Innhold levert av Steve Kellams. Alt podcastinnhold, inkludert episoder, grafikk og podcastbeskrivelser, lastes opp og leveres direkte av Steve Kellams eller deres podcastplattformpartner. Hvis du tror at noen bruker det opphavsrettsbeskyttede verket ditt uten din tillatelse, kan du følge prosessen skissert her https://no.player.fm/legal.
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Eli Beer is a pioneer, social entrepreneur, President and Founder of United Hatzalah of Israel. In thirty years, the organization has grown to more than 6,500 volunteers who unite together to provide immediate, life-saving care to anyone in need - regardless of race or religion. This community EMS force network treats over 730,000 incidents per year, in Israel, as they wait for ambulances and medical attention. Eli’s vision is to bring this life-saving model across the world. In 2015, Beer expanded internationally with the establishment of branches in South America and other countries, including “United Rescue” in Jersey City, USA, where the response time was reduced to just two minutes and thirty-five seconds. Episode Chapters (0:00) intro (1:04) Hatzalah’s reputation for speed (4:48) Hatzalah’s volunteer EMTs and ambucycles (5:50) Entrepreneurism at Hatzalah (8:09) Chutzpah (14:15) Hatzalah’s recruitment (18:31) Volunteers from all walks of life (22:51) Having COVID changed Eli’s perspective (26:00) operating around the world amid antisemitism (28:06) goodbye For video episodes, watch on www.youtube.com/@therudermanfamilyfoundation Stay in touch: X: @JayRuderman | @RudermanFdn LinkedIn: Jay Ruderman | Ruderman Family Foundation Instagram: All About Change Podcast | Ruderman Family Foundation To learn more about the podcast, visit https://allaboutchangepodcast.com/ Looking for more insights into the world of activism? Be sure to check out Jay’s brand new book, Find Your Fight , in which Jay teaches the next generation of activists and advocates how to step up and bring about lasting change. You can find Find Your Fight wherever you buy your books, and you can learn more about it at www.jayruderman.com .…
Innhold levert av Steve Kellams. Alt podcastinnhold, inkludert episoder, grafikk og podcastbeskrivelser, lastes opp og leveres direkte av Steve Kellams eller deres podcastplattformpartner. Hvis du tror at noen bruker det opphavsrettsbeskyttede verket ditt uten din tillatelse, kan du følge prosessen skissert her https://no.player.fm/legal.
Are you ready for an epic adventure? Welcome to the Epic Adventure Podcast! Host Steve Kellams and guests discuss all things table top roleplaying. From TTRPG news and tabletop RPG game design to tips and tricks to make your games epic.
Innhold levert av Steve Kellams. Alt podcastinnhold, inkludert episoder, grafikk og podcastbeskrivelser, lastes opp og leveres direkte av Steve Kellams eller deres podcastplattformpartner. Hvis du tror at noen bruker det opphavsrettsbeskyttede verket ditt uten din tillatelse, kan du følge prosessen skissert her https://no.player.fm/legal.
Are you ready for an epic adventure? Welcome to the Epic Adventure Podcast! Host Steve Kellams and guests discuss all things table top roleplaying. From TTRPG news and tabletop RPG game design to tips and tricks to make your games epic.
Send us a text Welcome to you heard it here last where we talk about news, you’ve already heard. Professor Dungeon Master on his YouTube channel Dungeon Craft announced that the New D&D 2024 Players Handbook only sold 3,773 books in its opening week. That’s right, what was announced as the fastest selling D&D book in history only sold 3,773 physical copies. The rest of those sales were digital over on DnD Beyond. https://youtu.be/hmTKrCeaFC8?si=rJ_LZ4RbK8YAHAYD He followed that news up with a recent report that DnD Beyond has officially locked down their digital products. https://youtu.be/ndrfwFakQto?si=t9TfCEb9hntPTNNa This is a quote from the DnD Beyond Support Page; “All digital content will only be available to view and use on the D&D Beyond website. An account will be needed to access the content. So, if you delete your account you will lose the content.” https://dndbeyond-support.wizards.com/hc/en-us/articles/7747225184788-Unlocked-Content-and-D-D-Beyond-Account-Deletion Now this isn’t anything new to those of us who hate DnD. I learned this difficult lesson when I deleted my DnD Beyond Account during the OGL scandal. Remember kids, if you buy from DnD you don’t own shit. You only rent it and they will take their ball and go home leaving you high and dry if you disagree with them. What’s this mean for the ttrpg hobby? What’s this mean for the business of ttrpg’s? What’s this mean for WoTC? Good thing I have Christina here to answer those questions. Christina, weigh in with a quote from Emmanuel Kent [Kick to Christina] I led with the DnD Beyond story so I could follow up with this one. https://www.enworld.org/threads/shadowdark-setting-looks-set-to-be-2025s-first-million-dollar-ttrpg-crowdfunder.712281/ Shadowdark is an OSR style game from Kelsey Dionne that made a splash on Kickstarter in 2023 when it raised 1.4 million dollars. That is a massive payday for an independent game and got a lot of people dubbing it the D&D killer. Now that wasn’t fair because it had nowhere near the market share that D&D had, but it is a cool game and a great independent game story…and then Shadowdark created a campaign setting. On March 11th of 2025 Shadowdark released Western Reaches on Kickstarter. It is a sandbox campaign setting for Shadowdark. It made a million bucks in less than 12 hours. Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast my be trying their damndest to kill TTRPG’s, but the hobby aint dead. Far from it. With news like this it proves that the gamers out there are looking for a roleplaying product they can trust now that D&D has continued to stab them in the back and spit on their corpses. Throw away your D&D and play and support games made for you by people who like you. At least that’s my thoughts. Christina? [Kick to Christina] An there you have it, All the news you’ve already heard.…
Send us a text I couldn’t tell you the date, but I remember sitting in my parent’s basement, my buddy Dave was over and spending the night. We were staying up late, drinking why too much Dr. Pepper and eating all the popcorn we could get our hands on. We were watching late night movies and having a blast like most 10-year-olds. That’s when we watched what I would later figure out, was my first Post Apocalyptic Film…The Omega Man with Charlen Heston. It wouldn’t be my last. The idea of a world where all the people were gone and you could just run around and grab whatever you wanted was pretty cool for a 10 year old. I have to admit it was pretty cool as a 16 year old as well when I watched Night of the Comet. Since then, I have seen them all…Ok, not all of them. But, from The Last Man on Earth, to A Boy and His Dog, from Death Race 2000, to Road Warrior, and from Escape from New York, to finally Children of Men (which by the way is the best post-apocalyptic movie every) We could spend hours or maybe even days talking about the post-apocalyptic genre. From Books, to films, to computer games and yes, table top roleplaying games. But Mike, Christina, and I are going to try our best a focus on the genre concepts of the post-apocalyptic scene and how to bring them into your roleplaying games. Let’s start with you Mike, Do you remember your fist taste of the Post Apocalypse?…
Send us a text Welcome to You Heard it Here Last where we talk about news, you’ve already heard. In 1992 I was working night shift, which meant that on my days off I stayed up all night to keep my body in sync. What did you do to help you stay up all night in the 90’s…well you either drank, or watched movies. I tended to do both. But I had a buddy that worked at a movie rental place and he was always hooking me up with the new releases. That’s how I got my hands on an early home video release of John Woo’s “The Killer.” That started my love and deep dive into GunFu. The Hong Kong Movie Genre of hyper violent and stylistic films focused around heroic bloodshed. So, when I saw the upcoming Backerkit release of Sisterhood – A Nuns with Guns TTRPG I was hooked. https://www.backerkit.com/c/projects/parable-games/sisterhood-a-ttrpg-of-hard-boiled-nuns-exorcism-evil/launch_party?ref=update010325 This thing looks really cool. Mix in a bunch of Nun Horror films with Hong Kong Action, A sprinkle of Constantine, Frank Miller’s Sin City, and of course John Wick, and you get Sisterhood. This game hit Backerkit on March 13th, so you should still have time to get in and pledge if it interests you. As for me, I pledged the moment I heard the title. Christina, we have similar tastes in film, but I’m not sure if you love the Hong Kong Action as much as I do, what do you think about this one? [Kick to Christina] What about you Mike, are you breaking out the rosery for Sisterhood? [Kick to Mike] Next, we have an interesting article from Mike Tresca of EN World about creators reaching their fans and as he labeled it “The Coming Social Collapse” https://www.enworld.org/threads/rpg-evolution-the-coming-social-collapse.711928/ Now I have never been a fan of social media. I watched “The Social Delima” the 2020 Documentary about social media and was properly terrified. My prior job unfortunately exposed me to all the dark and horrible places on the internet, so I always go into these conversations a bit guarded. This article focuses on fan engagement and the “For You” push of social media that can be a benefit, but it can also shut you down before you get started. The article says that the key is to cultivate Direct-to-Fan sales models, focusing on Community, and when you use social media be very strategic about its use. These are all great ideas, but in my experience, they are much easier said than done. I know this is going to be something Mike and Christina have strong opinions on so lets get started, Mike, Thoughts? [Kick to Mike] Christina? [Kick to Christina] And there you have it, All the news, you’ve already heard.…
