Another Pointless Pod

In this episode I sit down to play D&D with Marcus Walker. Marcus is a co-host for the Haven’t Seen It movie podcast. Each week he and his friend from high school Matt Dee discuss a movie they’ve both recently watched. Typically, the movie chosen for the week is one that one of the hosts have seen and the other hasn’t. They do on occasion have guests come on the show, and in my case, I got to pick the movie. Check out their episode on Class Action Park if you want to hear our discussion.

Time Stamps

Introduction (00:00:00)

Conversation Starts (00:01:33)

Actual Play Begins (00:21:28)

Marcus show notes

Things Mentioned

Haven’t Seen It Pod

Magic: The Gathering

Richard Garfield

Keyforge

Class Action Park

Whose Line Is It Anyways

Owlbear Rodeo

Thoughts from the host

This was a pretty cool interview for me. The main reason being that Marcus is the one who inspired me to start my own podcast. Although, our two podcasts are completely different, I had so much fun doing his that it inspired me to start my own.

In this episode my close high school friend Sam Hefty and I have our wrap-up conversation after last week's episode's actual play. Sam and I discuss Magic: The Gathering pretty extensively. Something he is much more knowledgeable about than I. But it was an interesting conversation nonetheless. 

Things mentioned in this episode

• Magic: The Gathering

• Strixthhaven

• Innistrad

• Groot

• Rick & Morty

• Tiamat

This is the first episode of two with my good friend Samuel Hefty. Sam and I have known one another for more than decade; we went to high school together, played soccer with one another, I was the best man in his wedding, and he has been one of my players for at least three D&D campaigns at this point. In this episode I suffer a bit of ribbing from Sam at the top of the show, but then we play a game of the show's ongoing campaign "The Sidekick". 

The Sidekick is a unique actual play campaign, each month the podcast guest assumes the role of the sidekick. The campaign is inspired by the childhood game of Telephone. Any actions taken, lore or character details established, or injuries sustained to the character in an episode carries over next month for the new guest to deal with. Tune back in later this month for episode 10 where Sam and I discuss D&D, Magic: The Gathering, and the two crossing over. 

In This Episode

Introduction (00:00:00)

 Conversation Begins (00:00:50) 

Actual Play Begins (00:15:43) 

Things Mentioned in this Episode 

• Talespire 

• Discord 

• Owlbear Rodeo 

Thoughts from the Host 

Sam's episodes ran longer than expected; which becomes more evident in the next one we do together. But being that he is one of my best friends I think it is only natural that we spend a lot of time chatting about stuff since there is already that comfort and familiarity with one another. I had originally intended to have Sam as my first or second guest since he is the person at this point I have played the most D&D with. Although, that wasn't the case due to scheduling conflicts he had with a new move to Cleveland he was making, and the wedding he was attending for his cousin-in-law.

In this weeks episode of the podcast I sit down to play a little bit of D&D with author, artist, game designer, and YouTuber Hankerin Ferinale. Ferinale is perhaps best known in the roleplaying game community for his game Index Card RPG (ICRPG) and his YouTube channel Runehammer. He is also the author of the The Legacy of Mud series and Retune which he publishes under the moniker of Brandish Gilhelm. This was an exciting episode for me, because Hank's channel was  one of the first D&D-related YouTube channels I started watching and following. His book ICRPG has also been an indispensable resource for me, and was one of the first roleplaying book that I bought that wasn't published by Wizard's of The Coast. 

The Sidekick is a unique actual play campaign, each month the podcast guest assumes the role of the sidekick. The campaign is inspired by the childhood game of Telephone. Any actions taken, lore or character details established, or injuries sustained to the character in an episode carries over next month for the new guest to deal with.

Tune back in later this month for episode 8 where Hank and I discuss comic books, game mastering, and the perils of social media.

