Welcome to another episode of Perspective Checks where I sit down with friends and folks from the TTRPG world and discuss what they love about this wonderful hobby!

This month I'm joined by Peach of The Dice Sisters discord! They're a community who helps curate and provide safe gaming space for women, nonbinary, and trans TTRPG players. As I say early on in the episode, I'd love to believe that the community at large is as welcoming and accepting a place as I believe it to be because of fortunate experiences and friends groups, but that's not always the case, so places like these are important to ensuring people can play in a place they're comfortable.

I speak with Peach about her experiences getting the discord up and running, reaching out and networking to create a better community both online and in the real world, and exploring games in a safe way.

I hope you enjoy it, and if you want to reach out to Peach about the discord, you can find her @DungeonPeach or send an email to [email protected] 

Stay safe out there!

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If you'd like to give me some feedback about what you like or want to hear more of on the podcast, you can fill out the super simple poll here.

I made a Ko-Fi if you feel absurdly generous and want to help cover podcast hosting costs & all the upkeep. I'm still working on whether I want to offer anything special over there or just give my extreme gratitude (maybe some stickers or something in the mail) to those who donate, but no pressure whatsoever :)

Where to Follow Rene Plays Games:

LinkTree |  BlueSky | Threads | Instagram | Facebook | DMs After Dark

Rene's Games:

MECH | One Last Quest

email: [email protected]

Music in the Episode (in order of appearance):

Theme Song written & produced by Dan Pomfret | @danfrombothbands

Join the DMs After Dark Discord channel!

Welcome back to the Heart of the Dominion and season 2 of my Ironsworn: Sundered Isles series. 

Cassidy leads the Revenant to a mysterious island at the behest of Senator Minos. Along the way, Damaris Iver describes the terrible secrets he began to uncover about the Kyrody Dominion's use of sky iron, the nature of these islands in the Heart of the Dominion, and the picture begins to come into focus. 

On the island, Cassidy and Senator Minos rush into a ruins chasing the ghost of Leigh Stirling and find strange carvings and writing all over. If deciphered, could they have the answers the Senator is looking for?

Learn more about Ironsworn here.

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I made a Ko-Fi if you feel absurdly generous and want to help cover podcast hosting costs & all the upkeep. I'm still working on whether I want to offer anything special over there or just give my extreme gratitude (maybe some stickers or something in the mail) to those who donate, but no pressure whatsoever :)

Where to Follow Rene Plays Games:

LinkTree |  BlueSky | Threads | Instagram | Facebook | DMs After Dark

Rene's Games:

MECH | One Last Quest

email: [email protected]

Music in the Episode (in order of appearance):

Dark Continent by TabletopAudio.com

Dying World by TabletopAudio.com

Haunted by TabletopAudio.com

Sunken Temple by TabletopAudio.com

Vault of Terror by TabletopAudio.com

Skull Island by TabletopAudio.com

Mysterious Grotto by TabletopAudio.com

Theme Song written & produced by Dan Pomfret | @danfrombothbands

Join the DMs After Dark discord!

Tabletop Two-torial! It's the second episode of this two-player "learn a game together" series and this time I'm joined by Troy from the DMs After Dark for a game of Hunt(er/ed) by Meghan Cross & Dillin Apelyan of the One Shot Podcast Network!

Hunt(er/ed) is a game of a hunter and a monster, and the back and forth in the game of life and death between them. The mechanics are SO fun and involve literally racing to try and roll doubles on dice faster, and then consulting prompts from a deck of cards which deepen the meaning behind the hunt with each step forward and back, coming closer or letting your prey slip between your fingers...

We had a blast with this game and I totally recommend it! Hope you enjoy!

Content Warnings: Language, descriptions of death, nightmares, and guilt.

Also, the Monument Studios folks are about to launch their Fantasy+ tabletop audio app after their successful Kickstarter, so I used music from their catalog for this episode to show you how you can use their library to improve your games! Go check it out!

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If you haven't but you'd like to, get yourself some stickers or give me some feedback by filling out my poll here.

I made a Ko-Fi if you feel absurdly generous and want to help cover podcast hosting costs & all the upkeep. I'm still working on whether I want to offer anything special over there or just give my extreme gratitude (maybe some stickers or something in the mail) to those who donate, but no pressure whatsoever :)

Where to Follow Rene Plays Games:

LinkTree |  BlueSky | Threads | Instagram | Facebook | DMs After Dark

MECH | One Last Quest

email: [email protected]

Music in the Episode (in order of appearance):

Across the Plains by Monument Studios

High Noon by Monument Studios

Knife Sharpen by Monument Studios

The Stranger by TabletopAudio.com

Emotional Dulcimers by Monument Studios

Traveler Guitar by Monument Studios

Wicked by Monument Studios

Aftermath by Monument Studios

Theme Song written & produced by Dan Pomfret | @danfrombothbands

Join the DMs After Dark Discord channel!

