RPPR-Illustrated-Channel-Six-previewPromo: Al Dente Rigamortis podcast – creepy pasta reviewed by RPPR friend, Review Cultist!

News: Raillery is back with a new Let’s Play series about Darkest Dungeon! Watch Aaron throw hapless adventurers into the meat grinder that is Darkest Dungeon.

The RPPR Fan Creation Contest is now underway! Win Arc Dream books by creating fan art of your favorite RPPR AP episode! Read the thread for more information and ask any questions you might have.

Synopsis: Caleb and I discuss various campaigns we’ve thought about and have realized we will probably never run. Of course, Charles Stross came up with the idea first. From Night’s Black Agents (check out the Prezi for his campaign here) to dungeon crawling, there are quite a few games we won’t be playing in the future (most likely). Find out why and what we’ve learned about it. No letter from Tom, but we do have some shout outs and great anecdotes!

Shout Outs

  • Dead Sea: A nautical horror novel about an extra-dimensional Sargasso Sea.
  • Wolf and White Van: a literary novel about play by mail RPGs and a lot more.
  • Annihilation: What if Roadside Picnic was even weirder? Let’s find out!
  • Jazzpunk: A short but funny satiric video game. Also, Wedding Qake.
  • Hotline Miami 2: Crazy hard, but amazing soundtrack and intriguing story. We still like hurting other people.
  • Witch: A dark fantasy RPG Kickstarter – play a lich right out of the gate!
  • Necropolis: An upcoming roguelike video game from Hare Brained Schemes.
  • The Pyramid: Decent horror film about a pyramid. Also, death traps.
  • Guy In Your MFA: You know, THAT guy.

Song: Can You Kiss Me First

News: No Security, a horror scenario anthology set in the American Great Depression, written by RPPR regular Caleb Stokes, is up on Kickstarter. If you enjoyed Bryson Springs or Lover in the Ice, consider contributing to it.

Synopsis: My recent trip to China got me thinking about complexity. RPGs are often very reductive, very simple worlds, but adding a bit of complexity to a game can greatly enhance it. Of course too much complexity can be awful especially in the wrong areas, but tweaking a specific aspect like a setting detail or a single game mechanic can make an average game into a great one. I also reveal my idea for a new Iron Heroes campaign, plus a letter from Tom, shout outs and an anecdote:

Shout outs

  • Liminal States: A genre-bending novel of immortality and Lovecraftian horrors and highly recommended by Caleb.
  • China Road: A journalist travels across China, seeing the highs and lows of the country.
  • The Weird: A massive anthology of weird fiction from around the world. Over 1000 pages of weirdness!
  • Black Books: A hilarious sitcom starring Dylan Moran.
  • Book of Cthulhu: A great anthology of Cthulhu mythos fiction.
  • Nyarko-San: An insane anime recommended to us by several RPPR listeners. A very unique view of the mythos to say the least.
  • Stealth of Nations: A study of the world’s global informal economy. Great fodder for dystopian and post-apocalyptic games.
  • A Corpse in the Koryo: A brilliant detective/thriller novel about a police inspector in North Korea caught up the machinations of competing security agencies.
  • Wool: A highly reviewed and recommended sci-fi ebook novella. Only 99 cents!

Music: Beautiful Lies by B-Complex