Episode 172: Interview: Southlands

Wolfgang: “It’s essentially the role-playing campaign for Pathfinder that Indiana Jones would run. Not the Indiana Jones of Raiders or Last Crusades, though: the Temple of Doom Indy. But this Indy didn’t escape and save the children. He failed. He was tortured  and broken. Empty and haunted, he can’t numb the pain, but he can share it. Share it with a world of demonic cults, man-eating insect folk, fifty-foot snakes and ruined cities. Oh, and dinosaurs because everyone loves dinosaurs.
Us: “…”
-unedited elevator pitch

In this episode, we interview Wolfgang Baur from Kobold Press about his latest Kickstarter campaign, Southlands: Adventures Beneath Pitiless Sun, the game Steven Spielberg would have made.

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Episode 171: Interview: 13th Age in Glorantha

Some combinations were never meant to be, such as Burger King body spray, Facebook privacy, and strip clubs buffets. Some were, such as cheese anything, free anything (except U2 albums), and 13th Age in Glorantha.

In this plus-sized episode, we interview Rob Heinsoo, the creative director of Fire Opal Media, and Jeff Richard, the creative director of Moon Design Publications, about their Kickstarter collaborations, 13th Age in Glorantha and The Glorantha Source Book. If you’re a devotee of Glorantha and wondering whether or not 13th Age can do it justice, then this episode is for you. If you’re a fan of 13th Age and wondering why Glorantha is the favorite setting of so many game designers, then this episode is for you too. We even get a few teasers about what we could expect after these two books.

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Episode 170: Interview: Spirit of 77

“Now, look what we have here before us. We got the Dukes of Hazards sitting next to Foxy Brown. We’ve got Shaft right by the Six Million Dollar Man. Nobody is hard moving nobody. This … is an RPG. And this RPG is the way things ought to be.”
-Idlus, The Warriors

Dave from MonkeyFun Studios joins us to discuss their Powered-by-the-Apocalypse game, Spirit of 77, which is currently on Kickstarter. We don’t interview him so much as strap ourselves into his Dodge Charger as he takes us on a fuel-injected ride. Let’s get down to it, boppers.

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Episode 169: Interview: The Sprawl

In this episode, we interview Hamish Cameron, the author of The Sprawl, a Powered-by-the-Apocalypse cyberpunk game currently on Kickstarter. Since Hamish is from New Zealand, we’ve provided a Kiwi-English dictionary below.

Kiwi – English
sitting – setting
dick – deck
bin – been
pin – pen
pin – pin (We know.)
Didya git eyes for Chrissmas, bro? – Is there a reason why you’re looking at me, sir?

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Episode 168: GM Corner: First Session

You never forget your first kiss or your first session as a GM. While we can’t help you with the former (but keep your eyes closed and try not to make too much of a mess of his or her face), we have some advice for the latter. In this first installment of a series for first-time GMs, we discuss the initial preparation that you need to do before your first session, from system to goals.

Drinking game bonus: Take a drink whenever we confuse “player” and “character”.

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Episode 167: Creature Feature: Police

Bad boys, bad boys whatcha gonna do?
Whatcha gonna do when an unarmed man comes towards you?
Bad boys, bad boys whatcha gonna do?
Whatcha gonna do when protesters complain about you?

Media now give you no break
Citizens now give you no break
Not soldier man give you no break (Just guns and APCs)
Not even the DOJ now give you no breaks
– New theme to Cops

In this installment of Creature Features, we discuss the police and how to play them as protagonists and antagonists.

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Episode 166: Rogues: Blackmail

“Why would I pay you $100,000?”
“Because if you don’t, the world will know what’s in your … closet.”
“So? I’ve been out of the closet for years.”
“That’s not the closet I was referring to, Brenyax Windwalker the LARPer.”

In this installment of Rogues, Wayne and Lyal discuss blackmail, which is surprisingly still around in this age of the overshare.

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Episode 165: Creature Feature: Kaiju

Citizen A: Thank you, Reptilon! Thank you for saving our city from Neo-Varlos!
Citizen B: Saving our city? Look around, it’s nothing but rubble now.
Citizen A: Yes, but Reptilon destroyed  those buildings by accident.
Citizen B: As opposed to Neo-Varlos who was intentionally trying to destroy them?
Citizen A: Exactly. Even though the results are the same, intention is all that matters in a kaiju battle.

A big creature feature this week as Chris, Wayne, and Lyal discuss kaiju (giant monsters). We draw out common elements and inspiration from the new Godzilla movie, as well as some old classics such as Gamera and the original King of the Monsters, Gojira. (Lyal also frequently mentions Yonggary, which is, according to him, the absolute worst movie ever made.) Then we stomp over to using these city-sized beasts as antagonists, events, and protagonists. It’s a truly titanic episode!

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Episode 164: Warriors: Longbowmen

“A long bow and a strong bow,
And let the sky grow dark.
The nock to the cord, the shaft to the ear,
And a foreign king for a mark!”
– Robert E. Howard

In this installment of Warriors, we discuss the English longbowmen and Welsh lngbwmn (probable spelling). Listen to learn how surprisingly easy it is to make a longbow, according to Chris, and how to safely remove an arrow, according to Lyal.

This is another Wayneless episode. He refused to participate in protest over our refusal name this episode “longbowpeople”.

 

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Episode 163: Introduction to Rifts

In a world where restraint has died, rifts crisscross the Earth, opening portals to other dimensions. Glitter Boys (not what you think), Cyber-Knights (what you think), Juicers (if you think “post-apocalyptic Lance Armstrong”, then what you think), and vagabonds (what you think – seriously) battle the evil Coalition, demons, and vampires. Are you ready for infinite possibilities, limited only by your imagination?™ (Yep. Palladium trademarked that.)

In this episode, Lyal and Chris provide an introduction to the game where anything goes and everyone is armoured like a tank: Rifts.

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