RPPR Episode 165: The Importance of Gear in RPGs
Many RPG campaigns inevitably have at least one session that’s more about shopping for new items and gear. Some players love it and others hate it. How important are items and associated game mechanics for them? Caleb, Jay B, and I discuss the differing philosophies of items in various RPGs, from Phoenix Command’s detailed rules to Fiasco’s non-existent rules for items. We also discuss an upcoming gear book for Red Markets, plus shout outs and anecdotes.
News: Party Fowl is out! If you haven’t already got a copy of the best duck-themed social gathering board game of 2019, then get yours today! Also, I am going to Australia next month, but RPPR will still be going strong. I will be posting about my trip on Twitter and Instagram.
Shout Outs
- Kingdom: A show about a zombie outbreak in medieval Korea.
- The Order: A show about secret society of mages fight werewolves on a college campus.
- The Umbrella Academy: A show based on the comic. Wes Anderson meets the X-Men.
- Devotion: A great horror video game about a family in Taiwan in the 80s.
- The BSA Red Markets campaign: Playtesting mass combat rules for Red Markets.
- Call to Adventure: a new board game by Brotherwise Games. Review forthcoming!
- Velvet Buzzsaw and Blurred Lines: A movie and a documentary about the art world.
Music: Automated Refrains by Dan Terminus
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:22:30 — 56.9MB)
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RPPR Episode 164: Railroading Off the Cliff
News: We have a new series on the RPPR Patreon called Mashup Mayhem. We take different things and mash them together to make RPGs. Our latest episode merges the AvP franchise with the Cthulhu mythos.
In tabletop RPG industry news, a game designer, Zak Smith, has been accused of sexual assault and abuse by four women, including his former partner, Mandy Morbid. I believe them. He has been banned from Gen Con. Please do not buy any of his books. Much more information can be found here.
Synopsis: Railroading is a problem for the table. Whether it’s the GM railroading the players or a player railroading the rest of the table by refusing to engage with the premise, it makes the game not as fun as it could be. Bill, David, and I join with special guest Rob from the Orpheus Protocol to talk about railroading. Be sure to check out the same page tool and the X card.
Shout Outs
- Sleeping Giants: a sci-fi novel about the discovery of a giant alien robot.
- Oddity Archive: A cool Youtube channel of weird obscure videos.
- Godzilla – Planet Eater: Holy shit, this was great. Worth watching the whole trilogy just for this one part.
- The Faceless: a neat board game coming out soon.
- Gloomhaven and Gloomhaven Helper: Legacy dungeon crawling co-op board game and a very useful app for it
- Game Angry: a book of GMing advice by the Angry GM
- Masked Singer: David likes it!
- Grim Dawn: It’s like Diablo 2 but different.
Song: Breakway by Starfarer
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:06:57 — 46.2MB)
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RPPR Episode 163: Scum and Villainy and PAX South 2019
News: I have started using Instagram! Check out my photos and videos of PAX South! Also, Adam Scott Glancy has a campaign of Hollow Earth Expedition on RPPR Tabletop Tales. If you’re looking for exciting pulp action, check it out!
Synopsis: We have been playing Scum and Villainy, a Forged in the Dark system RPG, for several months. Our campaign is going up on extended early access on the RPPR Patreon, but Aaron, Shaun, Tom, and I wanted to talk about the game now. We discuss a bit about our campaign, the game’s rules, and our experiences with it.
Check out The Oddballs on the RPPR Patreon to listen to our actual play campaign!
In our second segment, Kyle Carty from BPB Games reviews Rising Tides, an expansion for Torchbearer. It’s an interesting take on the steampunk naval exploration genre.
Finally, we have shout outs and anecdotes based on our experience at PAX South this year.
Shout Outs
- Nefarious: A web comic about a super villain who likes kidnapping princesses.
- Totally Reliable Delivery Service: a neat fumblecore video game we played at PAX South.
- Kingdom: A new series on Netflix about a zombie apocalypse in medieval Korea.
- Soda Drinker Pro: What the fuck?
- Pushing Up Roses: A cool LPer of older computer games.
- Nelo: an action game seen at PAX South.
- Fyre Fraud: A Hulu documentary on Fyre Festival.
Song: Origin Unknown by Starfarer
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:46:10 — 73.1MB)
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