Mark V.

Tales From the TTRPG Dust Pan

Leisure EN ↓ 205 episodes

Dive into the world of tabletop role-playing games with this unfiltered podcast. Join host Mark V for an exploration of game design, actual play, and the fickelness of dice. From spontaneous rambles to curated game concepts, every episode offers a fresh perspective on the hobby. While the audio quality may not be studio-perfect, the content is guaranteed to spark your imagination. Discover a wealth of game ideas, both familiar and innovative, crafted by a host with years of experience in the TTRPG realm. Let the Adventures begin! The Blog: https://failedgamedesigner.blogspot.com/

Author

Mark V.

Episodes

A long way around. 25.06.2025 22:18

A bit of a ramble about using time, doing what you love, realizing reality, and ( oh yeah ) TTRPG’s. Warning: this is a bit of a meander.

Monday quick hitters .. my criticism of criticism 23.06.2025 11:27

A few quick points to get us rolling on a hot Monday morning.

Musings of the silver empress 18.06.2025 29:40

Thinking about the effects of player action.. free form game prep

Pulling the plug 17.06.2025 17:52

Some of the reasons games die. Or more likely, fade away.

Dice interpretation 17.06.2025 25:19

How long do we really want to think about that die roll?

Ideas about exploration, civilizations and games 15.06.2025 13:40

A mash up of thoughts and postulated ideas as I inch my way towards doing something with this stubborn Sci Fi idea I have.

Clearly visualizing your game design 11.06.2025 16:31

Focus on game design. The advantage of a clear vision

Otto Con after party 09.06.2025 8:41

A quick post Ottocon talk. Things could have gone better in the AAIE game I ran but all in all I think everyone had fun. Some lessons learned.

Unearthed Psionics’ a tough nut for D&D to crack 05.06.2025 8:15

A lot of D&D podcasts are talking about the new psionic class in the latest unearthed Arcana. I have opinions about psionic classes. So today I share a rare D&D 5ed adjacent pod with the fine listening group.

Notes on Exploration 04.06.2025 11:16

Some very rapid fire thoughts on Exploration as a foundation for a TTRPG experience. We can’t completely ignore logistics and book keeping … can we?

Rules as Written 02.06.2025 27:41

Some thoughts on Rules As written. Should RAW play be a design goal ? “The secret we should never let the gamemasters know is that they don't need any rules.” Gary Gygax

Putting ideas into the world. 29.05.2025 19:49

Every good setting needs a core idea. A nascent sci fi setting idea …

Play testing my OttoCon Scenario. 28.05.2025 24:51

On the road with a mix of TTRPG topics. Mostly prepping for Otto-Con… and a few digressions along the way.

Boutique Games and D&D hot T(C)ales 21.05.2025 23:02

A wide range of thoughts on a design approach that represents one of my blind spots. A conversation I had about D&D and why this is not aD&D pod cast even though in all honesty that would serve me better. And so much more.

A bit about Builds 20.05.2025 25:14

The concept of character “build” and where it fits into my ttrpg’s. What I enjoy about tinkering with builds, And what styles of game I think builds are best used. Also can I be “ready” with another thing for Otto con? Listen!

Time, Time, Time… 19.05.2025 14:18

Do what you love and plan for the time you realistically have to do it.

You can’t make the game ZAG. 12.05.2025 20:00

A quick talk about not getting too hung up on plot points.

Chill Game night part II 07.05.2025 18:40

A little more about chill game night, and what are we going to do when a fight breaks out and we have no rules to guide us!

BATTLETECH 06.05.2025 13:29

BATTLETECH Listen to me talk about getting my Mech on … will the rolling Kia studio survive a hail of LRM’s? Let’s find out.

Do we really mean “Realism?” 01.05.2025 15:42

Or do we just want to do sweet jumps

Season 3 continues .. In GI Joe, can any one be more useless than shipwreck? Hold my bird. 01.05.2025 25:44

Wherein I ramble about picking the wrong character type for a game.

Chill Game night 25.04.2025 18:56

Let’s talk a bit about what happens when you decide to just play. To me it becomes Chill Game night… Story telling is an I ate part of the human psyche… some times in the TTRG sphere we tend to overthink the whole thing … A pencil, 2d6, and a piece of paper

Looking at your own designs through fresh eyes 18.04.2025 18:19

A short episode about the power of watching other people run a game you wrote

Quick review of our Hero 6 E game. Don’t FORCE IT 16.04.2025 18:58

A quick review of our hero 6E game and how I leaned not to negate players good play with my own agenda.

Skirmish game design jam session 09.04.2025 27:46

In season three episode 11 I just spitball ideas about how I would like to streamline a game I wrote over a decade ago and make it a table top hero shooter… so now I want to keep it cooperative, but many of the ideas I have here still apply.