GamingPerspectives

     Though we all love an RPG we know the basic rules, which eliminates a hurdle that we gamers have to jump when playing RPGs.  There are times that a set of RPG rules fits the setting so well there is no way a generic system could come close to emulating the genre.        Saul and Jolene discuss this idea and give examples of game rules that match the genre so well it is hard to contemplate any...

     Money and Wealth in RPGs is handled a multitude of ways from the beginning of RPGs when you just threw gold pieces at the player's characters in the 70's and 80's.     Though many games still employ some sort of monetary system some newer games have decided against and accounting style monetary system where you keep a running tally of wealth.       Saul and Jolene discuss monetary systems fro...

      Saul and Jolene on a previous episode discussed making combat encounters more fun, so Saul thought they should discuss encounters that do not center on combat.  Non-Combat encounters, even in games like D&D where there is a heavy emphasis on combat.         Even in D&D having encounters that do not deal combat or fighting are possible and fun.  Saul and Jolene also talk about how adding non...

     In this episode Saul and Jolene talk about making combat encounters and scenes more fun and interesting.  In certain games combat can be a long complicated process and could become dull and mundane.   No GM wants to run boring combat encounters.  Saul and Jolene discuss things that everyone can do to make sure their next combat scenes or encounters don't become boring.    As always thanks for...

     Jolene was watching Youtube videos and a discussion about Plot Armor got her attention.  Jolene asked Saul about it and the result is this episode.  What is "Plot Armor", hint it is a real thing outside of RPGs? How is it used in RPGs.  Saul and Jolene discuss "plot armor" in RPGs.  As usual Saul's stance is sort of set in stone while Jolene's tac is a bit more reasonable.        A listener p...

        In this episode Saul and Jolene discuss if the GM is a Player in the game that the GM is running.  Saul believes that the GM certainly is while Jolene completely disagrees.          The two hosts go back and forth and neither is able to convince, totally, the other's perspective.          We have decided to change how we name the episodes.  Because the title of our podcast is very long man...

     Saul and Jolene went on a family vacation and Saul was unable to edit last weeks episode on time.   To make up for that Saul decided to talk about his Favorite RPG of all time or as he stated "one of the Top 3 RPGs" on his favorites list.        If you listen to this podcast with any regularity Saul brings up Space Opera RPG from Fantasy Games Unlimited as Jolene's says, "ALL THE TIME".  So S...

     This episode is about Homebrew games.   What is Homebrew.  Should you do it.  Who should you admit that you have a "Homebrew" game.  Can you get a shot to take care of this problem?     Saul as usual goes way off the rails on this topic, and Jolene on multiple occasions has to wrangle Saul back to the topic.  This time Saul was in a bit of a tangent mood though.      Thanks for listening.    ...

     The topic for this episode was found by Jolene when she was looking at Game Hole Con's Facebook post which asked about how to go about describing their game for an upcoming  Game Hole gaming convention.  It was from a GM that had run games previously at Game Hole Con but they noticed a slightly different worded policy about adult content games.        So we decide to talk about how to describ...

    Saul and Jolene discuss the Bait and Switch game.  It is when you, as the GM, present a game of a genre, a type a particular setting or even a system, but when the players sit down to play, you switch it up on the players and try to run something other than presented.  Saul discusses an idea with some fellow GM's and they inform Saul that its a bad idea and say its a "Bait and Switch" game.  S...

     In this Episode Saul and Jolene discuss why play rpgs.  Many people who have never played an RPG don't have a clue as to what roleplaying is all about.  Usually they know about many misconceptions and stereotypes which Saul concedes might have been somewhat true in the 1980's but is now no longer valid.  Even in the 70's and 80's those stereotypes only matched a small percentage of the gamer...

     This week Saul and Jolene talk about fish.  Red Herring in RPGs is the topic.  Should GMs use this story idea in their RPG adventures?  Saul talks about his past experiences with Red Herring in the games that he has run.        Jolene likes the idea of using Red Herring as a way of making the world more expansive or more real.      Thank you all for listening and all we ask is that you share...

     Skill checks can become too monotonous.  GM's often cringe when a PC fails a skill check to hear another player saying "I will check too." with the sound of rolling dice.       Saul discusses with Jolene how he thinks that use of "Skills"  can be made more fun and even more exciting by implementing a few ideas to your gaming style.       We would like to thank everyone that put us over 10,000...

