GamingPerspectives

     After playing a few session of Call of Cthulhu games run but a couple different GM's, Saul and Jolene decided to talk about their experiences with CoC.  Saul goes to the way back machine to 1980's and how he felt when he first encountered a group of CoC players at the first game con, Pacificon,  he and his friends attended.        Flash forward to the present where Saul and Jolene played in s...

     Sometimes when Saul and Jolene feel extra enthusiastic they record two episodes back to back.  Problem, sometimes Saul loses the recorded episode in the hundreds of files he has on his computer for the podcast.  So back in October they recorded this episode and Saul found it after Jolene reminded him of the episode.         Picking your next RPG for your group to play?  Saul and Jolene discus...

     In this Episode Saul and Jolene discuss Dungeon Crawls.  They seem to be making a resurgence?  What about the Mega Dungeon?  Why are they popular and do Saul and Jolene like them.        Saul starts the conversation by stating that he doesn't have a lot of experience playing or running Dungeon Crawls.  Though he does have recollection of this brother's Tunnels of Terror, but it wasn't the cen...

      In this episode Saul and Jolene talk about game that do not try to simulate the real world but he world or the universe of the Cinema.  Cinematic RPGs are a fun filled genre of games that value Action over Real World Physics like the movies they try to emulate.         Discussed rather heavily is Feng Shui as Saul has run a couple of campaigns of a desperate group of good doers trying to sav...

     How do you plan your adventures.  Saul and Jolene discuss this important part of any RPG session and that is how you plan or organize your RPG adventures, whether you play D&D, Conan, Star Wars or CoC.      Saul, of course, talks about how he used to brainstorm then then commit to paper his initial ideas about an adventure.  Saul also discusses how that really didn't work for him or anybody e...

     In this episode Saul and Jolene discuss Conan: Adventures in an Age Undreamed Of and what they liked and what they saw as problematic.  For the most part both Saul and Jolene enjoyed the game.  Saul Kickstarted the Core Book due to a recommendation by his older brother, who is a total Conan fan.        He was also the GM for the game that Saul has played in a few times and lately it was their...

     In this episode Saul and Jolene talk about Railroads and Player Agency.  It would seem the two are diametrically opposed but Railroads don't have to be the GM's draconian story where the players are there just to enjoy the ride and roll some dice.      One way for a Railroad type of game to lose sight of the tracks is to have player agency.  Where players actions and ideas impact the story. ...

        Saul and Jolene talk about PC Backstories.  From the pages long ones that creative and very imaginative players make to the two sentences that other players give their poor GMs, Saul and Jolene discuss what to do with what the players give their gm.        Saul and Jolene both agree that if a GM gets a good length backstory it gives great insight into what that particular player wants to s...

     Jolene and Saul were lucky enough to have back on the microphone, Christoffer Sevaldsen author of the Black Void RPG.  Christoffer has a new Kick Starter campaign to further support his "Esoteric Dark Fantasy" rpg called the Black Void.  The new project is "Black Void: Under Nebulous Skies- A Voidfarer's Travelogue, Campaign and Sourcebook".  Saul and Jolene really enjoyed talking to Christof...

       In this episode Saul and Jolene discuss Houserules in rpgs.  Saul uses his boyhood rules of Monopoly which were actually heavily houseruled.  It wasn't until he played much later as an adult that many of the rules as he knew them were not actually official rules of Monopoly.  Saul then moves the conversation to Original D&D and how immediately many people started houseruling this set of rul...

   The Ideal GM, what is it and why does it exist.  Saul and Jolene discuss the idea of having a player compare their GM from their past and comparing them to the current GM usually in a way that conveys that current GM does not measure up.  Usually this is a player that has been playing a good amount of years.     On the other hand it could be a new player that has seen popular actual plays and w...

     In this episode Saul and Jolene tackle the idea of playing a Dragon, God or AI.  Something that can be so alien to us that it really is incomprehensible to understand, as humans, their motivations.  So we humans give these beings human like traits.  In roleplaying games, playing some so alien is daunting.  Saul and Jolene discuss how they RP their NPC Dragons, Gods, AI and even Aliens, not Xe...

