Roleplay Rescue

Today is the second of two extended conversations I’ve shared with some gaming luminaries over the course of a week, focused on answering some practical questions around the barriers I have long experienced in running consistent campaigns. These conversations were largely unplanned and are really just that - hopping online to talk and discuss some key ideas with my guest. 

This second conversation is with Simon Williams, a British artist and illustrator as well as being the creator of the Legend of The Bones podcast, a hybrid Solo Old School Dungeons and Dragons actual play and dark fantasy audio drama. Simon asks an important question: Do our players really want agency?

Big thank you to Simon from Legend of The Bones for coming and sharing his thoughts.

Legend of The Bones Podcast:

https://legendofthebones.podbean.com/

Game on!

Roleplay Rescue Details:

Voice Message:

speakpipe.com/roleplayrescue

Patreon:

patreon.com/rpgrescue 

Email:

[email protected]

Blog:

roleplayrescue.com 

Mastodon:

https://ttrpg-hangout.social/@UbiquitousRat

Roleplay Rescue Theme by Jon Cohen from Tale of the Manticore:

https://taleofthemanticore.podbean.com/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today is the first of two extended conversations I’ve shared with some gaming luminaries over the course of a week focused on answering some practical questions around the barriers I have long experienced in running consistent campaigns. These conversations were largely unplanned and are really just that - hopping online to talk and discuss some key ideas with my guest.

The first conversation was with Johnn Four, the founder of RoleplayingTips.com which began as a GM tips newsletter. Throughout the years, Johnn has published a GM advice column in Dragon Magazine, several books about how to improve your GMing, and continues to write on the topic of running better games. Johnn is perhaps best known for the 5 Room Dungeon and this was where we began our conversation… although we moved deeply on and, by the end of the conversation, Johnn helped me to unlock my own confidence in preparing a new fantasy campaign.

Big thanks to Johnn for joining us!

Thanks also to Spencer for the intro bumper!

RoleplayingTips:

http://roleplayingtips.com/

Campaign Logger:

https://app.campaign-logger.com/

Johnn and Jochen's Patreon:

https://www.patreon.com/johnnfour

Game on!

Roleplay Rescue Details:

Voice Message:

speakpipe.com/roleplayrescue

Patreon:

patreon.com/rpgrescue 

Email:

[email protected]

Blog:

roleplayrescue.com 

Mastodon:

https://ttrpg-hangout.social/@UbiquitousRat

Roleplay Rescue Theme by Jon Cohen from Tale of the Manticore:

https://taleofthemanticore.podbean.com/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Newfound clarity has given birth to some confidence and a much greater sense of my preferences in gaming. The last few weeks have seen seismic shifts in my sense of wellbeing alongside a growing sense of who I am as a GM. As with much of Roleplay Rescue, there is a sense that in sharing my own journey back towards the roleplaying I enjoyed so much as a young man, perhaps there is also an invitation for others to follow.

Following on from Episodes 14 and 15, I have found myself nudged towards setting up an early Bronze Age fantasy campaign which - as I began to conceive it - opened up an intuitive sense that I should return once again to my roots.

Thanks to Brian and Jason for the call-ins!

Game on!

Roleplay Rescue Details:

Voice Message:

speakpipe.com/roleplayrescue

Patreon:

patreon.com/rpgrescue 

Email:

[email protected]

Blog:

roleplayrescue.com 

Mastodon:

https://ttrpg-hangout.social/@UbiquitousRat

Roleplay Rescue Theme by Jon Cohen from Tale of the Manticore:

https://taleofthemanticore.podbean.com/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today I have another of my conversations with a friend within the roleplaying games community. This episode we dipped into talking about sparking creativity with younger students of varying ages - a comparison between my guest’s creative writing courses that utilise roleplaying games and my own school-based RPG club for teens.

