Send us a text

By now most of you that plan on attending already have your GenCon badges, reservations, and plans. But if you are like me than you are still thumbing through the massive guide looking maximize your weekend. Lucky for you Oddfish Games has a few events that can help round out that GenCon calendar and make sure you get the most out of the greatest gaming weekend in the world.

Christina, this is the first time in a while Oddfish has offered events at GenCon? Why is now the perfect time to jump in and see what Oddfish Games has to offer?

[Kick to Christina]

Let’s walk through the GenCon schedule and give everyone a little preview of what to expect at the events?

BOOTH: 105
 
 Rise And Shine: Sparking Creative Writing For Students
 Wed at 3:00 pm EDT for 1 hr
 JW : 101
 
 Improvisational Horror: Unprepped and Unhinged
 Call of Cthulhu, 7th Edition
 Thu at 10:00 am EDT for 3 hr
 Stadium : Meeting Room 7 : 6
 
 Round Robin Horror: Collaborative GMing
 Call of Cthulhu, 7th Edition
 Thu at 2:00 pm EDT for 3 hr
 Stadium : Meeting Room 7 : 6
 
 Illuminated Campaigns & Adventures
 Thu at 3:00 pm EDT for 1 hr
 Stadium : Meeting Room 12
 
 Create a Custom Scented Locket
 Fri at 12:00 pm EDT for 1 hr
 ICC : 210 : Front
 
 Create a Custom Scent for Your Next Adventure
 Fri at 1:00 pm EDT for 1 hr
 ICC : 210 : Front
 
 Improvisational Adventure: Unprepped and Unconstrained
 Savage Worlds, Adventure Edition
 Sat at 10:00 am EDT for 3 hr
 Stadium : Meeting Room 7 : 3
 
 Round Robin Adventure: Collaborative GMing
 Savage Worlds, Adventure Edition
 Sat at 2:00 pm EDT for 3 hr
 Stadium : Meeting Room 7 : 3

The Oddfish Games booth will be at space 105 next to our friends at Piazo so make sure you stop bye and say hello and pick up some of our fantastic adventure scents as well as copies of Radiance, Luminous, and Shine. There will also likely be some cat plushies to go along with our “How to Roleplay with Your Cat” game. So stop by and say hi.

Send us a text

You Heard it Here Last

Welcome to You Heard it Here Last where we talk about news you’ve already heard.

Let’s talk business. In 2023 exports from Poland to the US reached the highest levels in history. 2% of all those exports…...was the video game Cyberpunk 2077.

What makes these numbers interesting is that the rollout of Cyberpunk 2077 was a massive failure and the Computer Gaming Industry in Poland took a hit. But today things have changed.

Christina, What’s up with Poland?

[Kick to Christina]

https://www.gamedeveloper.com/marketing/cyberpunk-2077-s-embattled-launch-was-felt-across-poland

https://www.trade.gov.pl/en/extended-topics/polish-gamedev-is-growing-in-strength/

We have more business news, this time in the TTRPG world.

Roll 20 has acquired Demiplane. For those of you not familiar, Roll20 is an online VTT for table top roleplaying, and Demiplane is an online tool that works with virtual table tops to provide rules for a large number of games that don’t start with D&D. That’s pretty interesting in and of itself.

But that's not even the most interesting part of it. Adam Bradford, the driving force behind first D&D Beyond and then Demiplane, opted not to go to Roll 20 and is now heading up development at Fantasy Grounds.

Christina, What’s all this then?

[Kick to Christina]

https://geektyrant.com/news/digital-ttrpg-giant-roll20-acquires-demiplane

https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?81600-SmiteWorks-hires-Adam-Bradford-as-Chief-Development-Officer-for-Fantasy-Grounds

Finally let’s talk Ennie Awards. The Ennie Awards are an annual fan-based celebration of excellence in tabletop roleplaying and they are awarded each year at GenCon. This year’s nominees have been announced and there are a lot of interesting stuff on it.

Christina, any of the nominees stand out to you or are there any that you are excited to see on the list of nominees?

[Kick to Christina]

https://ennie-awards.com/

https://ennie-awards.com/2024-nominees/

Well, there you have it, tune in next time for all the news you’ve already heard.

Send us a text

“Teamwork makes the dream work” was quoted by leadership expert John C. Maxwell in his book by the same name. The actual quote read:

“Teamwork makes the dream work, but a vision becomes a nightmare when the leader has a big dream and a bad team.” 

What does this have to do with adventuring in our table top games?

Well, actually, everything.

A team is a group of individuals working together who collaborate on related tasks to achieve their common goal. Hearkening back to the beginnings of table top roleplaying games the character classes were designed to help build a basic team to solve the adventure.

How many of you have had this conversation

Ok, we’ve got Jerry as our fighter. He can keep the monsters off our back. Susan is playing the Wizard so magic is covered. Gwen is playing a thief to help with locks and traps…so…Steve, it looks like you get to play the cleric.

In this episode Mike, Christina and I are going to talk about teams and specifically building a good team from your players and characters to tell amazing stories.

Christina, have you ever had a bad team in a game?

Send us a text

Last Week Mike hit us up in a group email about CHAT-GP4 release and how it has basically solved all his solo roleplaying issues.

Christina follows up with expressed excitement and some questions about service plans

I responded with [Insert Raspberry Noise]

A long email thread latter and here we are. An episode on AI Gaming.

I wanted to start by pointing out that Mike is and has been a dabbler in the world of AI roleplaying. From feeding information into the new AIs, to running solo games as a player and a GM with his new AI Overloards.

Christina on the other hand is the dilettante. The idea intrigues here and she is interested in giving it a try, but like a kid at the swimming pool in early June, she is just dipping her toes in the water.

And of course that makes me the grognard. The very idea of my games being run or played by an AI gives me the heeby jeebies. I am already stockpiling my EMP grenades for the inevitable rise of Skynet.

So, with our positions clearly defined, let me turn over the rest of the episode to the dabbler.

Mike, lead us to our ruin.

Send us a text

You Heard it Here Last

Welcome to You Heard it Here Last where we talk about news you’ve already heard.

https://www.enworld.org/threads/2024-diana-jones-award-finalists-announced.704637/

We are going to start this week off with the Diana Jones Award Finalists. The Diana Jones Award for excellence in gaming was founded in 2000 and presented at the first ceremony in 2001, It is awarded to a single recipient each year at an industry-only event the evening before the start of Gen Con.  The award exemplifies excellence in gaming among "people, products, companies, events, movements, concepts, or things" of that year. 

The finalists for this year are;

Adepticon, Ami Baio, Fastaval, TTRPGs for Trans Rights in Florida, and United Piazo Workers.

Christina, any of the finalists jump out at you?

[Kick to Christina]

How about you Mike. Thoughts on this year’s finalists?

