Lair Of Secrets

Welcome to Greyhawk '76, a test drive campaign for Dungeons & Dragons 2024! (aka D&D 5.5). This episode introduces the test drive, what it hopes to accomplish, and explains where the campaign gets its name from (hint: it takes place in the Common Year 576). Chapter List 0:00 Intro to Greyhawk '760:45 The Legacy of Greyhawk1:45 Blackrazor Guild’s Storied Past3:15 New Campaign Setup and Testing D&D...

We explore our favorite game conventions, from the chill vibes of CinCityCon to the dynamic events of Gamehole Con, to the cozy fun of MEPACon. We also look ahead to Philadelphia Area Game Expo, a new-ish convention happening in January 2025. After the convention stories, we dive into our RPG experiments, including David's mechanical torchlight for ShadowDark, the crunchy mechanics and destroyable...

In this episode, we brainstorm ways to launch your campaign without resorting to "they meet in a bar". Providing fodder and inspiration is Greyhawk '76, Ken's upcoming D&D 2024 test drive campaign, and David's just launched open table ShadowDark campaign. We talk about how to engage players through immediate conflict, emphasizing choice, and balancing proactive vs. reactive player behaviors. Chapt...

We look at The Electric State RPG, a role-playing game game featuring a slow motion apocalypse, haunting artwork, and a cyberspace plague so intoxicating that people died playing it ... simply because they forgot to eat. We start with Simon Stålenhag's original art/fiction book, which depicts a young woman's journey across the wrecked remains of the United States. We then walk through the role-pla...

Campaign prep is something every dungeon master a needs to do … even if "prep" is something you throw together five minutes for the session starts. On this episode, we talk about our individual game prep strategies, from structured approaches like Chris's multi-phase plan to Ken’s adrenaline-fueled last-minute inspiration. Josh and Erin share insights into managing unpredictable player behavior an...

Get in. Do a thing. Get out. Look awesome doing it. That's your typical cyberpunk adventure, and it always involves some sort of security. On this episode, we discuss real-world hacking inspiration, cinematic heist scenarios, and strategies for balancing game difficulty. We dive into the nuances of netrunning, social engineering, and how even the best-laid plans can spiral into chaos. Examples are...

So your Dungeons & Dragons campaign went on hiatus … how do you restart it? In this episode of Campaigns & Coffee, Ken, Chris, and Josh talk about how to re-engage with a not-quite-dead-yet role-playing game campaign. They dive into how a game can lose momentum, with real-life interruptions causing campaigns to stall or be put on hold. They share personal anecdotes of campaigns like Cyberpunk Red...

In the latest expedition through the Lair of Secrets, David Moore, Ken Newquist, and Chris Miller delve into the art of map design, specifically focusing on the peculiarities and challenges of modern and near-future maps in gaming. The discussion kicks off with Ken recounting his creation of the "worst best map ever" for a Mothership one-shot, set in an undersea research station on Europa. The map...

The edgerunners are at Elysium HQ. All they need to do is descend through three sub-levels of the abandoned corporate headquarters and flip a switch on an old server. But first they have to get past these cybernetic corvids … and the remains of the edgerunner crews that came before them. Get more Cyberpunk RED: Cyberpunk RED Actual Play @ Lair of Secrets Cyberpunk RED Role-Playing Game Resources C...

Chapter 8 of our Broken Loop campaign for Cyberpunk RED ended with a cliffhanger as the edgerunners faced an unexpected … enemy? Friend? Belligerent hivemind hell bent on stripping everyone of their chrome? In this episode of Campaigns & Coffee, we talk about that actual play session, it's unexpected turns, and how we rolled with the consequences of a well-placed grenade. Get more Cyberpunk RED: C...

After talking and driving their way past the factions controlling access to Night City's radioactive core, the edgerunners are approaching the ruined Elysium corporate headquarters. Their goal is to infiltrate the building's sub-levels and flip a switch. First though, they have to get past the Glow Boys, a cult of radiation Worshiping cyborgs ... and the chrome-enhanced, sentient ravens the cultis...

It's convention season, and David talks about Origins, a big-but-cozy game convention in Columbus, Ohio, meeting Shadowdark RPG creator Kelsey Dionne, plans for Gen Con 2024, and gaming with Jon Hook of the Modern Mythos podcast. Meanwhile, Ken geeks out about dynamic lighting in Roll20 (and his hopes for using during the Lair's upcoming Cyberpunk RED Elysium HQ run). Oh, and Ken actually complete...

