Undercommon Taste

This week, we're starting to talk about the Eight Types of Fun and how the rules of different games accommodate each of these different aspects of play. Join us as we start our discussion with Sensation, Fantasy, and Narrative, diving into each aspect of fun with definitions and examples of how we implement them in our own games, as well as other games which have mechanics that reinforce these asp...

This week, we're discussing what makes games fun. Join us as we talk about the different types of fun players seek in their games, what we look for in the games we play, and a trip down Memory Lane to assess how our past game experiences have shaped our current preferences.   Our website is live! Head on over to  undercommontaste.com  to find links to all of our social media, streaming sites, Patr...

This week, we celebrate our 200th episode with a Pirate Borg actual play, featuring special guests Jon (Tale of the Manticore), Eric Holden (The Goblin's Corner), and Danny Mendoza (The Streaming Rainbow). Join us as we set sail on the Dark Caribbean in search of a relic to turn back a horde of the undead.    You can find Jon on BlueSky ( https://bsky.app/profile/taleofthemanticore.bsky.social ),...

This week, we're joined by returning guests Mary Crowell, Leon (formerly Cat), and Rene from RenePlaysGames to play a wacky, chaotic game of Raccoon Sky Pirates. Join us as we build an airship, attempt to pilot it through the neighborhood, and pilfer everything we can get our grubby little mitts on from a suburban home before absconding with our loot.    We once again want to express our heartfelt...

This week, we discuss how to play a pacifist character in a TTRPG. Join us as we discuss degrees of pacifism, some tools you can use to play these characters, and why these characters - more than most - especially need a Session Zero discussion.    Next week is our 6th anniversary episode, followed in two weeks by Episode 200. We will be having several returning guests join us over those two episo...

This week, we're back to talking shop about Ian's game-in-progress, Postapocalyptia. Join us as we discuss how to earn experience, what you can spend experience points on, and how you can put your characters into (and take them out of) retirement.    Our website is live! Head on over to  undercommontaste.com  to find links to all of our social media, streaming sites, Patreon, Itch store, and Disco...

This week, we're discussing Pirate Borg, the OSR pirate horror game by Luke Stratton and Limithron. Join us as we sail the Dark Caribbean, fight off undead hordes, and see what buried treasures we can dig up.    Pirate Borg is published by Limithron, and can be found here: https://shop.limithron.com/   Our website is live! Head on over to  undercommontaste.com  to find links to all of our social m...

This week, we return to Postapocalyptia to discuss the rest of the character creation process. Join us as we discuss the skill system, how perks and traits are used to customize your character, and the way that quirks can be used to enhance roleplaying.    Our website is live! Head on over to  undercommontaste.com  to find links to all of our social media, streaming sites, Patreon, Itch store, and...

This week, to keep on theme of the upcoming Independence Day holiday in the U.S., we are talking about revolutions. Join us as we discuss different types of revolutions, how the concepts of revolution can be adapted to non-governmental conflicts, and some ideas on how to implement them into your games.    Our website is live! Head on over to  undercommontaste.com  to find links to all of our socia...

This week, we're back to talking about Ian's game-in-development, Postapocalyptia. Join us as we discuss how the game's development got started, what attributes the player characters get, and how they have changed through the different iterations of the game.    Our website is live! Head on over to  undercommontaste.com  to find links to all of our social media, streaming sites, Patreon, Itch stor...

This week, we discuss the "Fast Tactical TTRPG", Nimble. Join us as we discuss the core mechanics, some experiences with running the game, and how we would work around some of the shortcomings of the system (spoiler: there aren't many).   At the time of release, the Nimble RPG website seems to be having technical issues, but assuming they get everything resolved you can buy the game and find more...

This week, we're discussing game design, with a specific focus on exploration rules. Join us as we discuss Ian's game-in-progress (unnamed during the episode, but the working title is Postapocalyptia) and different ways to implement exploration rules as we try to find that fine line that is neither tedious nor boring.    Our website is live! Head on over to  undercommontaste.com  to find links to...

This week, we're continuing our look into the urban fantasy genre by doing our favorite thing: rolling on a random table and generating on the fly! Join us as we utilize the elements we discussed last episode to pad out our dice rolls and generate a Depression-era urban fantasy setting.   Our website is live! Head on over to  undercommontaste.com  to find links to all of our social media, streamin...

