Save for Half podcast

It’s another end of year show, with emails and voice mails to answer. Many questions, many answers…and some even make sense! Take a listen and find out once and for all the answer to the burning question of, ‘Why did a big clown hit DM Liz’? No Podcasters were harmed in the making of this episode, but we sure felt like it!     Don’t forget to drop us an emai...

When it comes to modern games inspired by the OSR, there is ’70s Gonzo, and there’s ’70s GONZO. Welcome to GOZR, the Sci-Fi/Fantasy RPG where characters called Gooz learn about a world reshaped by catastrophe and sorcerous science. Danger, exploration, excitement abound; as well as the answer to the age-old question of all heroic types….”What do my ears look like?&#82...

You all knew it was coming, sooner or later. Like a undead wraith itself, Vampire: The Masquerade rises from the grave (the 2nd edition anyway) for your Fab Four to review. We cover what’s good, what’s not-so-good, and what sucks (see what I did there?) in White Wolf’s pre-eminent product in the RPG hobby. Get your Goth gear on, find some ankhs, and prepare for fang-u-lous fun! N...

Before the age of the OGL, there was a time undreamt of, the time of second generation FRPGS! Join us back in the late 1970s as we cover “The Fantasy Trip” by first Metagaming, then reprinted by Steve Jackson Games. Your fave Halflings consider this precursor to GURPS in all of its rules-light glory. Mana, Wizard Staffs, Solo Adventures, and dollar signs await your listening pleasure i...

One of the biggest complaints about Original (little brown book) D&D is that it’s difficult to understand because of layout and order. Not to mention it frequently refers to stuff in Chainmail—sold separately! Never fear, Greyharp has come to the rescue with this sorta-kinda-but-not-really retroclone of the original game. Layout corrections, rules organization, and actual cut-and-pastes...

It’s that time of year, what you’ve all been waiting for. That’s right, we’ve got BadMike himself from North Texas RPG Con to discuss what we did this year at the best Old School con in the world! We laughed, we cried, we managed to avoid the dealer room! Plus, DM Corbett was there! No really! Honest! We mean it this time! No candy bars were harmed in the making of this sho...

What else need be said? Schemes, treachery, retconning entire seasons…it’s all here in this…erm…RPG (?) game about the hit TV show of the decade, Dallas. Who shot J.R.? Who didn’t shoot J.R.? And did anyone check his colon for gems? All these questions and more are answered on this episode of Save for Half! No Ewings were harmed in the making of this podcast, though i...

It’s finals time at the Halfling Hideaway, and we’d probably do well if we weren’t so busy fighting supernatural evil. Yes, it’s cool hijinks and eldritch horror combined in the Savage World supplement East Texas University by 12 to Midnight, Inc. As 3 of your 4 Halflings grew up in ETX, we have opinions. So does DM Jim, for that matter! No pine trees were harmed in the mak...

Yes, it’s the senses-blasting return of that (in)famous Halfling tradition…the Email Hot Tub Time Machine! Guest starring DM Cojo! Well, not exactly…but he has so many emails here you’d think he was in the room! No emails were harmed in the making of this sideshow, though quite a few were in the lost and found! Don’t forget to drop us an email at saveforhalfpodcast(at)gmail...

It’s happened to us all at one time or another. You get hired by a company, given survival training, then stuck in a freeze tube for 200 years. Then when you get out, you find you’ve misplaced your streaming accounts. It’s The Morrow Project, that venerable post-apocalypse RPG from the early 1980s; now in its 4th edition. We discuss combat, some combat, and for a change a bit abo...

Friend of the Show Jon Peterson, noted author of the RPG industry and all around celebrity joins the Halflings to discuss his most recent work, “Game Wizards: The Epic Battle for Dungeons & Dragons”, by MIT Press. The book discusses the rise of TSR Hobbies in the 1970s until the ousting of Gary Gygax in the mid 1980s from its ranks. We discuss the history of the company, the evolut...

Don’t worry, this isn’t like those old TV shows where you get a “new” episode and it’s just the cast reminiscing and replaying clips from the previous year to fill out a show. This is all new, off the cuff attempts by your Halflings to remember what they’ve done in the past year! DM Mike remembers some work he did for an RPG, and that he got paid for it. DM Jim...

