Episode 211: Top 5 Horror Settings

Posted on October 31, 2018 by Idle Red Hands

For Halloween this year, we discuss our top 5 horror settings for role-playing. These settings, from movies, books, and television, aren’t necessarily our favorite ones to watch or read, but they are the most interesting and inspirational settings to play in. Let us know if you agree with us!

Note that we deliberately didn’t include settings that are currently being used for games. Do you really need another gaming list topped by Call of Cthulhu and World of Darkness?

If you would like to skip the full discussion and go right to the final top 5, please visit our YouTube channel.

Episode 176: GM Corner: Monsters

Posted on November 2, 2014 by Idle Red Hands

GM: “You see four men carrying another man on a litter”
Player: “Ok, we go and talk to him.”
GM: “He’s 8 feet tall.”
Player: “Um, I draw my-“
GM: “Hold on. He’s on fire.”
Player: “Uh, we put him out?”
GM: “He doesn’t seem to mind being on fire.”

Much like a marriage, the key to any player-GM relationship is finding ways to keep things fresh. In this episode, we discuss how to choose and create interesting adversaries for your stories.

Episode 175: Creature Feature: Imposters

Posted on October 26, 2014 by Idle Red Hands

“I know I’m human. And if you were all these things, then you’d just attack me right now, so some of you are still human. This thing doesn’t want to show itself; it wants to hide inside an imitation. It’ll fight if it has to, but it’s vulnerable out in the open. If it takes us over, then it has no more enemies, nobody left to kill it. And then it’s won.”
-MacReady, The Thing

Our month of horror has been reduced to a week, so we give you a plus-sized episode about imposters: doppelgangers, pod people, jumpers, things, etc. Wayne didn’t know that we were allowed to read or see anything for people over eighteen, so be prepared for his tour of the young adult section of the library. We also discuss John Wick’s article “Chess is not an RPG: The Illusion of Game Balance.”

Episode 119: Endings

Posted on August 17, 2013 by Idle Red Hands

“You know, the only thing that matters is the ending. It’s the most important part of the story.”
—Mort, Secret Window

So, why leave it up to your players? Kidding.

In this Waynelss episode, Chris and Lyal discuss the different types of endings you can have in your game. This episode seems better than usual for some reason. We can’t figure it out, though.

Episode 103: Prequels

Posted on February 14, 2013 by Idle Red Hands

Peter Parker before being bitten by a radioactive spider, the first 33 years of Frodo Baggins’ life, moisture farming on Tatooine. Aren’t these the stories that we should be telling?

In this episode, we discuss the benefits and drawbacks of running a prequel and the different ways that you can do so.

Episode 92: Movie Genres: Horror

Posted on November 6, 2012 by Idle Red Hands

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.

Episode 40: 777: The Number of the East

Posted on October 26, 2011 by Idle Red Hands

7 continents. 7 horrors. 7 minutes each.

Idle Red Hands

A Podcast From Japan About Games and Gamer Culture

Tag Archives: The Thing (movie)