Role Playing Public Radio

Many RPG campaigns inevitably have at least one session that’s more about shopping for new items and gear. Some players love it and others hate it. How important are items and associated game mechanics for them? Caleb, Jay B, and I discuss the differing philosophies of items in various RPGs, from Phoenix Command’s detailed rules to Fiasco’s non-existent rules for items. We also discuss an upcoming gear book for Red Markets, plus shout outs and anecdotes. News: Party Fowl is out! If you haven’t already got a copy of the best duck-themed social gathering board game of 2019, then get yours today! Also, I am going to Australia next month, but RPPR will still be going strong. I will be posting about my trip on Twitter and Instagram. Shout Outs Kingdom: A show about a zombie outbreak in medieval Korea. The Order: A show about secret society of mages fight werewolves on a college campus. The Umbrella Academy: A show based on the comic. Wes Anderson meets the X-Men. Devotion: A great horror video game about a family in Taiwan in the 80s. The BSA Red Markets campaign: Playtesting mass combat rules for Red Markets. Call to Adventure: a new board game by Brotherwise Games. Review forthcoming! Velvet Buzzsaw and Blurred Lines: A movie and a documentary about the art world. Music: Automated Refrains by Dan Terminus

News: We have a new series on the RPPR Patreon called Mashup Mayhem. We take different things and mash them together to make RPGs. Our latest episode merges the AvP franchise with the Cthulhu mythos. In tabletop RPG industry news, a game designer, Zak Smith, has been accused of sexual assault and abuse by four women, including his former partner, Mandy Morbid. I believe them. He has been banned from Gen Con. Please do not buy any of his books. Much more information can be found here. Synopsis: Railroading is a problem for the table. Whether it’s the GM railroading the players or a player railroading the rest of the table by refusing to engage with the premise, it makes the game not as fun as it could be. Bill, David, and I join with special guest Rob from the Orpheus Protocol to talk about railroading. Be sure to check out the same page tool and the X card. Shout Outs Sleeping Giants: a sci-fi novel about the discovery of a giant alien robot. Oddity Archive: A cool Youtube channel of weird obscure videos. Godzilla – Planet Eater: Holy shit, this was great. Worth watching the whole trilogy just for this one part. The Faceless: a neat board game coming out soon. Gloomhaven and Gloomhaven Helper: Legacy dungeon crawling co-op board game and a very useful app for it Game Angry: a book of GMing advice by the Angry GM Masked Singer: David likes it! Grim Dawn: It’s like Diablo 2 but different. Song: Breakway by Starfarer

News: I have started using Instagram! Check out my photos and videos of PAX South! Also, Adam Scott Glancy has a campaign of Hollow Earth Expedition on RPPR Tabletop Tales. If you’re looking for exciting pulp action, check it out! Synopsis: We have been playing Scum and Villainy, a Forged in the Dark system RPG, for several months. Our campaign is going up on extended early access on the RPPR Patreon, but Aaron, Shaun, Tom, and I wanted to talk about the game now. We discuss a bit about our campaign, the game’s rules, and our experiences with it. Check out The Oddballs on the RPPR Patreon to listen to our actual play campaign! In our second segment, Kyle Carty from BPB Games reviews Rising Tides, an expansion for Torchbearer. It’s an interesting take on the steampunk naval exploration genre. Finally, we have shout outs and anecdotes based on our experience at PAX South this year. Shout Outs Nefarious: A web comic about a super villain who likes kidnapping princesses. Totally Reliable Delivery Service: a neat fumblecore video game we played at PAX South. Kingdom: A new series on Netflix about a zombie apocalypse in medieval Korea. Soda Drinker Pro: What the fuck? Pushing Up Roses: A cool LPer of older computer games. Nelo: an action game seen at PAX South. Fyre Fraud: A Hulu documentary on Fyre Festival. Song: Origin Unknown by Starfarer

