Role Playing Public Radio

News: RPPR is now on Tumblr! Follow us for random stuff! Ross works for Pixelscopic on their new video game, Delver’s Drop. It is also quite awesome. More Base Raiders content is forthcoming, including more actual play episodes, new PDF only supplements, and the final conversion guide. The Wild Talents and Mutants and Masterminds conversion guides are already available. Synopsis: Sooner or later, every gamer decides to convert some material from one system to another. Why? How does it work? When shouldn’t you convert? We tackle this topic by discussing our past experiences with conversions and our thoughts on the process. No letter this episode, but we do have shout outs and anecdotes! Shout Outs Papa and Yo: The Saddest Video Game for reals Magrunner: I got puzzles in your Cthulhu. You got Cthulhu in my puzzles! Skyscraper Simulator: Be a virtual Donald Trump, but actually be competent. Shadow Warrior: One of the best video games of 2013. Fun to play and a great story. Jamestown: War is hell. A bullet hell. Brightly colored bullets. Also, Mars. Accursed RPG: Be a monster who fights other monsters so you can be a human. LOLmythesis: It’s funny because academia is depressing. Shadow Bound: The web series is now complete. Watch it all at once! Red Scare: Snowed in? You might as well watch a show about a vampire in a fallout shelter. Big Picture Mode: This is hella fun. Song: Mega Man rock cover – Lights Out by Game Over

News: The RPPR Actual Play podcast has a new look. Thanks to KC Green for the banner! Be sure to check out his webcomic, Gun Show. We also have new content on the Base Raiders website, including a character creation survival guide. Synopsis: Research is an important part of game design, especially when writing historical scenarios. We invited Adam Scott Glancy of Pagan Publishing to talk about research and game design, starting with his work on Cold Dead Hand, now available in The Unspeakable Oath #23. Tom, Scott, and I had a long ranging discussion that went over many topics related to history and research, so we didn’t have time for letters or anecdotes. I will list a few resources mentioned in the episode though. Shout outs: Podcast at Ground Zero: Hear Scott and Jarred Wallace of Dagon Industries pontificate about post-apocalyptica. Thing on the Fourble Board: A horror radio show about an oil well that drilled too deep. Scarecrow Video: If you live in Seattle, you should check out this unique video rental establishment. Project Gutenberg: You need this website. For reals. Music: FOR MOTHER RUSSIA

Caleb interviewed quite a few game designers at Gencon this year, to talk about their new creations. Because each interview was short, I made a compilation of the first four interviews. They are in order: Jasn Painter, creator of Drunk Quest Jason Pitre, creator of Spark Dennis Detwiller, author of The Sense of Sleight of Hand Man Mark Diaz Truman, author of Our Last Best Hope

News: Check out the first Base Raiders Actual Play, with brand new Origin Story rules available for free on the Base Raiders website. Also, BUY MY BOOK Synopsis: We decided to analyze two recently written scenarios to see how the art of scenario writing has changed over the last 20 years. We took Millionaire’s Special, a Trail of Cthulhu adventure from the book Out of Space and Ghost Town an adventure from the newest Mutants and Masterminds core rulebook. By looking at the antagonists, plot structure, and tone, we figured out what works and what doesn’t. It’s a lively discussion!  Tom has a letter and we have shout outs and anecdotes. Shout Outs Red Scare: a comedic horror web series set in a fallout shelter during the 1950s. Who among the survivors is a vampire? Shadow Bound: A silent horror web series set in a Lovecraftian 1930s setting. It’s like a game of Call of Cthulhu brought to life! The Smash Brothers: a 9 part documentary on the competitive Smash Brothers Melee scene. Far more fascinating than you might think. The Wolf Among Us: A great adventure video game based on the comic Fables. Stanley Parable: Just play this game. Eldtrich: A Lovecraftian roguelike game with Minecraft-esque graphics. Best of the Worst: A web series where the team from Red Letter Media reviews horrible movies.   Song: Ghost Town by Adventures of Leonid

News: Base Raiders is out! You can buy the print edition here and the PDF here. If you buy a print copy forward your order confirmation email to rpprpodcast@gmail.com to receive the PDF for free. All copies to backers have been shipped. In other news, Aaron has a new series on Raillery called Let’s Play in the Dark. Check out the first episode in the above Youtube link. Finally, because of a dispute between Amazon and the Missouri state government, the RPPR Amazon affiliate program no longer works. Synopsis: Because October is horror month, Tom and I thought we would talk about some of our pet horror topics – architectural and body horror. I recently finished the J. G. Ballard novel, High Rise, which gave me some insight into the intersection of horror and place. Tom’s experience in playing Invasive Procedures gave us some insight into running body horror. So, kind of a refresher episode on running and appreciating horror games. Tom also has a very special letter and of course an anecdote. Huzzah! Shout Outs Mr. Burns: A Post Electric Play: Amazing post-apocalyptic play about meta-narratives and storytelling. Game Dev Tycoon: A video game about making video games, for profit! High Rise: A novel about the alienation of modern society and rich people going all Lord of the Flies. John Dies at the End: A horror novel and movie with a twist of the surreal. Quite entertaining. Springfield Barcade: Alcohol and free video games, a winning combination. FTB Minecraft Server: Hooray Minecraft mods! It’s a Disaster: Apocalyptic Comedy about a bad lunch gathering Occult America: Book about the history of occult movements that began in America, like Spiritualism. Great fodder for historical games. Iteetoo: Cool t-shirts and prints with sufficiently geeky designs Wool: Incredible post-apocalyptic novel and well worth reading! Song: Zombie – club mix – horror halloween music by Sam Haynes

