Welcome to the Lair of Secrets podcast! On this episode, we talk coffee, bullet journaling with the Leuchtturm1917 (for games) and Paperage A5 (for daily use), new backpacks, and the Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion board game. For the main topic, we discuss the relative merits and challenges of playing role-playing games in the real world, vs. the virtual one.

Want some more bullet journal inspiration? Check out our "Virtual Bullet Journals" post.

Coffee snobberyKen got an Aeropress.

Plunger-powered coffee press.

Quickly makes strong coffee.

Faster clean-up, fewer loose grounds than french press.

Super easy, light, and durable; might need to get one for camping and backpacking.

Also got an electric kettle. Which seems like cheating.

Day Pack of Holding

Ken's Osprey Stratos 24 pack came. Took it on a 5-mile shakedown hike last weekend. Worked great! Might not be ideal for conventions … or I just need to carry less books.

Big Huge Board Game ... now somewhat Less Huge ... but still Big

Ken played Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion with his son. Very approachable game; comes with its own ziploc bags and instructions on how to sort components. First few adventures are tutorials (of which we did one) that spell out how combat, spells, and movement work.

Bullet Journal TimeDavid started Bullet Journaling - jumped on the bandwagon, several years late

Paperage A5 - for daily/regular bullet journal - enjoying it so far

Yellow

Leuchtturm1917 for a game bullet journal - inspired by Ken’s use

Wine

Bullet journaling and gaming

Dune Mentat-like statement on the paper band of the cover

Terraforming the Garage

David is working on garage upgrade to make it more habitable in the winter months.

Murder, She Gamed

David geeks out about Brindlewood Bay.

From the DriveThru RPG blurb: "A roleplaying game about a group of elderly women—members of the local Murder Mavens mystery book club—who frequently find themselves investigating (and solving!) real-life murder mysteries."

Playing Role-Playing Games Virtually vs. the Real World

How is gaming remotely different than in person?

Opportunities to play shift.

Makes it easier for some people to join the game. Others (understandably) don’t want Yet Another Online meeting or lack gear/internet connection to make it work.

Overall, feels like there’s a small benefit, scheduling-wise

What extra considerations do you need when gaming remotely?

Battle Map Prep

If playing with maps, more time is needed to find and/or make the maps. Stockpiling maps (and pre-loading them into your tabletop) can be helpful.

Same goes for tokens. Investing time up front to have player tokens, common NPC tokens, and monster tokens is worthwhile.

Mapping sites:

https://watabou.itch.io/one-page-dungeon

https://donjon.bin.sh/5e/dungeon/

https://dungen.app/dungen/

Visuals

Even with theatre-of-the-mind style play, it’s helpful to pull together photos/videos/etc that show off campaign elements and then load them into the virtual tabletop. Pinterest is also good for this.

Mechanics

Mainstream games are easier to run because virtual table tops do a better job of supporting their mechanics. Theatre of the mind works well too.

Even simple mechanics, like Savage Worlds’ initiative card deck, can trip you up.

There’s a learning curve with whatever platform you use. Sometimes it feels like a learning ciff that you run smack into (or fall off of)

Technology

Finding a video conferencing platform everyone likes is hard. A little easier now though.

Uneven skill levels and technology among players (e.g. some people have headsets, some don’t).

Phones can be a great equalizer here, and avoid the software/driver upgrade cycle of heck.

How does virtual play affect personal interactions?

Difficult to “read the room” as a GM, especially if no one is using cameras.

No side conversations

Do you need more breaks?

Welcome to the Lair of Secrets podcast! The podcast about gaming and being a geek by two forty-something geek dads. David is a father, coder, gamer, woodworker, and guy with too many hobbies he likes to pursue. Ken is an IT guy who never seems to have enough time to read comic books, but refuses to stop collecting them.