In this episode:

Introduction (00:00:00)

Opening Credits (00:00.09)

Conversation begins (00:00:54)

Actual Play (00:11:20)

Things mentioned:

Index Card RPG

5e Hardcore Mode

CultMoo YouTube

Burning Wheel RPG

Dungeon World

Blades in The Dark

Fate RPG

Owl Bear Rodeo

Sidekick Rules

Thoughts from the host

Going into this episode I was really nervous to be interviewing Hank. However, whatever fears I might have had going into our game and later our interview were allayed by his easy going nature and friendliness. Off mic the two of us nerded out over the doom metal band Sleep; which was perhaps the last in-person concert I attended prior to the pandemic. 

Music

Music by Karl Casey @White Bat Audio

This is my second episode with Dr. Ian Borton. Ian is a professor of communications at Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, Mich. Ian, as worded on his Linkedin profile is, "Currently researching gamification, conflict, restorative justice, and the use of roleplay in education. Currently teaching courses in interpersonal communication, communication ethics, humanities, and social media." He is also the author of the book Creating Restorative Justice: A Communication Perspective of Justice, Restoration, and Community which he co-authored with Gregory D. Paul. Prior to playing, we discuss a D&D camp he is running this summer. In this episode we talk his game of The Sidekick, his D&D camp, teaching 10-year-old's how to game master, loteria, and our shared irritation with some people's inability to have an opinion on something. 

In this episode

Introduction (00:00:00)

Conversation begins (00:00:45)

Rapid Fire Questions 

Things mentioned in this episode

• Middle Earth Roleplaying

• Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition

• Escaping Prison with Dungeons and Dragons

• Watch the Eye of the Beholder: The Art of Dungeons and Dragons

• 1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die

• Lost Mine of Phandelver

Thoughts from the Host

It was a pleasure to sit down and talk with Ian. I enjoyed our conversations and learning a little bit more about the study of communications. In terms of my first guest that I haven't know for 20-plus-years, I found talking to Ian to be for the most part an easy experience. Although, I can't help be a bit nit-picky about my skills as an interviewer. I relied to heavily on my career as a reporter to carry myself through the interview, and I probably would have been better off having a few questions or bullet points on hand for our discussion. 

In this episode of a two-part series I sit down to play D&D with Dr. Ian Borton to continue the show's campaign The Sidekick. Ian is a professor of communications at Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, Mich. Ian, as worded on his Linkedin profile is, "Currently researching gamification, conflict, restorative justice, and the use of roleplay in education. Currently teaching courses in interpersonal communication, communication ethics, humanities, and social media." He is also the author of the book Creating Restorative Justice: A Communication Perspective of Justice, Restoration, and Community which he co-authored with Gregory D. Paul. Prior to playing, we discuss a D&D camp he is running this summer. 

The Sidekick is a unique actual play campaign, each month the podcast guest assumes the role of the sidekick. The campaign is inspired by the childhood game of Telephone. Any actions taken, lore or character details established, or injuries sustained to the character in an episode carries over next month for the new guest to deal with.

Tune back in next week to hear my wrap-up conversation with Ian to discuss our game, his research, and more

In This Episode:

Introduction (00:00:00)

Start of show (00:00:54)

Actual Play begins (00:10:08)

Things Mentioned in This Episode:

• Vampire: The Masquerade

• Middle Earth Roleplaying

Thoughts From The Host

It was an honor to have Ian on the show, he was the first person to come on the show I wasn't related too. This game did not go the way I was expecting it too. Originally, I had planned to have Jason St. Josephine's pirate crew stage a jailbreak for their captain, and possibly creating a scenario that would allow for the sidekick Marigold Thundercrack to flee from his captors. However, I pivoted mid-game and decided on the spot to have the guards organize a jailhouse fight club. Ian was a good sport and lots of fun to play with. Hopefully, I can get him on the show again on a future episode.

This is episode 2 of 2 with my cousin Jeff Jones. Based out of Chicago, Jeff is a multi-talented who prior to the pandemic moonlighted as a professional musician. In 2020, he and his wife Angie started the Cruel 2 Rewind Podcast, whom he is also the host of. In this podcast we talk about his episode of the actual play campaign The Sidekick, Elder Scrolls: Daggerfall, Jason Mantzoukas, Thai Street Music, and Jeff's fascination with retro electronics. 

