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

  • 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.

  • Episode 122: Snacktastic Help

    Episode  |  September 11th, 2018  |  Season 1  |  1 hr 3 mins
    drawings, geeks, larp, mush, props, roleplaying games, snacks

    What sort of things that are NOT the game helps make your game better? This week, the Curmudgeon, the Legend and the Favorite discuss snacks, locations, music, props and everything else you can add to your game night to make things great. Ryan, Carie and Jason even explore the differences in these kinds of additions for tabletop games, LARPs and MUSHs.

  • Episode 121: Make Great Characters

    Episode  |  September 4th, 2018  |  Season 1  |  59 mins 13 secs
    characters, geeks, players, roleplaying games

    Ever wonder what makes a good character great? This week, the Curmudgeon, the Legend and the Favorite try to figure out what players can do to develop their good characters into characters that are great. Ryan, Carie and Jason formulate a four piece theory based on Depth, Substance, Usefulness and Awesome. How do your characters rate?

  • Episode 120: Problem Players part 2: Electric Boogaloo

    Episode  |  August 29th, 2018  |  Season 1  |  1 hr 3 mins
    attention whore, bad players, cheaters, competitor, creeper, geeks, players, roleplaying games, storytelling

    This week, the Curmudgeon, the Legend and the Favorite continue their discussion about problem players. In the second of two parts, Ryan, Carie and Jason break down more types of problem players, what causes them and how to deal with them. They also talk about how to vet players as a means to prevent allowing problem players in to your gaming community in the first place.

  • Episode 119: Problem Players pt. 1

    Episode  |  August 21st, 2018  |  Season 1  |  1 hr 2 mins
    bad players, geeks, metagaming, players, powergaming, roleplaying games, storytelling, xp

    What do you do when one of your players is ruining the game for everyone? This week, the Curmudgeon, the Legend and the Favorite discuss how to address problem players. In the first of two parts, Ryan, Carie and Jason break down different kinds of problem players, what causes them and how to deal with them.

  • Episode 118: Player Agency

    Episode  |  August 14th, 2018  |  Season 1  |  1 hr 13 mins
    geeks, player agency, players, roleplaying games, star trek, star wars

    Just what is player agency and how does it work... or not work? This week, the Curmudgeon, the Legend and the Favorite tackle defining Player Agency and then exploring the things that make up this mysterious idea. Ryan, Carie and Jason also talk about whether or not it's even real...

  • Episode 117: Toxic Fandoms

    Episode  |  August 7th, 2018  |  Season 1  |  1 hr 2 mins
    characters, fandom, geeks, players, plot, roleplaying games, sherlock holmes, star wars, toxicity, vampire, white wolf

    Fandoms have become increasingly toxic and broken lately. This week, the Curmudgeon, the Legend and the Favorite examine the story of Sherlock Holmes and how even 150 years ago, people were dealing with harassment from fans. Ryan, Carie and Jason also talk about the current problems in fandom, particularly the Star Wars, Critical Role and White Wolf Publishing fandom problems in recent weeks!

  • Episode 116: Characters in the Spotlight

    Episode  |  July 31st, 2018  |  Season 1  |  1 hr 5 mins
    characters, geeks, players, plot, roleplaying games

    We all want our character to be in the spotlight from time to time. This week, the Curmudgeon, the Legend and the Favorite investigate what players can do to help make sure they can get in the plot and story limelight while also helping other players have their moments, too. Ryan, Carie and Jason also examine how storytellers can manage their gaming group to give everyone the time they want and desire in the spotlight!

  • Episode 115: Between Games

    Episode  |  July 17th, 2018  |  Season 1  |  1 hr 7 mins
    downtimes, feedback, geeks, idaho, larp, mush, requests, roleplaying games

    What happens to characters in between games? The Curmudgeon, the Legend and the Favorite take a look at the between games antics of characters, players and storytellers as they examine downtime actions, online or email scenes and player requests. Ryan, Carie and Jason work through the challenges and expectations of what happens between games.

  • Episode 114: DMing For The First Time

    Episode  |  July 10th, 2018  |  Season 1  |  1 hr 13 mins
    community, dungeon master, geeks, hints, roleplaying games, running a game, scenes, storytelling, vampire, white wolf

    The very first time anyone runs a game can be nerve-wracking. The Curmudgeon, the Legend and the Favorite navigate through advice and suggestions to help make running your first game less stressful and more successful. Breaking it down into what a new DM/Storyteller should do before, during and after their first game, Ryan, Carie and Jason do their best to help any novice game runner have a successful experience. They also take a few minutes to address the current controversy surrounding White Wolf's release of Vampire 5th Edition.