 [Kick to Mike]

https://www.tabletopgamingnews.com/pre-order-available-for-r-talsorian-games-new-cyberpunk-edgerunners-mission-kit/

Moving on to one of our favorite topics, Cyberpunk, R. Talsorian Games has announced the upcoming Cyberpunk: Edgerunners Mission Kit in conjunction with CD Projekt Red. The box set contains three books totaling 120 pages, pre-generated characters from the Cyberpunk: Edgerunners universe, themed dice, maps, standees, and more. The set is designed to integrate players directly into the storyline aftermath of the Cyberpunk: Edgerunners finale.

This sounds like what I have been waiting for. What about you Mike?

[Kick to Mike]

Christina, are you looking forward to this one as well?

[kick to Christina]

Well, there you have it, tune in next time for all the news you’ve already heard.

Send us a text

With this episode we wrap up the Pirates of Drinax Campaign.

Send us a text

Welcome to another edition of You Heard it Here Last, where we talk about news you’ve already heard.

https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/dandds-new-rules-will-be-available-under-a-creative-commons-licence/

We are kicking off today with yet more D&D News. It’s funny how much we talk about a game we don’t play. But that’s a topic for another day. Today we are talking about the fact that the new D&D Rules that is being called D&D 2024 for now will be released under a Creative Commons License.

Wizards of the Coast has already put 5E material in their SRD or Systems Reference Document which allows third party contributors to use the rules in their products and now promises that all of the new game material will also be available in the SRD.

Now we can talk about something that is not D&D Related.

https://www.enworld.org/threads/asmodee-owner-to-split-into-3-companies.703830/

Embracer Group, the Swedish company that owns Asmodee, Edge Studios, and Fantasy Flight Games will split into three different companies. With over 9,000 IPs this is bound to have an affect on games we love.

The company has been going through a rough time with hundreds of layoffs and closures and this move is being made to allow the different groups to publicly trade and focus on what the do best. The three groups are Asmodee (table top gaming), Coffee Stain & Friends (Premium and Free to Play Online Gaming), Middle Earth Enterprises & Friends (LOTR Content, Dark Horse Comics, and Tomb Raider) 

Send us a text

Before we get started, I want to give a shout-out to Distaff over on our Discord server. They hit us up asking for more in our Anatomy of a Campaign series. Thanks for listening and for the feedback Distaff. That was one we forgot about.

Christina and I had recorded Episode 3, but the audio quality was just too bad to release. We put it in the queue to get back to it, and then with the holiday’s it got lost in the shuffle.

So here we are revisiting the Pirates of Drinax campaign.

Christina, do you remember where we left off?

Send us a text

On this episode of You Heard it Here Last, Christina and I talk about the upcoming D&D 2024 and the opening of Kickstarter Season.

Check it out for news you have already heard.

Send us a text

I don’t remember if it was my first visit to the public library, a Carnagie Public Library of course, but it was definitely the first time I strayed away from the children’s section and started looking for books to read.

The adult side of the library was very different. No cartoon covers in bright colors, just rows and rows of big fat books, they all looked the same. And they all looked like they were more than I could handle. But then I found them.

They were in their own section. Rows and rows of small little paperbacks with colorful covers and images of … cowboys.

The authors name on the books was Louis L’amour and they were my first foray into adult fiction.

I read them all, and loved every minute of it. I still have an old copy of The Daybreakers laying around somewhere in the house.

I grew up towards the end of the Western era in Hollywood, Bonanza and Gunsmoke were still on TV, but they would be gone very soon replaced with shows like Kojak and MASH. The westerns of the decade spent more time deconstructing the genre then telling western stories and John Wayne’s last film the Shootist hit box offices in 1976.

Many of you out there look at the western as an outdated genre, one that has little place in the hustle and bustle of 21st century storytelling. And of course, when it comes to roleplaying nobody is playing a western, right…

Right?

Well, we are here to point out that you are likely playing a western and don’t realize it. Just like with our Sci-Fi episode where we determined that almost everything in roleplaying could be considered Sci-Fi. I would argue that almost every story our table top roleplaying games are telling is a western.

The importance of the western can not be understated. The mythic and timeless stories are tied closely into the three pillars of roleplaying; Social, Exploration, and Combat.

While I can go on for hours about Westerns, Mike, you never really got into the western. When did you recognize how tied in it was to most rolelplaying games.

Send us a text

Welcome to You Heard it Here Last.

We are going to start this week with some good news for D&D 5E, or at least for the Dungeon Dudes.

https://www.enworld.org/threads/the-dungeon-dudes-notch-up-another-million-dollar-kickstarter.703873/

Unless you have been living under a rock you heard that Cynthia Williams the president of WOTC has resigned.

https://www.enworld.org/threads/wotc-president-cynthia-williams-resigns.703723/

Finally, Steve Jackson Games, a game company near and dear to my heart, that’s right my first email address was at io.com, just released their stakeholder report for 2023 and it’s “mehh”

https://www.enworld.org/threads/steve-jackson-games-releases-stakeholder-report-for-2023.703757/

Well, there you have it, everything we’ve got at “you heard it here last”. Tune in in a couple of weeks for more news you’ve already heard.

Send us a text

For me it started with Blade Runner. I remember being blown away by the majestic sweeping images while Vangelis played in the background. It was that mixture of noir and sci-fi, dark tech and it just oozed attitude.

Snow Crash was next, the 1992 novel that really opened my eyes to the full cyberpunk experience. Ghost in the Shell, Altered Carbon, Akira, Battle Angel Alita, the Matrix and more recently Kacey Ezell’s Second Chance Angel rounded out my hard drive.

As for roleplaying I played in a short lived GURPS Cyberpunk campaign, and while I enjoyed it, I felt like it was missing something. Something that didn’t quite connect what was in my head to the game we were playing. So, a couple of years ago when Mike asked if I was interested in playing Cyberpunk Red I jumped at the chance. It was fun and I had a good time, but to be honest, it was missing something. That same something that was missing the first time I gave it a go. The cyberpunk in my head just wasn’t jiving with the cyberpunk in the game.

Then, at the urging of Mike and Christina I downloaded Cyberpunk 2077. And that was it. What I had been missing in those games is what I found in 2077. The world of cyberpunk. The world your characters lived in. In the table top attempts, the story took front row to the world, but for cyberpunk to really flourish the world has to take priority over the story. What is it to be human? What is it to truly live?

After a few hours of 2077 I hit Mike back up.

“So, I would love to play more cyberpunk, especially in the 2077 world.”

His response was “Well, I’m working on it”

And here we are. We thought this would be a perfect opportunity to talk more Cyberpunk while getting a behind the scenes look at how Mike goes about building a campaign.

Mike, I described what I was always chasing in cyberpunk. What about you? What draws you to cyberpunk?

Send us a text

On this episode of You Heard it Here Last, Mike and I talk TTRPG sales and the new Fallout TV Show.

