Side Passages

Episode 10 sees Ken figuring out how to deal with the long, dark, tea time of the soul known as November, while David fends off allergies while contemplating where all the good role-playing game communities went after Google+ folded.

Venturing into the Chamber of Infinite Darkness: It’s November. Daylight Saving Time is over. And suddenly, it’s gotten very, very dark: it’s pitch black at 6 a.m., and not much lighter at 5 p.m. Ken's fond that getting out of bed has become its own mental battle; so has running after the sun has set. What’s the solution? Coffee. Podcasts. Sunlamps?Stellar Cartography (no, it’s not staffed by whales … we think)Ken's been playing the heck out of Stellaris, a 4X-style, galactic empire management game. It reminds me of Master of Orion and it devoured a huge chunk of time. Exploring the galaxy is great, but diplomacy is a little lacking and managing dozens of worlds in the end game is boring. But it’s got great stories, awesome visuals, a Mass Effect-eque soundtrack, and DLC that will probably address most of my complaints (once there’s a Steam sale).The Game Room (every good lair should have one): Ken's 5+ year 5th Edition D&D campaign just ended. Now his group in the storming phase of figuring out what to do next. We’ve settled on two games:A Savage Worlds-powered Ringworld campaign. The setup: The characters are natives of a Larry Niven-style ringworld. It was struck by a massive asteroid that punched through one side of the ring, and impacted on the other. Over the last 150 years, various ring systems have been failing; we’re trying to figure out what to do about that. One player wants to include high-concept science fiction ideas into the campaign; how do you actually do that though?Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition dungeon-of-the-week campaign: A 5e campaign leveraging Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything that’s focused on short dungeon crawls and one-shot location encounters. Less focus on story, more on discovery.Pen turning David is eight pens in and really enjoying how he can start and finish one within about an hour if he likes.Nanowrimo David's novel-writing efforts are not going well at allDistractions and prioritization are to blame.Gaming woes update - David is thinking of making this its own segment (not really), did a little gaming with his Sunday group. Brindlewood Bay was just a bit too different for the group to continue with. It really needs everyone to be on their game, and at the time it's played that is just not going to happen reliably. So the group is looking for a new game to play and figuring out who will run it.Terra Oblivion - A pre-apocalyptic game of eco-espionage on a world slowly being killed by humanity’s need to consume. By Michael Fiegel, Kieran Turley, and Jerry Grayson

Where do you get your game dev and community connection now that G+ is several years gone?Twitter can keep you in contact with specific people, but conversations there are impossible to hold and impossible to find againSome podcasts - Daydreaming about Dragons, have good insight into playing and running games, but are a very slow conversation if you interact with the hosts.:Ken's answer? He doesn't know - he has found good replacements for the game theory and storytelling discussions held on podcasts like The Round Table or The Game Master’s Show. Or some of the old forums he used to haunt, like Greytalk (a Greyhawk-oriented list serv). We brainstorm a bunch of ideas about where to find good gaming conversations. Have ideas of your own? Tell us!

Outro

If you have feedback, we love feedback. You can send it to us at [email protected] or via Twitter @lairofsecrets. You can also visit lairofsecrets.com and leave us some feedback, topic ideas, or your own thoughts on what we’ve talked about.

Featured Image

Cover art for Larry Niven's Ringworld. Credit: Del Rey

On this episode, David and Ken battle against ghosts, memories, and missing time in an effort to get out another podcast ... and launch our first episode! (yes, time remains a bit wibbly wobbly in the Lair).

Pens keep on turning, turning, turning... into the future!David turns his first pen. He needed to make a few jigs to prep the blanks and to assemble the penPreparing for NanowrimoDavid delves into his approach to National Novel Writing MonthSome Star Wars gamingThe pandemic canceled GenCon ... but the Star Wars games must go on. David talks about his online gaming sessions in a galaxy far, far, away.Phineas and Ferb movie: Candace Against the UniverseOur kids grew up on Phineas and Ferb; now they're back in a Disney+ movieZine of Wondrous Power – Daniel Perez Issue 04 #RPGzine Now on KickstarterA Talmudic Bestiary – A collection of creatures from Jewish lore. Compatible with Old-School Essentials.DaVinci Labs: WRK400 Workman Modular Mecha – A technical profile on a utilitarian mecha.What’s the Point of It? – An essay about gaming while the world burns around you, and why I still do itThe Ioun Codex: Addendum – The Iounmancer – A prestige class about mastery of ioun magic. Compatible with Old-School Essentials.The Secret of Brook’s Mine – A small dungeon crawl with an out-of-this-world surprise.Games as Essays – An essay about games primarily expressing ideas rather than rules for play. Side-scrolling bullet stormsR-Type is out for Switch.Ken is really bad at it.Comic Book Bullet JournalingSpeaking of bullets, Ken is using a habit tracker in his bullet journal to track comic reading. Because he keep losing track of where he stopped in the X-Men's Dawn of X series.Reading comic books shouldn't be this hard...Haunting of Bly Manor A Nicely creepy follow-up to The Haunting of Hill House. As with the earlier show, the writers have fun with the timeline, which reinforces the idea that hauntings are as much about lost time as they are about lost souls. Ken's inner 12-year-old, who scared himself silly reading ghost stories, is pleased.David and Ken geek out for a while on ghost stories, which inevitably brings us back to Hellboy.Sword Art OnlineAnime in which a people become trapped in a virtual reality universe.Ready for Launch?We announce the launch of our first episode ... which you've already listened to.(we told you time was still wibbly wobbly in the Lair...)

