RPG Lessons Learned

Dusty and Tanner return to Rokugan with Legend of the Five Rings! They talk about their latest session, including "mythology episodes", introducing supernatural elements into grounded games, GM backseat driving, dilemmas that end up having clear answers, campaign villains, how often to engage with the game's core mechanic, D1 glazing, relationship building with NPCs, the best way to study for a se...

Tanner talks with Dusty about the mixed conclusion to his homebrew OSR sandbox game. Topics of conversation include how to conclude an open-ended story, Macguffins that don't work, how random encounters can generate plot, the dedication of players, GM ego, magic item design, and how (mostly) awesome The Monster Overhaul is. The Tan Hack: https://thecrystalmaw.itch.io/the-tan-hack The Monster Overh...

The Legend of the Five Rings mini-campaign continues! Dusty and Tanner talk about the second session, including an unexpected story climax, themes in RPG stories, misalignment driving storytelling, player monologues, reining in GMPCs, what prep looks like for a narrative game, and GM vs player obligations in play. Legend of the Five Rings: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/257004/legend-of-t...

Tanner runs L5R 5E for Dusty as a start of a new campaign! They chat about telegraphing and predicting story moments, giving a player character a sidekick, making complex characters, role-playing in-character, how game settings and systems can influence role-playing choices, transitioning from pre-published to homebrewed adventures, pulling punches as a GM, when to house rule or let the system rol...

Dusty and Tanner check out the G.I. Joe RPG! Topics include setting the tone before the game, adapting a group-focused game to 1 player, system cheat sheets, pre-made adventure structures, how an adventure teaches you a system, adventures that are too easy, games that make themselves a pain to play digitally, wrestling with Fantasy Grounds, and the idea of too much new-ness. G.I. JOE Roleplaying G...

Dusty and Tanner conclude their trip through Closed Shell Castle in L5R 5E. They talk goal-oriented gaming, expectations of role-playing in the world of Rokugan, scene-based games with no procedure, role-playing character disadvantages, stories with three-act structures, setting driving a narrative, the GM as a director, player knowledge vs character knowledge and dramatic tension, long-term and s...

Tanner runs L5R 5E for Dusty! It's maybe his favorite roleplaying game? They discuss the tendency of players to not do homework, the self-consciousness of playing Eastern fantasy, the game of twenty questions and lifepath character creation, embodying a fictional character, playing with funny narrative dice, comfort zone gaming, losing control of your character, and open-mindedness. Legend of the...

Dusty runs 5E for the first time in ten years... let's see how it went. Topics include running a game for a system you don't even like, bad early 90s movies, techno-vampires, the power of re-skinning stat blocks and entire adventures, running 5E combat, and the generosity of RPG communities. The Dragon of Icespire Peak: https://marketplace.dndbeyond.com/category/SRC-00041 Intro / Outro Music: Mirr...

Dusty tells Tanner about Martin's latest campaign in a Wild West Call of Cthulhu! They talk the appeal of d100 systems, Japanese COC adventures, realism in historical settings, appropriate contents for horror games, high lethality gaming, getting inspiration for player characters from other media, and ending a campaign in a "failure." Call of Cthulhu Quick-Start: https://www.chaosium.com/cthulhu-q...

Tanner talks about tying together multiple dungeons into one overarching campaign for his home group! (Note: Tanner's mic sounds a little bit hot, but the issues clear up about 9 minutes in. Sorry!!!!). They chat about survival and inventory mechanics, hex crawling and dungeon crawling, revisiting Abberant Reflections, the magic of random encounters, when to metagame and not to metagame, placing d...

Dusty loves Cyberpunk 2077! But Tanner does not... listen as they compare notes! Discussions include the setting in the tabletop RPG and the video game, low-brow vs high-brow genre fiction, Keanu Reeves, playing male or female player characters, the role of "punk" in Cyberpunk, tired tropes, Americana through the lens of non-Americans, adult content in Baldur's Gate vs Cyberpunk, appealing to diff...

Tanner ran "Dragon in the Dungeon" for his group! While Tanner's group didn't encounter Frog (will anyone ever?), they did turn on the guards! The guys talk hex dungeons once again, and there's a little discussion about Ben Milton's "The Keymaster!" The Tan Hack: https://thecrystalmaw.itch.io/the-tan-hack Dragon in Dungeon: https://drive.google.com/file/d/10e0tj4S4IpJkMBK-f7Lb65MVdehYQ1cv/view?usp...

