Role Playing Public Radio

News: The Mixed Six Patreon is up! Please check it out. The Mixed Six is now on iTunes as well. Synopsis: Many gamers have a tough time grasping the power of Fate rule systems and player disadvantages in general. Aaron, Shaun, and I discuss how Fate aspects work by using anime and JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure as a lens to examine how it works best. Character flaws make for better storytelling, as they create drama and conflict. We also have shout outs and anecdotes. Shout Outs Observer Effect: A new Delta Green scenario is available in PDF. When things go wrong in a physics lab, they go WRONG. Invisible Cities: A unique novel of fantastic and impossible cities. Humans: A sci-fi drama about androids and their feelings. Baltimore: A horror comic series featuring an alternate history WW1 and a plague of vampires. Written by Mike Mignola. Ice Fantasy: A Chinese wuxia drama TV series now on Netflix. Rain Temple: One of the best vaporwave albums to come out this year. Being There: a comedic movie about a man’s unlikely rise to power. Spectral: A team of commandos fight ghosts in a war torn country. Great fodder for Night’s Black Agents. Kamen Rider Ex-Aid: Kamen Rider doing Kamen Rider things. I don’t know. Ask Aaron. Song: Bloody Stream (JoJo’s Bizare Adventure Remix)  by CLIVE | #TheGreat

The Mixed Six website is now up! We are currently submitting the podcast to iTunes and all other podcast services. If you enjoy The Mixed Six please subscribe to it on your podcasting app of choice. Caleb has also started a Patreon to support The Mixed Six. Oatmeal Stout by Free State Brewing Company AND El Gose by Avery: In this week’s Dissecting Our Fun, Spence and Caleb talk about Cargo Noir and the importance of accessibility in games. Aunt Sally by Lagunitas: The Armchair Directors compare notes on their bottom 5 superhero films and argue about what it truly means to suck. Shakespeare Oatmeal Stout by Rogue Brewing: In Nerdsplainer, Caleb sees how many disbelieving guffaws he can provoke from Spence by explaining the evolution of SpeedRunning. Tell-Tale Tart by Boulevard Brewing Company: In Binge Binger, the crew talks about shows they were forced to watch and came to like as a psychological coping mechanism. It’s Stockholm Syndrome television time. Antique Amber by Crown Valley Brewing Company: In Dear Mixed Six, a seemingly innocent question about S’mores sends one of the hosts into an enraged fugue state. Christmas Ale by Schlafly Brewing Company: Finally Drunk Enough, Spence and Caleb provide a loving read of the Singularity and our boy RAY-K. Music 1. Jazz Club by Kriss 2. Requiem for a fish by The Freak Fandango Orchestra 3. Liquid Blue by The Madpix Project 4. Autumn Leaves by All Purpose Jazz 5. Hello Sinner by Boogie Belgique 6. Disappearance by Angus and Friends 7. Hello Sinner by Boogie Belgique

Welcome! Spencer, Caleb, and Producer Ross are trying something new. On The Mixed Six, we drink six beers and have six conversations. It’s a variety show that slurs its speech, and we’d love to get some feedback on it. Beer 1: Professional Drinking with Mother’s Brewing Company’s Imperial Three Blind Mice. Spence and Caleb talk about how this is all a tax dodge for their alcoholism. Beer 2: Dissecting Our Fun with the Green Flash’s Passionfruit Kicker. We geek out about the game Potion Explosion and the rarity of perfect information games Beer 3: Armchair Director with Deshutes Jubeale. ”Tis the season to argue about our Top 5 Christmas movies Beer 4: Sportsplainer with Mother’s Brewing Company’s Backyard Wheat. Spence educates Caleb and Ross about field goal percentages at Mile High Stadium Beer 5: Binge Binger with Boulevard’s Snow and Tell We lay it all on the line and open up about our guiltiest TV pleasures. Beer 6: Drunk Enough with Sierra Nevada’s Narwhal. As fueling up for just such an occasion, Spence and Caleb discuss if it’s even possible to defeat cognitive dissonance and how it’s done. Music: Below the fold I can See it by DarkSunn Siesta by Jahzzar Islamatronic Cantillation by The Orientalist Sorry by Comfort Fit Autumn Woes by Ryan Little Ghost Dance by Kevin MacLeod Power Trip by Ryan Little  

