Keep off the Borderlands

After responding to a call from Joe Richter of Hindsightless and Weal or Woe, I open a box and talk about the contents. Featuring Tortilla Flats by John Steinbeck, the Call of Cthulhu Starter Set and Swords & Wizardry Complete.  "Warning" by Lieren of Updates From the Middle of Nowhere Contact me at spencer.freethrall@gmail.com Check out what I'm up to on itch https://free-thrall.itch.io/ ---...

Back from a brief hiatus, I share some calls from Jason Connerley of Nerd's RPG Variety Cast, Evil Jeff of Minions & Musings and BJ of The Arcane Alienist regarding my improved audio. There's an unboxing/unopening of Bordercholly's Knights of the Road (a Kickstarter I backed for ZineQuest 3) https://bordercholly.itch.io/the-knights-of-the-road , followed by a review of OSR toolkit Lands of Leg...

I've got a new microphone. I talk about podcasting and sound quality, almost forgetting I have a couple of call-ins from Daniel Norton of Bandit's Keep and Jason Connerley of Nerd's RPG Variety Cast. Honourable mentions: Che Webster of Roleplay Rescue, Colin Green of Spikepit, Ray Otus of Plundergrounds, Tim Shorts of Gothridge Manor, Jason Hobbs of Random Screed, Lieren of Updates from the Middle...

I begin with a few calls from Jason Connerley of Nerd's RPG Variety Cast, Joe Richter of Hindsightless and Weal or Woe, and Barney Dicker of Loco Ludus. I then reflect a little on my part in creating the Alluvial Plains setting for Barney's Vantage system before talking a little about the content of my Itch page https://free-thrall.itch.io/ Osseous, Pura, A Night in Veiglewood. Honourable mentions...

Wherein I review George Patterson's rather unique "OSRish" baroque bestiary A Groats-Worth of Grotesques. Grab a copy here https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse/pub/18534/The-Skull-as-a-Complete-Gentleman-Co Including some great calls from Julz Burgisser of Julz from NZ, Safer of Safer Fantasy Crafting, Jason Connerley of Nerd's RPG Variety Cast, Daniel Norton of Bandit's Keep and Safinho of Alone i...

I touch on a variety of topics thanks to some great call-ins from Lieren of Updates from the Middle of Nowhere, John Alan Large of Red Dice Diaries RPG Podcast, Joe Hardin of Biggus Geekus, Barney Dicker of Loco Ludus and Goblin's Henchman.  Honourable mentions: Safinho of Alone in the Labyrinth, PBTA games, Jackson Malloy's Sword & Scoundrel, Barney Dicker's League of Eternal Guardians.  http...

A bunch of great call-ins from Colin "Spikepit" Green, Andy Goodman of Expedition to the Grizzly Peaks, Jason Connerley of Nerd's RPG Variety Cast, Joe Richter of Hindsightless and Weal or Woe, Sanfinho of Alone in the Labyrinth and John Alan Large of Red Dice Diaries. Covering a range of topic from Alexei Sayle to the zygomorphic nature of gaming community rivalry. Honourable mentions: The Dice a...

A relatively short episode addressing some concerns Lieren of Updates from the Middle of Nowhere had about episode 173 "Shirker's Playtime". I also recommend checking out Brian's Have to Look That Up podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/have-to-look-that-up/id1557503258 Music by Timothy J. Drennon "Warning" by Lieren of Updates From the Middle of Nowhere Contact me at spencer.freethrall@g...

Following a call from Jason Connerley of Nerds RPG Variety Cast, I attempt to break down what I'm talking about when I refer to storygame elements using my experience of playing Jackson Malloy's Sword & Scoundrel and Chris Black's the Black Hack. Honourable mentions: Arlen Walker of Live from Pellam's Wasteland, Rollin' Bones with Ryan Howard, Dave Aldridge of dPercentile, and Alexei Sayle.  M...

A star-studded lineup of calls from Safer Fantasy Crafting, Barney Dicker of Loco Ludus, Daniel Norton of Bandits Keep, Andy Goodman of Expedition to the Grizzly Peaks and Grizzly Peaks Radio, Jason Connerely of Nerds RPG Variety Cast, John Alan Large of Red Dice Diaries and Lieren of Updates from the Middle of Nowhere. I discuss how I construct episodes, session length of online play, Call of Cth...

Just a quick message addressing an erroneous remark I made regarding The Dice Are Screaming, episode 201: The Gamer Side Hustle. Music by Timothy J. Drennon Contact me at spencer.freethrall@gmail.com --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/free-thrall/message This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episo...

First, I respond to a bunch of messages from Jason Connerely of Nerd's RPG Variety Cast, Joe Hardin of Biggus Geekus and Barney Dicker of Loco Ludus. This is followed by an ill-advised leap to the defence of the OSR. I talk about the liberal approach to roleplaying back in the day and the moving away from splatbook bloat. I then talk about the Lavender Hack by Phillip Lewis, B/X compatible rules t...

