PC Plots and Betrayals – Ep36

Posted on December 20, 2011 by Eric

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 39:06 — 35.8MB) | Embed

No one is better with plots and schemes than the Bene Gesserit.

Something that is lost in a lot of organized or linear campaigns and adventures is the concept of character ambition. Some of the most compelling villains were once friends to the heroes and their betrayal makes them stronger characters in the story.

In this episode we dig into the concepts of plotting and betrayals.

PC Plots and Betrayals – Ep36

Cast – Eric, Mike, Dan, Mark, Jayson, Aaron and Shawn

Running Time – 39:05

00:00 Intro

00:26 TANGENT: Keeping Shawn the Anchor & What is your Craw?

01:27 Topic: PC Plots and Betrayals

Items Mentioned: Shadowrun, Steve Kenson, Dungeons & Dragons, Paranoia, Smallville RPG, Call of Cthulhu

16:39 TANGENT: Call of Cthulhu Old West

17:15 Back on Topic

Items Mentioned: World of Darkness, Friday the 13^th, Amber, Aces & Eights

25:57 TANGENT: National Lampoon’s Mordor Vacation

Items Mentioned: Lord of the Rings, National Lampoon’s Vacation

26:36 Back on Topic

Items Mentioned: Joe vs. the Volcano, Rogue Trader

31:41 TANGENT: Age of Worms

Item Mentioned: Age of Worms

32:48 Back on Topic

Items Mentioned: Captain Morgan, Navy Seals, The Marine

38:21 Outro

OFFICIAL TANGENT COUNT: 4

Actual Play Victoriana – Ep4

Posted on December 15, 2011 by Eric

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 45:55 — 84.2MB) | Embed

He would have an enormous schwanzstucker

The Case of Penny Austin continues.

In this episode, the kidnapper’s identity is revealed only to uncover a more sinister and grotesque plot.

Actual Play Victoriana – Ep4

Running Time – 44:54

Cast:

Eric – Narrator/Game Master

Mike – Dr. Vijay Safidbahd

Dan – Major Winston Parimore Barrington III, Ret.

Mark – Ford ‘Brick’ Maddison

Jayson – Lt. Reginald Higginbotham

Shawn – Lazlo Tiberius Beckford

00:00 Last Time

02:50 Intro

03:15 The Game Continues: The Penny Austin Case Part 4

45:11 Outro

Dragons – Ep35

Posted on December 13, 2011 by Eric

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 32:28 — 29.7MB) | Embed

Two badass dragons... but not what we are talking about.

What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think of a dragon?

We answer this as we talk about fantasy’s most iconic creature.

Dragons – Ep35

Cast – Eric, Mike, Dan, Jayson and Shawn

Running Time – 32:27

00:00 Intro

00:23 Topic: Dragons

00:30 TANGENT: Yes, Mike… this is your topic choice.

00:54 Back on Topic

Items Mentioned: Dungeons & Dragons, Shadowrun, Skyrim, Council of Wyrms, Dragonlance, Record of Lodoss War, Dragonslayer, Dragonheart

07:22 TANGENT: Reign of Fire Sausage-fest

Items Mentioned: Reign of Fire, Conan, Rotten Tomatoes

09:27 Back on Topic

Items Mentioned: The Never Ending Story, Big Trouble in Little China, Fin Fang Foom, Legend of the Five Rings, Ladyhawke

18:46 TANGENT: Dragon Themed Characters

22:10 Back on Topic

Items Mentioned: The Hobbit, Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay

23:28 TANGENT: No More Ebay for Aaron

24:00 Back on Topic

Items Mentioned: World of Warcraft, Dragon Mountain

31:45 Outro

OFFICIAL TANGENT COUNT: 4

Actual Play Victoriana – Ep3

Posted on December 8, 2011 by Eric

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 46:57 — 86.1MB) | Embed

"Why do people do business with people with no face?" The Major.

We continue the Case of Penny Austin.

In this episode, the fallout of the Halfling Pub Massacre results in the apprehension of the Halfling actor. A carriage is arranged for and a plan is hatched.

