Role Playing Public Radio

News: Caleb’s added a stretch goal for his No Security Kickstarter. Check it out. We’ve also added a few guest games on RPPR Actual Play. What do you think of them? Synopsis: Kickstarter, the new crowdfunding platform and social network, has taken the gaming world by storm. Both video and tabletop game developers have used Kickstarter to fund games like a sequel to the classic CRPG Wasteland to a tabletop RPG based on Meso-American mythology. Also, Dolphin based RPGs. Of course, this has led to criticism of the site, as some believe that it’s only a fad or that backers or project creators are being ripped off by Kickstarter. So in this episode, we talk about our views on this recent wave of crowdfunding games. No letter from Tom but we do have anecdotes and shout outs. Shout outs Kick Saver: Site that shows you Kickstarters about to end that only need a little more money to succeed. Save that Kickstarter! RPG Kickstarters: A Tumblr that lists new tabletop RPG Kickstarters Shit Starter: The worst Kickstarters, for your entertainment and D: Kicktraq: New stat tracking tool for Kickstarter City of Clocks: A Fantasy systemless setting from RPPR friend James Knevitt. The Silent City: A new zombie web series that will premiere on July 1. Made possible by Kickstarter CLANG: Real swordfighting? In my computer game? It’s more likely than you think. Music: three guesses man.

News: No Security, a horror scenario anthology set in the American Great Depression, written by RPPR regular Caleb Stokes, is up on Kickstarter. If you enjoyed Bryson Springs or Lover in the Ice, consider contributing to it. Synopsis: My recent trip to China got me thinking about complexity. RPGs are often very reductive, very simple worlds, but adding a bit of complexity to a game can greatly enhance it. Of course too much complexity can be awful especially in the wrong areas, but tweaking a specific aspect like a setting detail or a single game mechanic can make an average game into a great one. I also reveal my idea for a new Iron Heroes campaign, plus a letter from Tom, shout outs and an anecdote: Shout outs Liminal States: A genre-bending novel of immortality and Lovecraftian horrors and highly recommended by Caleb. China Road: A journalist travels across China, seeing the highs and lows of the country. The Weird: A massive anthology of weird fiction from around the world. Over 1000 pages of weirdness! Black Books: A hilarious sitcom starring Dylan Moran. Book of Cthulhu: A great anthology of Cthulhu mythos fiction. Nyarko-San: An insane anime recommended to us by several RPPR listeners. A very unique view of the mythos to say the least. Stealth of Nations: A study of the world’s global informal economy. Great fodder for dystopian and post-apocalyptic games. A Corpse in the Koryo: A brilliant detective/thriller novel about a police inspector in North Korea caught up the machinations of competing security agencies. Wool: A highly reviewed and recommended sci-fi ebook novella. Only 99 cents! Music: Beautiful Lies by B-Complex

RPPR News: The first RPPR video is now online. Check it out! RPPR friend, Pagan Publishing has a Kickstarter going on. Take a look at it. Arc Dream has a Kickstarter for Sense of the Sleight of Hand Man, a Call of Cthulhu Dreamlands campaign. Synopsis: The World of Darkness is a massive family of role playing games spanning from 1991 to today. We invite Jason and Aaron, both regulars from the RPPR AP podcast, to discuss the wide range of horror games. As we are more familiar with the old World of Darkness than the new, we spend more time discussing that the new World of Darkness but neither side is neglected. We also discuss how to jump in the World of Darkness, common pitfalls for running games in this universe and some of our favorite books or settings for it. Oh and of course, the metaplot. Tom also has a letter, and we have shout outs and a horror related anecdote from a listener email. Shout outs: Drifter Broken Road: A post-apocalyptic Western. Shoot outs in the ruins of a bombed out world. Kindred the Embraced: An ill-fated television show based on the role playing game, Vampire: The Masquerade. Destroyer: A horror movie starring Anthony Perkins. Feed: A dystopian sci-fi novel about inserting the Internet in your head. Kind of. Rochard: A fun 2d platformer/puzzle video game on Steam with a great soundtrack. The Sixth Gun: A horror/western comic created by Cullen Bunn. Great fodder for RPGs! Danger 5: A hilariously insane Australian comedy show about fighting Nazis, being sexist and drinking too much. Community: A funny sitcom that had a D&D based episode. Amnesia: Dark Descent – a scary as fuck video game. Horror Recognition Guide: Great fiction set in the new World of Darkness. Reincarnation: A flash game that Tom likes. Song: Darkness be thy Name by Midnight Configuration

