Welcome to THAC0 . . . with Advantage! We’re two friends that have been playing D&D a long time. While we both love lots of other RPGs, D&D changes over time when we’re not looking.

When your NPCs has personalities and goals, it can make your world feel more dynamic. But what happens when that NPC depth remains static over a campaign that spans years? How can we advance our NPCs so that they’re not just two-dimensional, but they actually travel through the fourth dimension. Today on the show we’re going to look at how and why to change your campaign NPCs over time. 

Random tables for determining the traits of NPCs go all the way back to the AD&D 1e Dungeon Master’s Guide. The “Facts Tables” included details like Alignment, Possessions, Appearance, Sanity, General Tendencies, Personality, Interests, Collections, and Random Languages. You could have a neutral NPC with average wealth who is mature, neurotic, malevolent, friendly, and altruistic, collects books and scrolls, and speaks the language of stone giants. The DMG doesn’t say you need to use every table, just that you should have at least three general traits, and the DM is told to reroll any contradictory results. But is it REALLY contradictory to be malevolently friendly and altruistic? Was passive aggressiveness invented yet in the 1970s?

Show us what you do when you’re sitting in a game you’re not enjoying — for whatever reason! Phil and Senda talk sitting down to a game you discover you don’t like, and what we’d do in that situation (spoilers: be polite, but don’t cause yourself harm).

Bamboo Lounge for Patreon backers today! Find these and more at http://patreon.com/mmp.

Find us on the internet or drop us a topic : https://polygamero.us/panda

Also, if you are interested in that Larp Senda keeps talking about, there are three more runs upcoming in 2027 — check it out! https://www.mooneybinentertainment.com/2027-dresden

Under the Lamplight (UtLL) is the Streets of Avalon RPG companion podcast where Brett and Chris talk about the setting and the game. The Streets of Avalon RPG is a Low Fantasy Urban RPG focused on the stories of people living in a city of classism, corruption, and decay while trying to bring a little light into their lives and the people closest to them.

Episode twelve of Under the Lamplight. The Streets of Avalon RPG companion podcast. Brett and Chris chat about the Sewers and their dirty while useful role in the city of Avalon.

Here’s the playtest book: The Streets of Avalon RPG

This game is designed by Chris Sniezak. The setting and lore was created by Brett Bloczynski.

Chris here. Check for updates to the game and the ongoing development blog on thestreetsofavalon.com our home for all things Streets of Avalon

I’ll also be organizing some short 3 and 4 session games of the Streets of Avalon through the Thac0 with advantage discord.

Here’s the Goggle Sheet for feedback

Dom, Sheldon, and Colt are on the case of Deora Trots murder. Tune in this week to find out what happens next on Skritches. An athroanimal story of Crime, Comedy, and Drama

Content Warning: This episode contains depictions of violence, blood and gore.

Under the Lamplight (UtLL) is the Streets of Avalon RPG companion podcast where Brett and Chris talk about the setting and the game. The Streets of Avalon RPG is a Low Fantasy Urban RPG focused on the stories of people living in a city of classism, corruption, and decay while trying to bring a little light into their lives and the people closest to them.

Episode Ten of Under the Lamplight. The Streets of Avalon RPG companion podcast. Brett and Chris chat about the ruins of Thorbrindor under the city of Avalon and the historic significance it plays there.

Here’s the playtest book: The Streets of Avalon RPG

This game is designed by Chris Sniezak. The setting and lore was created by Brett Bloczynski.

Chris here. Check for updates to the game and the ongoing development blog on thestreetsofavalon.com our home for all things Streets of Avalon

I’ll also be organizing some short 3 and 4 session games of the Streets of Avalon through the Thac0 with advantage discord.

Here’s the Goggle Sheet for feedback

It’s sure been a time! Phil and Senda talk their 2025 gaming, then things to look forward to in 2026.

This feels like a good time to reiterate that we have specifically chosen to maintain this podcast space (as much as we can) as a place where you will not be jump scared by current events. We’ve done this not because we don’t care, but because we all need a rest stop along the way so that we can keep going. We would like to create that space for you when you need it — come take a breath with us.

Bamboo Lounge for Patreon backers today! Find these and more at http://patreon.com/mmp.

Find us on the internet or drop us a topic : https://polygamero.us/panda

Join Senda with Erika Skirpan as they have a conversation about safety in LARPs and Tabletop RPGs and how to do it in ways that enhance your games.

Links:

Mooney Bin Entertainment

Sinking Ship Creations

Dom, Sheldon, and Colt are on the case of Deora Trots murder. Tune in this week to find out what happens next on Skritches. An athroanimal story of Crime, Comedy, and Drama

Content Warning: This episode contains depictions of violence, blood and gore.

Welcome to THAC0 . . . with Advantage! We’re two friends that have been playing D&D a long time. While we both love lots of other RPGs, D&D has the lucky number that keeps coming up.

Have you ever heard someone explain to a new player that the great thing about RPGs is that you can do anything you want? Have you ever thought about what that really means, and if it’s actually true? How do you create a space where everyone can share their imaginative choices, where everyone’s imaginations live in the same space? We’re going to look at the limits of player agency in today’s episode.

You may have heard there early D&D had the role of a Caller, the person that coordinates all of the actions of the rest of the PCs and presents the “final answer” for what the party is doing to the DM. But where can you find more about that role and what it does? Well, not in the original edition of the D&D Rules, in any of the brown box white booklets. Also not in the AD&D 1e Dungeon Master’s Guide. Does that mean that OD&D and AD&D 1e didn’t expect you to have a caller? Oh, no, they did, they just didn’t tell you what it was. Both sources include the concept in their examples of play (although the DMG calls it the lead character instead of the caller). Its one of those rules from the tabletop wargaming hobby that you should just know if you were playing D&D. But wait, you’re old like me and remember the caller was definitely defined somewhere, and yes, it was. In the BX Basic Set, the caller is defined as the player whose job it is to listen to all of the other players, clarify what the party wants to do, and present it to the DM. Hard to believe players these days are so soft that they need you to explain rules instead of just imply them from examples. What’s gaming coming to. 

Dom, Sheldon, and Colt are on the case of Deora Trots murder. Tune in this week to find out what happens next on Skritches. An athroanimal story of Crime, Comedy, and Drama

Content Warning: This episode contains depictions of violence, blood and gore.