Role Playing Public Radio

Sean Jaffe Interview by Ross Payton Synopsis: Back in Episode 4, we gave a shout out to Blood Dimmed Tides, an excellent Old World of Darkness sourcebook for the oceans. One of the book’s writers, Sean Jaffe, popped in to thank us. From there, I contacted him to find out more about the creation of the book and Sean’s other adventures in the gaming industry. This is our first Interview and my audio is too low but Sean is clearly audible. Enjoy.

Hosted by Ross Payton and Tom Church Music by Ghosts I-IV by Nine Inch Nails released under a Creative Commons license Synopsis: Creating adventures for your group can be a pain in the but but we’re here to help. The players can be heartless jerks who stomp all over your plot, massacre your poor NPCs or generally wreck mayhem on your plans. Improvisation is the hallmark of a good gamemaster and we discuss several techniques to prep for the next game. Shout Outs: Yet Another Fantasy Gamer Comic: A great D&D themed web comic featuring great art and an engaging light hearted story. It even updates on a daily basis unlike some other D&D themed web comics… Betrayal at House on the Hill: A fun board game of supernatural horror with an innovative variable scenario rule set. Rifftrax: If you liked Mystery Science Theater 3000, you’ll love Rifftrax. For a few dollars you can download a mp3 commentary of a popular movie by MST3K writer and host Mike Nelson (plus others) making fun of the movie. From Roadhouse to the Matrix Reloaded, Rifftrax is worth the few dollars it costs. Zero Punctuation: A fast talking British game reviewer who isn’t afraid to give us his honest opinion of popular games like Guitar Hero 3, with an accompanying computer animated video to go along with it.

Hosted by Ross Payton and Tom Church Music by Sabrepulse Synopsis: Death is a fact of life in gaming. A thread I started on rpg.net about PC death generated a bit of discussion about how people handle player characters dying in a game. So, Tom and I discuss how to best plan and deal with characters getting shot, stabbed, poisoned, mangled, maimed, disemboweled, defenestrated, disintegrated and otherwise expiring. Plus, a special Valentine’s Day letter from Tom, anecdotes and more. Also, we have a new Call of Cthulhu/Delta Green PC mortuary. Please immortalize your dead investigator by entering it in here and view the other fallen investigators. Shout Outs Half Life: Full Life Consequences. A hilarious and absurd cartoon based on a horrible Half Life 2 fan fiction. Idiots of Gary’s Mod: Another Half Life 2 inspired bit of insanity. Armageddon Empire: An addicting computer strategy game. If you’ve ever wanted to rule a post apocalyptic empire, this is for you. Pantheon: Narrative Cage Match. A great tabletop storytelling game, where each player tries to control the outcome of the narrative. Ironclaw RPG: A fantasy tabletop rpg with talking animal people. Henry Rollins: Rock star and stand up comedian. He gets angry. Also, he is a liar. Ryan McKain runs a gaming group called the Free Knights.

Call of Cthulhu One Shot: The End of the World as we know it? Game run by Ross Payton Players: Tom, Jason and Paul Synopsis: This is a bit of an experimental game. Instead of the PCs being heroic investigators trying to save the world from evil, they are the leaders of a Midwestern city as the Apocalypse starts. Can they save civilization from rampaging cultists, ghouls, and other disasters? Will they trust the rag tag band of investigators who claim they alone know the secret truth and rave about gods and demons? Will they make stupid jokes at my expense? Find out in The End of the World as we know it.

Written by Ab3 Mixed by Ross Payton Me: “OK you walk into the room and see a group of Hobgoblins sharpening their weapons.” Psycho Dave: “I flash my talisman of the Dark Gods and order them to bow down to the might of Azathoth.” Me: “They bow before you.” Psycho Dave: “Then I behead them.” Performed by the RPPR crew Chris Farmer Tom Church Patrick & Karee Williams Aaron, David, and Ross Payton Synopsis: Ab3 finds himself running a a two month Dungeons and Dragons campaign, as Deviant Boy, Aesnath, Weasly Crusher, Psycho Dave, El Disgusto and Ol’ Yellowbelly explore the Dungeon of Nasty Doom. Some quest for the Gemstone of MacGuffin while other players search for the Blade of Gory Cleaving. Of course, between the players’ volatile personalities and the many dangerous enemies of the dungeon, the odds are against Ab3 and his gaming buddies actually finishing the campaign. Fortunately, his pain is our comedy. Listen in to learn who suffers DEATH BY THUMBS! This rant was originally posted on Rpg.net.