News: Puppetland is now out! I wrote two adventures for it and we will do an actual play of it in the near future. Stay tuned. Also, Faust has moved to Washington so he can work for Camouflaj and we wish him the best of luck! Synopsis: Caleb and I discuss the challenges and rewards of recording games, either for podcasting or sharing with the community, or just for posterity’s sake. Technically, it’s easier now to record than ever before but how does it affect the game itself? It definitely makes a GM more self-conscious about what kind of games they run and how they are run. Is it worth it? That’s a question only you can answer, but Caleb and I go over the pros and cons of recording games. We also have some shout outs and an anecdote from this Patreon special game: Delta Green – Hearts and Minds. Shout Outs Puppetland: A new fantasy RPG from Delta Green co-author, John Scott Tynes. Pathfinder: Horror Adventures: A new Pathfinder sourcebook with new horror themed rules, spells, monsters, and more Pathfinder: Pocket Edition: a new softcover printing of Pathfinder. Last Policeman series: a series of noir mystery novels set in a world about to end. Sorcerer: A great 1970s existential adventure movie by William Friedkin. Logan’s Run: A trippy 1970s sci-fi movie about an arcology with a really effective retirement plan. Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: There’s shark punching in part three of this anime. Songs: Selections from Blank Banshee Mega.

We finished season 1 of Dan’s Dresden Files campaign so it’s time to talk about how it went. This campaign was unique because Dan managed to wrangle two separate groups of players into a single plot line that escalated as the game progressed. We talk about how that worked and what we thought about the Dresden Files RPG game mechanics. If you want to learn more about running Fate system games or the Dresden Files as a setting, check this episode out! If you missed any of the episodes, use our campaign page to find all of Season 1’s episodes.

Sponsor: Upwind is being Kickstarted right now! Check out the campaign and back it today. Synopsis: Jeff Barber has been working on Upwind and its Kickstarter since our first interview, so I checked in with him to see how the design of the game has progressed and what Jeff has learned about Kickstarter when preparing his campaign for it. We discuss the current state of crowdfunding for tabletop games, the challenges of publishing a game now and of course the mechanics of Upwind. Enjoy

Sponsor: Upwind the fantasy RPG is now on Kickstarter! Back it today and help us reach a stretch goal so Ross can write a full campaign for Upwind. News: Two new Base Raiders PDF supplements are out: Exemplar is a new villain and Glitched Reality adds new powers usable by any character. Synopsis: Caleb and I discuss the lack of fantasy elements in many fantasy RPGs. It is very common for games like Dungeons and Dragons to gate truly fantastical elements like floating castles and alternate dimensions to higher level characters, as a kind of reward for playing the same character for so long. However, fantasy should not always be separated by player character power level. Why can’t relatively mundane characters meet ancient dragons or explore castles floating in the sky? We discuss why this happens and how it can be changed. Also, an anecdote from our Base Raiders campaign. Shout Outs Big Machine: A novel with a very Unknown Armies vibe. Explore the secret voices heard only by a conspiracy of occult researchers. Killzone 2: A Hong Kong/Thai action film with Shakespearian coincidences and insane martial arts fighting. On Netflix! Mutant Year Zero: A post-apocalyptic sci-fi RPG with good rules, art, and unique settlement building mechanics. Cthulhu Wars: An excellent alternate history book about the US military fighting the Cthulhu mythos. Written by Ken Hite so you know it’s good! Sword and Scale podcast: A true crime podcast that covers that is not for the weak of heart. Last Days of the Incas: A history of the fall of the Inca Empire and the rediscovery of ancient Inca ruins in the early 20th century. Chapo Trap House: a liberal political comedy podcast. Very NSFW. Nightmare Stacks: The latest entry in the Laundry series of novels. Dark elves invade the UK and only a nerdy vampire sorcerer can stop them. Songs: Chant of the Night Blades and the Price of Valour by Kai Engel

For the first time, we actually scheduled an official meetup and panel for RPPR fans at Gen Con. Most of the RPPR crew showed up and a TON of fans did as well. We played a few games, answered questions, talked about the podcast, game design, and of course had a Ross Payton Horrible Monster impersonation contest. Enjoy!

Tom Church conducts another interview, this time with Kory Bing, writer and artist of the webcomic Skin Deep.  This webcomic has been a favorite of Tom’s for many years, and actually takes place in RPPR’s hometown of Springfield, MO!  Tom and Kory discuss many issues, such as releasing a webcomic, running a Patreon, and possible RPG ideas for her unique story setting.    

Red Markets is a game of economic horror that wrapped up on Kickstarter in June. Come listen to the creator answer questions about the book’s progress & tell us how your beta tests are going. Caleb and Ross recorded this panel at Gen Con 2016.