Episodes
Tuesday Apr 30, 2019
STG 151 - Actual Play (with Ryan Felton)
Tuesday Apr 30, 2019
Tuesday Apr 30, 2019
Ryan Felton, GM and producer of City On A Hill Gaming, joins Grant, Jenny, and Peter to discuss creating actual play content! We've mentioned City On A Hill plenty lately, since Ryan was kind enough to invite the three of us on his show as players (and performers, as we'll discuss in this episode.) You can find Ryan and City on a Hill Gaming on Twitter at @CityOnAHillGame! Ryan also helps us answer a question from Patreon supporter John Swann, who asks about performance anxiety when sitting down to a convention game.
After our Scripture readings, we start to break down making actual play podcasts, and why Ryan decided to create City On A Hill Gaming in the first place. We also discuss why APs are important and interesting; the unique challenges of creating actual play content over analytical podcasts like Saving the Game; and the challenges of making family-friendly and near-Christian gaming content. We also go into some detail on things we as players, and Ryan as the GM, would like to do to improve City on a Hill specifically, as common traps that listeners should be aware of when creating actual play content!
Also mentioned in this episode: Hamlet's Hit Points and Beating the Story by Robin D. Laws; A Christian Gaming Podcast; Reunification by Press Pot Games; and City on a Hill "Side Quest #3" with Justin "Chivalrybean" Lowmaster (our editor!) and DMDad.
Scripture: 2 Samuel 2:6, Isaiah 6:8, Matthew 5:14-16
Tuesday Apr 02, 2019
STG 149 - Unlikely Heroes (with Rev. Derek White)
Tuesday Apr 02, 2019
Tuesday Apr 02, 2019
Rev. Derek "The GeekPreacher" White joins us once again, and this time it's even more special than usual. This episode is a sort of test case for a new thing we might be doing with Derek more regularly—having Derek on to talk about specific theological topics from a geek perspective! First, though we've got a Patreon question to answer from Doug Hagler, who asks us what our individual D&D alignments are, and some Scripture we've picked out for the topic.
Then we let Derek take the lead as we discuss the unlikely sorts of heroes we see in both Scripture and in pop culture, from Moses and David to Frodo and Hawkeye. Accidental heroes, broken heroes, screwed-up heroes—we've got them all, and we're happy to talk about them!
Also mentioned in this episode: Unsong; the Critical Core Kickstarter from Game to Grow; and STG 115, "RPGs in Social Skills Therapy (with Adam Davis and Adam Johns)".
Scripture: Exodus 4:10-17, Isaiah 6:5-8, 1 Corinthians 15:2-11
Wednesday Dec 19, 2018
STG 143 - Good Gaming Sessions (with Greg Stolze)
Wednesday Dec 19, 2018
Wednesday Dec 19, 2018
Author and game designer Greg Stolze joins us once again, this time to talk about systematically creating good gaming sessions! We had Greg on once before, talking about personal horror and Unknown Armies on STG 83, and it's great to have him back to give some excellent game-mastering advice. Greg's also got a Kickstarter for Termination Shock just wrapping up, and will be Kickstarting a second edition of Grim War in early 2019, so definitely check those out!
We end up spending a lot of time answering our Patreon question from Tom Stephens this episode, since he asked about how much time we spend researching, recording, and editing for an average episode of Saving the Game. Greg recorded some podcast episodes to promote Termination Shock, and so he's got plenty to add to that discussion as well!
After our Scripture readings, we go deep into the hard, practical steps gamemasters can take to build individual sessions and plan their game arcs built into both Termination Shock and Grim War. These are two rather different methods, but both are aimed squarely at new GMs, and designed to teach GMs how to keep players engaged and tell good stories without years of literary theory classes! Both the "playbook" approach of Termination Shock and the "lit-crit" approach of Grim War are worth testing in your own games, so give them a try (and consider picking up these games for more details!)
Scripture: Leviticus 19:34, Proverbs 4:6-7, Proverbs 15:22, Luke 6:39-40
Tuesday Oct 16, 2018
Episode 139 - Character Backstories (with Krissi Woodward)
Tuesday Oct 16, 2018
Tuesday Oct 16, 2018
Krissi Woodward joins us again this episode to help Grant and Jenny speak a little less, since they're both pretty sick in this episode, and to talk about character backstories with everyone! Krissi's been on a few previous episodes can be found on Twitter as @d20mom.
