RPPR Episode 87: Fantasy with a Horror Chaser
News: Actual Play fans can rejoice! RPPR B-Sides provides early access to archived and unaired AP episodes that will NEVER make the AP podcast. Check out RPPR B-Sides to learn more. In other news, we’ve redesigned Role Playing Public Radio and will eventually get to RPPR Actual Play. The design is not 100% final, so there may be tweaks here and there.
Also, Base Raiders is still in production.
Finally, the Know Evil Fan Creation Contest ended, so check out this post on the RPPR forums to see who won! We would like to thank everyone who entered but we only had 5 posters to give away.
Synopsis: Mixing genres in games (like fantasy and horror) can be fun but it can also turn your game into a mess. Tom and I discuss how we approach genre mashups and what kind of pitfalls we have learned to avoid. Tom provides examples of his own campaigns and I pontificate like the published author (and horrible monster) that I am. You know, the usual stuff we do for episodes.
Instead of a letter, I give an extended review of Grimoires, an excellent history of books of magic and how real life books of magic can be great game fodder for many kinds of role playing games. As an example, check out the Sixth and Seventh Book of Moses. It’s a public domain grimoire so feel free to use parts of it as a handout for your next horror game or whatever.
Finally we have shout outs and an anecdote, as always!
Shout Outs:
- Grimoires: As stated above, it’s a great book.
- Cities XL: a computer game about building a city that actually works. Crazy, right?
- Attack on Titan: Horrific manga and anime series about man eating giants and crazy steampunk soldiers who fight them.
- Tomorrow’s Harvest: Like creepy ambient music? Boards of Canada has got your back with their new album. Check out the music video for Reach for the Dead.
- Let’s Play Deadly Premonition: A cult classic 360 video game covered by an excellent LP of a 100% run.
Song: Creepy Doll by Jonathan Coulton
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:28:10 — 60.6MB)
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RPPR Episode 86: Know Evil Post Mortem
News: If you’re a fan of Eclipse Phase, check out the Kickstarter for the next Eclipse Phase book, Transhuman. Don’t forget about the Know Evil Fan Creation Contest. The deadline for entries is May 10.
Synopsis: After the conclusion of Caleb’s epic Know Evil campaign, Tom and I wanted to hash out how the campaign came to be, what changed during play, and what lessons were learned from it. It’s not often a role playing campaign ends with such a satisfying conclusion, so we wanted to make sure you would have a ‘director’s commentary’ for Know Evil. We also have shout outs and anecdotes.
Shout Outs
- Spaceteam: hilariously fun iOS game – command a spaceship with randomly generated controls and yell at your friends! A winning combination.
- Elder Sign: New Cthulhu Mythos based dice and iOS game – like Arkham Horror but with more randomness and quicker pace.
- Gloom – Edward Gorey meets card game strategy – the most miserable and dead family wins.
- Rot and Ruin: YA horror novel series. It turns out life after the zombie apocalypse is not all that fun.
- Prophet: Crazy ass science fiction comic. MEATPUNK.
- Glory: Even Rob Liefeld original characters can be redeemed.
- The Apple: A 1980 sci-fi musical biblical allegory. Hooray for Rifftrax!
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:51:06 — 76.3MB)
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RPPR Episode 85: We Three Games
News: Check out Caleb and I shooting up (space) zombies in Dead Space 3! Be sure to subscribe to Raillery’s Youtube channel for all the latest from us. Base Raiders is progressing nicely but it was slowed down a bit so I could contribute to Eclipse Phase’s newest book – Transhuman. There’s an open playtest for some of the material right now – read it and give them your feedback. And of course, the Know Evil Fan Creation Contest is still ongoing!
Synopsis: Tom, special guest Caleb, and I each came up with 3 ideas for standalone RPGs and pitch them to each other. From mythos warlords and gods the weird west and beyond, we talk about games about making movies, fighting magic with technology, and life inside video games. If you like the ideas or hate them, let us know in the comments!
Shout Outs
- Idle Red Hands Podcast: podcast about gaming and Japan by expat gamers in Japan.
- Haste Podcast: Silver Ennie award winning gaming podcast.
- Graphic Canon Volume 1: The classics of world literature told in comix format.
- The Night Lands, A Story Retold: the weird fiction classic rewritten so mortals may understand what the hell is going on in it.
- The Corridor: What happens when humans brush up against the unknown? Bad things.
- Itras By: Surreal tabletop RPG inspired by Dali and the other surrealists. Fascinating setting too!
- Breaker, Breaker: 1970s trucker Chuck Norris doesn’t have time for your shit. Watch the goddamn truck-o-pocalypse already.
- Lizards of Skyrim mod: Yo dawg I heard you like Argonians
- Tomb of Horrors D&D comic: Death Traps have never been so hilarious
- Steve Rogers’ American Captain: Captain America totes has the feels you guys. Srsly though, this is pretty good.
- Nick Fury MAX – My Wars Gone By: Garth Ennis wrote this shit. Read it already.
Song: Behemoth by Godspeed You Black Emperor!
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:37:19 — 66.9MB)
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