Outro

If you have feedback, we love feedback. You can send it to us at [email protected] or via Twitter @lairofsecrets. You can also visit lairofsecrets.com and leave us some feedback, topic ideas, or your own thoughts on what we’ve talked about.

Featured Image

Cover art for X-Men #1, part of the Dawn of X storyline. Credit: Marvel

A podcast by two fortysomething geek dads who are even more middle aged than they were during the last podcast. On this episode, we talk about the joys of progressive lenses (see, we told you we were middled aged), the Twilight 2000 Kickstarter, woodworking with lathes, The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin (and narrated by the most excellent Robin Miles), and even more geekery.

Role-playing in a World War III that never wasRole-playing in a World War III that never was - Twilight:2000 Kickstarter. It is probably the first non-D&D RPG Ken ever played.So much middle school nostalgia - the height of the 1980s, Red Dawn had just come out, and Ken was trekking across an imaginary Poland with his friends.The new retro-apocalyptic edition of Twilight: 2000, published by Free League Publishing in partnership with Game Designers' Workshop.The core rules of the game build on the Year Zero Engine (used in award-winning RPGs such as ALIEN, Tales From the Loop, Forbidden Lands and Mutant: Year Zero), but heavily adapted to fit Twilight: 2000 and its focus on gear and gritty realism.Big, beautiful boxed set with maps of Poland and SwedenKen's Very Long WalkKen went on a 24-mile backpacking trip in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation AreaLessons learned?NeutronLad (Ken's son) needs to get the weight right in his pack. NeutronLad needed new boots. Which Ken and NeutronLad didn’t realize until well into the hike.Sock liners work! No blisters!Gear secured!Ordered a new sleeping bag; NEMO Forte 20 Sleeping Bag - Men'sIt’s a $200 bag. We’ll see how it works when I go backpacking again in two weeks.Got a Whisperlite stove, which is fueled by white gas. Looks like a tiny inferno when you light it.Also got a small hand-crank radio that’s solar chargeable and has AM/FM, and NOAA radio. Also, you can use it to recharge a phone!Death, Love, and Kids in Video GamesKen's playing Fire Emblem - Fates - Birthright for the Nintendo 2DSTurn-based JRPG with a battlefield focus.Deep-story built around combat and relationships.As with previous versions, characters with close relationships can have children, who then join your army.Foolishly playing it in traditional hardcore mode, which involves restarting the DS every time someone dies in combat.The Chamber of NostalgiaNintendo 3D All-StarsFeatures Mario 64, Mario Sunshine, and Super Mario GalaxyKen's kids are lost in nostalgia.Sailing into the FutureDavid is diving deeper into sailing, maybe a trawler? Likely not?He really loves the idea of being on the ocean without the smoke or noise of an engine.But trawlers are like the RVs of the ocean. More room and more creature comfortsStarting to see the cautionary tales of sailingWe could invite Bob as a guest some time to talk about sailingInto the WorkshopDavid worked in the workshop more, it’s much easier to work in with the new layoutWorked on some tool holders and things to practice onBuilt a new floor lampDavid got a lathe for his birthday (thanks Erin!)The City We BecameAudiobookN.K. Jemisin - authorRobin Miles - narratorBattle GroundGoodReads page for the bookJim Butcher - authorDaydreaming about Dragons Podcast by Judd Karlman and Inspiration GoatCheck out the podcastA Most Excellent ChairDavid's new chair! - Herman Miller ChairsProgressive LensesThe New Frontier of Middle AgeKen explains how pre-COVID gaming (specifically, looking at his notes and rulebooks during in-person games) drove him to get reading glasses ... and then progressive lenses.We meander through other progressive lense / weakening eyesight related topics including hefty indexes, miniature design, and the impact of how a poorly-considered background color/image for an RPG sourcebook can make it more difficult to read.

