Role Playing Public Radio

RPPR Actual Play: The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus

Ross — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 22:33:11 +0000

The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus is a delightful story by L. Frank Baum with an intriguing mythos. Rankin-Bass produced a claymation adaptation, which is where Katie and Jonny first discovered it. There have been a few other incarnations as well, including a Japanese anime.

Jonny always thought it would serve pretty well as a fantasy RPG setting, so when Katie suggested a one-shot game based on it, he heartily agreed. There will be two “adventuring parties” if you will- the immortals of the forest of Burzee, and the children of the laughing valley of Hohaho. Katie will act as a storyteller for the children, and Jonny for the immortals. The two groups will have separate adventures leading up to a unified finale. We will have pre-generated characters. We’ll be using the Reign system, which is based on the One-Roll Engine.

(Note from Ross: I was a player in this game but I forgot the names of all of the players. If you were there, post in the comments and I’ll update it.)

RPPR Episode 25: Save vs. Warm Fuzzies

Ross — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 22:02:17 +0000

Synopsis: Because of the holidays, we’ve decided to take a look at the most neglected of subjects in gaming: happiness and joy. Given that the average RPG is a angst ridden world of grim and gritty darkness populated by hideous monsters and slightly less monstrous player characters where the typical encounter is a savage bloodsoaked battle to the death, what place does happiness or optimism have? Using examples from our own games, we talk about how adding even a lone bright spot in a game can add great value and provide awesome emotional payoffs for the players.

Shout Outs:

The Adventure of Lucky Pip and the Incomparable Ithamar Conchie: a $1 game of storytelling and fortune cookies.
Left 4 Dead: I like zombies. They are kawaii :3
The Majesty of Colors: A brilliant little flash game about a giant sea monster.
Night of the Cephalopods! An awesome and free PC game about evil octopi and procedural Lovecraftian narration.

RPPR Actual Play: Call of Cthulhu - A Murder of Crows

Ross — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 23:34:47 +0000

There is trouble in Bethlehem….

Thousands of crows have taken roost in the woods surrounding Bethlehem, NH, mercilessly attacking anyone who tries to enter the forest. The human population is outnumbered more than ten-to-one, and the birds are growing more bold every day. Can the investigators solve the mystery behind this unnatural infestation? Can they save the town of Bethlehem from a disaster of biblical proportions?

Murder of Crows contains everything a Call of Cthulhu group needs for an evening’s worth of Mythos-inspired fun, including pregenerated characters. It is the first in an innovative new series of Call of Cthulhu scenarios and supplements from Super Genius Games.

This scenario was recorded at ShaunCon, so it’s a bit noisy. Fortunately our Zoom H2 recorder managed to get most of the voices of the players fialry well.

Keeper: Jon Hook

Buy the scenario at RPG Now

RPPR Episode 24: GO GO GO! and other Action Movie Cliches

Ross — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 06:48:05 +0000

When we role play, we almost always imagine an action scene, whether it’s kicking down dungeon doors and slitting the throats of whatever lies beyond them or kicking open vampire coffins and staking whatever lies inside them or kicking down giant metal doors with giant robot legs and stomping whatever lies beyond them. So no matter what genre you prefer, action is part of it. But how do you run a great scene or fight or base an entire scenario or campaign in an action adventure genre? Of course there’s also a letter from Tom, an anecdote from our listener Captain Scraps and some shout outs:

Fallout 3: A most worthy post apocalypse interactive saga. Play the damn game already.
The Something Awful Traditional Games Discussion Forum: lotsa good discussions here.
Punisher vidya game: Punisher shoots bad guys. Virtually!
Shauncon: We went there. It was neat.

Music: Various by The Inkspots courtesy of Archive.org. These are public domain. Horray!

RPPR Interview with Benjamin Baugh, creator of Monsters and Other Childish Things

Ross — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 05:36:04 +0000

Ben Baugh aka Bailywolf on the RPG.net forums is the mind behind Monsters and Other Childish Things, a game near and dear to my heart. In this interview, we talk about game design, his other work, some of the more interesting threads on RPG.net and of course Monsters.