Colorful Forges of WordsDavid finished Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett - very abrupt ending, the novel felt like a series of short stories strung together, not his best work but still enjoyableForging Hephaestus by Drew Hayes by - reading - Superhero/villain story, the main character is a villain in air quotes who is learning to use her powers and being introduced to the social structure behind the scenes at a villain guildReads like a story based on role-playing done in Champions Online or City of Heroes, which is to say it’s pretty good, but won’t be for everyoneInteresting worldbuilding on how new metas come into beingA Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine - on deck nextOn the Agenda of GodsDavid's Local game group was partially able to get together this weekend after the long hiatusPlayed a game of the new edition of Godsend Agenda that is being developed by Khepera Publishing with the GM being Jerry Grayson. It’ll be released on the Babies With Knives and Cowboy Dracula YouTube channels at some point.Was a lot of fun, and David was reminded about how long DnD and Pathfinder combats can take.We did several combats and a fair amount of investigation and role-playing in the four-ish hours of gaming. I’ve had DnD and Pathfinder games where it was nearly four hours of combat.Picked up Take 5 / 6 Nimmt and have had fun with the games of it so farOn Miscellaneous Topics of NoteZoe is doing very wellTorn down pretty much everything in the garage woodshop to rearrange it and make improvementsVenturing forth with a new Day Pack of HoldingKen is finally replacing his grungy old day pack with a spiffy new Osprey one.A day pack is a lightweight backpack meant for shorter hikes, overnight backpacking trips, and trips.Also: Game conventions?Ken bought the Osprey Stratos 24 pack24 liter pack.Dual zippered panel access to main compartmentFront panel vertical zip pocket; front panel zip stash pocket; front panel storage pocket; large top panel zip stash pocket; side stretch-mesh pockets; zip hipbelt pocketsIce-tool loop with bungee tie-offIntegrated raincoverInternal hydration reservoir sleeve (hydration reservoir sold separately)By way of comparison, Ken's main backpack is an 85L pack (it’s a lot bigger)To Boldly Go ... and ReadKen bought all the Star Trek Adventures books via Humble BundleSooooo much content.Ken may need to take a day off just to read Star Trek.More D&D with kidsKen's daughter (17) wants him to run a game of D&D for her and her friends.Looks like that new D&D starter set is going to get a lot of use this fall...The Theatre of Infinite StreamsThe Old Guard (movie)Charlize Theron "Andy"… one of a handful of immortal warriors who try to make the world a better place. They find a new immortal … and a conspiracy that wants to harness their immortality.If you liked Charlize Theron in Mad Max: Fury Road or Atomic Blonde, you’ll love this.Umbrella Academy, Season 2Based on the comic books of the same name.Children with powers adopted and raised by a stern father (and an intelligent ape).In Season 1, one of them nearly destroyed the world. In Season 2, the apocalypse is still looming large … but it’s a nuclear war in 1963.Baseball!Finally … Ken's Mets are back. Watching games is surreal though.The BoysWhere we go off on a Karl Urban sidetrack of how he makes any movie he is in better

Featured Image

Artwork from the Star Trek Adventures game by Modiphius.

Welcome to the Lair of Secrets podcast! The podcast about gaming and being a geek by two forty-something geek dads. Ken Newquist is an IT project manager, comic book enthusiast, and outdoor guy who is getting outdoors a lot more these days. David Moore is a father, coder, gamer, woodworker, and guy with too many hobbies he likes to pursue.

Running, Blown Sneakers, and ByclingKen's stuck on Week 4 of his 10K training program. He blew out a sneaker (turns out he's bad at taking off sneakers)Also: training is hard.Thinking about doing more biking to balance out the running. Got a Trek Dual Sport 3 last year and used to bike work. Now … that’s not an option since he's working from home. Ken invents the term “Bycling”, a combination of cycling and bicycling. - DavidGetting ready to do more hiking and backpackingWise Old Humans, Cultured Science Fiction, Worse Worlds Currently working on David Brin’s The Ancient Ones, his first comedy science fiction novel in which humanity is the elder species that serves as advisors to the “demmies”, an overeager species that are always rushing into trouble.Next up? Excession (A Culture Novel Book, Book 5) by Iain M Banks - About an alien artifact that appeared at the edge of the galaxy millennia ago, only to disappear. Now it’s back.The Worst of All Possible Worlds (The Salvagers, Book 3) by Alex White - The concluding novel to the Salvagers series, which mixes space opera with magic.Echoes of Ancient Greece, The Mandibles of the FelineMythic Odysseys of Theros (D&D Campaign Setting and Adventure Book)Based on the Magic: The Gathering world. Inspired by Greek MythologyPart of me wants to run a Clash of the Titans-style fantasy game.Gloomhaven: Jaws of The LionBy Cephalofair Games Expansion / stand-alone game based on Gloomhaven rules.An easier, faster version of the base game. Could be a good introduction to the larger game.