Send us a text

Preparing to run a new game can be daunting. A game master must design the world the players will be adventuring in. They will need to create a compelling story, a reason to adventure. They will need to fill their new world with set pieces, action, and amazing locals. Finally, they will need a villain, a character that will compel the players to risk their own lives to stop it’s evil machinations.

As game masters we often find ourselves excited for the first night of the campaign. The scene is set and everything is ready to go.

Then the players make their first moves.

“Let’s stop by the blacksmiths shop before we go, to see what they’ve got.”

“Uh ok, lets see…the blacksmiths shop, got it. You see the blacksmith working behind a forge.”

“Cool, what do they look like…Are they young or old? Do they look like they know what they are doing? Hey excuse me! How long have you been working iron in this town? Do you live above the forge? Have you ever seen a shield like the one I’m carrying?”

And, all that hard work sits unused in the notebook while you have to create an NPC on the fly.

The Non Player Character is one of the most important aspects of any roleplaying game, but it’s the one we typically spend the least time creating. Good NPCs will make an adventure, while bad ones can derail things faster than you can image.

A great example of this just happened in our groups Masks of Nyarlathotep campaign. In the opening session I introduced Lt. Poole to the players, specifically one player character Dr. Lillian McKay. Dr. McKay was a pathologist working at the hospital so it only made sense that she would be familiar with some of the NYPD Homicide detectives. With an Appearance Score of 85 it also tracked that the overworked, out of shape, rumpled detective would have a little bit of a crush on the pretty doctor. So while the Lt. would intimidate everyone else, he would probably over share a little with Dr. McKay. Bring her some coffee and bagels, while dropping off confidential police files, checking up on her occasionally just to make sure she was ok.

When I killed him in a very brutal manner, I could see the player visibly get a little angry, and that’s when I knew I had pulled it off.

It did piss you off a little didn’t it Christina?

[Kick to Christina]

Today Christina and I are going to talk about creating compelling Non Player Characters and give you some tips and tricks to do this quickly and on the fly.

So, Christina, How do you like to start creating your NPCs?

Send us a text

On this episode of You Heard it Here Last, Mike and I talk about Chaosium's contest and the upcoming Fallout TV show.

Send us a text

I can remember it like it was yesterday. October, 1976, Sunday night, 7pm.

I was already dressed for bed and I settled down in front of the TV.

“When you wish upon a star” played from the speakers and the opening credits of “The Wonderful World of Disney” played across the screen. This was a normal Sunday night for me and it is the reason I am a huge Kurt Russell fan to this day.

But this night of television was going to be very different.

This night was going to change me forever.

The music swelled and the screen was filled with stage curtains in blue, lights like waves splashed over the opening credits as the title card “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea” played across the screen.

That movie started my love of Science Fiction. The next day I checked out the Jules Verne book from the library and when I finished that, I went back for more. The Journey to the Center of the Earth, From the Earth to the Moon, Mysterious Island, and Around the World in Eighty Days just to name a few.

Since then, Science Fiction has been my go-to when I am reading, watching TV or films, and gaming.

The Science Fiction Genre has been described as the “Literature of Ideas” and it’s one of the most versatile and expansive genres in existence. From the fantasy landscapes of J.R,R, Tolkien, to the time travelling HG Wells, to the Ringworlds of Larry Niven and the depths of the human mind from Neil Stephenson, Sci-Fi can do it all.

On this episode Christina, Mike and I are going to talk about the Sci-Fi genre and how to bring it to life in your roleplaying games.

Christina, do you remember your first exposure to Sci-Fi?

Send us a text

This week we talk about Larian Studios announcing that they will not be making any more Baldar's Gate 3 Content and Converse jumping on board the D&D train.

Send us a text

Roll for Initiative!

To some, it’s the purpose of the entire game. To others it’s the moment of dread.

We have talked about the history of roll playing games before, growing out of the wargaming simulations of the 60’s and early 70’s.

Wargaming Simulations, you know … Combat.

So, the early roleplaying games focused heavily around combat. The game mechanics were designed to encourage and promote combat. 

Kill monsters, get experience points. 

That can be a lot of fun and many people are drawn to roleplaying games for the combat.

Decades ago, I remember our party stumbled across a group of Lizard Men escorting a Hag. Before we knew it, we were rolling for initiative. Six hours later we finally put the last monster down having lost two of our own in the process.

It was a blast, and exhausting.

But today, the roleplaying experience is much different.

Today games tend to have a heavier focus on narrative and storytelling. You are just as likely to spend six hours at a ball, dancing and drinking while trying to convince a local lord to join your cause as you are duking it out with the Lizard folk.

Combat has morphed from the reason to play the game to just another element in the game. A six-hour combat slog is just as likely to see your players headed home, bored and not interested in returning as it is to excite them.

Balancing combat with the rest of the gaming experience is critical.

On this episode Christina, Mike and I are going to talk about running combat in roleplaying games and give you some tips and tricks to keep the action flowing and make sure everyone stays involved.

Christina, while my early gaming experience was very combat heavy, yours was a little different, wasn’t it?

Send us a text

First up on You Heard It Here Last we have a very cool announcement. Modiphious games has picked up the license to create the Discworld Roleplaying game. We haven’t seen a Discworld rpg since the late 90’s with Steve Jackson Games. Christina, what do you think about Modiphious picking up Discworld?

https://www.polygon.com/tabletop-games/24084600/discworld-tabletop-rpg-board-game-modiphius

Next on our list is a new RPG news site called Rascal. Rascal is a brand-new RPG news site. It’s independent, a little alternative, and definitely rogue. Mike, have you had a chance to check this out and if so, what do you think?

https://www.rascal.news/

That’s it for this episode of You Heard It Here Last. Catch you next time.

Send us a text

“[Sam] fell and came heavily on his hands, which sank deep into sticky ooze, so that his face was brought close to the surface of the dark mere. There was a faint hiss, and a noisome smell went up, the lights flickered and danced and swirled. For a moment the water below him looked like some window, glazed with grimy glass, through which he was peering. Wrenching his hands out of the bog, he sprang back with a cry. ‘There are dead things, dead faces in the water,’ he said with horror. ‘Dead faces!’”

This excerpt is from JRR Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings. I know that’s probably obvious to most of our listeners but what likely isn’t obvious is the above passages reference. While Tolkien might have been spinning a fantastical yarn about a fantasy conflict, what he was really writing about was his experiences in World War 1 and the above passage clearly refers to the Battle of the Somme one of the deadliest battles in all of human history.

Typical table top roleplaying leans heavily into the war and military genre, but over the years that DNA has been lost and today’s gamers miss some tremendous opportunities to bring to life amazing games by going back to the roots of roleplaying and really diving into those military and war tropes.

On this episode Mike and I are going talk about the military genre and ways to bring those roleplaying ideas into your games.

