System Mastery

By Jef Aldrich and Jon TaylorLeisure Games Hobbies

System Mastery episodes

January 12, 2016 Randomized – Afterthought 23
Please find enclosed one discussion regarding random elements in games. Can there be too much randomization? Where’s the balancing point and how to find it? Could we perhaps abandon that […]
1 hr 7 min
January 04, 2016 Gamma World – System Mastery 60
https://systemmastery.files.wordpress.com/2016/01/system-mastery-60-gamma-world.mp3
Today we’re thrilled to bring you a game where you can play as a swarm of tiny yetis hanging around with a robot hawk and have an amazing, basically balanced game. Gamma World 7th edition is a favorite here, and we’re starting 2016 with a breath of radioactive post-apocalyptic fresh air. Don’t worry, in two weeks we’ll be down in the filth showing off the filthiest bits of filth to each other, like two Gollums. For now though, enjoy this legitimately awesome game.

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1 hr 6 min
January 04, 2016 Gamma World – System Mastery 60
Today we’re thrilled to bring you a game where you can play as a swarm of tiny yetis hanging around with a robot hawk and have an amazing, basically balanced […]
1 hr 6 min
December 29, 2015 Positive Vibes – Afterthought 22
Tell me boy, what day was this recorded? Why, ’twas Christmas Day! And then it was released the Tuesday following, thus ruining any Christmas magic it may have contained! This […]
1 hr 20 min
December 22, 2015 Immortal: The Invisible War Pt. 2 – System Mastery 59
https://systemmastery.files.wordpress.com/2015/12/system-mastery-59-immortal-part-2.mp3
We discussed the rules, now let’s talk about the fluff in the second episode of Immortal: The Invisible War. Just what is a Darkle, and what Femmes it? And shouldn’t the Tautha really be the Tuatha? Probably!

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1 hr 8 min
December 15, 2015 Terms and Conditions – Afterthought 21
After cramming our tiny mortal meat brains with the craziness of Immortal, we needed to discuss the concept of setting a game apart by the playful act of renaming every […]
1 hr 5 min
December 08, 2015 Immortal: The Invisible War Pt. 1 – System Mastery 58
https://systemmastery.files.wordpress.com/2015/12/system-mastery-58-immortal-the-invisible-war-part-1.mp3
It’s been a while since we’ve hit such a rich, dense vein of crazy that we had to slow the pace down and take two episodes to really tease out the filaments. Could Immortal: The Invisible War become the worthy successor to the glorious nonsense of Synnibar? Well to find out, we’re taking a few hours to pop on down to the Dominions, evade the Sanguinary, and ask the Conundrums. Sunedrion. Himsati.
This week is all about the rules of Immortal. Tune in to the next episode of System Mastery as we try to fit the massive insanity of the story of this game into our unwilling human minds.

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1 hr 6 min
December 08, 2015 Immortal: The Invisible War Pt. 1 – System Mastery 58
It’s been a while since we’ve hit such a rich, dense vein of crazy that we had to slow the pace down and take two episodes to really tease out […]
1 hr 6 min
December 01, 2015 Ripoff vs. Reference – Afterthought 20
Where’s the line between a good old fashioned ripoff and a well-crafted homage? At what point does imitation cease to be flattery? Also what would we name our kids if […]
1 hr 4 min
November 24, 2015 Legacy: War of Ages – System Mastery 57
https://systemmastery.files.wordpress.com/2015/11/system-mastery-57-legacy-war-of-ages.mp3
You ever get the urge to take the Highlander movies and William Gibson’s Sprawl trilogy and just artlessly mush them together like Playdough? This book does exactly that, and then tosses in a little brazenly lifted Ursula K. LeGuin material just for seasoning. It’s Legacy, the Highlander game without the license rights.

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1 hr 10 min