Shane Plays Geek Talk

Chris Holmes has a unique historical perspective on fiction writer John Eric Holmes and Holmes Basic D&D, given that he's JEH's son. Chris is doing cool stuff in his own right, including his fantasy art and a day job where he gets to introduce kids to D&D. Chris's posthumous RPG project with his father called Things Better Left Alone. How much did JEH make for creating the first D&D Basic edition?...

Hey there, friend! If you're into classic games and fascinating stories, you'll love our latest podcast episode featuring the multi-talented Neal Hallford. Join us as he shares insider details on the renowned Betrayal at Krondor CRPG, and get excited about the game's 30th-anniversary celebrations! This innovative game was truly ahead of its time, and Neal takes us on a journey to explore the bold...

Zach Glazar (Frog God Games), Bill Barsh (Pacesetter Games) and Levi Combs (Planet X Games) share the personal impact (here's a hint: "existential threat") and professional impact that Wizards of the Coast's recent OGL announcements had on them, and where they're going from here. "Unprofessional" and "ham-fisted" is mentioned a lot by our guests. Third-party publishers have been publishing the str...

RPG developer and publisher Allan T. Grohe Jr. (aka "grodog") joins to talk AD&D retroclone OSRIC, the OSR, Black Blade Publishing, John Eric Holmes, and RPG goodness in general. Allan LOVES him some Greyhawk. The skills he learned tracking down early information on Greyhawk helped lead to his main non-RPG career. How active is the current AD&D 1E and/or OSRIC scene? What is Allan's definition of...

Skeeter Green joins to talk RPGs, Skeeter Green Productions, the Independent Publishers Union of small RPG publishers, and his new Kickstarter. The Valley Out of Time is a series of 'zine-sized RPG adventures borrowing heavily from classic dinosaur art, books, and movies (think Frazetta and Harryhausen). Tips and advice for small RPG publishers from Skeeter's seminar series with Zach Glazar. The c...

Joseph Wolf of Reaper Miniatures talks Dungeon Dwellers, Reaper's old-school style RPG using modern design. Also: some ReaperCon chat. Joseph has some interesting RPG design highlights, including Forgotten Realms, Deadlands, and Blood of Heroes. Love it or hate it, 5E is very successful at what it does. Which Dungeon Dwellers came first, the minis or the RPG? "Tolkien Orcs" versus "Warhammer Orcs....

Champions superhero RPG co-creator (and HERO Games co-founder) George MacDonald with guest co-host Michael Stewart (Victorious RPG creator; Save For Half and The Crusader podcasts co-host). The origins of Champions from the why, to the playtesting to the launch and beyond. Was the initial reception to Champions disappointing or encouraging? George came out of wargaming and his RPG mechanics reflec...

Dafydd Roche of Terrain-Tronics doesn't just want to make cool terrain, he's helping DMs and GMs bring delight to their players with easy DIY gaming terrain electronics for D&D and other RPGs. Game terrain as part of the storytelling. Theatrical D&D. The no-solder wire wrapping technique is good enough for NASA! Pretty soldering jobs versus ugly soldering jobs. Smart ways to compete with big busin...

Grindhouse cinema with RPG publisher and cinephile Levi Combs. What is Grindhouse, and why is it called that? The market forces that led to the rise of Grindhouse theaters. Gritty movies, violent movies, Foreign movies, exploitation movies, Kung fu movies, BRUCEsploitation movies, more! New York City as a character in movies. Sho'nuff, The Shogun of Harlem can chew scenery on a level with Darth Va...

Thrilling fantasy stories of the swashbuckling duo Mongoose and Meerkat with author Jim Breyfogle. Adventure fiction as opposed to "pulp" fiction (and what exactly does "pulp" mean, anyway). Who is Jim's number one favorite writer from the past? Shane's dirty little secret when it comes to Robert E. Howard's fiction. Robert A. Heinlein was both amazing AND sketchy. Fair Witnesses are cool. The Ody...

JAQ: Journey Adventure Quest is the new drafting board game with resource management, cool mechanics, challenging monsters, fun lore, and multiple paths to victory. Jesse Stacy, Tommy Noel and Brandon Beam from Triceratops Games join Shane to talk all about it (and demonstrate some actual play)! Also: Why the name Triceratops, wait until you hear about the artist, shout-outs to favorite board game...

Comics artist (and self-described art hobo) Brian Shearer has worked on such high-profile properties as Transformers, G.I. Joe, and Doctor Who as well as his own creations Gunship Thunderpunch and William the Last. How did Brian become a professional artist? Tips for creators to build an audience online. What's the line you have to cross on a late crowdfunding project fulfillment before Shane gets...

