Nerdcognito

By INFAMOUS Media GroupLeisure Games

Nerdcognito episodes

January 30, 2024Nerdcognito - Episode 210: Grim Jim Desborough Co-Hosts and Digs Into #DungeonDrama
When Grim Jim calls, we answer. A special, extended-length episode that details the revelations that should shock the TTRPG design world. The gang and Jim dig deep into the article, talk about their perspective, and offer a path forward for our corner of the hobby. #DungeonDrama

----more----
Grab The Village of Greenhaven NOW!
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/465184/The-Village-of-Greenhaven
----more----

The News:
Tarrasque what?
CMON Kickstarter Bailout
Palworld vs. Pokemon
----more----

Episode Sponsors and Affiliates:
Shop Amazon and Support the Show: https://amzn.to/3djotja
*We earn a small commission for each Amazon purchase at no additional cost to you!
1 hr 33 min
January 23, 2024Nerdcognito - Episode 209: Player Skill v. Character Ability; Tragedy at Taigon's Falls Review
Dovetailing with last week's conversation about Power Gamers, the boys have a deep talk about how actual Player Skill vs. Character "Ability" can be balanced in a game. Where does a check fall as opposed to playing it out in the mind or at the table of the PC's creator? After the news, a look at the new OSR Adventure, The Tragedy at Taigon's Falls proves to be a positive way to close out the show!

----more----
Grab The Village of Greenhaven NOW!
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/465184/The-Village-of-Greenhaven
----more----

The News:
There can be only one... Cavill?
More board game counterfeit rumblings
Lovecraftian beauty
Brass Birmingham sequel talk
----more----

Episode Sponsors and Affiliates:
Shop Amazon and Support the Show: https://amzn.to/3djotja
*We earn a small commission for each Amazon purchase at no additional cost to you!
1 hr
January 16, 2024Nerdcognito - Episode 208: Power Gamers and Meta Gamers be Damned!; World Building
Power and meta gamers. Min-maxers. Those afflicted with main character syndrome. It's a real disease in the hobby and the guys have the cure. After a lively discussion about this abomination of a player, the news doesn't disappoint with everything from the Sopranos to the Tomb of Horrors. Lastly, world building comes up on the block and different styles of Kyle, RD, and Bert are all presented for your consideration when next constructing a realm!

----more----
Grab The Village of Greenhaven NOW!
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/465184/The-Village-of-Greenhaven
----more----

The News:
Larry Fishburne miscast
The Mandalorian & Grougu - The Movie
Death of complex TV
A Strategy Guide for... WHAT?!?
----more----

Episode Sponsors and Affiliates:
Shop Amazon and Support the Show: https://amzn.to/3djotja
*We earn a small commission for each Amazon purchase at no additional cost to you!
1 hr 5 min
January 09, 2024Nerdcognito - Episode 207: NPC Do’s and Don’ts; Names and TNK Preview
The gang digs into NPCs this week! Talking about how to make effective and memorable characters, what to avoid in NPC creation, and how to sidestep tropes and the "predictable" nature of this important piece of the TTRPG/DnD puzzle. The news of the week tips off with us not touching the WotC AI piece, simply because it's all just conjecture at this point in time. After the news, the gang digs into The Navarro Knight, a preview of a new system by our Check Mark Hero, Cynnamander!
----more----
Grab The Village of Greenhaven NOW!
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/465184/The-Village-of-Greenhaven
----more----
The News:
WotC AI Nothingburger
Counterfeit Kelp
Board Games in '24 to watch
Tetris-shaming
----more----
Episode Sponsors and Affiliates:
Shop Amazon and Support the Show: https://amzn.to/3djotja
*We earn a small commission for each Amazon purchase at no additional cost to you!
1 hr 7 min
January 02, 2024Nerdcognito - Episode 206: Greenhaven is gold; DM Tips
It's release week for The Village of Greenhaven! Hear Kyle and Bert dig in and ask RD about Greenhaven, learn about it's creation, and what the system-agnostic supplement can do for your table! There is a list in the news, and it involves the BEAR! Lastly, inspired by the rotten advice in the news for Dungeon Masters, the guys each give some advice for GMs to help smooth over some bumpy roads that every DM will encounter.
----more----
Grab The Village of Greenhaven NOW!
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/465184/The-Village-of-Greenhaven
----more----
The News:
What should get BG3'ed?!
Death Stranding Film Director
Those Poor, Overworked Board Game Cafe Workers
BAD DM Advice from the Pop Gaming Media
----more----
Episode Sponsors and Affiliates:
Shop Amazon and Support the Show: https://amzn.to/3djotja
*We earn a small commission for each Amazon purchase at no additional cost to you!
1 hr 8 min
December 26, 2023Nerdcognito - Episode 205: 2023’s Past, Present, and Future in our Hobby!
This week, the gang is haunted by three spirits! That's right -- 2023's Ghosts of Past, Present and Future frame the whole show. What were the personal touches, opinions, and events that shaped each? Plus, the "future" brings a glimpse of what each of the guys is hoping for and predicts in the coming year!
----more----
Don't forget to get your Gatekeeping Is Good shirt on Amazon!
Support the show and hold that door!
https://amzn.to/3R60vt3
----more----
The News:
Cavill-Warhammer Correction
Octopath who?
What's worse than X? Reddit!
----more----
Episode Sponsors and Affiliates:
Shop Amazon and Support the Show: https://amzn.to/3djotja
*We earn a small commission for each Amazon purchase at no additional cost to you!
1 hr 3 min
December 19, 2023Nerdcognito - Episode 204: The Hasbro Layoffs; Jumping Back Into Fantasy TTRPG!
Well, unless you've been in the remote woods like Bert (and even he knew about it) you've heard about the WotC cuts. We talk about the human price of these cuts, each host having varying and predicable degrees of empathy. What does the future hold for Wizards? After the news, the guys discuss how the Nerdcognito core TTRPG group went back to the basics... high fantasy... and what a wonderful experience it was. How can you experience this bliss? The gang has some advice for your table!
----more----
Don't forget to get your Gatekeeping Is Good shirt on Amazon!
Support the show and hold that door!
https://amzn.to/3R60vt3
----more----
The News:
Board Game Cafe Workers NEED That Union!
Even Deeper WotC Inventory Cuts
Stan Lee's Genesis KS
More Cavill Woes with Warhammer?
----more----
Episode Sponsors and Affiliates:
Shop Amazon and Support the Show: https://amzn.to/3djotja
*We earn a small commission for each Amazon purchase at no additional cost to you!
59 min
December 12, 2023Nerdcognito - Episode 203: Appendix N Addons; Gamer Cancelled by TTRPG Creator?
The boys try to cleanse the room and open the show by looking at the "Bro-holy" document that is Appendix N, and then each of the guys adds a line item to the list of required reading! The news presents everything from the huge MCDM kickoff to a quite chilly topic. After the news, Hunter aka Ultra-American TTRPGer stops in to tell his side of the Haunted Table story. Did Haunted Table act with cause or did they persecute Hunter for his political speech?

