Rene Plays Games

By Rene Legault

Hi! I’m Rene (pronounced Rainy) and I want to share my love of roleplaying games with you! Join me as I play through smaller publisher games, talk design and gaming topics with friends, and explore al... more

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FAQs about Rene Plays Games:

How many episodes does Rene Plays Games have?

The podcast currently has 88 episodes available.

Rene Plays Games episodes:

July 23, 2024[In Development] | Rene's TTRPG Design Diaries
Get deep enough into the indie tabletop RPG scene and eventually you'll come up with an idea that you want to play out in a game, but you can't find a good match for it (despite the thousands of games out there). So what do you do? You start making one yourself!

Most people homebrew rules in their favorite RPGs, and if you think about it, even that is game design in a way. You're no longer playing the game you were before right out of the book or box, you've added your own piece to engage with the story that you felt worked better in a particular situation. It may seem crazy, but anyone can make a game, either hacking an existing system or coming up with something entirely new, it just depends on how much work you're willing to put into it!

In this episode, Rene talks about all the games he's got in various states of development and completion, either through recognizing a niche that hasn't been explored well enough, or just an idea he couldn't get out of his silly head.

Please reach out if any of these ideas seem good to you and let's playtest them or urge me to finish them!
Empires of Rust - Post-Catastrophe Exploration & Community Building RPG
BRP Design Challenge - T.I.M.E. Unit; Time Travel RPG
Party Animals - Young player RPG where you play animals working together
MECH - Carved by RUNE solo RPG pitting mech vs. kaiju
Shared Dice Pool / Multiple Resolution Mechanics
Modular Classless Progression System
Cell(F) Defense - Play as white blood cells in the human body during infection/injury
The Estate - Tarot prompt-based year of an artist at a legendary estate
A Modern Discovery of Magic - What if magic was discovered in the 1910s?
Candles in the Dark Library - Dark academia Forged in the Dark
Decktectives - 2-player Buddy Cop RPG using a deck of cards & poker mechanics
All That Jazz - A music-making improv game of tossing dice and filling out sheet music
Lumen & Nox - The battle between light & dark in us all with Mass Effect style morality tracking & grid-based combat where light/dark affects your options
Pokemon TCG RPG - Just a way to use those old pokemon cards to tell shared 'mon stories without the many overtuned fan-made Pokemon RPGs out there...

Download Rene's Finished Games (for free!):
One Last Quest - bring back your favorite characters for one more mission as elderly versions of themselves!
Pine Island - Rene & Christian's first game for the PocketQuest 2022 summer game jam. Play as campers or counselors at a summer camp where nothing at all creepy will happen, surely...

Where to Follow Rene Plays Games:
Instagram | Facebook | Twitter/X | Threads | DMs After Dark
email: [email protected]

Music in the Episode:
Theme Song written & produced by Dan Pomfret | @danfrombothbands
...more
1h 1min
July 16, 2024 NOTORIOUS/OUTSIDERS | Episode 4: Wanted
Welcome back to the developing trilogy of the bot-human construct Nomad ISIL-8 in NOTORIOUS and OUTSIDERS by Jason Price, a.k.a. Always Checkers Publishing.

ISIL-8 finds themselves wanted on the planet of Arro after their run-in with the hostile hunting down a rogue hacker. Bounties go up through the Guild to bring the missing Bot-Construct in however possible, but ISIL-8 still has a job through Huska's Corsairs and questions of their own to answer about the Company that created them.

Tracking down leads including the target Xed Gron's hacker ally, being confronted by a hired assassin, and meeting other discarded victim's of Arro's corporate experiments, ISIL-8 finally finds the loudmouth Quadoi, but their answers about the cloning program will have to wait, as they're ambushed on the way off planet... Luckily, they've taken a hostage.

