On A Roll

The Podcast that helps you Level Up Your RPG!

About the show

The On A Roll podcast focuses on better storytelling, better playing and better community through the belief that the only way to win an RPG is to have fun, so Ryan, Carie and Jason are sharing their experiences to help you spend more time winning! Join the Curmudgeon, the Legend and the Favorite as they talk about tabletop gaming, LARPing, MUSHing and keeping your investment in check.

Join us on Facebook and let us know your thoughts on the show, gaming and having more fun!

If you like the show, help support our production and keep us going by supporting On A Roll on Patreon.

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Episodes and Blog Entries

  • Episode 113: Constructing Scenes

    Episode  |  July 4th, 2018  |  Season 1  |  59 mins 54 secs
    beginning, end, geeks, middle, roleplaying games, scenes, storytelling

    A great story in a roleplaying game is made up of many different scenes The Curmudgeon, the Legend and the Favorite get into the nuts and bolts of what makes a scene work. Examining all of the pieces, Ryan, Carie and Jason do a deep dive into the art of constructing a scene that is compelling, exciting, clear and most of all, in service to the overall story.

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    Episode 112: Into The Storyteller's Vault

    Episode  |  June 25th, 2018  |  Season 1  |  1 hr 1 min
    conventions, geeks, hlg con, roleplaying games, storytellers vault, vampire, werewolf

    The On A Roll hosts are joined by game designer Josh Heath to talk about his companies, as well as learning all about how to create content for the White Wolf Storyteller's Vault.

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    Episode 111: Free RPG Day Special

    Episode  |  June 16th, 2018  |  Season 1  |  1 hr 14 mins
    dicehead, dungeons and dragons, free rpg day, geeks, kids on bikes, roleplaying games

    This special episode celebrates the fun had at Free RPG Day! The Curmudgeon, the Legend and the Favorite spent the day at Dicehead Comics and Games in Cleveland, Tennessee, where they played a ton of Dungeons & Dragons, got some great free shwag from some wonderful games and got to know a gaggle of local gamers in our community! Join Ryan, Carie and Jason as they get down in the trenches with Chad, Painter, Benito, Ian, Stacy, Marty, Scott and Dakota!

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    Episode 110: Villains vs. Bad Guys

    Episode  |  June 12th, 2018  |  Season 1  |  1 hr 5 mins
    antagonists, bad guys, evil, geeks, npcs, roleplaying games, villains

    This week's episode is tuned to the key of E vil as the Curmudgeon, the Legend and the Favorite explore the differences between villains and bad guys. Ryan, Carie and Jason debate the finer points of constructing great antagonists and how these NPCs interact with the story being told.

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    Episode 109: Great ST Mistakes

    Episode  |  June 5th, 2018  |  Season 1  |  1 hr 2 mins
    geeks, mistakes, roleplaying games, storytelling, trust

    Nobody's perfect, not even the Curmudgeon, the Legend and the Favorite. Delving deep into their gaming history, Ryan, Carie and Jason tell the stories of the greatest mistakes they ever made while storytelling for roleplaying games. When it's all over, they're a bit surprised to discover a common theme in their ways...

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    Episode 108: Building Better Players

    Episode  |  May 29th, 2018  |  Season 1  |  1 hr 2 mins
    community, externals, geeks, internals, no, patience, players, roleplaying games, trust

    We are all players. Some of us are better players than others, but what qualities make a player "good?" The Curmudgeon, the Legend and the Favorite take some time this week to delve into the traits that make a great player. Dividing the conversation into the Internals and Externals, they get into the meat of things we all can do to play better and have more fun.

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    Episode 107: Toxicity

    Episode  |  May 22nd, 2018  |  Season 1  |  1 hr 8 mins
    community, geeks, roleplaying games, safety, toxic

    Role-playing game communities, like most communities, have become increasingly aware of issues like safety, inclusion and behavioral problems. This week, The Curmudgeon, the Legend and the Favorite tackle the difficult and often uncomfortable topic of toxic players, toxic game runners and toxic environments in the world of tabletop RPGs, LARP and MUSH, and they explore ways we can all help to make our gaming spaces healthier.

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    Episode 106: Finding Ideas

    Episode  |  May 17th, 2018  |  Season 1  |  55 mins 24 secs
    characters, creativity, geeks, plot, roleplaying games, setting

    Where do ideas come from? The Curmudgeon, the Legend and the Favorite explore the process of creativity and how great ideas are born. Join Ryan, Carie and Jason as they talk about coming up with ideas for plots, characters and settings.

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    Episode 105: Con Job

    Episode  |  April 29th, 2018  |  Season 1  |  54 mins 50 secs
    conventions, geeks, lexicon, magpie games, masks, roleplaying games, the region

    The Favorite had to work, so The Curmudgeon and the Legend went to Lexicon, an amazing gaming convention in Lexington, Kentucky. After playing in some tabletop games there, they bring in the show's first guest, The Pollack, to talk about convention games. Covering everything from planning, promoting and actually running a con game, Ryan, Carie and Chris do their best to figure out the formula to make running and playing con games be as much fun as possible.

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    Episode 104: Don't Run These Plots

    Episode  |  April 18th, 2018  |  Season 1  |  58 mins
    abuse, assault, geeks, roleplaying games, safety, sex, triggers

    The Curmudgeon, the Legend and the Favorite tackle the difficult subject of The Unpermissibles – the triggering topics that should really never be used as plots in your games. Join Ryan, Carie and Jason as they discuss maintaining player safety, understanding why the Unpermissibles are so damaging and how to navigate them within games you play or run.

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    Episode 103: Run the Game You Say You're Running

    Episode  |  April 10th, 2018  |  Season 1  |  55 mins 55 secs
    geeks, genre, roleplaying games

    This week, the Curmudgeon, the Legend and the Favorite talk about the importance of clearly understanding and communicating what the game you are running is to your players to help balance expectation and manage the feel. It's about Communication, interpretation and expectation.

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    Episode 102: Buzzwords

    Episode  |  April 4th, 2018  |  Season 1  |  1 hr 6 mins
    accessibility, bleed, buzzwords, geeks, immersion, nordic larp

    In their second episode, the Curmudgeon, the Legend and the Favorite discuss the current epidemic of buzzwords used to market tabletop gaming, LARPing and MUSHing. Accessible, blockbuster, bleed, immersion and transformative are just a few of the words Ryan, Carie and Jason explore.

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    Episode 101: Firsts

    Episode  |  April 2nd, 2018  |  Season 1  |  56 mins 46 secs
    demon master, dungeons & dragons, geeks, marvel superheroes, rpgs, shattered isles

    In the very first episode of On A Roll, the Curmudgeon shares the tale of his first tabletop rpg and the demon who ran the game, The Legend recalls her first D&D game and The Favorite talks about his first boffer LARP. It's a trip through time that ends with exploring the idea of first games and how new players navigate their first exposure to the role-playing game hobby.