Role Playing Public Radio

Caleb is back discussing his progress on Red Markets. After a recent gaming retreat, Caleb developed a theory he wanted to discuss in this episode, about the obscene and the scene. The scene represents the public, socially acceptable aspects of a given object or activity. The obscene refers to the hidden, taboo aspects. In RPGs, the scene is what we say about our games but the obscene is how we actually engage with them. “I hate this game. I’ve run a hundred sessions of it.” There’s the promised version of a game during its Kickstarter campaign, the version delivered, and the version actually played. We discuss these weighty topics and how it is affecting the development of Red Markets. Check out Hebanon Open Game Design to keep track of Red Markets development!

In this episode, James Wallis, co-host of Ludonarrative Dissidents podcast and author of “Everybody Wins: Four Decades of the Greatest Board Games Ever Made,” and I talk about what RPG designers can learn from board games. We talked about the history and influence of board games, the challenges of playtesting RPGs, and how incorporating board game mechanics can benefit RPG design. We also have some shout outs. News: On the RPPR Patreon, on the newest episode of After Hours, we discuss the most horrifying spells in Dungeons and Dragons. On Recommendizer, Thad and I talk about good inspirational sources for zombie apocalypse games. Our next campaign on RPPR Actual Play is Delta Green: Impossible Landscapes. Check out this poster for the campaign! Shout Outs Who Fears the Devil: a collection of short stories about Silver John, who fights witches and ghosts in the Appalachian mountains. The Night Ocean: a biographical novel of H.P. Lovecraft, his life, and the early days of fandom. A Town Called Malice: a storytelling game inspired by Nordic noir and isolated small town horror. Die: A comic series about RPG players entering in their fantasy campaign world Terracotta Army: A worker placement board game about building statues for the emperor’s tomb. Dread: A classic RPG that uses Jenga for its conflict resolution system. Jury Duty: A reality comedy series about a fake trial and 1 real juror. Music: Chillhops Essentials Spring 2023

Wizards of the Coast has stepped on a series of rakes with a series of proposed changes to the Open Gaming License (OGL). What is the OGL and why is WOTC is trying to destroy a popular thing in the industry? Caleb and I discuss what’s going on and what some possible outcomes of this controversy are. News: Check out the newest episode of RPPR After Hours for a hilarious dive into the lowest rated Call of Cthulhu supplement! Caleb is running through God’s Teeth with a new player group on Delta Green: Dead Channels. You can find link to all of Caleb’s projects on his Link Tree. Shout Outs The Menu: a foodie horror movie and one of the best from last year. Manhunt: a brilliant new take on the zombie apocalypse genre Warhammer 40k: Chaosgate – Daemonhunters: If you love XCOM style gameplay and 40k, this game is for you. Neon White: Speedrunning taken to a new level. Kaleidoscope: A Netflix mini series about a complex heist. Stalcraft: Stalker in a Minecraft-style setting. Great music and free to play.

Caleb and I discuss the possibility of creating a second edition of Red Markets and Base Raiders. It’s a major task, so examining the pros and cons is a necessary first step. Updating the mechanics, revising the lore, and improving the information design are all big challenges, not to mention the logistics of getting a game funded by crowdfunding. Check out Hebanon Games to see Caleb’s latest game design work. News: I started a new bonus podcast on the RPPR Patreon. Recommendizer is focused on media recommendations. In episode zero, we talk about two new horror video games, Signalis and Scorn and some underwater horror movies. Song: Dotlights – Come In And Stay on Chillhop Essentials Winter 2022

We’re back for one more round with Synnibarr 3ED. Caleb, Thad, Baz, and I dive into the GM (or Fate in the parlance of Synnibarr). We’re all guests in Raven’s house, so find out what his wisdom for running a RPG is. What is the ADDA model? Why are there so many random tables? We’ll try to unravel the mystery that is Synnibarr but we may find ourselves stranded on the Worldship… Join the RPPR Patreon to listen to the full episode! Caleb has Delta Green Dead Channels Baz is on Twitch as FutureWolfington

