Swede Rolls

Greetings Rollers! I’m excited by the great prospect of once again introducing you to the DaVinci/Clockwork-punk setting of Varangia, Martin’s homebrew world that has more layers than a pancake-cake!

In this episode, we’ll talk about the many and powerful Elvar houses, we’ll cover the plethora of Guilds and Councils that rule this urban fantasy. We’ll get acquainted with cults and religious orders, ethnical communities and, of course, the sewer workers. The noblest and most rewarding of professions.

We’ll tell you about Varangia’s unofficial national dish (Seagull Mousse), the not-so-secret Indigo council of Espionage and Intelligence, why the house of Koth is feared and why it makes sense to have a guild of Mercenaries.

And did you know there's a semi-guild for the people suffering from the melting plague? Well, it's more of a cult really, but they do give you nice benefits for joining!

Whether you’ve found interest in the setting, or if you’re looking for inspiration for your own fantasy city, we’re sure you’ll find this podcast much to your pleasures!

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Check us out on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/c/swedefighters or on our website http://www.swederolls.com

Alright, so let's say your players aren't down for your usual linear dungeon crawl. It happens to all of us. At one point or another, people just get tired of bashing in progressively bigger monsters' heads and want to try something else. Maybe they never want to leave Neverwinter, or perhaps they think that the Lunar Habitat of Clever Hands is the only place for them?

Well, if that's the case, you've got a very different campaign on your hands. A sandbox kind of game is, well, if you've played GTA you should be familiar with the concept. A (relatively) open world, constrained only by geographical borders, in which there are a multitude of options to pursue. Perhaps you'll be an investment banker, or maybe a train robber? Whatever you choose to do, the game needs to present you with a reasonable amount of challenge and, hopefully, some kind of in-universe logic to it. At least that's how we'd explain it.

A Sandbox RPG isn't much different. It merely means that you, the GM, need to sit down and think: "Okay, how do I make this world living?" You've already been doing that with the monsters populating your dungeons, or the people in a town. There's a few key NPCs or Monsters who influence the rest of the NPCs/Monsters and whom the PCs have reason to interact with. Now you just need to think bigger.

Martin explains his way of creating a world like this in today's episode, which covers everything from organized crime to merchant houses, workers' unions and much, much more. You'll find, after listening to this, that even bureaucracy and libraries can be used to your advantage in order to make a rich, inspiring setting for the players to romp around in.

Why not have them play Tax collectors in a High-fantasy city? Or perhaps Plumbers and Sewer Workers in a labyrinthian system built and designed thousands of years ago? A system that only works because of these brave women and men's tireless sacrifice and effort to keep the Sewer Gators in check.

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Check us out on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/c/swedefighters or on our website http://www.swederolls.com

In this week's podcast, we sort of continue on last week's topic, but also veer a bit in on the personal side.

You've all heard us talk about how RPGs have made us more able to talk in front of crowds, to improvise and countless other lateral skills, but what exactly is it improving? And how?

And how can you improve even more? We delve into the realm of playing outside of your comfort zone, of taking on characteristics that are bad in a controlled environment.

In many ways roleplaying can be like theatre; it explores persons and personalities that you find abhorrent. Of course, it doesn't have to be just that, it allows you to step into the life of someone you're not, good or bad, and make decisions that in real life would carry much bigger repercussions.

So what're you waiting for? Give it a listen and see for yourself if you agree with us!

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Check us out on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/c/swedefighters or on our website http://www.swederolls.com

So you just got a group together, you've rolled up your characters and the GM screen is up. Time to Adventure!

Except 30 minutes in you realize half the group are on their phone, the other half is in the kitchen making nacho plates and somehow, magically, the third half (don't question it) is paying attention to the GM. How did it get there?

Or what about that group where there's always at least 25% missing? No matter how many times you set the schedule, somehow someone always forgets or double books it. Or just plain doesn't show up!

And what about expectations? You roll up a character, give them a good backstory, devote a lot of time into figuring out how to play them, then BAM. Killed in the first session. Turns out you're all supposed to play Murderhobos.

This podcast might not fix flakey players, but we hope it'll give you some inspiration for how to settle in into a group and style of play that suits you. Max, Johan, Toby and Chris give their takes on what group works and what don't, how to play online and offline, good systems, apps and generally promoting self-care when it comes to roleplaying.