Mike, I know you are a massive Tolkien fan. Were you aware of the huge influence of World War 1 on his writings when you started reading Tolkien?

Typical War Tropes to add to your games.

1. Battle Scenes and Action:  Describe the bigger battles, what’s going on across the battlefield. Sweeping descriptions between rounds.
2. Historical Context: Strive to accurately depict the historical context, settings, and details of these wars. Draw from real world battles for your fantasy fights.
3. Character Portrayals: For an NPC death to be meaningful you have to get to know him first so that when a player puts their hand in a pile of goo that was once their comrades face it will mean something.
4. Camaraderie and Relationships: Down time should be special and allow for building relationships with NPCs and other players. Loners don’t last in war.
5. Anti-War Themes: There are great opportunities to dive into things like conscientious objectors and pacifists. Showing the horrors of war can make for great roleplaying opportunities.
6. Leadership and Command: You can play the hapless soldier forced to take orders or even the commanding general sending troops to their deaths. There is a lot of leeway here.
7. Home Front and Civilian Perspectives: focus on the experiences of civilians affected by war, including the challenges of living in war-torn areas, dealing with displacement, and the emotional toll on families. Down time at the village should reflect how a community runs during conflict. Business as usual can be very jarring to a solder or adventure fresh from the battle.
8. Post-War Consequences: Some war movies delve into the aftermath of conflict, depicting the challenges of rebuilding societies, addressing trauma, and reconciling the effects of war on a personal and societal level. Reconstruction era was one of the most contentious and heartbreaking times in American history. Tremendous opportunities in a long campaign.
9. Visual Realism: War movies often strive for visual realism, using detailed sets, accurate uniforms, weapons, and equipment to provide an authentic portrayal of the historical period and conflict. Do your research.
10. Patriotism and National Identity: Some war films highlight themes of patriotism, sacrifice, and national identity, exploring how individuals come together to defend their countri

Send us a text

On this episode of you heard it here last we have a couple of tidbits to discuss.

First, foundry VTT has officially partnered with Wizards of the Coast to offer D&D 5e. That’s interesting? Mike, you are a big Foundry fan…thoughts?

https://foundryvtt.com/article/dungeons-dragons-arrives/

The next piece of news is the canceling of Joe Mangenellos live action Dragon Lance series. He has been teasing it for over a year, but now it’s officially dead with Hasbros sale of dots One Entertainment arm to Lionsgate. Christina, were you a fan of Dragonlance?

https://www.polygon.com/24066458/dragonlance-tv-show-dead-joe-manganiello-margaret-weis

Send us a text

S2 EA How to Manage your GM

“Dude, I am so sorry you gotta work for that guy. He is the worst.”

“It’s not that bad. Actually, we get along really well, and he’s the first boss who’s ever actually listened to my suggestions.”

I think we have all found ourselves at one time or another dealing with a boss or manager that for some reason things just didn’t click. We will often blame them and fail to see that it takes two to tango.

When you dig into it, usually the issues are combinations of personalities, motivations, communication styles, and sometimes luck.

Now we roleplay for fun, so we never find ourselves sitting down at a gaming table and quickly realizing that for some reason we just aren’t working well with the GM?

Sorry, I should have given you the sarcasm alert.

We have all found ourselves at a gaming table where we struggled getting along with other players and occasionally the GM. I have found this is especially likely when we are already friends with the GM.

Learning how to manage your game master is a critical skill for good gaming tables and it’s not nearly as difficult as you might think. Practicing good communication skills and a few of these simple tricks can go a long way to greatly improving your game sessions.

Christina, have you ever had to manage one of your GMs?

Points:

1. Show up ready to play (be on time, have equipment {pen, paper, dice, character sheet})
2. Know the basic rules (you don’t have to know them all, just the basics like dice mechanics)
3. Know the rules that apply to your character (very important in crunchy games)
4. Introduce yourself to other players, Don’t make the GM do all the social work.
5. Let the Good Job’s flow. Congratulate other players and the GM on good ideas and challenges
6. Don’t be sneaky. (Explain your complicated plan to the GM including the overall goals)
7. Don’t argue at the table. (Never argue at the table. Argue after the game session in private)
8. Support the GM Decisions and encourage the other players to support the decisions as well.
9. Take Notes!
10. Remember Rule 0 (The GM has final say)
11. Help the GM look up rules, but don’t read them out loud, use page numbers.
12. Pay attention to how the GM communicates. Don’t interrupt a speech!
13. Provide feedback (remember constructive criticism, always end on a positive)
14. Share the costs (books, snacks, software, etc)

Send us a text

You Heard it Here Last

[Insert Intro]

Recently D&D Beyond released 2023 Unrolled: A Look Back at a Year of Adventure this article breaks down the stats from users of D&D Beyond in 2023. The results are interesting especially if you enjoy data. Mike and I love data.

https://www.dndbeyond.com/posts/1648-2023-unrolled-a-look-back-at-a-year-of-adventure#Species

Here are a few that jumped out at me. Average Age of Character Created = 28, Most Popular Species = Human (beating the elf by almost 200K), and the Most Popular Class = Fighter.

Let’s just say I would have lost the bet. This really surprised me. What about you Mike?

[Kick to Mike]

Wrapping up something Christina and I talked about a couple of weeks ago. Evil Genius Games settled their lawsuit with Netflix. But we are still not getting a Rebel Moon TTRPG. 

https://www.enworld.org/threads/evil-genius-games-and-netflix-settle-rebel-moon-ttrpg-lawsuit.702261/

The following is a joint statement prepared by us and Netflix relating to the recently resolved litigation between us.
 
 “The parties are pleased that they were able to amicably resolve this dispute. Netflix thanks Evil Genius for their hard work and professionalism.”
 
 We will not be releasing a Rebel Moon game, but stay tuned for more amazing Cinematic Adventures and an upcoming sci-fi project. And thank you again for your amazing support!

What’s that mean Mike?

Send us a text

Pacing

My player characters entered the room and the Evil Wizard rose from the throne.

“How dare you interrupt my plans” he snarled.

Everyone roll for initiative.

This was supposed to be the crowning battle in the adventure. An incredible, nail-biting conflict where anything could happen.

It turned into a 6-hour slog and by the end, half of the players had bailed for a variety of reasons.

Or should I say one reason.

They got bored.

A challenge game masters face is keeping the game interesting, moving forward, and keeping players involved. It is more commonly referred by its movie and novel counterpart.

Pacing.

Narrative pacingis the speed at which a story unfolds. Pacing can be thought of as the tempo of a narrative. Narrative pacing may result in a story being called slow or fast-paced.

Just because a story is slow doesn’t mean it’s bad and just because a story is fast doesn’t mean it’s good. So, when we talk about good pacing you have to keep it in context.

Is the game designed to be an Action Adventure? If so, it better move along quickly.

