Total Party Thrill: RPG Advice From Our Table to Yours

Hosts I-Hsien and Shane discuss playing and running games in the sweet spot, after the characters have a few accomplishments to their names, but before they get too powerful. In the Dynasty Unwarranted campaign, the party strikes a bargain they have no idea how to fulfill, and Conan is barbarous, adventurous, and destructive in the Character Creation Forge. (61m) Important Links: Teepublic: Home o...

Hosts I-Hsien and Shane discuss how to play genasi, those fire-haired and crystal-faced freaks descended from the power of the Elemental Planes. In the Dynasty Unwarranted campaign, the party faces extremely familiar enemies, and the Fistadin gets her hands dirty in the Character Creation Forge. (62m) Important Links: Teepublic: Home of the TPT-shirt! Unearthed Arcana—Mass Combat: new playtest rul...

Hosts I-Hsien and Shane discuss planning, prepping, and running gladiatorial combats and structured tournaments. In the Dynasty Unwarranted campaign, meet the crew of the Rogue Trader His Enduring Light, and the Heathen Champion defends the honor of ancient gods in the Character Creation Forge. (59m) Important Links: Teepublic: Home of the TPT-shirt! Unearthed Arcana—Warlock and Wizard: the latest...

Hosts I-Hsien and Shane show up to discuss how to handle the session and the story when a player misses a game. In the prologue to the Dynasty Unwarranted campaign, the party exploits a design flaw, and The Batman is prepared for anything in the Character Creation Forge. (65m) Important Links: Teepublic: Home of the TPT-shirt! Unearthed Arcana—Sorcerer: the latest playtest options for this class....

Hosts I-Hsien and Shane travel back in history to the early days of roleplaying games as they revisit the original D&D campaign setting, Greyhawk. In the prologue to the Dynasty Unwarranted campaign, the acolytes finally purge something they’re supposed to, and the Sexy Beast is more beautiful than the average bear in the Character Creation Forge. (60m) Important Links: Teepublic: Home of the TPT-...

Hosts I-Hsien and Shane discuss how to write and use riddles, and how to help players solve them. In the prologue to the Dynasty Unwarranted campaign, the acolytes discover something downright rotten, and the Cagematch is the main event in the Character Creation Forge. (60m) Important Links: Unearthed Arcana: Ranger and Rogue: the latest playtest options for these classes. Two Weeks: a micro-game...

Hosts I-Hsien and Shane discuss how to create meaningful and playable backgrounds for characters. In the prologue to the Dynasty Unwarranted campaign, the acolytes read a stolen diary, and the Chevalier makes the ultimate sacrifice—and is sad about it— in the Character Creation Forge. (51m) Important Links: Two Weeks: a micro-game collection which benefits the ACLU, including Shane’s NASCAR-inspir...

Hosts I-Hsien and Shane discuss how players and GMs can create, keep, and reveal secret information. In the prologue to the Dynasty Unwarranted campaign, the acolytes discover the grain isn’t the only thing rotten on Novabella, and Reaper fights and runs away in the Character Creation Forge. (56m) Important Links: Two Weeks: a micro-game collection which benefits the ACLU, including Shane’s NASCAR...

Hosts I-Hsien and Shane continue their series on player profiles as they discuss butt-kickers, the players who just want to throwdown. In the prologue of the Dynasty Unwarranted campaign, the war band find themselves in the line of fire, and Dhalsim keeps his enemies at arm’s length in the Character Creation Forge. (42m) Important Links: Two Weeks: a micro-game collection which benefits the ACLU,...

Hosts I-Hsien and Shane discuss a variety of ways to borrow from books, movies, television and other media to enhance your RPGs. In the prologue of the Dynasty Unwarranted campaign, the war band stir up trouble, and the Crucible heats things up in the Character Creation Forge. (63m) Important Links: Two Weeks: a micro-game collection which benefits the ACLU, including Shane’s NASCAR-inspired RPG, ...

Hosts I-Hsien and Shane discuss techniques for establishing tone in various types and genres of RPGs. In the prologue of the Dynasty Unwarranted campaign, the Inquisition arrives on a backwater farming planet to snuff out some heresy, and the Inventor masters magic and technology–but mostly magic–in the Character Creation Forge. (65m) Important Links: Two Weeks: a micro-game collection which benef...

Hosts I-Hsien and Shane present the Second Annual Thrillie Awards to the best gaming products of the year, check-in on last year’s New Years gaming resolutions, and then share new resolutions. In the Character Creation Forge, Aquaman does some goofy fish stuff and occasionally blasts people with a trident. (56m) Important Links: Two Weeks: a micro-game collection which benefits the ACLU, including...

Hosts I-Hsien and Shane sort through the mail and answer listener questions about plot hooks, campaign planning and time management. In the Mourning Glory campaign, the final battle rests on the outcome of a single die roll, and the Flash outruns even the sharpest shooters in the Character Creation Forge. (64m) Contact us: Twitter: @TPTcast Email: totalpartythrill@gmail.com Web: www.totalpartythri...