News: I’ve published the first part of my new fantasy serial, The Heretic Cycle. Follow the saga of an immortal villain in a world of dark magic and corrupt mortals! Available on Amazon (for Kindle) and on Smashwords (for all other ebook formats). Killsplosion: First Edition is out! The ransom model player vs player RPG you supported is now available as a free PDF download here. More content will be coming this year. I was a guest on the Drunk and Ugly podcast to answer some questions on game design. Synopsis: Wild Talents is a great One Roll Engine superhero RPG developed by Greg Stolze and we give the game a deep analysis in this episode. Tom and I discuss our experiences with it. Tom compares it to Mutants and Masterminds and learning the system. I also interviewed the game’s designer, Greg Stolze, about Wild Talents; its origins, running and playing it and the Progenitor setting. We also talk about his fiction and latest ransom projects.Be sure to look at Greg’s fiction and his new ransom project, a short story called Falling. Tom has a letter, and we have shout outs and an anecdote. Shout Outs Brick: Great and unique neo-noir film. A must see. The Killing: Kubrick’s first film and a film noir classic. Liminal States: An upcoming sci-fi novel spanning three eras, 1874, 1951 and 2006. Rebuild 2: A new flash zombie apocalypse strategy game. Titanic Adventures Out of Time: An adventure game with some unusual narrative choices. Claybourne: A free sci-fi radio drama from New Zealand. Great production values. Music: Liminal States Soundtrack from Conelrad.

News: I’ve released a new ebook, Zombies in Afghanistan. Find out what happens when the Taliban meets the undead! As an RPPR experiment, the fine folks at Subscriptorium have created a transcript of this episode. If you like having a transcript of RPPR, please let us know! RPPR is now listed on Stitcher, the mobile podcasting app for Android and iOS. If you don’t like iTunes, give Stitcher a look. It’s free. Original RPPR video content is on the way, with a special 3d intro made by Tobyn Manthorpe of Cedar Hills Games. We’ll post an update when our first video is up. Don’t forget to check out the RPPR Minecraft Server. There’s also a new episode of Unspeakable, the Call of Cthulhu podcast that I made with Scott Glancy, Shane Ivey and Greg Stolze. Synopsis: Monsters and Other Childish Things is a game near and dear to my heart. It was my introduction to the One Roll Engine and the source game for my first two books, Curriculum of Conspiracy and Road Trip. So in this episode, Tom and I discuss playing the game. It’s a great system but it has several quirks that take some getting used to such as role playing two characters at once. After we discuss playing, I go into a Skype roundtable with Matt Campen and Nathan Knapp from the Drunk and the Ugly podcast over running Monsters and Other Childish Things.  Plus a letter from Tom, shout outs and an anecdote! Shout Outs American Barbarian: Great post-apocalyptic webcomic with Jack Kirby-esque art Chopping Mall: Robots kill people in a shopping mall. Oh, the 1980s. The Abaddon: Surreal existential webcomic with great art. The Lost Skeleton Returns Again: A sequel to the Lost Skeleton of Cadavera and utterly hilarious Fatale: Ed Brubaker’s horror/noir comic Terror Within: Post-apocalyptic 1989 horror movie about mutants killing people. Bone Wires: Free cyberpunk mystery serial with some Lovecraftian elements Song: Invisible Monsters by Dead Poets Society

News: The Killsplosion alpha rules are out! If you contributed to the ransom and selected playtesting as a reward, you should have them. Also, we have a RPPR Minecraft server. Check it out on Jan 22 3 to 5 pm CST for our first RPPR Minecraft event! Synopsis: Call of Cthulhu is an institution of role playing, but few gamers truly appreciate it for what it is. Tom, Caleb and I break down the game mechanics, meta-game issues and themes of the Cthulhu Mythos in order to explain the good, bad and ugly of this venerable game. Many players dismiss Call of Cthulhu as a very rigid and narrowly focused game, but it offers a far richer gaming experience if you know how to play and more importantly run this game right!.  Tom also has a letter, shout outs and an anecdote! Shout outs Instant City: A study in urban sprawl, globalization and politics. The Tunnel: Freaky horror movie with an urban exploration angle. Maniac Mansion 2: A classic adventure game with a twisted sense of humor. Horse ebooks: The funniest twitter account in existence. Too many horses. Throw a horse away. Fake iphone text: Generate iphone conversations as a handout in games. Parker: The Outfit: Hardboiled crime graphic novel. Great art and dialogue. Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark: IT IS RUINED FOREVER WTF The Movies: A video game about making movies. ACTION Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy: Gary Oldman says so much in so few words. Brilliant spy movie. Music: What A Friend We Have In Cthulhu by the Fump and Cthulhu is my co-pilot by Smart Bomb Radio  

At Gencon 2011, I ran a seminar on how to use zombies in role playing games – not just as low level enemies to fight but as elements of drama. I also went into how to world build with zombies. They can be used in nearly any genre as enemies, obstacles or even unlikely allies. Enjoy! I’ve also included the two handouts I made for the seminar: 1001 uses for a zombie in role playing games If you liked this, then perhaps you might be interested in buying my book?  