We catch up a bit and talk about our upcoming streaming schedule over on Twitch, and then answer a question about fictional characters we'd want to GM for from Patreon supporter Richard Lorenz. Then after our Scripture readings, we dive into character backstories: What makes a good background, common pitfalls, some general advice, and the methods we each use for coming up with backstories for our characters.
Scripture: Genesis 37: 19-26, Isaiah 43: 18-19, Acts 9:1-6, 2 Corinthians 5:16-17
Tuesday Sep 04, 2018
Episode 137 - Music at the Gaming Table (with Zach Lorton)
Tuesday Sep 04, 2018
Tuesday Sep 04, 2018
Zach Lorton of Back Burner Games joins us this episode to talk about playing music at the gaming table! Zach's a DJ, game designer, and friend of the show, so he's basically the perfect person to talk to about playing music and sound effects as part of the tabletop gaming experience. He's also got a lot to say, as you'll hear in this episode! Before that, though, we let Zach talk about Back Burner Games (Patreon, Instagram, Facebook) and very briefly talk about what we're playing and what's going on behind the scenes at STG.
After that, pastor and Patreon supporter Douglas Underhill gives us a somewhat controversial question to tackle, asking what our second choice of religion or life philosophy would be if somehow Christianity were off the table. Then we're into our Scripture readings for this episode and diving right into the main topic! We cover Jenny's musical talents and everyone else's lack thereof; background music; sound effects and ambient music; foreground music (including a story Grant's been wanting to tell for ages); how to use all of these at the table; and where to get music or sound effects.
Mentioned in this episode: Ribbon Drive RPG; the Pieces board game café in St. Louis, MO; myNoise; Tabletop Audio; MeloDice; and OverClocked ReMix.
Scripture: 1 Samuel 16:17-23. Psalm 96:1-2, Proverbs 25:20, 1 Corinthians 14:15-19
Tuesday Aug 21, 2018
Episode 136 - Destiny (with Kris Newton)
Tuesday Aug 21, 2018
Tuesday Aug 21, 2018
Gaming podcaster extraordinaire Kris Newton returns to discuss handling destiny in our games! Kris hosts two of our favorite podcasts: The Gameable Saturday Morning Podcast (neé Gameable Disney and Gameable Pixar) and the much-more-NSFW MegaDumbCast. He's been on several times before, just as we've all been on various episodes of Gameable, and we're delighted to have him back again. After catching up for a bit and hearing what Kris has been playing lately, we answer a spot-on Patreon question from Shawn Stauffer, who asks us to put together an adventuring party consisting entirely of Disney characters.
That done, and our Scripture for this episode read, we go deep into the idea of "destiny" in traditional storytelling and in tabletop gaming. What are some different approaches for including it in our games? How can we maintain player autonomy and input while getting full value from this powerful and familiar story element? What purpose does a destiny serve in our stories or as a metagame tool? And how do we mechanically define a destiny, if we do so at all?
Also mentioned in this episode: Steve Jackson Games's In Nomine RPG; the Machine of Death anthology; the Protean City Comics podcast; and Magpie Games's Masks RPG.
Scripture: Deuteronomy 31:19-22, Isaiah 46:10, Jeremiah 1:4-5, 1 Corinthians 2:9-10
Tuesday Aug 07, 2018
Tuesday Aug 07, 2018
Continuing our previous episode, Allen Mowers, Ashley Mowers, and Kyle Stainbrook from the Min/Max Podcast join us to finish our discussion on moral accountability for our in-character choices. Just how much accountability do we have for the things our characters do in our games? How do we handle bleed, and how do we handle it when our own characters engage matters we aren’t fully comfortable with?
If you missed Part One of this conversation, you can find it here. Enjoy!
Relevant links: STG 111, “Larp and the Psychology of Play (with Dr. Sarah Lynne-Bowman)”; Dr. Sarah Lynne-Bowman’s articles on bleed and playing nasty characters; and STG 17, “Lines and Veils”.