In this preview of January’s Patreon bonus podcasts, we look at Netflix’s Bandersnatch and the ramifications of mashing up Dungeons and Dragons with wrestling. If you liked this preview, click on the links below to access the full episodes on Patreon: RPPR After Hours: Choose Your Own Netflix Mashup Mayhem: D&D and Wrestling

Many of us have at least a few failed game designs sitting around somewhere. Instead of lamenting those failures, we talk about how to leverage them to improve your skills and inspiration. Whether you’ve already got a game published or are just now thinking about entering the fray, we want to share some of our stories of failure turned into something positive from various angles of the tabletop game design field. Panelists: Andrew Hackard [Munchkin Line Editor, Steve Jackson Games], Scott Morris [Director of Business Development, GTS Distribution], Mike Abrahamson [Game Designer, Adventurer’s Guild Games]

News: RPPR is changing things up for 2019! Listen to this episode for all the details but it includes: New rewards for the RPPR Patreon Changes to our podcast schedule A new music review podcast and a lot more! Synopsis: A lot has happened this year, but I thought we could focus on something positive, namely the fun we had with tabletop RPGs! Tom, David, Shaun, Bridget, and Birk all share their gaming highlights. From great games on RPPR Tabletop Tales to campaigns like Dagashi (don’t miss the OVA one shot recorded at Gen Con!) and upcoming campaigns, 2018 was very good for tabletop games. Music: Tracks from Wilson Arcade and Miles to Midnight

A question and answer panel about incorporating LGBT themes into play and/or supporting your queer players, featuring David and Bridget from Role Playing Public Radio and Matt from the Drunk and Ugly (Sorry about the delay in posting it! I forgot until Matt reminded me.)

Every month, we publish patron-only podcasts on the RPPR Patreon, with a lot of great material. Some of you are missing out on this, so every month, we will publish a preview of our patron podcasts. This month, we have After Hours, talking about the rich lore of Payday 2 and Don’t Cross the Stream, about video game movies. We will also be posting different clips on Twitter and on the RPPR Facebook group. For Delta Green fans, Bridget will be posting two scenarios on her Patreon, for Dream Away Camp and an upcoming scenario!

News: Check out the Mixed Six podcast if you haven’t already. We recently did an episode that features vaporwave and it’s pretty great Synopsis: The rules for Eclipse Phase 2E are now out to backers of the Kickstarter, so Aaron, Shaun, Tom, and I got together to generate characters and talk about the new system. It’s very interesting and a must listen for all EP fans! Shout Outs Art and Arcana: a beautiful coffee table book about the art of Dungeons and Dragons. Norsemen: A comedic take on the life of Vikings, currently on Netflix. Bayonetta: A stylish brawler video game about a gun toting witch fighting hordes of angels. Great British Bake Off: a relaxing show about baking. Definitely no occult properties here. Castlevania Season 2: The best narrative adaptation of a video game property. Sabrina: Netflix made a show about the Archie universe witch. Song: Ghost Hack by Inari Alchemist

News: We now have RPPR merchandise available for sale! Check out our storefront and buy t-shirts, coffee mugs, and more. Synopsis: Developing an idea for an abandoned superhero or villain base for my RPG Base Raiders can be difficult. Aaron, Shaun, and I discuss how to come up with interesting bases. I describe a scenario idea I have and we collectively brainstorm a base for that scenario. In a new segment, I interview a game designer, Brie Sheldon, about their new upcoming Kickstarter, Turn, a RPG about living as a lycanthrope in a small town. It launches on October 31 and you can learn more at Brie’s website. Shout Outs Return of the Obra Dinn: a new mystery video game from the creator of Papers, Please. Cells at Work: An edutainment anime and manga series about the cells in your body. Burglar’s Guide to the City: An excellent book about the intersection of crime and architecture. Men of the West: A Youtube channel dedicated to Lord of the Rings analysis. Return to the 36th Chamber: A great Shaw Brothers kung fu movie. Kokkoku: Moment by Moment – a horror manga series about cults and time manipulation. Song: Discoveries by Mezzaluna