Krissi Woodward joins us again this episode to help Grant and Jenny speak a little less, since they're both pretty sick in this episode, and to talk about character backstories with everyone! Krissi's been on a few previous episodes can be found on Twitter as @d20mom.

We catch up a bit and talk about our upcoming streaming schedule over on Twitch, and then answer a question about fictional characters we'd want to GM for from Patreon supporter Richard Lorenz. Then after our Scripture readings, we dive into character backstories: What makes a good background, common pitfalls, some general advice, and the methods we each use for coming up with backstories for our characters.

Scripture: Genesis 37: 19-26, Isaiah 43: 18-19, Acts 9:1-6, 2 Corinthians 5:16-17

Jenny's off exploring France this week, so Peter and Grant sat down together for another bonus episode in our Biblical Figures series! This time, we're talking about Matthew—apostle, Gospel author, and reformed tax collector. We provide some Fun Facts about Matthew Levi before Grant gives an overview of the peculiar system of Roman taxation. Then we talk about Matthew's major appearance in Scripture, as well as his role as one of the four traditional authors of the Gospels and the different martyrdoms traditionally ascribed to Matthew. Finally, we wrap up by exploring ways to use elements of Matthew's story in our own games. Enjoy!

Mentioned in this episode: Alfred Edersheim's Sketches of Jewish Social Life and Fausset's Bible Dictionary.

Scripture: Matthew 9:9-13, Luke 18:9-14, Luke 19:1-10, Revelation 4:5-8

After more than a year, we're finally back to our series on the Ten Commandments! We're picking up where we left off with the Fifth Commandment, which tells us to "honor thy father and mother"—and a good bit more. We've also got a question from Patreon backer Kevin VonFeldt, who asks us about our favorite Kickstarters we've backed. We've also got some news about a growing gaming group and Jenny's new cat!

After our Scripture readings, we talk in-depth about the Fifth Commandment: Its text, its meanings (both in Scripture and in cultural usage), and its implications. We also spend some time on the questions which naturally arise when it's very hard to honor one or both parents. Then we talk about some common story and gaming uses of this topic, and how to put this commandment into practice in the world. Finally, we wrap up with a few special shout-outs to our podcasting and geeky-faith elders whom we've learned from: Folks like Derek White, M.J. Young of the Christian Gamers Guild, Dan Repperger, Chad Wattler, and more.

Scripture: Deuteronomy 6:16, Proverbs 6:20-22, 1 Timothy 5:1-4

Zach Lorton of Back Burner Games joins us this episode to talk about playing music at the gaming table! Zach's a DJ, game designer, and friend of the show, so he's basically the perfect person to talk to about playing music and sound effects as part of the tabletop gaming experience. He's also got a lot to say, as you'll hear in this episode! Before that, though, we let Zach talk about Back Burner Games (Patreon, Instagram, Facebook) and very briefly talk about what we're playing and what's going on behind the scenes at STG.

After that, pastor and Patreon supporter Douglas Underhill gives us a somewhat controversial question to tackle, asking what our second choice of religion or life philosophy would be if somehow Christianity were off the table. Then we're into our Scripture readings for this episode and diving right into the main topic! We cover Jenny's musical talents and everyone else's lack thereof; background music; sound effects and ambient music; foreground music (including a story Grant's been wanting to tell for ages); how to use all of these at the table; and where to get music or sound effects.

Mentioned in this episode: Ribbon Drive RPG; the Pieces board game café in St. Louis, MO; myNoise; Tabletop Audio; MeloDice; and OverClocked ReMix.

Scripture: 1 Samuel 16:17-23. Psalm 96:1-2, Proverbs 25:20, 1 Corinthians 14:15-19

Gaming podcaster extraordinaire Kris Newton returns to discuss handling destiny in our games! Kris hosts two of our favorite podcasts: The Gameable Saturday Morning Podcast (neé Gameable Disney and Gameable Pixar) and the much-more-NSFW MegaDumbCast. He's been on several times before, just as we've all been on various episodes of Gameable, and we're delighted to have him back again. After catching up for a bit and hearing what Kris has been playing lately, we answer a spot-on Patreon question from Shawn Stauffer, who asks us to put together an adventuring party consisting entirely of Disney characters.

