Role Playing Public Radio

News: RPPR B-Sides volume 2 is coming soon. Volume 1 is free, so check that out, if you haven’t already. Synopsis: A new edition of Dungeons and Dragons has been released and Bill, Sean, and I have played enough to have opinions that are more than just knee-jerk reactions. In this episode, we talk about the merits of 5E compared to the previous edition, what we like, what we don’t and more. Tom isn’t in this episode, so no letter. We do have shout outs and anecdotes though! Shout Outs Better Angels GM Screen: If you’re running a Better Angels game, you will appreciate having this screen handy. Young Detective Dee: Rise of the Sea Dragon: Wuxia and mystery, all wrapped up in one film. QI: a funny British talk show, worth watching. Dungeon of the Endless: A fun roguelike/tower defense hybrid game that can be quite addicting. Binding of Isaac Rebirth: A creepy action rogue-lite game that is also quite addicting. A bit like the old Zelda games but with far more poop. Blue Dungeon Tiles: Great for mapping out dungeons for your tabletop game! God Game Black: A supplement for The Laundry RPG, based on material from The Apocalypse Codex. Highly recommended for Laundry GMs. Dwarven Forge Cavern: High quality terrain for any tabletop game. Serial: A longform podcast about one story each season. Gale Force spell cards: Useful references for spell casters in any 5E game. Tales of the Arabian Nights: A board game about storytelling set in Arabic legend Haven of the Ozarks Animal Sanctuary: A charitable organization that helps animals here in the Ozarks Spatchcocking: For all your turkey cooking needs Song: Dragon by David Thornton

News: A new Base Raiders PDF supplement, Vintage Villainy, is out! Pick it up today or if you backed the Boiling Point Kickstarter, you will get your copy soon. Synopsis: You know you’re a true tabletop gamer when you see everything in terms of how gameable it is. In this episode, Tom and I discuss what makes something truly gameable or not. From action films to history books, there’s a lot of gameable material in the world, but some things are more gameable than others. Find out what works and what doesn’t. Plus, shout outs, anecdotes, and more! Shout Outs We Have Always Lived in the Castle: An excellent novel about a most unusual pair of sisters. Mysteries at the Museum: It’s a TV show, about mysterious things in museums. Not really though. They explain what the thing is. Death Skid Marks: Drive! Shoot! Take Drugs! Die! Play Again! Nazi Mega Weapons: Nazis built really big guns. Mega usually means one million but here it means big. Not that I’m being pedantic. Binary Domain: Shoot robots! Chat with teammates! Shoot more robots! Not that French robot, he’s cool. Fordlandia: A book about Henry Ford’s failed rubber plantation in Brazil. Fascinating history and great writing. Plague Evolved: Kill people with plagues in video game format. Save Game: A new setting for Fate Core. Fun, although it needs a few tweaks. Pay what you want, so no excuse not to get it. Earthworm Gods I and II: Apocalyptic horror novels about a rainy end of the world. Song: The Getaway by Stellar Dreams from The 80’s Dream Compilation Tape – Vol. 2 

News: The playtest draft of Boiling Point is out. If you backed the Kickstarter, please check your messages to see how you can access it. Synopsis: We finished a playthrough of Sense of the Sleight of Hand Man, a Call of Cthulhu campaign set in the Dreamlands, so like with every campaign we finish, this episode is a post-mortem of it. I discuss how I approached running the campaign and the players talk about what they got out of it. We also have shout outs and anecdotes. Shout Outs Horrorstor: A horror novel set in an haunted Ikea-ish furniture store. Good read! Cats of Ulthar on Spotify: a good audiobook reading of The Cats of Ulthar Underwhelming Lovecraft Monsters: hilarious comic interpretations of Lovecraft’s stories. Thrilling Adventure Hour: an excellent pulp radio play podcast Unspeakable!: Check our their recent readings of Dennis Detwiller’s fiction. Song: Demented Dreamlands by Krytpics.

