Roleplay Rescue

I know I said that Season 10 had come to an end after 22 episodes but when opportunity strikes it’s best to grasp it with both hands. Besides, episode 23 also has a nice, mystic ring to it.  My guest today is the single biggest influence on this podcast, a huge inspiration to me as a gamer and Game Master, and just about the best source of roleplaying wisdom I have come across on the internet. When he suggested he’d be open to doing an interview, well, I was thrilled. How could I say no?

Justin Alexander is a freelance writer and the author of the grand repository of ideas that is The Alexandrian.net 

His published works include more than 200 books, articles, and reviews including gaming supplements published by Modiphius Entertainment, Fantasy Flight Games, Dream Pod 9, Atlas Games, Troll Lord Games, and Dream Machine Productions. Justin is also the host of his own Youtube channels entitled Advanced Gamemastery, Quick GM Tips, and - of particular interest to me in recent weeks - his “Let’s Read 1974 D&D”. Hailing from Minneapolis, USA, Justin is also an actor and playwright. And it’s a very great honour for me to have him on Roleplay Rescue.

Big thanks to Justin for coming to talk to us!

The Alexandrian Blog: The Alexandrian » Gamemastery 101 or https://thealexandrian.net/gamemastery-101

The Alexandrian YouTube: The Alexandrian - YouTube or https://www.youtube.com/TheAlexandrian

Justin's Patreon: Justin Alexander is creating ROLEPLAYING GAME DOODADS, TRINKETS, AND INSIGHTS | Patreon or https://www.patreon.com/justinalexander/posts

Roleplay Rescue Details:

Voice Message: speakpipe.com/roleplayrescue

Patreon: patreon.com/rpgrescue 

Email: [email protected]

Blog: roleplayrescue.com 

MeWe Group: mewe.com/join/roleplayrescue (or search "Roleplay Rescue")

Twitter: @ubiquitousrat

Roleplay Rescue Theme also by Jon Cohen from Tale of the Manticore: Tale of The Manticore, a Dark Fantasy Dungeons & Dragons Audiodrama (podbean.com) or https://taleofthemanticore.podbean.com/

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

A selection of comments and questions from listeners to round off Season 10. Lots of interesting thoughts and a whole bucket of encouragement for me!

Thank you to all the callers: Wiebe, Jason C., Frank, Lord Tygger, Bob from Safeco, James Sral, Graham First Age, and Brian.

Thanks also to you for listening, to all the RPR Patrons, and to everyone who has shared the show anywhere! Couldn't do it without you!

Game on!

Roleplay Rescue Details:

Voice Message: speakpipe.com/roleplayrescue

Patreon: patreon.com/rpgrescue 

Email: [email protected]

Blog: roleplayrescue.com 

MeWe Group: mewe.com/join/roleplayrescue (or search "Roleplay Rescue")

Twitter: @ubiquitousrat

Roleplay Rescue Theme by Jon Cohen from Tale of the Manticore: Tale of The Manticore, a Dark Fantasy Dungeons & Dragons Audiodrama (podbean.com) or https://taleofthemanticore.podbean.com/

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

A very special episode in which Jon from Tale of The Manticore and I hopped online to play an improvised game using the Mythic solo game engine. There was zero prep and the whole thing was very off-the-cuff but we had a great time! The result is lightly edited because I didn't want to lose any of the magic I felt between us as players and the emergent story we conjure. After the game, Jon and I have a good chat about what we experienced.

Thanks to Jon for his challenge and being a fantastic guest!

Tale of the Manticore: Tale of The Manticore, a Dark Fantasy Dungeons & Dragons Audiodrama (podbean.com) or https://taleofthemanticore.podbean.com/

Check out the Mythic Roleplaying here: Word Mill Games - Mythic or http://wordmillgames.com/mythic.html

Roleplay Rescue Details:

Voice Message: speakpipe.com/roleplayrescue

Patreon: patreon.com/rpgrescue 

Email: [email protected]

Blog: roleplayrescue.com 

MeWe Group: mewe.com/join/roleplayrescue (or search "Roleplay Rescue")

Twitter: @ubiquitousrat

Roleplay Rescue Theme also by Jon Cohen from Tale of the Manticore: Tale of The Manticore, a Dark Fantasy Dungeons & Dragons Audiodrama (podbean.com) or https://taleofthemanticore.podbean.com/

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

Three and a half years, ten seasons, and 295 episodes have elapsed since Roleplay Rescue began. Where have we got to, what’s the pathway forward, and do I have anything else left to say?