Send us a text I started roleplaying in the early days. When character sheets could fit on an index card and the only rolls you made were for combat or avoiding traps. The games were one long dungeon crawl, slowly mapping out confusing underground caves with traps around every corner. Every time the space widened up into a 10 by 10 room you had a fight. For no reason. I mean, every single thing we came across was an enemy. So, every single game was combat. Sometimes it was short combats one right after another, and sometimes they were massive long combats that took hours. Roleplaying really wasn’t roleplaying. It was about stats on a character sheet and that cool +2 Sword for Smiting you found. If you asked someone to tell them about there character it would sound like this: “So he is a fighter with an 18 strength and he wears half plate, with a large shield and a + 2 long sword.” “What’s his name?” “Oh, I don’t know, I just call him fighter right now.” Thankfully table top roleplaying games have advanced and the games and game options today are so much better than back in the olden days. Today we have games that focus on mystery and exploration and survival and even social. They say that roleplaying games need to have three things to be successful; Combat (or Action), Exploration (or Investigation), and Social. It’s that last one that people tend to skip and honestly, it’s the last one that’s my favorite. On this episode Mike, Christina and I are going to talk about the Social Game and give you tips and tricks to help you bring out the best in your players and your game. I know both of you love the social parts of games, it’s what our own games tend to revolve around. Mike, when did you realize you loved playing the social game? [Kick to Mike]…
Send us a text Welcome to You Heard it Here Last, where we talk about news, you’ve already heard. I am a big fan of James Bond. I remember as a kid watching Dr. No on television and it blew my mind. Starting with Moonraker, I saw every James Bond film in the movie theater until the last one, No Time To Die. And while some were good, some were great, and some were just flat out bad, I didn’t care. I loved them all…well except the last one, that was hot garbage. I read all the books, and bought and played the James Bond Roleplaying Game. So, you would think that I would be excited to hear that the Broccoli family has turned over control of the James Bond Franchise to Amazon. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/james-bond-amazon-mgm-deal-michael-wilson-barbara-broccoli-007/ You would be wrong. I am terrified. Don’t get me wrong. Amazon has put out some solid shows from Man in the High Castle, to Reacher, to the first season of The Boys. But recently we have had Rings of Power, and Wheel of Time, and yes, the last couple of seasons of The Boys to showcase the absolute shit they are willing to push upon their viewers. So, I am scared that they are gonna do 007 wrong. Mike, what do you think? [Kick to Mike] We love it when you mix TTRPG games with Computer Games and vice versa. In recent news Streetlight Studios has announced a new computer roleplaying game “Moondrift Memory; Prologue” and they say it will use the Pathfinder 2E rules set for the game. https://www.belloflostsouls.net/2025/02/moondrift-memory-prologue-promises-pathfinder-2e-mechanics-in-a-video-game-setting.html I like this news because it wasn’t D&D. It is also a little interesting because it doesn’t look to use Pathfinder’s campaign setting Golarian, but seems to be its own thing. What do think about this one Mike? [Kick to Mike] And there you have it, All the news, you’ve already heard. Make sure you like and subscribe so you don’t miss an episode of You’ve Heard it Here Last.…
Send us a text Let’s Make a Game When I first got into this hobby it was all about the game for me. The rules, the books, the miniatures, the dice, and of course the adventure. Like most people once I settled on my game of choice…GURPS of course. I couldn’t get enough. GURPS 3rd Edition seemed to come out with a new sourcebook every month and my bulging bookshelf can attest to how many of those things I bought. I played the games and I loved the games, but I never thought about making the games. Then one day I saw on Illuminati Online, Steve Jackson games website, that they were taking submissions for a new source book. GURPS COPS. Perfect. Well, I had to throw my hat into the ring. It was my first attempt at writing and there is a reason you have never read a published book from me. (side note: I have published a fair number of professional articles for books and magazines since then, but that was definitely filled with first timer mistakes). The process changed me. Prior to that I never even thought of creating my own thing. But since then, that’s all I do. Homebrew rules, homebrew characters, and homebrew worldbuilding. But I am far from a game designer. And then I met Christina and Mike. The real game designers. Between the two of them they have a half dozen published games and based on the conversations I get to overhear there are more on the horizon. Recently we discussed IPs that should be made into roleplaying games and the more I thought about it the more I thought it would be an interesting look behind the scenes of game design. So, for this episode Mike, Christina and I are going to design a game. And that game is the Godzilla Roleplaying Game. In full discloser I didn’t just now surprise Mike and Christina with this topic although I was sorely tempted. I gave them a heads up it was coming last week, so they have had a week to let the idea percolate. With that said, where do we start Mike?…
Send us a text Welcome to You Heard it Here Last where we talk about news, you’ve already heard. https://www.enworld.org/threads/diamond-comic-distributors-files-bankruptcy-sells-alliance-game-distributors.709593/ Diamond Comic Distributors, the owner of Alliance Game Distributors has filed for bankruptcy. In a message from Chuck Parker the President of Diamond comic Distributors he outlines the necessity for the Chapter 11 Bankruptcy which would allow Diamond Comic Distributors to restructure and meet many of its significant financial obligations. While this could likely be very bad news for an already struggling comic book industry his message does have some good news; “We have already received a commitment from Universal Distribution to purchase Alliance Game Distributors coupled with a signed letter of intent to purchase Diamond UK, and we remain committed to pursuing offers for all Diamond lines of business.” Parker said in his statement. While it’s not likely this news will cause any significant issues or problems with game distribution it is noteworthy that Goodman Games signed an exclusive deal with Diamond in December of 2023. https://goodman-games.com/blog/2023/12/04/goodman-games-inks-exclusive-distribution-deal-with-diamond-book-distributors/ Nasty business stuff. Mike you are our business guy. What’s all this mean? [Kick to Mike] Christina, thoughts? [Kick to Christina] Speaking of IPs, or at least we will be speaking of IPs in the near future, stay tuned to our regularly scheduled program for our upcoming episode on Intellectual Properties that should be games we have this bit of news from across the pond. https://www.enworld.org/threads/qi-mentions-the-diana-jones-awards.709578/ QI is a BBC2 quiz show that called out the Diana Jones Award for Excellence in Roleplaying Games on it’s social media accounts. While that is news, it’s not why I bring this up. Reading the “Quiet Interesting” post on Facebook is what made this one interesting. The Diana Jones Award is named after The Adventures of Indiana Jones Roleplaying Game that was released by TSR in 1984. It is considered one of the least loved and most savaged roleplaying games of all times and eventually every last copy was burned. The trophy itself is a Lucite pyramid made up of the last legible remains from those burned books. All you can read is “diana Jones” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diana_Jones_Award Mike, Christina, did you guys know this origin story and if you did, why the hell didn’t you tell me? [Kick to Mike and Christina] Also, why does Steven Spielberg have such a great track record with moves, but a terrible one when it comes to turning those movies into games. I mean we have this one with Indiana Jones and then we also have the ET Atari Video Game. Both considered the worst ever in their genres? You guys might want to keep that in mind when thinking about the IPs that need to be made into roleplaying games…I’m looking at you Avatar. [Kick to Mike and Christina] And there you have it. All the news, you’ve already heard.…
Send us a text You know the old saying, Opinions are like assholes, everybody has one. And of course, if you have an opinion you gotta share that with as many people as possible, it’s the law. Now that might sound somewhat hypocritically coming from the host of a podcast that is based solely upon sharing our opinions, but you know what, I’m gonna own that shit. We love to talk about our favorite hobby and of course that means sharing on thoughts, ideas, and opinions. We try to make sure they come from our own experiences and we typically like to throw out the caveat that these things work for us, but might not work for you. We like to think that our ideas and advice are pretty good, but we recognize that we can be a little bias. Over the years we have gotten some terrible advice. My favorite bad advice came from my drivers ed instructor. He was a bit of a comedian so I am pretty sure he didn’t mean it, but I distinctly remember him saying that driving a car was like dodgeball. Make sure you hit them before they hit you. And, at the end of the day, that advice is just as bad as some of these other gems we have gotten from those well-meaning, or not so well-meaning friends and self-proclaimed gurus of roleplaying. In this episode Mike, Christina, and I are going to talk about that bad GM Advice. We are calling this episode Never Split the Party and Other Terrible GM Advice. I lead with Never Split the Party because that was the one that I was told over and over again, but as soon as I started running my own games, I realized that splitting the party could not only be good, but resulted in some of my most memorable gaming experiences. So, my entire roleplaying style revolves around defying this one simple piece of what I consider bad advice. Christina, Do you have an example of bad advice that really defines your roleplaying style?…
