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I remember playing my first Call of Cthulhu game. It was at GenCon many years ago when GenCon was in Milwaukee and the Safehouse was the place to be.

At the time all I knew was that Call of Cthulhu was a horror roleplaying game. The idea sounded cool and the game fit into my schedule so why not.

I had a blast.

It truly was a wonderful game that fundamentally changed many of my thoughts around table top roleplaying. It wasn’t just swords and sorcery, there were other worlds out there to be explored.

After the game I realized that Call of Cthulhu wasn’t just a neat game. It was based on an entire world created by author H.P. Lovecraft. I had copies of “At the Mountains of Madness” and “The Shadow of Innsmouth” in my hands by the end of the week.

I think that is where my love of games that come from Intellectual Properties or IPs came from.

What’s an IP you ask? 

Well simply put it is a creation of the mind typically found in inventions, literature, film, or any other medium that a person can apply for a patent, trademark, copyright, etc.

While D&D was built on the backs of Tolkien’s middle earth and Howard’s Conan it wasn’t specifically set in that world. Traveller leaned heavily into the old Sci-Fi serials like Flash Gordon, Buck Rogers, and Dumarest of Terra, but it was its own thing. As far as I can tell Call of Cthulhu is the first roleplaying game truly built on an IP.

But it wasn’t the last.

Star Wars, Star Trek, Middle Earth Role Playing, Marvel Superhero’s, DC Adventures and James Bond 007 all followed quickly. Today as I glance at my gaming bookshelf, I notice a trend.

Games based on IP’s.

From Aliens to Farscape, From the One Ring to Monster Hunter International, From Blade Runner to Star Trek, from Star Wars to The Expanse and from Conan to James Bond. I love the IPs.

In this week’s episode Mike, Christina and I are going to talk about Intellectual Property Games. We are going to talk about why they are so successful, why people like them, and some of our favorites. But specifically, we are going to talk about the what IP isn’t a game right now, but should be.

Before we go down that road, Christina, what’s your current favorite game based on an IP?

[Kick to Christina]

Mike, this question probably makes your brain melt. You can’t pick Star Wars and Middle Earth Roleplaying…you gotta choose, so which one is your current favorite.

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Welcome to You Heard it Here Last where we talk about news, you’ve already heard.

https://www.enworld.org/threads/diamond-comic-distributors-files-bankruptcy-sells-alliance-game-distributors.709593/

Diamond Comic Distributors, the owner of Alliance Game Distributors has filed for bankruptcy. In a message from Chuck Parker the President of Diamond comic Distributors he outlines the necessity for the Chapter 11 Bankruptcy which would allow Diamond Comic Distributors to restructure and meet many of its significant financial obligations. While this could likely be very bad news for an already struggling comic book industry his message does have some good news;

“We have already received a commitment from Universal Distribution to purchase Alliance Game Distributors coupled with a signed letter of intent to purchase Diamond UK, and we remain committed to pursuing offers for all Diamond lines of business.”  Parker said in his statement.

While it’s not likely this news will cause any significant issues or problems with game distribution it is noteworthy that Goodman Games signed an exclusive deal with Diamond in December of 2023.

https://goodman-games.com/blog/2023/12/04/goodman-games-inks-exclusive-distribution-deal-with-diamond-book-distributors/

Nasty business stuff. Mike you are our business guy. What’s all this mean?

[Kick to Mike]

Christina, thoughts?

[Kick to Christina]

Speaking of IPs, or at least we will be speaking of IPs in the near future, stay tuned to our regularly scheduled program for our upcoming episode on Intellectual Properties that should be games we have this bit of news from across the pond.

https://www.enworld.org/threads/qi-mentions-the-diana-jones-awards.709578/

QI is a BBC2 quiz show that called out the Diana Jones Award for Excellence in Roleplaying Games on it’s social media accounts. While that is news, it’s not why I bring this up. Reading the “Quiet Interesting” post on Facebook is what made this one interesting.

The Diana Jones Award is named after The Adventures of Indiana Jones Roleplaying Game that was released by TSR in 1984. It is considered one of the least loved and most savaged roleplaying games of all times and eventually every last copy was burned. The trophy itself is a Lucite pyramid made up of the last legible remains from those burned books. All you can read is “diana Jones” 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diana_Jones_Award

Mike, Christina, did you guys know this origin story and if you did, why the hell didn’t you tell me?

