Ludonarrative Dissidents

Cyberpunk RED is the latest edition of the dystopian sci-fi RPG series originally created by Mike Pondsmith. Set in 2045 after a major war, characters in Cyberpunk RED can pull off jobs for secretive clients, roam the wastelands, or reclaim them. It contains everything needed to play. Full Show Notes are available here! ⁠Discuss this episode on our Discord server!

James went on vacation to Pompeii, so he's sharing his photos and discussing ancient Roman history. If you want to see the video version with the photos, it's on Youtube. Discuss this episode on our Discord server!

The Yellow Clearance Black Box Blues is a 48-page adventure for the Paranoia RPG. It was written by John M. Ford, published by West End Games in 1985, and is generally regarded as one of the classic adventures for the game, and a milestone in the development of comedy in RPGs. It was re-released in 2017 for the rebooted edition of Paranoia that was co-designed by James Wallis, Grant Howitt and Pau...

THIS EPISODE COVERS DOGS IN THE VINEYARD , a 2004 game by Vincent Baker, who is better known as the co-designer of Apocalypse World , the game that the entire Powered by the Apocalypse (PbtA) RPG design movement is based on. Dogs in the Vineyard is no longer available for sale, for reasons that we discuss in the episode. “Mormon Judge Dredd” – Greg Stolze Read the Full Show Notes Here See the Wiki...

Our latest livestream! Greg talks about his new fantasy serial and we discuss zines, crowdfunding, and more! Watch it here if you want to see the visuals. Discuss it on the LND discord!

GROGS is a supplement for Ars Magica 5th edition , edited by longtime ArM line-editor David Chart, released in 2012 and still in print. Ars Magica is a roleplaying game of a community of wizards in a medieval world where magic is rare and feared by the general populace. This supplement presents systems and advice for expanding multi-character ‘troupe play’, a core concept of Ars Magica . Read the...

We're discussing European RPGs, especially the new wave of Italian games like Outgunned, plus action cinema and more. Watch this episode on Youtube . Discuss it on our Discord.

This episode covers the roleplaying game VAMPIRE: THE MASQUERADE 5th edition , developed by Kenneth Hite and Karim Muammar, published in 2018 by White Wolf Entertainment in association with Paradox Entertainment and Free League. The original Vampire: The Masquerade was designed by Mark Rein•Hagen and released by White Wolf Publishing in 1991. It dominated the RPG hobby in the 1990s and remains one...

Ross talks about RPGs in Japan and other things he encountered during his vacation there. James talks about Mappa Mundi, an upcoming exploration RPG and more! Watch it on Youtube to see the photos Ross shared and more!

Alien: Chariot of the Gods is an introductory/one-shot adventure for Free League’s Alien RPG , written by Andrew E. C. Gaska and set in the universe of most of the Alien/Aliens movies. It was published in 2019. READ THE FULL SHOW NOTES HERE Click here to see the Alien RPG on the Free League website Click here to see the Alien RPG on DriveThruRPG Click here to see the Alien: Chariot of the Gods adv...

Our livestream for October. Watch it on Youtube to see what we're talking about.

James Bond 007: Roleplaying In Her Majesty’s Secret Service was designed by Gerard Christopher Klug (known as Chris Klug these days) with development by Greg Gordon and Neil Randall, and was released by Victory Games between 1983 and 1987, selling over 100,000 copies. It is long out of print but available on the second-hand market at reasonable prices (as I write Noble Knight lists it at under $15...

Click here to read the full show notes! Night’s Black Agents: Double Tap is a ‘gear book’ from 2013, a collection of new equipment, background and game material for GM and players, written by Ken Hite and several others. It’s an expansion for Night’s Black Agents , an RPG of modern tactical espionage and vampires, also written by Ken Hite and published by Pelgrane Press in 2011. It’s a really inte...

Our livestream for September. If you want to see the visuals, watch it on Youtube.

Savage Worlds Adventure Edition (SWADE) was designed and written by Shane Lacy Hensley with Clint Black, and published by Pinnacle Entertainment Group in 2023. It’s a generic rules system of cinematic action with a historied pedigree and an amazing range of sourcebooks, but how does it fare against more rules-y games like GURPS or narrativist darlings like FATE ? We take it apart to see what keeps...

We're talking about Gencon 2024 and new trends in games. Watch the livestream here for the visuals .

Delta Green: Convergence is a short adventure for the Delta Green RPG . Originally written by John Scott Tynes and published by Pagan Publishing in 1992, it is the first adventure ever set in the Delta Green universe, the original source, the motherlode, the primal zygote. In this episode of Ludonarrative Dissidents we are discussing the slightly updated edition released by Arc Dream Publishing in...

Heart: The City Beneath is a game of unconventional fantasy adventurers who are drawn to enter, explore and lose themselves in a very corporeal underworld beneath the city of Spire. They’ll face horrific foes, bizarre locations and a mysterious and eldritch subway system. It’s from the same designers and publisher as Spire , it’s an indie darling, but what will the Ludonarrative Dissidents make of...

Greg has an idea for a build a bag mechanic for a RPG, so James and I discuss some options for it. We look at board games that use this mechanic and how the mechanic could work.

We're discussing Choose Your Own Adventure, Fighting Fantasy, Lone Wolf, and other similar game books. This is an audio version of this Youtube livestream, if you want to see the visuals.

In this livestream, we reveal the topics for season 3! If you have questions about them, ask on our Discord. You can watch the livestream here.

Our Kickstarter for Season 3 is doing well but we have a long way to go! We livestreamed on March 10, which you can view here on Youtube , but this episode has cleaned up audio. We're looking at the free adventure released by NASA, The Lost Universe. We dive deep into it and answer viewer questions.

The Kickstarter is live! Back it today so we can have a full season of great episodes! The Lady in Blue, a mysterious figure of cosmic power, enlists a band of simple peasants for a strange task. They are to follow an invisible bridge until they arrive at a hole in the sky – and then jump through. Death awaits all but the bravest, strongest, and luckiest, but the Lady offers a reward beyond all th...

We're back with more info on season 3 and here to talk about RPGs. https://www.ludonarrativedissidents.com/

We livestreamed back in December to update listeners about Season 3 and answer questions about RPGs. You can watch it on Youtube or just listen to it here. Enjoy!