Roleplay Rescue

In November 2021 I am once again shaving off my beard and growing a moustache in solidarity with my MoBros across the world. I am inviting you to help me turn this into a fundraising event for Movember. I am supportive of Movember because of their multi-faceted approach. What particularly appeals is their efforts in working toward a world where men and boys are comfortable having conversations abo...

As promised, this is the final episode of Season 9. The plan is to collate and respond to the call-ins that I have received over the past six weeks or so. I am hugely grateful to the generously shared questions and comments that come from you - the listeners. Thank you for taking the time to listen to Roleplay Rescue; thanks also to the many many listeners who keep downloading the episodes and giv...

What do you do when you realise that you don’t want to play the way that most other people are playing? Do you give up, say `that’s it, I’m done”? It’s tempting. It’s easier. Or do you double down, accept you are different, and play on regardless? Thanks to Barney from Loco Ludus for his call-in. Game on! Roleplay Rescue Details: Roleplay Rescue Theme Song by TJ Drennon and incidental music by Jon...

In 1986, the Professor Emeritus of history and literature of religion at New York University wrote that, “There are at least two types of games. One could be called finite, the other infinite. A finite game is played for the purpose of winning, an infinite game for the purpose of continuing the play.” The author was James Carse and he has something rather useful to teach us about roleplaying games...

Ever since I can remember, a big part of my hobby experience has revolved around combat - martial and magical combat against the foes of our characters. When I was a teenager, the older gamers called me a Munchkin and accused my games of being focused too much on combat and not including enough exploration or character interaction - the interaction sometimes erroneously being referred to as “rolep...

WARNING: This episode is intended for a mature audience. Listener discretion is advised. Topics of fear, horror, threat, illness, and general unpleasantness. As I headed out of the summer holiday period, I was fortunate to be able to record a sequence of intriguing conversations with people from across the community. Today you’ll be listening to the third and final conversation. This one is on the...

As I headed out of the summer holiday period, I was fortunate to be able to record a sequence of intriguing conversations with people from across the community. In this second conversation, I was invited to talk about Trickster's Net. Find the Trickster's Net website here: https://8743x.de/tricksters-netz Grab your copy of the final Trickster's Net product here: https://tricksters-net.itch.io/ Fur...

Another bonus call-in episode focused on the conversation I had with Lieren on labels, play styles, and communication. These are responses to Season 9 Episode 12 (912). Big thanks to the callers: Jason C., Safer, Barry, Jason C., Frank, Brian, and Jason C. Loved it all - thank you! Game on! Roleplay Rescue Details: Roleplay Rescue Theme Song and incidental music by TJ Drennon. Voice Message: ancho...

As I headed out of the summer holiday period, I was fortunate to be able to record a sequence of intriguing conversations with people from across the community. The first of these was with Daniel Jones, whom long time listeners might remember first introduced me to the concept of Otherworld-immersion. Daniel Jones is a self-confessed IT nerd and the man behind the Eudaimonic Geekery blog, musing o...

Another bonus call-in episode focused on Basic Roleplaying, aka BRP. These are responses to Season 9 Episode 11. Big thanks to the callers: Evil Jeff, Graham aka First Age. Arlen, Brian, and Jason C. Highly appreciated stuff! Game on! Roleplay Rescue Details: Roleplay Rescue Theme Song and incidental music by TJ Drennon. Voice Message: anchor.fm/rpgrescue/message Email: hello@rpgrescue.com Patreon...

In April 1975, a scant 13 months after the publication of Dungeons & Dragons, Gary Gygax asked Sandy Eisen a question that elicited a response which I think many modern gamers would find surprising. Writing in Europa Issue 6-8, at the end of his second article on “How to set up your Dungeons & Dragons campaign”, Gygax picks up on a comment from an earlier issue of the ‘zine in which Eisen...

Another bonus call-in episode focused on Portals and Portal Fantasy, responses to Season 9 Episode 10.   Big thanks to the callers: Jason, Kevin, Brian and first-time caller Paul O.  Game on! Roleplay Rescue Details: Roleplay Rescue Theme Song and incidental music by TJ Drennon. Voice Message: anchor.fm/rpgrescue/message Email: hello@rpgrescue.com Patreon: patreon.com/rpgrescue  Blo...

Long overdue, this episode is an interview with Lieren from "Updates In The Middle of Nowhere". Responding to a call-in she made many moons ago, we dive into a conversation about labelling, communication as a challenge, and valuing different play styles and emphases in gaming. It has taken far too long for me to edit and ship this episode but I am hugely grateful that I did.  Thanks to Lieren...

