Epic Adventure

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Normally we'd all be sitting around the microphones, arguing over games, movies, roleplaying, and whatever other rabbit hole we decide to wander down. But this week... well... life got in the way in the best possible fashion.

We went to Gen Con.

You know, there are some places that just have an energy all their own. A baseball stadium on Opening Day. Walking into Disney for the first time. Maybe your favorite band's concert before the lights go down.

Gen Con has that same feeling.

But for many of us our favorite time isn't actually when the convention is packed.

It's setup day.

You walk through those giant convention center doors and everything is buzzing. Forklifts are backing up. Pallets of games are everywhere. Booths are half-built. Someone is hanging banners thirty feet in the air while somebody else is frantically looking for a roll of duct tape they swore they packed.

The halls are busy...

But they're not crowded.

Not yet.

That's the strange part.

You've been here before. You know exactly what these halls are going to look like in less than twenty-four hours. Right now you can actually see the floors.

Tomorrow...

You won't.

Tomorrow every aisle will be shoulder to shoulder with gamers, collectors, cosplayers, families, creators, publishers, artists, dice goblins, card sharks, miniature painters, and people carrying bags that somehow weigh more than they do.

You know it's coming.

And everyone setting up knows it's coming too.

That's what makes setup day so fascinating.

Every booth tells a story.

Somebody spent years making the game sitting on that table.

Someone mortgaged vacation time, emptied a savings account, drove across three states, or spent months designing artwork just hoping people will stop, smile, and say...

"Tell me about your game."

That's where we are this year.

Over at the Oddfish Games booth we've got a whole table full of products we're proud of. Adventure Scents. How to RPG With Your Cat. Cooking with Dice. Radiance.

And this year...

Leviathan Rising.

It's Christina Stiso's brand-new roleplaying game, and we've poured an incredible amount of time, creativity, testing, rewriting, and plain old worrying into getting it ready for people to experience.

And that's the thing about Gen Con.

Hope.

Every publisher hopes people stop at their booth.

Every game designer hopes someone sits down to play.

Every artist hopes somebody notices their work.

Every creator wonders...

"Did we make something people are going to love?"

You don't really know.

You can playtest for months.

You can have friends tell you it's great.

You can polish every page until you're convinced you've found every typo.

But none of that answers the only question that really matters.

Will complete strangers care?

That answer doesn't arrive until Thursday morning.

Ten o'clock.

The doors open.

And then...

It happens.

Thousands...

and I mean thousands...

of gamers surge into the exhibit hall.

They actually have a nickname for it.

The Running of the Nerds.

And I say that with absolute affection.

It's glorious.

People aren't running because they're escaping danger.

They're running toward games.

Toward their favorite publishers.

Toward limited editions.

Toward demos they've been waiting all year to play.

Toward that one booth they've had circled on their map for six months.

It's one of the happiest stampedes you'll ever witness.

There's nothing quite like it.

Because for four days, Indianapolis becomes the center of the gaming universe.

Now, because Gen Con has a funny way of consuming every waking hour we had planned for recording, we didn't have time to put together a traditional episode this week.

So instead...

I grabbed a couple of microphones.

I wandered the convention.

I cornered my co-hosts.

I talked with friends.

I chatted with designers.

I may have accidentally eavesdropped on a few conversations that were just too good not to share.

What you're about to hear is Gen Con as it really happens.

Not polished.

Not scripted.

Just real people experiencing one of the greatest gaming conventions on Earth.

We're going behind the scenes.

We're getting first impressions.

We're talking to people while the excitement is still fresh.

And that's where we're going to begin.

Our first guest is someone pretty special to us.

He had just finished playing one of the very first public games of Leviathan Rising.

The dice had barely stopped rolling.

The adrenaline was still there.

The story was still unfolding in his mind.

Before he had time to overthink anything, we handed him a microphone and simply asked...

"So... what did you think?"

Here's his immediate reaction, recorded just moments after the game ended.

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YHIHL S4E17

Let’s start off with some news that made me give an audible “Ohhh!”

Renegade Games Studios has announced they will be launching Ann Rice’s Immortal Universe Roleplaying Game later this year through Backerkit.

https://www.enworld.org/threads/anne-rices-supernatural-world-is-coming-to-a-ttrpg-near-you.719998/

That was one of those announcements that had me at hello.

I am a huge fan of the Ann Rice novels. I’m typically not a fan of sparkly vampires, but when I first picked up a copy of Interview with a Vampire in college, I was hooked. I dove into The Vampire Lestat, Queen of the Damned, The Tale of the Body Thief and then really enjoyed the Mayfair Witches. I pretty much trailed off after that; I have always had a soft spot for those books. This is one of the IPs that I never really thought of, but as soon as I read it, I realized it was just spec written for modern roleplaying.

