Plot Points

Americans, enjoy your Thanksgiving holiday with this deep cut from the Plot Points archives, our first-ever episode, Ravenloft!

The Delta Green Agent's Handbook is currently free on DriveThruRPG! Check it out!

Music courtesy 50 Breaks.

Image courtesy Wizards of the Coast.

Once upon a time, Marissa Kelly and Mark Diaz Truman had the wild idea of starting a role-playing game company. Today, they recruit top talent, score six-figure Kickstarters, and create award-winning games. How did all this come to be? Ben Riggs explores that question in this free-wheeling conversation.

Ben’s book on RPG adventure design, Encounter Theory, is on DriveThruRPG. Click here to pick up this essential volume!

Like Plot Points? Support it on Patreon at the $2 level, and you’ll get a sneak peek into Ben’s book about the sale of TSR to Wizards of the Coast! This chapter concerns TSR West, an effort by TSR to open an LA office devoted to producing comic books, an effort that failed rather impressively. It is the product of a dozen interviews with professionals from comics, gaming, and Hollywood, and as far as I can reckon, it is a tale entirely untold until now.  

Image courtesy of Magpie Games. 

Theme music courtesy 50 Breaks.

Actual sales numbers for D&D have never been common or easy to find. But Ben had a source sent him four pages of D&D sales numbers for use in his book, and it revealed a fascinating fact: D&D outsold AD&D, AD&D 2nd edition, and AD&D 2nd revised combined!

Ben’s book on RPG adventure design, Encounter Theory, is on DriveThruRPG. Click here to pick up this essential volume!

Like Plot Points? Support it on Patreon at the $2 level, and you’ll get a sneak peek into Ben’s book about the sale of TSR to Wizards of the Coast! This chapter concerns TSR West, an effort by TSR to open an LA office devoted to producing comic books, an effort that failed rather impressively. It is the product of a dozen interviews with professionals from comics, gaming, and Hollywood, and as far as I can reckon, it is a tale entirely untold until now.  

Image courtesy of Wizards of the Coast.  

Theme music courtesy 50 Breaks.

An hour of power with the towering triumvirate of tabletop, Mike Mearls, Chris Perkins, and Chris Lindsay! Hear about the origins of such products as Tyranny of Dragons and D&D Essentials in this freewheeling and wide-ranging Q&A panel.

[Edit: Episode volume increased 11/8/2019] 

Also, check out Bundle of Holding's unbelievable Trail of Cthulhu deals here! 

Ben’s book on RPG adventure design, Encounter Theory, is on DriveThruRPG. Click here to pick up this essential volume!

Like Plot Points? Support it on Patreon at the $2 level, and you’ll get a sneak peek into Ben’s book about the sale of TSR to Wizards of the Coast! This chapter concerns TSR West, an effort by TSR to open an LA office devoted to producing comic books, an effort that failed rather impressively. It is the product of a dozen interviews with professionals from comics, gaming, and Hollywood, and as far as I can reckon, it is a tale entirely untold until now.  

Image courtesy of Wizards of the Coast.  

Theme music courtesy 50 Breaks.

Shannon Appelcline, author of Designers & Dragons, received legal notice from TSR to stop posting D&D material online in the 1990's. Thing was, he wasn't posting about D&D! Listen to hear the story, and how Shannon came to write his comprehensive look at RPG history. 

Ben’s book on RPG adventure design, Encounter Theory, is on DriveThruRPG. Click here to pick up this essential volume!

Like Plot Points? Support it on Patreon at the $2 level, and you’ll get a sneak peek into Ben’s book about the sale of TSR to Wizards of the Coast! This chapter concerns TSR West, an effort by TSR to open an LA office devoted to producing comic books, an effort that failed rather impressively. It is the product of a dozen interviews with professionals from comics, gaming, and Hollywood, and as far as I can reckon, it is a tale entirely untold until now.  

Image courtesy of Evil Hat Productions.  

Theme music courtesy 50 Breaks.