Is the game designed as an Exploration story? We can take our time.

Is the game a Thriller with lots of roleplaying? Well then, turtles are going to win that race.

Since pacing is such a huge challenge for game masters Christina and I are going to talk about it’s importance and give you some tips and tricks to make sure your games a paced properly.

Christina have you ever had problems with pacing in one of your adventures?

Pacing Tips:

1.      Pacing should match the game style. Action = Fast Paced, Combat = Fast Paced, Thriller = slow paced, Investigation = slow paced, Horror = slow paced.

2.      Pacing is subjective and based on feeling. So use your body language to trick the players.

3.      Character interaction slows things down. Encourage that when appropriate and discourage when you need the pace to pick up.

4.      Know your session length and watch the clock. Each game session should have a bit of action, a bit of suspense, and a bit of character interaction.

5.      Watch your players. If they look bored, they are bored. Pick up the pace.

6.      Clocks are great for picking up the pace.

7.      Social events are perfect for slowing things down.

8.      Don’t be afraid to ditch the rules. Rules heavy games kill pace. Specifically Initiative. Initiative is the death of pace.

9.      Avoid 3rd act resolutions for every side plot. Resolutions bring the game to a halt and then you have to ramp up tension and momentum again. 

10.  The short and long rest mechanic in D&D is the worst thing to ever happen to a roleplaying game. The greatest pacing killer of all time.

11.  When the roleplaying gets repetitive it’s time to shake things up. 

12.  If you are running an action-oriented game then cut to the next scene quickly. Describe in less then a minute how the players have moved from one scene to the next and then turn it on again.

13.  In fast paced games avoid description and use tropes. In slow paced games like thriller and horror take the time to set the scene including in depth descriptions. Use all of the senses.

14.  All games should build throughout the episode. End on a high point, never a low point or it will feel like the game has fizzled out. We want them eager to come back next week and play. This is why the cliffhanger was developed.

15.  When creating an adventure make sure that each scene propels the plot in some way. 

Send us a text

Latest news from around the world of table top roleplaying. On this episode, Mike and I talk WOTC and AI Art.

Send us a text

I love historical roleplaying games.

Ok, maybe not straight up historical games, but I love games that take place in a world not too different from our own. I like to be able to use real pictures, real maps, real places, and in some instances real people to flesh out my games.

My fantasy games tend to be low magic with the Vandals facing the Romans. I love Call of Cthulhu for its basis on our own world. Sci-fi games just build on tech we have now.

And then there is age of sail. I love that period in time where swords and pistols share space. Where man has conquered the vast ocean and cultures collide. Where piracy is at its height.

That was running through my mind as I strolled the convention floor at Origins last year. I was looking for a pirate game, one that was more historically based then some of the fantastical stuff I was seeing. That’s when I stumbled upon it.

Pirate Borg. A pirate game based in the Caribbean, but taking all of the crazy horror elements of Mork Borg. It had a quick and easy game system, naval combat rules, and some really cool artwork. I picked up a copy and wasn’t disappointed.

Limithron is the company that created Pirate Borg and Luke Stratton is the man behind Limithron.

Luke has a fascinating background, from musician to event technician to artist and game designer he has brought that diverse background into Limithron and the results are truly fantastic. I had the pleasure of spending some time talking to Luke about Pirates, Pirate Borg, AI art, and his upcoming releases.

https://www.limithron.com/

Send us a text

Welcome to Epic Adventure’s You Heard it Here Last.

We find ourselves talking about gaming news before we record the podcast. Who did what, Who is making what, who screwed what up, so we decided to start recording these little news discussions and sprinkling them in with our regular episodes.

So here we go, just chatting about gaming news that caught our attention. 

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/gamemaker-accuses-netflix-stealing-ideas-rebel-moon-franchise-1235603686/

https://www.dexerto.com/gaming/pathfinder-humble-bundle-offers-exciting-dd-alternative-for-2024-2452732/

Send us a text

Anticipation is the excitement you feel waiting for something you know is going to happen.

As we kick off the new year, I thought it would be a great opportunity to talk about anticipation, and particularly those things that we are looking forward to in 2024.

Games, books, movies, events, conventions and really anything that gets us excited.

But before I put Mike and Christina on the spot lets take a quick look back at 2023. Oddfish Games launched Radiance though a very successful Kickstarter, GenCon Blew up, and the Epic Adventure Podcast went from discussions after gaming sessions to a real thing. I’m not sure any of us would have predicted those events, but sense we didn’t do a podcast to hold us accountable after the fact, we are safe to claim we saw it coming. This time it’s going to be a little different. This time you will be able to look back and see if we got anything right.

So, Mike, Looking ahead at 2024, what’s one thing you are excited about on the horizon?

Send us a text

Downtime is that nebulous period between game sessions where the characters have an opportunity to pursue long term goals or simply handle a little organization, rest, and repair before the next big adventure.

Players can use the downtime by announcing what their character will be doing over the next couple of weeks. Anything from buying equipment, crafting magic items, fighting in the arena, building a castle, or getting sloppy drunk at the local inn is possible. The game master rolls some dice and tells the players the outcomes of their characters actions. Weeks go by in minutes.

Everyone ready to get back to the adventure?

Cool.

And back into the dungeon we go.

Over the years downtime has evolved to a full set of rules in D&D 5e. But that wasn’t always the case.

In Gary Gygax’s original rules for dungeon and dragons everything happened in real time. Including the time between games. If your group got together on Sunday afternoon and began exploring the dungeon, they had better come to a good stopping point before calling it a night because if a week of real time passes before the gang can get back together again then a week of game time passes in the campaign world.

Minute for minute, hour for hour, day for day.

Personally, I love that idea. 

It’s often called persistent roleplaying and is most commonly found in Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games such as Everquest, Lord of the Rings Online, and Star Wars The Old Republic. But you can do the same thing with your table top games.

By utilizing concepts like play by post, emails, discord and other online tools the game doesn’t have to stop when the players call it a night. All of the traditional downtime activity can occur, but in a more fluid roleplaying sense. Instead of rolling a dice to see if the Paladin started his new church use discord to play out the relevant planning, conversations, and problems that arise during the week. When the players come back together for the game, they will have a rich history to share with each other, improving roleplaying all around.

Does this take work. Sure it does. The game master will have to be available to read the messages and respond in kind. The players will need to responsive to the questions and interaction created by the game master. But really you are only talking about an extra 20 minutes or so a day to have a persistent and ongoing world to adventure in. Instead of turning downtime into a series of random rolls we allow are characters to live and populate the adventure world we have created. This doesn’t eliminate the concept of downtime, on the contrary it elevates it to a whole new level.

Because everyone needs downtime.

As a matter of fact, Mike, Christina, and I need some Downtime ourselves. With the holiday season upon us it seems like a perfect opportunity for some downtime. We are going to take December off and level up.