Send us a text Welcome to you heard it here last where we talk about news, you’ve already heard. https://ennie-awards.com/revised-policy-on-generative-ai-usage/ It seems that the Ennies Awards, an annual fan-based celebration of excellence in tabletop roleplaying, has taken a stand on AI. In 2023 the Awards added some language regarding the use of Generative AI that was a bit confusing. In 2025 they have outlawed Generative AI in any of their award’s categories. That’s right, if your gaming product used generative AI in any of its creation it is no longer eligible for nomination. I think it’s interesting as AI has become more and more common the Ennies have decided it will not be allowed. We have talked a lot about AI on this podcast so it only seemed reasonable that we do it one more time. Christina, What’s your take on this? [kick to Christina] Mike, our AI guru, thoughts? [kick to Mike] Next up is an article from EN World talking about a series of upcoming crowdfunding projects. https://www.enworld.org/threads/rpg-crowdfunding-news-%E2%80%93-dinosaur-hunting-cats-the-conspurracy-and-dark-visions.710947/ I typically glance through these looking for something that spikes my interests. A new setting or idea to fire up my imagination. In this article which looks at crowdfunding projects kicking off in February I found so many little gems I just had to talk about the entire article. We start with “A Time Traveler’s Guide to Dinosaur Hunting”…yes please. What a great opportunity for a ton of fun, the only problem is that it is a 5e system and well, I just don’t like 5e so I doubt I will buy this one, but I might pick it up for a dinosaur source book. You can never have too many dinosaurs in your campaign. Next up was Cats! The Conspurracy from Black Book Editions. We love our cats at Oddfish Games. We love them so much we created our own system How to Roleplay with Your Cat. It’s a fantastic little game that lets you bring your feline friends into your roleplaying games with you. This game is different. In Cats! The Conspurracy the players take on the role of Awakened Cats working behind the scenes. Imagine Vampire the Masquerade, but with Cats. To top it all off it will have its own game system, so that’s a bonus. I love this idea. Then we have Lewd Dungeon Adventures: A Date to The Grand Ball. This is described as an adult TTRPG designed for 2 people in which the player takes on the role of the hero and the GM plays their love interests. It looks as though each scenario is designed to play three different ways based on your mood; Intimate Acts, Drinking, or Party Mode for Groups. This apparent NSFW game won’t be popular with everyone, but the idea is interesting and might be fun under certain, very personal, situations. The game will have its own rules system and be compatible with 5e. And lastly, we have Dark Visions, a cult and god source book for Shadow Dark, which I have on my bookshelf, but haven’t had a chance to play yet…warning guys, that’s on my short list to break out this year. Christina, what are your thoughts on some of the crowdfunding games, that are probably out right now? [kick to Christina] Mike, are any of these floating your boat? [kick to Mike] And there you have it, all the news, you’ve already heard.…
Send us a text Ok, You’re going to love it. It’s a great game. And, it’s easy to play. First, Obtain a 20-sided polygonal artifact (hereafter referred to as the Orb of Random Fate), as well as a collection of various other polyhedral trinkets with sides numbering 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12. The Orb of Random Fate should be stored in an arcane pouch (or sock) when not in use. If you forget the sock, this is bad luck, and all rolls will be cursed unless you perform a dance of atonement Next, Select one of the following archetypes: The Sword-Wielder, The Sneaky One, The Magical Zappy Person, The Religious Healer, or The Other One. Name them something overly complicated like “El’thezarion Moonschard IV, Keeper of the Eternal Bagel” or just “Dave.” Roll a 7-sided die (which doesn't exist, so you must approximate this with a 20-sided die divided by π) to determine your alignment, but only if your favorite fruit is a citrus. If not, your alignment is Neutral Chaotic Nocturnal. The RoE will describe a scenario (probably involving a dragon, a dungeon, or a dragon in a dungeon). Respond in character using only interpretive dance, haikus, or mimed gestures. Verbal speech is allowed but must rhyme. If you fail to rhyme, your character takes existential damage. And, that’s how you play D&D. Anyone who has ever decided to play a new game for the first time and has let their friends explain it to them has experienced this. The overly complicated and ridiculous rules description. And, if you’ve been playing this hobby for long enough your can really relate. Back in the day we didn’t have the internet and Actual Play Podcasts to watch or listen to so that we could understand how this TTRPG thing worked. We had to read a set of rules, that often had pages numbered in the hundreds to try and figure it out. Seriously. TTRPG rulebooks make IKEA instructions seem easy. Convincing someone to take a big chunk of their day, sit down, and play a game, with tomes for rulebooks is a hard sell. So, how do we encourage new players to give this great and wonderful hobby a go? How do we get them excited about the game? How do we get them playing? And, how do we keep them after their first session? Encouraging new players isn’t easy, but luckily, thanks to the internet we have the perfect introduction to roleplaying. I give you 4 minutes and 15 seconds of Debrah Ann Woll, the actress from Daredevil and True Blood, teaching John Bernthal, the actor from Walking Dead and Punisher how to play Dungeons and Dragons. That is what I call perfection and what we are going to be talking about on today’s episode. https://youtu.be/JpVJZrabMQE?si=Rv_YyLQ1QNa89Pj0…
Send us a text Welcome to You Heard it Here Last, where we talk about news, you’ve already heard. While doing a little research for news to talk about, I wandered down a deep rabbit hole. https://www.enworld.org/threads/evil-genius-games-attempts-to-remove-bad-press.709776/ Evil Genius Games, the publishers of Everyday Heroes and a slew of IP content like Escape From New York, Crow, Highlander, and Pacific Rim have been in and out of the business news for more than a year now about problems at the company. Rumors of broken promises, no employee payroll, and bad management practices have peppered my feeds, but the most recent news about the CEO of Evil Genius Games Dave Scott sending emails asking people to remove links to bad press articles got me interested. That followed up with a deep dive into an article written by Russ Morrissey the owner of EN World. He does a great job of listing, investigating, and discussing the issues that have plagued Evil Genius Games since the summer of 2023. https://www.enworld.org/threads/the-rise-and-fall-of-evil-genius-games.702617/ https://www.enworld.org/threads/is-evil-genius-games-doubling-down-on-nfts-blockchain.704819/ I wanted to spend some time talking about these issues. I felt that some of them were very concerning, some of them were a little vague or based on “anonymous sources”, and some of them seemed to be a product of just working for a small company in the modern age. But this look behind the curtain of a game company that seemed to go from being a top contributor in the hobby to one step ahead of the bankruptcy lawyers is very interesting. We can get into the details in a minute, but what were some of your guys first thoughts? [Kick to Mike and Christina]…
Send us a text I remember playing my first Call of Cthulhu game. It was at GenCon many years ago when GenCon was in Milwaukee and the Safehouse was the place to be. At the time all I knew was that Call of Cthulhu was a horror roleplaying game. The idea sounded cool and the game fit into my schedule so why not. I had a blast. It truly was a wonderful game that fundamentally changed many of my thoughts around table top roleplaying. It wasn’t just swords and sorcery, there were other worlds out there to be explored. After the game I realized that Call of Cthulhu wasn’t just a neat game. It was based on an entire world created by author H.P. Lovecraft. I had copies of “At the Mountains of Madness” and “The Shadow of Innsmouth” in my hands by the end of the week. I think that is where my love of games that come from Intellectual Properties or IPs came from. What’s an IP you ask? Well simply put it is a creation of the mind typically found in inventions, literature, film, or any other medium that a person can apply for a patent, trademark, copyright, etc. While D&D was built on the backs of Tolkien’s middle earth and Howard’s Conan it wasn’t specifically set in that world. Traveller leaned heavily into the old Sci-Fi serials like Flash Gordon, Buck Rogers, and Dumarest of Terra, but it was its own thing. As far as I can tell Call of Cthulhu is the first roleplaying game truly built on an IP. But it wasn’t the last. Star Wars, Star Trek, Middle Earth Role Playing, Marvel Superhero’s, DC Adventures and James Bond 007 all followed quickly. Today as I glance at my gaming bookshelf, I notice a trend. Games based on IP’s. From Aliens to Farscape, From the One Ring to Monster Hunter International, From Blade Runner to Star Trek, from Star Wars to The Expanse and from Conan to James Bond. I love the IPs. In this week’s episode Mike, Christina and I are going to talk about Intellectual Property Games. We are going to talk about why they are so successful, why people like them, and some of our favorites. But specifically, we are going to talk about the what IP isn’t a game right now, but should be. Before we go down that road, Christina, what’s your current favorite game based on an IP? [Kick to Christina] Mike, this question probably makes your brain melt. You can’t pick Star Wars and Middle Earth Roleplaying…you gotta choose, so which one is your current favorite.…
Send us a text Welcome to You Heard it Here Last where we talk about news, you’ve already heard. https://www.enworld.org/threads/diamond-comic-distributors-files-bankruptcy-sells-alliance-game-distributors.709593/ Diamond Comic Distributors, the owner of Alliance Game Distributors has filed for bankruptcy. In a message from Chuck Parker the President of Diamond comic Distributors he outlines the necessity for the Chapter 11 Bankruptcy which would allow Diamond Comic Distributors to restructure and meet many of its significant financial obligations. While this could likely be very bad news for an already struggling comic book industry his message does have some good news; “We have already received a commitment from Universal Distribution to purchase Alliance Game Distributors coupled with a signed letter of intent to purchase Diamond UK, and we remain committed to pursuing offers for all Diamond lines of business.” Parker said in his statement. While it’s not likely this news will cause any significant issues or problems with game distribution it is noteworthy that Goodman Games signed an exclusive deal with Diamond in December of 2023. https://goodman-games.com/blog/2023/12/04/goodman-games-inks-exclusive-distribution-deal-with-diamond-book-distributors/ Nasty business stuff. Mike you are our business guy. What’s all this mean? [Kick to Mike] Christina, thoughts? [Kick to Christina] Speaking of IPs, or at least we will be speaking of IPs in the near future, stay tuned to our regularly scheduled program for our upcoming episode on Intellectual Properties that should be games we have this bit of news from across the pond. https://www.enworld.org/threads/qi-mentions-the-diana-jones-awards.709578/ QI is a BBC2 quiz show that called out the Diana Jones Award for Excellence in Roleplaying Games on it’s social media accounts. While that is news, it’s not why I bring this up. Reading the “Quiet Interesting” post on Facebook is what made this one interesting. The Diana Jones Award is named after The Adventures of Indiana Jones Roleplaying Game that was released by TSR in 1984. It is considered one of the least loved and most savaged roleplaying games of all times and eventually every last copy was burned. The trophy itself is a Lucite pyramid made up of the last legible remains from those burned books. All you can read is “diana Jones” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diana_Jones_Award Mike, Christina, did you guys know this origin story and if you did, why the hell didn’t you tell me? [Kick to Mike and Christina] Also, why does Steven Spielberg have such a great track record with moves, but a terrible one when it comes to turning those movies into games. I mean we have this one with Indiana Jones and then we also have the ET Atari Video Game. Both considered the worst ever in their genres? You guys might want to keep that in mind when thinking about the IPs that need to be made into roleplaying games…I’m looking at you Avatar. [Kick to Mike and Christina] And there you have it. All the news, you’ve already heard.…
