Caleb is back discussing his progress on Red Markets. After a recent gaming retreat, Caleb developed a theory he wanted to discuss in this episode, about the obscene and the scene. The scene represents the public, socially acceptable aspects of a given object or activity. The obscene refers to the hidden, taboo aspects. In RPGs, the scene is what we say about our games but the obscene is how we actually engage with them. “I hate this game. I’ve run a hundred sessions of it.” There’s the promised version of a game during its Kickstarter campaign, the version delivered, and the version actually played. We discuss these weighty topics and how it is affecting the development of Red Markets.

Check out Hebanon Open Game Design to keep track of Red Markets development!

In this episode, James Wallis, co-host of Ludonarrative Dissidents podcast and author of “Everybody Wins: Four Decades of the Greatest Board Games Ever Made,” and I talk about what RPG designers can learn from board games. We talked about the history and influence of board games, the challenges of playtesting RPGs, and how incorporating board game mechanics can benefit RPG design. We also have some shout outs.

News: On the RPPR Patreon, on the newest episode of After Hours, we discuss the most horrifying spells in Dungeons and Dragons. On Recommendizer, Thad and I talk about good inspirational sources for zombie apocalypse games. Our next campaign on RPPR Actual Play is Delta Green: Impossible Landscapes. Check out this poster for the campaign!

Shout Outs

  • Who Fears the Devil: a collection of short stories about Silver John, who fights witches and ghosts in the Appalachian mountains.
  • The Night Ocean: a biographical novel of H.P. Lovecraft, his life, and the early days of fandom.
  • A Town Called Malice: a storytelling game inspired by Nordic noir and isolated small town horror.
  • Die: A comic series about RPG players entering in their fantasy campaign world
  • Terracotta Army: A worker placement board game about building statues for the emperor’s tomb.
  • Dread: A classic RPG that uses Jenga for its conflict resolution system.
  • Jury Duty: A reality comedy series about a fake trial and 1 real juror.

Music: Chillhops Essentials Spring 2023

Wizards of the Coast has stepped on a series of rakes with a series of proposed changes to the Open Gaming License (OGL). What is the OGL and why is WOTC is trying to destroy a popular thing in the industry? Caleb and I discuss what’s going on and what some possible outcomes of this controversy are.

News: Check out the newest episode of RPPR After Hours for a hilarious dive into the lowest rated Call of Cthulhu supplement!

Caleb is running through God’s Teeth with a new player group on Delta Green: Dead Channels. You can find link to all of Caleb’s projects on his Link Tree.

Shout Outs