Episodes
Tuesday Sep 01, 2020
Episode 184 - Alignment Wrap-Up (With Douglas Underhill)
Tuesday Sep 01, 2020
Tuesday Sep 01, 2020
If you like our longer episodes, you're in for a treat with this one. We had a lot to say this time, and the fact that we recorded this one in two different sections due to some connection issues probably also contributed to the overall length.
We start off as we usually do, checking in and introducing our guest, who in this case is one of our earliest listeners, Douglas Underhill. We've answered a bunch of Doug's Patreo questions in the past and he's been a friend of the show for years, so it was great to finally get him on the mics.
Our Patreon question this week comes from David Pflug, who asks: "What's the most hopeful thing you've encountered this week?" From there as usual, read our scripture and launch into our topic which is a mix of final thoughts and stuff we can't believe we missed the first time around. Opinions about alignment vary pretty widely among the four of us, so that also makes a decent discussion, and we even got into a lengthy aside about how we'd fix D&D along the way.
Mentioned in this episode: Part 1 of System Mastery's Critique of D&D, How to be Anti-Racist, Peter's "Articulated Thoughts" blog post, Peter's Virtue/trait-based alignment system, Letter From a Birmingham Jail, Information about Save Against Fear
Some of Doug's Work: the Parsec RPG, Iron Pax, Charts of Darkness, Hoard of House Rules
Scripture: Daniel 3:14-18, Micah 6:8, Matthew 9:13, James 1:27
Tuesday Aug 18, 2020
Episode 183 - Ghosts
Tuesday Aug 18, 2020
Tuesday Aug 18, 2020
Though we've done an episode on undeath in general, we figured that ghosts deserved an episode of their own, since they occupy a somewhat unique role in fiction.
We start the episode off with a check-in as usual and... last Monday and the days leading up to it were rough, folks. The equipment issues have been dealt with, but yeah. Not great. Understandably not wanting to linger on that for too long, we launched into our Patreon topic from Douglas Underhill who asks "What is your favorite band/musician? Least favorite musical genre?"
From there, we read our scripture, including the story of Saul and the witch of En-Dor from 1 Samuel, one of the longer pieces of scripture we've had on the podcast. And then, as is our wont, we launched into our main topic. Ghosts, as it turns out, are really a poor monster, but that doesn't mean they can't do a lot for your games is used well! We dug into the tropes and powers around ghosts, their usefulness as puzzles and mystery elements, and even a bit of the theology of them.
Mentioned in this Episode: Shawn James: The Curse of the Fold, Fortune and Strife
Scripture: 1 Samuel 28: 1-21, Job 14:7-12, Isaiah 8:19, Mathew 14: 22-27, Matthew 27:51-54
Tuesday Aug 04, 2020
Bonus Episode 21 - Jenny and Peter Brainstorm Some More
Tuesday Aug 04, 2020
Tuesday Aug 04, 2020
With Grant out due to illness and a host of technical issues (that have thankfully since been mostly resolved) besetting us, we opted for a bonus episode this week. This episode is specifically focusing on adding some additional texture to the religious life of a Karkovian barony for a future game Peter would like to run.
As this was a bonus episode, there's no Patreon question, so we went straight from intro to scripture and then into brainstorming, where we discussed, among other things, a secret porpoise grave.
Scripture: Proverbs 27:17, 1 Peter 4:10
Tuesday Jul 21, 2020
Episode 182 - Cosmic Horror
Tuesday Jul 21, 2020
Tuesday Jul 21, 2020
This week's episode is the second-quarter Patreon topic (a little late). We've referenced cosmic horror a number of times throughout our run, but never in this kind of depth.
As is usual, we spend a bit of time catching up and then move into our Patreon question, supplied this time by Paige Lowe who asks "If you had an unlimited budget to buy one thing for your game, what would it be?" Just wait until you hear what Grant offers as his answer for that one.
With that bit of shock and awe out of the way, we move into our main topic, and boy howdy, is this one ever a doozy. This turned out to be the longest episode we've recorded so far in 2020, and we needed every minute of it. If you like the episodes where we go deep, you'll find this one especially enjoyable. There was a lot to talk about, including subgenres of cosmic horror, using it as a main course vs. a seasoning, adding it to other genres, and of course, the intersection with faith.
