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Dead Letters episodes
- 32: The Grasshopper
Sam summons east wind Spirits Misha and Walid to discuss highly influential philosopher and game scholar Bernard Suit's The Grasshopper: Games, Life and Utopia. Can the trio agree on any definitions? Is cheating the most efficient way to play a game? How does one break Temple Run? None or all of these questions could be answered on todays episode of Dead Letters.
Dead Letters forum: https://deadletters.nyc/forum/
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Follow Sam on bsky: https://bsky.app/profile/samsorensen.bsky.social
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Follow Walid on his website: wraouda.com
1 hr 54 min - 31: You've Gotta Have Bart
Epic oil painters Walid and Misha bring on art historian Sam to discuss a rather unusual RPG. This week the boys are uncovering the mysterious origins of Diana Harlan's "You've Gotta Have Bart". Dive in and learn more about Wintercon, goal setting, divergence, and the power of the dungeon vending machine.
Dead Letters forum: https://deadletters.nyc/forum/
Follow us on bsky: https://bsky.app/profile/dead-letters.bsky.social
Follow Sam on bsky: https://bsky.app/profile/samsorensen.bsky.social
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Follow Walid on his website: wraouda.com
1 hr 24 min - 30: For The Queen
Mud ridden piggies Misha and Walid bring on human Sam into the pen to discuss roleplaying games. Today they're reading beloved storygame-RPG For the Queen by Alex Roberts. Join the porcine parcel as they examine best play practices, the fringes of role play, tight prompt designs, and the juicy modularity that this game provides.
UPDATE: We fixed our audio issues. Sorry about that!
Dead Letters forum: https://deadletters.nyc/forum/
Follow us on bsky: https://bsky.app/profile/dead-letters.bsky.social
Follow Sam on bsky: https://bsky.app/profile/samsorensen.bsky.social
Follow Misha on bsky: https://bsky.app/profile/the-goblin.bsky.social
Follow Walid on his website: wraouda.com
1 hr 28 min - 29: Wet Grandpa
Long time boy scouts Misha and Walid take a break from watching corn sweat to bring on Eagle Scout Sam and discuss a fan favorite adventure: Evey Lockhart's Wet Grandpa. Join the scouts as they discuss the value of exposition, motivating players to do cool stuff, and revealing the gradient between the mundane and mystical.
Dead Letters forum: https://deadletters.nyc/forum/
Follow us on bsky: https://bsky.app/profile/dead-letters.bsky.social
Follow Sam on bsky: https://bsky.app/profile/samsorensen.bsky.social
Follow Misha on bsky: https://bsky.app/profile/the-goblin.bsky.social
Follow Walid on his website: wraouda.com
1 hr 32 min - 28: Magical Industrial Revolution
Sam summons magical Fae beings Misha and Walid to step away from their days of mischief and mayhem and discuss tabletop roleplaying games. Today they will be discussing Skerple's Magical Industrial Revolution. Join the fairies as they argue the logistics of city crawls and dungeons, discuss what kind prep work is acceptable, and end with a small pivot into postmodernism!
Dead Letters forum: https://deadletters.nyc/forum/
Follow us on bsky: https://bsky.app/profile/dead-letters.bsky.social
Follow Sam on bsky: https://bsky.app/profile/samsorensen.bsky.social
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Follow Walid on his website: wraouda.com
1 hr 24 min - 27: The Invisible Rules of Roleplaying
Fire elementals Walid and Misha surface on earth during a devastating heatwave to give Sam and his AC a break. They're here to discuss Nordic scholar Markus Montola's Invisible Rules of Roleplaying. Join the toasty trio as they unpack roleplaying games, separate narratology vs ludology, define frame theory, and praise the power diegesis!
Dead Letters forum: https://deadletters.nyc/forum/
Follow us on bsky: https://bsky.app/profile/dead-letters.bsky.social
Follow Sam on bsky: https://bsky.app/profile/samsorensen.bsky.social
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Follow Walid on his website: wraouda.com
1 hr 34 min - 26: The Black Wyrm of Brandonsford
Knights in shining armor Misha and Walid tag in squire Sam and embark on the epic adventure from Chance Dudinack: The Black Wyrm of Brandondsford. Listen to the guys breakdown the importance of maps in adventures, the topos - topography -topology connection, and the fragility of information ordering.
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT : we have a website! Listeners, if you'd like to share your RPG takes with us, comment on episodes, or yap about the general discourse, join us on our forum!
Dead Letters forum: https://deadletters.nyc/forum/
Follow us on bsky: https://bsky.app/profile/dead-letters.bsky.social
Follow Sam on bsky: https://bsky.app/profile/samsorensen.bsky.social
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Follow Walid on his website: wraouda.com
1 hr 24 min - 25: Mythic Bastionland
Decorated historians Misha and Walid take a break from their respective research papers to bring on plebeian Sam and discuss a familiar topic: tabletop roleplaying games. Today they're examining the Ennie award winning TTRPG Mythic Bastionland by Chris McDowall. Tune in as the guys breakdown omens and myths, differentiate task and conflict resolution, and argue if this book is really just a story game in disguise!
Follow us on bsky: https://bsky.app/profile/dead-letters.bsky.social
Follow Sam on bsky: https://bsky.app/profile/samsorensen.bsky.social
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Follow Walid on his website: wraouda.com
1 hr 47 min - 24: The Turku School Manifesto
Long time communist Sam brings on two old school revolutionaries, Misha and Walid, to discuss the highly influential Turku School Manifesto (and some other supplementary readings) authored by Mike Pohjola. Listen to the theorists steelman RPG arguments from the 2000s, define roleplaying as "eläytyminen", and compare its application between RPGs and LARPs.
We apologize for the audio hiccups across this episode and appreciate our listeners patience as we continue to decipher how microphones work.
EDIT: We fixed the audio! Sorry about the flubs.
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Follow Walid on his website: wraouda.com
1 hr 16 min - 23: The Great Pendragon Campaign
Dog sled racers Misha and Walid hop off their championship crews and join Sam to continue discussing Arthurian myth and legend. Today, they're reading Greg Stafford's 1985 supplement The Great Pendragon Campaign. Join the guys as they breakdown pseudo history, the importance of source material, and the difference between contemporary and traditional Arthuriana.
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Follow Sam on bsky: https://bsky.app/profile/samsorensen.bsky.social
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Follow Walid on his website: wraouda.com
1 hr 33 min
About Dead Letters
From the publisher's feed
Dead Letters is a podcast about tabletop role playing games. Sam, Misha, and Walid are game designers and academics committed to doing the readings. Rulebooks, adventures, blogposts, articles, and everything in between. Tune in for your weekly dose of RPG discourse every Friday!
If you’re interested in being a part of the conversation, Dead Letters holds a book club every bi-monthly at boshi's place in NYC. Visit boshis.place and join the discord for updates on the next meeting.
Follow us on bsky: https://bsky.app/profile/dead-letters.bsky.social
Follow boshi's place: boshis: boshis.place