     As a GM would you let a player, play a traitor in your Roleplaying game?  At a Con Game or in a One Shot would you as a GM make a character that is a traitor to be used by a player.   This week Mike asked about installing or using a traitor in your RPG.  He asked if it was a good idea or bad.  Mike also wanted to get our take on using this idea in an adventure or campaign.       Saul would fo...

     In this Episode Saul and Jolene interview Gabriel Garcia who is writing War Stories a World War Two RPG using the Year Zero system.  Saul came across Gabriel's post about War Stories on Facebook.  Saul has been a fan of supernatural WWII RPGs such as D20s Weird War II, Savage Worlds Weird War, and Saul even used Spycraft 2.0 to run a series of Weird War II adventures for his home group.      ...

      As more and more people get vaccinated and the Pandemic is starting fade, the thing all gamers have been craving is In Person Gaming.  Saul and Jolene discuss moving some of their online games back to In Person gaming.   Saul and Jolene talk about what they like about gaming in person compared to online.        Saul ponders if there are some elements from online gaming that will continue whe...

     A question from the internet is this week's topic for the latest episode.  How do you restart or come back to a campaign that has been on an extended break?  Saul and Jolene discuss two ways to get back to your campaign in this episode.     The first one is the easier one, and that is just start exactly where you left off.  This seems like the best and easiest way to restart or come back to a...

    In this bonus episode Saul and Jolene interview Paul Mitchener creator of Liminal an urban fantasy rpg based in England and it's folklore.  Liminal was successfully Kickstarted by funding 6 times it goal.  Liminal uses a very creative 2d6 system in which you can create a wide variety of character in little time.  Recently Paul Kickstartered Out of the Ashes a fantasy post apocalyptic rpg.  Out...

     In this episode Saul and Jolene what makes a good RPG.  For Saul it comes down to two things, Setting and Rules make a game good.        Saul and Jolene use recent and older games they have played to discuss this topic.  Saul starts with 4 game setting he really likes but seem to fall short in the rules department.      Games mentioned in his podcast are Cyberpunk, Dark Conspiracy, Space Oper...

     The Middle of the Campaign is the most meaty and the where most of the game happens.  Most GMs come up with great beginnings with an eye to the end but most of the game takes place in this nebulous part of the campaign, I am calling the middle.  So how do you plan for this part of the campaign?        Saul and Jolene discuss how to plan for the middle of the campaign.  Discussing different ty...

    Saul and Jolene continue their conversation about comparing old rpgs versus new rpgs in which they only got as far as the 1980's.  So in this, second part which Saul changes the name of the episode to "Evolution of RPGs" they discuss how RPGs changed in the 1990s, the 2000's and in the last 10 years.     As always we would like to thank you all for listening and please share our podcast.

    Today we have a bonus episode, an interview of Stephen Turner of Britannia Game Design the creators of Chivalry and Sorcery 5th edition.   C&S has a long history, first published in 1977 by Fantasy Games Unlimited.  In this interview we discover Stephen's gamer roots and then learn of how he became to be the publisher if this historic RPG and plans for the future of Britannia Game Design.    ...

     In this episode Saul and Jolene talk how RPGs have changed over the years.  From the first RPGs on the scene like Original D&D and Traveller to the games that came out in the 90's and on to the last 20 years, RPGs have changed.      The episode went a bit long so this will be a two part episode, continuing with the games from the 1990's to today.        We would like to that all of you that l...

In Media Res in RPGs is the topic for this episode.  What is  In Media Res?  Saul and Jolene first discuss what it is and where it is commonly seen.  Saul recounts a couple examples of the writing and filming technique he has read in books and seen in movies.     From there Saul and Jolene discuss how to apply this to your session of your favorite rpgs.  What are some of the advantages and some of...

     Saul and Jolene explore RPGs which subject are animals or anamorphic in nature.  Saul talks about his first experience playing an animal rpg called Bunnies and Burrows.  Saul goes into some details about B&B.  Saul recounts the next game being Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles which he briefly collected the comic books but didn't get the RPG until the mid 90's after the first TNMT movie had come o...