I apologize for the poor audio quality. Skype and my internet connection hates me. I think the content of the interview makes up for it though.

RPPR Episode 23: Halloween Tricks and Treats

Ross — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 05:17:18 +0000

Horror deserves more than one episode, so we’re going to keep talking about it. We cover everything from foreshadowing scares to some of the best and worst horror games we’ve been in. If you want to improve on terrifying players, grab from our bag of tricks and treats.

Music: More number stations from the Conet Project

Shout outs:
Dead Space: Insanely freaky 360 game
Fatal Frame 1: Another freaky survival horror video game
Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer
Book of Unremitting Horror

In case you missed it: Fear Itself Actual Play

Ross — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 22:00:31 +0000

As an experiment, I posted two actual plays on Oct 22. However, most of you didn’t realize that. So, I am reposting the Fear Itself Actual Play so those of you who subscribe via Itunes and other RSS podcatchers will get it. If you already downloaded the Fear Itself AP, do not download this.

This Fear Itself game is a follow up, based on the aftermath of Profane Miracles using the Fear Itself RPG. A new drug appears in the LA ghettos, one that transforms innocent humans into ravenous monsters. Two normal residents, a priest and a loner try to survive the horrors of the streets and the things the lurk in the shadows.

If either game interests you, take a look at the Pelgrane Press GUMSHOE website for more info.

RPPR Actual Play Double Feature Halloween Special: Esoterrorists and Fear Itself

Ross — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 04:27:22 +0000

Esoterrorists: Profane Miracles

Players: Tom, Cody and Dan.

Synopsis: The first Actual Play is with this published scenario from Pelgrane Press, using the Esoterrorists RPG. Jonathan Bentley, millionaire financier, has been raised from the dead at a Los Angeles charity ball by self-styled “psychic to the stars” Cassandra Madrigal. Is Bentley really alive, or in some other state? What is his wife Grace’s involvement. Is Madrigal an agent of of esoterror, and how deep does the conspiracy go? Your team must move from the opulence of high society, to the dangers of The Core and Skid row, to mansions and hospitals. If you can avoid heavily armed criminals and survive the machinations of esoterror agents unscathed, it will be a miracle in itself.

The second game is a follow up, based on the aftermath of Profane Miracles using the Fear Itself RPG. A new drug appears in the LA ghettos, one that transforms innocent humans into ravenous monsters. Two normal residents, a priest and a loner try to survive the horrors of the streets and the things the lurk in the shadows.

If either game interests you, take a look at the Pelgrane Press GUMSHOE website for more info.

RPPR Episode 22: Get Your Fear On

Ross — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 23:36:41 +0000

Running a horror game is a tricky business. The GM has to hit the perfect tone, set the perfect mood and run a truly scary game in order to terrify players. But it can be done. With Halloween approaching, we’ve decided to share some tips on running horror games, from basic advice on timing, storytelling and writing horror scenarios to advanced material like using theatrical techniques and props in a game. Tom has a new letter, anecdotes and of course some

Shout Outs:

Supernatural Horror in Literature by H.P. Lovecraft
Danse Macabreby Stephen King
Condemned 2: Bloodshot
In the Mouth of Madness
Feast 1 and Feast 2: Sloppy Seconds

Music: The Conet Project Listen to it online.

RPPR Interview with Matt Vancil, director of The Gamers 1 and 2

Ross — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 03:34:46 +0000

The Gamers is a cult classic movie celebrating role playing’s inherent weirdness. Since its premiere at Gencon in 2003, it has been quoted nearly as often as Monty Python at gaming tables around the world. The Gamers 2: Dorkness Rising premiered at Gencon 2008 and is rapidly making the rounds, raking up sales and acclaim. I spoke to him about the genesis of the movies, how they were made and some of the other projects he’s involved with, such as Falcon Rock Command.