     The Wayward Player, is discussed by Saul and Jolene.  The single player that takes their character on their own side quest without discussing it with the other players/characters.  Should the GM be stuck with running two separate games or splitting time between one player and the rest of the group?  Saul and Jolene talk about what would make a player do this and how to handle this situation....

     The Ideal group size is something that has come up in Saul and Jolene's rpg games.  As both GM games, Saul a bit more than Jolene, they both tackle this question in their home games and their convention games.      To them there are three factors that play into what is the ideal group size.  At one point Saul goes into a lengthy digression about classic Traveller, but Jolene brings him back t...

    Saul and Jolene talk about why groups should make the GM Dad play.  GM Dads are the players that are become the leader of the RPG group you play in.  Usually this person is the one that GMs, he gets the group together, reminds players of play location(pre C0vid) and time.  They call, email and generally keep the group going by herding cats, the players.      So why is it important for the GM D...

     In this episode Saul and Jolene talk about Generic RPGs.  Why would one want to buy and use a Generic RPGs like GURPS, Cypher System, Hero, FATE and others.   These RPGs are able to handle different genres with relative ease.  What are some good selling points and how do they differ from game systems geared or made for a specific genre.     As Always, we want to thank you all for listening an...

     Game stories, every RPG gamer has one, if you started playing back in the 70's with the "Three Little Books" or last month, you have a gamer story.   So what makes a game memorable?  Saul and Jolene discuss this topic on this week's episode.  For many it is what RPGs are for, telling stories.  Others its that nostalgic story of playing when you were a kid, with your friends from school, or yo...

     In this episode Saul and Jolene talk about Solo and One Player RPGs.  Saul starts with his first sight of Tunnels and Trolls Solo adventures he saw at a Northern California game convention known as Pacificon.  Also Solo adventure rpgs remind Saul of the old "Choose your Own Adventure" series of books.        Jolene was asked by a friend to do a Solo adventure in preparation for a CoC game he...

    In this episode Saul and Jolene talk about Hit Points.  What are they, or what do they represent, where do they come from?  In this episode Saul and Jolene discuss the beginnings of hit points and how games have handled what they represent in different games.        As always, thank you all for listening and please share our podcast.     Music by Jim Gaven, song Happy and Healthy off the album...

     What is the impact of age on a character in RPGs.  Saul and Jolene tackle the concept of character age and how that impacts your character in an RPG.  From D&D to Call of Cthulu rpgs deal with the concept of character age differently.  Some game try to be "realistic" while others completely ignore the subject of character age.  Saul and Jolene talk about players and their choices of how old t...

     Tension in RPGs, is it only for Horror and Mystery RPGs?  Saul and Jolene talk about how to create tension and how it just not for Horror RPGs anymore.  Tension can be a great way to keep players engaged in the game.  Also in games where the players feel tension it usually make game memorable.  But how do you make games tense?      Saul discusses situations where he created tension in games a...

      Almost every rpg gamer knows the words, "Don't Split the Party".  It is a phrase that I have heard for a very long time.  An Order of the Stick graphic novel was even titled "Don't Split the Party."   Saul and Jolene discuss where this phrase comes from and if it really is good advice for a group of RPG players.       Saul, as he tends to do, digresses a bit on the subject but Jolene is alwa...

    In this episode Saul and Jolene talk about the killing of NPCs in your RPGs.  Player Characters may at some point kill an Non Player Character in your roleplaying game.  What happens when PCs either by accident or on purpose kill an NPC.  For Saul, a lot depends on the genre and the circumstances of NPC death.        Jolene has an example where a GM was asking about what to do with a PC who ac...

      This week Saul and Jolene discuss ways to bring your RPG character to life.  Ways and tips that you as a player can do to make your character seem more real or realistic.  Mainly to help new players to the hobby but can be of use to the old grognards that might try something new or different.        As always thanks for listening and all we ask is that you share on your favorite social media...

      Saul and Jolene discuss Traps! in your RPG games.  Saul discusses how he has never really used traps in his fantasy RPGs.   Saul talks about his earliest recollections of playing D&D and how traps had not played a big role in his early games and how that directed him to not include them in his games when he started running games.        Jolene tried to keep Saul on topic but allowed him to d...