As I reach Episode 20 of this tenth season, a milestone I set up in my mind at the beginning, I am taking stock and wondering what more I can share with this fantastically supportive Roleplay Rescue community.

Many thanks to Jon for the call-in!

Roleplay Rescue Details:

Voice Message: speakpipe.com/roleplayrescue

Patreon: patreon.com/rpgrescue 

Email: [email protected]

Blog: roleplayrescue.com 

MeWe Group: mewe.com/join/roleplayrescue (or search "Roleplay Rescue")

Twitter: @ubiquitousrat

Roleplay Rescue Theme by Jon Cohen from Tale of the Manticore: Tale of The Manticore, a Dark Fantasy Dungeons & Dragons Audiodrama (podbean.com) or https://taleofthemanticore.podbean.com/

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

A few days ago I was privileged to be able to schedule a conversation with Daniel Jones, the originator of the term Otherworld-immersion and a proponent of the idea that changing the methodology of our roleplaying games being the key to changing the experience we have at the table. For those who don’t know him, Daniel is a published author, game designer, philosopher, and the man behind the Eudaimonic Geekery blog. If you want to hear our earlier conversations about Otherworld-immersion, please check out Season 6, Episode 10 and Season 9, Episode 14.

Today’s chat was initially aimed at responding to three very common objections I have heard to the central methodological change of bringing all the rules, die rolls, and mechanisms behind the GM screen. From there, we talk more generally about some of our experiences with this style of play and muse on how to invite more roleplayers to try something different.

Thanks to Daniel for coming back to the show. I hope you’ll find it illuminating and interesting.

Roleplay Rescue Details:

Voice Message: speakpipe.com/roleplayrescue

Patreon: patreon.com/rpgrescue 

Email: [email protected]

Blog: roleplayrescue.com 

MeWe Group: mewe.com/join/roleplayrescue (or search "Roleplay Rescue")

Twitter: @ubiquitousrat

Roleplay Rescue Theme by Jon Cohen from Tale of the Manticore: Tale of The Manticore, a Dark Fantasy Dungeons & Dragons Audiodrama (podbean.com) or https://taleofthemanticore.podbean.com/

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

What does it mean to play a roleplaying game by yourself? How is it possible to find play in the solitude of alone? Should we even allow ourselves to go there?

Last time I talked about the tension between being a player and being the GM in a roleplaying game. Today, I want to explore the question of what it means to play alone, solo, just you and the game.

Thanks to Spencer for calling in!

Roleplay Rescue Details:

Voice Message: speakpipe.com/roleplayrescue

Patreon: patreon.com/rpgrescue 

Email: [email protected]

Blog: roleplayrescue.com 

MeWe Group: mewe.com/join/roleplayrescue (or search "Roleplay Rescue")

Twitter: @ubiquitousrat

Roleplay Rescue Theme by Jon Cohen from Tale of the Manticore: Tale of The Manticore, a Dark Fantasy Dungeons & Dragons Audiodrama (podbean.com) or https://taleofthemanticore.podbean.com/

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

“First and foremost, then, all play is a voluntary activity. Play to order is no longer play: it could at best be but a forcible imitation of it. By the quality alone, play marks itself off from the course of the natural process. It is something added thereto and spread out over it like a flowering, an ornament, a garment.”

These words from Johan Huizinga’s “Homo Ludens” raise a question: if play to order is no longer play, but at best a forcible imitation of it, at what point does the expectation and planning for a roleplaying game cause that roleplaying game to stop being playful?

Links:

The Alexandrian » Game Structures – Part 5: Mysteries: thealexandrian.net/wordpress/15151/roleplaying-games/game-structures-part-5-mysteries

Gaming From The First Age "Emergent Campaigns": anchor.fm/first-age/episodes/Emergent-Campaigns-e1fvt89

Thanks to Evil Jeff and Jason C for the call-ins!