My guest today is Runeslinger - Anthony Boyd - the creator of Casting Shadows, a blog offering commentary about roleplaying games and techniques for both players and adjudicators. Big thanks up front to my guest - Runeslinger, aka Anthony — for reaching out and asking if we could have this conversation. I found it very rich and hope that you will enjoy it too.

Game on!

Casting Shadows blog: Casting Shadows | Interactive roleplaying interaction (castingshadowsblog.com)

OR https://castingshadowsblog.com/

Casting Shadows podcast: Casting Shadows • A podcast on Spotify for Podcasters

OR https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/runeslinger

Casting Shadows on YouTube: Runeslinger - YouTube

OR https://www.youtube.com/user/Runeslinger

Roleplay Rescue Details:

Voice Message:

speakpipe.com/roleplayrescue

Patreon:

patreon.com/rpgrescue 

Email:

[email protected]

Blog:

roleplayrescue.com 

Mastodon:

https://ttrpg-hangout.social/@UbiquitousRat

Roleplay Rescue Theme by Jon Cohen from Tale of the Manticore:

https://taleofthemanticore.podbean.com/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello Rescuers! Here's another bonus - the third episode of Roleplay Rescue's Solo Tales!

This episode picks up where that one left off. Because this is a personal solo game, I’m going to be using a variety of tools and methods to create a game that I enjoy. In other words, while I am sharing the game in the hope of inspiring others to try solo play, I am also very much playing the game for my own enjoyment.

Thanks to Jon from Tale of the Manticore and Simon from Legend of the Bones for their inspiration.

Thanks also to Tabletop Audio for the additional music and ambient sounds:

Tabletop Audio - Ambiences and Music for Tabletop Role Playing Games

OR

https://tabletopaudio.com/

Game on!

Roleplay Rescue Solo Tales Details:

Voice Message:

speakpipe.com/roleplayrescue

Patreon:

patreon.com/rpgrescue 

Email:

[email protected]

Blog:

roleplayrescue.com 

Mastodon:

https://ttrpg-hangout.social/@UbiquitousRat

Roleplay Rescue Theme by TJ Drennon

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Having realised that I’ve been chasing my tail for the past 40 or so years in accepting a very simple misunderstanding as truth, the past couple of weeks have been an enriching and enjoyable period. While work and other commitments still limit my time to engage in play, the times when I do sit down to roleplay have been increasingly rich and enjoyable. 

The mission of the podcast has always been about helping gamers get back to the table. Throughout the past 12 seasons of Roleplay Rescue, we’ve been on a journey through many cycles of learning and growth which has helped not just me but also many other roleplayers get back to playing with greater confidence.

Today, I am taking the time to consider the core elements which - at least for me - make these games come alive at the table. My hope is that the discussion will spark some ideas for you on how to shift your play towards the specific combination of elements which would engage you the most.

Massive thanks to Frank, Brian, and Jason for the call ins. Please keep them coming!

Game on!

Roleplay Rescue Details:

Voice Message:

speakpipe.com/roleplayrescue

Patreon:

patreon.com/rpgrescue 

Email:

[email protected]

Blog:

roleplayrescue.com 

Mastodon:

https://ttrpg-hangout.social/@UbiquitousRat

Roleplay Rescue Theme by Jon Cohen from Tale of the Manticore:

https://taleofthemanticore.podbean.com/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What if you didn’t need anything more to have the best games of your life? What if you didn’t need another product, another tool, or another set of rules? What if everything you really need to have a cracking session, whether with your friend or online, was already in reach?

Today’s episode is inspired by my recent reading of Jamie Smart’s hugely interesting book, “Clarity” - the second edition of which was published this year, ten years after the first, and which I heard about through a recent interview. Basically, this is me working out some thinking about what I read... out loud.

Big thanks to Jason from the Nerd's RPG Variety Cast for the call-in!

Game on!