Outro

If you have feedback, we love feedback. You can send it to us at [email protected] or via Twitter @lairofsecrets. You can also visit lairofsecrets.com and leave us some feedback, topic ideas, or your own thoughts on what we’ve talked about.

Featured Image

Cover art for the new edition of Twilight 2000. Credit: Free League Publishing.

David and Ken once again find themselves ignoring linear time to bring you a show FROM THE FUTURE!!! On this epsiode of Lair of Secrets, they discuss their respective summer reading lists for 2021.

Ken's Summer Reading List

Ken is going to be spending a lot of time reading away from home, as he finally backpacking in Philmont and heads to Lake Champlain for his family's annual vacation.

Watership Downby Richard AdamsAn epic book about rabbits escaping the destruction of their warren and their attempt to find a new home.Boundless (The Lost Fleet: Outlands Book 1)by Jack CampbellCampbell returns to his Lost Fleet universe on June 15. This time around, Admiral John "Black Jack" Geary has to survive the peace he brought about by saving the Alliance. His own government - which spawned a malevolent Artificial Intelligence fleet in the last series - fears Geary. Confronted by evidence of their own misdoings, they dispatch Geary on a dangerous expeditionary mission to the frontier while they "debate" what to do.  Ancestral Night (White Space, Book 1) by Elizabeth BearFrom the book blurb: "Halmey Dz and her partner Connla Kurucz are salvage operators, living just on the inside of the law…usually. Theirs is the perilous and marginal existence—with barely enough chance of striking it fantastically big—just once—to keep them coming back for more. They pilot their tiny ship into the scars left by unsuccessful White Transitions, searching for the relics of lost human and alien vessels."The Trumps of Doom (Chronicles of Amber, Book 6)by Roger Zelazny, read by Wil Wheaton ((audio book on Audible)The further adventures of the royal family of Amber, who rule the multiverse from the one true city and the one true reality. This book kicks off a second series of five novels in which we meet Merwyn, the son of Corwin, the protagonist of the first five books. All Systems Red (The Murderbot Diaries #1)by Martha WellsFrom the book blurb: "On a distant planet, a team of scientists are conducting surface tests, shadowed by their Company-supplied ‘droid ― a self-aware SecUnit that has hacked its own governor module, and refers to itself (though never out loud) as “Murderbot.” Scornful of humans, all it really wants is to be left alone long enough to figure out who it is. But when a neighboring mission goes dark, it's up to the scientists and their Murderbot to get to the truth."Leviathan Falls (Book 9 of the Expanse)by James S.A. CoreyThe final book in The Expanse series. And Ken would totally have read it this summer … but it’s coming out in November 2021.