Mentioned in this Episode: Harlem Unbound, Rapture: The End of Days, Jeff VanderMeer, Episode 145: Roleplaying Mental Illnesses, Get Out, GURPS Horror (4th ed), GURPS Alternate Earths 1 & 2, GURPS Monsters, Permanent Record
Scripture: Exodus 33:17-23, Job 40: 1-7, Ezekiel 1:4-14, Revelation 13:1-3
Tuesday Jul 07, 2020
Episode 181 - Real-World Faith in Games (with WJ MacGuffin)
Tuesday Jul 07, 2020
Tuesday Jul 07, 2020
Not feeling well and not being able to get to the internet robbed us of Jenny this week. However, despite that lack, this was a great episode because we had an awesome guest host! Paranoia writer WJ MacGuffin joined us to talk about incorporating real-world faiths into our gaming.
We started off the episode with a quick general check-in and let WJ introduce himself and his work, talking a bit about what we've been reading in the process. From there, we fielded out Patreon question, which came to us via John and Ginny Swann, who asked "Your recent series on D&D alignments got me to thinking. I know you aren't huge fans of the Palladium system but what are your thoughts on their alignment system?" Fortunately, while we did have a bit to say about Palladium's alignment system, the presence of a guest kept us from creating a new multi-part series. From there, we read our scripture and dove into our rather meaty main topic.
The main topic was just what it said on the tin - and there's a lot to think about with regards to incorporating a real-world faith into one's game - whether that's as a writer, a player, or a GM. Sensitivity, accuracy, and still keeping it gameable are all very real concerns.
Mentioned in this Episode: Project Infinite Hole on Kickstarter, the Paranoia RPG, Raising White Kids: Bringing Up Children in a Racially Unjust America, Dennis E. Taylor's Bobiverse novels, Letter From a Birmingham Jail, Holey Moley, The Innocence Files, and Jelle's Marble Runs
Scripture: Exodus 20: 1-3, John 13: 34-35, James 1:26-27
Tuesday Jun 23, 2020
Episode 180 - Chaotic Evil (Alignments 9)
Tuesday Jun 23, 2020
Tuesday Jun 23, 2020
Well folks, this is it - the last of the 3x3 grid of alignments, and arguably the worst of the worst.
Note: Spoilers for the City on a Hill, Season 2 Finale from 9:12-11:35
We start off with an announcement that mirrors our recent blog post. TL;DR: we're going to be a little freer talking about politics. That does not mean partisanship or campaigning, but we're going to touch some issues from time to time.
The Patreon question this week comes from Douglas Underhill, who asks "What's your biggest pet peeve for players? GMs/DMs?" As you can imagine, we have a bit of fun with that, and then it's time to read our scripture and dig into the awful and talk about chaotic evil. As with the previous evil alignments, we break down what the alignment means in practical terms and also hit some specific villainous archetypes to help GMs get the most out of this particular villainous mindset.
Scripture: 1 Kings 18:25-29, Isaiah 13: 17-18, Hebrews 11: 36-38
Tuesday Jun 09, 2020
Episode 179 - Chaotic Neutral (With Krissi Woodward)
Tuesday Jun 09, 2020
Tuesday Jun 09, 2020
A quick note: our two-week lead time can sometimes mean that a lot happens between when we record an episode and when we release it. On may 25th, four officers of the Minneapolis, MN police department killed George Floyd, an unarmed black man. On May 28th, we recorded this episode as Mr. Floyd's death was just entering the zeitgeist. Since then, the US, and to a lesser extent, the entire world, has erupted in protests over the outrage of that killing and countless others like it. We took advantage of the off-week schedule of the blog to put up a statement, but while there are some promising early signs of systemic change occurring, the struggle for equality and justice for POC in the United States is far from over.
