How To Be a Good Roleplayer, Part 1

Did you watch Stranger Things when Netflix released it last October? I did. I didn’t even know what it was going into it, I just happened to see it pop up in my “Recently Released” queue and put it on as something to have on in the background as I edited some audio. Nine hours later the sun was coming up, I hadn’t slept, and I was a weeping, emotional mess (to be fair, I’m often a weeping, emotional mess) having just watched all 8 episodes of what would go on to be one of the most lauded, award-winning shows, in any format, of 2016.

Even more unexpected than this gem of a show that I just happened to stumble across was the sudden interest many of my more mainstream Hollywood friends developed for Dungeons & Dragons, the game that formed the basis for so much of the lore of the show. It was a very welcome surprise because, as I’ve mentioned before, I have both played and run D&D games for a very long time. A year later, as I await season 2 with eager anticipation, I’m playing more than ever on both sides of the DM’s screen.
Continue reading How To Be a Good Roleplayer, Part 1

What’s Cool on Kickstarter

There’s many interesting items to be found on Kickstarter, but these are the coolest ones this week.

Mighty Dice
Dog Might Games has another beautiful game accessory. The hero sleeves are small, well-built cases for you to store your favorite set of polyhedrals in. Need a new favorite set? They’re also selling all kinds of gorgeous new dice, including an amazing transparent rainbow striped set. Or you can get your reward with metal dice, if you like a more substantive sounding roll. The Bone Box stores five hero sleeves, but also can be used as a rolling tray. The acrylic screen can be used in the game as well, and there’s even a spot to store a dry erase marker. If you can’t afford the boxes, you should at least give yourself the chance to ogle all of the beautiful options.

“Our new Hero Sleeves and Bone Boxes offer all gamers a sturdy, sleek, and beautiful way to elevate your game. They are available in a number of exotic hardwoods and we will be releasing new woods and sculpts based on your feedback so visit our comments section and let your voice be heard.

All of our wooden boxes are made by our small group of passionate woodworkers in our shop in Ann Arbor, MI. and every piece that we make comes with our Lifetime Guarantee.

Our new Hero Sleeves are sleek and sturdy. Each side is cut from a solid piece of fine hardwood and lined with an aesthetically matched lining. The Hero Sleeve is held together with super strong neodymium magnets that keep it firmly closed for transport. Each one comes with one set of dice of your choice from the PEARL, SWIRL, or LAYERED styles.

The Bone Box is an all in one dice storage and rolling system. It features 5 individual Hero Sleeves, a rolling tray, dry erase marker storage, and a removable acrylic screen that you can write on. Each Bone Box is crafted in Black Walnut with Wenge banding and features a gorgeous sculpted lid.”
Continue reading What’s Cool on Kickstarter

Scum and Villainy 4: The Saga of Bob Star Wars

the icy landscape of hoth with some ruined structures

The crew of the Artful Dodger travel to an old battlefield in search of a lost treasure and end up confronting one of Aser’s arch-nemeses.

Scum and Villainy and Blades in the Dark are available on DTRPG! We had a blast with this system, and highly encourage you checking it out.

GM: Aser
Players: Jonn, Landan, Megan, and Patrick
System: Blades in the Dark, Scum and Villainy Hack

Music by Audioblocks, “Return to Naybala” (audioblocks.com)

Direct Download!

[iframe style=”border:none” src=”//html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/5722664/height/100/width/480/thumbnail/yes/render-playlist/no/theme/legacy/tdest_id/205325″ height=”100″ width=”480″ scrolling=”no” allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen oallowfullscreen msallowfullscreen]

What’s Cool on Kickstarter

There’s many interesting items to be found on Kickstarter, but these are the coolest ones this week.

Deluxe Constellation Dice
I’ve gotten my set of constellation dice in the mail and they’re gorgeous. I’m very excited to use my star fate dice for our current scifi campaign! But now there’s even more options. The Nebula finish is so beautiful, a dark blue with dots of silver that makes it look like the night sky. I wish I could just buy a set of fate dice in this new KS, but they’re all bundled in different ways. Reaching stretch goals is going to add more dice to your bundle!

“This will be a three weeks “deluxe” campaign (quality over quantity) as most rewards will also include the few left remaining glow-in-the-dark and “silver” painted dice announced on the last days (or after the end) of the original Constellation Dice – Voyager Edition campaign.
As you can see from the pictures, those turned out to be the best of the bunch… but very few people on Kickstarter had a chance to find out about them.

Being hand painted, the glowing dice (and the “silver” painted ones) are extremely detailed and worth the higher manufacturing cost. In consideration of this, this campaign will also offer a new “silver” painted version of the blue Voyager d10 couple (planets d10% / moons d10).