In this episode

Introduction (00:00:00)

Conversation Begins (00:00:45)

Rapid Fire Questions (00:25:32)

Things Mentioned in This Episode

• What's in My Bag -Jason Mantzoukas

• Elder Scrolls: Daggerfall

• Diablo II

• Dark Forces: Jedi Knight

• Harriet the Spy Soundtrack

• Soundtrack Koyaniqaatsi - Phillip Glass

• Seu Jorge cover of Queen Bitch by David Bowie

• The Big Chill Soundtrack

• Akira Soundtrack

• Streets of Rage Soundtrack

• She's The One Soundtrack by Tom Petty

• Conan the Barbarian Soundtrack

• Top loading VHS player

• City of God

• Willow 

• Time Bandits

• Hero Quest

• Dragon Strike 

Thoughts from the host

My cousin Jeff and his brother Matt might be one of the two biggest influences for loving all things nerdy, so it is always a pleasure to hang out with him. It's fun to talk D&D, but I always love talking music with people, and Jeff just so happens to be a professional musician. However, listening to our episodes with one another makes me really realize how far outside the mainstream I am in my tastes.

This is episode 1 of 2 with my cousin Jeff Jones. Based out of Chicago, Jeff is a multi-talented person who prior to the pandemic moonlighted as a professional musician. In 2020, he and his wife Angie started the Cruel 2 Rewind Podcast, whom he is also the host of. In this very special, super-deluxe third episode, The Chat Dragon Pod has its first ever flashback. Our sidekick, Marigold Thundercrack, finds himself on the hunt for a werewolf. Does he catch his prey? You can only find out by tuning in.

The Sidekick is a unique actual play campaign, each month the podcast guest assumes the role of the sidekick. The campaign is inspired by the childhood game of Telephone. Any actions taken, lore or character details established, or injuries sustained to the character in an episode carries over next month for the new guest to deal with.

Tune back in later this month for episode 4 where Jeff and I discuss the game we just played, Elder Scrolls Daggerfall, and much more. 

In this episode:

Introduction (00:00:00)

Start of Show (00:00:54)

Explanation of format (00:01:09)

Jeff Jones introduces himself (00:02:00)

Start of actual play portion of show (00:10:21)

Things mentioned on this episode:

Might and Magic

Elder Scrolls Daggerfall

Elder Scrolls Morrowind

Game of Thrones

Fate RPG

Lamentations of the Flame Princess

Dungeon Crawl Classics

Thoughts From The Host

Unlike the first two episodes, this episode didn't prove to offer as many technical issues. However, what it did offer were some time restraints. I didn't quite make it in time for my planned 2 a.m. Wednesday release date. Instead, because of work, and other time constraints had to release it a little bit later in the day. 

My editing skills are still rough, and I'm still streamlining the process. But in general I'm pretty happy with how this one turned out. Hopefully, I can continue to get better, and improve the quality of the show. 

Part 2 of 2. In this episode of the podcast I sit down and have a post game discussion with my brother Trevor about the game of D&D we just played. We talk about the experience of playing this style of game, our history with Dungeons and Dragons, and chat a little bit about what books we are currently reading. The episode concludes with a few rapid fire questions, and we learn that one of Trevor's favorite moments in a movie comes at the end of Tim Burton's 2003 film "Big Fish".

In this episode:

• Introduction (00:00:00)

• Conversation Begins (00:00:45)

• Rapid Fire Questions Begin (00:15:36)

Things mentioned on this podcast

• Lambic Framboise

• Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey

• Drood by Dan Simmons

• 20th Century Boy by Naoki Urasawa

• Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin

• Big Fish (2003) directed by Tim Burton

Thoughts from the host

This concludes the two-part episode series I did with my younger brother. I had a great time and I'm really looking forward to having more conversations about TTRPG games and doing these actual play podcast series. We again lost a chunk of our conversation due to some technical difficulties related to a bot we used on Discord to record this conversation. However, just so everyone who listen knows, both episode 1 & 2 were recorded back-to-back on the same day. Which might explain why we ran into the same problems on this episode as well.