* (0:29) Ghost of Tsushima, Red Dead Redemption 2, and archery in schools. * (8:51) Starting up new games as old ones end. Fear the Boot’s . * (14:34) . Preliminary questions and contagious enthusiasm. * (20:56) Wayne passes the GMing torch to Chad. * (28:12) Building a game around a set of parameters: a group of good guys with a lasting legacy. * (34:33) A game in three chapters, each with their own era and setting. Hosts: Brodeur, Chad, Dan, Wayne

* (0:23) Brodeur’s . * (4:10) The  RPG. * (7:29) A descriptive and contextual character sheet. * (15:35) The game’s replayability. * (19:01) The art book. * (23:09)  on March 26th – 27th, 2022. * (25:07) Fear the Con on June 16th – 18th, 2022. The room block number is 2413940. You can place your room reservations , which should prepopulate the con dates. * (25:39) Food drama! Hosts: Brodeur, Chad, Dan, Wayne

* (0:35) Brodeur’s syphi-list. * (3:48) Continuing a game after mass-character-death by playing in the afterlife. * (16:43) What happens to the characters that didn’t die? * (20:15) When a player can’t attend their own afterlife. * (26:17) Alternate options for science fiction games. * (29:00) The price of coming back. Hosts: Brodeur, Dan, Wayne

* (0:36) Press or entertainment? . * (2:41) , , and . * (9:57) The consolidation of our hobby. * (16:30) Shareholder vs stakeholder economy. * (21:48) An important disclaimer. * (23:03) Some possible bad news for the current iteration of OGL products. * (27:48) The disparity between RPGs and everything else Hasbro does. Hosts: Brodeur, Dan, Wayne

* (0:28) The scheduling crush of Christmas, and some love for . * (7:06) The many stories you can get from a single game idea, as demonstrated by . * (11:14) The greater number of outcomes possible in story versus crunch. . * (12:54) How prompts give you the framework to interpret and develop ideas.  and the . * (18:26) Having the right tool for the right story, and how too much freedom can become a problem. * (20:33) An odd aversion to adding elements mid-game, even though it’s the crux of character creation and other pre-game activities. Our episode . * (32:58) The vast number of online tools for generating random content ideas. Mashing games together. Hosts: Chad, Dan, Wayne

* (0:28) Brodeur starts off a game session with a cutscene, which becomes its own pun. * (5:02) Other media as a metaphor for how you structure your storytelling. * (6:50) Not withholding player agency for too long. * (13:26) Having to roleplay with yourself. * (16:11) Revealing information to the players. * (22:31) Read the table and manage the length of these scenes. Letting the players have an emotional response to truths their characters don’t know. * (28:58) Using cutscenes to set the tone for the game. * (33:32) How cutscenes can lock you into a particular truth. * (38:44) The value of scenes that lack obvious utility. * (50:46) Short attempts and immediate feedback are your friends. * (52:35) The added content . Hosts: Chad, Dan, Wayne

* (0:44) When only the shell of a character gets made, for lack of knowledge about the world. The episode where we previously discussed this . * (13:19) Using an opportunity in the present to expand the character’s past. The influence of other players in the process. * (17:01) The person with no past. Creating memories. * (26:07) Fixing on the fly instead of flushing. * (33:11) Players helping players. * (40:28) Your willingness to adjust, without allowing others to take unfair license.  and  of World War I. * (45:31) Potential problems and pitfalls. * (51:17) The plot opportunity created by new or conflicting information. Hosts: Brodeur, Chad, Dan

* (0:33) Brodeur went to Gamehole Con, and Dan can’t take other people’s money. * (8:08) How age changes what you care about. * (10:02) The end-of-year blackhole that consumes our schedules (and, by extension, our games). * (11:23) Brodeur loses his motivation to GM. * (15:28) Player satisfaction does not necessarily equate to GM satisfaction. * (21:49) Fighting the burnout that strips away your enjoyment of the hobby. * (31:28) The buy-in of the whole group to relieve one person’s pain. * (40:38) Letting go of the unneeded prep in order to get to the part that’s actually fun. * (48:49) Time and the other finite currencies of life. Hosts: Brodeur, Chad, Dan, Wayne

* (0:32) Fear the Con’s room block number is 2413940. You can place your room reservations , which should prepopulate the con dates. * (1:08) Brodeur’s second product pick from the con circuit: . * (6:13) The “World of Darkness” problem, when games sit too close to real-world ideas people hold near-and-dear. * (13:46) Why this occurs in some modern-day games but not others. * (30:36) Prepping for a game that will hit close to home. . * (35:43) GM-enforced conformity. When it’s more lifestyle than game. * (43:03) Brodeur goes furry in defense of World of Darkness. * (44:29) Going back to solving it in session zero. Hosts: Brodeur, Chad, Dan, Wayne

* (0:28) Dan is the new Brodeur. * (4:51) Fear the Con coming up June 16th – 18th, 2022. * (5:52) Brodeur hits a few conventions. We start by talking attendance numbers. * (15:33) The companies that were conspicuously absent, and those that filled the void. * (18:45) Was the change for the better? * (22:46) The problem of talking about problems. * (28:09) Companies may no longer feel they need conventions. * (37:12) Accidental engagement and unexpected discovery. * (42:25) Brodeur’s post-Gen-Con product pick: . Hosts: Brodeur, Chad, Dan