RPGBOT.Podcast

Tonight we learned three important things about crime. First, every heist starts with confidence and ends with someone on fire. Second, the moon is falling out of the sky and nobody has time to care because rent is still due. Third, if Randall says this plan only has minor consequences, we are absolutely about to get stabbed in an alley by ghost cops. Welcome to the cheerful industrial nightmare o...

We tried to explain the difference between a heist and a hijacking, got a little sidetracked, then we finally got to the important question: How do you run a tabletop RPG heist without your players immediately turning it into a full-scale massacre? Show Notes This week we break down what makes a great tabletop RPG heist work and why stealing something is a lot more fun when the plan is hanging tog...

We begin our descent into the infernal planes with a guided tour through the first five layers of the Nine Hells, exploring where law, cruelty, and cosmic bureaucracy collide in spectacular fashion. In this episode, we dig into the lore of Baator and unpack how these iconic planes function in both Dungeons & Dragons and Pathfinder inspired campaigns. From blood-soaked battlefields to endless urban...

The crew returns to finish building Pathfinder 2e Fighters, but first they must survive the true final boss of tabletop podcasting: technical difficulties, cursed spell names, mysterious bugs, and Tyler being physically defeated by his cat (again). Somewhere between Spider Missile, Bigby's Big Spider, and a cat-based sneak attack on the microphone cables, the episode remembers it is supposed to be...

Show Notes In this episode, we dive into building Fighters for Pathfinder 2e! It's all about navigating complexity without getting overwhelmed. The hosts acknowledge the biggest hurdle for players coming from DnD 5e: the sheer number of meaningful choices. Instead of subclasses, the Fighter hands you a toolbox of feats that effectively become your build identity. That design philosophy is both lib...

Show Notes The second half of the paladin journey is where the class really comes into its own. From level 5 onward, the paladin build shifts from a dependable frontline support into something that feels like a true divine powerhouse. In this episode of the RPGBOT.Podcast, the discussion walks through those mid to high level milestones and shows how a solid character can evolve into a standout pre...

Show Notes This episode kicks off exactly the way you'd expect from the RPGBOT: chaos, side tangents, and Ash refusing to answer a math question on principle. The opening banter spirals from bizarre favorite function jokes into tabletop war stories, including a truly cursed encounter with a Pathfinder quickling that becomes Public Enemy Number One. It's the kind of table story every GM secretly lo...

Show Notes: This episode of the RPGBOT.Podcast takes what could easily be a dry rules discussion and turns it into something genuinely useful and, surprisingly, fun. We dig into the Pathfinder 2e research subsystem and why it succeeds where other systems, especially Tasha's Cauldron of Everything, barely scratch the surface. We start by contrasting how research is handled in D&D versus Pathfinder....

Show Notes We dig into one of the most iconic classes in tabletop RPGs, the Paladin at levels 1 through 4. This is the phase where your holy warrior goes from enthusiastic squire with a shiny sword to a legitimately terrifying frontline presence powered by divine magic, righteous conviction, and just enough smiting to make your DM nervous. Early on, we lean into what makes Paladins such a standout...

Show Notes The finale and wrap-up of our Starfinder 2 actual play podcast shifts from survival horror to a relaxed, behind-the-screen breakdown of what just happened and why it worked. After a chaotic run through alien bugs, corpse fleet nightmares, and a ticking clock, the crew steps back to unpack the experience, starting with character builds that fully delivered on their intended chaos. Rashii...

Show Notes Part 3 of this Starfinder 2 actual play wastes no time reminding everyone that things can always get worse. The crew picks up mid-crisis, carrying the energizer pods and racing toward the center of the station while alarms blare and the self-destruct countdown looms in the background. The pacing feels tighter right away, with every decision shaped by the realization that they are runnin...

Show Notes Step into the Feywild, where nothing behaves quite the way you expect and everything feels just a little too magical to trust. In this episode, twe dive into one of the most unpredictable and story-rich planes in Dungeons and Dragons, blending lore, mechanics, and table advice into a conversation that feels equal parts wonder and warning. We explore how the Feywild mirrors the Material...

Show Notes Part 2 of our Starfinder 2 actual play podcast escalates quickly from contained sci-fi mystery to we absolutely made this worse. Picking up after the initial chaos, the crew leans into survival mode as the Other Worlds crew pushes deeper into a compromised research station that clearly should have been shut down several bad decisions ago. The tone swings between sharp humor and creeping...