Another 1d6 messages from listeners in the RPR community. Topics today include feedback on "making the sausage", a question about traps in the Necropolis, thoughts on Underdogs, a question about how to handle mismatches in play style, and a lovely analysis on teleology in relation to fantastic worlds. Big thanks to the callers: Karl, Kevin and Paul (aka Heptalemma). Great comments and questions th...

This episode arises from a week spent away from home and away from work. I travelled back to my home town of Norwich, in Norfolk, England, to visit my parents - a trip I haven’t taken for nigh on 2 years. Aside from family reunion and spending time with my parents, themselves ascending in age and  wisdom, I also got to sit back in my old bedroom - much changed now, but essentially the space w...

As long as I can remember, I have been inspired by and drawn in to what is commonly called Portal Fantasy: a story which transports the characters into a magical world via a gate/wardrobe/magical tree or anything else the author might imagine. Today I want to explore that trope a little and try to understand why it always seems to fire up my imagination. On top of that, thanks to Frank for his cal...

This is a bonus episode responding to a call-in from Colin "Spikepit" Green on the question of how I record an episode of Roleplay Rescue. It's probably a bit technical in places, for which I apologise. But hey, here's my process in under 25 minutes. I hope it answers the question asked. Big thanks to Colin for the question! Game on! Roleplay Rescue Details: Roleplay Rescue Theme Song and incident...

This is a bonus call-in episode featuring messages from listeners on previous call-in shows, plus comments on worlds and underdogs from recent episodes. Big thanks to the callers: Jason C, Spencer, ShandyAndy, Jon, and Paul for their messages! Game on! Roleplay Rescue Details: Roleplay Rescue Theme Song and incidental music by TJ Drennon. Voice Message: anchor.fm/rpgrescue/message Email: hello@rpg...

From the desert of the Necropolis, today I am joined by Mark Greenberg. Mark is co-author of The World of the Lost Lands by Frog God Games - the setting of Rappan Athuk and the myriad Frog God and Necromancer Games adventures - and he’s also the author of the currently-Kickstarting adventure for 5e and Swords & Wizardy, Necropolis.  Big thanks to Mark for the interview and the whole Necro...

Started recording this week's entries to the diary and then when I got home, I noticed Arlen had emailed me a message. I listened. I replied. I am sharing the whole thing with you now because it feels important. I will probably release it to Anchor on Monday too. Thanks, Arlen - possibly the kindest thing you could do for me! Yes, we are trying to build a community of discovery together. My proble...

Rollin' 1d6 call-ins as a bonus. Really keen to share Jason's responses before he runs off to release his own episode on the topic... plus there are some fabulous comments and ideas in here around the subject of system fluidity and gaming style. Big thanks to the callers: Jason C, Spencer, First Age, and Karl! Game on! Roleplay Rescue Details: Roleplay Rescue Theme Song and incidental music by TJ...

What is it with my preference to run lower-powered fantasy games? Is it avoidance of complexity, a desire to withhold cool stuff from the players, or an underlying lack of confidence in my ability to run complex games? Or is it something else… is it my love of the underdog?  Thanks to Arlen for his call-in! Arlen Walker's "Live From Pellam's Wasteland": https://anchor.fm/pellamswasteland &nbs...

Another collection of excellent call-ins from a bunch of lovely listeners who are very kind. This stuff covers episodes 4 to 7 of this season and is well worth a listen... mostly because I don't say too much. Big thanks to the callers: Jason C, Frank T, Kevin from Redcaps, Colin Spikepit, James Sral, Jeffrey, and Paul aka Heptalemma. Game on! Roleplay Rescue Details: Roleplay Rescue Theme Song and...

While I hope this episode stands alone, it follows on from my earlier discussion in Episode 5 about the importance of worlds. Today, I want to talk about system. By this, I mean the shape of the whole game including the World but also the choice of Rules and the Methodology we choose. I am working from the general, macro scale down towards specifics. Today I want us to see the whole system first....

Six weeks ago, I stated that I had arrived at a place of change and growth. I had turned 50 years of age and was beginning to wonder if I’d ever become the Game Master, Referee, and Creative World Builder that I have been meaning to get around to becoming since I was about 10 years old. I have had to learn to let go of old unhelpful patterns of thinking and rechart my pathway back to the hobby. So...