Aria Davis & Professor Funky Productions

Tabletop Hot Takes

Leisure EN ↓ 37 episodes

A Podcast about Tabletop Role Playing Games (TTRPGs), our thoughts and feeling on them, and, of course, hot takes. We explore TTRPG history, indie RPGs, advice, recommendations, and all kinds of other great things. Professor Aria was raised in the fire of TTRPGs having run and played Shadowrun, D&D 5E, Ryuutama, and several indie RPGs. They have Game Mastered for almost ten years. They are trying to make their own system, an exploration of cyberpunk fantasy in an approachable, customizable system. Professor Funky has run TTRPGs for over 20 years and for far too many systems to count, though he...

Author

Aria Davis & Professor Funky Productions

Episodes

Make Your Aliens WEIRDER!! 30.06.2025 52:56

MAKE YOUR ALIENS WEIRDER!! JUST DO IT! Funky and Aria discuss weird alien people and why they should be weirder. This includes Tolkien, The Doctor, elves, and planets miniaturized into people. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Our Patreon - patreon.com/TabletopHotTakes ------------------------------------------------------------------------

Genre: Mystery 16.06.2025 53:02

The second in our series about Genres. We pick right up with mysteries. We explore the required baseline for mysteries and how they can and can very much NOT work in TTRPGs. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Our Patreon - patreon.com/TabletopHotTakes ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Mystery Novel Structure Simplified -...

TTRPGs & Gender 02.06.2025 1:03:50

Funky and Aria discuss Gender, Sexuality, and TTRPG history. They chronicle changes to approach of gender in society and games alike. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Our Patreon - patreon.com/TabletopHotTakes ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The First Female Gamers - Medium article about the first female gamers and th...

Taxonomy of Players 13.12.2024 51:52

Funky and Aria discuss one way to categorize players. They cover the difficulty of ungendered words to describe mean people, Funky having a bit of a breakdown, and trying to not break Shadowrun. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Our Patreon - patreon.com/TabletopHotTakes ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Matt Colville -...

Eras of TTRPGs, Part 1: Gygax and Michigan 18.10.2024 1:04:10

Professors Funky and Aria begin their series on the Eras of Role Playing. They discuss Gary Gygax, Dave Arneson, their epic friendship, and eventual rivalry They even mention writing on napkins, and promise not to sue each other. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Our Patreon - patreon.com/TabletopHotTakes ------------------------------------------------------...

Let's Rob RJ McIlhenney and Steal Her Golden Quill 04.10.2024 40:15

We review the small, and very accessible, TTRPG Let's Rob RJ McIlhenney and Steal Her Golden Quill. We cover why it's great, how we could play it with our coworkers at Starbucks, and get bleeped a LOT! Our Patreon - patreon.com/TabletopHotTakes Link for the system: Let's Rob RJ McIlhenney and Steal Her Golden Quill Links for systems mentioned: Tails of Equestria

Genre: Intro & Horror 20.09.2024 59:16

The beginning of a series exploring genres. We begin with a 101 course into the term of genre. We then explore the Horror genre, how it can work, how it can fail, and some spooky hot takes. We talk about some favorite horror movies and systems, and chat about amish playing TTRPGs. Our Patreon - patreon.com/TabletopHotTakes Sources: Alien - Look out! Its a man in a suit! Truly an apex predator. Hot...

Resolution Systems 16.10.2023 42:49

After last episode, we decided we needed to talk about one of the most polarizing and essential systems in a TTRPG: The resolution system Our Patreon - patreon.com/TabletopHotTakes Links for the systems mentioned: Or8cle - A GM-less TTRPG played with a Magic 8-Ball. Short and easy to run. Dread - A Horror TTRPG played with a Jenga tower. When the tower falls, so does your character. Lasers & F...

Strangest TTRPGs We Have Found (Pt. 1) 02.10.2023 39:51

Some of the most unique TTRPGs we have found in our travels. This only scratches the surface of the good, weird stuff out there. There will be a part 2 and onward in the future. Our Patreon - patreon.com/TabletopHotTakes Links for the systems mentioned: Terror Thirteen: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/63498/Terror-Thirteen?term=terror+thirteen Totally Real Human Adults: https://crlegge.itch.i...

Ryuutama - Natural Fantasy RPG 18.09.2023 38:36

We discuss a favorite game of Aria's (and soon to be Funky's too), Ryuutama. It's a fabulous exploration of exploration and pastoral fantasy. Our Patreon - patreon.com/TabletopHotTakes DriveThruRPG link for Ryuutama - https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/151366/Ryuutama--Natural-Fantasy-Roleplay

Is the Game Master a Player? 04.09.2023 31:10

We talk perspectives on one of the oldest discourses in TTRPGs Our Patreon - patreon.com/TabletopHotTakes Bibliography: Keep on the Borderlands - https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17158/B2-The-Keep-on-the-Borderlands-Basic Gamedeveloper - https://www.gamedeveloper.com/disciplines/the-dungeon-master-an-interview-with-gary-gygax Bleak Spirit - https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/296546/Bleak-Spi...

Fave & Least Fave Mechanics 21.08.2023 39:08

We talk about or favorite and least favorite mechanics or ideas from any TTRPG for an easy first episode. Our Patreon - https://patreon.com/TabletopHotTakes?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=join_link Links to DriveThruRPG for all the games we mention: Shadowrun - https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse.php?filters=1700_0_0_0_0&...