David's Summer Reading List

The Fifth SeasonN.K. Jemmison (audio book on Audible)This is the way the world ends…for the last time.From the book blurb: "It starts with the great red rift across the heart of the world's sole continent, spewing ash that blots out the sun. It starts with death, with a murdered son and a missing daughter. It starts with betrayal, and long dormant wounds rising up to fester."Fuzzy Nationby John Scalzi (audio book on Audible read by Wil Wheaton)From the book cblurb: "In John Scalzi's re-imagining of H. Beam Piper's 1962 sci-fi classic Little Fuzzy, written with the full cooperation of the Piper Estate, Jack Holloway works alone for reasons he doesn't care to talk about. On the distant planet Zarathustra, Jack is content as an independent contractor for ZaraCorp, prospecting and surveying at his own pace. As for his past, that's not up for discussion."The Calculating Starsby Mary Robinette KowalFrom the book blurb: One woman. One mission. One chance to save the world. It’s 1952, and the world as we know it is gone. A meteorite has destroyed Washington DC, triggering extinction-level global warming. To save humanity, the world unites to form the International Aerospace Coalition. Its mission: to colonise first the Moon, then Mars. Elma York, World War Two pilot and mathematician, dreams of becoming an astronaut – but prejudice has kept her grounded. Now nothing – and no man – will stop her from reaching for the stars.The End of Everything: (Astrophysically Speaking)by Katie MackFrom the blurb: "We know the universe had a beginning. With the Big Bang, it expanded from a state of unimaginable density to an all-encompassing cosmic fireball to a simmering fluid of matter and energy, laying down the seeds for everything from black holes to one rocky planet orbiting a star near the edge of a spiral galaxy that happened to develop life as we know it. But what happens to the universe at the end of the story? And what does it mean for us now? Dr. Katie Mack has been contemplating these questions since she was a young student, when her astronomy professor informed her the universe could end at any moment, in an instant. This revelation set her on the path toward theoretical astrophysics. Now, with lively wit and humor, she takes us on a mind-bending tour through five of the cosmos’s possible finales: the Big Crunch, Heat Death, the Big Rip, Vacuum Decay (the one that could happen at any moment!), and the Bounce. Guiding us through cutting-edge science and major concepts in quantum mechanics, cosmology, string theory, and much more, The End of Everything is a wildly fun, surprisingly upbeat ride to the farthest reaches of all that we know."Sevenevesby Neal Stephenson (audio book on Audible)"A catastrophic event renders the earth a ticking time bomb. In a feverish race against the inevitable, nations around the globe band together to devise an ambitious plan to ensure the survival of humanity far beyond our atmosphere, in outer space. But the complexities and unpredictability of human nature coupled with unforeseen challenges and dangers threaten the intrepid pioneers until only a handful of survivors remain ..."Project Hail MaryAndy Weir (audio book on Audible)Ryland Grace is the sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission—and if he fails, humanity and the earth itself will perish. Except that right now, he doesn’t know that. He can’t even remember his own name, let alone the nature of his assignment or how to complete it. All he knows is that he’s been asleep for a very, very long time. And he’s just been awakened to find himself millions of miles from home, with nothing but two corpses for company. His crewmates dead, his memories fuzzily returning, Ryland realizes that an impossible task now confronts him. Hurtling through space on this tiny ship, it’s up to him to puzzle out an impossible scientific mystery—and conquer an extinction-level threat to our species.

Outro

If you have feedback, we love feedback. You can send it to us at [email protected] or via Twitter @lairofsecrets. You can also visit lairofsecrets.com and leave us some feedback, topic ideas, or your own thoughts on what we’ve talked about.

Featured Image

A collection of cover art for some of the books on our summer reading list. Copyright their respective authors/publishers.

On this episode of the Lair of Secrets podcast ... David Moore has had a strange few weeks and he's not really sure who he is anymore. Meanwhile, Ken Newquist digs into a good, scary graphic novel, tries out some new backpacking gadgets, and investigates a small-town murder mystery.

David Messed Up Bullet JournalingRolled over into September without migrating from AugustStill haven’t quite caught up since he was also teaching last week which isn’t the normal day-to-day job.ColonoscopyThe Trials of Online GamingBrindlewood Bay and the trials of online gaming with my other group"I am the Law"David picked up the Judge Dredd 2000 AD Humble BundleCovid ScareTo Sail the Infinite Oceans...David discusses a five-year plan for buying a boat and sailing the world. And you thought backpacking was adventuresome!The Wilds of New JerseyYes, New Jersey has wilderness.Ken spent lots of time in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area.Ken went on a 10-mile canoe trip along the Delaware River.5-mile hike on the AT and Rattlesnake Swamp Trail Coming up (but not really, since we recorded this last year: 2.5 days of camping and backpacking, totally 20 miles on the trail.Picked up a new gadget - a water purifier for the trail (filters out bacteria, not viruses; for that you need to treat the water)Hiker Microfilter by KatadynGeek Needs Exercise ... BadlyKen's exercise routine is stalled. Need to get back to it (and sleep better)Ken's Summer Reading List Additions (2020 edition)The big, scary books: Aliens 30th Anniversary: The Original Comics Series and Aliens: Nightmare Asylum and Earth WarFrom the late 1980s and early 1990sDirect sequel to Aliens (before the disappointing Alien3)Features Hicks and Newt about ten years after Aliens.Once Alien3 was released, they were renamed (Newt became Billie while Hicks became Wilks) ….. which was dumb … and they restored their names for these editionsFocuses on the intersections of humanity and the alien, from alien-worshipping cults to military officers obsessed with crafting the perfect army.Unsurprisingly, infection (how to contain the aliens … and how to deal with them when that fails) plays a major part in the series.Main Topic: How do you like to read?Print booksNo school like the old schoolDoesn’t run out of batteriesHas that new book smellHey, why can’t I increase the font size on this thing?Already have so … many … booksVs. E-Reader bookBooks don’t take up any physical spaceGo ahead. Make the font as big as you wantBacklighting makes it easier to read on the trail or camping … or at 2 a.m. when you can’t sleep (but you should really just get up anyway)Doesn’t have that new book smell. Doesn’t feel like a book.Vs. AudiobooksRead at the pace of the book. No skipping ahead, no flipping backward, no skimmingMaybe slower. And may take weeks to finish a bookThe Wise Man’s Fear by Patrick Rothfuss? 42 hrs and 55 mins.Digital, so they don’t take up spacePeople may not consider this “reading”

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Featured Image

Cover art for the Aliens: Nightmare Asylum and Earth War. Credit: Dark Horse Comics.

