On:
In: Interview
With: 3 Comments

Obsidian Portal, the campaign tracking website, has launched a Kickstarter to pay for site upgrades. I talked to the programmer behind Obsidian Portal, Micah Wedemeyer, who is also co-host of the Haste podcast. In this interview, we talk about Obsidian Portal, Kickstarter, and crowdfunding in the RPG industry.

Be sure to take a look at Greg Stolze’s Kickstarter: Mask of the Other!

 

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 55:06 — 37.9MB)

Subscribe: RSS

On:
In: Podcast Episode
With: 17 Comments

News: The Know Evil Fan Creation contest is well underway and the deadline for entries has been extended. Tom has started a Pathfinder campaign, which will be recorded. I have a short story in The Unspeakable Oath 22 – read “Message in a Bottle.” Also, I want to thank every RPPR donor who helps keep this site up and going!

Synopsis: Murphy’s Rules were a long standing comic in Pyramid magazine that pointed out the quirks of various RPG systems. Recently, I found a hilarious thread on the SA forums carrying on that tradition by explaining how jumping really high in D&D 3.5E can make you really popular or how a priest wouldn’t be able to recognize his own god in the flesh. This episode deals with this disconnection between reality, game rules, and genre conventions and how to deal with them in games. Is this even a problem? What do you do when a player finds a way to break the game or its genre? After the main discussion, Tom has a letter for us and shout outs and anecdotes.

Shout outs

Song: I am the night by Perturbator

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:49:08 — 75.0MB)

Subscribe: RSS

On:
In: Podcast Episode
With: 10 Comments

Level 1 of the Zombie Factory from the upcoming Base Raiders RPGNews: Fallout Without End, a new scenario of the No Security ransom pack from Hebanon Games is now available! We’re still cranking out videos at Raillery. The map is part of the Zombie Factory, a chapter in the upcoming Base Raiders RPG.

Synopsis: Travel and exploration is adventurous in real life but not in role playing games. Someone like Marco Polo is a major figure in history, yet in Dungeons and Dragons, his accomplishments would be minor compared to the average 10th level fighter. Tom and I try to tackle why exploration in games fails to capture the sense of adventure it does in reality and how it can be made to do so. We even tackle random encounter tables, sense of place, and other tangentially connected topics. Instead of a letter, Tom discusses his trip to Seattle and of course shout outs and an anecdote or two.

Shout outs

  • Ship Breaker: Good YA dystopian sci-fi novel about a kid living as a salvager of old oil tankers – bleak but well written. Great setting too.
  • Nemesis: A totally insane cyberpunk action film with more gunfire than the Matrix. For reals. Also, check out this gif.
  • Great White Space: An interesting if flawed Lovecraftian horror novel about a doomed expedition.
  • Apocalypse World: An indie post-apocalyptic RPG that’s all the rage with the Seattle scene apparently.
  • The Upper Berth: A ghost story with the best framing device ever. More cigars and champagne!
  • The Devil’s Rock: A New Zealand made WW2 horror film. I did Nazi that coming. Okay I’ll go now.
  • Speed Tribes: A book about the different subcultures of the younger generations in Tokyo. A bit dated, but still a great read.
  • McBain: A Rifftrax where Christopher Walken sleepwalks through an action film that makes literally no sense. Highly entertaining! Aaron recommends it.
  • Todd and The Book of Pure Evil: A 2 season comedy horror TV show on Netflix about high school, cults, and heavy metal. What’s not to love?

Music: Ghost Maps by The Minor Leagues.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:57:03 — 80.4MB)

Subscribe: RSS