Welcome back to the Heart of the Dominion and season 2 of my Ironsworn: Sundered Isles series. 

Cassidy has reached Damaris Iver in the guise of the companion Blythe Bannister, but Leigh senses trouble coming to stop their prison break. Someone much higher up the social power ladder has taken an interest into the unfolding events that Cassidy has found herself wrapped up in, and she may just be overmatched...

Learn more about Ironsworn here.

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I made a Ko-Fi if you feel absurdly generous and want to help cover podcast hosting costs & all the upkeep. I'm still working on whether I want to offer anything special over there or just give my extreme gratitude (maybe some stickers or something in the mail) to those who donate, but no pressure whatsoever :)

Where to Follow Rene Plays Games:

LinkTree |  BlueSky | Threads | Instagram | Facebook | DMs After Dark

Rene's Games:

MECH | One Last Quest

email: [email protected]

Music in the Episode (in order of appearance):

Secret Facility by TabletopAudio.com

Hidden Passage by TabletopAudio.com

Ice Dragon by TabletopAudio.com

The Undercroft by TabletopAudio.com

The Stranger by TabletopAudio.com

Unveiling Atmos by Monument Studios

Theme Song written & produced by Dan Pomfret | @danfrombothbands

Welcome to another episode of Perspective Checks where I sit down with friends and folks from the TTRPG world and discuss what they love about this wonderful hobby!

This month is LONG overdue and is a sit down and chat with Christian from the DMs After Dark about playing games in sandbox worlds. Christian and I have been friends for many years now and have been fueling one another's RPG collecting and dissecting obsessions, and it's always great to sit down with him and talk games. 

Christian has written multiple excellent Call of Cthulhu scenarios (linked below) and is currently running the DMs through the RuneQuest campaign Company of the Dragon. This is a great chat full of really useful advice if you want to play better sandbox (as opposed to railroad) games at your table.

Also... we preview and promise a quickstart of our upcoming community rebuilding and survival after a grid down event game, so listen to the end for a little excited talk about that!

Get Deadfellas and Christian's other games (The Night Mother's Moon and Zennor & the Sins of St. Senara)

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I made a Ko-Fi if you feel absurdly generous and want to help cover podcast hosting costs & all the upkeep. I'm still working on whether I want to offer anything special over there or just give my extreme gratitude (maybe some stickers or something in the mail) to those who donate, but no pressure whatsoever :)

Where to Follow Rene Plays Games:

LinkTree |  BlueSky | Threads | Instagram | Facebook | DMs After Dark

Rene's Games:

MECH | One Last Quest

email: [email protected]

Music in the Episode (in order of appearance):

Theme Song written & produced by Dan Pomfret | @danfrombothbands

Welcome back to the Heart of the Dominion and season 2 of my Ironsworn: Sundered Isles series. 

Having fled the horrible ambush on the sky island, Cassidy gets back to the Revenant just as several ships close in on the sky island for their own chance to reap the rare sky iron resources - known in the Dominion as oléthrios iron. She musters the crew and sails boldly back through the ships and meets back up with Quon to plan out the jailbreak of Damaris Iver, an Ebb Investigator currently being held in Deepwater Harbor's impenetrable dungeons...

Learn more about Ironsworn here.

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I made a Ko-Fi if you feel absurdly generous and want to help cover podcast hosting costs & all the upkeep. I'm still working on whether I want to offer anything special over there or just give my extreme gratitude (maybe some stickers or something in the mail) to those who donate, but no pressure whatsoever :)

Where to Follow Rene Plays Games:

LinkTree |  BlueSky | Threads | Instagram | Facebook | DMs After Dark

Rene's Games:

MECH | One Last Quest

email: [email protected]

Music in the Episode (in order of appearance):

Vault of Terror by TabletopAudio.com

Ship of the Line by TabletopAudio.com

High Seas Pursuit by TabletopAudio.com

Trireme by TabletopAudio.com

Dark City by TabletopAudio.com

Dull Braam (D) by Monument Studios

Theme Song written & produced by Dan Pomfret | @danfrombothbands

Welcome back to Mining Media where we turn your binging into better TTRPG experiences by missing my chance to say the right thing, then botching the chance I got to redeem myself, then thinking it's all hopeless until the stars align and we're standing across from one another in the first place we ever met... We're talking Romance!

 Continuing our February Valentine's theme through to Mining Media, let's talk about the oft-ill-handled but ever so tempting and promising idea of romantic plots in your tabletop RPGs. 

I watched a lot of rom-coms and referenced a fair amount of my RPG collection for helpful language and sections of books talking about handling romance responsibly, safely, and carefully, and here's my take-home points for romance at the table:

Games Referenced: 

Homework: Think about your character and what type of person might draw their romantic side out. How would their behavior change? How would that affect their goals, existing relationships, and more?

