment of The Hobbit trilogy. They also, briefly, discuss Disney’s new “Fozen.” Resources and References Movie: Frozen (2013) Movie: The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013) RPG: GURPS – Generic Universal Role Play System RPG: Legend of the Five Rings RPG: Chill RPG: Gumshoe System Book: The Girl With […]

Mikey and Steve discuss the movie Beautiful Creatures and try to find lessons therein for table-top roleplayers. Resources and References Web Site: Mikey Mason’s Performance Schedule Convention: MarsCon in Williamsburg, VA Convention: MarsCon in Bloomington, MN Podcast: Pro’s and Con’s Podcast: Beer Powered Time Machine BandCamp: Mikey Mason’s “Storm Coming” Album Movie: Beautiful Creatures (2013) […]

Jeb, Mikey, and Steve try to get their podcasting chops back and start with a discussion of why seeking media from outside of your usual or favorite genres. Resources and References Convention: PandoraCon Web Site: NaNoWriMo – National Novel Writing Month Podcast: Pro’s and Con’s Book: Travis McGee Mysteries by John D. McDonald Podcast: Beer […]

Steve speaks with Mark Plemmons about his current Kickstarter campaign for Corporia – the RPG where Camelot meets corporate! We discuss the setting, described as “Knights in shining Armani” and then describe some of the rules of the new “GRAIL System” that powers Corporia. Resources and References Kickstarter: Corporia – the RPG where Camelot meets […]

Steve speaks with Grant from the “Saving the Game” RPG podcast. They discuss the 2013 RPG Podcasters Charity Drive, provide special 20% discount codes for our listeners, and then go on to discuss podcasting, gaming and Christianity, and Grant’s experiences as a podcaster. The discount codes given during the episode are for the following products, […]

Jeb and Steve discuss the movie “Gravity” including how it can inform high tension games with a recurring threat element. They also announce the podcasts participation in the 2013 RPG Podcasters Charity Drive. Resources and References Website: Mikey Mason’s Performance Schedule Convention: PandoraCon Facebook: Gateway Games & More Podcast: Saving the Game Charity: 2013 RPG […]