In January we will be back with all new episodes for Season 2 of Epic Adventure.

And Mike, Christina, and I will be sporting new level 2 characters with a better THACO and maybe even a +1 quip here or there.

We look forward to seeing you in January.

Until then, Have an Epic Adventure.

Send us a text

“When a man's partner is killed, he's supposed to do something about it. It doesn't make any difference what you thought of him. He was your partner and you're supposed to do something about it. Then it happens we were in the detective business. Well, when one of your organization gets killed it's bad business to let the killer get away with it. It's bad all around-bad for that one organization, bad for every detective everywhere.”

If you are familiar with that little snippet of dialogue then we can be friends.

That’s from the Maltese Falcon, a 1930’s detective novel by Dashell Hammett. I was first introduced to the genre by the movie of the same name staring Humphry Bogart. I was entranced with the dark setting, the smokey atmosphere and the snappy dialogue. To this day the movie poster of the Maltese Falcon hangs in my living room.

After that fateful meeting I devoured everything noir and mystery I could get my hands on. Dashell Hammett was always my first, and Sam Spade has always been my favorite detective but with one sentence Raymond Chandler won the prize.

“I'm killing time and it's dying hard.”

For some of you out there you don’t go for that tough guy writing. You might prefer John McDonalds Travis Mcgee, or Gregory McDonalds Fletch. You might love Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot or Miss Marple, or maybe your go for the more modern detective like Micheal Connolly’s Bosch or Lee Child’s Reacher.

No matter your favorite there is no denying the pull and allure of the mystery genre and there is no denying the impact bringing elements of the mystery genre into your roleplaying games.

In this episode Christina and I are going to talk about the mystery genre and how to include it into your games. 

Christina, who is your favorite detective and why?

Send us a text

Good tools are everything.

What’s interesting is that the same concept applies to your table top roleplaying games. Without the proper tools it’s much harder. Sure, the only real things you need is an imagination, but trust me. If you have the right tools for the job everything just got easier.

In this episode of Epic Adventure Mike and I are going to talk about tools, specifically the tools that can help you make your games epic. 

Mike, this is a topic that is near and dear to your heart. You are always playing around with new tools for gaming. It’s like you are searching for the holy grail of game tools. Why is that?

https://www.chessex.com/ For Dice

https://campaigncoins.com/collections/rpg-coins Metal Coins

https://oddfishgames.com/collections/adventure-scents Adventure Scents

https://syrinscape.com/ Sounds for your RPG

https://www.heroforge.com/ Miniatures

https://zoom.us/

https://roll20.net/

https://foundryvtt.com/

https://app.demiplane.com/home

https://www.fantasygrounds.com/home.php

https://www.playrole.com/

https://www.owlbear.rodeo/

https://alchemyrpg.com/

https://www.dndbeyond.com/

https://shadowdarklings.net/

https://cyberpunkred.com/#/

https://discord.com/

https://kanka.io/

https://www.legendkeeper.com/

https://www.chroniarpg.com/

https://www.scabard.com/pbs/

https://www.worldanvil.com/

https://obsidian.md/

https://www.youtube.com/@JoshPlunkett

Send us a text

In 1981 Chaosium Publishing released Call of Cthulhu written by Sandy Peterson and it has dominated Horror and Mystery Table Top Roleplaying ever since. Today it is on its 7th edition and it has spawned spinoffs like Delta Green, Board Games like Arkham Horror, as well as collectible card games, video games, animated shows and even television shows such as Lovecraft Country. 

Today we are joined by

Mike and Jen Howlet, the owners of Oddfish games to talk about one of my favorite ttrpg’s. But it is not must my favorite. It’s Jen’s favorite as well.

Jen, why do you love Call of Cthulhu?

https://www.chaosium.com/

https://oddfishgames.com/

Send us a text

As I have said before Moldvay D&D was my gateway to roleplaying. Traveller, GURPS and Call of Cthulhu came shortly thereafter. Those 4 games heavily shaped the way I felt about roleplaying, from the settings to the mechanics. They were so different from one to the next. Fantasy, Sci-Fi, historical and horror roleplaying, what more could you ask for. D20’s, 2D6’s, 3D6’s, and percentile dice rounded out the mechanics. Seriously everything had been tried, everything had been discovered.

Or so I thought.

By 2010 I had hit that lull in roleplaying that I think everyone does in their lifetime. Family, work, and life had taken up what little free time I had so the extent of my gaming was glancing at the bookshelves filled with rule systems as I passed by for other things.

What that meant was that I missed it. A sea change in the roleplaying community. Something truly new and exciting had shaken up the RPG world.

It was a little game called Apocalypse World.

The post-apocalyptic setting wasn’t anything new, but what was new was the dice mechanics, and more specifically the dice results. In every game prior to Apocalypse World when you rolled the dice you either succeeded or failed. There were only 2 options, but Apocalypse World added a third possibility. 

Success with consequences.

So now when you rolled the dice you could fail, succeed, or have a success at some cost to the character. What cost you might ask? Well, that was up to the GM and the Player to decide.

This idea created an explosion in the roleplaying world. A big bang of creativity. Hundreds of new independent roleplaying games were launched by this single idea. Today it is known as Powered by the Apocalypse and Christina and I are going to take a deep dive into the concepts, mechanics, and settings of the PbtA craze.

Send us a text

Steve and Christina pick right up from where they left off with the Pirates of the Drinax campaign.

In this episode we get to see how the crew was introduced to life in the Traveller Universe from earning a living to paying a ship mortgage. We also discuss their introduction to combat and we end on some major plot points starting to develop.

Send us a text

In this episode of Epic Adventure Mike and Steve talk about Computer Roleplaying Games and are they ready to take over the Table Top Roleplaying Market. We specifically talk about Baldur's Gate, Star Citizen, and Starfield.

Send us a text

In this episode we are taking a deep dive into creating and running a campaign. Specifically the Pirates of Drinax from Mongoose Traveller. But to do this, we have decided to flip the script.

For these episodes Christina will be our host and she will interview Steve about the campaign. How decisions were made, what type of preparation went into the game, how characters and plot developed and how the actual games deviated from the written material.

This is the first in a series of episodes and beware, there are spoilers ahead.

Send us a text

In this episode Mike, Christina and I talk about the busiest month in gaming. Origins and GenCon are the two biggest table top gaming conventions in the United States and they happen roughly one month apart.

Oddfish Games had a vendor booth at both conventions and we discuss our experiences with the events and dig into the good, bad, and even ugly.

Send us a text

On this episode Christina and I are going to dive into Fantasy movies and talk about their impact on roleplaying games. We are going to point out a few of our favorites and how they have either leaned into the tropes of roleplaying or in many cases created those tropes.