Welcome to the Lair of Secrets podcast! On this episode, we talk coffee, bullet journaling with the Leuchtturm1917 (for games) and Paperage A5 (for daily use), new backpacks, and the Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion board game. For the main topic, we discuss the relative merits and challenges of playing role-playing games in the real world, vs. the virtual one.

Want some more bullet journal inspiration? Check out our "Virtual Bullet Journals" post.

Coffee snobberyKen got an Aeropress.

Plunger-powered coffee press.

Quickly makes strong coffee.

Faster clean-up, fewer loose grounds than french press.

Super easy, light, and durable; might need to get one for camping and backpacking.

Also got an electric kettle. Which seems like cheating.

Day Pack of Holding

Ken's Osprey Stratos 24 pack came. Took it on a 5-mile shakedown hike last weekend. Worked great! Might not be ideal for conventions … or I just need to carry less books.

Big Huge Board Game ... now somewhat Less Huge ... but still Big

Ken played Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion with his son. Very approachable game; comes with its own ziploc bags and instructions on how to sort components. First few adventures are tutorials (of which we did one) that spell out how combat, spells, and movement work.

Bullet Journal TimeDavid started Bullet Journaling - jumped on the bandwagon, several years late

Paperage A5 - for daily/regular bullet journal - enjoying it so far

Yellow

Leuchtturm1917 for a game bullet journal - inspired by Ken’s use

Wine

Bullet journaling and gaming

Dune Mentat-like statement on the paper band of the cover

Terraforming the Garage

David is working on garage upgrade to make it more habitable in the winter months.

Murder, She Gamed

David geeks out about Brindlewood Bay.

From the DriveThru RPG blurb: "A roleplaying game about a group of elderly women—members of the local Murder Mavens mystery book club—who frequently find themselves investigating (and solving!) real-life murder mysteries."

Playing Role-Playing Games Virtually vs. the Real World

How is gaming remotely different than in person?

Opportunities to play shift.

Makes it easier for some people to join the game. Others (understandably) don’t want Yet Another Online meeting or lack gear/internet connection to make it work.

Overall, feels like there’s a small benefit, scheduling-wise

What extra considerations do you need when gaming remotely?

Battle Map Prep

If playing with maps, more time is needed to find and/or make the maps. Stockpiling maps (and pre-loading them into your tabletop) can be helpful.

Same goes for tokens. Investing time up front to have player tokens, common NPC tokens, and monster tokens is worthwhile.

Mapping sites:

https://watabou.itch.io/one-page-dungeon

https://donjon.bin.sh/5e/dungeon/

https://dungen.app/dungen/

Visuals

Even with theatre-of-the-mind style play, it’s helpful to pull together photos/videos/etc that show off campaign elements and then load them into the virtual tabletop. Pinterest is also good for this.

Mechanics

Mainstream games are easier to run because virtual table tops do a better job of supporting their mechanics. Theatre of the mind works well too.

Even simple mechanics, like Savage Worlds’ initiative card deck, can trip you up.

There’s a learning curve with whatever platform you use. Sometimes it feels like a learning ciff that you run smack into (or fall off of)

Technology

Finding a video conferencing platform everyone likes is hard. A little easier now though.

Uneven skill levels and technology among players (e.g. some people have headsets, some don’t).

Phones can be a great equalizer here, and avoid the software/driver upgrade cycle of heck.

How does virtual play affect personal interactions?

Difficult to “read the room” as a GM, especially if no one is using cameras.

No side conversations

Do you need more breaks?

Yes

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Featured Image

A few of Ken's bullet journals. The light blue one is a general RPG bullet journal; the yellow one is for the Scales of Truth campaign, and the royal blue one is a daily bullet journal.

Welcome to the Lair of Secrets podcast! The podcast about gaming and being a geek by two forty-something geek dads. David is a father, coder, gamer, woodworker, and guy with too many hobbies he likes to pursue. Ken is an IT guy who never seems to have enough time to read comic books, but refuses to stop collecting them.

