Welcome to Character Build! In this episode Sherrick Robinson (he/him) and I talk finding the right table for you, applying your interests to your play, and nearly a dozen different video games!

Be sure to follow Sherrick on any and all platforms @ablacksparrow or visit sherrickrobinson.com.

You can catch Sherrick at FeywildAndOut on Twitch.

Be sure to follow The Initiative Order Twitch channel to catch the Cyberpunk one-shot Sherrick will be featured in coming up!

Glossary:

-Chicken! - A new dice game that takes 10-20 minutes to play (find them on Kickstarter!)

-Cyberpunk - A TTRPG that is affiliated with a web series on Netflix as well as a video game titled Cyberpunk 2077

-Curse of Strahd - An official D&D Beyond module centered around the titular vampire

-Goliath - A lineage of massive people in D&D

-Lolth - In the D&D more she is the Spider Queen and evil goddess worshipped by drow elves

-Lost Mine of Phandelver - An official D&D Beyond module often used for first time adventurers due to its relative simplicity

-NPC - Stands for “non-player-character” which referred to any character in a video game or role playing game that is not played by one of the players of the game

-One shot - A one-session adventure that last between 2-5 hours, typically

-Ossawa - Henry Ossawa Tanner (1859-1937) an American painter and artist that spent much of his career in France

-Patron - Warlocks (in D&D and otherwise) gain their power from worshipping a patron. Examples include a genie or an extraplanar being)

-Raven Queen - also known as the Matron of Death, a Diety revered from the realm of Shadowfell

-Warforged- A lineage from D&D of semi-mechanical beings made of stone, wood, and metal

-Warlock - Among other things, one of the main 13 classes in D&D that relies on magical powers granted by a worshipped Patron

-Video games referenced in the episode:

-Borderlands

-Cyberpunk 2077

-Dave the Diver

-Dragon Age

-Killer Frequency (cut for time)

-Mass Effect 3

-Persona 3

-Saints Row 3

-Shinagami Teaso

-Soul Calibur

Content Warning:

This episode contains references to the following:

-Death of a loved one

-Moments of violence and peril

-References to murder and corpses

-Sexual references

-Discussion of abduction and kidnapping

-Language Level: R-rated

Credits:

Character Build artwork by Gabriella Ashlin

Welcome to Character Build! This week I chat with actor and improviser Madelyn Murphy (she/her) about the sensation that is Twenty Sided Tavern, swinging between 9 different characters, and the importance of confidence and catharsis.

A special shout out to Twenty Sided Tavern. Be sure to follow them on social media at @twentysidedtavern as well as seeking out Ale! And Well Met: A Twenty-Sided Tavern Podcast (streaming on your favorite platforms).

Give Hitch*Cocktails a follow @hitchcocktails, Clued-In @cluedinimprov, as well Madelyn’s personal profile for a photo dump of weird things she finds on the streets of Brooklyn - on Instagram @mad.mad.murphy

Glossary:

-Catan - previously known as The Settlers of Catan or simply Settlers, is a multiplayer board game centered on the collection and utilization of 6 key resources to build roads, settlements, and cities. Nearly all moves made to advance are perceived in some way by the other players.

-Werewolf - also known as One Night Ultimate Werewolf, is a play on the classic game Mafia. Minimal set up allows between 5 and 75 players take the role of villagers or (secretly) werewolves. Insight and deception are a must to succeed.

Content Warning:

Language Level: PG-13 (only a few F-bombs)

Welcome to Character Build! Riccarda Eickenberg (she/her) and I sit down to discuss the importance of science in organized religion (not what you think, I promise), our biggest actual-play influences, and playing characters for multiple years.

Be sure to follow Character Build on Instagram and Twitter @cbwithkdp

Episode Glossary:

-Actual-Play- An audio or video program where people play a TTRPG for audience consumption. The conceit is that the stream, show, or podcast is not scripted but played “in real time”.