The Plot Points gang does another chapter delve, reading chapter by chapter the latest D&D 5E release, Descent into Avernus. Ben also gives an update on the history of TSR. 

Ben’s book on RPG adventure design, Encounter Theory, is on DriveThruRPG. Click here to pick up this essential volume!

Like Plot Points? Support it on Patreon at the $2 level, and you’ll get a sneak peek into Ben’s book about the sale of TSR to Wizards of the Coast! This chapter concerns TSR West, an effort by TSR to open an LA office devoted to producing comic books, an effort that failed rather impressively. It is the product of a dozen interviews with professionals from comics, gaming, and Hollywood, and as far as I can reckon, it is a tale entirely untold until now.  

Image courtesy of Wizards of the Coast.  

Theme music courtesy 50 Breaks.

You're a dinosaur! And a princess! Solve problems and cheer in this G-rated game for beginners.

Ben’s book on RPG adventure design, Encounter Theory, is on DriveThruRPG. Click here to pick up this essential volume!

Like Plot Points? Support it on Patreon at the $2 level, and you’ll get a sneak peek into Ben’s book about the sale of TSR to Wizards of the Coast! This chapter concerns TSR West, an effort by TSR to open an LA office devoted to producing comic books, an effort that failed rather impressively. It is the product of a dozen interviews with professionals from comics, gaming, and Hollywood, and as far as I can reckon, it is a tale entirely untold until now.  

Image courtesy of Ardens Ludere.  

Theme music courtesy 50 Breaks.

In 1996, Random House returned a huge amount of material to TSR. To move the company back into the black, layoffs were planned and carried out on December 20th, 1996. This is the story of that day.

Ben’s book on RPG adventure design, Encounter Theory, is on DriveThruRPG. Click here to pick up this essential volume!

Like Plot Points? Support it on Patreon at the $2 level, and you’ll get a sneak peek into Ben’s book about the sale of TSR to Wizards of the Coast! This chapter concerns TSR West, an effort by TSR to open an LA office devoted to producing comic books, an effort that failed rather impressively. It is the product of a dozen interviews with professionals from comics, gaming, and Hollywood, and as far as I can reckon, it is a tale entirely untold until now.  

Image courtesy of Wizards of the Coast.  

Theme music courtesy 50 Breaks.

Hideous Creatures, a new horror bestiary from Pelgrane Press, makes Lovecraft's old, familiar, creatures fresh and scary again. Ben, Brad, & Sarah take a deep look at this hot book. 

Ben’s book on RPG adventure design, Encounter Theory, is on DriveThruRPG. Click here to pick up this essential volume!

Like Plot Points? Support it on Patreon at the $2 level, and you’ll get a sneak peek into Ben’s book about the sale of TSR to Wizards of the Coast! This chapter concerns TSR West, an effort by TSR to open an LA office devoted to producing comic books, an effort that failed rather impressively. It is the product of a dozen interviews with professionals from comics, gaming, and Hollywood, and as far as I can reckon, it is a tale entirely untold until now.  

Image courtesy of Pelgrane Press.  

Theme music courtesy 50 Breaks.

A 1979 contract between Random House and TSR would take 18 years to kill the company that started the role-playing game hobby. Thanks to historian Micheal Calleia, Ben has a copy of that very contract, and discusses how it led TSR to near bankruptcy in 1997 with TSR alums James Lowder, Chaosium’s executive editor, and John Rateliff, an internationally renowned Tolkien scholar. 

Ben’s book on RPG adventure design, Encounter Theory, is on DriveThruRPG. Click here to pick up this essential volume!

Like Plot Points? Support it on Patreon at the $2 level, and you’ll get a sneak peek into Ben’s book about the sale of TSR to Wizards of the Coast! This chapter concerns TSR West, an effort by TSR to open an LA office devoted to producing comic books, an effort that failed rather impressively. It is the product of a dozen interviews with professionals from comics, gaming, and Hollywood, and as far as I can reckon, it is a tale entirely untold until now.  

Image courtesy Wizards of the Coast.  

Theme music courtesy 50 Breaks.