Colorful Forges of WordsDavid finished Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett - very abrupt ending, the novel felt like a series of short stories strung together, not his best work but still enjoyableForging Hephaestus by Drew Hayes by - reading - Superhero/villain story, the main character is a villain in air quotes who is learning to use her powers and being introduced to the social structure behind the scenes at a villain guildReads like a story based on role-playing done in Champions Online or City of Heroes, which is to say it’s pretty good, but won’t be for everyoneInteresting worldbuilding on how new metas come into beingA Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine - on deck nextOn the Agenda of GodsDavid's Local game group was partially able to get together this weekend after the long hiatusPlayed a game of the new edition of Godsend Agenda that is being developed by Khepera Publishing with the GM being Jerry Grayson. It’ll be released on the Babies With Knives and Cowboy Dracula YouTube channels at some point.Was a lot of fun, and David was reminded about how long DnD and Pathfinder combats can take.We did several combats and a fair amount of investigation and role-playing in the four-ish hours of gaming. I’ve had DnD and Pathfinder games where it was nearly four hours of combat.Picked up Take 5 / 6 Nimmt and have had fun with the games of it so farOn Miscellaneous Topics of NoteZoe is doing very wellTorn down pretty much everything in the garage woodshop to rearrange it and make improvementsVenturing forth with a new Day Pack of HoldingKen is finally replacing his grungy old day pack with a spiffy new Osprey one.A day pack is a lightweight backpack meant for shorter hikes, overnight backpacking trips, and trips.Also: Game conventions?Ken bought the Osprey Stratos 24 pack24 liter pack.Dual zippered panel access to main compartmentFront panel vertical zip pocket; front panel zip stash pocket; front panel storage pocket; large top panel zip stash pocket; side stretch-mesh pockets; zip hipbelt pocketsIce-tool loop with bungee tie-offIntegrated raincoverInternal hydration reservoir sleeve (hydration reservoir sold separately)By way of comparison, Ken's main backpack is an 85L pack (it’s a lot bigger)To Boldly Go ... and ReadKen bought all the Star Trek Adventures books via Humble BundleSooooo much content.Ken may need to take a day off just to read Star Trek.More D&D with kidsKen's daughter (17) wants him to run a game of D&D for her and her friends.Looks like that new D&D starter set is going to get a lot of use this fall...The Theatre of Infinite StreamsThe Old Guard (movie)Charlize Theron "Andy"… one of a handful of immortal warriors who try to make the world a better place. They find a new immortal … and a conspiracy that wants to harness their immortality.If you liked Charlize Theron in Mad Max: Fury Road or Atomic Blonde, you’ll love this.Umbrella Academy, Season 2Based on the comic books of the same name.Children with powers adopted and raised by a stern father (and an intelligent ape).In Season 1, one of them nearly destroyed the world. In Season 2, the apocalypse is still looming large … but it’s a nuclear war in 1963.Baseball!Finally … Ken's Mets are back. Watching games is surreal though.The BoysWhere we go off on a Karl Urban sidetrack of how he makes any movie he is in better

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Artwork from the Star Trek Adventures game by Modiphius.

Welcome to the Lair of Secrets podcast! The podcast about gaming and being a geek by two forty-something geek dads. Ken Newquist is an IT project manager, comic book enthusiast, and outdoor guy who is getting outdoors a lot more these days. David Moore is a father, coder, gamer, woodworker, and guy with too many hobbies he likes to pursue.

Running, Blown Sneakers, and ByclingKen's stuck on Week 4 of his 10K training program. He blew out a sneaker (turns out he's bad at taking off sneakers)Also: training is hard.Thinking about doing more biking to balance out the running. Got a Trek Dual Sport 3 last year and used to bike work. Now … that’s not an option since he's working from home. Ken invents the term “Bycling”, a combination of cycling and bicycling. - DavidGetting ready to do more hiking and backpackingWise Old Humans, Cultured Science Fiction, Worse Worlds Currently working on David Brin’s The Ancient Ones, his first comedy science fiction novel in which humanity is the elder species that serves as advisors to the “demmies”, an overeager species that are always rushing into trouble.Next up? Excession (A Culture Novel Book, Book 5) by Iain M Banks - About an alien artifact that appeared at the edge of the galaxy millennia ago, only to disappear. Now it’s back.The Worst of All Possible Worlds (The Salvagers, Book 3) by Alex White - The concluding novel to the Salvagers series, which mixes space opera with magic.Echoes of Ancient Greece, The Mandibles of the FelineMythic Odysseys of Theros (D&D Campaign Setting and Adventure Book)Based on the Magic: The Gathering world. Inspired by Greek MythologyPart of me wants to run a Clash of the Titans-style fantasy game.Gloomhaven: Jaws of The LionBy Cephalofair Games Expansion / stand-alone game based on Gloomhaven rules.An easier, faster version of the base game. Could be a good introduction to the larger game.

