The Diceology Podcast

A game is “done” when you stop thinking about it, right? The Bakers complicate that in the best way, and it instantly changes how we think about tabletop RPG design, publishing, and the long life of ideas. We start with the deceptively simple question of finishing, then follow it into Apocalypse World, Burned Over, and the broader Powered by the Apocalypse ecosystem where iteration, hacks, and pla...

We sit down with the Bakers to talk about how games and art grow out of everyday family life. We dig into creative conflict, staying unstuck, and why shelving a project can be a sign of craft rather than failure.  • building a household that supports making through space, tools, and tolerance for mess  • handling creative disagreement by keeping vision ownership clear  • collaborating across diffe...

Creativity doesn’t come with a handbook, so we're building our own. We swap notes on how solo game makers and artists actually get things done: setting a three-influence pillar to keep ideas fresh, designing from mechanics without losing theme, and navigating the murky last 5 percent where projects stall. Sarah shares how Bluebeard’s Bride and Velvet Glove grew from triangulated influences, w...

In this episode, we reflect on our favorite tabletop RPG experiences of 2024 and discuss exciting upcoming games for 2025. We explore character creation, the importance of storytelling, and how strange mechanics add depth to our games. • Reflection on standout RPG experiences of 2024 • Insights from Judd Karlman on tabletop storytelling • Exploration of the Ioun City game and its unique narrative...

Have you ever wondered what it's like to turn your tabletop gaming passion into a profession? Judd Karlman and I chat about our extraordinary path from hobbyists to professional game masters (GMs), revealing the quirky, exciting, and sometimes absurd adventures that come with the territory. From hilarious bachelor party RPG requests to the broader implications of monetizing our love for gamin...

Jolt and his family are hunkering down at a Hilton Garden Hotel in Jacksonville, guarded by Cherry Bomb's security. It's nearly midnight when Red-Eye calls Jolt... and it's not a "wyd?!" kinda call. Chimaera is making a move to grab Citrus Climax! And you know who's coming to the rescue?  I bet ya do! Send us Fan Mail Support the show Thanks for listening to Diceology...

Jolt #4 - Daye & Knight Nate and Obie encounter some extraordinary security guards when they try to make off with goods from the secret lab they've robbed. Later after getting Jason to a hospital, they have a strange encounter with 3-Pain. That night Nate, Obie, and Maggie strategize for the coming days ahead. Send us Fan Mail Support the show Thanks for listening to Diceology ! If you en...

Ready for an action-packed hour of gaming discussion and adventure? Join Rich and me as we delve into the world of real life and role-playing games, exploring the connection between comic books and gaming, and discovering what it means to truly "play to find out." Experience the thrill of strategizing to keep our in-game characters, Sera and Mason, safe while handling new threats and enl...

Jolt #2: Nathan interviews for the super spokesmodel position at Door Dash but gets an emergency text from his wife and leaves abruptly! 3Pain, the witness protection assassin, has made a house call! Later, Nathan and OB discuss OB's debt to Red-Eye, the wetwork job left undone, and a secret lab OB found while doing that job.  Send us Fan Mail Support the show Thanks for listening to Diceolog...

Jolt #1 - Nathan is lured into a CHIMERA experiment as they trap him on the Buckman bridge to observe his abilities! Back home, it’s parent-teacher conference night for him Sarah and their kid Mason. OB stops by looking for a hanging-out buddy. And Danny “Red-Eye” comes looking for OB. It was a smooth session of #ChampionsNow, mostly - the area effect rules tripped me up a little. But We got to se...

2Eleven returns with Jolt! Welcome to Session Zero for Jolt! A Champions Now actual play. I feel like I must remind you I do not receive any kickbacks for the millions of Champions Now sessions, content, or name drops! 🤣 Champions Now RPG has been a great source 0f fun for me, and I am thrilled to have Rich Rogers of +1 Forward fame along for the ride! Nathan Fellows was the Jolt! Cola Super Supe...

Champions Now Jolt #2 -3 Nathan interviews for the super spokesmodel position at Door Dash but gets an emergency text from his wife and leaves abruptly! 3Pain, the witness protection assassin, has made a house call looking for 'Claire' AKA Sera, Nathan's wife, who's in the program. Later, Nathan and OB discuss OB's debt to Red-Eye, the wetwork job left undone, and a secret...

