Fear the Boot

* (0:29) The episode’s line-up. * (2:10) Wayne runs Silent Memories  for Chad, which leads to a discussion about Jenga, cats playing Jenga , Pandorum , and furry porn . * (8:22) Games that are primarily driven by discovery versus those that are driven by collaboration. * (12:19) The relationship between conflict and discovery. * (13:54) The difference in priority between players and GMs, or story...

* (1:48) Chris’ comedy series, Gamers Behaving Badly .  (It can also be found on YouTube .) * (6:19) Chris finds himself in unexpected conflict when another player pulls out a surprise. * (23:44) Pat’s advice to the other person. * (33:37) When sudden conflict occurs in a game’s finale. Hosts: Chad, Chris, Dan, Pat, Wayne

* (0:29) Fear the Con 8, June 11th – 13th, 2015! * (2:34) Pick up a copy of Sojourn Volume 2 . * (3:29) Chad versus Monsterhearts.   Large Marge from Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure. * (11:48) The value in sticking with a game you don’t think you’ll enjoy. Hosts: Chad, Dan, Pat, Wayne

* (0:53) Thanks to Ruben for the Christmas gifts! * (2:25) Sojourn Volume 2 — a collection of short stories written by Fear the Boots hosts, fans, and friends in the RPG industry — is now on sale. You can get a copy from Amazon or other retailers . * (3:12) Gnarl takes to Twitter . * (7:51) Creating a holiday that exists as part of a game’s setting or plot. * (9:44) Why the holiday exists and what...

* (0:29) Remembering Tobias Parks. * (1:15) Shel Silverstein and our fundraiser for the American Heart Association . * (2:54) Using Method One rolling as a way of challenging yourself in roleplaying. * (15:32) Fixing a game after something has been declared that later is discovered to not have been correct.  Adapting the game to fit the new truth or rolling back to set things right. * (37:29) Usin...

* (1:12) John and MortarGate.  The old anime, Ulysses 31 . * (25:24) The bogeyman of TPKing GMs that may not be all that rule, and the more immediate concern about softball games.  Evaluating and conducting a game arc with a mind for future, unrelated arcs. * (56:45) You can find the charity drive for the American Heart Association here . Hosts: Chad, Dan, John, Julia, Pat

* (0:30) Chris is sad it’s not Hotdish Hursday . * (2:23) The weekly #RPGChat on Twitter , conducted everything Thursday at 2:00pm Central and 9:00pm Central. * (8:21) Fear the Boot’s Bloodbowl League is starting up again.  You can find details on the forum . * (10:19) Running games outside of continuity to bridge gaps in play or explore unlikely ideas. Hosts: Chad, Chris, Dan, Pat, Wayne

* (0:29) Wayne causes metaphysical problems for the podcast.  Casey Kasem loses it over a death dedication (NSFW language). * (2:24) This Christmas, Fear the Boot is supporting the American Heart Association in a competitive charity drive.  You can see the charity’s rating here and make your donations here . * (4:40) A big thanks to Thunderbelly for the copy of Hunters Hunted!  A discussion on the...

* (0:29) John and the definition of “stealing”. * (1:41) How GMs can inadvertently train their players to view the game world in certain ways.  The importance of players separating the NPC from the GM. * (23:27) The Three Clue Rule , pointed out to us by forum user, Concise Locket, for keeping PCs from missing vital points in the plot. Hosts: Brodeur, Chad, Dan, Pat

* (0:24) Checking up on Brodeur’s homework . * (1:24) I am Russian man! * (4:37) Grey beard…? * (11:45) If you could go back in time, what gaming advice would you give yourself? * (20:37) Given the platform, what would you tell any person(s) in the RPG industry? Hosts: Brodeur, Chad, Dan, John, Pat

* (0:26) Episode 354, take 2! * (1:09) Chad and Dan will be on Twitch tomorrow, continuing their Rome 2 campaign. * (1:30) What really separates America from England (HINT: it’s not the Atlantic).  John Oliver explains FIFA . * (3:05) The Gameable Disney Podcast asks what Disney characters we’d play in an RPG. * (5:58) The importance of backstory to a character. * (7:33) Using those same principle...

* (0:29) Work clothes.  Being mistaken for employees of various places. * (4:57) The 1950s milkshake machine.  The other Mixmaster . * (11:30) Giving the players rolls they deserve without breaking immersion — or giving out meta-game information — by the very act of requesting the rolls. * (15:35) Solution 1: Noting the relevant character skills and writing down some rolls in advance. * (17:09) So...