In the second episode of Game Designer Workshop, Caleb and I talk about the importance of research. This is not only researching setting material but other games. It’s important to understand what kind of game mechanics have already been done so you can learn from them. Researching details for your setting, like technology and history, can take a lot of forms as well. Reading books, listening to podcasts, watching movies, and playing other games can all be considered part of research. Song: Balkonur by Dispartition

At Gencon this year, I sat down and talked to Mike Olson, one of the leading FATE designers currently working in the industry. He created the Strange FATE system used by Kerberos Club and Base Raiders and his latest project, the Atomic Robo RPG, will hopefully be completed soon. We talked about the state of the FATE system and game design.

News: Base Raiders is almost done. The books will be printed and shipped soon. There are new videos on the RPPR Youtube channel, including a new improv comedy with Thad. Synopsis: If you have an unusual idea for a campaign setting, then it’s often better to take a toolkit game system like GURPS for the rules instead of building your own system for it. In this episode, Tom and I discuss the topic of world building, game systems, and picking the right game for your campaign. What rules match the important elements of your campaign? Find out in this episode. Also, instead of a letter, Tom has an improvised rant, plus shout outs and an anecdote. Shout Outs Outlast: Scary PC horror game in the vein of Amnesia. Investigate an insane asylum but don’t fall prey to the horrors that lurk within it. Sense of the Sleight of Hand Man: An excellent open-ended Dreamlands campaign for Call of Cthulhu. Accursed: A Kickstarter for a new horror RPG setting, where the PCs are all monsters who fight I Drink for a Reason: A new comedy book from David Cross Chivalry: Customization patch is the best patch. Sandwich knights for life! Song: Darwins Video Game Domain by John Bura

Caleb of Hebanon Games is in the beginning stages of designing a new RPG from the ground up, and he has decided to document the entire process, from start to finish. In this new series, Caleb will talk to other game designers and figure out what works and what does not work when making a new role playing game. In this episode, Caleb and Ross discuss the concept for his new game, which is called Red Markets. You can read more about it here on the Hebanon Games blog. If you’re interested in game design, be sure to give this a listen!

News: Base Raiders is nearly complete! The PDF should be available to backers around September 10! Caleb is starting a new podcast through RPPR called Game Designer’s Workshop. Expect the first episode in the next month. Also, check out his blog post about Gen Con at Hebanon Games. Synopsis: Another Gen Con has come and gone. This year, Tom, Aaron, Caleb, and I quested for the most awesome of gaming conventions and lo and behold did we have a good time. We recount our experiences running games, attending events, meeting great authors and designers, and the RPPR fan meetup! We also got a lot of new games to try out for the Actual Play podcast, so keep an eye out for that. Cosplay, PC mishaps, history lessons, and Night Vale dominated this year, so if you want to find out exactly If you met one of us at the con, be sure to say hi in the comments! I’m sorry I didn’t catch everyone’s name. Shout Outs: Transhuman: They thanked RPPR in it! Better Angels: Caleb is writing a campaign for it. We’re playtesting it now. Hackmaster: I got a copy of the new version, so we’ll be running that this fall. Eternal Lies: A new Trail of Cthulhu campaign, with its own soundtrack. Esoterrorists, Second Edition: More setting material and slightly revised rules. Sense of the Sleight of Hand Man: I finally have it, so we’ll be running a campaign of it very soon. 13th Age: A new d20 fantasy RPG with interesting new rule. Our Last, Best Hope: A new indie RPG that simulates Save the World narratives. Durance: Space Australia indie RPG Hillfolk: Finally got my copy of it and Blood on the Snow, so we will be running that as well. Call of Cathulhu: Cats fight the Mythos! Out of Space: A scenario anthology of Trail of Cthulhu adventures, including the Repairer of Reputation. Ghosts of Dragonspear Castle: I got this for Bill, so perhaps he will run some D&D Next this fall. The Final Revelation: Caleb picked up this horrifying anthology of Trail of Cthulhu adventures. Spark: an indie RPG about world creation and storytelling. Dungeon World: Finally got a few copies between us, so this is definitely on the queue for the AP podcast. Sinner: A new novel by Greg Stolze about a supervillain. Cards Against Humanity: We’re all terrible monsters. Double Tap: A new player’s handbook for Night’s Black Agents Mutants and Masterminds, 3rd Edition: 20% more mutants! Song: Gamer Funk by the FuMP