Where to Follow Rene Plays Games:
Instagram | Facebook | X/Twitter | Threads | DMs After Dark
email: [email protected]

Music in the Episode:
Theme Song written & produced by Dan Pomfret | @danfrombothbands
Cyberpunk City from TabletopAudio.com
Docking Bay from TabletopAudio.com
Dungeon Collapse from TabletopAudio.com
Mega City Slums from TabletopAudio.com
Robot Scrapyard from TabletopAudio.com
Sand Raiders from TabletopAudio.com
Stakeout from TabletopAudio.com
Starforged: Planetside from TabletopAudio.com
Weirder Things 2 from TabletopAudio.com
...more
59min
July 09, 2024 Perspective Checks | Matt Risby (The Bad Spot) - Solo Gaming for an Audience
Welcome to another episode of Perspective Checks where I sit down with a friend in the TTRPG world and discuss a topic of their choice!

If you're familiar with Ironsworn, especially Starforged, this week's guest likely needs no introduction - Matt Risby is the man behind the microphone for the incredible podcast The Bad Spot, which has 3 incredible seasons of Ironsworn: Starforged, some original Ironsworn, and is just beginning its brand new Sundered Isles series!

In this episode, we talk about playing solo RPGs, how it's a different experience as one shared among friends, and how it gets even more complicated when you're making solo RPG content for an audience. We talk a lot about how running games for groups has made us better at playing solo, and how the opposite also works - solo play greatly enhances your GMing at a full table! Matt heaps praise on Jason Cordova / The Gauntlet's The Between, a Victorian horror RPG which builds on Brindlewood Bay's mystery mechanics, and we have a blast talking about our journeys in solo gaming.

You can follow The Bad Spot on Twitter at @thebadspotcast and go subscribe to the YouTube page to catch up on the adventures of Gideon & Lorenzo in Ironsworn: Sundered Isles!

Where to Follow Rene Plays Games:
Instagram | Facebook | Twitter/X | Threads | DMs After Dark
email: [email protected]

Music in the Episode:
Theme Song written & produced by Dan Pomfret | @danfrombothbands
...more
1h 18min
July 02, 2024 NOTORIOUS/OUTSIDERS | Episode 3: Arro, Planet of Crime & Grime
Welcome back to the developing trilogy of the bot-human construct Nomad ISIL-8 in NOTORIOUS and OUTSIDERS by Jason Price, a.k.a. Always Checkers Publishing.

ISIL-8 has failed The Guild and failed to complete a bounty, leaving the frozen planet of Utov without their target Aura Day, a.k.a. Ka Lirra, one of the masterminds behind the bot-construct clone army ISIL-8 was created for. However, Ka Lirra left a message and coordinates for ISIL-8 to follow if they survived which lead out to the far edges of the galaxy, to a corporate planet named Arro where crimelords rule, and businesses can experiment with sketchy funding.

Before they can dock at a spaceport and begin their search for answers about themself, ISIL-8 is cornered by space pirates known as Huska's Corsairs, rich raiders of the edges of the galaxy who operate out of Arro. In order to get planetside, ISIL-8 has to take a job for them to hunt down a loudmouth Quadoi (4-armed alien) who has a habit of leaking information and ruining profitable raids.

Where to Follow Rene Plays Games:
Instagram | Facebook | X/Twitter | Threads | DMs After Dark
email: [email protected]

Music in the Episode:
Theme Song written & produced by Dan Pomfret | @danfrombothbands
Endless Voyage from TabletopAudio.com
Goblin Ambush from TabletopAudio.com
Mega City Slums from TabletopAudio.com
Orbital Prison Break from TabletopAudio.com
Stakeout from TabletopAudio.com
Starbase Omega from TabletopAudio.com
...more
56min
July 02, 2024 [Bonus] RUNE for June
Not a 5th Tuesday bonus episode, but just keeping up the rhyming bonus episodes with Gila RPGs solo games and in June that means RUNE. Similar to REAP, which I played back in February for the Leap Year, RUNE is a solo TTRPG based on the Dark Souls and Elden Ring games, and it plays just as punishing (you'll see).

If you want to hear Spencer play through this realm on his YouTube channel, you can watch it here, and if you want pick up Aaron Joliffe's RUNE Realms and content, you can find his games on his itch.io page.