[Kick to Mike and Christina]

Also, why does Steven Spielberg have such a great track record with moves, but a terrible one when it comes to turning those movies into games. I mean we have this one with Indiana Jones and then we also have the ET Atari Video Game. Both considered the worst ever in their genres? You guys might want to keep that in mind when thinking about the IPs that need to be made into roleplaying games…I’m looking at you Avatar.

[Kick to Mike and Christina]

And there you have it. All the news, you’ve already heard.

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I opened my email and Mike had sent me an email with a link. The first line of the email said

“Here's a first draft of a GM's AI assistant particularly geared to a) Pulp Cthulhu, and b) Masks of Nyarlathotep.”

The email went on to explain how to sign up for it and how Mike had already uploaded a ton of information to the AI

I tentatively followed the links and set up the AI program. I asked it a few game related questions and was impressed by how quickly it came back with the answers.

I started by having the program open in the background while running my Masks of Nyarlathotep campaign. Anytime there was a rule question I would type it into the program instead of trying to look it up in the book. I would later go back after the game and confirm what I had done was correct.

It was pretty helpful.

As I became more comfortable with it I would ask it questions about the specific plot of the game when I found myself struggling with answering a question. It seemed to handle those very well.

I even used it to write a descriptive scene for the game when I was struggling to post an after-game report to the group.

I had to make some tweaks, but overall it was pretty cool.

Fast forward almost a year and I have changed my mind when it comes to AI. You have heard me argue against AI time and time again on this podcast I am back to eat crow.

I like it.

I use it.

It’s very helpful.

And Mike is giggling right now hearing me say that.

On this episode we are going to talk about AI tools, how to use them, what they are good for, and why I was wrong this entire time.

Ok Mike, get it over with, tell me you told me so.

[Kick to Mike]

Almost forgot! Links:

• Anthropic's Claude 3.5 Sonnet (a better writer than ChatGPT): https://claude.ai/new
• Hugging Face (a place for super nerds to get their own AI models to run locally): https://huggingface.co/
• CivitAI (a place for super nerds to get their own stable diffusion models for making AI art locally - NSFW Alert!!!): https://civitai.com/

·       https://www.artbreeder.com/

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Welcome to You Heard it Here Last where we talk about news, you’ve already heard.

I know this is supposed to be about gaming news, but I thought this article over at MIT Technology Review was really interesting.

https://www.technologyreview.com/2024/12/31/1109612/biggest-worst-ai-artificial-intelligence-flops-fails-2024/

The Biggest AI Flops of 2024 breaks down a number of issues and problems with AI and how it threatens the future of the technology.

The article starts with AI Slop…you know, all the crap AI that fills up the social media space and just annoys the hell out of you. The article only gets worse from there. From warping our perceptions of real-world events to giving us “tips” to add glue to pizza as a topping…yea, it’s bad.

I highly recommend reading the article. As a neophyte to AI it helped me come to terms with the good and bad of the technology. A technology I might add, that will have a great effect on roleplaying.

What did you guys think about it?

[Kick to Mike and Christina]

I love starter sets. I think they are a great way to get into a game. They usually come with everything you need to play the game and gives you an easy way into the hobby. I also love printed media. I use and enjoy .pdf’s for games, but for me they never take the place of something I can hold in my hand.

While looking through a list of start set deals, I came across this one for Shadowrun The Sixth World Edition.

https://www.enworld.org/threads/rpg-print-news-%E2%80%93-rpg-boxed-starter-sets-to-try-for-the-new-year.709353/

They are currently offering the box set for 21.95. That’s a great deal for a classic game.

And that’s why I wanted to bring it up. Shadowrun is one of the classic TTRPGs and spawned a long series of video games. Heavily influenced on the cyberpunk writings of William Gibson, Shadowrun added fantasy races to future tech making it something different, something interesting.

And I have never played it.

I know shame on me.

I want to change that this year. I want to play Shadowrun.

Have you guys ever played Shadowrun and if so, do you like it?

[Kick to Mike and Christina]

And there you have it, make sure you like and subscribe so you don’t miss an episode of You Heard it Here Last where we talk about news, you’ve already heard.

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Rulebook…Check

Dice…Check

Maps…Check

Chips…Check

Dr. Pepper…Check

I was ready to run my first game.

