Ludonarrative Dissidents

MAELSTROM is a paperback-format RPG written by Alex Scott and published in 1984 by Puffin Books, a division of Penguin Books in the UK. It contains rules for roleplaying in Europe, mostly England, at the time of the Tudors (the 1500s), with a solo adventure, a sample adventure and a herbiary. It is an interesting comparison to the other 1980s British RPG set in a faux-Europe of the early Renaissance, Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, which was published two years later.The game was re-released by Arion Games in 2008, and the company has also released an expanded version and several supplements, as well as standalone titles Maelstrom Domesday (set after the Norman invasion), Maelstrom Rome and Maelstrom Gothic.Maelstrom at Wikipedia Maelstrom at DriveThruRPGRead the full show notes here.Discuss this episode on our Discord.

We have a special guest, Adam Scott Glancy, one of the Delta Green co-authors! He clarifies a few points about Delta Green Countdown.Watch the livestream on Youtube⁠⁠⁠⁠Discuss this episode on our Discord.

Sponsor: Technical Difficulties Podcast - check out an excellent actual play RPG podcast, featuring Delta Green, Eclipse Phase, and many other fine systems featured on LND.Delta Green Countdown is a massive sourcebook for the original edition of Delta Green. It blows the doors off the world of Delta Green, reaching wider and digging deeper to map the terrain of the twisted pulp apocalypse we call the dawning of the 21st century. How has it aged since then?Read the full show notes here. Discuss this episode on our Discord.

Our first livestream of the year! We talk about new games we played and a grabag of topics. Watch the livestream on Youtube⁠⁠⁠Discuss this episode on our Discord.

ALICE IS MISSING is a self-contained one-session RPG for 3–5 players, designed by Spenser Stark and released in 2020 by Hunters Entertainment with Renegade Game Studios, after a Kickstarter that raised $138,000. It’s been described as ‘unique’, ‘sublime’ and ‘a little masterpiece’, and has won a bagful of awards including three 2021 Gold ENNIEs and the Indiecade award for tabletop design.Read the full show notes hereAlice is Missing homepageAlice is Missing online gameAlice is Missing at DriveThruRPGDiscuss this episode on our Discord.

Our monthly livestream for December! Watch the livestream here.⁠⁠⁠Discuss this episode on our Discord.

Gradient Descent is a module/campaign setting/megadungeon for the SF-horror RPG Mothership, released in 2020. It is written by Luke Gearing, with art by Nick Tofani and layout by Sean McCoy, and was published by Tuesday Night Games. Dimensionally it is a tightly packed 64-page digest-sized booklet, and the PDF sells for $20, or as part of the Mothership deluxe boxed set.Mothership homepageThe Mothership book range at at DriveThruRPGGradient Descent at DriveThruRPGRead the show notes here.⁠Discuss this episode on our Discord.

Our monthly livestream for November 2025. We talk about larping, new games in development and Dragonmeet!Watch the Livestream here.⁠⁠Discuss this episode on our Discord.

EABA (End All Be All) 2e is a generic roleplaying system with a core rulebook and a collection of sourcebooks designed by Greg Porter and published by his company BTRC (Blacksburg Tactical Research Centre). The first edition was released in 2003, the second – which is what we discuss in this episode – in 2012.Read the full show notes here.Discuss this episode on our Discord.

Our livestream for October 2025!Watch it on Youtube.⁠Discuss this episode on our Discord.