Fear the Boot

* (1:39) The Urwin Subversion.  Lowering a character’s BAUS level as a way of making him or her stand out even more. * (8:42) Deconstructing the differences by comparing Dan’s Dresden character to Chad’s. * (16:13) The baggage that can accompany a BAUS level. Hosts: Chad, Dan, Pat, Wayne

* (0:38) Fear the Con 7 sign-ups are live! * (0:45) Mikey Mason has dropped a new comedy album, Dangerous Gifts, which you can get digitally or on disc . * (2:30) March 7th – 9th, 2014, Coast Con will be running in Biloxi, Mississippi.  You can find their website here . * (2:59) The levels of BAUS.  How extreme the distinctions are between the characters, and the different kinds of distinction. *...

* (0:28) Fear the Con 7 will be on June 12th – 14th, 2014.  The website will be live this Friday, November 8th. * (4:04) Almost introducing the topic. * (4:48) Everyone gets confused by the new mic guards. * (6:20) Actually introducing the topic: playing a BAUS (beautiful and unique snowflake), meaning a character that stands apart from the rest of the party and feels special to the player running...

* (0:30) An update on the show length and Dan’s throat problem . * (1:56) What to do when the players remain IC and active, but are taking the mood of a game in a direction you don’t want it to go. * (5:01) Is this even a problem?  Reasons to let it go and ways to stop it when necessary. * (19:41) Identifying the reason the game’s mood changed and shaping your response based on that. Hosts: Chad,...

* (0:30) Making it rain for a Diabetes charity . * (3:46) When relationships outside of a game spill over into a game.  How games of Diplomacy and Succession Wars got us thinking about this. * (10:58) Getting OOC/IC relationships back where they belong. * (17:32) When the OOC/IC blurring is about values and not just relationships. * (21:09) When an OOC friendship enables more animosity instead of...

* (0:30) Welcoming back Stu and Stork from Happy Jacks RPG Podcast . * (0:41) The dangers in lifting the veil. * (3:24) Playing the good guys.  Many players think they’re being good, even though their actions may not reflect that.  The draw of shortcuts when getting to a goal. * (6:57) The moral distance a game provides.  The role of genre in providing moral context. * (22:58) The role of GMs in g...

* (0:30) Welcoming Stu and Stork from Happy Jacks RPG Podcast . * (2:17) Giving GMs effective feedback.  Wayne gives Chad some feedback from their most recent game.  Dan helps Chad with active listening. * (5:27) Dealing with negative feedback and the impulse to get defensive. * (8:42) The value of actively soliciting input. * (11:11) The value of knowing your GM. * (19:26) The value of honest fee...

* (0:27) Welcoming Bill Cavalier, the Dungeon Bastard , here to help Fear the Boot with its gaming problems. * (1:08) Dan’s problem: campaign pitches. * (4:30) Wayne’s problem: bards. * (8:29) Chad’s problem: too much story. * (12:27) Pat’s problem: discovery. * (15:02) Chris’ problem: detail. * (17:20) Chad’s problem: people wanting to play dragons.  (I honestly have no idea where that one came f...

* (0:33) Welcoming back Tom Lommel (aka Bill Cavalier, the Dungeon Bastard ) as a guest host. * (1:44) Gaming outside of genres or sub-genres you’re familiar with.  Dealing with problems both as a player and Game Master.  Taking it slow.  The importance of group support. Hosts: Chad, Chris, Dan, Pat, Tom, Wayne

* (0:30) A gamer meetup will be happening on November 16th at the Holiday Inn in Forth Washington, Pennsylvania.  You can find the details here . * (0:49) A trip to the Japanese festival at the Missouri Botanical Gardens. * (4:29) Adding believable culture to the people and places of your game.  How to avoid overstating or understating cultural traits. Hosts: Chad, Julia, Pat, Wayne

* (0:30) A booter meetup will be occurring at Guardian Games in Portland, Oregon at 12:00pm on Sunday, September 29th.  You can find the forum discussion here . * (1:53) Designing pre-generated characters for a con game or a longer campaign.  The importance of keeping it simple and open to interpretation, while still giving enough to latch onto.  The value of leading questions.  The usefulness of...

* (1:00) Illustrating the idea of a proactive player with an analogy from World of Warcraft. * (6:02) Your fun versus my fun. * (7:45) The blessing and curse proactive players present to the Game Master. * (10:49) The effect the proactive player has on the other players.  How such players can draw people in instead of pushing them away. * (16:56) How proactive players can help the GM up their game...