Send us a text I opened my email and Mike had sent me an email with a link. The first line of the email said “Here's a first draft of a GM's AI assistant particularly geared to a) Pulp Cthulhu, and b) Masks of Nyarlathotep.” The email went on to explain how to sign up for it and how Mike had already uploaded a ton of information to the AI I tentatively followed the links and set up the AI program. I asked it a few game related questions and was impressed by how quickly it came back with the answers. I started by having the program open in the background while running my Masks of Nyarlathotep campaign. Anytime there was a rule question I would type it into the program instead of trying to look it up in the book. I would later go back after the game and confirm what I had done was correct. It was pretty helpful. As I became more comfortable with it I would ask it questions about the specific plot of the game when I found myself struggling with answering a question. It seemed to handle those very well. I even used it to write a descriptive scene for the game when I was struggling to post an after-game report to the group. I had to make some tweaks, but overall it was pretty cool. Fast forward almost a year and I have changed my mind when it comes to AI. You have heard me argue against AI time and time again on this podcast I am back to eat crow. I like it. I use it. It’s very helpful. And Mike is giggling right now hearing me say that. On this episode we are going to talk about AI tools, how to use them, what they are good for, and why I was wrong this entire time. Ok Mike, get it over with, tell me you told me so. [Kick to Mike] Almost forgot! Links: Anthropic's Claude 3.5 Sonnet (a better writer than ChatGPT): https://claude.ai/new Hugging Face (a place for super nerds to get their own AI models to run locally): https://huggingface.co/ CivitAI (a place for super nerds to get their own stable diffusion models for making AI art locally - NSFW Alert!!!): https://civitai.com/ · https://www.artbreeder.com/…
Send us a text Welcome to You Heard it Here Last where we talk about news, you’ve already heard. I know this is supposed to be about gaming news, but I thought this article over at MIT Technology Review was really interesting. https://www.technologyreview.com/2024/12/31/1109612/biggest-worst-ai-artificial-intelligence-flops-fails-2024/ The Biggest AI Flops of 2024 breaks down a number of issues and problems with AI and how it threatens the future of the technology. The article starts with AI Slop…you know, all the crap AI that fills up the social media space and just annoys the hell out of you. The article only gets worse from there. From warping our perceptions of real-world events to giving us “tips” to add glue to pizza as a topping…yea, it’s bad. I highly recommend reading the article. As a neophyte to AI it helped me come to terms with the good and bad of the technology. A technology I might add, that will have a great effect on roleplaying. What did you guys think about it? [Kick to Mike and Christina] I love starter sets. I think they are a great way to get into a game. They usually come with everything you need to play the game and gives you an easy way into the hobby. I also love printed media. I use and enjoy .pdf’s for games, but for me they never take the place of something I can hold in my hand. While looking through a list of start set deals, I came across this one for Shadowrun The Sixth World Edition. https://www.enworld.org/threads/rpg-print-news-%E2%80%93-rpg-boxed-starter-sets-to-try-for-the-new-year.709353/ They are currently offering the box set for 21.95. That’s a great deal for a classic game. And that’s why I wanted to bring it up. Shadowrun is one of the classic TTRPGs and spawned a long series of video games. Heavily influenced on the cyberpunk writings of William Gibson, Shadowrun added fantasy races to future tech making it something different, something interesting. And I have never played it. I know shame on me. I want to change that this year. I want to play Shadowrun. Have you guys ever played Shadowrun and if so, do you like it? [Kick to Mike and Christina] And there you have it, make sure you like and subscribe so you don’t miss an episode of You Heard it Here Last where we talk about news, you’ve already heard.…
Send us a text Rulebook…Check Dice…Check Maps…Check Chips…Check Dr. Pepper…Check I was ready to run my first game. I had been reading through the D&D Starter Set for months and I felt like I had a handle on how the thing was supposed to be played. I had gone over the adventure that came with it, “The Keep on the Borderlands” and couldn’t wait to get into this thing. I had finally convinced a couple of friends to try and sitting around the old card table in my basement on a rainy Saturday afternoon we did it. We played our first game of Dungeons and Dragons. It was a disaster. A complete amazing, fantastic, and wonderful disaster. I remember after talking my friends into playing, but before the fateful day arrived getting a case of cold feet. I can’t do this. I don’t know what I am doing. This was a bad idea. But I powered through it and I am so glad I did. It sparked a love for roleplaying that has stayed with me for almost 50 years and left me with more epic memories than I could have ever imagined. Running your first game is scary, it’s hard, it’s not going to be pretty, and it’s one of the best things you can do. In this episode we are going to talk about running your first ttrpg game and give you some tips and tricks to hopefully make the experience just a little easier on you. Christina, do you remember running your first game? [Kick to Christina] What about you Mike [Kick to Mike] Discussion Points · How to prepare for your first game. · What things you need to know · How to prioritize prep · Perfection is the enemy of progress · How to set the stage or the game space · Things to focus on outside of the game · Things to focus on inside the game · Don’t try to save the world in the first episode · Who to invite, who not to invite. · How many players do you need.…
Send us a text Welcome back to You Heard it Here Last were we talk about news, you’ve already heard. I just want to take a moment as we gently enter 2025 to say… Holy Crap! Hasbro is at it again. https://www.geeknative.com/170004/tales-of-riches-dd-partners-with-online-gambling-company-embroiled-in-spying-row/ Games Global is an online gambling site that has announced it has partnered with Hasbro to release “Tales of Riches” that is described as ‘inspired by the legendary fantasy world of Dungeons & Dragons’. https://www.parents.com/kids/safety/kids-as-young-as-11-are-becoming-addicted-to-online-gambling/ That’s right Hasbro has licensed Dungeons & Dragons to an online gambling site. You know, those insidious advertisements and websites that push gambling to the public. Well, they are always looking to hook a younger audience and since kids are more than twice as likely to become addicted to gambling why not grab something like D&D to really sink your teeth into the younger audience. Just when I thought Hasbro couldn’t sink any lower. I can’t say that I am surprised, but this one really burns me. At this rate I feel like next Christmas they will announce that Hasbro has partnered with a Chinese Fentanyl company to supply loot drops. Am I overreacting on this guys? [Kick to Christina and Mike] I think the best way to get the bad taste of the last news item out of my mouth is to switch to something a little more…refreshing. https://www.enworld.org/threads/henry-cavills-warhammer-40k-show-is-happening.708384/ Amazon has official greenlit Henry Cavills Warhammer 40K TV Show. Warhammer 40K is the most popular miniature wargame in the world. Originally published in 1987, it is on its 10th edition. Set in the far future, it mixes fantasy tropes with sci-fi in a grim, dark universe. It is currently being publishing by Cubicle 7 . I played a little Warhammer 40K back when it was produced by Games Workshop. I liked it. It is a miniature war game with some really dark elements that make it fun. I was turned off by the way that Games Workshop would release a new miniature with special rules that destroyed everything on the table only to be topped the next month by a newer, more expensive, mini that would do the same, but all in all it was a good game. Henry Cavill has been a vocal fan of the game for many years and has been working hard behind the scenes to get this made. This is expected to be a live action product with Henry Cavill starring. What do you guys think about that? [Kick to Christina and Mike] And there it is, our first You Heard it Here Last of the year and make sure you like and subscribe so you will never miss the news you’ve already heard.…
