Show Notes

The RPGBOT crew closes out Season 5 the only way they know how: with heartfelt gratitude, passionate rants, accidental comedy, and at least one derailment into pop culture discourse.

In this end-of-year recap, Randall, Tyler, and Ash look back on a year of certified bangers, a few corporate-mandated stinkers, and the surprising joy of discovering that people are, in fact, listening. A lot of people. Like… three-quarters of a million downloads a lot.

Along the way, the hosts reflect on:

• Why giving feedback is harder than it sounds (and why Josh should maybe just be hired already).
• How unionization, passion, and not hating your job might magically lead to better RPG books.
• The growth of RPGBOT from "30 listeners we personally harassed" to a thriving, weirdly wholesome community.
• The success of Quick Start / How to Play episodes for systems that are not D&D (and the relief that people actually want those).
• The birth and future of Other Worlds, where the same characters keep falling through genre portals like some kind of dice-based Sliders reboot.
• Big plans for 2026, including Numenera, Pulp Cthulhu, Cyberpunk, Blades in the Dark, Dragonbane, Starfinder, and the eternal quest to finally do Star Wars without the universe collapsing.
• Charity streams, especially the Old Gods of Appalachia fundraiser for MD Anderson, and why that one hit especially close to home.
• A completely unnecessary but spirited debate about Stranger Things, narrative stakes, and which beloved characters absolutely should have died (allegedly).

The episode ends exactly as you'd expect: Tyler's brain breaks when the outro script is violated, identities are swapped, BlueSky handles are mangled, someone accidentally says "sub-sex" instead of "success," and the podcast briefly achieves true chaos before stumbling lovingly into 2026.

If you like tabletop RPGs when they're fun—and you like listening to three people who clearly enjoy making them fun—this episode is a warm, messy thank-you note to everyone who made 2025 possible.

Welcome to the RPGBOT Podcast. If you love Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder, and tabletop RPGs, this is the podcast for you.

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Meet the Hosts

• Tyler Kamstra – Master of mechanics, seeing the Pathfinder action economy like Neo in the Matrix.

• Randall James – Lore buff and technologist, always ready to debate which Lord of the Rings edition reigns supreme.

• Ash Ely – Resident cynic, chaos agent, and AI's worst nightmare, bringing pure table-flipping RPG podcast energy.

Join the RPGBOT team where fantasy roleplaying meets real strategy, sarcasm, and community chaos.

How to Find Us:

In-depth articles, guides, handbooks, reviews, news on Tabletop Role Playing at RPGBOT.net

Tyler Kamstra

• BlueSky: @rpgbot.net
• TikTok: @RPGBOTDOTNET

Ash Ely

• Professional Game Master on StartPlaying.Games
• BlueSky: @GravenAshes
• YouTube: @ashravenmedia

Randall James

• BlueSky: @GrimoireRPG
• Amateurjack.com
• Read Melancon: A Grimoire Tale (affiliate link)

Producer Dan

• @Lzr_illuminati