In this episode, we're joined by Krissi Woodward - Grant's wife and a core member of our Saturday night gaming group. We start off with our usual banter and then move relatively quickly into our Patreon question from David Hastings who asks "What book on your shelf have you been telling yourself you'll get around to reading for *years* now?"
As you can imagine, that turns into a bit of a thing (see our list of shame below in the "mentioned in this episode" list) but we do eventually get around to our main topic: the Chaotic Neutral alignment. Krissi plays a fair number of CN characters and has a lot of solid advice about how to do so in an enjoyable and non-disruptive manner.
Mentioned in this episode: Peter's Multiclass Feats article for En5ider, Numberphile, The Cuckoo's Egg, Plagues and Peoples, Role-Playing Game Studies, Jonathan Strand & Mr. Norrell, Secret Agents Four
Scripture: Ecclesiastes 9:11, Zephaniah 1:8-12, Matthew 6:19-21
Tuesday May 26, 2020
Episode 178 - Chaotic Good (With Elizabeth Garn)
Tuesday May 26, 2020
Tuesday May 26, 2020
In this episode we're joined by none other than Elizabeth Garn of Christ and Pop Culture. (Elizabeth has written some great articles about faith and gaming and she should be on your radar if she wasn't already!)
We start off the episode with the usual check-in, which includes this time that Grant is running his seven-year-old daughter through Lost Mines of Phandelver and she is apparently killing it. Our guest question this time comes from Douglas Underhill who asks "Who is your favorite post-biblical Christian figure and why? How about one ancient and one modern?"
Once we're done chewing on that, we wade into the topic of the day, Chaotic Good. Elizabeth provides an excellent conversational foil for the rest of us and a really fun, interesting, and productive discussion comes from it. Along the way, we talk about why Robin Hood might not be quite as textbook of an example of Chaotic Good as many might thing, referencing OSP's analysis of the legend along the way.
Scripture: Proverbs 14:31, Isaiah 61:1, Matthew 21:12-13, Luke 11: 46-53
Tuesday May 12, 2020
Episode 177 - Keeping Players in the Loop
Tuesday May 12, 2020
Tuesday May 12, 2020
This week we have more unstructured, conversational episode for you. Grant and Peter realized back in episode 173 that we'd like to talk about when players know what the GM is planning, but as we talked about the upcoming episode, we all realized that what we had was more of a discussion and a collection of observations than a collection of structured advice.
We start with the usual check-in, which has Peter and Grant both craving classic genre fiction and Jenny the Goblin Queen a bit under the weather. We then move into our Patreon question this week , which comes from Tom Stephens, who asks " (as someone who just got a MLS degree recently myself - finished in 2016, this one's for Jenny with a generalized version for the others): What was your most and least favorite class from your library degree program. For the others, what was the most and least favorite class from any training you've had recently or even going back to college? "
From there, we launch into a loose collection of advice and observations that comprise the central topic. More than usual, we can see multiple sides of this and talk about when it's useful for the players to know more, when it's not, why you might or might not want to hand out more information in your games, the considerations of various genres, and so on.
Mentioned in this episode: Star Power
Scripture: Psalm 33:10-11, Proverbs 16:3, Matthew 6:25-34
Tuesday Apr 28, 2020
Episode 176 - Freelancing (with Jason Brick)
Tuesday Apr 28, 2020
Tuesday Apr 28, 2020
Grant, Peter and Jenny are joined by Jason Brick, veteran freelance writer in the TTRPG industry (and several others besides!). We kick off with a little chatter and swiftly move into our Patreon question from Joseph Linardon who asks " What would be your dream job?"
Answering that takes significantly less time than you'd expect, and after some quick scripture we're on to our main topic, which is basically taking advantage of Jason generous spirit and wide expertise about freelancing by getting him to do a brain dump. Among his many writing hats, Jason is one of the authors of Random Encounters, which is a resource that Peter has really enjoyed having on his shelf, as well as numerous other projects. Lots of good, practical advice in this one.
Mentioned in this episode: For Exposure on Twitter, Socks for Supper on Goodreads, Saving The Game's Page on Podchaser
Scripture: Proverbs 14:23, Matthew 5:9, Matthew 20:1-7, James 4:13-16