Walk, Walk WalkWalking - Still at least twice a day, but the heat has been hard for David to get in more than thatNot today, but did a fair amount of work in the workshop, cleaning and making shop furnitureDresden returns, Shading the ArcanePeace Talks by Jim Butcher - latest novel in the Dresden Files released July 14, 2020.Still reading The Color of Magic by Terry Prachett halfway through, on hold for Peace Talks. It’s decent, but David definitely likes his later work better.Wondrous Memories of Powerful AtlantisUnfortunately, no regular Sunday game for six weeks now, hoping we’ll play this weekDavid played in a session of Atlantis the Second Age by Khepera Publishing (check out the game's downloads)We just received issues 1-3 of the Zine of Wondrous Power by Highmoon Press and friend Daniel PerezZine of Wondrous Power is a gaming zine by Daniel M. Perez dedicated to exploring playing, design, creation, and discussion of roleplaying games. It features short essays, small games, new rules and settings, fiction, and ideas. If it deals with roleplaying games as a hobby and art form, it has a home in the Zine of Wondrous PowersAssorted Geekery (and dogs)Plex home library, rediscovering all of the DVDs I own but haven’t watched in a while.Legend of KorraBrimstoneConan the BarbarianThundarr the BarbarianNew dog! Zoe is two months old Great Pyrenees (with maybe some labrador in there) and will hopefully be a great playmate for Zeke who is now one year old

Main Topic: Achieving Consensus at the Game Table

Ideas for achieving consensus when looking for a new RPG. Ken’s group is considering alternatives to our short Star Wars game. How do you achieve consensus when picking a new game?

Polling? Big forum thread?In-person brainstorming (or, in the COVID world, video conference brain storming)

Right now we’re looking at some sort of science fiction game, but the options are all over the place:

Homegrown cyberpunk, space opera, near-future, High SF?Star Trek?Urban fantasy (i.e. spellslingers on the streets of New York)Something powered by Savage Worlds?

WE COME FROM THE FUTURE ... the future of the Lair of Secrets podcast, that is! David and Ken talk about their latest geeky undertakings, including a return to Atomic Robo, WandaVision, X of Swords, the Forbidden Lands RPG, and even more speculative fiction novels before turning to the main topic: Kickstarter's Zinequest 3.

Ken finally read Atomic Robo

See Episode 3 …. Which was like yesterday for you, and months ago for us. Great stuff.

Atomic Robo & the Fightin Scientists of Tesladyne

Make Mine WandaVision

Ken and his kids love it. He may love it more as an X-Men (and thus, Scarlet Witch) fan.

X of Swords

Ken finally read Marvel’s massive summer crossover, which harkens back to the Chris Claremont/Alan Davis era of Excalibur. Yeah, you heard that right, X-Nerds!

Ken started The Rhythm of War by Brandon Sanderson. He should be done reading it sometime in 2022.

1,232 pages (57 hours, 26 minutes in audiobook form)

Space Sweepers - Korean film with an international cast.

David's Gaming

Army Corps of Engineers: Special Operations Group powered by FATE Condensed

Captured a Batsquatch in Washington State

When the fearsome batsquatch was finally subdued it was "high as a kite" and "curious about humans"

Started and ended a Star Wars d6 game

Not all games are for everyone

Ran a one-shot Spirit of the Century

ALMOST ran the Gamma World hex crawl again

Planning for either a D&D or Forbidden Lands game to replace the Star Wars game

I know very little about Forbidden Lands, but I have heard it is good, seems very hex-crawl-like

Why not a Burning Wheel game? I don’t think it’s right for this group.

Books that David is reading

The Flowers of Vashnoi - Lois McMaster Bujold

The Invisible Library - Cogman Genevieve

Zinequest 3

Official Kickstarter Page

Zinequest 2021 @ Bone Box Chant – A huge list of all of the active and upcoming zines being published as part of Zinequest 3.

Thru-Hiker: A Journaling Game of Long-Distance Hiking – Sounds like the perfect intersection of outdoor and gaming geekery. By Daniel Perez

Infinite March – A zine about working as agents to support (or tear down) the Temporal Empire and its eternal rule.

Planar Compass Issue 2 – Explore the Astral Sea with this Old School Essentials-compatible zine. Includes new monsters, a “living dungeon”, astral navigation rules, and (of course) pirates.

Creature Feature – a ZineQuest 3 monster TTRPG anthology. There’s not much up about this one, but it had me at “Creature Feature”.

