Biggus Geekus

Episode 32 Wednesday, April 14, 2021 The Positive Material Plane Call-ins (Jason Connerly, and John Alan Large) Good news? Making games and making game systems Managing the Known vs the Unknown 1)Player knowledge vs character knowledge 2) How does DM keep what he knows from influencing 3) How much of the campaign setting to share with the players 4) GM Screens- is all about The Known vs the Unknow...

The Positive Material Plane Call ins: Jason of the Nerds RPG Variety Cast 3 great things about our hobby Game & Gamer Mindsets Def. of Mindset: a habitual or characteristic mental attitude that determines how to interpret and respond to situations. Games and Their Mindsets:  Dungeons and Dragons (Clones +OSR, 13th Age , Pathfinder,Warhammer, Shadow of the Demon Lord, Rolemaster)  TSR...

Episode 30 of our podcast and the date is Wednesday March 31, 2021. The Positive Material Plane What have you done this week related to RPGs that has been a net positive for you and why? Discussing vs Playing RPGs and how to even it out 1) Ignoring the podcast time, which do you/we do more of? 2) What do you think most gamers do more of, talk about or play ? 3) Why don’t we play more? 4) Is discus...

Episode 29 Wednesday March 24, 2021 The Positive Material Plane “Something positive about TTRPGs that we have learned over the years ” We get to be heroes! Call-Ins & Sundry Jason from Nerd’s RPG Variety Cast J ohn from Red Dice Diaries Making High level Play Playable (in D & D) 1. What are the issues? 2. Why this topic? OSR friends, recent discussions on Tenkar’s Iron Rations 3. Making th...

Episode 28 Wednesday March 17, 2021 Call Ins Our man, Jason C with some truth bombs! Check out Iron Rations podcast from 3/12/21 “ Why 5e Doesn’t teach how to DM” The Gaming NEWS: 1) 3-D Printed Minis 2) Greg Gillespia’s Barrowmaze: Dwarrowdeep 3) The Terminator RPG Kickstarter is up 4) Encyclopedia Kickstarter is live- for DM’s & 15 different cities 5) Obvious leftist article on why DnD is dr...

Episode 3, Sunday March 14, 2021 Call Ins Fun times with Jason from NERDS RPG Variety Jason discusses issues such as Player Agency, Bennies and other Hero Points, Our website (such as it is) and many other topics. Wing’in It! We discuss Race n Dungeons and Dragons, and how it has lost its savor.

Episode 27 Wednesday, March 10, 2021 We open with our usual intro and we talk about recent and future games. The Gaming NEWS KS cancels Perfect RPG Campaign : Zak Smith sues Gencon and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-3HX1-wrlQ DnD Survivalist Guide KS with Douglas Niles A Twofer 1) Player Agency - this is one of those terms like RPGs and replayability that is tough to define.  We give it th...

Sunday March 7, 2021 Call Ins Fun times with Jason from NERDS RPG Variety Cast -His GM stuff -SW: edges his only negative (btw: we are old as well - 54) -Re-skinning trolls/don’t say the name/ -Group think/Sourcing for certain skill checks -No such thing as GM metagaming? -GM keeps sheets behind lots of work -Games as Therapy John and Hannah from the Red Dice Diaries -chuckled at our mention of he...

Episode 26 Wednesday March 3, 2021 We begin with our typical intro and talk about upcoming games. The Gaming NEWS Big Money KS DnD Gets New Division at Hasbro WOTC Gets a New Logo WOTC Levels Up at Hasbro WOTC Makes More Money Than Hasbro’s Toy Division Production update for New DnD Movie and Magic TV Series 6 Things The New DnD movie needs, according to Dicebreaker Hugh Grant in as villain for mo...

Episode 25 February 24, 2021 1st Year Anniversary (roughly) Our usual intro and gaming blather… Special Guest Glen Halstrom of Radio Grognard The Gaming NEWS Another roll20 ranking this week (I think I know what Uncategorized is) And even more Pericle RPG Ravenloft …again…: and again Beadle and Grimm Strikes Again with Finger Puppets(?) ONLY $359!!! Jon Peterson’s Other book Main Topic: CR & P...

Tuesday February 16, 2021 We do our usual intro and discuss recent gaming. Call Ins Jason from Nerds RPG Variety Cast calls in to discuss various points relative to episode 23. Wing’in It! A rambling discourse of many RPG topics Shameless Plug Time If you would like to support our show, please check out our website at: www.biggusgeekuspodcast.com/support Any contribution is much appreciated, and w...

Episode 24, Monday February 15, 2021 We do our usual intro and briefly talk about home games. The Gaming NEWS: Savage Pathfinder Q & A Free League’s One Ring 2e KS good start (but read this short article) We’re #2!! We’re #2!! …are you really? A Mathematics Moment We (or Randy to be honest) goes deep into the math of 5e’s advantage/disadvantage mechanic.  Some reading can be found here Ma...

