On:
In: Podcast Episode
With: 11 Comments

Oh Rifts-chan, never change ^_^ News: Check out the newest Story Bundle! My book, Zombies of the World, is one of the bonus ebooks you can get if you pay the average of $8 or more. The bundle also features F. Paul Wilson and other great authors!

I also wrote up a detailed post-mortem of my recent Call of Cthulhu one shot based on the indie video game, Hotline Miami.

Synopsis: I asked Tom what he wanted to do an episode on and he chose the Palladium game system. So here we are. After going over our history with the system, we go over the game, from its mechanics to the setting of Rifts. It’s not pretty, but hopefully entertaining. Tom’s letter is about Rifts of course, and we have shout outs, a listener letter, and an anecdote.

Shout outs:

  • Story Bundle: Buy these ebooks! They make great Christmas gifts 😀
  • SSSSSSS: A 1970s horror movie about people being turned into giant snakes because of reasons.
  • The Drift: New SG-1 Stargate novel. Interesting plot, characterization, and excellent attention to detail.
  • A Monster in Paris: CGI animated film about a monster (in Paris).
  • Miskatonic River Press and Punktown Kickstarter: Get Lovecraftian games and fiction!
  • HP Lovecraft books Skyrim mod: Reading Lovecraft books in real life get you down? There’s got to be a better way!
  • Dead Pixels: A new indie game on Steam about shooting zombies, so you know I dig it.
  • Legend of Grimrock: Indie CRPG modeled after old school games like Eye of the Beholder. Clever puzzles and fun combat.

Song: Multidimensional Consciousness by the Flavor Foundation

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:43:34 — 71.1MB)

Subscribe: RSS

On:
In: Podcast Episode
With: 2 Comments

News: Base Raiders, the new RPPR Kickstarter is nearing completion. Help us meet a few more stretch goals!  Contribute now!

Learn more at the Base Raiders website.

Synopsis: Combat is the heart and soul of many RPGs but running exciting combat is harder to pull of than it seems. It often descends into tedious “I hit you you” dice rolling contests or incoherent arguments over stunting and other combat rules. How do you balance those extremes? Tom and I discuss how we keep fights interesting in a game and what players can do their part.

Instead of a letter from Tom, we read two listener letters, plus shout outs and an anecdote!

Shout outs:

  • Hotline Miami: Brutal, fast-paced combat and great music. Game of the Year 2012!
  • The Curse and Curse 2: Crazy 1980s horror movies with good special effects
  • Miami Connection: The best movie of the 198s0. Cocaine ninjas and Dragon Sound!
  • Drive: Brilliant neo-noir thriller about a driver who makes some poor life decisions.
  • Kicking It: Want to run a successful Kickstarter? Monte Cook has some good advice.
  • Godzilla the Half Century War: a Godzilla story about the poor saps in the tanks shooting at Godzilla.
  • Invasive Procedures: You’ve listened to the actual play. Now run it for your group!
  • Zombie Cinema: Fun little storytelling game of player conflicts and zombies.

Music: Le Combat by David Cyr

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:39:13 — 68.2MB)

Subscribe: RSS

On:
In: Podcast Episode
With: 15 Comments

With this, our blood, it is the Hanged King’s. From SCP 701News: Support RPPR by contributing to the Base Raiders Kickstarter.Get at least the PDF and you’ll gain access to 10 preview RPPR Actual Play episodes upon the conclusion of the campaign.

RPPR friend Cody Walker has his own Kickstarter up for Noir City. Help bring his comic to life!

Synopsis: It wouldn’t be October without at least one horror themed episode of RPPR. Tom and I discuss what makes a horror story set in the here and now unique (2012). Isolation is no longer geographic thanks to smartphones with GPS but it is still possible to isolate players in different ways. Furthermore, we have new trends in horror storytelling, like the emergence of the creepypasta subgenre. Marble Hornets and the SCP Wiki are great material for your next horror game. Of course the real horror comes from real life. Aside from isolation, we have a growing panopticon, the ongoing global economic crisis, the rise of fascism, and online stalking/bullying. This makes the year of the Mayan Apocalypse a great place for a horror story. Plus Tom reads a letter and we have shout outs an anecdote.

Read the SCP Wiki. The image on the left is from SCP 701.

Shout outs:

Song: Crush from the Hotline Miami Soundtrack.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:05:43 — 45.2MB)

Subscribe: RSS