Where to Follow Rene Plays Games:
Instagram | Facebook | X/Twitter | Threads | Itch.io | DMs After Dark
email: [email protected]

Music in the Episode:
Theme Song written & produced by Dan Pomfret | @danfrombothbands
Court of the Count from TabletopAudio.com
Escape from Shadow from TabletopAudio.com
Lord of Bones from TabletopAudio.com
Survivors' Bivouac from TabletopAudio.com
Through The Woods from TabletopAudio.com
Witch Mountain from TabletopAudio.com
...more
58min
June 25, 2024Mining Media | Persona Video Game Series
Welcome to another Mining Media where we turn your binging into better TTRPG experiences. In this episode we're talking about Atlus' video game franchise Persona. These JRPGs are some of the best video games I've ever played, they're full of great tactical turn-based combat, interesting dungeons, shadow worlds and slice of life as teenagers in modern Japan. But, most importantly, these games have TONS of great stuff to consider yoinking for your games!

Take home points:
Mechanizing social ranks between PCs and NPCs encourages them to search out certain types of scenes, interactions, and through introspection, character development, and improving bonds in the real world, their combat prowess increases in certain ways.
Use time as pressure - the game happens day to day (so do most RPGs), but when your ability in battle is tied to your handling of responsibilities and relationships in the real world, what you do on those days begins to matter more.
Classic roles with a twist - in the games, your party will fill in with the "physical attacker," the "glass cannon magic user," and more traditional roles, but each character uses a specific type of magic that affects different enemies, so even when their main role isn't applicable, their secondary unique characteristic is! Encourage this type of idea so your characters always have an interesting option

Now go play some Persona and get back to me in a few months!

Download Rene's One-Page RPG One Last Quest and bring back your favorite characters for one more mission as elderly versions of themselves!

Where to Follow Rene Plays Games:
Instagram | Facebook | Twitter/X | Threads | DMs After Dark
email: [email protected]

Music in the Episode:
Your Love Is What I Need by Soundroll from #Uppbeat:
https://uppbeat.io/t/soundroll/your-love-is-what-i-need
...more
20min
June 18, 2024 NOTORIOUS/OUTSIDERS | Episode 2: The Crystal Contract, Part II
Welcome back to the developing trilogy of the bot-human construct Nomad ISIL-8 in NOTORIOUS and OUTSIDERS by Jason Price, a.k.a. Always Checkers Publishing.

After wandering the frozen planet of Utov hunting for the whereabouts of a blueprint thief named Aura Day, a charming Pellucid, or crystalline species, member of the New Uprising, ISIL-8 was turned away and eventually outgunned by one of their potential leads. Luckily, they had saved a New Uprising mystic doctor - Ka Lirra - when they arrived on planet, and were brought in for treatment.

Now the hunt is back on, because the Guild never always fulfills a bounty and remains neutral in the war between the Old Empire & the New Uprising, the Trade Alliance profiting from the entire thing, and all the other factions tied up in the conflict.

However, when ISIL-8 begins making some progress, all signs point backwards...

Where to Follow Rene Plays Games:
Instagram | Facebook | X/Twitter | Threads | DMs After Dark
email: [email protected]

Music in the Episode:
Theme Song written & produced by Dan Pomfret | @danfrombothbands
Laser Blaster sounds from Zapsplat.com
Dark City from TabletopAudio.com
Mech War from TabletopAudio.com
Robot Scrapyard from TabletopAudio.com
Solemn Vow from TabletopAudio.com
Starforged Fray from TabletopAudio.com
Survivors' Bivouac from TabletopAudio.com
Weirder Things 2 from TabletopAudio.com
...more
54min
June 11, 2024 Perspective Checks | Jordan (Goosepoop Games) - Zines & Indie Publishing
Welcome to another episode of Perspective Checks where I sit down with a friend in the TTRPG world and discuss a topic of their choice!

I met this episode's guest on the relatively new social media platform Threads, where the RPG community is still pretty small and interactive. Jordan is a Mainer and runs the small game company Goosepoop Games where he is focused on making silly, wholesome games. I knew I had to talk to them when I saw a recent game of theirs called Good Soup - a wholesome game where you play as woodland creatures in the Soup Troupe with alternate mechanics involving spoonfuls of a real, shared soup (preferably separate bowls but you do you).