* (0:29) Dan is totally like Slash . * (1:45) An insult that only works with a British accent. * (3:08) How Enterovirus got Dan thinking about roleplaying a character with a persistent infirmity or impairment. * (7:27) Understanding the condition, whether through research, collaboration, or GM explanation. * (10:47) Pacing the manifestations of the impairment’s effects. * (12:57) Impairments manif...

Fair warning: There are a lot of strange things going on in this episode.  It was recorded during a thunderstorm.  I was losing my voice (and completely lost it thereafter, so Karla had to do the intro).  And some of the jokes get rather off-color. * (0:29) Dan’s  Enterovirus , Brodeur’s Herpes, and…yeah…this doesn’t end up anywhere good. * (10:02) The scalemail dice bag Dan got.  You can find a p...

* (0:29) Dan gets hosts back, thanks the fans, and lets Chris now what episode this is . * (2:08) The movie bracket voting on our forums . * (3:48) GM self-perception.  The fear of creating a frustrating NPC or plot point. * (10:04) Dan’s frustration with player trust. * (15:38) Reading the table and getting player feedback on whether your self-image is accurate. * (20:15) The problem of living in...

* (0:31) Why Dan is all alone. * (2:04) Just a few words on Ferguson.  You can find local news at KSDK , KMOV , KMOX , KTVI , and STL Today . * (5:48) The Third XCOM Saga is underway.  We’ve also made some changes to the site to make it easier for users to find the content they want. * (7:58) At 5:00pm Central on September 6th, Fear the Boot will be doing a meet-and-greet with Golbinworks for Path...

* (0:40) If you’re playing Pathfinder Online and looking for a guild, Fear the Boot has aligned itself with Kabal .  We also have an upcoming event with Goblinworks that will take place in-game.  Keep your eye on the show for details, including how you can grab an alpha code to join us. * (1:56) Introducing Steve Butts , the editor-in-chief of IGN .  What YouTube and Flowers for Algernon have in c...

* (0:55) “Yes, but…” GMing.  The honest movie trailer for Frozen .  The adult version (NSFW language).  And the parody version . * (10:53) When a character’s description falls well below the power level described on the sheet.  For example, a party of 1st level characters where one person insists they’re a seasoned veteran.  What happens when three master fencers take on 50 opponents at once . * (...

With a repaired internet connection, we try again at getting John on an episode!  After talking about the social difficulties of constraining group size (or removing problem players), we dig into making characters during the course of a game.  Since many people are either burnt out on character creation or just don’t understand their character until they’ve played him/her, there can be an advantag...

When a Game Master repeatedly uses a character’s weaknesses to reduce them to uselessness.  We discuss whether it’s a fair tactic or just a quick way to wreck that player’s fun. * (1:10) Congratulating Julia on getting married. * (2:48) A reminder about Fear the Boot’s Twitch channel . * (4:20) Save or suck: when failing a roll takes away your control of the character (e.g. sleep spells).  Other s...

* (0:59) “Shnotes” and other words that annoy us. * (3:42) Chad introduces us to Rory’s Story Cubes , and we try some RP experiments with them.  We discuss the value of random words and images in helping to break creative block or get out of ruts. * (25:59) Alternate ways of creating the same (or similar) story aids for your game. * (28:36) Using free association to create character-to-character l...

In this episode we discuss handling a game after realizing you were wrong about an important rule or bit of setting, and correcting that mistake will alter the course of the game. * (0:29) TsunamiCon in Wichita, KS on November 7th – 9th. * (2:04) Mic-dropping on games.  Walking away from a game, whether as a player or GM. * (13:20) Realizing you’ve been wrong about a major rule or piece of setting...

In this episode we talk about players that overstep their bounds, going beyond helping the GM to apparently trying to help run the game.  We talk about why this might happen and ways to address it. * (0:29) Some thanks to the other podcasts at Fear the Con! Action Nerds: GO! Beer Powered Time Machine THE ESTABLiSHED FACTS The Hippest of Hops Ideology of Madness Kicked in the Dicebags Postcards fro...

In this episode, we talk about Chris’ trip home from the con and the misadventures he has with a cop on a fishing expedition and a gas station attendant telling rather implausible war stories. * (0:23) Please leave reviews for Sojourn on Barnes & Noble to help us get it stocked in stores!  If you’re still looking to buy the book, you can find a list of places it’s available for sale here . * (1:21...

* (0:29)  Reign of the Descended for the Mecha RPG ( free quickstart , full version ). * (2:02) Fear the Con 7 !  Information on the pre-con tourism .  Take care of the people that take care of you. * (4:49) Chad’s family night turns into a family RPG.  We talk about the steps he went through (and avoided) to build the best experience for his son. * (12:34) Setting clear objectives.  The prior epi...