Fear the Boot

* (0:40) Arch-nemeses of today and times gone by. The crazy stuff people do in their sleep. * (15:20) Chad’s gaming topic: Character defining moments. Dan presents a large example. * (25:35) Brodeur does not top that. What can a GM do? Dan presents a counter-example. * (34:40) Tale of woe and reform aside, Dan answers the question. * (36:25) Another example of a GM intervention, so to speak. Even if you can’t create the change, you can create the opportunity for it. * (41:31) Responses, and gambling. Finesse in situational engineering. * (50:38) When a player requests the moment. Hosts: Brodeur, Chad, Dan, Wayne

* (0:31) A big thanks to our Patreon backers. * (1:32) NPC AI. Having non-player characters make decisions according to predetermined parameters. Our episode on quitting the field. * (5:43) Why this isn't just "deciding". * (6:41) The mechanical or rules-based approach. * (7:38) The parameterized or character-based approach. * (21:06) The psychology of fear, and the call of the void. * (23:59) Moving away from combat and into pure roleplaying. * (33:09) Star Trek, and the importance of NPC AI in such a deadly game. Deadly accidents. * (40:38) Dan restates his belief that dice are the Nth player. Treating groups as a single character. Hosts: Aisha, Chad, Dan, John

* (0:39) Fear the Con 10, June 22-24, 2017. Fear the Con 9 is lost, probably will be found-footage later. * (4:30) Brodeur goes to Archon for the aftermath of the cosplay. * (6:38) Pete introduces Brodeur to a new game, Dreamchaser. Dan comes up with "Four Hours at IKEA". * (19:24) Setting hard and soft goals for a game. * (26:07) The thinking behind the group template. * (30:04) The distinction between what a player wants from the game and what the GM wants from it. Expectations for the game. * (39:29) Thinking back to a game where the endpoints had been discussed and achieved. Hosts: Brodeur, Chad, Dan, Wayne

* (0:30) Pat is going to kill us all. * (17:03) The horror of the unknown. * (19:25) How Pat surpassed R. Lee Ermey. * (21:43) Creating expectation and setting a mood. * (23:47) Comedy = Expectation + Subversion. The human ability to cope with the known. * (26:56) The escape room: An objective-based, time-limited, puzzle game. * (28:11) The benefit to having extra people in puzzle situations. Expectations and patterns. * (31:37) Red herrings and the presupposition of significance. The Three Clue Rule. * (38:55) Brodeur compares this to the group template. Hosts: Brodeur, Dan, Pat, Wayne

* (0:18) It's just Dan and Chad today. Whatever happened to Julia? * (3:38) Behaviors tolerated and untolerated. Organization psychology. The book, Zapp! * (5:20) The four styles of leadership, as applied to roleplaying. Situational Leadership (with pictures or on Wikipedia or on the official site). * (9:48) Let it be written that here, on this date, Chad said in episode 69, "It's always better with men." I'm sure no one will take this out of context. * (12:12) Applying those four styles to roleplaying. * (22:26) The importance of recognizing the phase someone is in and knowing how to respond accordingly. Revisiting the gamification of games. * (27:52) Chad's hatred of cell phones and his very strong feelings on Pokemon Go. Dan speaks on reading the situation and self-awareness in general. * (35:04) Chad made an agreement, and it's been broken. He discusses his problems with authority. * (38:43) Consequences of the agreement. Hosts: Chad, Dan

* (0:24) The Mic-er Conspiracy, and editing what people say. * (2:26) Dan has a story! * (10:12) How Dan's story ties into gaming. The Facebook thread on the topic. Chekhov's Gun. * (15:24) The difference in how we search for meaning in life versus how we do so in an RPG. * (19:21) A tangent about Tarantino and the Rules of Eating in cinema. Everyday events that don't matter to the plot. * (22:15) Brodeur's counterpoint: Events need to further the game. * (26:04) Chekhov's Candy Sticks. * (33:13) Why do people drop things? Nowhere Man. The distinction between Chad and Dan putting detail in their games. * (44:51) Dan visits a casino in D&D 5E. * (46:13) There are five: The rivers Styx, Lethe, Acheron, Cocyteus, and Phlegethon - Hate, Oblivion, Sadness, Lamentation, and Fire. Dan yells at an undead boat driver. * (52:38) Conclusions on the incidental. What interviewing an NPC is all about for new listeners. Hosts: Brodeur, Chad, Dan, Wayne

NOTE: This episode is the second half of a recording that began with the prior episode. * (0:24) Spiders of my Mind, a game about psychotic murderers and an insane asylum. The day and night cycle. * (18:01) Brodeur asks: What attracted you to this setting? Pat is creepy and was super into a cat. * (25:14) Chad is diligent in crediting the source of the flashbacks mechanic: Mikel Matthews. * (30:11) On finding editors. * (32:15) Brodeur brings up the trouble with playing bad people. * (40:34) Chad talks about his love of dark games and a particular session about a haunted house. * (48:05) Brodeur notes that Chad's not playing these games for "evil is fun". Hosts: Brodeur, Chad

NOTE: The raw recording was enough for two shows, but the topic change left for rather uneven times. This is the first portion, and it's rather short. The upcoming second portion changes topics and is much longer. * (0:31) Why Wayne isn't on the mics. * (1:09) Dan runs the register. Automats. * (4:52) Dan gets going, and Brodeur shares his Kickstarter idea. * (6:22) A conspiracy theory is formed. * (6:41) Another Kickstarter idea. * (7:21) How a time jump in Brodeur's game shakes out. * (10:35) 48 hours in gaming, and the opportunities that a time-skip affords. * (16:33) Routine time jumps in a game. Hosts: Brodeur, Chad, Dan

* (0:29) Getting Chris to St. Louis. Lovecraft stories and Easter Eggs in Fallout. * (6:24) The seven intelligences. * (9:43) Presenting information in the right way to a particular person. Examples from movies and RPGs. * (13:00) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR: Path of Exile is superior to Diablo 3. * (15:35) Pat as an analytical player. * (21:45) Wayne and Dan as additive players. * (28:13) Brodeur's GWAR game with the You Tell Me system. * (30:43) Beth and Dawn as accepting players. Our episode on finite choices. * (40:57) The summary Chad gave prior to the show. Game moments with or without context. * (44:53) Adaptability as a two-way street. Robot Chicken's sketch about Noah. * (53:58) Sara's "Knowledge is Power" play-style. * (1:00:32) The potential pitfalls of the play-styles. Hosts: Brodeur, Chad, Dan, Pat

* (0:28) Andy Warhol gets trolled by Dennis Hopper through Strasbergian emotional memory. * (4:30) Dropped glasses become art, perhaps because of Yoko Ono's famous picture? * (5:41) Chad has an idea to pitch. * (9:20) Telling good stories without alienating the people they're about. Catching Pat in his refractory period. * (17:11) Chad owns MorningSkye.com and can't seem to opt out of the sale of a similar domain. * (24:09) Dan's idea that never happened, and why certain ideas in general don't get done. * (37:03) Tying it all together: Things done, things never done, and why. * (43:43) Dan will try to dig up the Lookout Radio demo. Hosts: Brodeur, Chad, Chris, Dan, Pat