Shane Plays Geek Talk

FASERIP Tactics is the tactical superhero miniatures game based on the rules from the classic TSR Marvel Superheroes RPG. Developer Ned Leeds shares the amazing and incredible feats this game brings to the table! It's monstrous fun, and it's FREE. Shane Plays Geek Talk Episode #242 - 6/22/2021 Like what you hear? Support Shane Plays Geek Talk on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/shaneplays Shane Pl...

The new Awfully Cheerful Engine (ACE) RPG with Russ "Morrus" Morrissey of E.N. Publishing. ACE is an action-comedy RPG inspired by a frightfully cheerful game from the 80s that's quick and fun to play. Plus: A Level Up Advanced 5E RPG project update. Giant monkeys punching giant lizards. Sketch comedy writing. Sea Monkeys. How to watch Eurovision. It's awfully contentful! Shane Plays Geek Talk Epi...

On scarlet sorcery and heroic wings, Phase 4 of the MCU has arrived! What did Shane and friends of the show Richard McBain and William Brackeen think of WandaVision and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier? Are they excited for Phase 4 in general? Plus! An overview of everything currently on the MCU's Phase 4 slate! Tune in, True Believers! Shane Plays Geek Talk Episode #240 - 5/21/2021 Like what you...

After years of denials of its existence, the Zack Snyder cut of Justice League is here! Comedian and friend of the show Michael Brown joins Shane for a deep dive on Zack Snyder and Joss Whedon's versions of the movie. Is one better than the other? Does it mainly come down to fun vs gravitas? Green Lantern and Aquaman digressions. Mike is a true Aquaman fan. Shane tries and fails to do a ghastly Jo...

Level Up: Advanced Fifth Edition RPG is coming and Russ "Morrus" Morrissey of E.N. Publishing provides a sneak preview! A5E is an expanded version of 5E, adding more depth and options yet still backward compatible with 5E. Among lots of other cool stuff, the exploration pillar gets much love, a revamped heritage and culture system is coming, monster signs appear, and get ready for combat maneuvers...

It's a veritable cavalcade of geeky news goodness! All Your Base 20th anniversary, WandaVision, Chinese CRPGs, The Burning Crusade for WoW Classic, McDonalds Pokemon scalper frenzy, Babylon 5, Red Dwarf, Day of the Dead TV series, Batman: The Animated Series, Godzilla vs Kong, The Snyder Cut, Fan buyout of DC Comics?, Spawn expanded comics universe, Dragonlance, puppet D&D and more! Plus: Shane ra...

It's the fifth annual team-up with Arkansas talk radio legend Dave Elswick for our Most Anticipated Geek Movies of 2021! What made the cut? How did our picks from last year hold up? Dave and Shane's thoughts on Wonder Woman 1984. Dave's theory on The Empire Strikes Back. Ed and Elizabeth Warren. Dave thinks Shane looks like Jerry Garcia. Press Play! Shane Plays Geek Talk Episode #236 - 1/18/2021 L...

Jon Peterson discusses The Elusive Shift, his newest in-depth book about role-playing game history. The importance of fanzines to the hobby and researching its history. Where did the term "role-playing game" come from? The history of "roll-playing" vs "role-playing". Letting the dice tell the story vs GM fudging. Some dice history. Platonic solids and the nature of reality. What was Gary Gygax's d...

Who are Frog God Games? The current state of OSR RPG gaming and some OSR history. Recommendations on trying out OSR games. North Texas RPG Con. Large cons versus intimate cons. Con special guest invitation criteria. Economics of RPG conventions. Economics of the RPG industry. RPG archaeology. Tavern brawls. A cool story about a lost piece of D&D and Gary Gygax history. Michael "Bad Mike" Badolato...

Asunder is the dark fantasy RPG (powered by the Shadow of the Demon Lord system) set in a dying world with no metal where humans have transformed plants and insects into living weapons. Adam Lawson and Robert J. Schwalb join to discuss! How long is the average tabletop RPG campaign (the answer may surprise you)? What's it like to make an RPG for the first time compared to what you THINK it will be...

Tékumel: The Empire of the Petal Throne is known as the first published tabletop RPG setting, but began long before that in Professor M. A. R. Barker's imagination. It's a rich and exciting world matched by a fascinating creator! Bob Alberti (Tékumel expert, author, and friend of Professor Barker) tells us all about this important part of RPG history. Shane Plays Geek Talk Episode #232 - 11/13/202...

The unproduced final episode of the 80s Dungeons & Dragons cartoon now exists thanks to superfans Ryan Nead and Marshall Hubbard and is receiving widespread praise! What was involved? How long did it take? Why did they do it? Why do they love the D&D cartoon so much? Is it an energy bow, a lightning bow, or a plasma bow? The final episode in other media. Ryan has a DeLorean. Shane Plays Geek Talk...

Writer, director, and producer Adam Lawson (Snakes on a Plane, Escape the Night, The Eighth, TableTop) joins to talk The Kill Journal, a horror graphic novel about survivors of supernatural slashers who band together to get revenge. Which version of Michael Meyers is the most frightening? Michael vs Jason. What does Adam think of "newer" horror movies? Ed and Lorraine Warren. RPGs as spectator ent...

