On A Roll

Episode 204: Sandboxes and Narratives

Episode  |  February 14th, 2019  |  Season 2  |  57 mins 36 secs

characters, dungeons and dragons, experience points, game design, games, geeks, larp, mush, narrative, pathfinder, podcast, roleplaying, rpg, sandbox, tabletop, world of darkness, xp

This week, the Favorite, the Curmudgeon and the Legend take a cue from a listener and discuss the differences between running a sandbox-style game and a narrative-driven game. Carie, Jason and Ryan take a look at the pros and cons, and what they prefer!

Episode 203: Engagement vs. Immersion

Episode  |  February 7th, 2019  |  Season 2  |  1 hr 6 mins

characters, costuming, dungeons and dragons, engagement, experience points, game design, games, geeks, immersion, larp, lighting, mush, pathfinder, podcast, props, roleplaying, rpg, tabletop, world of darkness, xp

After attending a new local game with lots of costuming, the Favorite, the Curmudgeon and the Legend talk about the difference between engagement and immerision, and how both are achieved. Carie, Jason and Ryan work out the pros and cons of them both, and they try to figure out which is more important!

The Broken Brilliance of "Get Woke, Go Broke"

Article  |  February 3rd, 2019
By Ryan - The Curmudgeon
dungeon master, dungeons and dragons, gaming, geeks, inclusion, masks, pathfinder, roleplaying games, rpg, sensitivity, storytelling, tabletop, vampire, white wolf, world of darkness

The Curmudgeon examines the unfortunate brilliance of the "Get Woke, Go Broke" catchphrase and the vicious attacks both sides of the argument make. He even manages to find some common ground to move toward a positive solution.

Episode 202: Sensitivity Editing

Episode  |  January 30th, 2019  |  Season 2  |  1 hr 51 secs

characters, diversity, dungeons and dragons, experience points, game design, games, geeks, inclusion, larp, mush, pathfinder, podcast, roleplaying, rpg, social justice, tabletop, world of darkness, xp

After a viscious thread in a Facebook group, the Favorite, the Curmudgeon and the Legend tackle the important topic of sensitivity editing in gaming. Carie, Jason and Ryan try to navigate the angry distance between the "Get Woke Go Broke" and the "Social Justice Warrior" crowds and figure out sensitivity in game design!

Episode 201: Running The End

Episode  |  January 23rd, 2019  |  Season 2  |  1 hr 36 secs

characters, dungeons and dragons, geeks, larp, mush, pathfinder, players, plot, roleplaying games, tabletop, vampire, white wolf

It's the first episode of season two! Since it's the beginning of our new season, the Favorite, the Curmudgeon and the Legend talk about endings. Carie, Jason and Ryan explore the reasons and requirements for ending a story and the benefits and drawbacks of doing so!

Episode 131: Do We Even Need Experience Points?

Episode  |  December 5th, 2018  |  Season 1  |  1 hr 4 mins

characters, culture, diversity, experience points, game design, geeks, roleplaying games, rpg, tabletop games, xp

There's a lot of talk about experience points lately, so the Favorite asks the Curmudgeon and the Legend what the point of XP is. Carie, Jason and Ryan discuss the problems and benefits of XP, why we have it and why it's such a contentious topic on our final episode of season one!

Running Your Best Game

Article  |  December 3rd, 2018
By Ryan - The Curmudgeon
dungeon master, dungeons and dragons, gaming, geeks, masks, pathfinder, roleplaying games, rpg, storytelling, tabletop, vampire, white wolf, world of darkness

No one can run your game better than you. The Curmudgeon believes that still leaves room for improvement.

Episode 130: Donny Cates and Telling Great Stories

Episode  |  November 29th, 2018  |  Season 1  |  35 mins 47 secs

comics, donny cates, geeks, god country, guardians of the galaxy, marvel comics, podcast, roleplaying games, rpg, storytelling, tabletop, venom

Epik Comic Show happened recently, and the Curmudgeon and the Legend sat down with Marvel comic's writer Donny Cates. Carie and Ryan find out Donny's story and how he became a comic book author, and then get his take on how to tell a great story!

