Total Pebble Knockdown

Total Pebble Knockdown

By Total Pebble KnockdownLeisureGames
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Total Pebble Knockdown episodes

  • 131. Deer Mimicry Skills

    On the show today:

    Oh Deer asks you to act like an NPC in a video game lest you get shot by an increasingly unhinged hunter. The TPK crew played this to hunt each other for sport and came away with a sense that it was unlike other gaming experiences because of it's structure. What does it feel like when you have to act like you are not playing a game?
    Getting a player acclimated to a new game can be a daunting task. Tutorials and training can become too overbearing or sparse for players to engage. So, what would we want to see from player orientation when we boot up the latest banger?
    Oh no, your players have become archfey and now your D&D campaign has to become a political thriller. We've all been there. How would we handle this situation? Is there a way to implement social combat?
    Reddit question on archfey - https://www.reddit.com/r/DMAcademy/comments/1etb41t/all_my_players_became_archfey/
    Our episode on Bastions in D&D - https://youtu.be/ATZhEunOM30

    1 hr 13 min
  • 130. AAA User’s Manual RPG

    On the show today:

    It's not used very often, but tremorsense is an extrasensory ability some monsters use in D&D. There are some interesting scenarios that utilize this, but it's often a secondary thought. What is tremorsense? What are some fun ways to utilize it? Also, could there be something similar for water?
    Flanking maneuvers are common in warfare, but less common in RPGs. But they can provide good tactical advantages for you as a player. They can also backfire on you or be utilized by the enemies. How can we use flanking in our games? Also, be aware that there is an extensive digression into flank steak.
    Prone is a position you might not want to end up in, lying on your belly, waiting to get back in the action. However, in war games, prone can be a great advantage to create a lower profile, stabillize your weaponry or make you harder to see. This is not typically how it is used in D&D, but let's imagine that we could. Also, are we actually prone or supine?

    1 hr 7 min
  • 129. Avongers Ensemble

    On the show today:

    We recently made a pros and cons episode on modding games and it got Nathan to thinking about something. What if he modded a game he had already played and beaten several times? And so, this is a tale of playing the modded version of KOTOR.

    Can you actually categorize all video games into "Parkour" and "Menu"? A Calvin & Hobbes meme seems to think so, but it might not be as simple as all of that. Let's discuss what these terms actually refer to and if this assessment is legitimate.

    Can you play Dungeons and Dragons with two people and no dungeon master? An interesting idea and possibly one to try out, but how exactly would that work? Is there a work-around to this question? And why does it have to be D&D at all?

    https://www.reddit.com/r/DnD/comments/1ed7btz/is_it_possible_to_play_dnd_with_only_two_people/

    51 min
  • 128. Druck of the Law

    On the show today:


    Space is really big, but you might not want to play a game in it. There are games that bypass the enormity of the great void, but others insist on making you traverse it. How can we mitigate this vast nothingness? And why would you travel 45 minutes to a space station on the other side of the galaxy?


    Games often punish you when things go wrong. However, there are some that insist that you succeed regardless of your ability. The fail state is non-existent. So, is there a better way to present challenges to the players? We're looking at you Hogwarts Legacy...


    Should you intentionally kill off your players so you can reset their levels and take all of their equipment? Well... someone asked this question on Reddit, so here we go.

    Has anyone ever used a TPK successfully to progress a campaign? : r/DnD (reddit.com)

    1 hr 9 min
  • 127. Be a Carrot

    On the show today:


    The Exit 8 is not a long game, but it's not a bad thing. Can you imagine an Exit 80 just to pad the runtime? Some gamers want to maximize the amount of content, but it doesn't always apply. What do we want to experience in a game and how long is too long?


    Traditional thinking is that villains are more interesting to play than heroes, but perhaps that's just because heroes were not written with complexity. Instead of just reacting to the villain's dastardly plans, the hero can have all sorts of character motivations, growth and history to flesh them out. Let's discuss how to make a more interesting hero and some examples of how that has taken shape in popular media.


    Today's Reddit post is almost a decade old, so hopefully the poster found a resolution by now. The question involves a demon, a wish, a village turned to stone and a monkey's paw gone wrong. Three years into a mega dungeon campaign, will the party go out in a very silly way or live to tell the tale?


