Role Playing Public Radio

Galactus has challenged the people of Earth to a tournament of dodgeball. Only an unlikely team of misfits stands in the way of Earth’s total destruction. Sound like the new Bruckheimer movie? Naw. It’s our Actual Play one shot using the free action RPG Wushu. The Player: Tom: A sapient raptor/actor tired of being stereotyped as a vicious man eating dinosaur Drew: Henry from the TV Sho...

“Just being in here is a humbling experience for me, because you’re looking through all these records and it’s sort of like a big pile of broken dreams…Whether you want to admit it or not, 10 years down the line you’ll be in here. So keep that in mind when you start thinking like, ‘I’m invincible and I’m the world’s best,’ or whatever. Be...

In a world..Our world…Everything is true. Every story you’ve read, every movie you’ve seen, every game you’ve played actually happened. At least those that take place in the here and now. This is the first session of a GURPS 4th edition campaign premised on taking the Alan Moore comic The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and making the concept contemporary. Anything that t...

While most of our shows so far have focused on running a great game, we thought we would give some advice for the other side of the GM Screen. In other words, the players. Of course, we talk about D&D 4th Edition, the death of Erick Wujcik , recent games we played, Raillery , my awesome new comedy video podcast and more. Tom was too lazy to write a letter, so instead we review The Happenin g a...

Ethan Haas was right, at least according to David Carter, Earl Fischl and Tom McLaughlin, the team behind Alpha Omega the new post apocalyptic science fantasy RPG from Mind Storm Labs . In the future, the world is ravaged by war and disasters while alien races wage war. Of course, dumb old humanity mistook these aliens for angels and demons thousands of years ago. Plus, there are robots. What more...

Based loosely on Kinji Fukusaku’s Battle Without Honor or Humanity film series and the Akira Kurosawa film Stray Dog , this game takes placed in Hiroshima Japan, 1946. The players are members of the Yamagata Yakuza clan, the newest and smallest family in the city, vulnerable to foreign gangs and larger Yakuza families. A confrontation with a rival gang turns deadly and an American .45 automa...

I have launched a second podcast: Raillery . I plan to release one new video a week, each as hilarious as this one: Oregon Trail 13. Don’t worry, Tom and I will continue RPPR and I will not put every raillery podcast on this feed. However, since Oregon Trail 13 started here, I thought all of you might enjoy it here. Written by Ross Payton Voiced by Ross Payton and Chris Farmer Mixed by Chris...

Just like the Scooby Doo gang, players tend to split up during a game and ike it or not and unless you know what to do, your game can suffer. Most players get bored when they have nothing to do, a divided game can mean the end of your campaign. We discuss how to deal with a split game and keep everything running smooth. There’s also a letter from Tom and of course, shout outs. Cave Story : A...

Tarn Adams Interviewer: Ross Payton Synopsis: Dwarf Fortress is a one of a kind computer game. Part roguelike, part RTS, part fantasy world simulator, this game has to be played to be believed. With no graphics (everything is represented by ASCII symbols), the player is charged with building a mighty fortress with only seven dwarves and a wagon load of supplies. Murderous monsters and animals, tem...

Music: Can’t Judge a Book by Robin Sylar Promos: Bearswarm Podcast, Nuketown Radio and the Game Traveler Hosted by Ross Payton and Tom Church New: RPPR Donations We now accept donations to cover the cost of hosting and equipment for our podcast. If you’re a fan of RPPR, contribute. You can set up a $2 monthly subscription fee or donate a one time fee. Contact us if you’re interes...

Song: Just Like Bruce Campbell Did by Joe Hero Promo: Sinister Adventures Hosted by Ross Payton and Tom Church Special Guest: Aaron Carsten Check out our new Forums and Twitter Feed ! Synopsis: After discussing some listener feedback, with a special defense of the Sluggy Freelance web comic by Aaron Carstein, we decided to challenge each other’s game design skills with a 24 hour contest, sim...

Guests: Jaime Paglia – Creator/Executive Producers of Eureka Bruce Miller – Co-Executive Producer of Eureka Eric Wallace – Staff writer Nick Wauters – Staff writer Hosted and moderated by Diana Botsford Synopsis: I was lucky enough to attend a special voice chat interview with several of the minds behind the sci-fi TV show Eureka . My screenwriting professor, Diana Botsford...

Opening music: I’m Dungeons You’re Dragons by the Alligators Hosted by Ross Payton and Tom Church Promos: Rpgpodcasts.com and The Tome Podcast Brand new: Join the RPPR Facebook group! Synopsis: Sooner or later, your favorite game is going to become old and tired. The players will read every sourcebook, the GM will run every written adventure for it and what was once new and exciting be...