It’s not a Trek, nor Wars…it’s TSR’s 1982 Sci-Fi game Star Frontiers! Your Halflings delve into this box set of space opera goodies with enough counters to warm any wargamer’s (or DM Mike’s) heart. Laser pistols, bizarre creatures, and Sonic Devastators (TM) abound in this episode of Save For Half! No Dralasites were harmed in the making of this podcast, not eve...

Jinkies! It’s time to pile into the van with your fave talking creature and go solve groovy mysteries with your cool clique of friends in this RPG that pays homage to various cartoons of the 60s, 70s and 80s. The Halflings gather their Spooky Snacks(TM) and prepare to trap monsters, ghosts and pirates in an RPG that just might not take itself entirely seriously. The hosts review the game, re...

It’s time to review an RPG on one of our favorite BBC Sci-Fi TV shows of the 1970s; Blakes7 by Terry Nation. A show gritty and dark for its time, it was notorious for anti-heroes, rebels losing to the evil empir…er…”Federation”, and bad SF/X. Does the game compare to the show? And what’s up with the build-your-own props info? Will this be the Halfling’s fi...

What’s this? Your Fab Four Halflings are covering that venerable book of 1st edition RPG goodness? That’s right, this episode we dive into the foundational rules of that newfangled (for 1978) Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. What did we like? Hate? Actually use in our games? Tune in to find out…with maybe a controversy or two as a side-dish! No Half-orcs were harmed in the making...

It’s the future — with mutants! That’s right, the Fab Foursome are covering the game Mutant Future by Goblinoid Games, and it’s a world with more Gamma than you can shake a Death Machine at! Based on the Labyrinth Lord system, it’s got all the post-apocalypse goodies you’ve come to expect — mutations, gonzo creatures, and artifacts that can blow your head off if you&#...

It’s time to get your rapier and swing from a chandelier, because the Halflings take a look this episode at the Game Designers’ Workshop edition of En Garde by Darryl Haney and Frank Chadwick (1975). There are all sort of things for PCs to do in the game, be it carouse at pubs, visit mistresses, and…join the army? All this and more await you with a clash of steel and a floppy hat...

Excelsior, True Believers! The Fab Four Halflings take a dive into that first licensed Superhero RPG of the 1980s, the Marvel Super Heroes Roleplaying Game box set by TSR. Published in 1984, it took a few directions that Supers RPGs hadn’t yet tried such as ranks for both attributes and powers, Karma as both XPs and die roll mods, and of course getting statistics for your favorite Marvel her...

Normalcy is usually overrated, but not this time. The 13th North Texas RPG Con is happening June 3-6, 2021 and the goal is a return to normal con-gaming. As ever, BadMike/Satan is here to regale us with details: the food trucks, an open bar and Starbucks, and most of all gaming! Listen as your Halflings find out the skinny on the con, its Virtual track for those stuck at home, and a promise that h...

School’s out…of its mind? It sure seems that way as your Four Halflings take a dive into one of the oddest RPGs from the early 1980s; that of Alma Mater. Classes, teachers, social cliques, and other hazards for your freshman PC await you in this episode of the podcast. Oh, and a few tables to roll on. Just a few. No Losers were harmed in the making of this podcast, despite the game&#82...

Friend of the show (and author) Jon Peterson joins the Halflings in a wide-ranging discussion of fanzines, RPG theory, and…oh yeah, his new book from MIT Press called The Elusive Shift . When did Dungeons & Dragons stop being a fantasy wargame and become a roleplaying game? Who contributed to the shift? Did they know what they were doing? Was it a smooth transition, or fraught with contr...

No, it’s not a Spielberg movie. It’s the board game sensation of the 1970s adventure gaming industry, Cosmic Encounter by Eon Productions. A simple yet innovative system lets each of the alien races a player chooses change powers and goals to ensure no two games are the same. Your Fab Four totally normal humans from Earth review the game, how it’s aged, and what inspiration 21st centur...

Space, the final frontier — or the first, as far as RPG space gaming went. Gamescience’s Space Patrol beat Traveller to the punch in 1977, but was lost in the shuffle of its better known rival’s little black books. But this little game has some good points to consider, even for today’s jaded gamer. Listen in as we cover aliens, planets, a startling lack of starships…and equ...

It’s time for your Fab Four Halflings to accept their fates…FATE Core, that is! We sit down and cover our first FATE game in the guise of The Dresden Files RPG, based on the bestselling book series by Jim Butcher. We learn about Fate Dice, Aspects, and how DM Jim’s questions leave DM Corbett with answers that involve a lot of the word “maybe”. Wizards complaining abou...