Send us Fan Mail Support the show Thanks for listening to Diceology ! If you enjoyed the show, don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode. You can find us wherever you get your podcasts. Want to support the show and get exclusive content? Head over to Play Fearless or My Patreon to subscribe and join the community! Let's make this our regular thing! 🤘🏾

My guests, Jason Lutes and Paul Beakley , and I get lost in the West Marches game style . Jason is currently running his second West Marches campaign using Freebooters on the Frontier and Arden Vul as the setting.  I get an incredible amount of joy from running West Marches campaigns, and geeking out with both Jason and Paul on the subject was good stuff. I am very, very sorry for some of the audi...

Easily the week of the West Marches. Starting with my halfling wizard’s Arden Vul adventure to helping my local gamers launch their own IRL West Marches games. It’s got me thinking about other non-fantasy applications. On the Gauntlet , we’ve wrapped up a three-session run of Fading Suns with Lowell Francis at the helm. He also hosted a Zoom talk about Legacy 2E: Life among the Ruins . Best practi...

Fading Suns Fading Suns on The Gauntlet . Lowell Francis trying out the system, and you can tell he’s down his prep. I’m playing an Ur-Ukar witch with TK-like abilities. We’ve taken up a mission from a noble to be his escort and eyes and ears in a hostile system. Fading Suns has pulled at me for some years now; I’m hoping to jump-start my future runs of it by playing it first. At its core, it is a...

Send us Fan Mail Support the show Thanks for listening to Diceology ! If you enjoyed the show, don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode. You can find us wherever you get your podcasts. Want to support the show and get exclusive content? Head over to Play Fearless or My Patreon to subscribe and join the community! Let's make this our regular thing! 🤘🏾

Mad Jay talks about Mythras and Glorantha, Twilight: 2000, Horizon Zero Dawn, Cortex and BX D&D with Old School Essentials! Send us Fan Mail Support the show Thanks for listening to Diceology ! If you enjoyed the show, don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode. You can find us wherever you get your podcasts. Want to support the show and get exclusive content? Head over to Play Fea...

Send us Fan Mail Support the show Thanks for listening to Diceology ! If you enjoyed the show, don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode. You can find us wherever you get your podcasts. Want to support the show and get exclusive content? Head over to Play Fearless or My Patreon to subscribe and join the community! Let's make this our regular thing! 🤘🏾

My guest today is a gamer I admire for his style of DMing and asking players questions. He has the uncanny ability for generating gameable premises. He is the author of the Dictionary of Mu, a favorite sword and sorcery setting of mine. He's the host of the Daydreaming About Dragons podcast and my current Friday morning GM for Trophy Gold. Judd Karlman   Blog: githyankidiaspora.com Podcast: h...

I've recorded this conversation with Geoff and Neil from my Twilight: 2000 Saturday morning game. This group, this time slot, and the game are a magical thing for me right now, and I suspect for the four players as well. I wanted to get their thoughts and feels 10 sessions in about the game, the group, and whatever else comes up.  Content warning. Twilight: 2000 is a survival sandbox game set...

Started Mothership with Judd . I'm playing a character inspired by Fox Mulder.  The pitch: Two scientists investigate the disappearance of their professor and the crew of a science vessel.  Twilight: 2000:   The discovery of a dead soldier stashed in the woods and a convoy heading toward Barnes's occupied Polish town,  sends Bard and Justin off to extract Tracy and Janush. They decide to...

Rich Rogers, co-host of Plus One Forward and designer of Hit the Streets: Defend the Block , an ENnie award-winning street-level supers RPG joins me to talk about his gaming week - it's like a mini-con!! Rich's Stone Top duet game with his wife,  Vampire 5e, Bounty of the Week (Monster of the Week hack), Gravity Rip, Star Wars Blades in the Dark, Rascals, X-Crawl. Send us Fan Mail Suppor...

Running: Whitehack + Dungeons and Dilemmas  Twilight: 2000: Base building and sweet, sweet sandbox magic. Legacy 2E: Life Among the Ruins. Four families and bad virtual dice rolling! Wrath & Glory 1v1. Tech-Priest visiting a Space Hulk. Playing An ex-Stormtrooper in Bounty of the Week on twitch.tv/actualplay, Rich Rogers is running it. A Buzzard-headed god of death in Godbound Northern Death P...

The 2021 Mad Jay Picks! Some year-end metrics and my personal game picks for:  Most Surprised Experience.  The Old Man Logan Award. The  Lethal Sessions Award Most evocative setting Closest to my heart. Send us Fan Mail Support the show Thanks for listening to Diceology ! If you enjoyed the show, don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode. You can find us wherever you get your podcasts...