I had been reading through the D&D Starter Set for months and I felt like I had a handle on how the thing was supposed to be played. I had gone over the adventure that came with it, “The Keep on the Borderlands” and couldn’t wait to get into this thing.

I had finally convinced a couple of friends to try and sitting around the old card table in my basement on a rainy Saturday afternoon we did it. We played our first game of Dungeons and Dragons.

It was a disaster.

A complete amazing, fantastic, and wonderful disaster. I remember after talking my friends into playing, but before the fateful day arrived getting a case of cold feet. I can’t do this. I don’t know what I am doing. This was a bad idea. But I powered through it and I am so glad I did. It sparked a love for roleplaying that has stayed with me for almost 50 years and left me with more epic memories than I could have ever imagined.

Running your first game is scary, it’s hard, it’s not going to be pretty, and it’s one of the best things you can do.

In this episode we are going to talk about running your first ttrpg game and give you some tips and tricks to hopefully make the experience just a little easier on you.

Christina, do you remember running your first game?

[Kick to Christina]

What about you Mike

[Kick to Mike]

Discussion Points

·       How to prepare for your first game.

·       What things you need to know

·       How to prioritize prep

·       Perfection is the enemy of progress

·       How to set the stage or the game space

·       Things to focus on outside of the game

·       Things to focus on inside the game

·       Don’t try to save the world in the first episode

·       Who to invite, who not to invite.

·       How many players do you need.

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Welcome back to You Heard it Here Last were we talk about news, you’ve already heard.

I just want to take a moment as we gently enter 2025 to say…

Holy Crap! 

Hasbro is at it again.

https://www.geeknative.com/170004/tales-of-riches-dd-partners-with-online-gambling-company-embroiled-in-spying-row/

Games Global is an online gambling site that has announced it has partnered with Hasbro to release “Tales of Riches” that is described as ‘inspired by the legendary fantasy world of Dungeons & Dragons’.

https://www.parents.com/kids/safety/kids-as-young-as-11-are-becoming-addicted-to-online-gambling/

That’s right Hasbro has licensed Dungeons & Dragons to an online gambling site. You know, those insidious advertisements and websites that push gambling to the public. Well, they are always looking to hook a younger audience and since kids are more than twice as likely to become addicted to gambling why not grab something like D&D to really sink your teeth into the younger audience.

Just when I thought Hasbro couldn’t sink any lower. I can’t say that I am surprised, but this one really burns me. At this rate I feel like next Christmas they will announce that Hasbro has partnered with a Chinese Fentanyl company to supply loot drops.

Am I overreacting on this guys?

[Kick to Christina and Mike]

I think the best way to get the bad taste of the last news item out of my mouth is to switch to something a little more…refreshing.

https://www.enworld.org/threads/henry-cavills-warhammer-40k-show-is-happening.708384/

Amazon has official greenlit Henry Cavills Warhammer 40K TV Show.

Warhammer 40K is the most popular miniature wargame in the world. Originally published in 1987, it is on its 10th edition. Set in the far future, it mixes fantasy tropes with sci-fi in a grim, dark universe. It is currently being publishing by Cubicle 7.

I played a little Warhammer 40K back when it was produced by Games Workshop. I liked it. It is a miniature war game with some really dark elements that make it fun. I was turned off by the way that Games Workshop would release a new miniature with special rules that destroyed everything on the table only to be topped the next month by a newer, more expensive, mini that would do the same, but all in all it was a good game.

Henry Cavill has been a vocal fan of the game for many years and has been working hard behind the scenes to get this made. This is expected to be a live action product with Henry Cavill starring.

What do you guys think about that?

[Kick to Christina and Mike]

And there it is, our first You Heard it Here Last of the year and make sure you like and subscribe so you will never miss the news you’ve already heard.

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Go to oddfishgames.com today and check out all of the great products they have to offer.

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Season 2 Wrap

As we slide into December, literally and figuratively, it’s time to wrap up Season 2 of the Epic Adventure Podcast. Trying to get the gang together and record this time of year is tough. Family commitments, travel, work, and educational requirements take a big bite out of time and being able to just cozy up in front of your favorite holiday decorations and enjoy some downtime is very important. So, you wont hear a full episode from us until January of, sigh, 2025. 

Those numbers just keep adding up.