Now go put on a rom-com or grab your favorite romance novel and tell me what kind of plot-line your character would want to explore!

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I made a Ko-Fi if you feel absurdly generous and want to help cover podcast hosting costs & all the upkeep. I'm still working on whether I want to offer anything special over there or just give my extreme gratitude (maybe some stickers or something in the mail) to those who donate, but no pressure whatsoever :)

Where to Follow Rene Plays Games:

LinkTree | Instagram | Facebook | BlueSky | Threads | DMs After Dark

email: [email protected]

Music in the Episode:

From Uppbeat: https://uppbeat.io/t/needmospace/afternoon-nap 

Welcome back to the Heart of the Dominion and season 2 of my Ironsworn: Sundered Isles series. 

After a brief conversation with Quon, the clockwork contact for the Ebb, about freeing an important prisoner in Deepwater Harbor's dungeons, Cassidy rushes to fulfill her iron vow to Church of the Enduring Servant's Inquisitor Azriel Stirling to protect the crew of the Enduring Blade as they claim it for resources. However, when the Revenant arrives before any others, Cassidy investigates the sky island and experiences a horrible prophecy in the mists... One that quickly comes true as the Bloodsworn descend on the sky island.

Learn more about Ironsworn here.

----more----

If you haven't but you'd like to, get yourself some stickers or give me some feedback by filling out my poll here.

I made a Ko-Fi if you feel absurdly generous and want to help cover podcast hosting costs & all the upkeep. I'm still working on whether I want to offer anything special over there or just give my extreme gratitude (maybe some stickers or something in the mail) to those who donate, but no pressure whatsoever :)

Where to Follow Rene Plays Games:

LinkTree |  BlueSky | Threads | Instagram | Facebook | DMs After Dark

MECH | One Last Quest

email: [email protected]

Music in the Episode (in order of appearance):

Mother of Deceit Reprise by Monument Studios

Wherever the Path May Lead by Vindsvept

Solemn Vow by TabletopAudio.com

Voyage Begins by TabletopAudio.com

A World Divided by Vindsvept

Skull Island by TabletopAudio.com

Terror in the Woods by TabletopAudio.

Forsaken by Vindsvept

Happy Heart Day! As a bonus episode for the month of February (and because we love a good reason to do a holiday themed session), I've brought my wife Lynn back for a Valentine's Day one-shot. Last year was the not-so-romantic Call of Cthulhu scenario, but this year we're really leaning into the theme with...

Star Crossed by Alex Roberts! A game about two characters with a forbidden love, who really really want to, but really really can't!

We decide to keep the TTRPG vibes strong and go with a love story about two adventurers in the same party on a long, arduous quest. Would their love bring about the ruin of their mission, or are they just holding themselves back? Hope you enjoy!

----more----

If you haven't but you'd like to, get yourself some stickers or give me some feedback by filling out my poll here.

I made a Ko-Fi if you feel absurdly generous and want to help cover podcast hosting costs & all the upkeep. I'm still working on whether I want to offer anything special over there or just give my extreme gratitude (maybe some stickers or something in the mail) to those who donate, but no pressure whatsoever :)

Where to Follow Rene Plays Games:

LinkTree |  BlueSky | Threads | Instagram | Facebook | DMs After Dark

MECH | One Last Quest

email: [email protected]

Music in the Episode:

Theme Song written & produced by Dan Pomfret | @danfrombothbands

Welcome back to the Heart of the Dominion and season 2 of my Ironsworn: Sundered Isles series. 

In this episode, Cassidy negotiates with Azriel - an Inquisitor of the Church of the Enduring Servants and the resurrected brother of her ghost lover Leigh Stirling. After swearing an iron vow to protect the Enduring Blade in the upcoming race to the sky isle, she then reflects on the vow made in blood to her ship, The Revenant, and travels to the city of Crania on the largest island of Kyros, home of the Kyrody Dominion, to meet with her clockwork contact for the Ebb, who has an urgent, unexpected question...

Learn more about Ironsworn here.

----more----

If you haven't but you'd like to, get yourself some stickers or give me some feedback by filling out my poll here.

I made a Ko-Fi if you feel absurdly generous and want to help cover podcast hosting costs & all the upkeep. I'm still working on whether I want to offer anything special over there or just give my extreme gratitude (maybe some stickers or something in the mail) to those who donate, but no pressure whatsoever :)

Where to Follow Rene Plays Games:

LinkTree |  BlueSky | Threads | Instagram | Facebook | DMs After Dark

MECH | One Last Quest

email: [email protected]

Music in the Episode:

Theme Song written & produced by Dan Pomfret | @danfrombothbands

The Drowned Tower by TabletopAudio.com

Interrogation Room by TabletopAudio.com

Foreshadow by Monument Studios

Puzzle Dungeon by TabletopAudio.com

Haven by TabletopAudio.com