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Rob Boyle (Eclipse Phase), Ross Payton (Baseraiders), and Caleb Stokes (No Security) discuss using the basics of economic theory to make RPG settings more unique, immersive, and fun for your players.

Designers can talk forever about economies of narrative control and the finances of the RPG industry, but what about the economic structure of your setting? Most RPGs largely ignore the topic, but the basic tenets of economic theory are a great way to immerse players in a story and create conflict. A materialist outlook can make any setting unique and generate numerous plot hooks. This panel is here to show you how. Rob Boyle (lead designer for Eclipse Phase), Ross Payton (author of BaseRaiders: Superpowered Dungeon Crawling), and Caleb Stokes (author of No Security: Horror Scenarios in the Great Depression) will discuss using economics to engage players.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:02:28 — 28.6MB)

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News:Gencon approaches! Check the RPPR thread for more info. Also, support Caleb with the No Soul Left Behind Kickstarter! It has what gamers crave! And speaking of Kickstarters, The Horrors of War Kickstarter is pretty awesome too!

Synopsis: Training, learning, and education are important topics in games but we seldom examine the assumptions made in games. The gaming trope of leveling up (I learned a new language after I killed enough orcs!) is a poor model to represent learning but what should good experience/leveling up rules look like? Aside from educational rules in games, we also discuss academic themes for adventure ideas and using a game to teach it to other people.No letter from Tom, but we do have shout outs and an anecdote.

Shout Outs:

Music: Selected pieces from Computer Death by Infinite Frequencies. Check out more Vaporwave if you want to hear elevator music from Carcosa.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:44:33 — 71.8MB)

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News: The No Soul Left Behind Kickstarter is HERE. Buy Caleb’s book! The Morph Recognition Guide is out, featuring some of my material from Transhuman. We’re coming to Gencon and we’ll our RPPR meetup on Thursday night. Details here. Raillery is still putting out silly Payday 2 videos (mostly).

Synopsis: Tom was on vacation, so Caleb and I got together to record an episode. This time, we talk about the complexity of rules in RPGs, specifically at the point where they are too cumbersome to improve the quality of the game. Do we really need vehicle collision rules or grenade scatter tables? Of course, Phoenix Command, Synnibarr, and other…interesting games are discussed as well. We also have shout outs and an anecdote!

Shout Outs

  • Sword and Mythos: An excellent sword and sorcery and Cthulhu Mythos anthology
  • Mice and Mystics:A co-op adventure board game about mice trying to save the king from a mystic evil.
  • Pervert’s Guide to Ideology: Zizek discusses Marxism and critiques pop culture from a leftist perspective. On Netflix! Then go to the gym.
  • Year Walk: A creepy and fascinating iOS and PC adventure game based on Scandinavian folklore.
  • Delta Green: Tales from Failed Anatomies: An anthology of stories written by Dennis Detwiller set in the Delta Green setting. Highly recommended!
  • Many Wars Ago: World War 1 was fucked. In Italy, it was more fucked than in other countries. Watch this movie to see why and then be depressed.
  • The Rover: The apocalypse is bad, but that doesn’t give you an excuse to steal Guy Pierce’s car.

Music: Future Club by Perturbator

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:26:12 — 59.2MB)

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