In this episode we talk about zines in the TTRPG space, the importance of community, why we love silly games, and creativity as an outlet but also as a job.

Where to Follow Rene Plays Games:
Instagram | Facebook | Twitter/X | Threads | DMs After Dark
email: [email protected]

Music in the Episode:
Theme Song written & produced by Dan Pomfret | @danfrombothbands
...more
1h 10min
June 04, 2024 NOTORIOUS/OUTSIDERS | Episode 1: ISIL-8 & The Crystal Contract, Part I
A brand new beginning! For the first time since the podcast started I'm starting a brand new series, and I'm super excited to be playing "Trilogy Mode" combining NOTORIOUS and OUTSIDERS by Jason Price, a.k.a. Always Checkers Publishing. These games recreate the solo bounty hunter vibes of Star Wars (especially the Mandalorian), Cowboy Bebop, and westerns/space operas so well.
Also, Jason has a Kickstarter running for another week at the time of this episode publishing for Revolt!, a fantasy TTRPG of overthrowing a monarchy with card based mechanics for solo to 4 players, so check it out!

In our new series, we create our Nomad, the Bot-Human Construct known as ISIL-8, one of many identical bots created by the Trade Alliance for use in war, but who has gained individual sentience through a malfunction, damage, or clever hacking.
They are employed as a bounty hunter as they live on the run from the corporation that still considers them property, and they've taken a bounty for Aura Day, a Pellucid (crystalline humanoid) hiding out on the frozen planet Utov, wanted for stealing and sharing blueprints of The Old Empire's with the New Uprising (oh yea, we're going there).
This may end up being more than 3 episodes, because this first one doesn't go super well, but it certainly was full of awesome events!

Where to Follow Rene Plays Games:
Instagram | Facebook | X/Twitter | Threads | DMs After Dark
email: [email protected]

Music in the Episode:
Theme Song written & produced by Dan Pomfret | @danfrombothbands
Warriyo - Mortals (feat. Laura Brehm) [NCS Release]
Music provided by NoCopyrightSounds
Free Download/Stream: http://ncs.io/mortals
Watch: http://youtu.be/yJg-Y5byMMw
Docking Bay from TabletopAudio.com
Gravity from TabletopAudio.com
Lonesome West from TabletopAudio.com
Robot Scrapyard from TabletopAudio.com
Solemn Vow from TabletopAudio.com
...more
1h 4min
May 28, 2024Mining Media | Fallout TV Series
Welcome to another Mining Media where we turn your binging into better TTRPG experiences. In this episode we're talking about Amazon Prime's new video game to TV adaptation Fallout. Based on the hit video game franchise, season one takes some liberties with what's been established in the games but succeeds in making an enjoyable, pretty true to universe story that uses a lot of great techniques you can pull for your tabletop RPG campaigns.

The take home points are:
Give your characters "ghosts" (from YouTuber ALuckyMuse), which are people, events, and obligations from their past which continue to haunt PCs, either through traumatic experiences, voices always heard when they look inward (trusted or derogatory), or similar which inform their misconceptions about the world, their beliefs, and can justify their actions when they're not necessarily the best.
Don't worry about character imbalance when it comes to power. Everyone has a role in the party, it's okay for someone to be overpowered in one aspect, but make sure it has a drawback (e.g. the Ghoul's need for the drugs, Maximus's inexperience with the jumpsuit, Lucy's naivety).
When adapting canon, don't play in what's known - focus on the "what ifs." What if this took place in the northern forests of Canada? Each faction might still exist, but they'd have very different goals, problems, and methods. What if we played our story before the events of New Vegas? or after?

Download Rene's One-Page RPG One Last Quest and bring back your favorite characters for one more mission as elderly versions of themselves!

Where to Follow Rene Plays Games:
Instagram | Facebook | Twitter/X | Threads | DMs After Dark
email: [email protected]

Music in the Episode:
Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):
https://uppbeat.io/t/adi-goldstein/i-dont-need-your-love
License code: FSMKKQOUT4ZD4EHK
...more
20min

FAQs about Rene Plays Games:

How many episodes does Rene Plays Games have?

The podcast currently has 88 episodes available.