Walk, Walk WalkWalking - Still at least twice a day, but the heat has been hard for David to get in more than thatNot today, but did a fair amount of work in the workshop, cleaning and making shop furnitureDresden returns, Shading the ArcanePeace Talks by Jim Butcher - latest novel in the Dresden Files released July 14, 2020.Still reading The Color of Magic by Terry Prachett halfway through, on hold for Peace Talks. It’s decent, but David definitely likes his later work better.Wondrous Memories of Powerful AtlantisUnfortunately, no regular Sunday game for six weeks now, hoping we’ll play this weekDavid played in a session of Atlantis the Second Age by Khepera Publishing (check out the game's downloads)We just received issues 1-3 of the Zine of Wondrous Power by Highmoon Press and friend Daniel PerezZine of Wondrous Power is a gaming zine by Daniel M. Perez dedicated to exploring playing, design, creation, and discussion of roleplaying games. It features short essays, small games, new rules and settings, fiction, and ideas. If it deals with roleplaying games as a hobby and art form, it has a home in the Zine of Wondrous PowersAssorted Geekery (and dogs)Plex home library, rediscovering all of the DVDs I own but haven’t watched in a while.Legend of KorraBrimstoneConan the BarbarianThundarr the BarbarianNew dog! Zoe is two months old Great Pyrenees (with maybe some labrador in there) and will hopefully be a great playmate for Zeke who is now one year old

Main Topic: Achieving Consensus at the Game Table

Ideas for achieving consensus when looking for a new RPG. Ken’s group is considering alternatives to our short Star Wars game. How do you achieve consensus when picking a new game?

Polling? Big forum thread?In-person brainstorming (or, in the COVID world, video conference brain storming)

Right now we’re looking at some sort of science fiction game, but the options are all over the place:

Homegrown cyberpunk, space opera, near-future, High SF?Star Trek?Urban fantasy (i.e. spellslingers on the streets of New York)Something powered by Savage Worlds? Try a couple of different systems for inspiration? 

Featured Image

Cover art from Peace Talks by Jim Butcher.

WE COME FROM THE FUTURE ... the future of the Lair of Secrets podcast, that is! David and Ken talk about their latest geeky undertakings, including a return to Atomic Robo, WandaVision, X of Swords, the Forbidden Lands RPG, and even more speculative fiction novels before turning to the main topic: Kickstarter's Zinequest 3.

Ken finally read Atomic Robo

See Episode 3 …. Which was like yesterday for you, and months ago for us. Great stuff.

Atomic Robo & the Fightin Scientists of Tesladyne

Make Mine WandaVision

Ken and his kids love it. He may love it more as an X-Men (and thus, Scarlet Witch) fan.

X of Swords

Ken finally read Marvel’s massive summer crossover, which harkens back to the Chris Claremont/Alan Davis era of Excalibur. Yeah, you heard that right, X-Nerds!

Ken started The Rhythm of War by Brandon Sanderson. He should be done reading it sometime in 2022.

1,232 pages (57 hours, 26 minutes in audiobook form)

Space Sweepers - Korean film with an international cast.

David's Gaming

Army Corps of Engineers: Special Operations Group powered by FATE Condensed

Captured a Batsquatch in Washington State

When the fearsome batsquatch was finally subdued it was "high as a kite" and "curious about humans"

Started and ended a Star Wars d6 game

Not all games are for everyone

Ran a one-shot Spirit of the Century

ALMOST ran the Gamma World hex crawl again

Planning for either a D&D or Forbidden Lands game to replace the Star Wars game

I know very little about Forbidden Lands, but I have heard it is good, seems very hex-crawl-like

Why not a Burning Wheel game? I don’t think it’s right for this group.

Books that David is reading

The Flowers of Vashnoi - Lois McMaster Bujold

The Invisible Library - Cogman Genevieve

Zinequest 3

Official Kickstarter Page

Zinequest 2021 @ Bone Box Chant – A huge list of all of the active and upcoming zines being published as part of Zinequest 3.

Thru-Hiker: A Journaling Game of Long-Distance Hiking – Sounds like the perfect intersection of outdoor and gaming geekery. By Daniel Perez

Infinite March – A zine about working as agents to support (or tear down) the Temporal Empire and its eternal rule.

Planar Compass Issue 2 – Explore the Astral Sea with this Old School Essentials-compatible zine. Includes new monsters, a “living dungeon”, astral navigation rules, and (of course) pirates.