Hope is Not a Plan - An solo, journaling-style RPG zine about "the existential dread of professional project management". Given that a big chunk of Ken's day job deals with project management, he can relate to the "dread" part.

The Vast in the Dark - A zine about "Exploring Ruins in an Infinite World", It features "brutalist alien flavor", no prep world generation, and optional horror rules.

The Island of the Excellent: A Hexcrawl Zine

Last Orders! 16 Beers and Ciders for Fantasy RPGs.

Comments?

Email us at [email protected] or leave a comment below.

Featured Image Meta

Cover art from the Forbidden Lands RPG by Free League. Credit: Free League.

Welcome to the Untitled Podcast. You know what the name is, we don’t … but we’re getting closer. Maybe. On this exercise, we hit the gym (or at least, the sidewalk) with our respective exercise routines, finish up our Tales from the Loop game, talk physical therapy for dogs, get lost in a few endless video games, and start grabbing books off the shelf for our respective reading lists.

David's Exercise Update

David talks about his exercise routine

Delays in editing the Untitled Podcast and Cowboy Dracula

But you're in the future, so the shows are already done!

Physical therapy is going to the dogs

Dog Zeke needs to continue his physical therapy for his muscle atrophy

David's Reading List

David started a reading list. Since he can’t go to a bookstore and just browse shelves, he needs to be much more mindful of what he wants to read next

The Books:

Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett (First book in the Discworld series)

Learn more at Tor's Terry Pratchett Book Club.

Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal

Check out Kowal's website

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

Tor Publishing's website for the book

Exiting Tales from the Loop

Finished our last session of Tales from the Loop and looking forward to another arc or a new game

The official website for Tales from the Loop

Settlement creation with Ex Novo

David played a little game called Ex Novo to create the settlement in his Gamma World game

Started out with a river, plain and pretty boring

Soon after had a cave system with metal tunnels with robots, a mountain that had been split in half, and the primary food source was the Hoppers, grasshoppers the size of your hand

A faction grew up to brew beers and spirits from the hoppers, another wanted to engineer the site to help with the yearly flooding and to increase the hopper population

The brewers collapsed as a faction as a fire in that district killed one of the elders of the village as they fought the fire and after that spirits were no longer allowed to be brewed

It went on from there with new factions forming, old factions gaining or losing influence

It makes for a great role-playing tool, since now the players have a direct interest in the settlement that we all built, and can reference the history

Run, Geek Run

Ken's 10K Training Routine continues with Week 4.

Also strength training routine (lots of planks, lunges, stretching, rollie, squats, etc.)

Getting Lost in Video Games

Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

Ken made it to the final temple. It only took 22 years...

Nintendo's Ocarina of Time website

DRAGON QUEST® XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age – Definitive Edition

Massive JRPG for the Switch

Includes “flashback” segments with old school 16-bit graphics Took me years to finish DragonQuest IX on the DS/3DS

Nintendo's Dragon Quest XI website

Ken's Summer Reading List

It's summer somewhen, right?

The Unicorn Project: A Novel about Developers, Digital Disruption, and Thriving in the Age of Data by Gene Kim

The follow-up to The Phoenix Project takes place alongside the earlier book. It's like the Ender's Shadow of the IT workflow/productivity fiction genre (which is so niche it might only contain these two books)

Official website for the boo . 

Fall; or, Dodge in Hell by Neal Stephenson

An indirect follow up to Cryptonomicon

A sequel of sorts to Reamde

About getting scanned and uploaded into a virtual universe.

Stephenson's website for the book

Bone Silence by Alistair Reynolds

Set in a far-future version of our solar system

Major planets have been dismantled and replaced by thousands of orbital habitats. Civilization has risen and fallen multiple times, leaving behind valuable detritus to those willing to risk dangers terrible and strange

The publisher's website

And the rest...

Excession (A Culture Novel Book, Book 5) by Iain M Banks (GoodReads)

In the second episode of the still-untitled podcast, we talk about David's RPG mapper project, venture into the challenges of exercising daily, talk about our Tales from the Loop game, and delve into Ken's obsession with the X-Men. We round out the podcast with a conversation about the joy - and challenges - of gaming with kids.

Campaign Mapper

Campaign Mapper, the boring name for a fun project. Maybe David will name it after the podcast. What was our podcast name again? ?