This week, we're starting a new series where we discuss different genres and how to implement them in your games. We're starting off with a favorite of ours - urban fantasy. Join us as we define the genre, give some examples, and realize that sometimes James's great ideas end up just being Shadowrun.   Our website is live! Head on over to  undercommontaste.com  to find links to all of our social m...

This week, we're looking at the Plane that isn't a plane, the place that isn't a place, the primordial soup that fills the void between universes: the Far Realm. Join us as we discuss playing in a setting where reality doesn't exist, using the elements of cosmic and psychological horror, and how to embrace alien physiology.   Our website is live! Head on over to  undercommontaste.com  to find link...

This week, we wrap up our series on dragons with a look at some of the extraplanar dragons that didn't really fit into our other episodes. Join us as we talk about dragon warlock patrons, werewolf space pirates, and the insanity that was 3.5e epic dragons.    This is your last week to pick up the Solo But Not Alone 6 bundle. This is a fundraiser bundle to help support the mental health charity Tak...

This week, we're getting a little bit domestic as we discuss how to better utilize homes in TTRPGs. Join us as we discuss base building, interacting with the decor, and home invasions, among other things.    The Solo But Not Alone 6 bundle is now live, through the end of March. This is a fundraiser bundle to help support the mental health charity Take This!, and can be found here:  https://itch.io...

This week, we finish our circuit of the Outer Planes with the dragons from the chaotic-good quadrant of the Great Wheel cosmology. Join us as we discuss the dragons found in the planes of Elysium, the Beastlands, Arborea, Ysgard, and Limbo.   I had the opportunity to talk with Rene over on his show, Rene Plays Games, and that episode is now live. On this episode of Perspective Checks, I discuss ho...

This week, we talk about ways to play TTRPGs that don't require a multi-hour time block sitting around the table. Join us as we discuss play styles like play-by-post, correspondence play, and standing setups, with some ideas on how to implement them to get your game on when it's all your schedule allows. We mentioned a bunch of stuff in this episode, so here are some links: The Time We Have, by El...

This week, we're back on that extraplanar grind as we discuss the dragons from the Lawful Good quadrant of D&D's Great Wheel cosmology. Join us as we discuss dragons who are exotic fish collectors, golden retrievers with wings, living spotlights, problematic flavor text (circa 2004), and strangely absent.   The Solo But Not Alone 6 bundle is now live, through the end of March. This is a fundra...

This week, we return from our holiday break with our annual visit from Leon, the organizer of the Solo But Not Alone game bundle. Join us as we discuss the bundle, early internet culture, and showcase the setup process of our in-development solo journaling game, All Is Well With My Soul. The Solo But Not Alone 6 bundle is now officially live! You can pick up 90 games for $10, and support the menta...

This week, we're getting around to showcasing a game we made almost three years ago: Forever Home! Join us as we play through the hijinks of a social media DIY influence vlogger and their 200-year-old house's attempts to play matchmaker in a game we would consider to be a Hallmark movie prequel.  You can find Forever Home on our Itch page, https://undercommontaste.itch.io/forever-home, for the low...

This week, we're joined by Rene, the host of the Rene Plays Games podcast to talk about post-catastrophe and post-apocalyptic settings. Join us as we discuss ecology, infrastructure, and how to wreck your home town* for the purposes of generating a TTRPG setting.  * in a fictional sense. Do not actually wreck your home town.   We've mentioned Rene and his podcast a couple of times in recent months...

This week, we do a little bit of homebrew worldbuilding, asking the question: what does a setting look like when everyone is capable of casting spells? Join us as we discuss the implications of having a society full of spellcasters, some ways that even combat-focused cantrips could be used as utility spells, and just what to do about Eldritch Blast.    Our website is live! Head on over to  underco...

This week, we're venturing into the Chaotic Evil quadrant of the Great Wheel to discuss the extraplanar dragons of Carceri, Pandemonium, and the Abyss. Join us as we discuss feral chihuahuas (relevant), eldritch horrors (RELEVANT), and The Human Centipede (also, unfortunately, relevant).  CONTENT WARNING: Once we get to the Abyss (around the 33 minute mark), there are elements of body horror, non-...