Scripture: Psalm 7:14-16, Matthew 5:21, Matthew 13:13, Mark 7:14-23
Tuesday Jul 24, 2018
Tuesday Jul 24, 2018
We reach maximum hosting with not one, not two, but three guests this week! Allen Mowers, Ashley Mowers, and Kyle Stainbrook from the much-loved Min/Max Podcast join us to discuss moral accountability for our in-character choices. After we manage to get through an introduction, we all briefly talk about what we've been playing. Grant plugs our new "oh my gosh what if story" t-shirt, Peter and Jenny plug appearances on City on a Hill Gaming and Bard and Bible, and then we all answer a question from Patreon supporter Richard Lorenz about which fictional character we'd each want to run a game for us.
After reading Scripture, we then dive into this complex issue together: Just how much accountability do we have for the things our characters do in our games? How do we handle bleed, and how do we handle it when our own characters engage matters we aren't fully comfortable with?
We'll wrap up this conversation in Part Two next time, so stay tuned!
Relevant links: STG 111, "Larp and the Psychology of Play (with Dr. Sarah Lynne-Bowman)"; Dr. Sarah Lynne-Bowman's articles on bleed and playing nasty characters; and STG 17, "Lines and Veils".
Scripture: Psalm 7:14-16, Matthew 5:21, Matthew 13:13, Mark 7:14-23
Tuesday May 29, 2018
STG 132 - Board Games (with Mike Perna)
Tuesday May 29, 2018
Tuesday May 29, 2018
As foretold, once every thirty-three episodes Mike Perna of Innroads Ministries, Game Store Prophets, and Bard and Bible joins us—this time, to talk about board games! Mike takes a moment to plug TavernCon 2018 (June 9th in Warren, NJ.) We also give a bit of a shout-out (belated by the time this episode drops) to the Min/Max Podcast for hitting the one-year mark. Then we take on a question from Patreon backer "Retro Rewind Podcast" (another good podcast you should check out) about our favorite foods and the trouble we'd go to in order to eat them.
Once all that's done, we read our Scripture and start talking about board games. We focus specifically on board games close to our roleplaying focus—games with heavy story elements, or games in which there's a procedurally-generated story to enjoy—but we do roam around a bit and talk about a lot of games, so make sure to check the links below if you're interested in any of those!
Board games mentioned in this episode: Overlight, Gloomhaven, Once Upon A Time (3rd Edition), T.I.M.E. Stories, Alien Artifact, Twilight Imperium, Through The Ages, Barker's Row, Meeple Circus, Fog of Love, ...and then we held hands, Star Crossed, The Grizzled, Freedom: The Underground Railroad, Arranged!, This War of Mine, Tales of the Arabian Nights, Above and Below, Near and Far, The Quiet Year, Legend of the Five Rings: The Card Game, Android: Netrunner, Ashes: Rise of the Phoenixborn. (Phew!)
Scripture: Proverbs 11:1-3, Philippians 2:3-4, 1 Corinthians 9:24-27
Tuesday May 15, 2018
Tuesday May 15, 2018
This week, we've got not one, but two special guests on the mics with us! Daniel Silver and Father David Subu join us to introduce us to Doxacon Prime 2018! Doxacon is a convention about Christian genre fiction and fandom, and it's happening November 2-3, 2018, in Washington, DC. (For more information, check out the Doxacon Prime Facebook group, and follow @DoxaconPrime and @Doxacast on Twitter.) You can also hear some recordings from Doxacon and other interviews over at Ancient Faith Radio.
Daniel and Father David have a lot more to talk about than just their awesome convention, though. First, we all chime in to respond to Patreon backer Nathanael Farley, who asks "What is your favorite (possibly indie) RPG that you think needs more love in the wider world?" (Our picks: Swords Without Master, The Trouble With Rose, Anima Prime, Dialect, and ... 1st Ed. D&D. Seriously.) Then, after our Scripture readings (including our first Deuterocanonical reading from Wisdom of Sirach) our guests talk about the need for Doxacon, and how in many ways modern Christian genre fiction and fandoms are still affected by the "Satanic Panic" of the late 20th century.
Scripture: Deuteronomy 31:19-22; Proverbs 17:17; Wisdom of Sirach 4:20-25; Psalm 18; Hebrews 10:24-25