The hugely popular Inktober drawing challenge with creator Jake Parker. When did Inktober start and how large has it grown? What are people saying about how Inktober has helped them? Advice from Don Bluth. How do you say Mignola? Shane wants to be a cartoonist. Shane Plays Geek Talk Episode #229 - 9/30/2020 Like what you hear? Support Shane Plays Geek Talk on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/shane...

Good Strong Hands RPG ("A darkly whimsical game about saving your fantastical world") with indie developer Craig Campbell of NerdBurger Games. RPGs gone virtual. The importance of cons to the RPG industry. How is RPG design like architecture? Sad scenes in geek movies. The butter burger. Shane Plays Geek Talk Episode #228 - 9/25/2020 Like what you hear? Support Shane Plays Geek Talk on Patreon! ht...

10 playful sketches chock full of D&D and RPG mirth and good-natured skewering, written by Shane Stacks and performed and edited by the Morrus' Unofficial Tabletop RPG Talk podcast crew (Russ Morrissey, Peter Coffey and Darryl Mott)! Sketches include comparing sanity check fails, "invisible" bank robbers, a certain gazebo, the lack of variety in the post-apocalypse, having cows in dungeons, GMs sa...

Darklands! The cult classic open-world RPG from 1992 that lets you adventure in the Holy Roman Empire during the 15th century… or rather, 15th Century Europe as people believed it to be at the time! Darklands broke a lot of CRPG ground, still has fans, and influenced games like Baldur's Gate and the Elder Scrolls. Fellow fans Matt Wirkkala and Keith Hiorns join. Shane Plays Geek Talk Episode #226...

UFO reports are increasing rapidly and the official discussion of UFOs keeps flying higher with everyone from U.S. Senators to UFO lobbyists to the previous lead singer of Blink-182 pushing for answers. Lots of UFO news. Some space news. Art Bell trivia. Trump quotes about UFOs. Mars is being noisy. Are stars disappearing in droves? What does Kurt Russell have to do with the Phoenix Lights? Shane...

Mythological Figures & Maleficent Monsters for 5th Edition with Russ Morrissey and Mike Myler. A veritable cornucopia of real life and legendary figures for your game! Hair fuses. American mythology. Knights joust a lot. Jesus as a stat block? The real Peter Pan is kind of creepy. Ra Ra Rasputin. Cryptids. Skunk Apes. Numenera comes to D&D. The Far Side is back (kind of). Hudson the ASBOdog. Shane...

Producer, writer, and director Aaron B. Koontz of Paper Street Pictures talks horror movies and the new horror-comedy anthology Scare Package. The financial realities of the film industry. The project management aspect of filmmaking and the necessity of crazy instant decisions. Making credits cool. Chasing your dreams. Working with John Bloom (Joe Bob Briggs). Rad Chad is rad. Dreams of zombie Jas...

Shane has made no secret that he's been disappointed with recent Star Trek offerings. Now he revisits Star Trek Discovery and takes a look at Picard with returning guest Brent Bristow to find out what he thinks now! Also: they sink their teeth into a little Dark Shadows chat. Podcast version of the live Shane Plays Geek Talk radio show from 5/30/2020 Shane Plays airs on Saturdays at 1 PM Central o...

RPG historian and filmmaker Griffith "Griff" Morgan returns for a follow-up show on Secrets of Blackmoor: The True History of D&D now that the documentary has been released. Dave Arneson, the Blackmoor Bunch and Gary Gygax. Shane is a nerd when it comes to RPG-related fiction. Early game balance. Griff demonstrates some really excellent and atmospheric spontaneous DMing. Are DMs the most important...

Shane's advice and tips for DMs / GMs, plus a foolproof method for knowing whether you're good at it. A different take on rules lawyers. Fantasy races and alignment discussion. Podcast version of the live Shane Plays Geek Talk radio show from 4/25/2020 Shane Plays airs on Saturdays at 1 PM Central on 101.1 FM The Answer in Little Rock. It can also be heard online at http://1011fmtheanswer.com . Ca...

Tom Hise (the GM for Shane's Villains & Vigilantes / Mighty Protectors superhero RPG campaign) joins to share about running a rich tabletop RPG by EMAIL. He's done it for 10 years. Also: why Tom loves V&V and their mutual love for Astro City. Podcast version of the live Shane Plays Geek Talk radio show from 4/18/2020 Shane Plays airs on Saturdays at 1 PM Central on 101.1 FM The Answer in Little Ro...

Comics writer (Batman & The Outsiders, American Carnage) and screenwriter (Ash vs Evil Dead, Titans) Bryan Edward Hill joins to talk his work, videogames in the pandemic, being a creator and still enjoying other people's creations, respectful online dialogue, Miami Vice, his movie Zone 414, and more... including a special appearance by his Batman voice. Podcast version of the live Shane Plays Geek...