Fluff N Crunch

It might sound absurd, but if you want your best TTRPG session, you need to know the rules. Herein I provide some real-world-tested techniques for learning and remembering the rules to your games and your characters.#ttrpg #closereading Join our friendly Discord: https://discord.gg/5AtydRUDjX Subscribe on to our podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fluffncrunchSubscribe to our YouTube...

Engagement, by GM and players, is essential if you want a fun, interesting, and memorable TTRPG session...but how do you achieve it? What does it look like? Here are some specific techniques - for players and GMs - to help you get and stay engaged with the game, story, and each other. Join our friendly Discord: https://discord.gg/5AtydRUDjX Subscribe on to our podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.c...

Why is it that everything is so politicized these days? Is it possible to play a game without the inclusion of your political positions while at the table, or as a purity test for players? Listen and find out the lab-tested truth of the matter. Get caught up with the first episode in this series here: https://youtu.be/10o8pt2qEY0 Join our friendly Discord: https://discord.gg/5AtydRUDjX Subscribe o...

Nobody plans to have a mediocre game session - but how do you get great, or at least pretty good, one? What can you plan in advance to increase the likelihood of a good session? What can you do during the session to make the best it can be? This is the first in a multi-episode series featuring advice on how to have great sessions, and specific ideas about how to make it happen. Join our friendly D...

Have you read the rules for it? Have you tried it? Dune's five types of conflict utilize the same mechanics, relying on abstract "Assets" and the various things you can do with them to enable one set of rules for widely varying scales of conflict. Dueling, a central story elements from the books and movies, is one of those five and, by far, the most complicated of them. Herein I disc...

I recently sat down with Al Spader, creator and lead writer for the Sentience 2d20 RPG, now on Kickstarter. We talk about the game, the original world in which it's set, and plans for the game's future. Find the Kickstarter here: http://kck.st/4aAKmEn Join our friendly Discord: https://discord.gg/5AtydRUDjX Subscribe on to our podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fluffncrunch S...

We've run this show since the summer of 2021, and each January we've released an episode in which we map out our hopes, dreams, and plans for gaming for the coming year. Granted, we're late this time, but here it is - plus a change to the show format that we've decided on in response to the demands of real life. Join our friendly Discord: https://discord.gg/5AtydRUDjX Subscribe on...

The Forever GM often hits a wall and forcibly ends a campaign that's turned into an energy-draining grind, or tries to soldier on. The truly epic, years-long campaign is a rarity, more often the result of natural, largely uncontrollable factors than deliberate design. When, however, can a GM intentionally shelve a campaign that's going well? That's what I'm about to do, and this is how I'm going t...

Traveller - the original, classic, and still going strong scifi RPG - is worth your time. You should give it a try, and now that Mongoose Publishing has offered a free starter version, you have no valid excuse. In this short, episode, I present and discuss three groovy things about Traveller that make it worth a look - sure, there are more than three things that make it groovy, but I have chosen t...

Have you ever wanted to dump a massive space war on your party of characters? If not, you should strongly consider doing so, and using Opening Moves, an adventure and sourcebook from Mongoose for their Traveller 2e RPG. Herein I provide an episode in three parts: an overview of the book and adventure; a more detailed walk-through of the adventure for GMs; and my commentary, review, and suggestions...

Merry Christmas, and I hope you're doing something with family and/or friends instead of watching this on the 25th. In response to a post on X, encouraging GMs to relax and enjoy the work instead of thinking they bear all the burdens of the world (and game), I was inspired to talk for a bit on this issue. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this topic: how do we get people to want to be GMs, and to...

Achtung! Cthulhu, the great #2d20 #ttrpg from  @Modiphius  , doesn't get enough love, we think, and so today we have the adventure designer of "Rendezvous at Rouen," a follow-up to the free quickstart, on to talk about the module, adventure design, and some of the challenges of writing for someone else. Get the adventure from DriveThruRPG: https://tinyurl.com/2da7jx2k Get the free quickstart rules...

Do you do anything to mark the Christmas season with your gaming group? Consider using it as an opportunity to run something different! Herein we discuss ideas for doing exactly that, and the benefits you and your group can have in doing so. Check out Chris's Christmas Amazon Music Playlist: https://tinyurl.com/44k2b5cj Chris's Outgunned Session Notes: https://tinyurl.com/bddk2thc Chris's Notes fo...