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Check us out on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/c/swedefighters or on our website http://www.swederolls.com

For today's episode, we've got two (sort of) new guests, Johan and Max! They're here to talk about Magic the Gathering which, if you didn't know, is Toby's forté. Together they take Chris, the utter noob, through most everything you need to know (and some you shouldn't) before you begin to play Magic the Gathering.

Sure, they might be a bit light on the rule talk, but who cares about that when you can hear how Jace is pretty much Naruto, how Chandra is just about everyone's Magic waifu and how Cthulhu & Co. ended up fighting a bunch of Draculas.

And if that wasn't enough, there's a run-down of the different lands, how they play and what kind of personality they have, and there's some talk about banned and/or forbidden cards, including a bondage elf that is 100 % real, you guys.

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Check us out on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/c/swedefighters or on our website http://www.swederolls.com

It’s a 40k-orama! This week, we’ll revisit Games Workshop’s scifi setting Warhammer 40,000 to put our focus on the Imperium of Man. Chris, Fredrik and Toby discuss the Empire(s) that came and went, the inevitable downfall of Man at the peak of the Dark Age of Technology, the collapse of civilization during The Age of Strife, the Emperor of Man’s eventual unification and strive to create a new, galaxy-spanning Empire, and the sudden betrayal by his most trusted Primarch, Horus.

Join us as we look at the multifaceted organizations of the Imperium; discussing the Adeptus Mechanicus, the Imperial Guard, the Inquisition and much more. Unfortunately, as is always the case, we can only touch briefly upon this massive subject, but if you want more then we highly recommend doing some research of your own. These videos provide the basic information you need to have a frame of reference as you dig through often-times conflicting fluff.

Let is also be known that we are, at times, wrong. We don’t rehearse ahead of time, and often we use the wrong name, confuse two pieces of information or just plain haven’t read up enough. If you catch us making a mistake, let us know in the comments!

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Check us out on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/c/swedefighters or on our website http://www.swederolls.com

This week you can join Chris, Toby and Fredrik, as we talk about a truly well-established SciFi setting called Warhammer 40,000, or 40k.

There’s some talk about modelling, some commentary on sound (and unsound) business practice, and lots and lots of fanboying. If you’re a fan of 40k, please be patient with our rambling, and if you’re new to the hobby, have some tidbits to look up on the wikia! (and correct us with). We’d love to hear from you, even if it is to tell you we messed up!

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Check us out on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/c/swedefighters or on our website http://www.swederolls.com

Join us as we talk about Martin’s homebrew Fantasy DaVinci-Punk Setting Varangia. We go through the history, geography, laws of society and some of the important events that helped shape the city into what it is today.

Even if you’re not interested in this specific setting, the advice and methods you can learn from Martin’s way of working things into his game are very valuable for your own homebrew settings.

If you want a very different take on fantasy city RPGs, this is the podcast for you. Leave your scrouples and reservations behind as you step into the deeply corrupt city of Varangia – Pearl of Cities!

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Check us out on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/c/swedefighters or on our website http://www.swederolls.com

Railroading is a form of gamemastering where the players aren't able to influence much of the story and/or are forced down a specific road of events planned by the Gamemaster. Some swear by it, considering their game an interactive story for the players to experience, while others argue that it's a different beast entirely where the players and GM together create a unique story that shouldn't be "boxed in".

We discuss the two and compare them, drawing from experiences both as players and as GMs, offline and online, to see which form we prefer and how they both can complement each other if done right.

No matter your view on it, both ways of playing bring with it its own set of advantages and problems. Join us as we talk about player agency, GM storytelling, cooperative results, online roleplaying, GM-free roleplaying and much, much more!

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Check us out on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/c/swedefighters or on our website http://www.swederolls.com

With us in the studio is Daniel, a venerable guest and a GM of countless sessions who’s here to give you his take on classic Roleplaying Games like Vampire: The Masquerade and Werewolf: The Apocalypse, all created by the studio White Wolf.

Set mainly in the modern times, these games explore (un)life as one of these creatures of myth as they struggle and fight others and each other for power, influence or perhaps even a better future.

If you’re not familiar with these games, don’t worry about it! Daniel will guide you through the feel of it all, sharing his thoughts about how to best experience this dark, grim version of our world. Or is it that much different? Join us and find out!

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Check us out on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/c/swedefighters or on our website http://www.swederolls.com