Please note that a weird error messed up my side of the interview. It’s audible but there’s an odd noise. I have no idea what could cause it.

Actual Play: GURPS Modern League of Extraordinary Gentlemen - Episode 2

Ross — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 22:51:43 +0000

Synopsis: Three heroes must save a village and its hidden treasure from a horde of maurading mercenaries. The heroes are mistmatched characters from comics, tv and film while the bad guys are a rogue’s gallery of villains from all over popular culture. Oh and the village is Mayberry. No, you’re not hallucinating after a night of cable tv and Mexican food. It’s the second game of GURPS Modern League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. This gets a bit over the top but everyone had a blast.

Players:

Jason as Dean Winchester
Tom as the Lizard from Marvel Comics
Aaron as a former ghostbuster

RPPR Episode 21: So You Want to Create a Campaign

Ross — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 22:53:19 +0000

Most games start as an idea in the GM’s head. However, it takes some work to go from idea to having a full campaign ready to run. Tom and I discuss the process of creating a campaign and our experiences in creating and running them. If you want to make a game that lasts more than a few sessions, you should give our advice a try. Plus, a very personal letter from Tom, in which he admits that he’s a cheating bastard, shout outs and new anecdotes!

Shout Outs:

Day by Day Armageddon: If you write a zombie apocalypse novel do NOT do what this novel did. It’s just terrible. So very very terrible.
Mutant Chronicles: A movie based on the RPG, Mutant Chronicles. And it’s so horrible that words can’t adequately describe how horrible it is.
Bigger Faster Stronger: A documentary about power gamers in real life, steroid users. An excellent look into the mindset of the athletes and gym rats who use it and the culture that condones winning at all costs.
House of Leaves: This is a crazy book. I’m not done with it but it is worth reading.

Music: Write My Story by Air 5.
Promo: RPG Life.

Interview with Jonny Nexus of Critical Miss and author of Game Night

Ross — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 02:32:02 +0000

Jonny Nexus is one of the net’s funniest established gaming humorists. He’s behind the long standing RPG site, Critical Miss and the author of a new novel, Game Night. It’s about a group of gods who role play eternity away, using real mortals and a real universe as their campaign setting. I caught up with him at Gencon and talked about gaming, writing comedy, and the meaning of life. (He was a bit jet lagged on that last question).

Check out our RPG comedy videos

Ross — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 21:38:43 +0000

I did a bit of housecleaning and separated our audio comedy from our video comedies. Check out the new RPG Comedy Video page for some hilarious RPG related short films.

RPPR Episode 20: Random Character Advice Generator

Ross — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 04:24:26 +0000

Character creation is the glue of role playing games. A game can’t be that good unless everyone has a player character suitable for the game. A crazed psychopath slasher appropriate for a Bunnies and Burrows campaign while a cute talking bunny isn’t going to last long in a call of cthulhu game. In this episode, Tom, special guest Cody Walker and I talk about the best and the worst player characters we’ve encountered both as players and when running a game. No letter from Tom, but there’s a good ass anecdote.

Hosted by Ross Payton, Tom Church and Cody Walker.

Music: Into the Night by Time Warrior

Shout Outs:
Grant Morrison: The chaos magician comic book writer has a new website.
Gumshoe: A new RPG system by Robin Laws. Perfect for investigation games.
Wild cards: Mutants and Masterminds supplement.
Aaron Sorkin: Go bitch at him about Facebook or something.

Actual Play: Call of Cthulhu - Dig to Victory!

Ross — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 04:31:02 +0000

Trench warfare in World War 1 was horrific. Millions died from disease, chemical weapons, barbed wire, machine guns and other forms of industrialized death. However, the British tunnelers dug massive underground systems to support the soldiers and to undermine German trenches. In this scenario, a few men from the 117th tunneling company found themselves tunneling to something far more dangerous than the Germans.