Now, before we dive to far into this topic, we have a caveat. We have decided that Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings Trilogy, Conan the Barbarian, and The Princess Bride are perfect films so we won’t be talking about those. Besides you’ve all seen those right?

Right?

Ok, so here we go.

Send us a text

Gamma World, the 1978 Post Apocalyptic roleplaying game from TSR. It was my very first TTRPG.

I can still fondly remember picking the boxed set up from this hole in the wall gaming store. At the time, the store focused on selling model railroad accessories and miniatures for wargames, but they had one book shelf in the corner that held roleplaying books.  The cover of the box had an image of a destroyed and overgrown city with men carrying laser rifles approaching it.

I bought it immediately and read it cover to cover as soon as I got home.

I wanted to play so badly, but no one I knew played roleplaying games, much less ran roleplaying games. So, I started prepping, making characters, and coming up with ideas. Then I wrangled a few friends and started running my very first roleplaying game.

It was a glorious disaster.

Over the years I became the forever Game Master or Dungeon Master or Keeper or Referee or … well the names for the role varies as much as the styles and that’s what Mike and I will be discussing in this episode. We are talking about Game Masters, what it is and what types of styles and skill you should develop or avoid to make your games epic.

Mike, do you remember the very first game you ever ran? What is the role of the Game Master?

Send us a text

It was my freshman year of high school and my buddy had gotten very excited about a new module. He wouldn’t tell me what it was, but for months all I heard about was how awesome it was going to be. He was reading it over and over again, making lists of items, writing down enemies and NPCs. It was going to be his first game as a GM. 

I was getting stoked for it.

We gathered at his house; I had brought the Mt. Dew. Pizza was in the oven.

That is when he revealed our new campaign with a flourish.

Tomb of the Lizard King!

I had read it last year.

At that point I could have made a big deal about already reading the module, but it would have crushed him. So, I kept my mouth shut and just played. It did not take long before I came to my first problem. The PCs needed to go a certain way, but the party was leaning towards an entirely different path. I could see my buddy was struggling to get everyone headed in the right direction for the encounter. So that is when I used my knowledge of the module to get the game back on track. A brief impassioned speech later and the rest of the PCs were back in the game.

My buddy was so happy after the first session and everyone had a ball. The game went perfectly.

That was Metagaming and to hear people talk about it, I was a monster for doing it.

But all metagaming is not considered equal and in this episode Christina and I are going to talk about metagaming. What it is, why it is bad, why it is good, and why it is just another tool to make your games Epic.

Christina, what is metagaming?

Send us a text

In February of this year, we kicked off the Epic Adventure Podcast with D&D. Specifically we got together and talked about the D&D OGL Debacle. By now you are all familiar with that, but if you need a refresher go back and listen to episode 1. Mike does a great job breaking down the history of that mess.

When Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast threw in the towel on the OGL everyone breathed a sigh of relief. But it was pretty clear based on the sort of apologizing and the obfuscating coming out of the house that dragons-built things weren’t cool in the pacific northwest.

Then Wizards of the Coast sent Pinkerton agents after a YouTuber who got his hands on some magic cards. Next, they announced that their new Virtual Table Top was going to be using a massive graphics system, additionally they said they were going to roll out a new “Not Version 6” edition of D&D, and finally they raised their book prices, by a lot.

To me, the nail in the coffin was Critical Role announcing they are releasing their own TTRPG System. You know, Critical Role, the streaming live play through that I feel single-handedly resurrected the TTRPG community. They were bailing on D&D and it made me ask Mike?

Mike is D&D Dead?

Send us a text

Origins Game Fair is one of the largest tabletop gaming conventions in the United States. And Oddfish Games is going to be there.

If you are into roleplaying games, board games, miniatures, wargaming or any other tabletop game then you have likely heard of Origins. And if you haven’t then, well, now you have.

Origins started in 1975 and since 1996 It’s been held in Columbus Ohio. It’s arguably the second largest gaming convention in the United States behind GenCon (by the way Oddfish Games will be at GenCon too) and this year Oddfish Games will have a booth.

If you visit Origins then stop by and say hi. We will be at booth 544 under the Adventure Scents/Oddfish Games name and we will have a bunch of things for you to check out;

Send us a text

Over the last several episodes we have been showing you how you can use radiance as a GM tool to help you design adventures for your players. First, I put Christina on the spot by presenting her with some randomly drawn cards from Radiance and she did a great job coming up with a neat little adventure. Then, I used those same cards with Mike to showcase how versatile the cards are and how much replay ability Radiance has built into the system.

Today we though it would be fun to show you how players can use Radiance cards to help them create characters. To do this Christina is going to use the Radiance cards to help me create a character for the game she created 2 episodes ago.

I’ve got a feeling she is looking forward to putting me on the hot seat.

Send us a text

These episode builds on our last one. This time Mike takes over and builds an Adventure using the same Radiance Cards used by Christina. It's amazing to see the similarities and differences. It also highlights the replay-ability of the game.

https://oddfishgames.com/

https://oddfishgames.com/products/radiance

Send us a text

In this episode of Epic Adventure we are going to use Radiance cards to build an adventure for our players.

Radiance Adventure Engine is a new game from Oddfish Games. These sets of cards and rules allow you to solo roleplay any of your favorite roleplaying games. The system is truly universal. It can also be used as an excellent GM tool to help you create campaigns, adventures, and ideas on the fly.

Steve is going to pull Radiance Adventure Cards randomly and present them to Christina who is going to use those cards to build an adventure for her players. The trick is she is going to do this in real time. This is a great episode to see how the Adventure Engine works as well as getting a feel for using the tool to help you with your own games.

https://oddfishgames.com/products/radiance

https://oddfishgames.com/

Send us a text

In this episode of Epic Adventure Steve talks to Mike and Christina about the development of the Radiance Adventure Engine.

Mike shares how The Shine Storytelling Engine morphed into Luminous and eventually Radiance. Christina gives us a breakdown of how the system works. And I talk about my play-testing experience. 

Radiance is a new game from Oddfish Games, or should I say it's a new game tool. It allows you to solo roleplay any TTRPG system you can think of and, I believe it's the best new tool for game masters and players alike.

You can find more at the following links.

https://oddfishgames.com/

https://oddfishgames.com/products/the-radiance-adventure-engine-pre-order-wip

https://oddfishgames.com/products/shine-pre-order

https://oddfishgames.com/products/luminous-pre-order

Send us a text

I was 9 years old when I finally talked my mother into taking me to see this new movie my friends had been talking about. I still remember how excited I was when the lights went down and the music swelled from the movie screen.

Star Wars

When Luke and Han got their awards at the end, I remember wanting to be Luke Skywalker.

Oh, sorry, I didn’t give you a spoiler alert.

Wait…

If I have to give you a spoiler alert for Star Wars you are not from this planet. Just for future reference this episode will likely be filled with spoilers so consider yourself warned.

