Role Playing Public Radio

Caleb and I sat down to talk about his new project, Fae’s Anatomy. It parodies the stories found in procedural medical dramas. Think General Hospital , Grey’s Anatomy , M.A.S.H , or House . Only insane, because who needs realism? It mixes over the top melodrama role playing with cooperative puzzle solving. Caleb talks about the design process, preparing it for Kickstarter, and using online t...

Ludonarrative Dissidents is a new podcast series from Ross Payton , Greg Stolze , and James Wallis . Check out the Kickstarter to help fund this project and get unique rewards! In each episode, we plan to focus on a particular RPG, looking at its mechanics, setting, and everything else to see what makes this game tick. In this preview episode, we look at Apocalypse World, the RPG that launched a r...

Jeff Barber recently spoke to me about his new project, Blue Planet Recontact. It’s the new, updated, definitive edition of the classic science fiction roleplaying game set on the wild, frontier waterworld of Poseidon. Blue Planet is a compelling RPG journey into humanity’s precarious future on a distant waterworld where political unrest and a hungry alien ecology threaten the nascent colony...

The first full Delta Green campaign, Impossible Landscapes, is finally out. I’ve long awaited this book, as I have been fascinated with Carcosa and surreal horror since I first read Night Floors years ago. I caught up with Dennis Detwiller and Shane Ivey of Arc Dream Publishing to learn more about the book.  Read the essay that began it all, the Road to Hali. Caleb also joined us to talk abo...

This is Baz’s cat, heard at various points in this episode. News : RPPR episodes are going to be a bit slower because I want to ensure quality episodes. We should have some game designer workshops this year because Caleb and I are both working on various projects.  Our weekly livestreams (every Sunday!) on the RPPR Patreon Discord are going strong with better quality audio. Join the Patreon...

News: Be sure to check out Good Brew Bad View’s episode with Caleb as a guest! Also, Maddy is streaming speedruns of Hades on Twitch . Synopsis: It seems a lot of tabletop RPG Kickstarters are 5E D&D compatible settings or standalone games based on established franchises. Hellboy, Stargate, and Middle Earth all have 5E games. Special guest Max from Good Views Bad Brews Podcast , Aaron, T...

In this episode, we talk about potential games to make about Rio Olympics, plus part 2 of the Future King review, a review of Glory Hole Dwarven Mine from Judge’s Guild, and Tom brings in Mutazoids. We create a PC, Terry. Song: IBM Lotus Night by Lindsheaven Virtual Plaza If you enjoy this, consider supporting RPPR on Patreon. For only $2 a month, you can get an episode of After Hours plus m...

News : Check out the schedule for our schedule for livestreaming on the RPPR Patreon Discord! Also, we’ve been posting some banger episodes on the Mixed Six, so don’t forget to check that out if you haven’t already! Synopsis : Caleb and I have recently watched the classic Argento film, Deep Red, and it sparked a discussion on investigative games. It demonstrates the challenge of...

Caleb has restarted work on Slingstone, his superhero-slaying RPG. We have some playtests of the first version of Slingstone on RPPR B-Sides volume 5 if you want to hear that. I have an idea for a zine system-free version of Night Clerk , one of our more popular AP episodes. We also talk about creativity in the age of Covid-19. Music: Private Caller by Saint Pepsi

News : If you haven’t listened to Night Clerk Radio in a while, check out our most recent episodes. We’ve fine-tuned our editing, so they’re even better than before! The RPPR Patreon is back on track, after a slight delay last month. Be sure to check out our latest After Hours episode where we playtest a game about making up bad game ideas. Synopsis : I am running a Blades in the...

News : My book Zombies of the World is out! Buy it today! Don’t forget to check out Night Clerk Radio as well. Synopsis : We are preparing for a Blades in the Dark campaign, so Caleb, Birk, and I talk about planning heists as players. Heists are harder for some players to comprehend because force isn’t always an option. Discretion and cunning are harder to learn than murderhoboery, but...

News: If you like this episode, consider backing the RPPR Patreon to get 4 years of After Hours episodes, plus early access to Actual Plays, and access to our Discord. I am streaming weird videos like my movie Motor Home from Hell! Also, my book Zombies of the World, is now out! Synopsis : Our listeners have been sending in some great review fodder, so Caleb reviews Cyberskelter, a scenario anthol...

