Episode 127 - Are Your Games "Interesting Failures"?
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Andy and Chris take a different approach to gaming in this episode as they discuss the idea of “interesting failures”–art and experiences that don’t succeed, but that nonetheless deliver something worthwhile. After discussing Alien Resurrection, Andy’s favorite example of an interesting disaster, they move on to talk about what “interesting failure” looks like in a TTRPG campaign, and why it’s not such a bad thing at all.
Andy and Chris talk about Halloween, how to make a party harder for your players, and then about how to maintain momentum when you have long gaps between game sessions.
What do you do when your players make in-game choices you weren’t expecting? Should you try to shift them back onto your planned course, or appreciate the challenge they’re throwing your way? Chris listens as Andy describes a recent adventure that went awry (albeit in a fun way) and they discuss what could have been done differently.
Episode 124 — Do You Require Your Players To Read the Rules?
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How much rules mastery do you ask of your players? Chris and Andy discuss the unique challenge that roleplaying games present, with their often-massive rules tomes and the complicated relationship between rules and roleplaying that takes place at the game table.
Our first live episode in front of a studio (con) audience! Andy runs us through his annual Roll For Topic Swap Table Quiz. Take the quiz while listening and see you how do!
Episode 122 — How Do You Encourage Your Players to Roleplay Among Themselves?
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Your players probably interact with you, the GM, in character from time to time. But do they roleplay with their fellow players? What does that look like at the table?
What makes for a good flawed player character? Chris and Andy explore what it means to be an interesting flawed or anti-hero. But before they do that, they check in on Andy’s “Masks of Nyarlathotep” campaign and talk about what makes “Masks” unique in a hobby full of great campaigns.
In a break from the usual format, Andy and Chris talk through the process of choosing the right game to run for a convention one-shot. Together, they go through the half-dozen games on Andy’s list of possibilities until they narrow down the one that will work best. On the way, they talk about spies, mechs, and many other RPG genres.
Episode 119 - Audio Equipment, Mysteries, Aliens, and Repetition
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Andy and Chris fail to roll on the table for a topic, but of course have plenty to talk about. Listen as they talk about wrangling audio equipment for a live taping, Brindlewood Bay thoughts, Alien worries, and playing the same games over and over again.
Episode 118 — How to Make Small Towns in Your Fantasy Setting Memorable
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Andy’s back from a cross-country road trip, and he’s eager to talk about all weird and wonderful claims to fame that small, rural towns celebrate. In this episode, Chris and Andy talk about how to make the small towns in your fantasy setting quirky and memorable places to travel through. But first they take time to talk about high-concept and gimmicky sci-fi, and how that might be implemented in a tabletop RPG.