This is a playtest for an upcoming book by Pagan Publishing and was run at Gencon 2008.
Keeper: Adam Scott Glancy
Players: Greg Stolze
Ross Payton
Tom Church
Allan Goddall
Kevin Pezzano

RPPR Episode 19: Gencon 2008 Wrapup

Ross — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 04:24:25 +0000

We’re back from the best four days of gaming! We talk about everything from the new games premiering at Gencon to the awesome people we met to the games we played or ran. It was a blast and we look forward to next year. Some of the highlights this year include meeting Dave Arneson and getting a first edition of Blackmoor autographed, interviewing quite a few game designers and writers, playtesting a new Call of Cthulhu scenario from Pagan Press (which we recorded and will post to the podcast! stay tuned for that) hanging out with gamers and podcasters, sleeping very little and eating less and running Monsters and Other Childish Things. We will post our interviews on a regular basis for the next month or so.

Games and books mentioned:

Monsterpocalypse
Monsters and Other Childish Things and my supplement for it: A Curriculum of Conspiracy now in print!
Mutant City Blues
GUMSHOE/Trail of Cthulhu/Esoterrorists/Fear Itself
Freaky Creatures
Pirates of the Burning Sea
Hunter the Vigil
Goodman Games’ new 4E modules
Beneath Flanders Field: The Tunnelers of WW1 1914-1918

Music: The Sword of Fire by Studiomig.

RPPR Gencon Preview

Ross — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 21:11:35 +0000

Gencon is upon us! We have a brief preview of what we aim to do. Check out the full schedule if you’re going. I’m running Monsters and Other Childish Things. We’re also part of a panel discussion on podcasting. See you there!

RPPR Episode 18: 4E Dungeons and Dragons Rundown

Ross — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 04:51:00 +0000

We’ve finally gotten around to looking at the monster RPG of the summer, the fourth edition of Dungeons and Dragons. We cover the good, the bad and the ugly of the system. Special thanks to the Bear Swarm podcast for joining in on our first game of 4E. We also talk about Gencon, scuba diving and of course, a very entertaining letter from Tom.

Song: Journey by Excellent Adventure

Shout Outs:

Elona: A graphical roguelike with all kinds of neat features like random quests, companions, pets, and housing.
The Kids In the Hall: The best comedy out of Canada in the 90s.
The Demon Rush: MMMMMMMM. Watch the trailer.
Spore Creature Creator: Make wang monsters or something. I don’t know.

Interview with Adrian Pommier of Goodman Games

Ross — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 05:08:04 +0000

Every year, hundreds of adventurers die horrible deaths, all competing for treasure, glory and points to move on to the next round. This isn’t a weird reality TV series, it’s the DCC tourney at Gencon. Adrian Pommier is the man in charge of this year’s Dungeon Crawl Classic Tournament. He’s also the co-author of the mega module Castle Whiterock and several other dungeon crawls. In this interview, we talk about how the DCC module is designed, the creation of Castle Whiterock and Palace of the Wastes, (stories from the module are here) what the dungeon crawl really is and the differences between 3E and 4E.

Actual Play: Wushu Dodgeball - To Save The World

Ross — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 02:13:39 +0000

Galactus has challenged the people of Earth to a tournament of dodgeball. Only an unlikely team of misfits stands in the way of Earth’s total destruction. Sound like the new Bruckheimer movie? Naw. It’s our Actual Play one shot using the free action RPG Wushu.

The Player:
Tom: A sapient raptor/actor tired of being stereotyped as a vicious man eating dinosaur
Drew: Henry from the TV Show Eureka, a NASA engineer turned auto mechanic.
Linton: The fat guy from Hot Fuzz and he’s a cylon.
Jason: Ahnuld the Governator
Cody: Former President Martin Van Buren - with electricity, liquid and portal powers.

No, I’m not kidding. That’s what they played.