Send us a text Season 2 Wrap As we slide into December, literally and figuratively, it’s time to wrap up Season 2 of the Epic Adventure Podcast. Trying to get the gang together and record this time of year is tough. Family commitments, travel, work, and educational requirements take a big bite out of time and being able to just cozy up in front of your favorite holiday decorations and enjoy some downtime is very important. So, you wont hear a full episode from us until January of, sigh, 2025. Those numbers just keep adding up. We have had a great time chatting about games and gaming over the last year and we look forward to another year and Season 3 of the Epic Adventure Podcast. What to look forward to in 2025? That’s a great question. Our list of topics grows everyday and we plan on chatting about; What to do when players don’t show, Is Roleplaying an Old or Young Hobby, How to Encourage New Players, How to run your first game, The Spy Genre, The Romance Genre, the D&D Creator Scandal, How to run Modern Games, More Business episodes, More AI episodes and of course, whatever topics you the listener would like for us to address. Speaking of you the listener, we have a couple of ways to can reach out to us. First at the top of our show notes you can text us. That text will go into an email and we will get notified of your question or comment through our podcast host, buzzsprout. Secondly, we have a new direct email for the show. You can email the show at epicadventurepodcast@gmail.com We would love to hear from you and we promise to respond to all of your questions and comments. Finally, we would like to send a rally cry to all of the small independent game designers and companies out there. We would love to talk with you about your product, design, and idea. If you own or run a small independent game company sends us an email. If you are a game designer and have a new product you are getting ready to launch, let us know. If you are looking to kickstart your new game, reach out. We want you on our show. Send us an email with your contact information and we will get in touch with you about coming on the podcast and talking about your new product. A rising tide raises all ships and want to promote and foster our hobby at every opportunity. Well, that’s it for 2024. End of the year, and end of Season 2. Make sure you like and subscribe, share the show with your friends and help us grow this wonderful community. We look forward to hearing from you and jumping in to 2025 with Season 3 of the Epic Adventure Podcast and remember, have an epic adventure.…
Send us a text Running NPCs “You see a long hallway made from stone, the ceiling is low and several of the supports along the walls look old and on the verge of collapse. What do you want to do?” the GM said in an ominous voice. I looked over at Chris, “whadda ya think?” “That’s got trap written all over it” he said. “Yea, Lets have our NPC thief check it out and make sure it’s safe.” I looked at the GM. He nodded his head and said “Cool” and began rolling dice…and rolling dice…and rolling dice. I started flipping through the rulebook out of boredom. Finally, the GM spoke up. “OK, He discovered three traps and managed to disarm two of the but he failed his check on the third one. Rocks crashed down pinning him at the end of the hallway. He calls out to you in pain asking for help.” “Oh, Wow, we got lucky there. OK, lets send our NPC barbarian to move the rocks and free the thief.” “Great, let me make some die rolls.” The GM went back to rolling dice and I went back to flipping through the rulebook. If that sounds familiar to you, don’t get discouraged. Non-Player Characters are important, and a necessary part of roleplaying games. We have talked about how to build them, how to create compelling NPCs and a few tips and tricks to tie them to the party, but we have never really talked about using them in a game. If you have ever had an NPC that just magically appeared when needed, but otherwise didn’t exist, this is for you. If you have ever had a Player come back at the end of an encounter and say, “Hey isn’t that something our NPC could have done?” then this is for you. If you have ever gone three game sessions and forgot you had a companion traveling with you on your adventures then we are talking to you. NPCs, How do you run them, how do you incorporate them naturally into a party, and how do you not forget you even have them? These are all great questions and we are going to talk about that on today’s episode. Mike, You’ve been doing this awhile, you’ve never had problems running NPCs before have you? [Kick to Mike]…
Send us a text Hello and welcome to You Heard it Here Last, where we talk about news, you’ve already heard. https://www.belloflostsouls.net/2024/11/its-canon-baldurs-gate-3-brings-dd-to-the-vatican.html This week is starting to feel a little cold in the underworld. You see Mike and I grew up during the Satanic Panic years, where D&D was seen as the gateway to hell. They even made movies about how it would drive you crazy…thanks Tom Hanks for that one. So to hear that Larian Studies has sold 2 copies of Baldur’s Gate 3 to the Vatican is … chilling. I mean we gotta talk about this one. [Gang] https://www.rascal.news/a-new-print-magazine-for-fans-of-classic-rpgs/ Secret Passages is an Old School RPG and Oldhammer print magazine that is crowdfunding right now. That’s right, you heard me an actual print magazine. This plans to be a quarterly print publication that focuses on the old rpg’s and wargames that we grew up on. A throwback. Now I love this idea, but is this useful or just nostalgia for nostalgia’s sake. [Gang]…
Send us a text My generation was one of the first to grow up in front of a TV Screen. I guess that’s not necessarily a thing to brag about, but it was true. Saturday morning cartoons were a big deal for me. I would get up early and grab a big bowl of overly sugared breakfast cereal and settle down in front of the massive console TV in our basement for about 4 hours of formative brainwashing. That means my comedy sense tends to come from Loony Tunes. Or at least it started with Loony Tunes. Bugs Bunny make that wrong turn at Albuquerque always left me in stitches. As I grew up my comedic sense grew as well and the next bit of comedy gold that became my favorite was The Monkees. Mixing music with laughs was right up my alley. Follow that with my all time favorite, the Muppet Show (which I own on Blue-Ray by the way) and you can get a fair idea of my formative years. In my teens I started to watch all of those comedies I wasn’t supposed to watch. Comedies like Our Man Flint, Young Frankenstein, Blazing Saddles, Caddyshack, and of course Porky’s. And of course once I reached that milestone of adult hood I became enamored with the darker comedies like Raising Arizona and The Big Labowski. Finally lets not forget that my generation was the one that really started the Big Comedy Concerts. Richard Pryor: Live and Smoking, Eddie Murphy’s Raw, and George Carlin’s You are All Diseased. They were all funny irreverent, and outlandish. What does this have to do with roleplaying you might ask? In every group I have ever roleplayed with, Comedy has been important. Whether it’s just a player breaking up a tense scene, or specifically including outlandish and slapstick situations for fun. Comedy plays a roll. In this episode Christina and I are going to talk about the Comedy Genre. About it’s important elements and how it can add to your roleplaying games. Christina, you’ve heard about the comedy that entertained me growing up, What about you? [Kick to Christina]…
Send us a text Welcome to you heard it here last where we talk about news, you’ve already heard. This week is going to be a little different. Ok, it’s going to be a lot different. My partners in crime are all busy I needed to get something up, but in reality, I’m just the voice and they are the brains. It makes news a little one sided. But what I am good at, is consuming my favorite hobby. So instead of news you’ve already heard we are going to talk about gift ideas you’ve already seen. That’s right, it’s that time of the year were everyone is doing their own special gift buying guides for that table top gamer in your life. They are going to be filled with dice…Norse Foundry by the way, or dice towers, or the D&D Players Handbook. You know the usual. Well, I have opted for something different. I am going to give you a quick rundown of some gift ideas for the adult gamers in your life. Some of these gifts I have and can recommend, others I just saw on the interwebs and went Damn! So, without any further ado here are a few gift ideas for the adult gamers in your life. https://findfamiliarspirits.com/ https://tabletopbeard.com/ https://www.hammeredgametables.com/ https://www.coldsteel.com/swords/ https://www.reliks.com/ https://www.lastexittonowhere.com/ https://benshot.com/ So, there you have it some gift ideas for adult gamers for the upcoming holidays and remember, you heard it here last.…
Send us a text Steve, Mike and Christina gather around the microphones and chat. No plan, no script, just chat. And we ended up with a great episode. We talk about what we would like to see in the gaming space, applying educational theory to gaming, and how to bring other cultures into gaming while still being sensitive. It was just like getting together for a cup of coffee.…
Send us a text Welcome to You Heard it Here Last where we talk about news, you’ve already heard. https://www.belloflostsouls.net/2024/10/dd-gets-a-stout-and-bourbon-for-its-50th-anniversary.html https://dragonsmilk.com/dnd/#yes Well, it looks like D&D and roleplaying have grown up. When I started in the hobby it was for kids, but that’s just not the case anymore. Coming on November 16th of 2024 New Holland Brewing and Distilling Company in Cooperation with Wizards of the Coast will release “D20” a new limited edition bourbon barrel aged beer. The 11% stout is not for the faint of heart and comes from New Holland’s Dragons Milk line of beers. This limited edition is specifically made in cooperation with Wizard’s Dungeons and Dragons line of roleplaying games. But before you get to excited the adult beverages don’t stop there. They are also releasing Dragons Milk “Origin” Mead Cask. This is a bourbon whiskey finished in mead barrels. So, if the 11% beer doesn’t get you, the 100 proof whiskey might. Christina, what do you think about this release specifically and what are your thoughts on the hobby “growing up” with these adult tie-ins. [Kick to Christina] Next, we go to what I would call more of an engagement article then actual news. https://www.belloflostsouls.net/2024/10/dd-five-great-undead-for-a-haunting-horror-adventure.html Bell of Lost Souls staff writer J.R. Zambrano wrote a little seasonal article about 5 great undead for your Halloween horror adventures. Starting off the Lich, and then making there way through Banshee, Dullahan, flameskull, and finally Skeleton the article gives you some interesting ideas to add to your adventures. I was especially happy to see Banshee there. This often-overlooked screaming ghost can be a ton of fun to add to a campaign. And for those of you that have no idea what the Dullahan is, it’s your typical headless horseman. Another fantastic addition for this time of year. My only beef with the article, no Zombies. I mean let’s face it, they are the most popular movie monster for a reason. They are just damn fun. Christina, Thoughts on Halloween monsters? [kick to Christina] And there you have it, all the news, you’ve already heard.…