But there is more! 1000 Fudge/FATE Desired Constellation d6 will be reprinted in a translucent mixed color version (blue and black, with tiny silver glitter) resembling a night sky: the Nebula Desired Constellation d6.”
Continue reading What’s Cool on Kickstarter

Scum and Villainy 3: No One Breaks INTO Prison

 

AT-ST from star warsTasked with recovering someone from an Imperial prison, the crew takes inventive steps to accomplish their goal.

GM: Aser
Players: Jonn, Landan, Megan, and Patrick
System: Blades in the Dark, Scum and Villainy Hack

Music by Audioblocks, “Return to Naybala” (audioblocks.com)

Direct Download!

[iframe style=”border:none” src=”//html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/5702149/height/100/width/480/thumbnail/yes/render-playlist/no/theme/legacy/tdest_id/205325″ height=”100″ width=”480″ scrolling=”no” allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen oallowfullscreen msallowfullscreen]

September Release Schedule

a globe floats in the center of a room as a person looks in at it from a hex square in the wall

What are we playing this month?

September 3, 2017Scum and Villainy 3: No One Breaks INTO Prison
Tasked with recovering someone from an Imperial prison, the crew takes inventive steps to accomplish their goal.

September 10, 2017Scum and Villainy 4: 
We haven’t recorded this yet. Hopefully it’s good!

September 17, 2017 – Mysteries of the Ninth World 23: Back to Hell
Heading into the last arc of this campaign, the party begins to make their way to Hell, hoping to finally stop Dagon and the threat he’s brought to the Ninth World

September 24, 2017Mysteries of the Ninth World 24: Mungrun Revisited
As they descend into Hell. the adventurers encounter enemies and challenges from scenarios past.

Scum and Villainy 2: Rocks Freefall

 

A trandoshan alien stands with a gun pointed off cameraThe crew of the Artful Dodger get a tip about a juicy piece of Imperial tech just drifting in space, ready to be picked up. It’s never really that easy though.

GM: Aser
Players: Jonn, Landan, Megan, and Patrick
System: Blades in the Dark, Scum and Villainy Hack

Music by Audioblocks, “Return to Naybala” (audioblocks.com)

Direct Download!

[iframe style=”border:none” src=”//html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/5678683/height/100/width/480/thumbnail/yes/render-playlist/no/theme/legacy/tdest_id/205325″ height=”100″ width=”480″ scrolling=”no” allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen oallowfullscreen msallowfullscreen]

GenCon Exclusive Interview with Vincent Baker about Otherworlds RPG and Spellslingers

OTherworlds logo text with an image of an elf conjuring a spell in her hands

We sat down on the last day of the convention with Vincent Baker, the designer of Otherworlds and the recently kickstarted card game Spellslingers, to talk about his games and a forthcoming project. Otherworlds is a fantasy adventure with a mix of sci-fi elements while Spellslingers is a fast-paced card game for up to ten players. Plus exciting news about a new Otherworlds kickstarter!

[iframe style=”border:none” src=”//html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/5678132/height/100/width/480/thumbnail/yes/render-playlist/no/theme/legacy/tdest_id/205325″ height=”100″ width=”480″ scrolling=”no” allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen oallowfullscreen msallowfullscreen]

GenCon Interview with David Reid of MetaArcade

MetaArcade logo across a hex grid

We spoke to David Reid about his company’s new app Tunnels & Trolls Adventures. Available now on Android and iOS with plans to come to Mac and Steam, this new platform aims to provide players a means of playing through RPG scenarios in the classic choose your own adventure format, including stories submitted by the community for sale, complete with stock art and sound effects. We get to see how the Adventure Creator works and what a finished adventure looks like on the PC. Their initial release brings players digitized versions of some of the first choose your own adventure modules from the venerable Tunnels & Trolls RPG, from veteran writers including Michael Stackpole. The Adventure Creator is expected soon.

You can download Tunnels & Trolls adventures for free now on your mobile devices! Apple Store. Google Play.

[iframe style=”border:none” src=”//html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/5675955/height/100/width/480/thumbnail/yes/render-playlist/no/theme/legacy/tdest_id/205325″ height=”100″ width=”480″ scrolling=”no” allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen oallowfullscreen msallowfullscreen]

Aser and Megan go to GenCon50 2017

Another Gencon is behind us, and with the return to the everyday routine comes an opportunity to reflect on all we did and experienced in four glorious days of gaming, interviewing and walking: you would not believe how much walking, or maybe you would…. We arrived in Indianapolis on Wednesday afternoon and flew out on Sunday evening. In between, we ran five games, played in one, attended two panels, and for the first time, conducted six interviews that are being posted throughout the week.

Continue reading Aser and Megan go to GenCon50 2017