Chapter 7 of our actual play Cyberpunk RED campaign sees the edgerunners venture into the Hot Zone at the center of Night City as part of their mission to flip a switch in the basement of Elysium HQ. Get Cyberpunk RED: Cyberpunk RED Actual Play @ Lair of Secrets Cyberpunk RED Role-Playing Game Resources Cyberpunk RED Frequently Asked Questions Cyberpunk RED Screamsheets Chapters 0:00 Intro2:10 Mis...

In this episode of "Campaigns and Coffee," hosts David, Josh, and Erin dive into convention season, offering tips and sharing personal experiences. The trio discusses their preparation rituals, with Erin highlighting her dedication to the Sparks campaign—a Star Wars role-playing game using the West End Games D6 system. Josh shares his strategy for attending Gen Con with his young child, emphasizin...

In the latest episode of the Lair of Secrets podcast, we delve into our summer reading lists, exploring a mix of thrilling, nostalgic, and intellectually stimulating books. Ken kicks things off with Action Park by Andy Mulvihill, reminiscing about the notorious amusement park of his youth. David follows with a dive into sci-fi novels, including Larry Niven's Ringworld Engineers and Cixin Liu's The...

Our Cyberpunk RED campaign continues with Chapter 6: Anticipating the Glow. Previously, the edgerunners accepted a mission to venture into the irradiated core of Night City, descend into the depths the ruined Elysium HQ headquarters, and flip a switch. Being somewhat cautious mercenaries, they decided to do a little research first before venturing into the still-radioactive ruins. Get Cyberpunk RE...

In this thrilling episode of Campaigns and Coffee, David and Ken delve into Ken's epic Elemental Apocalypse D&D campaign. The heroes are on a quest to reunite a fallen angel with its lost sun sword amidst a world torn apart by elemental forces. Ken shares his creative process, discussing map-making with Incarnate, integrating skill challenges inspired by Blades in the Dark, and setting up an adven...

Mind the crates; we’re still unpacking Season 4 of the podcast! On this episode, Ken talks about playing Monster of the Week mysteries, David flips through his Dreams and Machines rule books, and we delve into our respective reading lists. Chapters 0:00 Intro 0:20 Ken’s New Lunchtime Game: Monster of the Week 1:41 David Discusses 'Dreams and Machines' 3:01 Book Discussions and Recommendations 6:43...

Our cozy, Saturday morning show continues with a discussion of cyberpunk, but different from our usual cyberpunk. Instead of the dystopian future of R. Talsorian's Cyberpunk RED, hosts David, Ken, and Chris talk about Chris's homegrown, Cleveland-based, cyberpunk campaign which uses the Cities without Number rule set. We explore the challenges of learning different systems within the cyberpunk gen...

Season 4 kicks off with this episode as we experiment with a new format and geek out about everything from death rays to Dragonbane. We rundown the role-playing games we hope to play this season, review the games we delved into during the hiatus, and geek out about technology in our campaigns. Chapters 0:00 - Intro and Overview of Season 41:28 - Unveiling the New Format3:45 - Tech Talk: Gadgets an...

Fallout - the post-apocalyptic game set in an alternate, atomic-powered reality - kicks off our new Campaigns & Coffee short-format podcast. We talk about the new streaming series on Amazon Prime, the video games that inspired it, and the session zero for our upcoming Fallout RPG campaign. To start things off, we look at how the gore-filled kill shots of Fallout 4 and the deep story lore of the vi...

Our Cyberpunk RED Recap episode looks at the first season of our actual play campaign. We talk about our favorite moments, how the characters grew, reversals we didn't see coming (or did, and loved anyway) and more. Need to know who’s who? Check out the Cyberpunk RED campaign page. Looking for answers to your Cyberpunk RED questions? Visit our FAQ page. Want ways to pump up the role of your Media...

Join us for a lookback at our Savage Worlds-powered actual play campaign, Sundered Horizons! In this podcast retrospective, the crew discusses the three episode arc and asks one of the most important questions you can ask in a campaign: should we continue or try something else? Sundered Horizons was our first "Side Passage" adventure - the game we'd play when we couldn't get the full crew together...

The edgerunners finished their latest big gig, securing black box tech for the Maker Enclave and surviving an encounter with a Zetatech "negotiation response team". With the run complete, they're looking for some much needed downtime. In Chapter 5 of our Cyberpunk RED actual play podcast, we try out the games downtime rules, which allow players to rest, recover, and earn a few Eurobucks when they'...

Our Cyberpunk RED actual play campaign continues with Chapter 4: Aftershocks. In our last chapter, the edgerunners cracked open the Titan 1X prototype self-driving tractor trailer and secured the Zetatech blackbox that the Maker Enclave hired them to acquire. As they moved the black box to their vehicle, they caught site of a Zetatech-branded AeroCop air vehicle inbound. The armored attack craft l...