Music by The Old Ones – a Lovecraftian inspired metal band. Brutal! Intro song: Alone in the Mountains Segue for Letter from Tom: Rise! Ending music: Spirits Hosted by Ross Payton, Tom Church and Dan McDowell Synopsis: Rules, the foundation of our hobby. How many rules are enough? When do you follow them and when do you ignore them? We go over our philosophy for rules interpretation in role playing and offer strategies to make your game better, such as dealing with a new player not used to gaming. Find out when to fudge the rules and when to let the dice roll where they may. This is a rich topic that we’ve barely begun so if you have any thoughts on what the role of rules is in your game, let us know. If you like RPPR, please review us on the Itunes Podcast Directory! It’s like gaining experience for a podcast and just as addictive. Or if you’re a Chinese listener, Ni Hao! We’d like to hear from you. Shout outs: Blackbird Dreaming is an excellent play by post GURPS 4e post apocalyptic game. It’s almost like reading a collaborative novel online. Project Twilight is a great Old World of Darkness sourcebook for running government investigators in a modern horror game. A treasure trove of ideas for your modern horror game and usually pretty cheap too. Ptolus is one of the best, if not THE best, 3.5 D&D settings ever written. Immensely detailed and well crafted, it is the ultimate city campaign. Quite expensive but the worth the price if you can find a copy. Film Spotting is an awesome film review podcast. If you want to hear about the latest films, give it a listen. And finally, Shoot ‘Em Up is a bland action movie that pretends to be clever and funny, but fails at both. Tom likes it but I write the episode summaries, so how do you like them apples?

Hosted by Ross Payton and Tom Church Ending music: Warning Forever by Sabrepulse Synopsis: Eventually every gamer encounters an adult theme in gaming. However, it can be hard to handle these topics, given the lack of maturity in many gamers. We discuss past games with mature themes, how to run a game with these topics and what to avoid. If you’ve ever wondered how to make your game more dramatic and realistic, give this an episode a listen. And as always, if you have any questions or comments, please let us know. On another note, we here at RPPR had a good holiday. Tom got some kewl loot for Christmas and Ross got some writing done. Check out his article in Knights of the Dinner Table #134, a Gamemaster’s Workshop essay on incorporating a new player into an existing group. Plus, a letter from Tom to a classic D&D monster, the mind flayer and a gaming anecdote. Shout Outs: Horribleville, a very funny webcomic from KC Green, Tyrants of the Nine Hells and Alien loves Predator.

Keeper: Ross Payton Players: Tom Church, Jon and Katie Carter, Matt Howell, Meriam, and Paul You are cordially invited to a night at the opera. “A Night on Owlshead Mountain is a Delta Green adventure that pits investigators against the deadly, lingering aftereffects of Mi-Go activity in rural Vermont. The long awaited Delta Green supplement, Eyes Only is finally out. The RPPR crew tries out one of the scenarios as a one shot session. Be seeing you.

A round table discussion with Ross Payton, Tom Church, Cody Walker and Samantha Harrel. Synopsis: Every gamer has been touched by a very special kind of player. The bad player wrecks campaigns, breaks up relationships and causes madness with their inept munchkinism, selfish attitude, and infuriating personal habits. Two guests, Sam and Cody, join us to discuss one such player, Jessica. Her paladin character refused to fight evil and her villainous character refused to be evil. Even her attempts at roleplaying wound up with her creating a Witchblade knockoff superhero with Indiana Jones as her father. Find out how the other members dealt with her. Learn from their mistakes so you can be prepared for the next bad player you meet. Tom reads a letter to the average Call of Cthulhu player character and a few shoutouts. First, Jonathan Coulton is a great singer/songwriter who has made his music available under a creative commons license. We’ve included one of his songs, Skullcrusher Mountain, at the end. Give it a listen. Tom has a shout out for the one and only George Carlin. Finally, Cody thinks everyone needs to check out 8-bit theater, a great fantasy comedy web comic.

By Ross Payton and Tom Church Synopsis: Since the holidays are around the corner, we turn our attention to that most treasured aspect of gaming: loot. Whether it’s a shiny +5 vorpal longsword or a slightly used bionic arm, every player looks forward to getting more loot. But is that the point of gaming? After all, MMORPGs thrive on the grind of leveling up to get better loot, so should pen and paper games focus on the same? We discuss it, offer some advice and feature our regular shout outs, gaming anecdotes and a letter from Tom. Shout outs: Urban Dead is a great zombie themed MMORPG you can play from any web browser. Also, Blood Dimmed Tides is a useful supplement for the old World of Darkness.