Roleplay Rescue

What if you can’t find any players or a game to join? Is it possible to roleplay on your own?

In this episode, we explore the slightly misunderstood world of solo roleplaying. I take you through the reasons behind solo play, even as far back as the 1970s and the hey-day of D&D. From there, we explore the Mythic RPG and the many approaches to solo roleplaying in a practical sense. By the end, I hope to convince you that solo RPG play is a good and sensible option.

Useful Links:

Kenny Norris' seminal free solo guide: Guide To Playing Alone 

Cabbage Games' stuff - Kenny's freebies: Collected Solo Works

Mythic Game Master Emulator (GME): Mythic GME on DriveThruRPG

Word Mill Games' (Mythic Resources): wordmillgames.com

Game Master's Apprentice Card Deck: GM Apprentice Base Deck

Contact:

Quick link here: rpgrescue.com

Email: [email protected]

MeWe: Roleplay Rescue Page

Facebook: Roleplay Rescue Page

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

What if you just want to come back and roleplay as a PLAYER? What are the ways back to the table as a player, as opposed to being a Game Master?

Taking a look at what it means to be a player in a roleplaying game, we discuss finding a table (both locally and via the internet) as a player and not a GM.

This one's short and sweet. I hope you enjoy it!

USEFUL LINKS:

The Angry GM's book: "Game Angry: How To RPG The Angry Way"

Roll20 App Game Search: app.roll20.net

Fantasy Grounds Virtual Tabletop: www.fantasygrounds.com

SXG The Society of Extraordinary Gamers: extraordinarygamers.com

Contact:

Quick link here: rpgrescue.com

Email: [email protected]

MeWe: Roleplay Rescue Page

Facebook: Roleplay Rescue Page

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

Douglas H. Cole has been roleplaying since 1981, starting with the Holmes Basic Box and AD&D, and has been playing GURPS since 1988. Living near Minneapolis, Doug is known as a longtime GURPS playtester, as a regular contributor to Pyramid magazine, and as the author of GURPS Martial Arts: Technical Grappling. 

Doug is an R&D manager for a major hard-disc-drive company and also the mastermind of Gaming Ballistic, his own company. Creator of Hall of Judgment, the first licensed third-party content for the Dungeon Fantasy Roleplaying Game, and also the Dragon Heresy Roleplaying Game based on the 5th Edition SRD, he is a rising star in the hobby community. 

For my money, Douglas has provided the best supplement for any D&D-type game in the form of Dungeon Grappling - a set of rules designed to bring to life the most common and heroic struggles in literature. 

Useful Links:

Doug's website: gamingballistic.com

Dungeon Fantasy RPG: sjgames.com/dungeonfantasy

Dragon Heresy RPG: Print & .PDF Bundle

GURPS: Generic Universal Roleplaying Game website

Contact:

Quick link here: rpgrescue.com

Email: [email protected]

MeWe: Roleplay Rescue Page

Facebook: Roleplay Rescue Page

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The first bonus of Season 2, the GM's Journal is a laid-bare behind-the-curtain peek into my preparation process for a one-shot game using Castles & Crusades. 

This is what a few listeners asked for and I think, even for the returning player, there might be some value in sharing it. That said, this is a pretty raw stitching together of me talking into the mic as I prep my session. I've had some fun in the post-production phase, but in the end it's 50 minutes or so of me being a GM pre-game. Make of it what you will.

Thanks to Frank T. and Aron C. for their encouragement.

USEFUL LINKS:

Troll Lord Games Downloads Secret (?) Page

The module  is "The Wizard's Tower & Basic Rules" (for Castles & Crusades)

The Angry GM's "Game Angry" book

Contact:

Quick link here: rpgrescue.com

Email: [email protected]

MeWe: Roleplay Rescue Page

Facebook: Roleplay Rescue Page

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Today, we have a question from a listener. One of my favourite podcasters… 

We take a look at ways to start heading back to the table. Starting with why you want to add gaming back into your life, I’ll challenge you to start small and find an hour to build a plan. We discuss various cheeky ways to convince the significant others in our lives to let us have some fun. We even consider how to attract new gamers to the hobby.

Useful Links from the episode:

Ray Otus' podcast: Plundergrounds

Simon Sinek, “How Great Leaders Inspire Action” (video).

D&D Basic (5e): Free to download 5th Edition Basic Rules

Society of Extraordinary Gamers: SXG website

Contact:

Quick link here: rpgrescue.com

Email: [email protected]

MeWe: Roleplay Rescue Page

Facebook: Roleplay Rescue Page

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

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

What if the reason your gaming group is collapsing is because the Game Master keeps cancelling the sessions?

In this final episode of Series 1, we talk about the barriers that stop a Game Master from getting a regular game off the ground and the strategies that I am starting to use to correct this problem. 

We learn about the Holy Trinity of game decisions that I believe lie at the heart of every successful roleplaying campaign. 

We finish by talking through the requirements for an Open Table and I share a worked example. I also discuss strategies for prepping and some of the systems that you can rely on to succeed.

Here are some links from the episode:

Daniel Pink, "When": www.danpink.com/books/when/

The Alexandrian, Justin Alexander’s, “Open Table” series:
thealexandrian.net/wordpress/1223/roleplaying-games/opening-your-game-table  

The Alexandrian, Justin Alexander’s, “Game Structures” series: thealexandrian.net/wordpress/15126/roleplaying-games/game-structures

The Angry GM: theangrygm.com

Sly Flourish's "Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master": slyflourish.com/returnofthelazydm

Engine Publishing's "Never Unprepared": www.enginepublishing.com/never-unprepared-the-complete-game-masters-guide-to-session-prep

Brian Jamison's "Gamesmastering": www.gamemastering.info

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This episode was inspired by Mike Bowers' question, back in Episode 3, about how to get established players of newer roleplaying games to give an older game system a go. When Mike called in with that question, I was blown away. I made a fumbling first stab in Episode 3, but I always knew I’d need to circle back to the heart of the problem.

I discuss the more common reasons for playing the latest editions of roleplaying games and try to recognise the mammoth task required to get people to change game.

I make a proposal on how appeal to the two big things that all players need and carve out a case for the systems of the past. From there, I share a bunch of tips on how to make the first experience of your alternative game system appealing.

Here are some links to stuff mentioned in the episode:

My blog post, "Why D&D Works Fine"

Robin Law's ebook: Robin’s Laws of Good Gamemastering

The Alexandrian's "Open Table Manifesto": Opening Your Gaming Table

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Ted Wallerstedt lives in Minnesota, USA where he works in Computer Audit and Security. Ted has been a Member of the Society of Extraordinary Gamers (SXG) since 2014 and is largely responsible for my own transition to roleplaying online. He’s a regular at my Castles & Crusades Open Table, hosted at SXG.

This interview was recorded while Ted was in Santa Monica, California, and holed up in a motel right on the highway. He was hooked up to a computer with a basic headset and, frankly, I was straining to hear him well while we chatted. That being said, the conversation was a good one and gets to the heart of why online roleplaying is so cool. Bear with us on the quality and see if there’s anything you can take from the conversation in spite of a rough edit. 

Links related to the episode:

Find out more about SXG: The Society of Extraordinary Gamers

(My game is called "Stonehell" and meets on alternate Saturdays)

Fantasy Grounds: FantasyGrounds.com

(This is the online roleplaying software we recommend)

Teamspeak 3: Download Teamspeak

(This is the chat software that SXG uses for online gaming)

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