We have had a great time chatting about games and gaming over the last year and we look forward to another year and Season 3 of the Epic Adventure Podcast.

What to look forward to in 2025?

That’s a great question. Our list of topics grows everyday and we plan on chatting about; What to do when players don’t show, Is Roleplaying an Old or Young Hobby, How to Encourage New Players, How to run your first game, The Spy Genre, The Romance Genre, the D&D Creator Scandal, How to run Modern Games, More Business episodes, More AI episodes and of course, whatever topics you the listener would like for us to address.

Speaking of you the listener, we have a couple of ways to can reach out to us. First at the top of our show notes you can text us. That text will go into an email and we will get notified of your question or comment through our podcast host, buzzsprout. Secondly, we have a new direct email for the show. You can email the show at [email protected] We would love to hear from you and we promise to respond to all of your questions and comments.

Finally, we would like to send a rally cry to all of the small independent game designers and companies out there. We would love to talk with you about your product, design, and idea. If you own or run a small independent game company sends us an email. If you are a game designer and have a new product you are getting ready to launch, let us know. If you are looking to kickstart your new game, reach out. We want you on our show. Send us an email with your contact information and we will get in touch with you about coming on the podcast and talking about your new product. A rising tide raises all ships and want to promote and foster our hobby at every opportunity.

Well, that’s it for 2024. End of the year, and end of Season 2. Make sure you like and subscribe, share the show with your friends and help us grow this wonderful community.

We look forward to hearing from you and jumping in to 2025 with Season 3 of the Epic Adventure Podcast and remember, have an epic adventure.

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Running NPCs

“You see a long hallway made from stone, the ceiling is low and several of the supports along the walls look old and on the verge of collapse. What do you want to do?” the GM said in an ominous voice.

I looked over at Chris, “whadda ya think?”

“That’s got trap written all over it” he said.

“Yea, Lets have our NPC thief check it out and make sure it’s safe.” I looked at the GM.

He nodded his head and said “Cool” and began rolling dice…and rolling dice…and rolling dice. I started flipping through the rulebook out of boredom.

Finally, the GM spoke up. “OK, He discovered three traps and managed to disarm two of the but he failed his check on the third one. Rocks crashed down pinning him at the end of the hallway. He calls out to you in pain asking for help.”

“Oh, Wow, we got lucky there. OK, lets send our NPC barbarian to move the rocks and free the thief.”

“Great, let me make some die rolls.” The GM went back to rolling dice and I went back to flipping through the rulebook.

If that sounds familiar to you, don’t get discouraged. Non-Player Characters are important, and a necessary part of roleplaying games. We have talked about how to build them, how to create compelling NPCs and a few tips and tricks to tie them to the party, but we have never really talked about using them in a game.

If you have ever had an NPC that just magically appeared when needed, but otherwise didn’t exist, this is for you.

If you have ever had a Player come back at the end of an encounter and say, “Hey isn’t that something our NPC could have done?” then this is for you.

If you have ever gone three game sessions and forgot you had a companion traveling with you on your adventures then we are talking to you.

NPCs,

How do you run them, how do you incorporate them naturally into a party, and how do you not forget you even have them? These are all great questions and we are going to talk about that on today’s episode.

Mike, You’ve been doing this awhile, you’ve never had problems running NPCs before have you?

[Kick to Mike]

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Hello and welcome to You Heard it Here Last, where we talk about news, you’ve already heard.

https://www.belloflostsouls.net/2024/11/its-canon-baldurs-gate-3-brings-dd-to-the-vatican.html

This week is starting to feel a little cold in the underworld. You see Mike and I grew up during the Satanic Panic years, where D&D was seen as the gateway to hell. They even made movies about how it would drive you crazy…thanks Tom Hanks for that one.

So to hear that Larian Studies has sold 2 copies of Baldur’s Gate 3 to the Vatican is … chilling.

I mean we gotta talk about this one.

[Gang]

https://www.rascal.news/a-new-print-magazine-for-fans-of-classic-rpgs/

Secret Passages is an Old School RPG and Oldhammer print magazine that is crowdfunding right now. That’s right, you heard me an actual print magazine. This plans to be a quarterly print publication that focuses on the old rpg’s and wargames that we grew up on. A throwback. Now I love this idea, but is this useful or just nostalgia for nostalgia’s sake.

[Gang]