It’s been a while since we’ve done a proper episode of Game Designer’s Workshop, so Caleb and I decided to bring you guys back up to date. We’re still playtesting Red Markets and Ruin. We talk about the pains, progress, and lessons we have learned so far. It’s a lively discussion so if you want to geek out about RPG game design, this is the podcast for you. Music: Sand x Slow by Admiral of the Red

Way back in Episode 57 (Read the Fine Print), Tom gave a shoutout to a story on Fanfic.net.  It was a Mass Effect fanfiction that Tom became a huge fan of, as well as the author, Deborah Davitt.  Now, some years later, this very talented writer has a brand new novel that truly deserves your time.  It is called The Valkyrie, the first book in the Edda Earth series.  Set in an alternate history setting, Rome never fell and magic and the Gods are real.  In this segment, Tom interviews Ms. Davitt, to get the lowdown on this unique story, the first in a series of books. Story Wiki Site:   http://eddaearthwiki.wikidot.com/ Book Artist’s Site:   http://ladyowl.deviantart.com/

Our Kickstarter for Boiling Point is still going on and we could use your support! It occurred to me that no one has heard from the actual author of Boiling Point, Peter Nielsen. He’s a first time author and I’m a first time publisher (of another person’s work) so I thought talking about it would make for a good episode. In this, we talk about how Boiling Point came to be, how Peter wrote the first drafts, Kickstarter, the Base Raiders setting, and how playtesting comes into the process. Once Boiling Point is done we will try for a followup interview to talk about the process after the Kickstarter is done.

News: We’re over halfway there in the Boiling Point Kickstarter, so help us push it over the edge! Synopsis: History is a rich tapestry waiting to be explored, but how should you implement historical events into games? Tom and I have some experience with this, so we talk about how to prepare for historical games and what kind of history works best. Even if you’re a player, this can help with your experiences enjoying this type of game. Tom also has a letter, plus we have shout and anecdotes. Shout Outs: Night Voices, Night Journeys: An anthology of Japanese horror fiction based on the Cthulhu mythos. Champion: A stand up comedy act by Steve Byrne Wasteland 2: It is finally out! Go and reclaim the wastes, desert ranger. Breakfast Cult: Anime high school meets cosmic horror. A winning combination! Drunk and Ugly: Listen to their playtest of Boiling Point. Misdirected Mark Podcast: An interview with Ross and Peter Nielsen (author of Boiling Point) Song: Memories by Starlight from New RetroWave Equinox EP

News: Please support our latest Kickstarter, Boiling Point! It’s a brand new adventure for Base Raiders and stretch goals will include a death trap focused supplement by Caleb! Ross Payton (Base Raiders, Zombies of the World) and Caleb Stokes (No Security: Horror Scenarios in the Great Depression) talk about their podcast, RPPR Game Designer’s Workshop. See how the experiment to document the creation of an RPG system from scratch to publication in real time is going so far. Both creators will discuss game design in general as well the projects they are currently working on. Questions about the podcast, game design and anything else are welcomed from the audience.

News:Our newest Kickstarter is up. Boiling Point is an adventure for Base Raiders. It mixes investigation with dungeon crawling for a perfect blend of excitement and fun. If it does well, we’ll have Caleb write about death traps. Check it out! Synopsis: Planning is a part of playing RPGs, not just for the GM, but for the players too. But the players usually must plan during the game and sometimes planning becomes dithering. Dithering leads to wasted time, which leads to the game falling apart. Tom and I discuss how to move players along when they plan, how much help GMs should offer, and our experiences as players. Plus, Tom has a letter, not to mention shout outs and anecdotes. Shout Outs Storm of Steel: Excellent memoir of a German infantry officer in World War 1. Coffee and Cigarettes: People talking over coffee and cigarettes. Plus, Bill Fucking Murray. Five Nights at Freddy’s: Animatronic robots weren’t scary enough, until now. Now, way too scary. Pac: An artist Tom recommends for your commissioned art needs. Shadows of Yog-Sothoth: The first Call of Cthulhu campaign and still useful today! Payday 2 Hotline Miami DLC: GUYS DO YOU LIKE HURTING OTHER PEOPLE? Horrors of War: This is also a baller Kickstarter. If you want the best written Call of Cthulhu scenarios, you should back this project. Song: Best Laid Plans by Swampland.

Rob Boyle (Eclipse Phase), Ross Payton (Baseraiders), and Caleb Stokes (No Security) discuss using the basics of economic theory to make RPG settings more unique, immersive, and fun for your players. Designers can talk forever about economies of narrative control and the finances of the RPG industry, but what about the economic structure of your setting? Most RPGs largely ignore the topic, but the basic tenets of economic theory are a great way to immerse players in a story and create conflict. A materialist outlook can make any setting unique and generate numerous plot hooks. This panel is here to show you how. Rob Boyle (lead designer for Eclipse Phase), Ross Payton (author of BaseRaiders: Superpowered Dungeon Crawling), and Caleb Stokes (author of No Security: Horror Scenarios in the Great Depression) will discuss using economics to engage players.