Send us a text A couple of weeks ago Christina and I talked about game reviews on our You Heard it Here Last show. I questioned to relevance of reviews and voiced concerns about making sure the reviews weren’t biased. Afterwards, I started questioning my approach to the topic. I felt like I came across very negative and left the listener with the feeling that you shouldn’t trust game reviews. That wasn’t what I intended. The more I thought about it the more I felt the topic deserved some more time and probably an insider to really get to the bottom of it. That’s when I remembered GenCon and Rob De Ville. Rob De Ville, among many other jobs reviews games for Epic Table Games a game developer, publisher, and reviewer, Rob seemed like the perfect person to bring in and talk about game reviews. Rob, Thanks for taking the time and talking to me.…
Send us a text “The evil wizard stumbles backwards and falls to the ground. There is a sigh and then nothing. He’s dead.” Everybody at the table cheered “I search his body!” “I look for chests!” “Is there anything that looks expensive!” The players all scramble for loot. I flipped through the book “Ok, let’s see, you find 200 gold pieces, 40 silver pieces, and 20 copper. There is a scroll of magic missile and a scroll of water breathing, oh and a +1 dagger.” “That’s it?” I could tell that everyone was a little dejected, but I didn’t know why. “There are 2 minor healing potions as well.” “Ok” That was it. No more excitement, they just marked them on their character sheets and moved on. It took me a while to realize that I had completely screwed up loot. I didn’t look at it as part of the story, as a scene unto itself. Instead, it was just mechanical. Something to jot down on a character sheet. I had missed a great opportunity to improve the players, the game, and the setting. I wasn’t the only one. Handling loot seems like a very simple thing, but if not done right can screw up the game just as quickly as a TPK. In this episode Mike, Christina and I are going to talk about Loot and give you some ideas for your games. Mike, what’s your favorite piece of loot you ever rewarded your players with in a game? [Kick to Mike] What about you Christina? [Kick to Christina]…
Send us a text Welcome to You Heard it Here Last where we talk about news you’ve already heard. https://www.enworld.org/threads/mongoose-acquires-twilight-2000-and-2300-ad.707036/ Mongoose Publishing is at it again. Recently we discussed that Marc Miller had turned over publishing of the Traveller RPG to Mongoose and now they have picked up the rights to Twilight 2000 and 2300 AD. Mongoose has been publishing 2300 AD under licensing since 2007 and currently Free League has the publishing rights for Twilight 2000. Mongoose reports nothing will change and Free League will continue with Twilight 2000 until the current licensing phase ends. While not necessarily canonical Twilight 2000, 2300 AD, and Traveller all feel like part of the same universe and this seems to open up a huge IP space for Mongoose going forward. Mike, what are your thoughts? [Kick to Mike] Christina, your take? [Kick to Christina] Our next item was a minor if interesting article from Rascal News https://www.rascal.news/oh-captain-my-captain-rpg-simon-and-schuster/ The article starts with “On September 24, Simon & Schuster’s Adams Media released Oh Captain, My Captain! a Descended From The Queen RPG by James D’Amato. This marks the first time in recent memory that an imprint of the Big 5 (the largest entities in book publishing, which include S&S, Penguin Random House, Hatchette Livre, HarperCollins, and Macmillan) has produced a standalone tabletop roleplaying game.” I guess I have a longer memory, because TSR had a publishing deal, albeit a rather strange one, with Random House in the 1980s and for a long time Dungeons and Dragons was a common sight in traditional bookstores of the day. But, to be fair the low sales of RPGs dropped them from consideration by traditional publishing houses decades ago. This is what I find interesting. The article discusses the possibilities that TTRPGs might once again become a hot product at the traditional publishing houses and how that’s a good thing, however, the traditional publishing companies are not in a good place write now. Indie publishing and self-publishing, especially with the creation of Kindle Unlimited have done a number on the traditional publishing companies and they no longer hold the book world in a vice grip. This almost seems like a desperate grab by the Big 5 to gain some market share. Mike, thoughts?…
Send us a text In 1977 Marc Miller, bored with the Chess Club at Illinois State University, made his way to the Strategic Games Club…the rest they say is history. Ok, for those of you that have no idea who Marc Miller is or why the fact that Chess is boring matters I’ll go a little deeper. Marc Miller, Frank Chadwick, John Harshman, and Loren Wiseman created the roleplaying game Traveller, that’s with 2 L’s by the way, in 1977 born out of games at that Strategic Games Club. Traveller is the quintessential sci-fi roleplaying game, building on the science fiction novels of the 1960 and 70’s and coming onto the scene just after Dungeons and Dragons and before Star Wars. My first dive into Traveller started in 1983 with the Classic Traveller Starter Edition. I still have the boxed set buried somewhere in a pile of old games. I remember stumbling across it in my friendly local gaming store and being taken by the cover art. Three heroes wearing golden armor with a space ship flying overhead. I had just watched the Return of the Jedi a few days earlier in the theatre so I had to get the game, and boy it did not disappoint. What disappointed me was all my friends. I couldn’t find anyone to play it with me. But that was ok, because the character generation portion of the book was so good it was like a solo game all on its own. I made so many characters…or at least tried to make so many characters, a lot of them didn’t make it. But we will come back to that. Fast forward a few decades and finally I get to run a Traveller game. It was a blast and if you want to hear all about it listen to our “Anatomy of a Campaign” series. Christina, do you remember the first time you ever heard of Traveller? [kick to Christina] There are a lot of versions of Traveller out there, many of them still being played, and while we might discuss bits and pieces from the other versions, we are going to focus this discussion mostly on the new caretaker of the Traveller Legacy, Mongoose Publishing and their 2nd Edition Version of Traveller. Christina, before we dive into Traveller give us the disclaimer. [Kick to Christina] – We aren’t getting paid for this. They didn’t give us any games or material or support. We actually played the game, a lot. Now that the official stuff is out of the way, what do you like best about the system?…
Send us a text Welcome to You Heard it Here Last where we talk about news you’ve already heard. Let’s start with our favorite toy company and their ability to stay in the news. https://futurism.com/hasbro-ceo-ai-dungeons-dragons https://screenrant.com/dnd-ai-controversy-dungeons-and-dragons-fans-hasbro/ At a recent Goldman Sachs Conference, Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks admitted that the entertainment conglomerate not only plans to build bespoke AI systems in the future, but that it's already begun using it in development of games including "Dungeons & Dragons" and "Magic: The Gathering." He claims that currently they are using AI in house. He is quoted as saying; "It's mostly machine-learning-based AI or proprietary AI as opposed to a ChatGPT approach. We will deploy it significantly and liberally internally as both a knowledge worker aid and as a development aid." Of course, this has caused the internet to meltdown over the last week or so. Christina, here we are again, just another day at Hasbro. [kick to Christina] [kick to Mike] This next piece isn’t so much a news article as a question, especially leading into some upcoming podcasts we are recording. Are game reviews you read online real? Recently I opened up my browser and started looking for news to discuss on this episode and I came across a prominent game review of a game I own. I bought the game because I was a huge fan of the source material, but upon getting it I discovered the absolutely worst game mechanics ever. This thing was a massive, over engineered dud! I wouldn’t let me dog chew on it, it was that bad. But the reviewer, who admitted they had been given a copy of the game for the review, gave it solid marks, even glowing at points. So, I ask again. Are online game reviews real? Are they worth anything? [Kick to Christina and/or Mike] Finally, I need to report some sad news. At GenCon I had the pleasure of meeting Howard Andrew Jones, a favorite author of mine. I absolutely loved his novel ‘Lord of a Shattered Land’ and could not wait to pick up his new one ‘The City of Marble and Blood’. He spent several minutes talking with me and signed a copy of his book. A few weeks ago, Howard Andrew Jones announced that he had inoperable and fatal brain cancer. Our thoughts, prayers, and meditations go out to him and his family. Do yourself a favor and pick up ‘Lord of a Shattered Land’ Thanks again and join us next time for news you’ve already heard.…
Send us a text I remember opening up “Keep on the Borderlands” the first module I ever ran. It came in the D&D Basic Set and I thought it was very cool. The players started out in a keep, a perfect base of operations. It had a tavern, a blacksmith, a provisioner, and a chapel. Everything a growing adventuring party needs. From there the players would travel to the Caves of Chaos and explore underground lairs of beasts an monsters. You know, the dungeons of dungeons and dragons. To be fair I don’t really remember much about those first games I ran. I remember the feeling of running them and how much fun I had, but I don’t remember the details. As a game master I quickly moved away from the Modules and started doing my own thing. I would read modules, but then always felt like I had a better idea. So, I tended to do my own thing. Fast forward several years and I was playing more GURPS. Steve Jackson’s Generic Universal Roleplaying System. That system was well known for its source books that help you world build, but had few written modules. That was perfect for me. After decades of making up my own adventures I decided that I wanted to run some of those talked about modules and, being a huge fan of Traveller decided our groups next game would be Pirates of Drinax (listen to our series The Anatomy of a Campaign for details on that one). I hated it. Ok, I didn’t hate the idea or setting, but as a game master I hated being tied to the books, trying to make incidents and events happen that I was unfamiliar with, no matter how much reading I did. And of course, with every player question I found myself diving into the books and spending far to much time trying to find the answers. I should have learned my lesson. But I didn’t. After Pirates I decided to take on an even bigger challenge with Masks of Nyarlathotep. And 30 episodes in, I am having a miserable time (please don’t tell my players that) Personally, I like to make it up as I go. But that’s just my opinion. Some people love pre-written modules. Other’s prefer sandbox worlds and settings and still others enjoy the Western Marches style…oh, is that a new one for you. Don’t worry we will cover that. In this episode Mike, Christina and I are going to talk about the type of campaigns. What’s good, What’s bad, and why?…