[A note from Kyle: Among the dozens of excellent actual play programs out there for consumption the few Riccarda and I mention happen to be some of the most well known:

-Critical Role

-Adventure Zone

-Dimension 20

-Not Another D&D Podcast (NADDPOD)]

-Bag of Holding- A popular magical item that can hold up to 500 lbs while only weighing 15 lbs. Think Marry Poppins

-BBEG- Stands for big bad evil guy, typically a (or THE) major antagonist of an adventuring party

-Crit- Shortened for Critical Hit. In D&D a Crit is a Natural 20 on the roll of a D20 roll, the best possible result

-Deck of Many Things- A popular magical item in D&D in where characters can draw cards at a chance for incredibly great fortune…or utter despair.

-Familiar- Another word for a pet that often has some type of magical ability to support your character

-PVP- Short for Player versus Player

-Content Warning:

-mentions of death of a loved one,

-grief and mental health,

-mentions of peril involving a building fire

-Language level: PG-13

Welcome to Character Build! In this 3rd episode Fiona Sabrina (she/her) and I take our time chatting about the infinite nature of gender, the eldritch nature of everything, and music-based insight checks.

You can follow Fiona on Instagram at @latenitepunk and Character Build at @cbwithkdp on Twitter and Instagram.

Glossary of terms for episode 3:

-Call of Cthulhu, and Trail of Cthulhu- Both are investigative horror TTRPGs, albeit with differing mechanics

-Eldritch- strange and unnatural, weird, sinister, inspiring fear

-Kids on Bikes (also Kids on Brooms/Kids in Space, etc.)- A collaborative TTRPG system that often focuses on mysteries and coming of age

-Monster of the Week- A TTRPG system that centers around a group of monster hunters fighting different monsters each session

-The Mundane- A character class in the TTRPG Monster of the Week

-World Building- A term used to refer to any creation of character, setting, conflict, etc. in the “world” that a game master (GM) or dungeon master (DM) would do in preparation for characters to play in that world.

Content Warnings:

-Discussions of grief, death, and trauma through out

-Discussions of horror themes, especially existential horror and body horror

-Language Level: R (lots of F-bombs)

Welcome to Character Build! This week Sawyer Edwards (he/him) and I dive into playing D&D with your dad, relating to your character’s trauma, and violence as a storytelling tool.

Below is a small glossary of terms referenced in this episode and below that is a content warning. But first, here’s your reminder to follow Character Build on Twitter at @CBwithKDP so you don’t miss our great conversations (almost) every Thursday!

Glossary:

-Editions- Since 1974 there have been multiple editions of Dungeons and Dragons like 2nd edition or 2E (released in 1989) up to the most recent 5th edition or 5E (released in 2014); both referenced in this episode. (Source: Dicebreaker)

-Dump Stat- A stat that is intentionally chosen to be the lowest when deciding which stats to improve for a character. For example, in D&D 5E there are 6 primary stats. When focusing on Strength and Charisma, Intelligence or Wisdom may be left to be the dump stat.

-Pelor- The god of the sun and summer in the D&D pantheon

Content Warning:

-References to death, violence, peril, fire

-Conversations about trauma

-Language Level: PG-13

Welcome to the inaugural episode of Character Build! A podcast where I, your host Kyle David Perry, will speak to interesting people each week about how much of our humanity goes into the characters we create and play. Then we look at how those characters, if at all, have affected our identify or perspective on real life.

During this first episode I speak to Chicago-based actor and creator Gabriella Ashlin (she/her) about character archetypes, the importance of family (less Fast & Furious, more Royal Tenenbaums), and optimization vs. de-optimization.

Content warnings for this episode include:

-Death of a loved one

-Grief and mental health

Language Level: PG-13 equivalent

You can find Gabriella Ashlin on Instagram at @gabriellaashlin as well as at @nonsense_theatre_co on Instagram to stay up to date on her first production in Chicago going up this fall! It’s one that will put us all in a holiday humor!

Finally, make sure you follow Character Build on Twitter at @CBwithKDP for teasers and announcements on new episodes (almost) every Thursday this summer!