All posts filed under “RPGs”

February 8, 2019

Episode 178: Just Don’t Die

This week the word is afterlife. The nerds discuss all the various types of afterlife stories, including recent shows like The Good Place and Dead Like Me, other forms of life after death such as zombies, vampires, and ghosts, resurrection in role-playing games, and the question of whether or not people in Heaven have cell phones or Ben & Jerry’s ice cream. Keith ponders a world where dead can routinely be brought back to life for a fixed price, and talks about the hard limit on extra lives he built into his game Phoenix: Dawn Command. Then they talk about changing forms during resurrections and other fantasy situations, and Andy recommends a couple of books and movies with unusual afterlife ideas. Then they discuss a recent theory that Luke was dead the whole time. After the spoiler warning, they talk again about the last episode of Babylon 5, along with the season 3 finale of The Good Place, and the newest episode of Star Trek Discovery and the Orville. Keith also talks about starting to watch Brooklyn Nine-Nine.

SPOILER WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS

January 23, 2019

Episode 176: Gilligan… In… Spaaaaace!

This week the word is Beginnings. They talk about how difficult it can be to get a new story started, and discuss a few successful and unsuccessful first episodes. Keith gets into the tricky issues of starting an RPG campaign, and describes some of his approaches to “session zero.” Andy mentions a memorable LARP they both played in called Tabula Rasa, then he talks about his experiences on the Star Trek Cruise. Lastly they lower the spoiler curtain to discuss Travelers and other time travel shows, and Andy speculates about what will happen in the last episode of Babylon 5.

SPOILER WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS

January 15, 2019

Episode 175: Fanthropology 101

This week the word is fandom, as in “What are your fandoms?” What does it mean to be a fan? The nerds each talk about their own fandoms, including being fans of their own creations. Near the end they bring down the Spoiler Curtain to discuss the first episode of season 2 of The Orville, followed by Riverdale and Babylon 5.

SPOILER ALERT: CONTAINS SPOILERS

January 2, 2019

Episode 173: Zooty! Zoot Zoot!

This week the word is endings. Topics the nerds discuss include the all-time best ending to a TV series, stories that had the perfect ending but then continued anyway, and stories that ended before their time. Media they mention include Newhart, MASH, Lost, Battlestar Galactica, The Americans, Journeyman, How I Met Your Mother, all of the Star Treks, The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Game of Thrones, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Buffy, and in particular, Babylon 5. They also compare Keith’s frequently re-run RPG game, Unusual Suspects, with Andy’s Parsely games.

SPOILER ALERT: CONTAINS VINTAGE SPOILERS

November 13, 2018

Episode 167: What Do We Need Dice For?

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This week the nerds talk about the use of dice, or lack thereof, in role-playing games. Keith just got back from AmberCon with many tales of the games he played and ran there, and they discuss various RPG systems and how they use — or eschew — the roll of the dice. Media discussions include Homecoming, Babylon 5, and First Man.

August 28, 2018

Episode 157: It’s Something or Other, Charlie Brown!

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First Keith reports on a couple of D&D games in the middle of playing, which included a scene with a fancy dance involving daggers. Then Keith talks about several podcasts he listened to recently, and some of the issues discussed thereon. The guys then talk more about their experiences at GenCon. Andy talks about awarding Homeworlds medal #17, and describes new ideas he’s been playing around with for a variation of the game that has no combat and a different end condition. Keith talks about Potion Explosion, Root, Arkham Horror, and the how difficult it is to walk the enormous exhibit hall when you’re busy running a booth. They talk about the meaning of name Delos, and Andy talks about an RPG called TimeWatch. Keith talks about media he’s been catching up on, including Cloak & Dagger, Castle Rock, and Making It. Kristin interrupts to bring Andy the first samples from the factory of Fairy Tale Fluxx and Mary Engelbreit Loonacy, and talks about the progress he’s been making on the Star Trek version of Chrononauts he’s currently designing.

SPOILER WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS

July 24, 2018

Episode 154: Colonel Custard

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The show begins with a lengthy discussion of custard and other desserts. Keith talks about The Story George Told Me and How I Met Your Mother, which leads to another discussion about TV series finales. Andy steps away briefly to take some custards out of the oven, leaving Keith to talk about ice cream cake, and then they get into a big discussion about villains in the MCU. This leads to a discussion about long-term continuity in writing about famous characters, in particular the changes in direction in the recent Star Wars movies. (Beware of some slight Solo and Last Jedi spoilers towards the end.)

SPOILER WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS

July 17, 2018

Episode 153: The Perfect Sky is Torn

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First the guys chat about the weather, and work stuff… Andy talks about some new design ideas he’s been having for Space Fluxx… but they spend the most of this show talking about Westworld, first discussing the original 1973 film, and later, the finale of season 2 of the series.

SPOILER WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS

July 10, 2018

Episode 152: Sneaky Kobold Units

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The guys spend this whole episode just rambling about a wide range of topics, which include: visiting New Orleans, various implications of life-like robots, the tricky role of the Seer in a game of Werewolf, listener comments, dealing with cell phone usage in modern setting RPG games, strange cat behaviors, and a new game about robots which Andy is working on. Media topics mentioned include Westworld, Legion, Bumblebee, The Tick, The Good Place, The Americans, Solo, RGB, and Powerless.

May 10, 2018

Episode 146: Burning Down the Dungeon

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First Keith reports on how things are going with his current D&D campaign, and describes a really cool player involvement technique he’s been using. Andy reports on the status of the development of the Star Trek Fluxxes, and talks about his father’s declining health. Then they talk about Infinity War, for like, forever. They also discuss Westworld.

SPOILER WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS