Fear the Boot

* (0:29) Wayne goes to Washington D.C. * (1:48) Monotonal cities. The public service of preempting nerd rage. * (4:59) The setting has its own story. The Delmar Divide . * (16:47) Whether a city was planned, and how. Heavy zoning versus integrated spaces. * (24:30) The role of geography, trade, and time. * (39:11) Brodeur explains how to survive an apocalypse. Nine meals from anarchy . Hosts: Brod...

* (0:49) Life problems interfering with our recording schedule. * (1:47) Chad's latest garage sale find, and why Brodeur is banned from garage sales. * (4:57) The first D&D video game Chad bought, Shadow Sorcerer . * (9:12) A quick history of the relationship between tabletop roleplaying games and video games. The second D&D video game Chad grabbed, Secret of the Silver Blades . * (15:31) The thir...

* (0:35) Hiccups in the release schedule. * (1:14) Enigma, Transcendentalism, and living in the moment. Or having sex in High School. Finding social and psychological freedom in a roleplaying game. * (7:37) Progression that has only limited impact on game mechanics. * (18:47) An illustration from Left 4 Dead 2. * (23:11) Finding the best of both worlds. Hosts: Brodeur, Chad, Dan

* (0:30) Brodeur's psychiatrist. Unfiltered Brodeur at the negative level . * (4:04) Sacrifice in a roleplaying game. Giving up something you want to make the game better. The D&D Actual Play . * (12:16) What constitutes sacrifice. * (18:00) Sacrifice versus beneficial trade-off. The story of Wesley Autrey . * (34:59) The confusingly mixed bag of altruism. "That's not love; it's commerce." * (39:1...

* (0:29) Episode 9 of the Skies of Glass Actual Play. * (1:06) Murder versus killing. * (14:03) The power of a personal reaction apart from a character reaction. * (16:45) Doing something in-character that sets back the party but adds to the quality of the game. * (27:17) Setting up Chad's character, the lies, and coming clean. * (32:07) How coming clean hurt the character but helped the group's e...

* (0:30) Welcoming George to the show. * (0:52) Fear the Boot's Actual Plays are now on YouTube . * (2:26) An overview and history of Gen Con. True Dungeon . * (12:46) Spectacle and socialization over product. How Gen Con compares to San Diego Comic Con. * (18:16) How growth is changing things. * (25:48) The ten-year cycles of RPGs, and the role of products at the con. Hosts: Brodeur, Dan, George,...

* (0:29) Robots having ghosts and facial hair. Brodeur threw GoBots at people. * (9:16) Thanks to Stephen Brown for giving us the name of the show with plant brains driving vehicles: Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors. The toy Dan owned was K.O. Kruiser. * (10:53) The Autobot Matrix of Leadership gets around. * (14:11) Predictions about the McGregor-Mayweather fight, recorded before the event, that tu...

* (0:29) Welcoming Ryan to the show. His Fear the Con game based on Happy Birthday, Robot . * (3:25) Reading the table for emotional effect. * (10:29) Empty space with context. * (18:45) Plot hooks for the PCs, created by the GM instead of the player. * (27:42) Creating hooks through new items, NPCs, and meaning. * (30:25) Along came a spider. * (44:31) Ryan's GMing advice in four sentences. Hosts...

* (0:28) Lighter rules keeping players from second-guessing their choices. * (12:16) Passing notes during an RPG. Its capacity to rob mature players of part of the game. * (16:07) Third person omniscience to set things right. * (24:38) Revealing the notes at the end of the session. * (29:06) The truth always comes out, anyway. Separating player reaction from character reaction. Hosts: Brodeur, Dan...

WARNING: The discussion in the early part of this show is rather crass. If you don't want to hear that, skip to 7:08. * (0:32) Why we're on a second take. * (1:23) The pre-recorded Actual Play is now on iTunes , Google Play , Stitcher , or via its raw RSS feed . * (3:35) Dan fixed the Patreon episode prices . * (4:52) Brodeur goes off the ranch. * (7:08) Maintaining the tension when the players kn...

* (0:28) The Skies of Glass AP is out . * (2:36) Our other AP on Twitch . * (5:46) Brodeur's new coworker. * (9:19) Timing the ending moment of the game. An unintended murder. * (17:16) The opposite extreme: letting a scene overstay its welcome. * (22:40) The difference between a cliffhanger and an abrupt ending. Advice on recovering the momentum. * (36:29) Envisioning a more satisfying ending and...

* (0:28) Excuse our mess. We're heading to see Pat at the hospital because of medical complications, and a dog is sleeping on the recording table. Things will be back to normal next week. SIDE NOTE: The most recent update on Pat's condition can be found here . * (1:01) Having expectations (or a lack thereof) about death in an RPG. * (5:01) Duty, obligation, and the specter of death in a Star Wars...

We made some changes, so be sure to review your Patreon settings before the end of the month!