Christina, I know you are a big fan of the urban fantasy, vampire stuff. What’s your take on this announcement?

Kick to Christina

Mike, Vampire the Masquerade is a game you love, does this announcement tickly your fancy?

Kick to Mike

In another interesting bit of news, Chaosium just unveiled a new source book for Call of Cthulhu. Innsmouth. Innsmouth is the definitive guide to the rotting seaport town—one of the most iconic settings for Call of Cthulhu. And the most exciting part…it’s available right now!

https://www.enworld.org/threads/chaosiums-new-book-on-lovecrafts-innsmouth-is-the-definitive-guide.720001/

No Backerkit. No Kickstarter. No wait.

By the time listeners here this I will have my grubby hand on it.

Christina, what do you think about this release?

Kick to Christina

Mike, Will you want to play our Halloween game in Innsmouth this year?

Kick to Mike

An there you have it, all the news you’ve already heard.

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On our last episode we started talking about turning roleplaying into a career. If you haven’t listened to that would I would recommend going back and diving into it. We planned on keeping it pretty conventional and immediately went off the rails into a deep dive on, well, starting a career in anything. For a quick recap I think we ended up with a few tips. One, Work Hard. Two, Be Patient. Three, Don’t Give Up. And Four, Look for opportunities.

But we never got into chatting about some of those non-traditional careers that roleplaying can play a big part in. So today we are going to dive in and spend some time chatting about those and why roleplaying games can be so beneficial in helping you accel in those career fields.

Mike, You want to talk about Roleplaying as Therapy and since that was on my list for the last episode let’s not waist any time. Start us off.

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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/pathfinder-is-ending-its-relationship-with-archives-of-nethys-updated.719899/

We start off with more Paizo News. Specifically, Paizo has ended its 8-year relationship with the Archives of Nethys, citing lack of earnings and financial issues. The Archives of Nethys has been the online repository of all things Pathfinder and Starfinder providing free rules and early access to products. 

Archives of Nethys isn’t going away, but it’s official licensing with Paizo has ended as of July 24th, 2026.

You should remember that just recently Paizo had to lay off 12 employees due to the Diamond Comics Bankruptcy debacle.

Mike, is this just more of the same, a company trying to stay afloat or is there something else going on here?

Kick to Mike

Christina, what’s this look like to you?

Kick to Christina

Our next bit of news relates to some new crowdfunding releases that are still available to back.

https://www.enworld.org/threads/rpg-crowdfunding-news-%E2%80%93-deathbringer-sly-flourish-garys-appendix-and-more.719895/

First up, Professor Dungeon Master’s Deathbringer is back on Backerkit. The most anticipated TTRPG release of 2026, Deathbringer is Professor Dungeon Master’s take on old school, high-lethality fantasy RPGs. Using a version of Shadowdark RPG where there is no magical healing and surviving death unlocks the greatest powers. This one wraps up on August 13th.

The next one that jumps out is from someone Mike likes to mention. Sly Flourish and The Rise of the Lazy Gamemaster. This one wraps up crowdfunding on August 6th. The master of minimal game prep is remastering one of the best GM guides in gaming! Behold, Rise of the Lazy Gamemaster! If you run TTRPGs, this book, and Sly Flourish’s other tomes, are a time-tested source of tips, tricks, and ways to organize your campaigns and adventures so they don’t eat your free time.

Mike, Any of this interest you?

Kick to Mike

What about you Christina?

Kick to Christina

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

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On this episode Mike, Christina and I are going to talk about professions that you can get into either directly involved in the roleplaying game industry or those professions that roleplaying will help you get into.

Or at least that was the goal. You will see that we went an entirely different direction.

Christina, as a Dr. of Education games and game designing has played a prominent role in your profession. When did you realize that was going to be your thing and that gaming was going to be a big part of it?

Kick to Christina

Mike, You own a gaming company so we have to say that this topic is right in your wheelhouse.

Kick to Mike

Takeaways: Work Hard, Be Patient, Don't Give Up, Look for Opportunities.

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Welcome to you heard it here last where we talk about news, you’ve already heard.

Our first news article is going to kill two birds with one stone.

https://ttrpgfans.com/origins-awards/

The Origins Awards winners were announced at this years Origins convention that was held in Colombus Ohio June 17th through the 21st. The Origins Awards are an annual award that recognizes excellence in the tabletop gaming industry, including board games, card games, miniatures and roleplaying games. First presented in 1975 at the inaugural Origins Game Fair in Baltimore, the awards are currently managed by the Game Manufacturers Association or GAMA.

The winner of the Roleplaying Game of the Year is the Land of Eem Deluxe Box Set by Exalted Funeral. 