Episode 23 February 10 ,2021 Call In: From Jason of Nerds RPG Variety Cast The Gaming NEWS: Jon Peterson continues to provoke good discussion: “Does System Matter?” Recall: The Blood War Shadow of the Demonlord (been around a while) 1 on1 RPG play Pathfinder spells to SW Powers Keith Baker’s Eberron Remember the win Main Topic: 5E Dungeons and Dragons- A Belated Review We start with the Players Ha...

Episode 22 Recorded on Wednesday February 3, 2021 The Gaming NEWS: Rob Kuntz, TLB Games and Legends of Roleplaying Additional Info Free Sunken City Map Package Immersion and Roleplaying Zinequest 3 Call Ins We really appreciate the praise! Red Dice Diaries - John Alan Large comments on episode 20 and about the OSR Hobbs & Friends of the OSR - Jason Hobbs [Low Fantasy Gaming] comments on episod...

The RR vs The Sandbox Episode 21. Wednesday January 27, 2021 We do the usual intro and chit chat. The Gaming NEWS: Dragonlance Classic Announced The Rise of Offensive Games And Virtue Signal The Game of Social Justice The Origins of Rule Zero What’s an RPG? Main Topic: The RR vs the Sandbox We define the terms from the interwebs: Railroad Linear game design Carrot-and-stick Sandbox Game Design We...

Is this OSR? Episode 20. Tuesday, January 19th, 2021 We do our usual intro and recent gaming reports. The Gaming NEWS: DnD TV Show in the works : and   oh and The Origins of Rule Zero A Bit more news on Savage Pathfinder :  It launched today [ 1-19-21]. Did you back it? How to roleplay? Main Topic: Is this the OSR? We define and discuss various aspects of OSR play, what we like and don’t...

Episode 19 Wednesday January 13, 2021 We have our usual intro and gaming situations. The Gaming NEWS: Candlekeep Mysteries (announced 1-12-21) Really just the Korvair Map Rug Is this the way? Origins pushed back to fall in hopes of F2F Con Free maps New Dragonlance Novel Announced? Main Topic: Player Burnout ( in RPGS) We define burnout and talk about how to recognize it. We also talk about soluti...

Episode 18 Recorded on Wednesday January 6, 2021 We have our usual intro and gaming situations. The Gaming NEWS: ENWORLD is 20 years old Diversity woes for WOTC Playing for Two Main Topic: Combat in RPGs We get into the nitty gritty of combat: initiative, movement, terrain, length, PC roles, PC vs Player skill, and a host of other questions. Initiative types taken from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wi...

Episode 17 Recorded on November 28, 2020 for release on December 31, 2020 We have our usual Intro and moaning about the lack of in person gaming. Back in My Day We talk about the Talisman board game from way back. Main Topic: Making PCs in DnD We compare and contrast how PCs are made in the various editions of DnD. In situations where our experience is limited and/or it is from Eons ago quotes wer...

Saturday November 28, 2020 pre-recorded for Wednesday December 23rd, 2020 Our usual intro and gaming situations No Gaming News because we prerecorded Main Topic: What we love about RPGs Wherein we discuss the many things that draw us to RPGs. From escapism to socializing with our pals. The kinds of games and game genre we like best. Also, we discuss our who and where gaming preferences. A Cabin Co...

Wednesday December 16, 2020 Our usual intro and gaming situations The Gaming News: Chris Pine to star in new Dungeons and Dragons movie Seems a little late for the DnD Beyond App to just now get a dice roller LotFR has something other than Samurai to play . It’s in the top 20 for 2020 at GeekNative . Things We Actually Like: Tale of The Manticore New Financial Backer!!! Thank you to Amy and Trent....

Wealth in RPGs Episode 14, Wednesday December 9,2020 We do the usual, the intro and we lament the lack of gaming for the week. The Gaming NEWS: Free League to release Colonial Marines Supplement Cypher Creator System Gift Ideas for Players Wealth in RPGs (and their value) We discuss tracking wealth, what we do with it as players, and it’s utility as a part of the game (or not). Some useful article...

Thursday December 3rd, 2020 We opened with our usual intro but deviated the norm to play a few messages from John of The Red Dice Diaries . These were great and we appreciate the time he took to listen and comment. Thanks John!!! Shout outs to Tenkar’s Tavern and Roleplay Rescue as well We went on to discuss Randy’s lack of gaming and my excess of gaming. The Gaming News: Clarification #1: Compari...

Recorded Tuesday, November 24th, 2020 We open with the usual intro and talk about the next session of Savage Worlds The Gaming NEWS 1. GaleForce 9 sues WOTC breach of contract…another one?    And another? 2. Sweet towns and taverns maps 3. Pop-up terrain 4. Mophidius (of Conan fame- 2d20 system?) shows some art from the new DUNE RPG 5. The Yawning Portal ($350 price tag…YIKES!) 6. Tasha’...

November 19th, 2020 Intro and gaming catchup where Randy and Joe talk about their latest in person Savage Worlds Fantasy game together. The Gaming NEWS: 1) Fun and annoyance with swords 2) New Old Survey for DnD 3) Reorg at Asmodee shuffles Star Wars mini games away from FFG 4) Free League is on Fire 5) Traveller Box Set on the Horizon 6) Blue Rose Quickstart 7) Vampire changes owner? 8) Non profi...