Show Notes On the latest installment of RPGBOT's "Other Worlds" Actual Play, the crew touches down on a mysterious alien world with a simple objective: survive. Within minutes, someone presses the wrong button, something horrible wakes up, and the carefully planned Starfinder 2 actual play mission turns into a live demonstration of "what if we just… improvise and hope space forgives us?" Now the p...

Show Notes Once the Bard survives the awkward early levels, levels 5 through 20 are where the class stops being the party's emotional support musician and becomes a full-blown tactical menace. This episode of the RPGBOT.Podcast explores how Bards evolve from flexible generalists into highly optimized specialists while still keeping their trademark versatility. The hosts break down the critical tur...

Show Notes The hosts have surprisingly practical discussion: maps in tabletop RPGs and why so many of them just don't work. At their core, maps aren't just visuals. They help players navigate, understand space, and engage with the world. But not all maps serve the same purpose. Some guide movement, some highlight important features, and others exist purely for combat or immersion. But there are so...

This week on the RPGBOT.Podcast, we dive into the Plane of Air, a place where gravity is optional, directions are meaningless, and your best travel strategy is throw yourself into a wind tunnel and see what happens. Tyler leans fully into his identity as a being of pure hot air, Randall realizes that falling forever is somehow worse than dying, and Ash compares the whole experience to falling into...

Show Notes In this episode of the RPGBOT.Podcast, we dive deep into 2014 D&D 5e Bard from levels 1 through 4, breaking down how to build and optimize one of the most versatile classes in DnD. The Bard is explored not just as a performer, but as a true "jack of all trades" support class, capable of filling nearly any party role from face, to scout, to battlefield controller. Early-level Bard gamepl...

Show Notes In this final installment of the RPGBOT.Podcast How to Play Fantasy Flight Star Wars: Edge of the Empire series, the crew wraps things up with a deep dive into questions, answers, and overall system impressions after completing their multi-part Star Wars RPG actual play. After surviving pirate stations, clone cults, and barely escaping Imperial pursuit, the hosts analyze what worked, wh...

Show Notes In Part 3 of this Star Wars Edge of the Empire actual play, the RPGBOT crew finally delivers on the promise teased since Episode 1: full-on Star Wars space combat! And it is every bit as chaotic, cinematic, and barely-survivable as you'd hope. Picking up immediately after their explosive escape from the pirate station, the crew aboard the Malarkey finds themselves pursued by TIE fighter...

The party stands heroically on the docks. The bard composes a sea shanty. The fighter sharpens his sword. The wizard prepares a speech about buoyancy physics he read on a forum at 3:00 AM. The rogue realizes sneak attack requires not drowning. The cleric discovers healing word does not cure lack of oxygen (or does it?). The DM Googles drowing rules mid-initiative because everyone forgot how breath...

Last time on RPGBOT.Podcast: we attempted a stealth infiltration of a pirate space station and immediately turned it into a full-blown crisis involving the Empire. This time? It gets worse. Show Notes In Part 2 of this Star Wars Edge of the Empire actual play, the RPGBOT crew continues their mission to infiltrate a hidden pirate station and hack its central maintenance terminal, but things escalat...

Welcome back to the RPGBOT.Podcast, where we're teaching you how to play the Star Wars tabletop RPG the best possible way: by immediately committing crimes in space. In this episode, Randall introduces a Wookie slicer with Force powers on the run from the law, while Ash debuts a former Imperial smuggler who solves problems the traditional way: shooting first and then leaving without askin question...

Randall, Tyler, and Ash explore the Ethereal Plane: the ghostly plane of existence where your barbarian can't punch anything, your wizard can't read the signage, and your rogue is  absolutely certain there's loot "just on the other side" of a wall they can't quite touch. Welcome to the Ethereal Plane, where (almost) everything is fog and spooky vibes. Show notes In this episode of the RPGBOT.Podca...

Welcome back to the RPGBOT.Podcast, where today's travel brochure reads: "The Elemental Plane of Fire: Come for the lava rivers, stay because you physically cannot leave." Congratulations. You're about to plan a vacation to a place where the weather forecast is "burning with a chance of more burning." Let's talk about the Elemental Plane of Fire. Show Notes In this episode of the RPGBOT.Podcast, h...