Role Playing Public Radio

I recently spoke to Eli Kurtz, the man behind a new Kickstarter for a fantasy campaign setting for the Savage Worlds system. “The Blackwood is a fantasy setting inspired by folklore and high-flying martial arts action. It’s Grimm’s Tales meets Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. It’s The Witcher series meets Kung Fu Hustle. It’s Iron Monkey meets Brotherhood of the Wolf. You are errants, a class of wandering adventurers, who search a landscape of deadly beauty for a way to save the settled folk of the Elder Kingdom from ruin.” Learn more by visiting the Kickstarter for the campaign or check out Mythic Gazetteer. Eli can be contacted via Twitter.

News: We are running a giveaway of five copies of Rise of the Dungeon Master, a graphic novel biography of Gary Gygax. If you want to enter, post a picture of your favorite D&D character sheet in the comments or tweet it @rosspayton with the hashtag #DnDRPPRCharacterSheet. We will pick the winners on May 10. Synopsis: Running published (or canned) adventures is often fun but challenging. Dan, Tom, and I discuss what we like in published scenarios. I focus on the last six Delta Green scenarios I ran from our recent Working Group Icarus campaign from Kali Ghati to Observer Effect. There will be no post mortem of Icarus because they were just published scenarios strung together but this is as close as we’ll get to it. We also have shout outs and anecdotes! Shout Outs Rise of the Dungeon Master: A fascinating look into the life of D&D’s creators and how the game came to be. Mystery Science Theater 3000: New season is finally on Netflix! Check it out! Radio Free Deimos: A HC SVNT Dracones podcast Microscope: A RPG/storytelling game about creating a civilization or community. Conan Exiles: A survival action game set in the world of Conan the Barbarian. Gantz 0: A CGI animated sci-fi horror movie based on a long running manga series. Shit is nuts. Stellaris: A 4X sci-fi computer game from Paradox. X-Risks: The newest Eclipse Phase book is now out in print! Bestiary 6: I haven’t had time to review it yet but it does have stats for Krampus. He is CR 21. Song: Midnight Resurrection by The Hunt

Jeff Barber, designer of Blue Planet and Upwind, stopped by recently so we caught up on how Upwind has been progressing. While the main game is done, Jeff is hard at work on the first campaign. Creating a new style for Upwind adventures and getting feedback from playtesters, has been challenging. I’ve been busy working on a freelance project, but I wrote a micro-game to take a break from it. After I saw Honey Heist, I thought I could write a micro-game, so I created Weird Trip I uploaded the alpha rules and the first playtest to the RPPR Patreon, but I’ll eventually release it to the public.

I interviewed Jim McClure, a game designer and fellow RPG podcaster, about his latest Kickstarter, Satanic Panic. It is a tabletop role playing game set in the fictional 1970’s and 1980’s where players take on the role of secret government agents tasked with combating the evils of tabletop. The players work as a team with the common purpose to contain, control, and eliminate the threats to our world. They must do all this while keeping the truth from the public, lest a panic ensue.

News: Arc Dream needs GMs to run games at Gen Con. Get awesome rewards like a Delta Green raid jacket! Check out the details here. Synopsis: With most of the RPPR crew out of town, Bill and I got together to discuss ways to add mini games inside a RPG. We’ve done it before in various RPPR games, but we haven’t fully explored the concept. Turning lock picking from a single skill roll to a puzzle can make the game more engaging for every player. However, figuring out what kind of mini game to add and how to integrate it can be tricky. We discuss some examples and how they work with the 8 types of fun, ranging from puzzles to board games or even other RPGs. We also have shout outs and anecdotes. Shout Outs I Am A Hero: Zombie apocalyptic character study manga. First 2 volumes are great. You: A novel by Greg Stolze. Very Unknown Armies. Young Justice: Teenage superheroes go on secret missions because Batman said so. GM Word of the Week: A short weekly podcast by the Angry GM. Fragged Empire: A post post-apocalyptic sci-fi RPG with great art and interesting rules. Nuclear Throne: Fight to sit on the nuclear throne! The Grizzled: A co-op WW1 themed card game. Try to survive until the war’s end. Song: Here Comes the 8-bit Empire by Ozzed

I recently interviewed Dustin DePenning, a game designer who has published a new sci-fi RPG called Synthicide. We talk about the game’s mechanics, his background as a game designer, and more! If you’re interested in the game, you should check out its website to learn more.