Actual Play Victoriana – Ep3

Running Time – 46:56

Cast:

Eric – Narrator/Game Master

Mike – Dr. Vijay Safidbahd

Dan – Major Winston Parimore Barrington III, Ret.

Mark – Ford ‘Brick’ Maddison

Jayson – Lt. Reginald Higginbotham

Shawn – Lazlo Tiberius Beckford

00:00 Last Time

05:03 Intro

05:27 The Game Continues: The Penny Austin Case Part 3

46:11 Outro

NPCs – Ep34

Posted on December 6, 2011 by Eric

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 37:34 — 34.4MB) | Embed

Every Epic Tale Needs a Strong Supporting Cast

The Non-Player Character, next a good plot, probably the most important aspect of a game. With strong NPCs a good game can become a great game.

This episode we talk about memorable NPCs and what made them memorable. We also touch on the process of making an NPC memorable.

NPCs – Ep34

Cast – Eric, Mike, Mark, Jayson and Shawn (oh yeah and Dan makes his late appearance… prima donna)

Running Time – 37:33

00:00 Intro

00:21 Topic: NPCs

00:50 TANGENT: Entourage

Item Mentioned: Entourage

01:44 Back to Topic

Items Mentioned: The Usual Suspects, Dungeons & Dragons

04:00 TANGENT: The Never Played Star Trek Game

Item Mentioned: Star Trek RPG

05:26 Back on Topic

Item Mentioned: Shadowrun

07:22 TANGENT: Dan Returns

07:29 Back on Topic

Items Mentioned: Victoriana, Werewolf

13:57 TANGENT: Advancing from the Roots of RPG

15:25 Back on Topic

Items Mentioned: Dead Gentlemen Productions, Dragon Age, Resident Evil

36:51 Outro

OFFICIAL TANGENT COUNT: 4

Actual Play Victoriana – Ep2

Posted on December 1, 2011 by Eric

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:08:18 — 62.5MB) | Embed

You see a halfling with one of these babies... run!

We continue the Case of Penny Austin.

In this episode, Reggie tracks down one of his contacts only to get himself involved in something that he didn’t intend. The Major and his men corner the elusive Robin Merriweather, but it is not as easy as they may have thought.

Actual Play Victoriana – Ep2

Running Time – 1:08:18

(Editor’s Note: As you may have noticed our actual play episodes will be a bit longer than our regular ones)

Cast:

Eric – Narrator/Game Master

Mike – Dr. Vijay Safidbahd

Dan – Major Winston Parimore Barrington III, Ret.

Greg – Booker

Mark – Ford ‘Brick’ Maddison

Jayson – Lt. Reginald Higginbotham

Shawn – Lazlo Tiberius Beckford

00:00 Last Time

00:54 Intro

01:20 The Game Continues: The Penny Austin Case Part 2

1:07:31 Outro

Alignment – Ep33

Posted on November 29, 2011 by Eric

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 39:32 — 36.3MB) | Embed

Lawful Good / Chaotic Evil

Many roleplaying games have a mechanic in place to gauge characters morality. In Dungeons and Dragons, that system is called alignment. It is one of the most misused and misunderstood aspects of roleplaying.

This episode we discuss the various alignment or guided morality in games and break down what we like and what we don’t.

Alignment – Ep33

Cast – Eric, Mike, Dan, Mark, Jayson & Shawn

Running Time – 39:31

00:00 Intro (featuring Pete Figtree from the Ruthless Diastema podcast)

00:40 Topic: Alignment

Items Mentioned: Legend of the Five Rings, Shadowrun, Dungeons & Dragons, Hackmaster, Star Wars RPG, Stormbringer RPG

10:28 SIDETANGENT: The Video Game Perspective

Items Mentioned: Jade Empire, Knights of the Old Republic, Mass Effect, Fallout, Infamous