Hosts I-Hsien and Shane discuss how to play tieflings, those devil-blooded outcasts that Planescape gifted to the game. In the Mourning Glory campaign, each member of the party must make a final decision, and the Faustian Fiddler puts the devil in the detailed fingerwork in the Character Creation Forge. (60m) Contact us: Twitter: @TPTcast Email: totalpartythrill@gmail.com Web: www.totalpartythrill...

Hosts I-Hsien and Shane discuss how to avoid burnout, what to do if you feel yourself getting burned out, and the merits of participating in RPGs as both a player and a gamemaster. In the Mourning Glory campaign, the party is severely tempted, and the Smitebiter gets a taste of combat in the Character Creation Forge. (64m) Important Links: Help us decide what to do after we finish recapping Mourni...

Hosts I-Hsien and Shane explain how to strip out unrealistic elements from traditional fantasy RPGs to run grounded and gritty games. In the Mourning Glory campaign, the party’s succes comes back to bite them, and the Lazylord leads from the reclining chair in the Character Creation Forge. (63m) Contact us: Twitter: @TPTcast Email: totalpartythrill@gmail.com Web: www.totalpartythrillcast.com

Hosts I-Hsien and Shane breakdown the latest release for Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition, Volo’s Guide to Monsters, including their favorite and least favorite elements, in this super-sized episode. Both the Mourning Glory campaign and the Character Creation Forge take the week off, but will return next episode. (91m) Note: The original uploaded file had a 40-second audio gap around 17 minutes. Thi...

Hosts I-Hsien and Shane try to make sense of a single die roll as they discuss narrative scale in RPGs. In the Mourning Glory campaign, the party takes up arms to defend the innocent, and the Storm Surge enters like a flash and goes out with a bang in the Character Creation Forge. (55m) Important Links: The Tome Show Roundtable 143: Shane and I-Hsien joined the show to discuss the previews of the...

Hosts I-Hsien and Shane encourage you to take a walk on the wild side and do that thing you thought you should never do: split the party. In the Mourning Glory campaign, the party adjusts to their new reality, and the Beguiler charms your pants off in the Character Creation Forge. (58m) Important Links: “Never Split the Party,” by Emerald Rose. The Tome Show Roundtable 143: Shane and I-Hsien join...

Hosts I-Hsien and Shane discuss their favorite sandals and sorcery setting, Dark Sun. In the Mourning Glory campaign, the party steps into an unfamiliar realm that ends up all too familiar, and the Wasteland Wanderer goes it alone in the Character Creation Forge. (56m) Important Links: Athas.org: Unofficial D&D 3.5 conversion of Dark Sun, and valuable source of setting information Contact us: Twit...

Hosts I-Hsien and Shane discuss how to create high-level abilities for players that go beyond the baseline offered in most RPGs. In the Mourning Glory campaign, the party tries to keep an enemy alive, and the Psychic Warrior gets Shane riled up in the Character Creation Forge. (52m) Important Links: Epic Destinies PDF: I-Hsien’s epic destinies for the Mourning Glory campaign Contact us: Twitter: @...

Hosts I-Hsien and Shane discuss narrative control in RPGs and how it is shared by players, GMs, and the rules. In the Mourning Glory campaign, the party infiltrates Flamekeep, and the Master Illusionist lets you see only what she wants you to see in the Character Creation Forge. (56m) Contact us: Twitter: @TPTcast Email: totalpartythrill@gmail.com Web: www.totalpartythrillcast.com

Hosts I-Hsien and Shane discuss how to deliver a satisfying conclusion to a player’s storyline. In the Mourning Glory campaign, the party finally faces their archrival, and Swamp Thing starts a plant-based riot in the Character Creation Forge. (64m) Important Links: AcadeCon 2016: November 11-13th in Dayton, OH Contact us: Twitter: @TPTcast Email: totalpartythrill@gmail.com Web: www.totalpartythri...

Hosts I-Hsien and Shane discuss the most savage of D&D’s core races, the Half-Orc. In the Mourning Glory campaign, the party prepares to settle an old score, and the Drunken Master ties one on in the Character Creation Forge. (58m) Update: In this episode, we incorrectly discuss the Half-Orc receiving a +1 bonus to Dexterity in D&D 5E. This is wrong; Half-Orcs get +1 to Constitution. Just ignore t...

Hosts I-Hsien and Shane discuss the latest Unearthed Arcana’s revised Ranger class before moving on to the artifact that seems designed to ruined D&D campaigns: the Deck of Many Things. In the Mourning Glory campaign, the party holds up their end of a bargain struck with a familiar fiend, and the Gambler always has luck on her side, or at least an ace up her sleeve in the Character Creation Forge....