Creature Feature – a ZineQuest 3 monster TTRPG anthology. There’s not much up about this one, but it had me at “Creature Feature”.

Hope is Not a Plan - An solo, journaling-style RPG zine about "the existential dread of professional project management". Given that a big chunk of Ken's day job deals with project management, he can relate to the "dread" part.

The Vast in the Dark - A zine about "Exploring Ruins in an Infinite World", It features "brutalist alien flavor", no prep world generation, and optional horror rules.

The Island of the Excellent: A Hexcrawl Zine

Last Orders! 16 Beers and Ciders for Fantasy RPGs.

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Cover art from the Forbidden Lands RPG by Free League. Credit: Free League.

Welcome to the Untitled Podcast. You know what the name is, we don’t … but we’re getting closer. Maybe. On this exercise, we hit the gym (or at least, the sidewalk) with our respective exercise routines, finish up our Tales from the Loop game, talk physical therapy for dogs, get lost in a few endless video games, and start grabbing books off the shelf for our respective reading lists.

David's Exercise Update

David talks about his exercise routine

Delays in editing the Untitled Podcast and Cowboy Dracula

But you're in the future, so the shows are already done!

Physical therapy is going to the dogs

Dog Zeke needs to continue his physical therapy for his muscle atrophy

David's Reading List

David started a reading list. Since he can’t go to a bookstore and just browse shelves, he needs to be much more mindful of what he wants to read next

The Books:

Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett (First book in the Discworld series)

Learn more at Tor's Terry Pratchett Book Club.

Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal

Check out Kowal's website

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

Tor Publishing's website for the book

Exiting Tales from the Loop

Finished our last session of Tales from the Loop and looking forward to another arc or a new game

The official website for Tales from the Loop

Settlement creation with Ex Novo

David played a little game called Ex Novo to create the settlement in his Gamma World game

Started out with a river, plain and pretty boring

Soon after had a cave system with metal tunnels with robots, a mountain that had been split in half, and the primary food source was the Hoppers, grasshoppers the size of your hand

A faction grew up to brew beers and spirits from the hoppers, another wanted to engineer the site to help with the yearly flooding and to increase the hopper population

The brewers collapsed as a faction as a fire in that district killed one of the elders of the village as they fought the fire and after that spirits were no longer allowed to be brewed

It went on from there with new factions forming, old factions gaining or losing influence

It makes for a great role-playing tool, since now the players have a direct interest in the settlement that we all built, and can reference the history

Run, Geek Run

Ken's 10K Training Routine continues with Week 4.

Also strength training routine (lots of planks, lunges, stretching, rollie, squats, etc.)

Getting Lost in Video Games

Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

Ken made it to the final temple. It only took 22 years...

Nintendo's Ocarina of Time website

DRAGON QUEST® XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age – Definitive Edition

Massive JRPG for the Switch

Includes “flashback” segments with old school 16-bit graphics Took me years to finish DragonQuest IX on the DS/3DS

Nintendo's Dragon Quest XI website

Ken's Summer Reading List

It's summer somewhen, right?

The Unicorn Project: A Novel about Developers, Digital Disruption, and Thriving in the Age of Data by Gene Kim

The follow-up to The Phoenix Project takes place alongside the earlier book. It's like the Ender's Shadow of the IT workflow/productivity fiction genre (which is so niche it might only contain these two books)

Official website for the boo . 

Fall; or, Dodge in Hell by Neal Stephenson

An indirect follow up to Cryptonomicon

A sequel of sorts to Reamde

About getting scanned and uploaded into a virtual universe.

Stephenson's website for the book

Bone Silence by Alistair Reynolds

Set in a far-future version of our solar system

Major planets have been dismantled and replaced by thousands of orbital habitats. Civilization has risen and fallen multiple times, leaving behind valuable detritus to those willing to risk dangers terrible and strange

The publisher's website

And the rest...

Excession (A Culture Novel Book, Book 5) by Iain M Banks (GoodReads)

The Bohr Maker (The Nanotech Succession Book 1) by Linda Nagata (GoodReads)

The Dreaming Stars (Axiom, Book 2) by Tim Pratt (GoodReads)

The Last Emperox (The Interdependency, Book 3) by John Scalzi (GoodReads)

The Wise Man’s Fear (Kingkiller Chronicle, Book 2) by Patrick Rothfuss (GoodReads)

10 books in total, plus a bunch of 1950s Hellboy as well as Abe Sapien standalone graphic novels. Check outthe full list over at Nuketown

We talked about Atomic Robo too!

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Cover art for the 3DS version of Ocarina of Time. Credit: Nintendo