DnD Dads podcast

Geek dads talking Dungeons & Dragons and other topics.

Learn more and get the podcast at the DnD Dads website. 

Exercise daily

David's exercising. This is a good thing.

How the Tales from the Loop game is going

We're slinging dice and investigating weird mysteries in the 1980s that never were.

Check out the Tales from the Loop website.  

Catching on Comic Books

Ken’s a big X-Men fan.

Despite this, he was perpetually 3-4 years behind on reading comic books. 

Spent the last two years getting caught up in time for the big Dawn of X storyline ...

... only to find he had holes in his collection...

... and then COVID hit.

Upside to the delay? Dawn of X titles are showing up on Marvel Unlimited ... and Ken is dangerously close to catching up.

Gaming with Kids

Ken picked up the Dungeons & Dragons Essentials Boxed Set

Meant as an easy entry point into D&D. 

Comes with: 

Dice.

Basic Rules (plus a new 1-on-1 rules variant)

Dragon of Icespire Peak adventure

Sly Flourish: Running Dragon of Icespire Peak from the D&D Essentials Kit

Cards for magic items, initiative, and quests

Maps

Ken has been gaming with his son and friends for the last few years, at home and on vacation.

Gaming with kids is challenging

They like it, but attention spans can be a challenge.

Thankfully, it’s getting better as they get older.

Not quite like it was when we were kids. Their touchpoints are more likely to be video games or movies.

Ken hasn't figured out how to transition to my son (or one of the kids) being the DM.

Comments?

Email us at [email protected] or leave a comment below.

Featured Image

Cover art for the Dragon of Icespire Peak adventure. Credit: Wizards of the Coast

Welcome to the first episode of the podcast that didn't know it's own name! On this episode, David and Ken introduce themselves before venturing into the irradiated wastes of Gamma World. Running's a good strategy when confronted by hyperintelligent carrotfolk; it's also a good way to stay healthy, as Ken talks about his 10K training program. Finally, we run down the Top 3 New Role-playing Games that we like, including Alien, Tales from the Loop, and  The Flux. 

Gamma World Hex Crawl

David talks about discovery hexcrawls and then applying them to the vintage science fiction setting.

Wayne's Books: Gamma World 2nd edition (1983-84): 1st ed gets a revision

Rolling Boxcars: Gamma World 2e: Wild and Wahoo?

More Lair of Secrets posts/podcasts related to the post-apocalyptic setting.

Kicking off a 10K training program

Ken likes to run, so he's starting a 10K training program.

Based on the Runners World 10K Training Plan

It's an 8-week program that includes a mix of easy runs, hills, and intervals.

Top 3 New RPGs We Like

Ken’s Picks

Alien by Free League

Whether you're running a haunted house in space or a roller coaster thrill ride, Free League has you covered.

The game pits players against alien xenomorphs in either "cinematic mode" (like playing a movie, complete with acts, betrayals, and set characters) and "campaign mode" (which is meant for ongoing play with player-generated characters).

There are three boxed set adventures for the game as well the Colonial Marines Operations Manual rules expansion.

Star Trek Adventures by Modiphius

Role-playing in the final frontier in one of fandom's most venerable space opera universes.

Uses the 2d20 system (Mutant Chronicles, Conan: Adventures in an Age Undreamed Of, John Carter of Mars and the Infinity RPG.

Tons of rule books that let you play in any Star Trek era.

Tales from the Loop by Free League

Nostalgic role-playing in the 1980s that never were.

Game play alternates between kids investigating a supernatural (or super science) mystery and kids  dealing with their home/personal life.

David’s Picks

Tales from the Loop by Free League

See above.

The Flux by John Wick Presents

A meta game in which experiences from a character in one role playing game can over into subsequent role-playing games.

Scum and Villainy by Evil Hat Productions

A space opera / space fantasy game based on the Blades in the Dark rule set.

Retains the job/heist based focus of Blades in the Dark

Think The Mandalorian, Firefly, and other "crews trying to survive on the edge of space"-style shows and movies.

Check out our Scum and Villainy Actual Play series.

Comments?

Email us at [email protected] or leave a comment below.

Featured Image Meta

Cover art for Gamma World, 2nd Edition. Credit: TSR

Welcome to the first episode of the podcast that didn’t know it’s own name! On this episode, David and Ken… Read more S1E1 – Gamma World Hexcrawls, 10K Training, Top 3 New RPGs We Like