Briefly joined by a guest co-host before I dive into a bunch of call-ins from Ivy Shorts of The Happy Whisk, Joe Richter of Hindsightless, Daniel Norton of Bandit's Keep, Jason Connerley of Nerd's RPG Variety Cast, Lieren of Updates from the Middle of Nowhere, Arlen Walker of Live from Pellum's Wasteland and Che Webster of Roleplay Rescues. A more on immersion, a bit of accessibility, (re)defining...

After addressing the mystery of the missing link from last episode, I respond to calls from Jason Connerely of Nerd's RPG Variety Cast, Menion aka Rob of Confessions of a Wee Tim'Rous Bushi and Darren "RFED" Green. I talk a bit more about Darren's Dex system playtest before Goblin's Henchman helps me get my head around the probability of success in Year Zero. Honourable mentions: Casting the Runes...

This is essentially a collection of musings on the subject of immersion, engagement and online play. Featuring calls from Jason Connerley of Nerd's RPG Variety Cast, Joe Richter of Hindsightless and Weal Or Woe, Daniel Norton of Bandit's Keep and John Alan Large of Red Dice Diaries RPG Podcast. I "unbox" Casting The Runes, an investigative horror RPG using the Gumshoe system. You can hear a fantas...

Beginning with a few ZineQuest3 related messages from Jason Connerley of Nerd's RPG Variety Cast, Pete Jones of Dragons Are Real and Barry Dewey-Robertson of Shadow of the GM, before I go on a bit of a convoluted ramble in an attempt to explain explaining how I enjoy playing RPGs. Most of the podcast episodes mentioned:  Loco Ludus https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/league-of-eternal-guardians-...

I answer some messages from Jason Connerley of Nerd's RPG Variety Cast, Joe Richter of Hindsightless and Weal or Woe, and Barney Dicker of Loco Ludus before listing off the ZineQuest3 zines I have backed on Kickstarter. Zine links: The Vast in the Dark https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/appalachia-gothic/the-vast-in-the-dark-exploring-ruins-in-an-infinite-world?ref=nav_search&result=project&...

A call from Jason Connerley of Nerd's RPG Variety Cast prompts me to revisit my recent Vaesen overview. I also get a call from my old friend Brandon Marlow (a.k.a. Barney Dicker of Loco Ludus). Honourable mentions: Spirit of 77 by By David Kizzia & Bob Richardson, Monster of the Week by Michael Sands, Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow, Dave Peterson's Frankenstein's RPG podcast. Music by Timothy J. D...

Jason Connerley of Nerd's RPG Variety Cast calls in to school me on %Liar and Dave Hargrave's Arduin followed by a brief overview of Vaesen, a game of Nordic folk horror from Free League (Fria Ligan). Music by Timothy J. Drennon. Find his Patreon at  https://www.patreon.com/TJD/posts Special thanks to Lieren of Updates From the Middle of Nowhere. Contact me at spencer.freethrall@gmail.com --- Send...

First, a final word from Joe Richter of Hindsightless on the trouble with thieves, or rogues, or whatever you crazy kids are calling them nowadays, followed by a message from first-time caller Wayne Banacek, creator of the infamous %Liar statistic. I talk a little about Ben "Questing Beast" Milton's Knave rules system before giving a brief overview of Scott Wegener's Glaive and Caverns of Heresy's...

Kicking off in the traditional manner with a message from Jason Connerley of Nerd's RPG Variety Cast, followed by responses from Joe Ritcher of Hindsightless and Weal or Woe, and wise elders of old-school D&D, Rob C of Down in a Heap and, the man himself, Daniel Norton of Bandit's Keep. I recommend listening to Darrold "creator of the thief class" Wagner on episode 160 of The Save or Die Podca...

Kicking off with a lovely message from Jason Connerley of Nerd's RPG Variety  Cast, followed by a couple of responses from naysayers Colin "Spikepit"  Green and Che Webster of Roleplay Rescue and a nice reading from the original Dungeons & Dragons rules by Jason Connerley. Also please check out Daniel Norton's YouTube video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DV3GrWa8Jjw&t=609s and his podcast...

Thanks to a few messages from Jason Connerly of Nerd's RPG Variety Cast, I was prompted to delve into the origins of the thief as a playable class in Dungeons & Dragons and its subsequent impact on the early game. I take a look at Dave Arneson and Gary Gygax's original rules, Simon Bull's Delving Deeper Reference Rules Compendium, Charlie Mason's White Box: Fantastic Medieval Adventure Game, J...

As the title suggests, a whole bunch of feedback following my episodes on magic and shamanism in the Alluvial Plains setting for Barney Dicker's Vantage system followed by a great message from Barney regarding the dearth of difference between early humans and their modern counterparts. Featuring contributions from Jason Connerley of Nerd's RPG Variety Cast, Safer of Safer Fantasy Crafting, Barney...

Just me chatting about my experience playing with Dave "dPercentile" Aldridge running Gavin Norman's Old-School Essentials Classic Fantasy, the reorganised version of Tom Moldvey and David Cook's Basic/Expert Dungeons & Dragons rules, in Dave Arneson's Blackmoor. Music by Timothy J. Drennon. Find his Patreon at  https://www.patreon.com/TJD/posts Special thanks to Lieren of Updates From the Mid...