RPPR Episode 17: Bargain Bin Bonanza

Ross — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 04:30:21 +0000

“Just being in here is a humbling experience for me, because you’re looking through all these records and it’s sort of like a big pile of broken dreams…Whether you want to admit it or not, 10 years down the line you’ll be in here. So keep that in mind when you start thinking like, ‘I’m invincible and I’m the world’s best,’ or whatever. Because that’s what all these cats thought.” DJ Shadow

In this episode, we focus on looting the pile of broken dreams that is the bargain bin of your friendly local game store. Many times you can find a hidden diamond in the rough or at least something you can exploit for a game in the system of your choice. By going over some of the bargain we’ve enjoyed like Little Fears, Waste World, Mutazoid, Teenagers from Outer Space, and Hunter the Reckoning, you can begin to see what lurks in the used game shelf. Plus, a letter from Tom and anecdotes! Oh and you must watch Common Law Wife. As always, post your comments on our forum and we appreciate donations. Also, if you are an artist, Tom wants a werewolf drawing or something like that. I think. He’ll pay like five bucks for it. Listen to the episode if you want the details. Also, this thread in the Something Awful forums is hilarious and disturbing.

NEWS: Some of our listeners love the actual play sessions. Some don’t. IF you do NOT want to get Actual Play sessions in your RSS feed, then please switch your feed to this new one. http://slangdesign.com/rppr/feed?cat=-12 It has everything EXCEPT Actual Play sessions. The main feed still has everything. If you like the Actual Play sessions you are fine. Nothing needs to be changed.

Shout Outs:

Wushu: A free and open RPG of fast action-Great for a one shot game when you have no time to prep.
Operation Darkness: A crazy alternate history WW2 RPG for the Xbox 360 where you fight Nazi vampires with Allied Werewolves. Seriously.
George Carlin: All My Stuff. A big ole collection of Carlin’s work. If you’re a fan, you need this box set. Well, you don’t but it is a goddamn lot of stuff.
The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra: If you like Mystery Science Theater 3000, cheesy movies from the 50s and 60s or B movies in general, then you must watch this movie. Tom used the Skeleton as a villain in a Mutants and Masterminds game because his players demanded it after seeing the movie.

Music: Nuclear War by Los Podankos - a Russian street punk band with no homepage and this is all I could find. Oi!

Actual Play: GURPS Modern League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Episode 1

Ross — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 05:26:25 +0000

In a world..Our world…Everything is true. Every story you’ve read, every movie you’ve seen, every game you’ve played actually happened. At least those that take place in the here and now. This is the first session of a GURPS 4th edition campaign premised on taking the Alan Moore comic The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and making the concept contemporary. Anything that takes place in the ‘here and now’ is true. James Bond, Half-Life, Ghostbusters, Hannibal Lector, the X-Files, annoying sitcoms and Freddy Krueger all co-exist in the same world. In this first adventure, the PCs must break into the HQ of Ghostbusters Inc. to retrieve the data of Project Miskatonic before it is too late…

Players:
Jason - Dean Winchester from the TV Show Supernatural
Tom - Basically a pre-med student version of the Lizard
Bob - A Highlander French aristocrat
Drew - Kabuki the ninja assassin babe
RJ - Firestarter age 25
Aaron - An employee of Ghostbusters Inc.

RPPR Episode 16: Help Me To Help You

Ross — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 05:07:47 +0000

While most of our shows so far have focused on running a great game, we thought we would give some advice for the other side of the GM Screen. In other words, the players. Of course, we talk about D&D 4th Edition, the death of Erick Wujcik, recent games we played, Raillery, my awesome new comedy video podcast and more. Tom was too lazy to write a letter, so instead we review The Happening and Machine Girl and tell a few anecdotes. I have a brand spanking new anecdote from playing D&D 4E and listener Eternal Green sent in a few. Don’t forget to check out our new forums!

