Fluff N Crunch

A few years ago Modiphius ran a Kickstarter for Cohors Cthulhu, a mythos + fantasy game set in 2nd Century Rome. James backed it and today we provide an overview of the books, system, setting, and his overall review of the collection. Modiphius’ CC Page: https://modiphius.net/en-us/pages/cohors-cthulhu

Published campaigns offer advantages and challenges to homebrew content, and we’ve got some experiences with both and advice for how to work through them in this update on Jeremy’s PF1e Eberron campaign, which is based on the Ironfang Invasion Adventure Path from Paizo, modified to fit Eberron and to make more sense as a story.

James finally finished his Curse of Strahd/Castlevania mashup, and his GM had a…unique…way to make the last session memorable. Listen to the madness and be inspired, repelled, or both.

You shelved that campaign some time ago, and now you and your players want to bring it back to the table…how? Where do you start? How do you get everyone back on the same page, heading in the same direction, and with some energy to kick things off? Herein we discuss some ideas.

I’d wager that every GM of at least a few months of experience has either considered “world building” or done it. It seems like a massive, maybe daunting challenge, and it can be. Where, then, should you start? Herein we begin our extended series on world building: What size should you make your new world? And by "world," what do you mean? How to think about which system to use Where to...

How can you approach canon when dealing with an established setting? When does it make sense to bend or break it, and are there other ways to work with it as you plan and run games? We offer some suggestions and a heap of examples. Let us know what you think: https://forms.gle/siRsr21MVpTptHv18

Herein I offer an initial pitch to James about Eberron, the DnD setting that debuted in 2004 during they height of the d20/3.5 era. I make the case that this world works, breathes in a way that is easily understood and is plausible, making creating and running stories easy and interesting. Let us know what you think in our new comments box: https://forms.gle/pUMTHCwFmyPm39aa6 Eberron page on Drive...

An annual tradition on the show, herein we discuss our short lists of goals and plans for gaming in 2026, to include some worldbuilding, new campaigns, deliberate shelving of existing campaigns, and other gaming-related activities. What are you planning for in gaming in 2026?

James explains how he is getting to know Traveller as a GM and running a story for one player. We discuss how he handles the mechanics, story, and character aspects of this original adventure, and how it fits perfectly with Traveller’s core rules. Check out Mongoose’s Traveller Start Page: https://www.mongoosepublishing.com/collections/start-here Check out the awesome Traveller Map: https://travel...

I picked up this starter box at a Black Friday sale and ran the one session story is contained. Herein are my thoughts. Free League’s Vaesen Page: https://freeleaguepublishing.com/games/vaesen/

STA came out in late 2017, and I’ve been running it on and off since, with four separate campaigns under my belt, and a shelf of 1e hardbacks as my collection. Herein I look back on the game - what it does well, where it’s rough, and why it’s worth trying (1e or 2e), despite my lack of interest in 2e. Find current and 1e materials at the links below. Free 2e Quickstart: https://tinyurl.com/2pzvuh5...

We’ve discussed the work that goes into getting ready to run a new campaign, and since one of us is going through that right now, we decided to talk through the steps in the process of marrying the three S’s of a game: system, setting, and story. And here's that link to the massive Classic Traveller deal: https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/traveller-classic-rpg-collection?v=5911

Every campaign comes to an end, whether by decision or outside events or pressure. When you have at least some time to work with, how can you gracefully, satisfyingly, finish a campaign? And when you do, are you ending it, or shelving it? We discuss these ideas today.

Every RPG offers some kind of system of formal rewards: XP, levels, skills…but what else can you do, mechanically and within the story, to reward your players? Is there more to rewards than character levels or powers? We think so, and we discuss some specific, actionable ideas in today’s episode.

Most games give a decent amount of attention in the rules to planning combat encounters - but what about those where you, the GM, intend for there to be no fighting at all? How do you decide to insert these into your adventures and how do you plan and run them at the table? We tackle some of the essentials in this episode.

We continue with James’ Traveller campaign and share some different perspectives on he we each ran the same adventure, and how you can launch your own Traveller Spinward Marches campaign.

Art and TTRPGs have a long, cooperative history, with DnD’s art being something of the flagship and standard for what gaming art can be, can look like, and the role it plays in your game. Herein we discuss this and some of the topics with which it overlaps. For the ‘classic’ DnD art mentioned in the episode… Watch the documentary, Eye of the Beholder: The Art of Dungeons & Dragons, on Amazon:...

Where do you start when planning a conflict (combat?) encounter? It’s not with CR, or mechanical balance, or XP values…it’s deeper and more interesting, in fact. We discuss some of the most fundamental questions you should ask and issues you should consider when planning where and when to add a fight to your tabletop RPG sessions. Join our friendly Discord: https://discord.gg/5AtydRUDjX Subscribe...

After our episodes about James running High & Dry, I thought it’d be useful to give some advice to the new or would-be Traveller GM or player. There are a lot of Drinaxout there for the game - where should you get started? I help. Our Discord: https://discord.gg/ydwwPHNuG9 The core book: https://tinyurl.com/tpjf358z Third Imperium: https://tinyurl.com/4yf6pbe8 Traveller Companion: https://tiny...

Herein we discuss session 2, and the completion of, the great introductory adventure for Traveller, “High & Dry.” Check out our discussion of the first part of the adventure: https://spotifycreators-web.app.link/e/suIB5wTulWb Read about the adventure on Mongoose’s site: https://www.mongoosepublishing.com/products/marches-adventure-1-high-and-dry Find it on DriveThru: https://www.drivethrurpg.c...

Where do you start when planning an encounter, or scene, for a TTRPG adventure? How do you think about the location and how to convey its details to your players? We discuss in today’s episode.

You’re a GM interested in starting a new campaign…what are the first steps you should take? What are the initial ideas and issues you need to nail down before sinking in all that world and adventure building work? We tackle these issues in this part 1 of a multi-episode arc.

Traveller’s a great game set in a massive universe - but where should you start? High and Dry is an excellent introduction for players and GMs new to Traveller, and in this episode we discuss James’ first session of the adventure with his group - all of them new to Traveller.

Session prep can be tough - and prep for a game that neither you nor your players have played before is tougher. Herein we discuss James' upcoming first session of Traveller, using it as a vehicle to talk about some foundational session prep practices any GM can use.

Herein we talk about the reboot, and then get down to the important business of discussing some pithy, useful GM tips.