Roleplay Rescue

Douglas H. Cole has been roleplaying since 1981, starting with the Holmes Basic Box and AD&D, and has been playing GURPS since 1988. Living near Minneapolis, Doug is known as a longtime GURPS playtester, as a regular contributor to Pyramid magazine, and as the author of GURPS Martial Arts: Technical Grappling.  Doug is an R&D manager for a major hard-disc-drive company and also the ma...

The first bonus of Season 2, the GM's Journal is a laid-bare behind-the-curtain peek into my preparation process for a one-shot game using Castles & Crusades.  This is what a few listeners asked for and I think, even for the returning player, there might be some value in sharing it. That said, this is a pretty raw stitching together of me talking into the mic as I prep my session. I've ha...

Today, we have a question from a listener. One of my favourite podcasters…  We take a look at ways to start heading back to the table. Starting with why you want to add gaming back into your life, I’ll challenge you to start small and find an hour to build a plan. We discuss various cheeky ways to convince the significant others in our lives to let us have some fun. We even consider how to at...

It’s been a couple of weeks and I’ve been thinking about what we talked about in Series 1 and where we might take things next. The best contribution to my thinking has been the steady stream of voice messages, comments, emails, and conversations that I’ve been able to consider over the past few weeks. It’s fair to say that, given the response, I came to the conclusion that I could probably run to...

What if the reason your gaming group is collapsing is because the Game Master keeps cancelling the sessions? In this final episode of Series 1, we talk about the barriers that stop a Game Master from getting a regular game off the ground and the strategies that I am starting to use to correct this problem.  We learn about the Holy Trinity of game decisions that I believe lie at the heart of e...

This episode was inspired by Mike Bowers' question, back in Episode 3, about how to get established players of newer roleplaying games to give an older game system a go. When Mike called in with that question, I was blown away. I made a fumbling first stab in Episode 3, but I always knew I’d need to circle back to the heart of the problem. I discuss the more common reasons for playing the latest e...

Over the past few weeks, ever since starting this project, I’ve been chatting to a couple of gamers I know. One of the cool things that has happened is that one or two of these guys have agreed to record an interview about their own experiences.   Ted Wallerstedt lives in Minnesota, USA where he works in Computer Audit and Security. Ted has been a Member of the Society of Extraordinary G...

Following on from last week, I hopped online and had a chat with Carl Bussler. He is the co-founder of Stormlord Publishing, hosted and produced the Flagons & Dragons podcast, and is currently the host of The Megadungeon Podcast. Carl lives in a little town near Philadelphia where he works as a Videographer and Photographer. Here's a link to The Megadungeon Podcast Massive thanks to Carl for c...

Having a stab at defining the concept of a "megadungeon", we take a look at the dungeoncrawl as the best and most successful game structure from the standpoint of a person who wants to play a foolproof game. The episode piles on the reasons why both players and Game Masters ought to be able to enjoy the megadungeon’s pleasures. We also note that the megadungeon does not, in any way, limit your pla...

Over the past few weeks, ever since starting this project, I’ve been chatting to a couple of gamers I know. One of the cool things that has happened is that one or two of these guys have agreed to record an interview about their own experiences.  Derek McClean is an Anglican Priest, husband, and father. I’ve known him not shy of 30 years, ever since we met at University. Having been a teacher...

Following on from the last episode, in which I outed my story of discovery and the success experienced with B/X Essentials, I hopped online and interviewed the author of that product: Gavin Norman. Here are the questions I started with:- What is it that you enjoy most about roleplaying games?- What is your biggest barrier to getting a game?- What was the worst moment in your roleplaying hobby?- Ho...

Sharing my own journey of revelation about roleplaying games and describing one route back into hobby. This is the story of what happened to me in July 2018 when all the reading, thinking, and self-doubt finally opened a way to enjoy my hobby again. I hope it can inspire others to consider a trip back to the gaming table. Here are the links I promised in the episode:The Angry GM’s, “GMing, Basical...

What are roleplaying games and why should we play them? Taking a look at what lies at the heart of RPGs, their value to us as human beings, and the basics of how they work. It's time to take a stab at defining what tabletop roleplaying games are all about. We also take a look at the function of RPGs and the reasons for playing them (other than just for fun). Finally, this episode handles the funda...

Taking a look at three big barriers to playing RPGs like Dungeons & Dragons, Traveller, or RuneQuest. This episode introduces some of the key reasons many folk will drop out of the hobby. None of this is rocket science yet it affects gamers everywhere at some time or another. Here are a couple of links to items mentioned in the episode...Andy Cope's & Andy Whittaker's book, "The Art of Being Brill...

The Series 1 trailer in which I make a plea for lapsed roleplayers to come back to the gaming table. Ever play D&D or similar roleplaying games back in the day? This is my first stab at tempting you back. Game on! Contact:Quick link here: rpgrescue.comEmail: hello@rpgrescue.comMeWe: Roleplay Rescue PageFacebook: Roleplay Rescue Page Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.