* (0:33) A medical condition will require temporarily changing up the show’s format. * (2:51) Preparing to take a hiatus from a game. * (5:25) Whether it’s easier to setup a hiatus earlier or later in a campaign. * (10:29) How to prepare your group if you have a session or two before the hiatus will begin. * (17:07) Keeping the action going even when the game is paused. * (22:48) Using notes to ho...

* (0:44) Congratulating Chad for bringing home an ENnie award for Silent Memories !  Weather dice, mood dice, and other such oddities . * (5:27) Chris’ Kickstarter for Table Tales is still running, so stop by and show him some love . * (5:50) Tabletop games we expected to hate but were surprised by how much we enjoyed.   Takenoko , Wasabi , Powerboats , Roll Through the Ages , and Tsuro . * (12:26...

* (1:49) Is an intellectual property only as good as its ending?  The four types of people in an argument.   Bunker from Sentinels of the Multiverse becomes today’s secret word .   Battlestar Galactica: Blood and Chrome .  The Battlestar Galactica episode Dan references is The Hand of God . * (25:46) The diversity of story endings available without resorting to a boss fight or something massive bl...

* (0:30) When combat works out a little too well.  A variety of suggestions for tweaking fights on the fly to get the results you want. * (27:28) The advantages and disadvantages of varying campaign lengths.  One-shots, chapters, epics, and genuinely unending stories.  A defense of playing really long campaigns, even knowing they’re likely to fail. * (52:54) Chris is working on a video series.  Yo...

* (0:27) Introducing KC Wayland, the writer and director of We’re Alive . * (1:20) How the production got started and where KC found his inspiration. * (4:23) Where the series got its initial funding. * (5:25) Hitting the time mark for each episode.  The importance of a release schedule that balances consistency with breaks for the production crew to catch up. * (11:10) Why KC has opted to avoid c...

* (0:24) Managing stretch goals that add to the primary product. * (3:58) Setting the rewards at various backer levels. * (7:29) Seeking outside ideas when shaping a reward scheme.  Setting realistic goals and keeping the focus on marketing. * (14:52) Building a pitch video. * (16:56) How much to say about how the money will be spent. * (20:59) The costs associated with raising money. * (28:27) Th...

I’d like to congratulate Chad for having his RPG, Silent Memories , nominated for “Best Free Game” in the 2013 ENnies!  I hope you’ll take a moment to stop by and show him your love with a vote .

* (0:36) Introducing our four guest hosts and setting up the show’s premise. * (2:59) Welcoming Joanna Gaskell of Standard Action  and Starlit Citadel Reviews . * (4:33) Welcoming Matt Forbeck.  You can find his personal website here . * (6:05) Welcoming Ryan Dancey, currently with Goblinworks . * (7:05) Welcoming Tom Lommel, aka Bill Cavalier the Dungeon Bastard . * (10:29) How is crowdfunding im...

* (0:20) The biggest myth Mike would like to dispel about his job. * (5:07) The role and importance (or lack thereof) in available play space. * (12:58) Whether it’s necessary to hire people that are already into the hobby. * (25:36) Why do so many stores fail?   The Specialty Retailer’s Handbook by Dave Wallace. * (32:50) In an age of increasing decentralization in the RPG industry, the rise of t...

* (0:25) Mike unlocked the “Local Guest” achievement. * (1:25) Derek Knutsen’s Kickstarter for the Universal Storytelling System . * (3:19)  Odyssey: The Complete Game Master's Guide to Campaign Management , written by Phil Vecchione and Walt Ciechanowski and based on advice from impeccable sources. * (4:59) Introducing Mike Brodeur from The Fantasy Shop chain of game and comic stores. * (11:29) F...

* (0:29) How movies once made songs famous, but now seem to generally select songs that are already famous.   You’re The Best by Joe Esposito. * (2:50) Thrift Shop , Pat, a stripper, and his son. * (6:43) The gamification of an RPG.  What the term means in business or learning, and how it can be applied to the meta-game of an RPG.  The language site we mentioned was DuoLingo . * (11:51) The potent...

* (0:28) Introducing Greg Stolze. * (2:38) An introduction to Better Angels.  An explanation of its premise and the balance between pure and corrupted traits.  You can find the game in print or in an electronic version . * (14:29) How Better Angels handles the exploration of evil.  The relationship between comedy and horror.   The Gambler’s Fallacy . * (34:47) How the demons work on a mechanical l...

* (0:28) How Chris perceives time. * (3:42) Chris resurrects a dead campaign.  How meta-game techniques can give players a sense of freedom about how well (or poorly) they remember the game.  Helping everyone recall concepts and get back into the flow after being gone for so long. * (24:35) Re-purposing old campaign ideas.  The portability of ideas between genre, system, and setting. Hosts: Chris,...