GamingPerspectives

     Jolene has always liked Gnomes( She pronounces gnome with a hard G) and when we were thinking of a new episode we thought about the last couple of episodes dealing with Elves and Dwarves.  We agreed that Gnomes was a good topic to continue our discussion of playing other character races other than humans.      Gnomes for Saul had been one of those groups that he had never played.  Saul usuall...

     Saul was persuing the internet looking at Steam Punk  RPGs and stumbled across  Carbon Grey a Diesel Punk RPG by Magnetic Press.  It uses a slightly tweaked version of the Classic Star Wars D6 system.  Its quick and easy to understand and play.   That Star Wars D6 system has always been liked for its playablity and fun.        Carbon Grey is set in a alternate world where the 1st Kaiser is sa...

    We got a text asking about the different version of OSR RPGs so Saul and Jolene read through some of the OSR games that Saul has collected in printed and PDF format.  Jolene also looked at various blogs and Youtube vidoes for some of the more popular OSR games that Saul did not have in his library.      From Original D&D to 2nd edition there are several OSR games for each version of  "Old Scho...

     In this episode Saul and Jolene discuss using your good skills while running RPGs.  All GMs have skills and talents.   Saul and Jolene agree that when GMs do this they make better games for their players.          Along with strengths, GMs have weaknesses, we all do.  Saul and Jolene also believe that we as GMs learn and progress with every game we play and run.  As we realize these weaknesse...

     Dwarves in RPGs,  Saul and Jolene discussed Elves in a previous episode and they could not ignore the other popular RPG race, Dwarves.  Saul again harkens to Tolkien origins but doesn't believe that Tolkien was as much a fan of his Dwarves than his Elves.          Jolene found quite a bit of articles and posts about how people liked or disliked playing Dwarves in RPGs.  Though disliked less t...

     After reading about a shortage of DMs in New York article and on different social media Saul and Jolene looked into this idea.   First of all is there a DM shortage?  The article was in Hellgate an online local "newspaper".  In it the author states that there is a large calling for DM by a large number of new players that want to play Dungeons and Dragons.         Saul thinks that this might...

Saul and Jolene are back to chatting about AI Chat.  After dismissing doing an episode on AI Chat Bots and RPGs, a few articles they each read convinced each of them to discuss this subject on the mics for an episode.      Saul talks about his foray into Chat GPT and his attempt have the AI make a Bladerunner adventure.   It was a very interesting endeavor .        Jolene read a few articles and s...

          In this episode Saul and Jolene discuss Elves in RPGs.  From how they are portrayed in books, myth and popular culture.  Some GMs ban players from playing Elves for various reasons.  Playing Elves has been a popular race/culture to play since Original D&D was published in 1974.         Saul and Jolene discuss where the idea of Elves comes from and how they became a mainstay of many fanta...

         At the end of 2022 AI art websites started to emerge.  In RPGs where art is utilized from the making of RPGs and supplements in various forms to, GM using art to help describe their world, to players who usually like to have a picture of their favorite character art and RPGs is a long and close relationship.      Saul and Jolene heard about this and at the time didn't think it was a subje...

      In this episode Saul and Jolene discuss Class based RPGs Vs Classless RPGs.  What are the advantages each has and how they work.        Whether a RPG is classless or class based it affects gameplay both in the short term and the long term.     Saul states which he prefers when GMing and which he likes when he plays.  Jolene as always makes sure that Saul stays on topic.       Thank you all f...

     We did this interview a while ago.  There was some recording issues on our end and Saul had to do a lot of editing and post production in other to get the sound as best as possible.        Julian Kay had a successful Kickstarter for Mutants in the Now which was an homage to Teenage Mutant Turtles.  Saul happens to be a Teenage Mutants fan and actually collected the early comics of Eastman and...

      In this episode Saul and Jolene discuss different ways to create an adventure.  Saul calls it "Big Picture" Vs "Detailed" games  Each have their advantages.   Big Picture for Saul means coming up with big idea for a game with less details.  These RPG adventures tend to be open ended, player driven and can end up in situations that the GM never envisioned.       Detailed games are those where...

     Hey there everyone, Jolene would just like to say to you all this is the last episode on the OGL Saga.  So quite a few events happened since our previous episode about the OGL and this is episode is about the most of the important aspects of all the events.     Big news dropped on Jan 27th from WOTC and it set the TTRPG community a buzz with reaction.  So Saul and Jolene decided it was necces...