----more----
Don't forget to get your Gatekeeping Is Good shirt on Amazon!
Support the show and hold that door!
https://amzn.to/3R60vt3

----more----
The News:
MCDM! Where attacks (and profit projections) never miss!
DnD to have the BIGGEST PHB ever! *yawn*
Battlestar Galactica Redux-Redux
Baby, it's cold inside...
----more----
Episode Sponsors and Affiliates:
Crud Forge Studios: https://shop.crudforge.com/
Shop Amazon and Support the Show: https://amzn.to/3djotja
*We earn a small commission for each purchase at no additional cost to you!
1 hr 9 min
December 05, 2023Nerdcognito - Episode 202: TTRPG Week of Woke; OD&D Reprint... Sort Of!
Oh my goodness! What a week of woke! Starting with Wizards of the Coast redacting lore and modifying language to be less "problematic" and ending with Goodman Games caving to SparkleTroll diversity lunacy and destroying the Dungeon Crawl Classics base, it has been a wild ride. RD and Kyle talk about it all and try to bring some perspective into the cultural breakdown that we are witnessing. After the news, the duo break down the OD&D announcement from PAX and ponder the future of the franchise.

----more----
Don't forget to get your Gatekeeping Is Good shirt on Amazon!
Support the show and hold that door!
https://amzn.to/3R60vt3

----more----
The News:
Tourists don't know what dice are for
You should role play your board games
Matt Mercer likes money
5e is a power fantasy, confirmed
----more----
Episode Sponsors and Affiliates:
Crud Forge Studios: https://shop.crudforge.com/
Shop Amazon and Support the Show: https://amzn.to/3djotja
*We earn a small commission for each purchase at no additional cost to you!
1 hr 2 min
November 28, 2023Nerdcognito - Episode 201: Censorship in Play aka ”You Can’t Do THAT!”; Gaming Gift Ideas
With major publishers now putting content restrictions in print about what subjects players may or may not talk about during the game, the guys examine how we got here and why or why not dictating content is acceptable. Hint: It's not. The news brings Bert another surreal not-quite-horse moment about how nuts some segments of the hobby have become. Lastly, the gang talks about what might make an excellent gift to "lure" a new player to the table!

----more----
Don't forget to get your Gatekeeping Is Good shirt on Amazon!
Support the show and hold that door!
https://amzn.to/3R60vt3

----more----
The News:
You want to sleep with... what?!?
Food Chain Magnate redux!!!
WotC's stealth edits, class bloat, and their exposed sexism.
----more----
Episode Sponsors and Affiliates:
Crud Forge Studios: https://shop.crudforge.com/
Shop Amazon and Support the Show: https://amzn.to/3djotja
*We earn a small commission for each purchase at no additional cost to you!
1 hr 5 min