In response to a listener comment about our episode from 28 NOV, about how to run a good #ttrpg convention game, I decided to record this follow-up episode, in which I address three additional points: character sheets, time management, and the always-sticky issue of safety tools, and how to handle other requests and demands from the Gaming HR Dept... Join our friendly Discord: https://discord.gg/5...

Now that you've prepared that #ttrpg convention game, you need to sit down at the table with several strangers and make it work. Here are some tips from a long-time convention GM to help ensure those four hours are well-spent. #gming #gameconvention Join our friendly Discord: https://discord.gg/5AtydRUDjX Subscribe on to our podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fluffncrunch Subscribe t...

Have you ever run a #TTRPG at a convention? Whether you have or haven't, in this episode we discuss some essential things you need to consider in order to have a successful and fun session, from rules selection to story creation to preparing yourself for a long weekend of gaming. Make sure to listen to our next episode, wherein we'll discuss how to run that convention game - how do you manage the...

Where do you draw the line over what kind of content to include in your games? Does the context of play - home, con, online - and makeup of your player group make a difference? Herein we discuss this thorny issue and offer up our excellent advice about how to handle this in your games. #xcards #ttrpg Join our friendly Discord: https://discord.gg/5AtydRUDjX Subscribe on to our podcast: https://podc...

We talked about the merits of #Vampire the Masquerade, especially the 2nd edition, in last week's episode and today we deliver some ideas about where to get started as a GM (sorry - #storyteller) in order to get the best and most out of what VtM can offer. Chris's relationship map: https://tinyurl.com/4rpj4ty6 Relationship map from Chicago By Night: https://tinyurl.com/5f4nv6ua Alien Hunger: https...

Vampire: the Masquerade changed the RPG landscape in the mid-90s, offering a new system and unique character and story options, heavy on intrigue and social interactions and, at least in the writing, eschewing the DnD norm that a fight solves every problem. Herein we discuss the basics of the setting and system, and what made VtM so revolutionary - and what should get you to give the classic 2nd e...

What's both great about and wrong with the Alien #ttrpg from Free League? After five years, and an upcoming 2nd edition, we're digging into what makes this game great and extremely limited in scope, too. Hint: they're the same thing. And check out Free League's Kickstarter information, page, too: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1192053011/alien-rpg-second-edition-and-rapture-p...

I had the pleasure of talking with John Houlihan, Line Editor for #modiphius Achtung! Cthulhu RPG, about his upcoming novel, Shadow of the Serpent, which combines elements of Lovecraftian #mythos with the Age of Napoleon. We discuss his ideas for the setting, and the story in his upcoming novel. Check out the links below for pre-order information! #cthulhu  John's Site: www.john-houlihan.net I...

What's all the controversy? How can you mine Outlaws for #ttrpg ideas? How #Starwars does it feel? Cut through the nonsense with our quick review of this new game.#outlaws #tatooine Join our friendly Discord: https://discord.gg/5AtydRUDjX Subscribe on to our podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fluffncrunch Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@fluffncrunchpod

Players can get pretty steamed when their character dies...and it's worse when they die for reasons of the dice alone, or in ways that do not fit within the story. In this episode we discuss the moments when this issue comes up, and how to handle them gracefully. And thanks to Professor Dungeon Master @DUNGEONCRAFT1 for a very clever, simple way of handling this issue. #tabletoprpg #characterd...

Sometimes campaigns end; sometimes they're resolved; sometimes they die...quickly. My Castles & Crusades campaign, at about 9 months, died suddenly and we've replaced it, happily, with Traveller...a game no one else at my table has played. In this episode I discuss our Session Zero character creation, which in Traveller presents story and character background possibilities that simply...

What's the new #startrekadventures #rpg like? How are the rules different from the first edition, and are they better? Is it worth the purchase?  @Modiphius  was kind enough to provide us with PDF copies to review, and here's our honest commentary on the updated version of a great game. #starktrek #finalfrontier #tabletop #hesdeadjim Join our friendly Discord: https://discord.gg/5AtydRUDjX...