Hosted by Ross Payton and Tom Church Music: A tribute to Mozart by Steffe Coonan Promo: The Escapist Podcast Synopsis: Gary Gygax passed away on March 4 2008. His legacy is the foundation of role playing games as we know them. While we are not old school players who were there in the golden age of D&D, we both felt Mr. Gygax’s hand in our games. The adversarial competition between DM and...

Sean Jaffe Interview by Ross Payton Synopsis: Back in Episode 4 , we gave a shout out to Blood Dimmed Tides, an excellent Old World of Darkness sourcebook for the oceans. One of the book’s writers, Sean Jaffe, popped in to thank us. From there, I contacted him to find out more about the creation of the book and Sean’s other adventures in the gaming industry. This is our first Interview...

Hosted by Ross Payton and Tom Church Music by Ghosts I-IV by Nine Inch Nails released under a Creative Commons license Synopsis: Creating adventures for your group can be a pain in the but but we’re here to help. The players can be heartless jerks who stomp all over your plot, massacre your poor NPCs or generally wreck mayhem on your plans. Improvisation is the hallmark of a good gamemaster...

Hosted by Ross Payton and Tom Church Music by Sabrepulse Synopsis: Death is a fact of life in gaming. A thread I started on rpg.net about PC death generated a bit of discussion about how people handle player characters dying in a game. So, Tom and I discuss how to best plan and deal with characters getting shot, stabbed, poisoned, mangled, maimed, disemboweled, defenestrated, disintegrated and oth...

Call of Cthulhu One Shot: The End of the World as we know it? Game run by Ross Payton Players: Tom, Jason and Paul Synopsis: This is a bit of an experimental game. Instead of the PCs being heroic investigators trying to save the world from evil, they are the leaders of a Midwestern city as the Apocalypse starts. Can they save civilization from rampaging cultists, ghouls, and other disasters? Will...

Written by Ab3 Mixed by Ross Payton Me: “OK you walk into the room and see a group of Hobgoblins sharpening their weapons.” Psycho Dave: “I flash my talisman of the Dark Gods and order them to bow down to the might of Azathoth.” Me: “They bow before you.” Psycho Dave: “Then I behead them.” Performed by the RPPR crew Chris Farmer Tom Church Patrick &#...

Music by The Old Ones – a Lovecraftian inspired metal band. Brutal! Intro song: Alone in the Mountains Segue for Letter from Tom: Rise! Ending music: Spirits Hosted by Ross Payton, Tom Church and Dan McDowell Synopsis: Rules, the foundation of our hobby. How many rules are enough? When do you follow them and when do you ignore them? We go over our philosophy for rules interpretation in role...

Hosted by Ross Payton and Tom Church Ending music: Warning Forever by Sabrepulse Synopsis: Eventually every gamer encounters an adult theme in gaming. However, it can be hard to handle these topics, given the lack of maturity in many gamers. We discuss past games with mature themes, how to run a game with these topics and what to avoid. If you’ve ever wondered how to make your game more dram...

Keeper: Ross Payton Players: Tom Church, Jon and Katie Carter, Matt Howell, Meriam, and Paul You are cordially invited to a night at the opera. “A Night on Owlshead Mountain is a Delta Green adventure that pits investigators against the deadly, lingering aftereffects of Mi-Go activity in rural Vermont. The long awaited Delta Green supplement, Eyes Only is finally out. The RPPR crew tries out...

A round table discussion with Ross Payton, Tom Church, Cody Walker and Samantha Harrel. Synopsis: Every gamer has been touched by a very special kind of player. The bad player wrecks campaigns, breaks up relationships and causes madness with their inept munchkinism, selfish attitude, and infuriating personal habits. Two guests, Sam and Cody, join us to discuss one such player, Jessica. Her paladin...

By Ross Payton and Tom Church Synopsis: Since the holidays are around the corner, we turn our attention to that most treasured aspect of gaming: loot. Whether it’s a shiny +5 vorpal longsword or a slightly used bionic arm, every player looks forward to getting more loot. But is that the point of gaming? After all, MMORPGs thrive on the grind of leveling up to get better loot, so should pen a...

By Ross Payton and Tom Church Synopsis: Sometimes a game just screws up because of trivial issues. Shopping for magic items, chasing red herrings, and arguing about guns. Why does this happen? How can it be fixed? We take a look at these quirks in gaming and provide a few solutions. Also, a letter from Tom and a few shout outs. We end with two gaming anecdotes, one from each of us. Find out who Er...