Shout Outs:

Colonial Gothic: A new horror RPG set in colonial America. Great research into the period and it’s a fresh idea for a horror setting. The Case of Charles Dexter Ward, anyone?
Let’s Play: An archive of playthroughs of video games, both old and new. This video from the Darkseed 2 is all you need to understand how great this is.
Iron Age Sourcebook for Mutants and Masterminds: In the 80s and 90s, superheroes fought crime to the MAXX and by Maxx I meant that they murdered their enemies. It was pretty cool although Rob Liefield can’t draw a human body worth a shit.

Hosted by Ross Payton and Tom Church
Music: A new song from Vitamins and Minerals of Death that I will use in the next Raillery video.

Interview with the Alpha Omega Team

Ross — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 05:23:40 +0000

Ethan Haas was right, at least according to David Carter, Earl Fischl and Tom McLaughlin, the team behind Alpha Omega the new post apocalyptic science fantasy RPG from Mind Storm Labs. In the future, the world is ravaged by war and disasters while alien races wage war. Of course, dumb old humanity mistook these aliens for angels and demons thousands of years ago. Plus, there are robots. What more could you want in a game? Magic? There’s that. Mutants? But of course. Ninjas? The ninjas are so sneaky in this game, they aren’t even mentioned. But they’re there. And they will kill you in the night if you doubt their existence. That’s how bad ass they are.

In the interview, we discuss how Alpha Omega was created, the Ethan Haas Alternate Reality Game viral marketing campaign and its connection to Cloverfield, upcoming products for the game, the art of Alpha Omega, game design and more. Be sure to check out the New World Science and Engineering Commission site, mentioned in the interview.

Actual Play: GURPS Yakuza - Stray Dog

Ross — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 02:10:29 +0000

Based loosely on Kinji Fukusaku’s Battle Without Honor or Humanity film series and the Akira Kurosawa film Stray Dog, this game takes placed in Hiroshima Japan, 1946. The players are members of the Yamagata Yakuza clan, the newest and smallest family in the city, vulnerable to foreign gangs and larger Yakuza families. A confrontation with a rival gang turns deadly and an American .45 automatic is the key to a deadly mystery…

GM: Ross Payton
System: GURPS 4th edition, 50 point characters.

Players: Tom Church and Jason Ariciu

Announcing Raillery: A comedy video podcast

Ross — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 00:03:08 +0000

I have launched a second podcast: Raillery. I plan to release one new video a week, each as hilarious as this one: Oregon Trail 13. Don’t worry, Tom and I will continue RPPR and I will not put every raillery podcast on this feed. However, since Oregon Trail 13 started here, I thought all of you might enjoy it here.

Written by Ross Payton
Voiced by Ross Payton and Chris Farmer
Mixed by Chris Farmer
Animated by KC Green

RPPR Episode 15: Let’s Split Up Gang!

Ross — Fri, 30 May 2008 01:47:21 +0000

Just like the Scooby Doo gang, players tend to split up during a game and ike it or not and unless you know what to do, your game can suffer. Most players get bored when they have nothing to do, a divided game can mean the end of your campaign. We discuss how to deal with a split game and keep everything running smooth. There’s also a letter from Tom and of course, shout outs.

Cave Story: A freeware side scrolling adventure PC game that is a blast to play.

Shadowcaster: An old school PC RPG that has something to do with casting shadows. Which is dumb, because everyone casts a shadow. But, whatever.

Music: Scooby Doo by Baron Von Lichtenstein.

RPPR Interview with Tarn Adams, Creator of Dwarf Fortress

Ross — Tue, 20 May 2008 04:36:47 +0000

Tarn Adams
Interviewer: Ross Payton

Synopsis: Dwarf Fortress is a one of a kind computer game. Part roguelike, part RTS, part fantasy world simulator, this game has to be played to be believed. With no graphics (everything is represented by ASCII symbols), the player is charged with building a mighty fortress with only seven dwarves and a wagon load of supplies. Murderous monsters and animals, temperamental workers and countless other challenges stand in your way. And you will lose. But that’s okay, because losing is fun. I talk with DF’s programmer and creator, Tarn Adams about his experience with role playing games, game design philosophy, beards on dwarves and other pertinent topics.