Role Play Chat

This week I'm joined by Homie and the Dude, friends of the show, to talk about running sky based games in your TTRPGs! We dissect: How to run them, what impacts the sky has on characters, roleplay, combat and of course their amazing DnD 5th edition supplement: Sky Zephyrs coming soon to kickstarter. If you want to check out the Kickstarter you can subscribe to be notified about it here: https:...

This week I'm joined by Nick Perron from Tabletopped to talk about running episodic adventures in TTRPGs! We dissect: How to run them, common pitfalls and share tools and advice on having success with this format. If you liked Nick's wisdom you should totally check out his socials @TheNickPerron on twitter or check out his podcast tabletopped here: ⁠ https://tabletoppedpod.com/ Happy gamin...

This week I'm joined by Farrah Sarpkaya to talk metagaming in TTRPGs! I find often times metagaming has a negative conotation associated to it, and I'm hoping this conversation can shed some light on the positive aspects of metagaming. If you liked Farrah's wisdom you should totally check out her socials @FarrahKaya on twitter or check out her website: https://www.sarpkaya.ca/ Happy ga...

This week I'm joined by Makenzie De Armas to talk designing monsters! Every game, every system has monsters (in some sense) and they play a critical component to telling stories. So how do the pros do it? How can we build fun monsters for folks to run, players to fight against and designers to build! We go over: - Some "broken" monster stories and how to balance them; - Monster statb...

Telling stories is a critical part of our history. In ancient times those stories took on many shapes, often in the shape of myths and legends. These ancient tales can be a wonderful source of inspiration for our pen and paper adventures! Join Daniel Kwan, who you may know from his podcast Asians Represent! and I as we talk about myths and tales of old in our games. We go over: - Some stories and...

Nothing sets the mood (to play TTRPGs) quite like music. Be it a soft melody or an epic battle hymn, music and ambient noises really help transport players into the game world. Join Alex and Chase from Pocket Bard as we talk about using music and ambience in our games. We go over: - The use of silence in games, - How to suprise players with sound, - How to ensure your music isn't distracting y...

Improvisation is part of EVERY pen and paper rpg. Be it an a oneshot in a rule light system or an ongoing adventure with you friends, you will always find yourself in a position where you will need to improvise something out of nowhere. In this episode I am joined by Sam Comerford to talk about running fully (or mostly) improvised games. We go over: - The rules of improv comedy and how they apply...

Creating a TTRPG character is a critical part of playing any pen and paper tabletop game. What can you during y our creation process to plant the corrects seeds for roleplay? In this episode I am joined by Blake Francis to talk about creating Player Characters (and NPCs) that are ripe for roleplay. If you'd like to know more about Blake and his work, I encourage you to check him out on Twitter: @B...

Most people who play tabletop roleplaying games use maps to some degree, but incorporating them into your game isn't as easy as it sounds! In this episode I am joined by Eric from Maps 'N' Quests to talk everything maps. We discuss how Eric makes maps, how game masters might consider using maps, the difference between a dungeon maps and an overworld maps, and much much more. If you'd like to know...

Come join me as I celebrate the 100th episode of Role Play Chat. In this episode I am joined by Joe from The Oneshot Mill to go over the pros and cons of running one-shot adventures in your TTRPG & stick around for the end of the episode to listen to some words of wisdom from previous guests of the show as we look back on the first 99 episodes of the podcast and cheers to the next 100. If you'...

As promised here's a quick episode of me talking about my time at PAX Unplugged. Also, Season 4 of the show starts on Feb 1st! See you then.  Enjoy! Mat -————— Affiliate Links: DriveThruRPG: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse.php?affiliate_id=3513284 Hero Forge: https://www.heroforge.com/tap/?ref=roleplaychat 1985 Games: https://1985games.com/role_play_chat OR use the code ROLE_PLAY_CHAT at...

Running a game has it's perks and pitfalls, but what would happen if you ran a ttrpg with a second Game Master? Join me and the one and only Ron Ogden (who you may know from the Dungeon Run, among other things) as we explore what kind of things are involved when we consider running a roleplaying game with another person sharing the responsibilities behind the GM screen. We cover how to get started...