Roleplay Rescue Details:

Voice Message: speakpipe.com/roleplayrescue

Patreon: patreon.com/rpgrescue 

Email: [email protected]

Blog: roleplayrescue.com 

MeWe Group: mewe.com/join/roleplayrescue (or search "Roleplay Rescue")

Twitter: @ubiquitousrat

Roleplay Rescue Theme by Jon Cohen from Tale of the Manticore: Tale of The Manticore, a Dark Fantasy Dungeons & Dragons Audiodrama (podbean.com) or https://taleofthemanticore.podbean.com/

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

What if you could always sit down on a regular basis and actively prep for your next game in a way that left you feeling confident and positive? What if you could work in such a way as to unlock your maximum creativity while preserving your energy and motivation for the long haul?

We all know how exciting it can feel to set up a brand new roleplaying game campaign - you are pumped with the vision, bouyed by the positivity of the players, and raring to go! And you might even get a strong start out of the gate. But human motivation being the fickle beast that it is, you also all know the reality of what happens when the initial high energy positivity wanes and you have to commit to preparing your game for the longer haul.

I don’t think it’s any surprise that most gamers nowadays flit from system to system, game world to game world, playing one-shots and short campaigns. Human motivation being what it is, we always lose the buzz and it feels so much easier to bail on the game that has lost its shine and simply start a new one.

But what if you could sustain the creative effort in the long run? Would you want to find out how to do it?

BJ Fogg's Tiny Habits: tinyhabits.com

Fogg Behaviour Model: behaviormodel.org

Thanks to Matt and Jason for the call-ins!

Roleplay Rescue Details:

Voice Message: speakpipe.com/roleplayrescue

Patreon: patreon.com/rpgrescue 

Email: [email protected]

Blog: roleplayrescue.com 

MeWe Group: mewe.com/join/roleplayrescue (or search "Roleplay Rescue")

Twitter: @ubiquitousrat

Roleplay Rescue Theme by Jon Cohen from Tale of the Manticore: Tale of The Manticore, a Dark Fantasy Dungeons & Dragons Audiodrama (podbean.com) or https://taleofthemanticore.podbean.com/

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

What do you do when, as a GM, you have nothing prepped and you are staring down the barrel of a session? You’ve had two weeks to prep but no, you couldn’t bring yourself to sit down and make any notes, so now you have nothing? Isn’t it just easier to bail out, make your excuses, and try again next time? Today, I want to talk about how to do emergency prep.

Thanks to Karl and Jason for the call-ins!

Roleplay Rescue Details:

Roleplay Rescue Theme by Jon Cohen from Tale of the Manticore: Tale of The Manticore, a Dark Fantasy Dungeons & Dragons Audiodrama (podbean.com) or https://taleofthemanticore.podbean.com/

Voice Message: speakpipe.com/roleplayrescue

Patreon: patreon.com/rpgrescue 

Email: [email protected]

Blog: roleplayrescue.com 

MeWe Group: mewe.com/join/roleplayrescue (or search "Roleplay Rescue")

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

In what is one of the most creative activities in the human sphere, why do we outsource our creativity to others? Over the past 40 years or more I have spent countless hours and thousands of pounds buying, reading, and trying to use the untold prescriptions for roleplaying available on the market… and not one of them has matched my needs or desires for very long. The desire for the kind of entertaining, exciting, and open gaming that I am seeking grows. And the truth is that, at some point, I am going to have to either step up and realise it, or step out and do something else. Today I have a short rant on something I am calling, “The Blended Entity”. Today I am going over the edge...

Thanks to Jason and Anthony for the call-ins!

Roleplay Rescue Details:

Roleplay Rescue Theme by Jon Cohen from Tale of the Manticore: Tale of The Manticore, a Dark Fantasy Dungeons & Dragons Audiodrama (podbean.com) or https://taleofthemanticore.podbean.com/

Voice Message: speakpipe.com/roleplayrescue

Email: [email protected]

Patreon: patreon.com/rpgrescue 

Blog: roleplayrescue.com 

MeWe Group: mewe.com/join/roleplayrescue (or search "Roleplay Rescue")

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