"Clarity" by Jamie Smart (2023): Clarity: Clear Mind, Better Performance, Bigger Results: Amazon.co.uk: Smart, Jamie: 9780857084484: Books

OR https://www.amazon.co.uk/Clarity-Better-Performance-Bigger-Results/dp/0857084488

Roleplay Rescue Details:

Voice Message:

speakpipe.com/roleplayrescue

Patreon:

patreon.com/rpgrescue 

Email:

[email protected]

Blog:

roleplayrescue.com 

Mastodon:

https://ttrpg-hangout.social/@UbiquitousRat

Roleplay Rescue Theme by Jon Cohen from Tale of the Manticore:

https://taleofthemanticore.podbean.com/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What’s the deal with Rolemaster? Why did we love it back in the 1980s and does the recent release of Rolemaster Unified invigorate us to play it again?

Back in Episode 1, I declared that I was embarking on a new quest. It’s a journey into the deep past to find a new pathway towards enjoying the games I like to play in the way that I most enjoy playing them. Today, I take a trip back to 1980 and revisit the fantasy roleplaying game we played the most in that formative decade. Then I take an initial peek at the latest edition of that same game and contemplate what I might do with it.

Massive thanks to Hobbs, Jason, and Frank for the call ins.

Game on!

Rolemaster Unified: Rolemaster Core Law (RMU) - Iron Crown Enterprises | DriveThruRPG.com

OR https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/416633/Rolemaster-Core-Law-RMU

Roleplay Rescue Details:

Voice Message:

speakpipe.com/roleplayrescue

Patreon:

patreon.com/rpgrescue 

Email:

[email protected]

Blog:

roleplayrescue.com 

Mastodon:

https://ttrpg-hangout.social/@UbiquitousRat

Roleplay Rescue Theme by Jon Cohen from Tale of the Manticore:

https://taleofthemanticore.podbean.com/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Bonus episode leaked from the Patreon to give listeners a taste of the raw and unedited horror that is the GM's Journal. A few folk have asked what the GM's Journal is all about so I thought the best way to respond would be to share one episode by way of a taster. Remember: the Journal is a very candid snapshot of my life as a gamer, is recorded throughout the week into my phone, and is nothing like the polished typical episodes. Listener discretion is advised!

This week saw the new King's Coronation over the long Bank Holiday weekend and me taking a bit of a break from some stuff... like recording podcasts.

Lots of interesting stuff to talk about, including what felt like the worst session I've run in ages which proves that I am a giant hypocrite when it comes to my GMing skills. That said, I learned from it and am focusing on the changes that matter to me.

Thanks to Jason and Brian for calling in! 

Thanks to everyone for their support!

Game on!

Roleplay Rescue Details:

Voice Message:

speakpipe.com/roleplayrescue

Patreon:

patreon.com/rpgrescue 

Email:

[email protected]

Blog:

roleplayrescue.com 

Mastodon:

@[email protected]

Dear Diary Theme Music by TJ Drennon

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Having spent quite a few episodes now revisiting and developing my own return to a more coherent practice with roleplaying games, I thought I would make a brief pitstop and talk about the Roleplay Rescue community. 

The community is the life-blood of this podcast. Without it, I would be alone and isolated. I would possibly have stopped playing, but even if I was playing it would be alone - my home group died with the first lockdown in 2020 and has not recovered. Friends who gathered at my table are all scattered, some to other parts of the country. There’s a lot of goodwill and support for Roleplay Rescue, despite us being a small fish in a vast ocean of tabletop roleplaying games chatter and content.

Massive thanks to Justin, Jason, Barry, Frank, Menion aka Rob, and Xenoris for the call ins and messages. Please keep them coming!

Game on!

Roleplay Rescue Details:

Voice Message:

speakpipe.com/roleplayrescue

Patreon:

patreon.com/rpgrescue 

Email:

[email protected]

Blog:

roleplayrescue.com 

Mastodon:

@[email protected]

Roleplay Rescue Theme by Jon Cohen from Tale of the Manticore:

https://taleofthemanticore.podbean.com/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.