Up Your RPG - Helping you up your roleplaying game

In this episode, we'll tackle a topic many players and GMs really struggle with. We want to get as invested in our characters as we can, but how do we do that, knowing there's always a significant risk of the personality we're portraying, dying... often violently.

This episode is part two of our player autonomy mini-series. In this episode we'll ask the question, "When, if ever, is it OK to diminish player autonomy?" It's a common occurrence in TTRPGs, and many groups don't even realize it's happened.

This episode is the first of a two-part series on player autonomy. Today we're talking about out of game restrictions, specifically how players' creative choices can be limited before they even get to the table, and is that a bad thing?

In this episode, we're starting off season two with a core concept of our philosophy on Up Your RPG. We believe that role-playing games are a long-form narrative process, created by GMs AND players, building a story from both sides of the table.

In this episode, How Up Your RPG, effects us. What are our personal takeaways after 11 episodes of this show, and how has creating this podcast impacted us, both as RPG players and as GMs?

In this episode, more metagaming. As an adventuring party, it's easy to fall into a pattern of decision-making based on skill numbers, rather than our characters' personal abilities. How can players move toward traits and away from stats? And how can GMs help that process along?

In this episode, a few of our personal favorite RP moments. Collectively, we've got decades of table top gaming experience. We're going recount some scenes that were significant to us, and see if we can pinpoint the source of their role-playing magic.

In this episode, character trait or trope, is your hook hokey? So, you've given your new character a certain pattern of speech, maybe an accent, or even a catch phrase. These can really help you jump into that personality, but they can be too much, or in some cases even annoying. Where's the line between character device and story derailment?

In this episode, managing difficult moments. Last week we talked about how to create conflict among characters. Today, we'll discuss how to handle those times when in-game tension leads to turmoil at the table?

In this episode, creating narrative conflict. Arguably the most important element of any story is conflict. How do we, as players and GMs, develop authentic tension between players and NPCs, and even among players, without hindering progress.