Gelatinous Cube

We're back with Gelatinous Cube 19. Our prompt this week, provided by the very lovely and talented Kyle Latino of Map Crow, provides the inspiration for a wide-ranging discussion of cartographical errors, problems, and opportunities. How does a map structure and ground the world of an rpg, and what might happen if the map proves false? 

It's fighting time on Gelatinous Cube as we tackle a multifaceted boss inspired by the big bads of JRPG's. Lots of ideas in play this week but they boil down to a simple core: how do we create interesting monsters? 

Huge thanks to: Jojiro of https://dungeonantology.com/

and Vance A of https://leicestersramble.blogspot.com/

for all their excellent thoughts :) 

Adam's brought a lethal encounter to the table this week, and we discuss character death in RPG's. We cover TPK's, liminality, and offer a defense of death rolls.

Works cited this week include the luminous ponderings of Emmy Allen, and the firecracker of a game that is Brindlewood Bay. 

This week we dig into Rosie's encounter "This Damsel is in Distress!" We consider the status of women as victims in ttrpg's, and how we can make them as colourful as the villains they face. 

You can find Rosie's Princess Stress Response tables, along with the Gelatinous Cube's thoughts on the prompt, right here: https://tinyurl.com/yc24cped

Adam and Rosie are back for a discussion of the pitfalls and potentials of living dungeons. We tour beastly bellies, disturb micro-ecologies, and welcome the grotesque.

Watch where you step dear listener, it's extremely squelchy in the dungeon this week. 

It's ghost stories for Candlemass this week on Gelatinous Cube, as we tackle Rosie's séance encounter The Spirits are Restless! We discuss Pre-Raphaelite ghosts and the artists who loved them, the magic of props and lighting, and a disaster at Castle Ravenloft. 

SHOWNOTES: Our podcast host has changed things up and no longer embeds shownotes! Catastrophe! But you can find the encounters at gelatinouscast.blogspot.com

Team GC are getting AMBITIOUS this week, as Rosie and Adam discuss Rosie's fairytale adventure Red Riding. 

We discuss the impossibility of originality, the benefits of tradition, and the general headaches of devising RPG's for publication. Then we check back in with the Gelatinous Cube for an encounter that considers how fame might bless and confound an adventuring party. 

Check our show notes below for the full encounter write-up

https://tinyurl.com/yc7cp7ss You can also get the 5e version of Rosie's adventure on Roll20!  https://tinyurl.com/sxu8thwj

Title music: Shadows in the Night by Adrian Berenguer

We focus on the Weird in RPG's this week, as we contemplate Adam's bizarre chaos-demon confection The Whirlywhip. What makes a thing weird, and how can this quality enliven our games?  Then we trip over to the lovely folks from the OSR RPG group on Facebook for more weird and wonderful happenings. 

Full encounter here

Title music: Shadows in the Night by Adrian Berenguer

Rosie and Adam discuss Rosie's mushroom trap, and the importance of shrooms to fantasy and folklore. We ask why mushrooms are so alluring (clue: drugs), what makes a trap a trap, ponder mycophobia and consider how worlds emerge from small player actions. Oh, and there are goblins. There are always goblins. Then it's over to the Gelatinous Cube for a Weird woodland trance party encounter.

Check our show notes below for the full encounter write-up

https://tinyurl.com/te8u6dxp  Title music: Shadows in the Night by Adrian Berenguer