Dusty finished the classic adventure The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh for Tanner! Long story short, Dusty needs to get better at re-capping prior sessions to recreate immersion. Scarlet Heroes by Sine Nomine Publishing on DriveThruRPG: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/127180/Scarlet-Heroes The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh on DriveThruRPG: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/17069/u1-the-si...

Dusty describes running Andrew Kolb's Neverland for his daughter and her friends! They talk arts and crafts as a part of running RPGs, bucket list gaming, setting expectations about hex crawls, affordable gaming, the strengths and weaknesses of OSR systems, and putting "crap" on the table. Neverland Campaign Setting by Andrew Kolb: https://kolbisneat.com/portfolio/neverland/ Basic Fantasy Role-Pla...

Dusty ran the classic adventure The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh for Tanner as a Hex Dungeon! Topics include adapting an old adventure for a Hex Dungeon, variety in published adventures, how damn good of a game Scarlet Heroes is, the fun of playing through a haunted house of creepy-crawlies, the power of evocative descriptions, rot grubs, and more! Scarlet Heroes by Sine Nomine Publishing on Drive...

Tanner loves Baldur's Gate 3! But Dusty hates it... Listen to Tanner take Dusty to task! Note, there will be spoilers for Baldur's Gate 3 in this episode. They talk about translating tabletop combat to video games, the likeability of evil characters, the importance of being hooked early, adult content and expectations, player expression, dating sims, roleplaying moments, and when to give things a...

Tanner and Dusty finish Slug House! They discuss the importance of an emotional hook, the current state of Tanner's system, the Tan Hack, and more! Slug House by Stromberg Press: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/491255/slug-house The Tan Hack: https://thecrystalmaw.itch.io/the-tan-hack  Intro / Outro Music: Mirror Image by BernardW100 ! Chapters (00:00:00) - RPG Lessons Learned (00:01:35) -...

Tanner tells Dusty about the end of his Lancer campaign, and they discuss the difference (if there is one) between short-term and long-term fun in TTRPGs! LANCER RPG: https://massif-press.itch.io/corebook-pdf Intro / Outro Music: Mirror Image by BernardW100 !

Dusty and Tanner return to the slimy world of Slug House, talking wandering monsters and following your own advice. Then they switch gears, talking some of Dusty's at-home gaming time running a tried-and-true adventure for kids, the perils of using character voices, and the importance of a list of random names. Finally, Tanner gives an update on his Lancer campaign, and asks Dusty for help with hi...

Tanner runs Slug House for Dusty, an old-school dungeon that's a bit bigger than what they are used to! Topics of converstation include hacking together your own OSR system, one player running multiple characters, the difference between a good online game vs a good in person game, eating food in a dungeon, perilous random encounters, shopping, GM never rolling dice, and managing your multitasking....

Tanner ran Dusty through a one-on-one sci-fi OSR adventure in Death In Space, and it wasn't great! They chat about the joy of creating characters by rolling on random tables, playing a character with 1 HP, the power of a good setting and a pretty book, unstructured adventures, and the struggle to find one-on-one games that suit Dusty and Tanner's tastes. Death in Space: https://freeleaguepublishin...

Dusty tells Tanner about running games for some family and friends, and talk about secret doors in dungeons, metagaming the map, Jaquaysing the dungeon, keying your maps, pacing and indecision, red dragons vs green dragons, running Dusk again (!), homebrewing monsters, considerations for running games for youngsters, and the evils of fudging dice rolls! The Hex Dungeon Manifesto by Tanner on Itch:...

Tanner gives Dusty an update on his Lancer campaign with his home group, talking about how long combat takes, the importance of scheduling, designing tactical combat encounters, roleplaying mechanics, and the strengths of different mecha and sci-fi subgenres. LANCER RPG: https://massif-press.itch.io/corebook-pdf Operation Solstice Rain: https://massif-press.itch.io/operation-solstice-rain Intro /...

Dusty ran Tanner a one-on-one one shot in West End Game's Star Wars d6 system. Discussions include the fun of making an adventure vs running one, the best types of characters to play for a game with only one player, concepts vs practicality in adventure design, failing forward, and scripted lines for players! Escape From Drassana: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gPjMBwcw-eC8Iz_gOPQVw7zI-CpShBzV/v...

Dusty and Tanner talk their favorite GM advice from games they love, as well as some not-so-great advice, including advice on random encounters, asking your players what they want, magic tricks at the table, building trust between players and the GM, railroading in published adventures, and linear story structure. The Black Hack 2e by Gold Piece Publications on DrivethruRPG: https://www.drivethrur...