News: Zombies of the World is being reprinted in hardcover! Get a copy today ! Also, check the BPB Twitter for our Savage Tokusatsu livestream dates . It’s now Sunday May 31 at 6 pm CST (it was moved after we recorded this episode). Synopsis : Savage Worlds is a popular RPG system and it’s easy to see why. Low price, lots of settings and quick to play. Kyle Carty of Best Pal Brigade an...

We are adding weekly livestreams to the RPPR Patreon via our Discord! More info is available on the Discord so sign up today. I will be posting classic episodes of After Hours on this feed for the next few months but if you want to binge all of them, you can for only $2 a month. Synopsis : Did you know some people try to hypnotize themselves into believing they are ponies from My Little Pony? Well...

News : Night Clerk Radio is now available! Birk and I have created a new music review podcast focusing on vaporwave, dark ambient, and other haunted genres of music. Listen today on your podcasting app of choice or on Youtube . Synopsis : Running and playing tabletop games online has become extremely popular lately so Birk, Kyle (from Best Pal Brigade featured in our episode art ) and I discuss ou...

RPPR’s most innovative GM, Bridget, and Fae have released the first chapter of their kinetic novel, Cry . It’s about “a road-tripping story about two cryptid-hunters. Follow the exploits of Lorelei Loveless, destitute witch, as she travels the countryside and comes face-to-face with the weird, the wild, and the forgotten.” I talked to them about how they came up with the id...

News: RPPR B-Sides Volume 5: Gaming Gains is now on sale! Get 20 exclusive actual play episodes featuring a Caleb mini-campaign, Red Markets, Delta Green, and more! Also, check out the trailer for our upcoming new podcast, Night Clerk Radio! Don’t forget to check out Best Pal Brigade as well. Synopsis : Itch.io is an indie game storefront that has recently expanded to physical games like RPG...

News : We are working on a new podcast called Night Clerk Radio , where we review vaporwave, dark ambient, and other haunted genres of music. Our website is live with a trailer. We plan to launch soon! Synopsis: Skills in RPGs are an important element but many games don’t get them right. Many games have too many skills while others have no skills at all. Caleb and I talk about good and bad s...

News : The RPPR Patreon has a special offer. Back at the $10 level by February 3 and get RPPR B-Sides Volume 5! This new volume contains 20 actual play episodes featuring Zweihander, Red Markets, Delta Green, and some unique games in development! Learn all the details in this post . Synopsis : What is a Mega Game? Mega Games are a mash-up of Traditional Roleplaying Games, Board Games, and LARP, wi...

News : Birk and I are working on a new podcast called Night Clerk Radio . We have a Twitter account set up to make future announcements. We plan to launch it early next year. Stay tuned! Synopsis : Alien the Role Playing Game is out , based on the long-standing franchise. So how does it stack up? Birk and I have read through the rules and I’ve run a scenario (Chariot of the Gods, soon to be...

Many listeners have asked me for advice on running their first game. After the most recent question, I realized we didn’t have an episode explicitly focused on this topic. Special guest Kory Bing, Tom, and I discuss how to prepare for your first game, from session zero, to the social contract, and designing your first adventure. We also talk about Kory’s comic, Skin Deep, and its rich...

The SCP Foundation is a subgenre of speculative fiction, covering horror, fantasy, and sci-fi, all contained in a very specialized writing style, meant to reflect the internal documentation of a mysterious organization that secures, contains, and protects weird objects and entities. I talked to a volunteer of the SCP Wiki, Vivax, to discuss how SCP fiction can inspire GMs and players. Check out th...

Red Markets has a whole line of supplements, such as Veblen Goods and Trabajo, an enclave book . Sean Farris, one of the writers behind the Veblen Guide, visited Springfield and talked to Caleb and I about Red Markets. We discussed the challenges writing supplements for an existing game and collaborating with others, among other topics. Song: Needle and Thread by Kill Matilda

News : Check out the latest RPPR After Hours for an in-depth discussion on traps in fantasy RPGs! Synopsis :Thad and I both recently played Control, a new video game about a secret government agency that tries to protect the world from supernatural forces while also trying to exploit that power for their own ends. Obviously, this is a riff on the SCP Foundation , but even that is part of a larger...

Three game designers discuss their current projects and answer audience questions at Gen Con 2019. Find out about the new edition of Blue Planet, the latest from Red Markets, and more! Panelists: Ross Payton Jeff Barber – Get the Quickstart guide for Blue Planet: Recontact for free! Caleb Stokes – Get Trabajo now!