What kind of things can GMs and players do ahead of session zero to prepare for the game? What kind of play can we explore to help people understand their Player Characters before they commit to them in a long campaign? Join me and Tom from the Modern Myth Youtube channel, where we explore an interesting approach that Tom has developped for pre-zero games to answer some of these questions and more...

Character death is without a doubt the biggest consequence a player can be subjected to in this hobby. Working out when and how a character dies though is not something everyone agrees on. Should the dice dictate or should a player have a say? In today's episode I try something new. Join Shannon and Sean from Paradice Productions as we talk about a GMing philosophy Sean has developped. One of the...

Very few communities have as many inspirational, kind and talented members as the TTRPG space! From famous actors and actresses, to your friendly neighborhood Game Master, everyone brings something to the table. Join me and Shelly & Greg, the hosts of Dragon Talk, as we discuss everything about finding inspiration for your games, adapting your content, learning from our comunties and more. If...

What makes a good mystery in a TTRPG? Should players alter their play style? Should GMs prepare or run games differently then they normally do? Listen in on this week's episode of Role Play Chat as Jes and I discuss everything about playing, runing and writting mysteries in tabletop RPGs. If you liked Jes' insights (who am I kidding, of course you did) you can find them on twitter at @Jesthehuman....

Combat is a critical pillar of most tabletop roleplaying games. This is especially true in games like Dungeons and Dragons, where characters are built with combat powers and skills! It's easy to fall into a habit of looking at combat as a purely mechanical part of the game but there are so many interesting opportunities for the narrative of the game and for the characters personalities to shine th...

Currencies might be more than you think! While we often think of money as a currency in a game, things like items, spells, even HP can be considered currency and the way we incorporatre them into our ttrpgs will have a big impact on the tone, style and play of a system and a game session. Today i am joined be Richard, a seasoned game designer to talk about currency in games.  If you liked Ric...

Today is the day! Here is the audio from the "What is Roleplay Anyway?" charity panel. Join me & five amazing panelists as we talk about what roleplay is to us, how we do it, and share stories. This is the audio from the panel that aired live on the Scry Society's twitch channel on August 26th. I've done my best to edit out some of the preable and the midroll brake, etc. Hope you enjoy this lo...

Today we talk about somethign a little different: legal stuff. When K.O. & I were recording the episode on skills from a few weeks ago, we took a tagent. He has a legal background and I thought it would be a interesting thing for the other content creators in the TTRPG space to give it a listen. I'll be back to our regular content next week!  If you liked K.O. insights (who am I kidding,...

Have you ever played a Solo tabletop RPG? I hope so but if oyu havent maybe today's discussion with Josh willl convice you to give one a try. When you remove the cooperative/collaborative componenets of a game and are the sole participant interetsing things happen. You are able to explore new and interesting avenues of the ttrpg hobby.  If you liked Josh's insights (who am I kidding, of cours...

Can I convice Scott the Miniac to play more Role Playing games? I hope so! But one thing I know for sure is that you wont want to miss the wonderful discsusion where Scott and I talk about roleplay and miniatures. Listen in as Scott and I draw parallels between roleplaying and miniature painting. Scott also shares some wonderfull advice for folks getting into the miniature painting hobby.  If...

A big part of why folks play tabletop roleplaying games is for the escapism. We like to experience interseting, fun and different things, put on the skin of cool characters and explore fascinating places. The key to truly trasnoporting ourselves into these fantastic places lies in fostering an immersive experience! In this week's episode I am joined by Keith and Jess from Underground Oracle Publis...

Regardless of the system you play, there are (almost) always skills and attributes that your player characters and NPCs will have to showcase the character's strenghts and weaknesses. In this week's episode I am joined by K.O. the host and producer of Roll Factory to disect how we use skill checks & skill challenges in our games to try and make fun and memorable moments at our tables. If you l...

Every GM, every player and every table has their own philosophies for how they play tabletop roleplaying games. These ideas, these styles, these  preferences are what influence your game. In today's episode I am joined  by the amazing Seth Skorkowsky as we talk about some of our  philosophies to hopefully inspire you to grow your GMing skills while  having fun at your table.&nb...