Now, where was I…

That’s right, Luke Skywalker, I wanted to, no needed to be Luke Skywalker. I wondered if that new role-playing game Dungeons and Dragons would let you play Luke?

The short answer

Hell Yes.

In this episode Christina, another avid “B” movie fan, and I are going to talk about movies. 

Specifically, Why and How to use them as fodder for your roleplaying games. We will also give you a few of our favorites to add. But before we get to the specific movies lets answer the Why and How questions.

Star Wars: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars_(film)

Ninja Hunter: https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/39879-ren-zhe-da-jue-dou?language=en-US

Streets of Fire: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streets_of_Fire

Godzilla: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godzilla_(1954_film)

Prince of Darkness: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_of_Darkness_(film)

The Last Dragon: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Dragon

My Science Project: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Science_Project

Rollerblade 7: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Roller_Blade_Seven

Predators: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Predators_(film)

The Warriors: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Warriors_(film)

Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_Men_Don%27t_Wear_Plaid

The Dirty Dozen: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dirty_Dozen

Send us a text

My first campaign was Waterloo.

That’s right, I said I got into tabletop roleplaying through miniatures and my first campaign was Waterloo. I played the Coldstream Guards and went into the game pumped because I thought they were so cool.

It took us weeks to play, hours in my buddy’s garage, rearranging large sheets of plywood on sawhorses to set up the battle boards.

Late nights with measuring tapes, templates, and dice.

I loved it.

So, when I found out they had “Campaigns” in my new favorite hobby roleplaying I was a little confused. Because a campaign was a series of battles. How did that work in an open-ended fantasy game?

Well, it works, and it can be truly amazing.

On this episode Mike and I are going to talk about Campaigns. What they are, whey they are awesome, and how to go about creating one.

Mike, do you remember your first campaign?

Send us a text

You were curious what this D&D thing was all about. You saw the shows, and heard a few podcasts, you even enjoyed the trailer for the new movie. 

So, you gave it a shot, and liked it. Now after a few games your eyes have been opened to the wonderful world of tabletop Roleplaying. What’s next? 

Don’t worry, we’ve got your back. 

On this episode of Epic Adventure Christina and I are going to break down our favorite Roleplaying games that aren’t D&D and why we love them so much. 

We are going to give you our three favorite games with a little background and description in case you are interested. They are not in any particular order, and we recommend checking them out, buying them, and using them to run Epic Adventures. 

Christina, start us off with one of your favorite games. 

Here are links to Christina’s Games

Apocalypse World: http://apocalypse-world.com/

Night Witches: https://bullypulpitgames.com/products/night-witches

Pasion De Las Pasiones: https://magpiegames.com/pages/pasion

Cortex Prime: https://www.cortexrpg.com/

Savage Worlds: https://peginc.com/savage-settings/savage-worlds/

Fate: https://fate-srd.com/

Here are links to Steve’s Games

GURPS: http://www.sjgames.com/gurps/

Call of Cthulhu: https://www.chaosium.com/call-of-cthulhu-rpg/

Feng Shui: https://www.atlas-games.com/fengshui/ 

Send us a text

Christina and I had such a great time with our last podcast we couldn’t wait to get back at it… 

But what should we talk about next? 

“What do you think, world building? Campaign creation? Game design?” I said…. 

“Why don’t we start basic with how to Roleplay” Christina responded 

Wait, what…you mean like How to Roleplay, sure that should be easy…not. 

Welcome to the most difficult easy topic we could cover How to Roleplay and because it was Christina’s brilliant idea, she gets to start us off, 

It’s all yours Christina… 

Steve and Christina chat about what roleplaying is, and how to get started. We also address common mistakes new players make and some ideas for taking your games to the next level.

Send us a text

I’ll never forget one of the first games I played with Mike Howlett. I was a forever GM, and I really enjoyed running things, but I had just met Mike through a mutual friend, and he was firing up a Cyberpunk Red game.

Color me intrigued…pun intended.

Session Zero rolled around and Mike got us started.

“If you click on the following link, it will take you to a website that has some information you might want about the game we are starting” he said.

So, I clicked the link.

The link took me to Legend Keeper.Com and that’s where I was introduced to how Mike plans for his games. Hundreds of pages of lore and information, images, links, locations, it was…a lot.

But that’s how Mike rolls. So today Mike and I are going to talk about World-building, how we go about putting things together and give you a few tips and tricks that might work for you.

Mike Howlett is the co-founder of Odd Fish Games. He is a longtime gamer, writer, designer, and one of my partners on this podcast.

Mike, You and I go about world-building very differently. How do you got started?

Mike and Steve talk about important steps in world-building, thought process, and how to get things moving. We also discuss two very different strategies and how they both have their strengths and weaknesses.

Send us a text

You may have heard a little something about Wizards of the Coast updating, changing, and/or deleting their Open Gaming License that has been a part D&D for 23 years.

Everyone, and I mean everyone in the business is talking about this. So, it only seemed proper that we kick off our new podcast “Epic Adventure” doing what everyone else is.

Talking about D&D’s OGL.

But we are going to take that one step further. We are going to give some ideas of how to move forward and talk about other gaming systems that we recommend.

But first who are we.

My name is Steve Kellams and I am just a fan with a radio voice. I started tabletop gaming in the late 70’s with Napoleonic miniatures. In 1981 I dove headfirst into Tom Moldvay version of D&D and since then roleplaying and tabletop gaming has been a passion of mine. I’ve been lucky enough to get the opportunity to host this podcast with a few amazing people who are going to join me on this Epic Adventure.

Mike Howlett is the co-founder of Odd Fish Games, a great independent game company with some fun little systems and a phenomenal universal solo roleplaying system you should check out. He is a longtime gamer, writer, game designer with more irons in the fire than hours on the clock.

Christina Stiso is a gamer and Creative Designer for Odd Fish Games. She is a PhD student studying game-based learning and on the board of directors of the nonprofit organization Tabletop Gaymers.

Both Christina and Mike are joining me today to kick of the Epic Adventure Podcast

We are definitely starting with a bang.

Send us a text

Players who are new to Tabletop Role Playing Games make the fatal mistake of thinking that class and race equal character.  

Nothing could be further from the truth.  

In this episode we are going to explore creating compelling characters and give you some things to think about the next time you put pen to paper and start making that Half Dragonborn Half Tiefling Ranger Barbarian Warlock Noble. 

The rulebooks for RPG’s love to talk about character classes, character races, character archetypes...with that many characters being thrown around you would think we are in a Monty Python sketch.  

Players often fail to understand that characters are made up of personality traits…not stat blocks. 

Joining me today to talk about creating compelling characters is Christina Stiso one of my partners in crime on this podcast Christina is a long-time gamer and Creative Designer for Oddfish Games. She is a PhD student studying game-based learning and on the board of directors of the nonprofit organization “Tabletop Gaymers.”