Fear the Boot

* (0:31) With Pulp Gamer closing their network, Fear the Boot is now a proud member of the RPG Academy network of shows. * (1:20) TsunamiCon in Wichita, KS, from October 7th to 9th. You can find their page here and support their Kickstarter here. * (4:07) Where's Dan? Wayne went to a shibari event once... Also, duct tape is not to be used for bondage. * (5:02) After effects of the index card suggestions: Brodeur's game of reckless colonial expansion, party-throwing, and "What's money for?" * (11:06) The problem with index carding: Which of these things do I actually get around to doing? * (19:33) Problematic Plothook Parties. * (21:34) Success with consequences in Blades in the Dark. * (28:07) Game aftercare for GMs and players. * (29:47) They always wanna kill his girls. Maybe it's Pavlovian at this point. * (31:08) The serial killer, and how Chad screwed up. * (37:31) The forest for the trees. Table rules regarding phones. Salvaging the game from a plot hole and too many weeks off. * (51:29) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR: I hate you too, Brodeur and Sgt. Dan. Hosts: Brodeur, Chad, Sgt. Dan, Wayne

* (2:29) Chad's garage sale find. You can find the relevant images here. * (10:46) On the formation of "The White Box", the first complete D&D set. * (14:46) Dan reads the sample roleplaying text in his bedroom voice. * (17:40) A touching foreword from Tom Moldvay. * (20:08) A page of Inspirational Reading. * (21:35) The RPGA form and the Roll20 Survey. * (26:14) Where it all went wrong. * (28:37) Alignment languages. * (30:10) Mappers, Callers, and sheet clutter. * (33:14) Who WERE these people?! * (39:13) Critiquing the character. * (47:04) Dramatic reading ideas. Hosts: Brodeur, Chad, Dan, Wayne

* (1:32) Patreon milestones coming up, including a live-stream Shadowrun AP. * (2:48) Dan played D&D 5E, and he liked it. Pat thinks it should feel wrong, but it feels so right, instead. * (15:14) Improving games by using the Stoplight. * (19:27) Removing the red lights to preserve feelings. * (20:47) Pat's take on the advantages of open communication. * (24:03) Phrasing the suggestions to be future-oriented instead of past-oriented. * (26:17) Stoplighting also needs to be applicable to GMs. * (33:42) Filling out a form for yourself. * (37:18) Chris' short film, It Figures, is being played at the Gen Con Film Festival. * (38:49) Why the Stoplight is worth doing. Hosts: Dan, Pat, Wayne

* (0:29) Fear the Boot is now 10 years old! * (4:39) The three promises of Fear the Boot: no ads in the show, no politics or religion, and never putting primary content behind a pay wall. * (9:35) Ways we want to improve the show over the next 10 years. * (12:40) If you want to help the show, Fear the Boot's Patreon, milestones, and backer rewards can be found here. * (18:05) Some thanks to the hosts, listeners, and industry professionals that have helped make this all possible. * (19:46) Things that have changed for us over the past 10 years. * (29:36) Dan mentions Stellaris (which is a great game) but actually meant Rebel Galaxy. * (30:02) Explaining boat anchor characters and how they change the parameters of what's occurring in the game. * (34:47) A child Chad played in a sci-fi game and an old man he played in a post-apocalyptic game. * (44:41) Adjusting the game to accommodate such characters, or opting not to allow them at all. * (50:17) Looking around you for inspiration and understanding. * (51:56) Discussing the changes to the game before it begins. Hosts: Chad, Dan, Pat, Wayne

* (0:54) Revisiting side games. * (1:39) How we deviated from our prior advice. * (3:47) Chad loses InSpectres and switches to Wilderness of Mirrors. * (6:13) On the activities of the players and their gang. * (9:18) Objective 1: Kill James Waite. * (11:28) Not keeping the side game and main game related. * (12:32) Could players that aren't there for side games be left in the dark? * (28:18) Easter Eggs for longtime fans that aren't necessary information to understanding the plot. * (31:57) Going back in time. * (33:48) Generating game ideas by asking what the players would like to learn more about. Hosts: Brodeur, Chad, Dan, Pat

* (0:32) Running a game in a very short time slot. A possible

Skies of Glass show series and Wayne's lunch game.

* (2:33) Keeping this a fully-developed game instead of

using a specialized system or one-off approach.

* (3:20) Limiting the time spent on social interactions.

* (4:05) The value of proactivity. Moving some discussions

offline to keep the game going. True Dungeon and Escape STL.

* (11:44) Forced energy and keeping the pace. Putting aside

complex rules.

* (20:20) Changes to game prep and execution.

* (31:59) Chad's character concept.

* (35:23) Being episodic or skipping over periods of transition

between major plot points. The potential sacrifice of some player

agency.

* (42:55) Being pro-player when their agency is reduced.

Hosts: Chad, Dan, Pat

* (0:30) Pat's messed up sound levels and a really strange rant

remind Dan that you can now

get Fear the Boot on Google Play.

* (4:35) Running smaller, lower-prep games—that are related to

your main campaign—to save the game from dying during downtime.

* (15:21) Some ground rules for making games like

this work.

* (27:42) Keeping the side game from eclipsing the main

game.

* (37:37) Keeping the tone of the side game from affecting

the main game.

* (41:54) Fear the Boot’s Warframe clan. You can download the game

here and find

details on the clan here.

Hosts: Brodeur, Chad, Dan, Pat

* (0:29) Welcoming back James from The One Shot Podcast. Our prior interview with them can be found here.

* (4:08) The Kickstarter for Noisy Person Cards.

* (8:35) The value of using alternate voices in a roleplaying game.

* (13:09) Adding emotion to the voice.

* (16:29) The intensity of an emotion. Drawing on life experiences to make the emotion more real.

* (25:12) The cadence of a voice. Billy West's interview on Fresh Air.

* (27:38) Changing up the characters.

* (46:48) Paracosm Press.

Hosts: Chris, Dan, James, John

* (0:32) Fear the Boot's Warframe clan, Fear the Ninja, is active again. You can download the game here and find details on the clan here.

* (4:21) Get your votes in for what game you'd like to hear us play with the folks from One Shot Podcast.

* (6:50) A big thanks to the people recommending our show on Reddit!

* (7:38) Brodeur gets touched. You can donate to Wayne's Make-A-Wish fundraiser here.

* (17:19) Significant time jumps within the course of an RPG's plot.

* (23:58) The importance of establishing the purpose of the time jump.

* (27:38) Observing what the players latch onto during that opportunity.

* (29:51) A chance for the players to introduce new ideas.

* (35:02) Evaluating the changes that have happened during that time.

* (45:12) The varying significance and scale of time to different characters.

Hosts: Brodeur, Chad, Dan, Wayne

DISCLAIMER: While profanities were censored from this episode, the subject matter is more crass than what Fear the Boot normally covers.  Personal discretion is advised.

* (0:40) Welcoming Stu and Stork from Happy Jack's podcast. You can find the latest episode Dan and Wayne guest hosted here.

* (0:57) Rosebud.

* (5:52) The origin of "Happy Jack" and the narrative curve of his career.

* (11:48) The worst hygienic choice you can make in a game shop.

* (19:02) Stinky, the couch, and the worst hygienic choice you can make in a car.

* (25:04) The most horrifying gaming story we've ever heard.

* (31:31) An obnoxious interview subject.

* (38:42) Things overheard in the game shop. The real-life inspiration of the play, Equus. The Animaniacs survey.

* (43:23) A really dysfunctional Ren Faire.

Hosts: Brodeur, Dan, Stork, Stu