News: To celebrate the release of the first episode of our first Base Raiders campaign, I have put the main book on sale! Get Base Raiders in print for 30% off! Synopsis:Instead of being lonely murderhobos, player characters can start and lead organizations in many games. Tom, Dan, and I discuss how to run a campaign about building an organization and how it differs from a standard campaign. The degree of new game mechanics necessary to run such a game varies so it’s possible to run this style of campaign in nearly any RPG. However, picking a game that has focused mechanics may result in a more engaging game. We also have shout outs and anecdotes! Shout-outs Nefarious: A platforming video game about a princess-kidnapping villain. Zombies, Run!: a fitness/zombie survival guide! Outrun and outfight the undead. Don’t Call me Crazy: A BBC mini-series about teens in a mental health facility. 37th Parallel: A book about a UFOlogist and his quest for the truth. Lords of Waterdeep: Fantasy worker placement. Rule Waterdeep by manipulating adventurers. Joking Hazard: A comic card game from the makers of Cyanide and Happiness. Congresswolf: Interactive fiction about politics and werewolves. Letterkenny: A hilarious Canadian sitcom about small town life. Pandemic: Reign of Cthulhu – It’s Pandemic but with shoggoths. Fun! Song: Unfinished Business by Hong Kong Express

Do you want a career in tabletop games? Join our semi-esteemed panel of industry insiders as we discuss our own experiences building a career, along with tons of advice on what to do, and what not to do, when it comes to trying to turn your passion for games into the thing that pays your bills. This won’t just be a fun cheerleading panel about “following your dreams,” but rather a hard look at the realities of the industry and what it takes to push your way in. This panel was recorded at PAX South 2017. Panelists: Matt Fantastic [Chief Princess Officer, Prettiest Princess], JR Honeycutt [Game Designer, Artana], Jeff Bourbeau [Superstar, Vile Genius Games]

I recently spoke to Red Hook Studio co-founder, Chris Bourassa about the hit video game, Darkest Dungeon. We’ve spoke about this game before on the podcast. It’s a fascinating mix of Lovecraftian horror, team management, and brutal dungeon crawling. I’ve quite enjoyed it. Find out what plans Red Hook has for Darkest Dungeon, what Chris has learned about game design while working on the game and what his favorite Lovecraft stories are!

News: RPPR is going to PAX South. Tweet @rosspayton if you want to meet up. Synopsis: Murphy’s Rules are a long standing tradition in RPGs. The rules of the game have unintended consequences and can be interpreted in ways that create…unique situations. I created a list of some Murphy’s Rules from this thread on the SA forums so I could share them with you and Caleb.We talk about how these ideas could be mined for use in a RPG campaign. We also have shout outs and an anecdote from Caleb! Shout Outs Curse of the Crimson Throne: A new Pathfinder campaign book featuring an entire Adventure Path. This is the Police: A new strategy game about managing a police department. Alcoholic Republic: Americans drank SO MUCH whiskey back in the 19th century. SO MUCH. Night Manager: A new TV series about espionage. Spy on spy action! Blame! It’s now out in print in America. Get that hot transhuman sci-fi manga action. Yakuza 3 review: Possibly one of the best reviews ever written in the history of reviews. Autopsy of Jane Doe: A new horror film about a mysterious corpse. Very good! The Bug Out series: an insightful survival guide series of manuals Titanfall 2: Robots that go pew pew pew. Complete Youtube Saver: Download Youtube videos onto your computer. Very useful! Song: Pink Mist by GUNSHIP