RPG designer Bruce Nesmith discusses his career as a TSR veteran (Ravenloft 2E, Gamma World 4E, Dragonlance), Elder Scrolls Skyrim lead designer, and now novelist. Bruce's first day at TSR was an experience, to say the least. What does he consider his biggest achievement while at TSR? Bruce's opinion of TSR under Gary Gygax versus Lorraine Williams and what he considers TSR's "glory days". What wa...

RPG designers John Kennedy (Star Trek Adventures, Stargate 5E) and Sharene "Madfishmonger" Gilchrist (Capers, Vast Kaviya) join to talk their new Staged Heroism RPG: A Comedic RPG of Super-Heroics, Super-Villainy, and Failure at its Best inspired by shows like The Venture Bros. Plus: Designing not to fail forward, but to embrace the fail. The Roger Rabbit style of gameplay. Flashback scenes as a g...

Comics writer Paul Kupperberg is the very definition of prolific! He has written 1,400 comics over 4 decades, wrote for and was the editor of the Weekly World News, wrote Mad Libs, and is still staying busy writing books and novels. Paul's credits include the Doom Patrol, Peacemaker, Vigilante, and the first comic book miniseries (1979's World of Krypton), as well as being the writer who killed Ar...

Stephen Chenault aka the Troll Lord of Castle & Crusades publisher Troll Lord Game joins to talk about what's new with C&C and some wise principles he uses to run TLG that have helped them tremendously while other companies have encountered severe disruption during COVID. Plus: Steve has to do daily battle with Skynet for sales. The perfect timing of the emergence of crowdfunding for TTRPG compani...

A cool project to make 3D-printable RPG miniatures from Jeshield's art. Plus! How did he build his RPG stock art business as the main part of his income? What was the RPG that influenced him to become an artist, and what piece of its art impacted him the most? Straight talk on the financials of the RPG art business. Comparing an artist website versus Patreon vs DriveThruRPG. The importance of a ra...

Gaming historian Jon Peterson works through the unhappy but fascinating drama of Gary Gygax, Dave Arneson, and TSR to bring us the facts of it all regarding the two most important personalities and the most important company in RPG history. The legal battles over royalties and ownership of Dungeons & Dragons and TSR itself. What is a game, legally? The Eggbert Incident and its effect on TSR's fina...

Writer and "horror bottomless pit" Mark Pellegrini joins for a great horror movie discussion. Essential found footage movies. What makes found footage different from other types of movies? Horror franchises that forget their roots. Horror films adapted to TV series. Overlooked horror gems in the slasher genre. Analog horror. Halloween Kills, what makes Michael Myers scary, and how the Halloween fr...

Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition is the new RPG that adds depth and options to your 5E experience but avoids unnecessary complexity! Lots of love for the exploration pillar. Rethinking classes while keeping their core concepts. Meaningful decisions every time you level up. Modular heritage design. The journey can be the adventure. More! The dynamics, behind the scenes, and fiscal realities of Kickst...

Ed Bickford aka Metal Robot is a tabletop RPG illustrator, syndicated cartoonist, comic book artist, and an award-winning illustrator and graphic designer. Ed's great to talk with and he's very open in sharing honest thoughts on the hopes and trials of creators in the trenches. The business side of being a professional artist. Your art style finds you. Some tips for writers also apply to artists....

Matt Lister aka Cobra Commander joins to talk chiptune music, retrocomputing, and some classic G.I. Joe and Transformers. Trackers, hardware, and sound chips, oh my! What is MIDI (and can MIDI be chiptunes)? PAL, NTSC and electron guns. Atari 2600 game development and racing the beam. Yars' Revenge had very tricky programming. Behold the Casio XW-PD1 Trackformer, aka the Millennium Falcon, and gro...

Tékumel is a deep setting with published fiction, multiple tabletop RPGs, a miniatures wargaming scene, and more. We revisit this fascinating science-fantasy world with Tékumel Foundation president Victor Raymond. Learn how Tékumel and the Empire of the Petal Throne are so much more than just the "first RPG setting published" (and its creator Professor M.A.R. Barker is a fascinating character). Di...

RPG Designer Julian Bernick on Jack Vance's The Dying Earth book series and the new Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG setting based on it. Why is it such a cool world to read about and play in? How much influence did The Dying Earth have on Gary Gygax and D&D? Hint: a lot. What was DCC's design philosophy and what was the thought behind its extra dice types? Long-form Lovecraftian poetry. How to say grog...

Zeb Cook's RPG design history includes such important highlights as the "Expert" portion of B/X D&D, AD&D 2nd Edition, Oriental Adventures, Planescape, Star Frontiers, and more! He's also had career highlights in video games including City of Villains, Fallout 2, and The Elder Scrolls Online. Did you know AD&D 2nd Edition had a significant playtest effort (and why wasn't the armor class system cha...