Send us a text Welcome to you heard it here last where we talk about news you’ve already heard. We are starting this week off with some good news. https://www.reddit.com/r/traveller/comments/1f2le2u/mongoose_publishing_now_owns_traveller/?share_id=uyOnyDYBcc2twtg2LBUZi&utm_content=1&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf&utm_source=share&utm_term=22 Traveller is a 1977 table top roleplaying game that brought science fiction into roleplaying. Building on the success of Dungeon and Dragons introduced in 1974, Traveller dropped onto the scene just before Star Wars hit the big screen, and boy did it make a splash. Today Traveller is considered a seminal work in the world of table top roleplaying. Marc Miller, one of the creative minds behind Traveller recently announced that Mongoose Publishing will be carrying the torch of Traveller if anything might happen to him. This succession plan for the game was important to Marc Miller and even though Traveller has been published by a variety of game companies and publisher, ensuring the future of this beloved franchise was important to him. And I am very happy to hear this. Christina, I know that Sci-Fi is one of your jams. What are your thoughts? [Kick to Christina] Mike, since I already invoked Star Wars, what do you have to add? [Kick to Mike] Next up in news is another little Kickstarter project you might have heard of. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/foundryvtt/ember-rpg?ref=724lwv Ember by Foundry VTT. This little project dropped on September 3rd with a goal of 10,000 dollars. In two days, they had already 232,000 dollars. It runs until October 3rd, so this is one to keep an eye on. What is it. Well, Foundry VTT has taken all the updates and lessons they have learned running a virtual table top and put all of those bells and whistles into their own virtual table top system. This is a new game setting and rules systems that will allow you to play table top games with your friends in a virtual setting. And it will work with D&D 5e. Mike, I know you have been a big fan of Foundry for a while. Why is this different from what they already do? [Kick to Mike] Christina, I know you prefer simpler VTT’s, what are your thoughts on this? [Kick to Christina] And there you have it, Tune in next time for all the news, you’ve already heard.…
Send us a text One of the things that I love every year about GenCon is the anticipation. Seeing the vendor hall slowly fill up with stuff, from carpets, to displays, to boxes and boxes of products. Fork lifts making there way down the crowded isles and the constant beeping of heavy machinery backing up. It’s hot and sweaty and you are praying for the convention center to turn the air on in the hall, but you know that won’t happen until Thursday morning. As the booths start to come together you start feeling that excitement build. What do we have new? Is this going to be a good space? Is it going to be a good show? Making your way into the vendor hall Thursday morning is another treat. Walking past the crowds starting to build and line up 2 hours before the hall opens. You make your way inside and it actually looks like GenCon. Of course, there is always those few booths that wait until the last minute to set up. You watch them and wonder if they will be ready when the doors open. It’s also a great time to make your way around the hall and find you friends from years past. Say hello and maybe take advantage of the exhibitor badge to snag a copy of your must have game before it sells out. Five minutes before the doors open everyone is ready. You take that deep breath, double check everything and then…. All hell breaks loose. I think that’s what I love most about GenCon. In this episode Mike, Christina and I are going to do a little GenCon 2024 Recap. We are going to talk about our events, sales, booth, and all the cool stuff that got us energized for another year. Mike, Lets start with some quick overall thoughts on GenCon 2024. https://terragons.com/ https://www.howardandrewjones.com/ https://paizo.com/…
Send us a text Welcome back to another episode of You Heard it Here Last, where we talk about news you’ve already heard. We are starting off with some news that was announced at GenCon this year. Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman have announced a new Trilogy of Dragonlance books titled Dragonlance Legacies with the first entry titled War Wizard. https://www.enworld.org/threads/new-dragonlance-novels-from-weis-and-hickman-in-2026.706042/ Dragonlance was one of the beloved D&D properties, starting as a campaign setting and then developing into a series of novels with the first novel Dragons of Autmn Twilight being released in 1984. With that much love behind Dragonlance you can understand the excitement from the industry. Mike, did you ever read the Dragonlance series? [Kick to Mike] What about you Christina? [Kick to Christina] And now for something completely different (please don’t sue me Monty Python). Dice Dungeon has launched a Kickstarter Campaign for a new D7D 5E supplement titled 80’s Adventure allowing fans of D7D to roleplay in their favorite decade…the 80’s. https://www.tabletopgamingnews.com/travel-back-to-the-1980s-with-80s-adventures-a-retro-5e-supplement-adventure-module-on-kickstarter-now/ Now the 80s was the decade of my teens and I gotta say, not really sure why so many people think it was such a cool time. Sure, I have some beloved films, songs, and a few memories, but if I am memorializing a decade for my D7D adventures it wouldn’t be the 80s. Mike, what do you think about this new supplement and if not the 80s which decade would you have chosen? [Kick to Mike] Christina, how about you. Is this supplement up your alley or do you have a better decade in mind. [Kick to Christina] And there you have it folks, make sure to tune in next time for all the news you’ve already heard.…
Send us a text I was 15 years old and a buddy of mine who lived down the street owned a video store. Ok, his parents owned a video store. He was 15 just like me. Not only did we have access to a huge array of VHS, but he also had a Laser Disc player. The Laser Disc was the precursor to the DVD and it was really cool. In the summer while his parents were working, I would ride my bike to his house and we would fire up the laser disc player and watch all kinds of movies we probably shouldn’t have. Movies like Friday the 13th and the one that scared the shit out of me. The Exorcist. To me the Exorcist is one of the perfect and most terrifying horror films ever made. The 1973 film directed by William Freidkin from a novel by William Peter Blatty has been called the scariest movie ever made. I will never forget the bright summer sun streaming in through the gaps in the curtains while I sat huddled on the couch watching a nightmare unfold in front of me. I think that’s probably why I find myself trying to bring horror elements into my roleplaying games. Literary historian J. A. Cuddon, in 1984, defined the horror story as "a piece of fiction in prose of variable length ... which shocks, or even frightens the reader, or perhaps induces a feeling of repulsion or loathing". Horror intends to create an eerie and frightening atmosphere for the reader. Often the central menace of a work of horror fiction can be interpreted as a metaphor for larger fears of a society. From authors like Edgar Allen Poe, Shirley Jackson, Clive Barker, HP Lovecraft, Richard Matheson, and Steven King to Filmmakers like John Carpenter, James Wan, We Craven, and Guillermo Del Toro Horror is a big part of our lives. Whether we like it or not. And that’s what makes Horror such a perfect genre. Today, Mike, Christina, and I are going to be talking about the Horror Genre, what we like about it and how to incorporate it into your roleplaying, because of all the topics we have discussed so far, horror is the one you have to be careful with. Christina, what was your first horror movie?…
Send us a text You Heard it Here Last Welcome back to You Heard it here last where we talk about news you’ve already heard. https://www.enworld.org/threads/new-wotc-president-is-world-of-warcrafts-john-hight.705558/ I am sure you have already heard that the new president of Wizards of the Coast is John Hight who previously ran the World of Warcraft Franchise for Blizzard. And like they say, just when you thought it was safe to go back into the water… So, Mike, what do you make of that? [kick to Mike] Christina, thoughts? [kick to Christina] https://www.enworld.org/threads/space-1999-coming-from-modiphius.705580/ Now it’s time for me to go all fanboy. Modiphius has announced it is producing a Space 1999 TTRPG. While most of my contemporaries were still in love with all things Star Trek, I dug into this British Masterpiece. As far as role playing games go, Space 1999 is an incredible background to run sci-fi games. To say I am excited is an understatement. Mike, Christina, are you with me and the other 5 people that are going to love this game? [Kick to mike and Christina] And there you have it. Make sure to like, subscribe, and join us again next time for all the news you’ve already heard.…