Episode 129: Jamie Chambers, Historic D&D and A Delve in the Cave

Episode  |  November 18th, 2018  |  Season 1  |  1 hr 2 mins

battlestar galactica, conventions, dungeons and dragons, games, geeks, jamie chambers, mush, pathfinder, podcast, postapocalypticon, roleplaying, roleplaying games, rpg, serenity, supernatural, tabletop

Hanging out at PostApocalypticon at Dicehead Games and Comics, the Curmudgeon and the Legend sat down with game designer Jamie Chambers to talk about his new 5th Ed adventure, A Delve in the Cave. Ryan and Carie also talk with Jamie about his early online role with TSR and his experience writing licensed gaming products.

The White Wolf Dilemma

Article  |  November 12th, 2018
By Ryan - The Curmudgeon
crisis, geeks, roleplaying games, rpg, vampire, white wolf, world of darkness

In the last two years, White Wolf has found itself repeatedly mired in controversy. It's happened again this week. Why does it this keep happening, and what can be done to prevent it from happening yet again?

Episode 128: Chris Spivey, Diversity and Harlem Unbound

Episode  |  November 8th, 2018  |  Season 1  |  1 hr 2 mins

cthulu, culture, development, diversity, game design, geeks, harlem unbound, lovecraft, roleplaying games, rpg, tabletop games

While at HLG Con, the Curmudgeon, the Legend and the Favorite had the opportunity to hang out with Chris Spivey, the multiple Gold Ennie-winning designer of Harlem Unbound. Ryan, Carie and Jason talk with Chris about diversity in gaming and designing a role-playing game that tackles difficult and important topics.

Episode 127: Craig Campbell on Indie Game Designing

Episode  |  October 30th, 2018  |  Season 1  |  1 hr 3 mins

craig campbell, development, die laughing, geeks, independent games, indie games, kickstarter, nerdburger games, podcast, roleplaying games, rpg, tabletop

Having played Die Laughing at HLG Con, the Curmudgeon, the Legend and the Favorite invite indie game designer Craig Campbell back to the show to talk about the game. Ryan, Carie and Jason then spend time with Craig diving into the world of indie game development and the Kickstarter process.

Episode 126: ACTUAL PLAY: Die Laughing

Episode  |  October 18th, 2018  |  Season 1  |  1 hr 43 mins

actual play, die laughing, geeks, hlg con, nerdburger games, roleplaying games, rpg, tabletop

Driving across the United States to Atlantic City for HLG Con was tiring, so the Curmudgeon, the Legend and the Favorite made it their mission to have as much fun there as they could. Ryan, Carie and Jason wrangled Craig Campbell of Nerdburger Games and convinced him to run a session of his latest game, Die Laughing. Here's an actual play recording of the game.

Episode 125: Running Games for Profit

Episode  |  October 3rd, 2018  |  Season 1  |  1 hr 8 mins

geeks, larp, profit, roleplaying games

After reading a heated online discussion, the Curmudgeon, the Legend and the Favorite dive into the ethics and acceptability of running role-playing games, particularly LARPs, for profit. Ryan, Carie and Jason discuss behaviors, expectations and general opinions about this surprisingly controversial topic.

Episode 124: Nerdball with Matthew Webb

Episode  |  September 27th, 2018  |  Season 1  |  1 hr 12 mins

geeks, larp, matthew webb, nerdball, roleplaying games

The Curmudgeon, the Legend and the Favorite have a sit down with Matthew Webb about his recent article about the concept of LARP as Nerdball. Ryan, Carie and Jason talk about how competitive play can be abusive and systemic. They also exploring ways we can all work to prevent those problems and build healthy gaming communities.

Episode 123: Live AMA

Episode  |  September 19th, 2018  |  Season 1  |  1 hr 11 mins

dungeons and dragons, geeks, roleplaying games

Armed with courage and technology, the Curmudgeon, the Legend and the Favorite take on Facebook Live and hold an "Ask Me Anything"-style show. Ryan, Carie and Jason talk about all of the games in Ryan's gaming room and everything else they get asked by our listeners.