This episode is sponsored by Audible.com. Sign up today for a free audiobook and 14 day trial! Synopsis: This episode will begin a new series of episodes, each focusing on a particular game system. This time, we talk about the transhuman sci-fi game, Eclipse Phase. Caleb joins Tom and I to discuss our reactions to reading, playing and running the game. The game can be intimidating at first, especially with the exotic technology and setting. Even once you get used to the game, there are more subtle pitfalls that can unbalance a game.Plus Tom has a letter, shout outs from all three of us and an Eclipse Phase anecdote about robbing a bank ON THE MOON If you liked this discussion, comment on what game we should talk about next! Shout outs RPPR Minecraft Server: Join us! Just don’t be a douche. Eclipse Phase Character Generator: Download the most recent version. Eclipse Phase NPC Files: Essential for anyone running a game of EP. Spirit of Redemption: Mass Effect serial fanfiction. Next Time on Lonny: Hilarious web series that must be seen. Dog Moon told me so. Hunger Games – Training Days: A Hunger Games board game. Bubbles and Troubles: A Cthulhu Dark scenario written by a RPPR listener. Only 99 cents! Drunk and Ugly Podcast: They’re running my campaign Road Trip. If you’re AP fiend, give them a listen! You Are Not So Smart: A primer on cognitive biases and pop neuroscience. Fright Night: The remake is surprisingly good. Worth watching. Glue Some Gears On It: Steampunk is dead. Long live Steampunk. Unspeakable! A new episode will be online soon. Humble Bundle 4: Get vidya games for cheap and donate to charity. Zone One: Life after a zombie apocalypse is not so fun. Song: DB Pure – Me Ri Tu (Djs From Mars Club Remix)

News: The Killsplosion Kickstarter is a success! I’ve acquired a HD camcorder so we’ll start recording videos soon. The Artemis Spaceship Simulator will take some planning to figure out but we will do it. I’ve also set up a RPPR Minecraft server! Check this thread for the address. Synopsis: We usually focus on advice for GMs creating or running games. This time, we want to focus on providing advice for players. So we’ve come up with a Be A Better Play Challenge. We want you to determine one thing you can do in your game to make yourself a better player. To help you along, Tom and I discuss some ways in which you can improve your game such as writing a better PC back story, table etiquette and playing against type. Tom also has a new letter and of course anecdotes and shouts. Shout outs: RPPR Minecraft server: Join us! A new world of adventure and jackassery await Rare Exports: Batshit insane movie about Santa Claus and the true meaning of Christmas Skyrim: Because of reasons Night’s Black Agents: Espionage and vampires in a RPG War of the Undead: A graphic novel about Nazis, zombies and more Black Crusade: The heavy metal album cover RPG Big Fan: Patton Oswalt is an obsessed football fan in this dark comedy Citation Needed: A compilation of the weirdest entries in Wikipedia Boardwalk Empire: HBO does violence. Well. Laser Mission: The Rifftrax is funny. The movie itself is pretty awful. Fear the Boot: The Kenneth Hite interview is great Jennisodes: Fascinating game design panel Song: Monster remix by DotEXE

News: Support the Killsplosion Kickstarter and get 10 new preview RPPR AP episodes! Zombies of the World Episode 4 is online. Watch it here. Synopsis: World building is an important skill for GMs but it’s a tricky skill to learn. It’s easy to get lost in the details, obsessing over minor elements that will never see the light of day. Tom and I discuss how we approach world building and the pitfalls we’ve learned to avoid. Tom also has a short story that will be used in the Killsplosion RPG called Clucking Hell. You can read the story on Kickstarter as well. Shout out: Killing Floor: It has a chicken suit skin for players. YES. The Stuff: In 1980s horror film, yogurt eats you! Danger 5: New and insane web series from the people that did Italian Spiderman Black Roses Rock music causes demonic possession apparently. Metachaos: 1/1d6 SAN loss experimental short film. Carnosaur: A cheap cash-in dinosaur horror movie with a weird subtext. McMafia: A great breakdown of current global crime syndicates. Music: Blood Brothers: First Blood by Mad Decent