That done, and our Scripture for this episode read, we go deep into the idea of "destiny" in traditional storytelling and in tabletop gaming. What are some different approaches for including it in our games? How can we maintain player autonomy and input while getting full value from this powerful and familiar story element? What purpose does a destiny serve in our stories or as a metagame tool? And how do we mechanically define a destiny, if we do so at all?

Also mentioned in this episode: Steve Jackson Games's In Nomine RPG; the Machine of Death anthology; the Protean City Comics podcast; and Magpie Games's Masks RPG.

Scripture: Deuteronomy 31:19-22, Isaiah 46:10, Jeremiah 1:4-5, 1 Corinthians 2:9-10

Continuing our previous episode, Allen Mowers, Ashley Mowers, and Kyle Stainbrook from the Min/Max Podcast join us to finish our discussion on  moral accountability for our in-character choices. Just how much accountability do we have for the things our characters do in our games? How do we handle bleed, and how do we handle it when our own characters engage matters we aren’t fully comfortable with?

If you missed Part One of this conversation, you can find it here. Enjoy!

Relevant links: STG 111, “Larp and the Psychology of Play (with Dr. Sarah Lynne-Bowman)”; Dr. Sarah Lynne-Bowman’s articles on bleed and playing nasty characters; and STG 17, “Lines and Veils”.

Scripture: Psalm 7:14-16, Matthew 5:21, Matthew 13:13, Mark 7:14-23

We reach maximum hosting with not one, not two, but three guests this week! Allen Mowers, Ashley Mowers, and Kyle Stainbrook from the much-loved Min/Max Podcast join us to discuss moral accountability for our in-character choices. After we manage to get through an introduction, we all briefly talk about what we've been playing. Grant plugs our new "oh my gosh what if story" t-shirt, Peter and Jenny plug appearances on City on a Hill Gaming and Bard and Bible, and then we all answer a question from Patreon supporter Richard Lorenz about which fictional character we'd each want to run a game for us.

After reading Scripture, we then dive into this complex issue together: Just how much accountability do we have for the things our characters do in our games? How do we handle bleed, and how do we handle it when our own characters engage matters we aren't fully comfortable with?

We'll wrap up this conversation in Part Two next time, so stay tuned!

Relevant links: STG 111, "Larp and the Psychology of Play (with Dr. Sarah Lynne-Bowman)"; Dr. Sarah Lynne-Bowman's articles on bleed and playing nasty characters; and STG 17, "Lines and Veils".

Scripture: Psalm 7:14-16, Matthew 5:21, Matthew 13:13, Mark 7:14-23

We're back with another con report! Jenny, Peter, and friend of the show Tyler "Churcher" Denningjoin us to recap Fear the Con 2018, held June 22-23 in Brentwood, MO.

Game rundown:

It's a perfectly normal episode, without guests or con recaps or anything - what even is this? It's an episode about getting your feet wet as a GM, that's what! After our usual banter, including Jenny's sudden appearance in Grant's D&D game, we answer a question from Patreon supporter Shawn, who asks us about our perfect gaming room. Then we get into our main topic with a variety of suggestions for people considering running their own game for the first time.

Some resources for new GMs: Peter's "I Want To GM" blog post; Gnome Stew; Dan Carlin's Hardcore History podcast; Robin D. Laws's Robin's Laws of Good Gamemastering; Odyssey: The Complete Game Master's Guide to Campaign Management by Phil Vecchione and Walt Ciechanowski; and Matthew Colville's Running the Game series on YouTube.

Scripture: Psalm 37:30, Matthew 23:11, James 1:12

It's time for another bonus episode, `cause we've got a convention to recap and gaming news to catch up on! Jenny went to Ottowa Comic Con 2018 this May, and she's got a lot of stories to tell! Aside from various panels and general geekery, she particularly liked Meeples To Go, Cardamajig's The Deck of Many (with art by Jordan Richer), Roe's Art, and Richard Dufault's collected cosplay photos at the con this year. And of course, everyone should check out Jenny's own cosplay pictures on her Twitter!

After the con recap, Grant plugs his wife Krissi and her appearances on the Gameable Saturday Morning Podcast to talk about Jem and the Holograms (Episode 45 for introduction and plot recaps, and Episode 46 for plot, setting, and character breakdowns.) He also discusses his 200 Word RPG Challenge entry (which can be read here.) Then we break down into catching up on important plot events and gaming lessons from our own games, as we try to tackle a bunch of little talking points we couldn't get to while we had guests on over the past few episodes. Enjoy!