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We’ve all read books or watched movies that were difficult, but ultimately rewarding. With Andy having just finished Gene Wolfe’s Book of the New Sun, we talk about whether that kind of challenging but satisfying-in-retrospect experience has a parallel in RPG campaigns. What kind of value do we get out of dense, difficult settings and …

Continue reading "Episode 134 – The Book of the New Sun, and Challenging Game Settings"

As Andy prepares to run Stormwreck Isle, conversation turns to what makes a great D&D starter set or introductory adventure. What experiences do you think best embody D&D? Bonus content in this episode includes more discussion of The Thing, and (if you listen closely) the sound of Andy’s pet guinea pigs squeaking and chattering in …

Continue reading "Episode 133 — What Makes a Great First D&D Adventure?"

How do you calculate odds and probabilities at the game table? What do we get out of random dice rolls and random tables? And how do dice probabilities work, anyway? We’re joined by mathematician and GM Toby, who talks with Chris about both the mechanics of probability and the ways we use randomness to have …

Continue reading "Episode 132 — All About Randomness and Dice! (with guest GM Toby)"

It’s part 2 of our annual Build-a-Dungeon/Play-a-Dungeon specials! Jo, Abby, Liz, and Brandon come on to play through “The Mice of The Artemis” with Chris as GM. Happy holidays everyone!

It’s the holidays so that can only mean one thing: it’s time for us to build a dungeon and then play it live on air! In this year’s Build episode, Andy and Chris are joined, yet again, by John Corey and Kyle Latino of The Splatbook!

Andy and Chris talk about The Walking Dead and videogames before diving into their topic: what questions do long-term campaigns raise that RPG rulebooks do not address?

With Chris temporarily away, Andy is joined by guest co-hosts John and Tim for something we’ve never done before: opening a mystery box of gaming goodness live on the air. Tim unboxes a Christmas surprise package from Palladium Books, after which we revisit one old topic and then ponder a brand new one. Show notes

Andy and Chris take a different approach to gaming in this episode as they discuss the idea of “interesting failures”–art and experiences that don’t succeed, but that nonetheless deliver something worthwhile. After discussing Alien Resurrection, Andy’s favorite example of an interesting disaster, they move on to talk about what “interesting failure” looks like in a …

Continue reading "Episode 127 – Are Your Games “Interesting Failures”?"

Andy and Chris talk about Halloween, how to make a party harder for your players, and then about how to maintain momentum when you have long gaps between game sessions.

What do you do when your players make in-game choices you weren’t expecting? Should you try to shift them back onto your planned course, or appreciate the challenge they’re throwing your way? Chris listens as Andy describes a recent adventure that went awry (albeit in a fun way) and they discuss what could have been …

Continue reading "Episode 125 – When Players Do the Unexpected"