News: There’s a horror video marathon on the RPPR Patreon Discord on Sunday October 30, starting at 3 pm CDT! Sign up for the RPPR Newsletter and get a FREE Monster PDF! Synopsis: After watching the first 7 Saw movies in the last week, I realized that game design comes up in a lot in horror films. I got Chris and Aaron to talk about the franchise and other horror movies that intersect with game design topics. We mention Phantasm, Cube, Circle, Tremors, and a lot of other movies. A fun discussion just in time for the spookiest month of the year! Shout Outs Saloum: An African horror thriller film currently on Shudder. Beautiful, intriguing, and unforgettable Scorn: A horror adventure video game with a biomechanical aesthetic. Three Thousand Years of Longing: A fantasy film about a writer and a genie, from director George Miller Forgive Me Father: A Lovecraftian FPS with an old school design. Mow down hordes of cultists with a tommy gun. What’s not to love? Shining the Holy Ark: A Sega Saturn RPG with some unique features. Happy Endings: An autobiography of Bella Green, a comedian and sex worker. Disney Dreamlight Valley: Animal Crossing but with Disney characters. Floodlight: A drum and bass album where all proceeds go to disaster relief for flooding in Pakistan. Quantum Leap: It’s a reboot of the 1980s show. Music: Floodlight DnB Aid for Flooding in Pakistan

Making a player character for Synnibarr Third Edition is perhaps the most challenging part of the game. Baz, Noah, Thad, and I attempt to make a group of characters for the game and discover that do not perceive reality in the same way that Raven McCracken does. We do learn that you can technically mount a chain gun on a horse though. Listen to the full episode on the RPPR Patreon. Join today to get more bonus podcasts, RPPR Illustrated, and access to our Discord server! Join at the $10 tier to play in RPG one shots I’m running. Check out Noah’s podcast, Thinking Too Hard About Anime! Baz streams a lot of cool games on Twitch!

Designing new monsters for your RPG is a time honored tradition for most GMs. I got Greg Stolze and Caleb Stokes to talk about their approaches to creating new creatures for games. Is the monster a metaphor or just a weird new enemy to fight? Get some tips on becoming Dr. Frankenstein for your next game! News: Caleb is running Delta Green on Twitch on September 28 at 6 pm CST. Follow the Delta Green Twitch channel to get notified when the game goes live. It should be fun! Greg started a Patreon for his fiction. Sign up to get his latest works. I’m starting a newsletter with original content, links, and updates for all my projects. Sign up below and get a free PDF of the Death Stratum, a new monster usable for any horror or fantasy RPG. [convertkit form=3624176] Shout Outs Fashion Police Squad: a new FPS with cool game mechanics and fun to play Death’s End: the final novel in the Three Body Problem trilogy Abby Howard: a cartoonist behind The Last Halloween and Crossroads at Midnight Cult of the Lamb: A hybrid base building/rogue-like dungeon crawling game Ravenous Dusk: Sequel to Radiant Dawn, a very Delta Green horror novel with lots of body horror. Visual Signals issue 7: I wrote an article for this vaporwave zine. Check it out. Music: The Devil’s Eyes by White Bat Audio

The Worldship is back! There’s a new edition of the Synibarr and we’re diving into it. I got a full round table of RPPR regulars to explore the Ultimate Adventurer’s Guide. Baz, Caleb, Noah, and Thad and I found so many different things, it’s hard to keep track of them all. From bizarre metaphysics to unbalanced spaceships, Synnibarr has it all! Listen to the full episode on the RPPR Patreon today!

Like so many other things, game design has changed in the post-pandemic world. Jeff Barber, author of Blue Planet, and Caleb Stokes, author of Red Markets, and I talk about work and the industry. Jeff’s been hard at work on Blue Planet: Recontact and Caleb talks more about Fae’s Anatomy and other projects he’s working on. We hit on everything from writing, art direction, to graphic design, and work/life balance. Song: Cmon by 2Mello