Send us a text We sat speechless, staring at the DM. “That’s a 100-foot fall so after the first 10 feet it’s 1d6 for each 10 feet…9d6…You each take 35 points of damage.” We were dumbfounded. Our party of 3rd level characters had started across the suspension bridge, and with no warning, perception roles, or saving throws, the DM had announced that the bridge had collapsed dropping all of us into the chasm. TPK My first TPK as a player, and it left a very bad taste in my mouth. I didn’t play with that DM again. Well, at least I didn’t play a game they ran ever again. The did turn up as a player in a few of my games, but as far as I could tell no one from that party ever played a game with that DM again. Character deaths can have some very long-lasting effects. Character deaths and total party kills are frequently a source of argument among table top roleplayers. You have the hard-core, old-school gamers who have you make 3 or 4 characters at the beginning of a game because everyone is going to die, often. Then you have some of your narrative, story-based gamers who refuse to kill a character, ever. And then you have those in between. On this episode of Epic Adventure Mike, Christina, and I talk about Character Death. Why it’s good, why it’s bad, and how to incorporate and/or remove it from your game. Christina, do you kill characters? Asking for a friend.…
Send us a text By now most of you that plan on attending already have your GenCon badges, reservations, and plans. But if you are like me than you are still thumbing through the massive guide looking maximize your weekend. Lucky for you Oddfish Games has a few events that can help round out that GenCon calendar and make sure you get the most out of the greatest gaming weekend in the world. Christina, this is the first time in a while Oddfish has offered events at GenCon? Why is now the perfect time to jump in and see what Oddfish Games has to offer? [Kick to Christina] Let’s walk through the GenCon schedule and give everyone a little preview of what to expect at the events? BOOTH: 105 Rise And Shine: Sparking Creative Writing For Students Wed at 3:00 pm EDT for 1 hr JW : 101 Improvisational Horror: Unprepped and Unhinged Call of Cthulhu, 7th Edition Thu at 10:00 am EDT for 3 hr Stadium : Meeting Room 7 : 6 Round Robin Horror: Collaborative GMing Call of Cthulhu, 7th Edition Thu at 2:00 pm EDT for 3 hr Stadium : Meeting Room 7 : 6 Illuminated Campaigns & Adventures Thu at 3:00 pm EDT for 1 hr Stadium : Meeting Room 12 Create a Custom Scented Locket Fri at 12:00 pm EDT for 1 hr ICC : 210 : Front Create a Custom Scent for Your Next Adventure Fri at 1:00 pm EDT for 1 hr ICC : 210 : Front Improvisational Adventure: Unprepped and Unconstrained Savage Worlds, Adventure Edition Sat at 10:00 am EDT for 3 hr Stadium : Meeting Room 7 : 3 Round Robin Adventure: Collaborative GMing Savage Worlds, Adventure Edition Sat at 2:00 pm EDT for 3 hr Stadium : Meeting Room 7 : 3 The Oddfish Games booth will be at space 105 next to our friends at Piazo so make sure you stop bye and say hello and pick up some of our fantastic adventure scents as well as copies of Radiance, Luminous, and Shine. There will also likely be some cat plushies to go along with our “How to Roleplay with Your Cat” game. So stop by and say hi.…
Send us a text You Heard it Here Last Welcome to You Heard it Here Last where we talk about news you’ve already heard. Let’s talk business. In 2023 exports from Poland to the US reached the highest levels in history. 2% of all those exports…...was the video game Cyberpunk 2077. What makes these numbers interesting is that the rollout of Cyberpunk 2077 was a massive failure and the Computer Gaming Industry in Poland took a hit. But today things have changed. Christina, What’s up with Poland? [Kick to Christina] https://www.gamedeveloper.com/marketing/cyberpunk-2077-s-embattled-launch-was-felt-across-poland https://www.trade.gov.pl/en/extended-topics/polish-gamedev-is-growing-in-strength/ We have more business news, this time in the TTRPG world. Roll 20 has acquired Demiplane. For those of you not familiar, Roll20 is an online VTT for table top roleplaying, and Demiplane is an online tool that works with virtual table tops to provide rules for a large number of games that don’t start with D&D. That’s pretty interesting in and of itself. But that's not even the most interesting part of it. Adam Bradford, the driving force behind first D&D Beyond and then Demiplane, opted not to go to Roll 20 and is now heading up development at Fantasy Grounds. Christina, What’s all this then? [Kick to Christina] https://geektyrant.com/news/digital-ttrpg-giant-roll20-acquires-demiplane https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?81600-SmiteWorks-hires-Adam-Bradford-as-Chief-Development-Officer-for-Fantasy-Grounds Finally let’s talk Ennie Awards. The Ennie Awards are an annual fan-based celebration of excellence in tabletop roleplaying and they are awarded each year at GenCon. This year’s nominees have been announced and there are a lot of interesting stuff on it. Christina, any of the nominees stand out to you or are there any that you are excited to see on the list of nominees? [Kick to Christina] https://ennie-awards.com/ https://ennie-awards.com/2024-nominees/ Well, there you have it, tune in next time for all the news you’ve already heard.…
Send us a text “Teamwork makes the dream work” was quoted by leadership expert John C. Maxwell in his book by the same name. The actual quote read: “Teamwork makes the dream work, but a vision becomes a nightmare when the leader has a big dream and a bad team.” What does this have to do with adventuring in our table top games? Well, actually, everything. A team is a group of individuals working together who collaborate on related tasks to achieve their common goal. Hearkening back to the beginnings of table top roleplaying games the character classes were designed to help build a basic team to solve the adventure. How many of you have had this conversation Ok, we’ve got Jerry as our fighter. He can keep the monsters off our back. Susan is playing the Wizard so magic is covered. Gwen is playing a thief to help with locks and traps…so…Steve, it looks like you get to play the cleric. In this episode Mike, Christina and I are going to talk about teams and specifically building a good team from your players and characters to tell amazing stories. Christina, have you ever had a bad team in a game?…
Send us a text Last Week Mike hit us up in a group email about CHAT-GP4 release and how it has basically solved all his solo roleplaying issues. Christina follows up with expressed excitement and some questions about service plans I responded with [Insert Raspberry Noise] A long email thread latter and here we are. An episode on AI Gaming. I wanted to start by pointing out that Mike is and has been a dabbler in the world of AI roleplaying. From feeding information into the new AIs, to running solo games as a player and a GM with his new AI Overloards. Christina on the other hand is the dilettante. The idea intrigues here and she is interested in giving it a try, but like a kid at the swimming pool in early June, she is just dipping her toes in the water. And of course that makes me the grognard. The very idea of my games being run or played by an AI gives me the heeby jeebies. I am already stockpiling my EMP grenades for the inevitable rise of Skynet. So, with our positions clearly defined, let me turn over the rest of the episode to the dabbler. Mike, lead us to our ruin.…
Send us a text You Heard it Here Last Welcome to You Heard it Here Last where we talk about news you’ve already heard. https://www.enworld.org/threads/2024-diana-jones-award-finalists-announced.704637/ We are going to start this week off with the Diana Jones Award Finalists. The Diana Jones Award for excellence in gaming was founded in 2000 and presented at the first ceremony in 2001, It is awarded to a single recipient each year at an industry-only event the evening before the start of Gen Con. The award exemplifies excellence in gaming among "people, products, companies, events, movements, concepts, or things" of that year. The finalists for this year are; Adepticon, Ami Baio, Fastaval, TTRPGs for Trans Rights in Florida, and United Piazo Workers. Christina, any of the finalists jump out at you? [Kick to Christina] How about you Mike. Thoughts on this year’s finalists? [Kick to Mike] https://www.tabletopgamingnews.com/pre-order-available-for-r-talsorian-games-new-cyberpunk-edgerunners-mission-kit/ Moving on to one of our favorite topics, Cyberpunk, R. Talsorian Games has announced the upcoming Cyberpunk: Edgerunners Mission Kit in conjunction with CD Projekt Red. The box set contains three books totaling 120 pages, pre-generated characters from the Cyberpunk: Edgerunners universe, themed dice, maps, standees, and more. The set is designed to integrate players directly into the storyline aftermath of the Cyberpunk: Edgerunners finale. This sounds like what I have been waiting for. What about you Mike? [Kick to Mike] Christina, are you looking forward to this one as well? [kick to Christina] Well, there you have it, tune in next time for all the news you’ve already heard.…
Send us a text Welcome to another edition of You Heard it Here Last, where we talk about news you’ve already heard. https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/dandds-new-rules-will-be-available-under-a-creative-commons-licence/ We are kicking off today with yet more D&D News. It’s funny how much we talk about a game we don’t play. But that’s a topic for another day. Today we are talking about the fact that the new D&D Rules that is being called D&D 2024 for now will be released under a Creative Commons License. Wizards of the Coast has already put 5E material in their SRD or Systems Reference Document which allows third party contributors to use the rules in their products and now promises that all of the new game material will also be available in the SRD. Now we can talk about something that is not D&D Related. https://www.enworld.org/threads/asmodee-owner-to-split-into-3-companies.703830/ Embracer Group, the Swedish company that owns Asmodee, Edge Studios, and Fantasy Flight Games will split into three different companies. With over 9,000 IPs this is bound to have an affect on games we love. The company has been going through a rough time with hundreds of layoffs and closures and this move is being made to allow the different groups to publicly trade and focus on what the do best. The three groups are Asmodee (table top gaming), Coffee Stain & Friends (Premium and Free to Play Online Gaming), Middle Earth Enterprises & Friends (LOTR Content, Dark Horse Comics, and Tomb Raider)…
Send us a text Before we get started, I want to give a shout-out to Distaff over on our Discord server. They hit us up asking for more in our Anatomy of a Campaign series. Thanks for listening and for the feedback Distaff. That was one we forgot about. Christina and I had recorded Episode 3, but the audio quality was just too bad to release. We put it in the queue to get back to it, and then with the holiday’s it got lost in the shuffle. So here we are revisiting the Pirates of Drinax campaign. Christina, do you remember where we left off?…
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