Episode 95: Weapons: The Sword Part 2

He who lives by the sword, dies by the sword (or cancer).
In the second part of our look at the sword, we discuss how swords in games are more than just a type of die.

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Episode 94: Weapons: The Sword Part 1

They say you can always judge a man by his shoes. Lies. You can judge a man or woman by his or her sword.
In our first installment of a new series, we look at the sword’s evolving role in battle and it’s less evolving role in society. We also practice our Greek and Latin (again) with mixed results (again). I think we nailed the Japanese, though.

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Episode 93: Antiheroes

“In the roar of an engine, he lost everything. And became a shell of a man, a burnt out, desolate man, a man haunted by the demons of his past, a man who wandered out into the wasteland.”
– The Road Warrior

The selfish rogues, the emotional voids, the cold-blooded killers. These are the antiheroes of literature, TV and the movies. We’ve all played these characters at some point or another, but are we doing it right? Listen up to find out.

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Episode 92: Movie Genres: Horror

In our last installment of 2012’s Month of Horror, which we missed by six days, we discuss horror movies. Joining us for the discussion is horror movie aficionado (and massive movie spoiler) Josh.
For those hoping to have the first 90 minutes of the 95-minute The Cabin in the Woods explained to them, I’m afraid we cut it out. I guess you’ll have to learn the plot the old-fashioned way: watch it yourself. Fortunately, Lyal, Chris and Wayne don’t have to now. Thanks, Josh.

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Episode 91: Interview: Emergence RPG

In our first interview episode, we talk to Tony and Faon Grandinetti, two members of the creative team behind Emergence, a fantasy and SF RPG on Kickstarter. This may be the first game spawned in traffic.

You can find Emergence on Kickstarter, and make sure to check out the Emergence website for more information on the world of Kython. 

Oh, Lyal! Lyal messed up the audio. Apologies if it doesn’t sound crystal clear.

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Episode 90: Literature Lessons: Steven King

This is what happened.

We recorded an episode of Literature Lessons about the master of modern horror: Stephen King. We discussed themes common to many of his books and how to incorporate them into your games. Wayne bought up D&D Next (again), Lyal created a possible Cujo sequel, and Chris talked about that classic Stephen King character Achilles.

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Episode 89: Curses

“Cursed be those who disturb the rest of the Idle Red Hands. They that shall break the seal of this podcast shall meet death by a disease that no doctor can diagnose. What? You’ve invented blood tests and MRIs? Never mind.”
– Updated Curse of the Idle Red Hands

This is the episode we almost lost. Cursed? Or cursed that we recovered it? You be the judge. This episode has an Idle Red Hands first: a tool for gamemasters to use when planning curses for their game. (Which reminds me that we need to get our sample up on the forums.)

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Episode 88: Creature Feature: Ghosts

We kick off our second annual Month of Horror with a look at ghosts. We examine some common themes and discuss how to use them as antagonists and protagonists. We also discover that any reality TV show can be made better by adding ghosts.

Lyal attempts some scary breathing this episode (I guess that’s what he was doing). We’ll get him to mute the microphone next time. While Lyal’s doing this, Chris and Wayne seem to forget that this is the Month of Horror.

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Episode 87: Warriors: Flying Aces

“Forever young, I want to be forever young.
Do you really want to live forever, forever, forever?”

– “Forever Young”, Alphaville

Assail your opponent from behind, only fire at close range, and always, always keep the sun behind you. In this installment of Warriors, we talk about l’as, the star-turn, der uberkanonen, the flying ace.

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Episode 86: Generalization vs. Specialization

“More choices, more problems.”
– game designer

In this episode, we look at whether it’s best to play a jack-of-all-trades or a master of one. We also compare how to build generalists in different systems: level, point buy, and life path.

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