    1 hr 4 min
  • 126. Snack Horse

    On the show today:

    Green Hell may have the most extreme level of survival mechanics Nathan has ever seen. It is unapologetic in how many ways you can die and presenting you with a world that wants you dead. It can be frustrating and will likely make you paranoid. It is also one of the best survival crafting games he has ever played. Why does this level of mechanics work so well for Green Hell and why can't you recreate it for other games in the genre?
    Mods can break a game but they can also enhance them. Nathan has traditionally tried to avoid using them until it becomes a necessity, but Alex uses them all the time. We will discuss kinds of mods and what the benefit or issue with them can be.
    During Steam Next Fest we played many demos, but there is also a rise in "Prologues" for upcoming games. Some of these serve as a stand-alone version of the demo, but others are their own thing. What would we like prologues to be, why do they exist and how could we distinguish them from demos?

    1 hr 17 min
  • 125. The Condos at Grandpa’s Farm

    On the show today:

    Have you ever started playing a survival crafting game where you wash up alone on an island? I know, it's never happened before, but for the sake of this conversation, we're going to talk about how this is a common trope and we can change up the formula. Maybe it's not an island. Maybe you're not alone. Maybe you went there intentionally. Also, we brainstorm a survival crafting version of Oregon Trail.
    A traditional RPG storyline involves a very powerful character who is specifically suited to kill a god. We discuss some ways to subvert this idea. Maybe you aren't special. Maybe the stakes are smaller. Maybe the chosen one is someone you need to stop.
    Your grandpa left you his farm. Welcome to Stardew Valley. Also, welcome to the basic structure of Harvest Moon, My Time at Portia, No Place Like Home, Blue Oak Bridge and so many others. But, what could we do to change this formula? Maybe you have to save up to afford the farm. Maybe you just have a backyard garden. Maybe you end up turning your farm into condos.

    1 hr 7 min
  • 124. Medieval Tech Support

    On the show today:

    Someone needed to know what happens when you get turned to stone. Primarily, do you shrink? Yes, this is a physics segment about being turned to stone. You are welcome.

    https://www.reddit.com/r/rpg/comments/p1325p/a_pointless_thought_on_the_physics_of_being/ 

    The bad guy is using ceremonial circles for blood sacrifices. What do you do? Is there something more interesting than just fighting some demons? We discuss investigation and outside-the-box ideas for purifying your sacred stone circle.

    https://www.reddit.com/r/rpg/comments/1bxa81b/need_some_ideas_for_consecrating_a_stone_circle/ 

    What would spells look like in the Stone Age? A question about modifying D&D spells to work for an ancient setting leads us down the road to Planegea.

     https://www.reddit.com/r/rpg/comments/7dtc8z/ideas_for_spells_in_a_stone_age_rpg/ 

    https://atlas-games.com/planegea

    39 min
  • 123. Resting Bored Face

    On this episode of Total Pebble Knockdown:

    KlaytonCalix joins us to discuss Steam Next Fest Summer 2024. He wanted to tell us about playing Drill Core and Ova Magica, which were among the 12 games he got to this time. Alex tells us about Viking survival in Aska and why it worked better for him than Valheim. Nathan attempts to explain what you do in Goblin Cleanup, the most unique and bizarre game he played during Next Fest.
    What has Steam Next Fest done to game demos? Once, we would have demos up and they would stay there even after the game released. Next Fest takes all of those demos, hundreds of them, and condenses them into a week, with many of them leaving right after, never to return. Klayton joins us in discussing the good and bad that has come with the Steam Next Fest model. Also, we brainstorm some ideas on how to make it more comprehensive for the average gamer.
    Alex and Klayton really wanted to discuss World of Warcraft's Mists of Pandaria Remix. The problem is that they wanted to discuss it with Nathan. So, this is not a video about the WoW Remix. This is a challenge video where Nathan needs to stay awake while discussing the WoW Remix.

    1 hr 42 min
  • 122. Do You Want to Fight a Mountain?

    On this episode of Total Pebble Knockdown:

    We are back from vacation and Nathan wanted to discuss his time at Hancock Shaker Village because it got him thinking about how fantasy tech works. We will talk a bit about the round hay barn, the water turbine and how pre-industrial societies handled common day-to-day life. What does this teach us about the world-building of your RPG?

    Nothing says relaxing vacation like hiking up a mountain. So, Nathan went up Monument Mountain and stared over a cliff at his potential demise. And that got him to thinking about difficult terrain and how to expand on the idea of making the environment an obstacle itself.

    Alex went off to LA and all he brought back was a giant D20. Also, his experience on the West Coast got him thinking about facets of a city that remain hidden from view, even by those who live there. What should we think about when building urban environments in RPGs?

    1 hr 14 min

About Total Pebble Knockdown

From the publisher's feed

In weekly discussions that result in absolutely no clear answers, Nathan and Alex delve into the endless choices that make up games. What can we learn from video games, storytelling, and the real…