* (0:29) What is your goal for the first session of a game? * (2:10) Who are these characters really? * (6:08) When the person you wanted to be isn’t who you became. * (11:34) A buffet of NPCs. * (16:14) Keeping the first session low pressure and shorter length. * (20:33) The social leader of the group. * (25:30) The flexibility in session one. Using the first game as a test of session zero. * (33:43) Testing the waters as the Game Master. * (37:09) Using rules and rolls a bit more than you otherwise would. Hosts: Dan, Doug, Mary, Wayne ..read more

* (0:23) Prompts and prepositions. The clockwork circus is coming to town! * (1:40) Wayne’s circus in space. * (4:13) Mary’s circus on the frontier. * (7:53) Doug’s carnival of nightmares. * (8:41) Dan’s carnival of hope. * (13:10) Celestial crystals that grant power. * (14:05) Mary’s crystal preppers. * (16:08) Dan’s crystal entanglement. * (19:45) Wayne’s crystal invasion. * (24:57) Doug’s crystal gift. * (27:05) A whole lot of tests, quandaries, and Faustian deals. Hosts: Dan, Doug, Mary, Wayne ..read more

* (0:29) Fear the Con has funded and the sign-up site is live! We hope to see you Thursday, June 20th to Saturday, June 22nd. * (1:58) Getting back to what you love, inspired by Ray Bradbury’s Zen in the Art of Writing. * (5:16) The tyranny of compromise. * (9:54) Wanting the GM to build the world instead of “yes-and” player input. * (15:43) Why Wayne discarded some ideas he was excited about. * (19:06) The passion for sharing stories. * (22:06) Watching players engage with obstacles and NPCs. * (26:06) Hopeful or despondent? Hosts: Dan, Doug, Mary, Wayne ..read more

* (0:29) Wayne has a problem: the Wardens from Dresden Files. Coming up with too many excuses for why powerful organizations don’t care about the characters’ problems. * (7:14) Session Zero can help…or maybe not. * (10:29) There’s always someone bigger, and maybe your allies lack what you need. * (14:42) What if the characters are the backup? Or maybe they’re starting to get a reputation. * (17:41) Not letting it become a chip on the GM’s shoulder. Players that hamstring themselves. * (23:45) The assistance not being what the players expected. * (27:54) Falling back to the mature answer. Hosts ..read more

* (0:30) What steps do we take to bring a character to life? * (1:49) Ask what’s important. * (6:53) Seeing the good and bad in a single trait. * (8:06) Doug’s personality triangle model. * (10:54) Demonstrating character quirks. * (16:34) Making characters that both have and express personal growth. * (18:57) Taking a hobby, off-topic skill, or development path. Keeping your character in continuity. * (23:11) Practicing a character. * (29:43) Developing your idea in other creative media, but consider leaving a gap before the game begins. * (35:35) The last few days of the Fear the Con 2024 Ki ..read more

Today’s ingredient: The dead are consuming the living. Why and how? Let’s find out! Fear the Con 2024’s Kickstarter can be found here. Hosts: Dan, Doug, Mary, Wayne ..read more

* (0:29) In defense of technology at the gaming table. Caleb’s setup with Owlbear Rodeo. * (5:13) Dan’s Lion King sing-a-long and Wayne’s Ghostbusters game. * (6:27) The deeper pool of online players, including AIs. Remoting in a missing player for an in-person game. * (14:04) Working distance and distraction into the game. * (17:54) Digital storage and organization. The wonder of CTRL-F. * (25:21) Minimalization of the gaming experience. * (30:01) Dodging some issues by allowing only one person to have technology. The visual obstruction created by laptops and such. * (41:01) Getting digital a ..read more

I decided to skip over the Iron GM and go for a Tungsten GM. The ingredient? All broadcasts cease because something won’t let them get through. What’s the game plot? Also, the Fear the Con 2024 Kickstarter is now live here! Hosts: Dan, Doug, Mary, Wayne ..read more

* (0:30) Dan runs a game a bit too literally. * (4:12) The intersection of technology and roleplaying in a way that isn’t required by the game. * (7:32) Why multimedia doesn’t pay-off the way it does in other forms of storytelling. * (13:36) The prep time technology adds, and the stability it takes away. * (15:59) The time spent digging up the right asset on-the-spot. * (20:52) The physical space taken up by technology. Playing “follow the leader” at a subconscious level. Hosts: Dan, Doug, Mary, Wayne ..read more

* (0:29) Why talk about intelligence? The Why Files episode about Cicada 3301. * (9:24) A game takes an unhelpfully long break, only to be replaced by another RPG. * (12:44) The lack of a bottomless “buffet of ideas” in a closed setting. * (14:24) Use minimal starting information to give you room to work. * (18:12) How to run a school (everyone go play Persona 5). * (24:48) Create a wide variety of NPCs and give them their own lives. * (30:38) Keeping the party together, even if it doesn’t quite make sense. * (31:57) PC-specific NPCs, so you know the players are bought it. Hosts: Dan, Mary, Wa ..read more