Notably, Land of Eem is a rules-light TTRPG created by authors Ben Costa and James Parks (and based on their Rickety Stitch and the Gelatinous Goo graphic novels). It’s described as a lighthearted blend of Lord of the Rings and The Muppets, with a dash of Adventure Time thrown in for good measure.

The Winner of the Roleplaying Supplement of the Year is Call of Cthulhu: The Sutra of Pale Leaves – Twin Suns Rising from Chaosium.

The Sutra of Pale Leaves – Twin Suns Rising is a campaign supplement for the Call of Cthulhu RPG, set in 1980s Japan. It reimagines the iconic King in Yellow mythos by having a lost, ancient scroll resurface with ties to a sinister entity. The book features three interconnected scenarios and, in addition to featuring many of the familiar Lovecraftian tropes, also explores the unique cultural and historical setting (which is a radical departure from the traditional 1920s setting of New England).

But before we dive into the winners and the long list of nominees, Dr. Christina attended Origins this year. Christina, how was the convention this year?

[Kick to Christina]

Mike, any thoughts on this year’s winners

[Kick to Mike]

Christina, what about you, thoughts on the 2026 Origin Awards Winners?

[Kick to Christina]

Our next news item will make Dr. Christina very excited.

https://ttrpgfans.com/masks-a-new-generation-rpg-second-edition/

Ten Years ago, Magpie Games released Masks: A New Generation, the ENNIE award-winning tabletop RPG of teenaged angst and superhero action.

Now, after more than a decade, Magpie has officially unveiled details for a new Masks Second Edition. The upcoming core rulebook will include new mechanics, character options, GM advice, artwork and lore for the setting of Halcyon City. The project will first land on crowdfunding, but you can sign up for alerts now on Kickstarter or the Magpie website.

Christina, on a scale from 1-10 just how excited are you about a second edition of one of your favorite roleplaying games?

[Kick to Christina]

Mike, I know this isn’t up your alley. But when Christina gets the second edition are you going to suck it up a play a session or two?

[Kick to Mike]

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

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I was sixteen years old in 1985, sitting around a table with a group of friends, a pile of dice, some character sheets, and a copy of the James Bond 007 roleplaying game.

Now, I'd seen the movies. I'd watched Bond race across exotic locations, escape impossible situations, and somehow always come out on top. But that day was different. We weren't watching James Bond. We were James Bond.

I still remember the adventure taking us through the famous speedboat chase from Live and Let Die. The GM described the engines roaring to life. The water spraying across the deck. The bad guys closing in behind us. Every turn of the river felt dangerous. Every die roll mattered.

What sticks with me all these years later isn't whether we followed the movie exactly. Honestly, I couldn't tell you. What I remember is the feeling. The excitement around the table. The tension as we tried to stay one step ahead of our pursuers. The laughter when something went wrong. The cheers when a crazy plan actually worked.

For a few hours, a bunch of teenagers in the Midwest weren't sitting around a table anymore. We were spies. We were secret agents. We were caught up in a world of danger, intrigue, and adventure.

And that's the thing about espionage as a genre. At its best, it makes you feel clever. It makes you feel like information matters. It creates suspense not because of what you know, but because of what you don't know. Who can you trust? Who's lying? What's really going on behind the scenes?

The older I get and the more games I run, the more I realize just how powerful those ideas are. Whether you're running fantasy, science fiction, horror, or historical games, espionage elements can elevate a campaign in ways that few other genres can.

So today, we're going to talk about the espionage genre. We'll look at where it came from, some of the movies, books, television shows, and games that helped define it, and the key ingredients that make spy stories so compelling. Most importantly, we'll discuss how you can bring those elements into your own tabletop roleplaying games to create adventures filled with mystery, intrigue, tension, and unforgettable moments.

Because sometimes the most exciting thing at the table isn't defeating the villain.

It's discovering who the villain really is.

Mike, do you have any specific memories of your favorite espionage movie?

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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/paizo-laying-off-12-due-to-fallout-from-diamonds-bankruptcy.719446/

No one likes layoffs

Piazo, the publisher of Pathfinder among other games has announced it will be laying off 12 employees due to the fallout from Diamond Comics bankruptcy last year. We discussed the Diamond Comics bankruptcy and the possible fallout from that in a previous episode of You Heard it Here Last, but it looks like the ripple effects are starting to kick in.

Piazo states they lost over 2 million dollars in 2025 due to the seizure of their books being held by Diamond Comics on consignment. And the layoffs as well as other cutbacks are temporary until they can start to see some profitability.

2 million bucks in our industry aint chump change. It’s a big deal and it’s a shame to see companies like Piazo having to deal with the fallout.

Mike, give us your business thoughts on this one.

[Kick to Mike]

Christina, how about your ethics hat, anything to discuss with this one?

[Kick to Christina]

Next, we find ourselves going back to Hasbro and D&D.

https://www.enworld.org/threads/d-d-beyond-admits-that-blocking-drops-sharing-was-not-the-right-decision-will-release-yearly-bundles-of-drops-content-for-sale-for-non-subscribers.719383/

D&D Beyond has released a statement about its decision to not allow sharing on their new drops. We talked about this announcement on a previous YHIHL and evidently the users have expressed their dissatisfaction. In a post D&D Beyond stated "It’s become clear from your feedback that there were two main things we got wrong with D&D Beyond Drops: content sharing and non-subscriber access," the post also states that not allowing sharing for drops "was not the right decision."

They followed this statement up with doing…absolutely nothing to change it.

So, I guess an admission of a mistake is something, but damn it. Fix the mistake. It’s easy to just turn on sharing again, or am I asking for too much.

Mike, thoughts?

[Kick to Mike]

Christina, what about you?

[Kick to Christina]

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

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Have you ever had this awkward moment in your roleplaying game?

“As you turn the corner you come face to face with an animated walking corpse! Give me a Fright Check”

“Uh, this game doesn’t have fright checks.”

“What, Seriously…hang on, surely it has a mechanic…crap.”

If so, then you are not alone. I pretty much pulled that dialogue word for word out of one of the games I was running.

The more games you play the more you learn about game systems, what works, what doesn’t work, and more specifically what you like. Now I am a fan of playing a variety of systems. We change games up a lot, not just because I like to try new genre’s but because I want to try new systems and over the years I have found a few mechanics that I think are just amazing.

On this episode we are going to talk about our Favorite Mechanics in roleplaying games. The little things that we might take for granted originally but as we move from game to game we realize we can’t live without them.

Mike, Chistina and I are going take turns revealing our favorite game mechanics, what game they came from, or at least what game we first encountered them, and why we think they are the bomb.

Let’s just dive right into this one.

Mike, give me one of your favorite game mechanics that you just can’t live without.

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Welcome to you heard it here last were we talk about news, you’ve already heard.

Let’s start todays episode off with…WoW

And I mean that in a good sense.

https://www.enworld.org/threads/dungeons-dragons-announces-gen-con-plans-including-a-takeover-of-6-story-building.719238/

Wizards of the Coast has released some of it’s plans for GenCon. And it’s pretty cool. The recently announced plans include a live performance of their Dungeon Masters show, a live concert, and a "short-play" experience. All of this will take place at the Indiana Repertory Theater, a six-story building in the heart of downtown Indianapolis that's being taken over by D&D and turned into a "D&D Tower," which Wizards describes as "six D&D-ified floors and adventures galore."

As everyone should be well aware of by now we are not fans of Hasbro, Wizards of the Coast, or D&D but for a change I have to say, good on them.

When I first attended GenCon way back in the Milwaukee days the exhibit hall floor was dominated by a D&D castle. Filled with all things TSR it was glorious to behold and a joy to the eyes. I have missed that over the years. I have missed the biggest game in our hobby being basically absent from GenCon for far to long so It’s about time they changed course and brought back a presence to the convention.

And it looks like it’s going to be a massive presence indeed.

Christina, what do you think about D&D taking over a 6-story building in Indy for GenCon?

[Kick to Christina]

Mike, what about you. Glad to see D&D back in a big way to GenCon?

[Kick to Mike]

Up next, we have our own GenCon announcement straight from Oddfish Games.

www.oddfishgames.com

Adventure Scents by Oddfish Games will be at booth 720 this year in the exhibit hall, which is basically the same location they had last year so it should be easy enough for fans to find. On top of that cool news, we have a couple of new additions to announce that will be sold exclusively at GenCon.

First, we have a complete campaign book for How to RPG With Your Cats. Scratch Marks: The Nine Lives of Claw Malone will be available for purchase at the booth. This campaign book has three distinct adventures for How to RPG With Your Cat that can be played separately or together as a complete campaign. Just like the core game you can play this with any gaming system or as a stand-alone system with your cats or inspired by your cats. And after GenCon you will be able to pick it up at Oddfishgames.com.

Next, the Systems Reference Document for Leviathan Rising will be available. Not a QuickStart, because it won’t have any art or diagrams, but the basic rules for Dr. Christina Stiso’s new game will be available for download. She will be running three sessions of the game, but they sold out fast. So, if you didn’t get a chance to register to play then stop by the booth, scan the code, and get a copy of the rules to play around with. Leviathan Rising will be going to crowdfunding soon to be able to match the incredible game system with some incredible art and layout.

Basically, make the Adventure Scents by Oddfish Games booth 720 a must stop on your exhibit hall foray this year.

Christina, any other tidbits of information about Leviathan Rising you want to share?

[Kick to Christina]

Mike, are you excited to be able to offer some new things this year for GenCon?

[Kick to Mike]

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