    This this Episode Saul and Jolene talk about coming up with a new campaign.  From the first thoughts to gathering the players together around the table to play.    Saul explains for him the ideas for a campaign can come from books, movies, TV show or anything that spurs an idea to begin a RPG campaign.     The campaigns can be for any genre you want to play in.  Saul thinks the best way is to...

      Hey There Listeners,    Saul and Jolene were not going to enter the fray with the OGL "Contraversy" but news about the subject keep coming every day.  From the leaked new OGL called 1.1, to the reaction by those from the gaming community we had friends and listeners asking our opinion.  Though it seemed like a question of a legal matter, as it deals with contracts and we are not lawyers, it...

       Why do we play TTRPGs?  The simple answer is to have fun.  Other than the simple answer what other reasons do we play RPGs and what can we learn from playing RPGs.       Jolene came up with this topic reading various sources and the discussion she had with Saul is the basis of this Episode.  Saul and Jolene discuss various things that players can learn from RPGs and what players can gain.  ...

    Happy New Year!  As 2022 ends Saul and Jolene decided to do an episode of Top Ten RPGs they want to play in 2023.  Saul cheated on number 10 and threw in a quick list of 8 games that he wants to get to the table in 2023.     The list is not top ten of new RPGs just RPGs that have been in Saul's library for a while and have not seen any or enough action at the RPG table.  This list come mainly...

Jolene came across a blogger discussing some comment he had heard or been told.  Those were along the lines of "Your not a 'Real' GM if you don't make your own world or setting".  Your not a Real GM if you run modules, run one-shots, run games for kids etc.        Jolene told saw about the blog and he took a look at it and just to frustrate Jolene he thought of some ideas why someone would make th...

     In this episode Saul and Jolene discuss the idea of "What Kind of Player Are You?".  This topic is from a Reddit post that Saul read in the RPG forums.   The original poster had put of a panel with a little bit of an explanation of each"type" of player.       Though it is a way for a player to figure out what they enjoy most about RPGing, Saul thought it would be useful information for a GM t...

     In this episode Saul and Jolene discuss shopping in RPGs.  This topic was put forth by a Facebook post asking Saul to read a blog about shopping.  Saul mentioned it to Jolene who didn't think there would be much opinion on the subject, but even Saul was surprised by how adament people's opinion on the subject was.       From the players and GMs that absoulutely hated shopping in a RPG session...

     This episode came about from Saul reading a Facebook post about Storytelling and Railroading.  As gamers we all know the terms railroad and storytelling but Jeff Dee an artist and RPG author posted that he did not think "Storytelling" was an approbiate term for "Roleplaying".   As usual a large group of people responded with their ideas and that discussion lead to this episode.       Saul and...

     In this episode Saul and Jolene talk about Space Combat in Science Fiction RPGs.  There have been many SF RPGs and they all have to deal with combat in space in one way or another.  From developing a certain set of rules just for space combat or using their core mechanic into a set of space combat rules.          The problem many SF RPGs have is that space combat is very different animal than...

        In this episode Saul and Jolene discuss how players and GMs deal with Stuff. This is items that the playes posess or carry on their person.  How much stuff do they have and how do they keep track of their stuff.   Arrows, bullets, magic swords and food are at things that in most traditional RPGs have to deal with.  How do RPGs tell players to deal with the items that a character has.      ...

In this episode, Saul and Jolene finish up the three fantasy rpg alternatives to D&D 5th Edition.  In this third installment is on Low Fantasy Gaming Deluxe by Pick Pocket Press.       Like the other two FRPGs discussed Low Fantasy Gaming takes a different path than D&D 5th Edition.   Low Fantasy Gaming is a darker, gritter,  and a lower magic fantasy roleplaying game.        Saul and Jolene discu...

    In this Episode we are fortunate to interview Kuba creator of Touched by the Gods RPG.  Its a fantasy RPG using Free League's Year Zero Engine.       The Art is amazing and Year Zero engine is one of Saul's favorite systems as it can handle such wide variety of genre's and type of RPGs.  From mutant apocalypse to space opera to space horror the Year Zero system is fairly simple and flexible.  ...