Welcome to Episode 15 of ‘What Is Roleplay?!  This episode we are joined by Côme Martin to discuss diceless rpg Chris & Côme discuss many different Roleplaying Games that don’t use dice & explore the spectrum of games from completely controlled by fate, to the other end of the spectrum where the only narrative input in the game is the things your saying to one another around the table. The mechanics of dice use and how they can be replaced with other items such as a pack of cards The ways that a deck of cards can be broken into different groupings for use in roleplay. Côme prefer ..read more

Welcome to Episode 14 of ‘What Is Roleplay?!  This episode we are joined by Johan Nohr to discuss design Everyone can draw – as adults we stop being creative because we fool ourselves into thinking that we cannot do it. How the independent games scene allows people to explore new ways of designing and laying out games that go against the safe mainstream game publishing norms How good graphic design helps to communicate the feel of the game and draws the player in The beauty of getting something hand drawn or hand made in the era of digital design Over the top art-punk designs that skew a ..read more

Welcome to Episode 13 of ‘What Is Roleplay?!  This episode we are joined by Rugose Kohn to discuss Melee Combat Trigger warning for violence and body horror! Melee combat is usually gritty and visceral hand to hand combat as opposed to more removed and antiseptic approach such as aerial bombardment. How early roleplaying games have sort of set the standard of combat as just charging in headlong and hoping for the best where as more modern systems make that approach obsolete and involve more subtilties. Experimentation as an exciting approach to roleplaying. How gravitating towards combat ..read more

Welcome to Episode 11 of ‘What Is Roleplay?!  This episode we are joined by Guilherme Gontijo to discuss Design How design is very similar across the board, and how the differences often just come down to execution? Why does design matter? It is more than just style or a taste aesthetic Design is more about translating ideas on the abstract plane into visuals Good design helps roleplay games (RPG) creators to communicate the ideas, mood and feel of a game visually You can fit a whole lot of fun into a small amount of space with good design The DIY ethos and how the punk spirit has inf ..read more

Welcome to Episode 6 of ‘What Is Roleplay?!  This episode we are joined by Chris Bissette to discuss Character Creation What actually is Character Creation? Deciding who you are going to be in a game, right? How traditional RPGs such as Dungeons & Dragons handle character creation. Randomly generating versus picking skills Beginning with a background story - or finding out who your character is through play. Character Creation as a game in itself! We end by creating character together live as an “actual play” demonstrating some of the cool things Chris had introduced. Today's advent ..read more

The second half of our 'What is Roleplay?" special episode... In the concluding part, CM Lowry loses his voice, but talks to many interesting designers at the UK Games Expo to teach you how to enjoy RPG at games conventions. The hodge-podge of cool people we chatted to includes... Ben from The Party RPG Brian at Stout Stoat Press - try typing that ten times quickly Anna from Blackwell Games Nick Spence, author of Gangs of Titan City Grant Howitt from Rowan, Rook & Decard Tom Brewster from Shut Up & Sit Down Chris Birch, head honcho at Modiphius Entertainment Panny & Aled from Leyl ..read more

Episode two of ‘What is Roleplay?!  This episode we are joined by CJ Eggett to discuss DEATH!!! How the threat of death or overcoming death is the driving force in most roleplay games. How loss, madness and other missing pieces are analogues for death Some more terms you’ll need to know, like Railroading (Being forced down a particular narrative path) and OSR (Old School Revival, a resurrence in simpler, more traditional Roleplay) Damage in Dungeons & Dragons, and alternative ways of handling that in Tunnel Goons. CJ's obsession with weird puppet magic monsters in The Dark Cryst ..read more

Welcome to Episode 10 of ‘What Is Roleplay?!  This episode we are joined by Spencer Campbell to discuss Stats Laying out some of the basic types of stats that are used in roleplaying games The concept of Min/Max The good, the bad and the ugly of Stats Focusing on skills and approaches rather than just a list of stats Exploding dice! How stats enable us to connect with our character and the world of the game Links to things we discussed: Games: Rune The Lumen System The Lasers & Feelings System End of the World Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition Nova Savage Worlds Spire REAP Books ..read more

Welcome to Episode 9 of ‘What Is Roleplay?!  This episode we are joined by Cezar Capacle to discuss Chance & Probability Be amazed by Cezar's amazing productivity levels - 20+ games in three years! What on earth are "Conflict Resolution Mechanics"? We explore mechanics within various games systems that make good use of chance and probability Listen as Cezar's technique of 'playstorming' builds a game within the actual play section, involving a Knight, a Ford Fiesta, Glory & Chaos! Links to things we discussed: Games: Push Dungeons & Dragons MÖRK BORG Death in Space Call of ..read more

Welcome to Episode 8 of ‘What Is Roleplay?!  This episode we are joined by James D'Amato to discuss Personal Play An important, yet often undiscussed, topic - personal play encompasses anything in game play that you do on your own - things like world building, rolling dice to create a character, and writing character backstories. The realisation that roleplaying isn't just the time we spend around a table with other people. 'Play' is something that we are encouraged to grow out of as we reach adulthood - in reality it is fun and therapeutic for adults too! Personal play as a good option ..read more