Episode 159: Subculture: Punk

Posted on June 29, 2014 by Idle Red Hands

Prof. Harriet “Gears” Hamilton: “Was that London calling?”
Lord Nigel Hollingsworth III: “Yes. Something about engines not running and the city drowning.”
Hamilton: “That sounds dreadfully excessive.”
Hollingsworth: “What do you expect from Lady Annie Christian?”
Hamilton: “The anarchist? I say, she certainly doesn’t know what she wants.”
Hollingsworth: “But she knows how to get it.”
Hamilton: “Oh, how droll! Well, let’s assemble the League. It seems we have some thrashing to do.”
– Another reason why steampunk isn’t that punk.

In our first installment of our subcultures series, we discuss punk. Put your game to our Punk Test, a series of questions on what is punk.

Episode 158: Transhumanism

Posted on June 22, 2014 by Idle Red Hands

A chimpanzee, dolphin and octopus walk into a bar. The bartender takes their order.

In this episode, we discuss transhumanism and posthumanism. We consider whether or not to explore what it means to be human (i.e., whether to outnavel-gaze a WoD player or whether to just have fun) and what kind of world to play in (“We have both kinds of topia: dys and u.”).

Episode 157: Game Stores

Posted on June 15, 2014 by Idle Red Hands

I’m gonna pop some tags,
Only got twenty dollars in my pocket.
I – I – I’m leaving, looking to come ba-ack.
The book was fifty dollars.
“Game Shop” – Idlemore & Red Lewis

In this episode, we discuss what makes a good game store, based on some observations we made during some recent trips to North America, and what could entice people away from online retailers.

Game stores in your area:

Toronto
401 Games

Ottawa
Fandom II
The Comic Book Shoppe

Los Angeles
The War House

Philadelphia
Atomic City Comics

Schaumburg
Gamer’s World

The D&D image discussed in the introduction.

Episode 156: Encounters

Posted on June 8, 2014 by Idle Red Hands

During this episode, listeners may encounter the following (roll d100):

01-10 Boredom
11-20 Lame jokes
21-30 Extremely late movie reviews
30-80 Chris & Wayne fighting
81-90 Tangents
91-98 The ghost of Lyal, sighing
99-00 Interesting, lively conversation

In another Lyal-less episode, Chris and Wayne discuss encounters (both random and planned). Should encounters in RPGs be balanced, or should they follow the fiction of the setting? How to plan encounters, and how to make them interesting, balanced or not. This episode was inspired, in part, by an awesome (and angry) article by the Angry DM.

Episode 155: Anime

Posted on June 3, 2014 by Idle Red Hands

In this Lyal-free episode, Chris and Wayne discuss a topic they’ve put off for a long time, despite being surrounded by it on a daily basis; anime.

When so much of its defining quality is a specific visual style, we had our doubts about whether “anime” can translate to the tabletop. We explore some common elements and tropes, with the help of a (hilarious and true) i09 article about anime cliches.

Wayne notes make another triumphant and definitively brief appearance.

Episode 154: Rogues: Fixer

Posted on May 25, 2014 by Idle Red Hands

The Wayne Notes for this episode:
What: bribery, blackmail, cleaning, intimidation
Who: fixers
Why: usually money
How: by being mean or by being nice

Listen to the episode if you’d like to hear the unabridged version of our discussion on fixers, the people who make problems go away. Things left out of Wayne’s abridged version include our discussion of D&D 5e, Chris’s shaky grasp of how the legal system works, and the debate on what every fashionable fixer should wear.

Episode 153: Warriors: Zulu Impi

Posted on May 18, 2014 by Idle Red Hands

“The bones must be thrown in three different places before the message must be accepted.”
– Zulu proverb

What bones? Where are they being thrown? Couldn’t someone just sign for the message?

In this episode, we discuss the Zulu Impi, who conquered the surrounding areas and took on the British Empire. Be thankful that Chris didn’t write these notes or they would’ve been in Zulu. What’s the Zulu word for “pretentious”, Chris?

Episode 152: Undercover

Posted on May 11, 2014 by Idle Red Hands

State Trooper: Hey, Doc! We’re looking for a prisoner from that bus-train wreck a couple of hours ago, might be hurt.
Dr. Richard Kimble: Uh, what does he look like?
State Trooper: 6’1, 180, brown hair, brown eyes, beard. See anyone like that around?
Dr. Richard Kimble: Every time I look in the mirror, pal – except for the beard, of course!
State Trooper: Now that you mention it, you do look a lot like him, minus the beard, of course. But that’s easy to shave. Come with me, Dr. Kimble.
– The Fugitive‘s original 30-minute running time didn’t screen well with test audiences.

In this episode, we discuss going undercover and the different types of stories you can tell. We also suggest a mechanic for establishing a cover that can be used for multiple systems.

This episode contains no Chris. Listener discretion is advised.

Episode 151: Alignment

Posted on May 4, 2014 by Idle Red Hands

In this episode, Chris and Wayne discuss Alexander Macris’s article “All about Alignment” and whether or not there’s still value in having morality systems. However, with all their talk about trickle down and bad neighbourhoods, you’d think they were running for Congress on a Republican ticket.

Episode 150: TRPG Survey Results Part 2

Posted on April 27, 2014 by Idle Red Hands

We continue part two of the tabletop role-playing industry survey results by discussing what surprised us. Then we move on to the position map, explaining where some existing games fell and why, and where the gaps were. We wrap up the episode with some ideas on what the best way to introduce new players to the hobby might be.

Watch this space because we will be linking all of the questions and results to the survey here.