* (0:29) White whales. * (2:09) What do you want to run but have never had the chance to? * (10:17) What do you want to play but have never had the chance to? * (18:14) What do you want to get published but never have? * (27:07) A big thanks to Chris Torres. * (30:06) How the lack of attention given to Amelie in the Skies of Glass AP  led Dan to develop her more. * (43:14) Inverting the formula an...

* (0:30) The Skies of Glass actual play  is now public , and Lookout Radio has gone live . * (1:59) Some restructuring of our Patreon . A live-streaming actual play game is coming soon. * (4:47) Brodeur picks Gunslinger for a gestalt game , gets handed a pre-made. * (13:49) Developing as a Game Master by trying new things. Knowing when to fold 'em. Post-game feedback, and the vital nature of hones...

* (0:33) Chad fired Brodeur, Dan is the head of HR, Broflake pending. * (6:26) Fear the Con X, post-con. Special thanks to Adam, Bob, and Derek. Also thanks to Beth, Julia, our Kickstarter backers, and everyone who attended. Derek's beard. * (10:23) Some gaming advice that Dan learned at FTC: Hiring an agent of chaos. Over the berm, where Pat kills us all . * (17:10) Inspecting the Broflake . Brod...

* (1:03) Brodeur was in a frat. He didn't get paddled, strangely. * (2:51) Ending an ongoing campaign arc. * (8:52) The nature of the ending. What do the players actually want closure on? * (11:48) Pre-planning the beginning and end, even if the middle is unknown. * (23:03) Roleplaying games and the constant feedback loop with its consumer. * (31:03) Querying the players about the type of ending t...

* (0:34) After years of dodging anime, Dan falls in love with One Punch Man . Bill Burr give his take on the show (FAIR WARNING: NSFW language). Antonin Dvorak's New World Symphony . * (8:01) Two things that could have messed up the feel of One Punch Man. * (16:47) Putting other anime on the table. * (18:06) Fear the Con X coming up on June 22nd - 24th! * (19:18) We're attempting an actual player...

* (0:24) Dan's top three card games in a video game. Chad loses it for Gwent. You can sign up for the Fear the Boot Gwent league on the forums . * (9:28) Entertainment that sounds awful in concept but works well in execution. Persona 5 . * (15:00)  Gotham . * (22:04)  Dredd . * (29:38) Kung Fury . * (29:57) Deconstructing execution of an idea, starting with honesty about what the material is. * (4...

* (0:29) Brodeur helps organize Geekway to the West . Vast: The Crystal Caverns , Twilight Struggle , and Battlestar Galactica . * (10:00)  Fear the Con X . Charlie talks about Secret Hitler . * (11:59) Not caring what people think. Surviving Comic-Con. Pat meets Dr. Who . * (25:22) 'Mechs, lantern rings, symbiotes, and the power-trading agreements among the hosts. * (30:15) The atmosphere of spor...

* (0:40) A bunch of charity updates! Derek's charity games ( low level , mid level , and high level tiers). Pat's GoFundMe page . Manicorn work provided by the Mitch STL salon . * (6:10) Explaining what a perk or bennie represents before it's used. * (8:33) Deconstructing the Red Shirt. Creating emotional ante. * (12:23) Seizing narrative control. The goal: Make it descriptive. Tying it to traits...

* (0:28) Chad and Wayne are AWOL. * (1:20) Dan learns a whole lot about Fritz Tornow and  Hitler's dogs . * (4:03) Following up on Brodeur's lack of combat in his game . * (5:53) Brodeur does everything wrong, but it works. * (9:22) Starting with the party asleep and fully divided. * (13:44) Mid-scene cliffhangers and spotlight bouncing for about two-and-a-half hours. * (21:14) The pacing of the g...

* (0:27) Catching up on episodes and experimenting with a Skies of Glass actual play . * (2:51) A listener, Steve, asks about keeping characters engaged when their specialty isn't of any use in a particular scene. * (7:06) Asking how the characters got in this position. * (10:11) Game Master tweaking of the player characters to give them some options. * (12:18) Adjusting the rules so people can co...

* (0:23) Some more details on Derek's charity games ( low level , mid level , and high level tiers). * (3:04) Time to go bonus episode! The FAST test for stroke. * (5:10) Customers beat down Brodeur, illustrating the reason Dan became a programmer. * (11:26) Chad loves the customers. Or at least doesn't hate them. Dan and Wayne just don't generally get angry. * (22:56) A reality that doesn't work...

* (0:29) Why Brodeur is scared of Aisha. * (2:49) Some new information on Fear the Con X . Derek's charity game ( low level , mid level , and high level tiers). Booters and Shooters . Email Adam Gottfried if you're interested in pre-con tourism. * (10:17) Chad's anger. * (13:00) Games with too much RP and not enough combat. * (15:52) Combat that makes sense within the context of the game. * (20:37...