Fear the Boot

* (0:24) A literal F-bomb. * (1:27) The fishbowl of gaming in a game shop. * (16:22) The desired safety—yet expected vulnerability—of a public gaming space. Missing context. * (21:49) An allegory of pets. * (27:32) Please not just D&D. * (29:03) An update on Fear the Con 2021. Hosts: Brodeur, Chad, Dan, Wayne

* (0:30) The flash fiction anthology, , is now out! * (3:35) Love for Johnny Lawrence that no child of the 80s should have. * (17:43) Wayne runs The Secret Lives of Gingerbread Men with a family audience. * (24:37) How an audience impacts execution of the game. * (29:18) Tailoring to audiences based on your relationship with them. Hosts: Brodeur, Chad, Dan, Wayne

* (0:24) Enjoying roleplaying as an artform. * (1:44) When desires collide. * (11:37) The opportunity to express or explore controversial ideas. * (16:54) Indulging a power fantasy. * (23:20) Stress relief. * (30:28) Interacting with a particular world. Hosts: Brodeur, Chad, Dan, Wayne

* (0:29) Brodeur gets back on the ladder again. * (1:13) Dan plays doctor, which gets us wondering what makes people want to roleplay anything at all. * (5:59) Why it’s good to know what motivates someone to roleplay. * (10:07) Structured social interactions. * (15:13) Exploration of self. * (18:28) Exploration of others. * (21:38) Escapism. * (27:30) The opportunity for creativity. Hosts: Brodeur, Chad, Dan, Wayne

* (0:29) General Bootspital. * (7:19) More observations from roleplaying in an MMO. Not using freakshow characters to make yourself stand out. * (11:46) The great, unoccupied average. Distinguishing your character by who they are, not what they are. * (27:35) How collaborative game-building can keep characters from being freakshows to begin with. The praise-worthy amount of heart that often goes into freakshow characters. * (34:20) The potential laziness of a freakshow character. Using questions to develop the character past that initial laziness. * (44:42) Sometimes average and interesting characters get made, simply because the person doesn’t realize what they’re playing is unusual in concept. Hosts: Brodeur, Chad, Dan, Laura

* (0:29) Fear the Boot: Quarantine Edition. Plus, Brodeur versus Ladder. Ladder wins. NOTE: Brodeur has not actually lost an arm or eye. I meant to say he’d lost use of them. * (3:57) Roleplaying in an MMO, and why I never thought I’d do it. * (5:29) My history with MMOs. * (7:09) Comparing an MMO to any other electronic play surface. * (9:41) Five qualities that help RP in an online game: environmental props, costuming, emotes, a thriving RP community, and private locations. * (15:17) Why it’s best to have a large pool of roleplayers to draw from. * (19:35) Tips for finding the right group a little faster. * (21:55) The unexpected quirks created by roleplaying so anonymously. * (27:44) Remembering that an MMO is just another medium of play. Hosts: Dan

* (0:24) Bringing everything together into a single ending. Remembering that the GM should get their say as well. * (8:05) The collaborative building of a world with conflict. The natural concern for one’s own creation. * (19:40) Differentiating the ending and epilogue of the game. * (34:50) Knowing where to let go. * (42:56) #SaveGamer…? Ask Brodeur. We’re not dealing with this one. Hosts: Brodeur, Chad, Dan, Wayne

* (0:30) Never humor Brodeur. * (1:17) Jason Brick is launching a new flash fiction anthology, with several Fear the Boot hosts contributing. You can find the Kickstarter here. * (4:23) The fine folks at  feed Dan’s Enclave addiction, and he repays them by referring to Wasteland Warfare as Wasteland Warriors. * (8:32) Discussing how to end a long campaign, as inspired by the end of our , along with an upcoming  campaign Wayne is preparing to wrap up. * (10:18) An aside on projects we’ll be doing between major actual plays. * (13:00) Hooray for even keeping a game alive until it ends! * (15:06) Why the expectations around the end of the game create unique stress. Remembering it’s not just the GM’s ending. * (18:22) Asking the players what they want from the ending without having them dictate the plot. * (25:25) Writing the ending in session zero. * (26:23) Getting back to the example ending from Skies of Glass. * (36:33) Accepting player freedom in their choices and giving them some responsibility for their own satisfaction. * (40:10) Respecting the difference between an individual character’s ending and the shared, group ending. Hosts: Brodeur, Chad, Dan, Wayne

* (0:24) Brodeur’s response to our critiques. Settling disputes in online games. * (3:12) Minis are just cool to create and use. * (6:32) A form of art and inspiration. * (11:40) The value to visual thinkers and visual learners. * (21:40) Estimating the percentage of groups that use minis. * (27:29) Minis as commemorative art. * (36:06) Three ways of consuming miniatures. * (44:03) , who did excellent mini-painting work for Wayne and Dan. Hosts: Brodeur, Chad, Dan, Wayne

* (0:29) Models, minis, figs, and toy soldiers. Brodeur proposes . Why Chad is wrong about . * (4:02) Minis in an RPG. Enriching or distracting? Brodeur’s  on the matter. * (15:36) What miniatures bring to and take away from the typical roleplaying game. Distaste for collectibles and blind box purchases. * (25:22) The added work surrounding minis. The need for more minis than you originally thought you’d need. * (30:34) The separate hobby—and required skills—for building and painting minis. * (36:55) The value in the mere presence of minis. Keeping things consistent. Hosts: Brodeur, Chad, Dan, Wayne