14:14 Back on Topic

14:40 TANGENT: Affiliations

Item Mentioned: Maure Castle

15:45 Back on Topic

Items Mentioned: True 20, Victoriana

21:09 TANGENT: Lawful Good Villains /The Wheel of Time

Item Mentioned: Wheel of Time

22:23 Back on Topic

Item Mentioned: DC Heroes RPG

24:31 TANGENT: Batman vs. Punisher

Items Mentioned: Batman, Punisher

26:53 Back on Topic

Items Mentioned: Ravenloft, Hero System

31:30 TANGENT: Video Game Perspective Revisited

Item Mentioned: World of Warcraft

32:40 Back on Topic

Items Mentioned: Cyric, Forgotten Realms, Dragonlance, Game of Thrones, 7th Sea, Green Ronin

38:50 Outro

OFFICIAL TANGENT COUNT: 5

Actual Play Victoriana – Ep1

Posted on November 25, 2011 by Eric

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 52:34 — 48.2MB) | Embed

"For Queen and Country!" Reginald Higginbotham

After many discussions and disagreements, we decided to record a series of game sessions and release them as bonus content. It is very much an experiment for us and based on the feedback we get on this, it could be an isolated incident.

We present to you Victoriana: The Penelope Austin Case (Part 1)

We decided to chose a game that would be new to us, because we wanted to present something fresh. If we recorded one of our old standby games, like D&D or Shadowrun… let’s just say that we needed something new to add a spark to things.

We hope you enjoy.

Run Time – 52:33

Cast – Eric, Mike , Dan, Mark, Jayson & Shawn

00:00 Intro

00:22 Pregame: Why Actual Play?

01:15 Pregame: Character Introductions and Background Info

14:49 The Game Begins: The Penelope Austin Case Pt 1

51:49 Outro

Feedback – Ep32

Posted on November 22, 2011 by Eric

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 55:28 — 50.9MB) | Embed

Thank you Concorde.

We love having questions posted to us by our listeners. This episode we address some of those questions.

This is something that we pledge to do more often as the opportunity arises. Please email, or voicemail us your questions and we will read them (or play them) on the show.

Feedback – Ep32

Cast: Eric, Mike, Dan, Greg, Mark, Jayson and Shawn

Running Time – 55:28

(Editor’s Note – This episode is about 15 minutes longer than our usual episodes, but we wanted to give each question its fair amount of time.)

00:00 Intro (and some hijinx)

00:50 Topic: Listener Questions

01:11 Topic: Q-Man’s Question – Hackmaster

Items Mentioned: Kenzer & Co, Dungeons & Dragons, Gen Con

08:24 TANGENT: Knights of the Dinner Table

Item Mentioned: Knights of the Dinner Table

09:13 Back to Q-Man’s Question

10:07 Topic: Jerrod’s 1^st Question – PDFs

Items Mentioned: Drive Thru RPG, Legend of the Five Rings, Green Ronin

18:05 TANGENT: Electronic Comics and Used Games

Item Mentioned: Sidewinder

23:13 Topic: Jerrod’s 2^nd Question – LARP

24:07 TANGENT: Is Yiffing Real?

24:44 Back to Jerrod’s 2^nd Question

Items Mentioned: Role Models, Knights of Badassdom

37:30 Topic: Jerrod’s 3^rd Question – Dice

54:45 Outro

OFFICIAL TANGENT COUNT: 3

Used Gaming Auction – Ep31

Posted on November 15, 2011 by Eric

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 36:59 — 33.9MB) | Embed

Local game shops... find one and give it your business.

Now for something completely… nope, not gonna do it.

Recently some of our band of malcontents had the pleasure of being welcomed by the Fantasy Shop in St. Charles, Missouri to record during one of their used gaming auctions. We thought it would be fun to comment on some of the items being sold and the general atmosphere. We were happily surprised by the turn out, the quality of the items and the low… low prices that things were going for.

If you have the means to do so, check out one of their auctions. They hold them quarterly. If you cannot, find a local game shop that does and go to it. It’s worth your time.

Used Gaming Auction – Ep31

Cast – Eric, Dan and Jayson

Running Time – 36:58

00:00 Intro

00:23 Topic: Fantasy Shop Used Gaming Auction

36:26 Outro

Items Mentioned:

Games Workshop

Dungeons & Dragons

Legend of the Five Rings

Serenity RPG

Twilight 2000