Total Party Thrill: RPG Advice From Our Table to Yours

Hosts I-Hsien and Shane discuss the space-faring tech utopia of the mech skirmish RPG Lancer. In the Gates of Mourning campaign, the party takes on a job, and the Hard Charger stays in the fight to the end in the Character Creation Forge. (54m) Sponsors: Elderwood Academy: Artisans who make awesome gaming accessories! Important Links: Co-op Mood: Shane’s new video game podcast with friend of the s...

Hosts I-Hsien and Shane gazed into the future and saw listeners wanted them to discuss divinations and fortune-telling, so they are. In the Gates of Mourning campaign, the party arrives in Korth with personal business to handle, and the Medani Prophet has an inkling for what will be in the Character Creation Forge. (54m) Sponsors: Kobold Press: Check out the Creature Codex Pocket Edition for 5E! I...

Hosts I-Hsien and Shane discuss how to use family relationships as something other than fodder for a tragic backstory. In the Gates of Mourning campaign, the party boards a train without a ticket, and the Brother-in-Arms fights for their friends in the Character Creation Forge. (53m) Important Links: Black Lives Are Critical Dice: Inspired by a sign by Ikodiya, designed by Summer, supported by Mat...

Hosts I-Hsien and Shane discuss the unsung heroes of every adventuring party: support characters. In the Gates of Mourning campaign, the party finds themselves yet again with a train to catch, and the Accomplice helps you get away with it in the Character Creation Forge. (67m) Sponsors: Elderwood Academy: Artisans who make awesome gaming accessories! Important Links: Co-op Mood: Shane’s new video...

Hosts I-Hsien and Shane scroll through the second D&D campaign setting from Magic: The Gathering. Theros is a world based on Greek myth, where adventurers chosen by the gods battle magical creatures, mythic-level challenges, and fate itself. In this cover-to-cover review, they discuss player options like new races, subclasses, magic items, new monsters and more. Both the Dynasty Unwarranted campai...

Hosts I-Hsien and Shane raid the catacombs for allies as they discuss using undead in your games. In the Gates of Mourning campaign, the party responds to a disturbance on the lightning rail, and the Twice-Damned tries again in the Character Creation Forge. (61m) Sponsors: Kobold Press: Check out products like Empire of the Ghouls, the Underworld Player’s Guide, and Underworld Lairs! Important Lin...

Hosts I-Hsien and Shane cool their heels in town for a discussion about how to handle game time between high adventures. In the Gates of Mourning campaign, the party takes a midnight train to trouble, and the Herbalist heals without the help of the gods in the Character Creation Forge. (57m Important Links: Co-op Mood: Shane’s new video game podcast with friend of the show Sally Tamarkin is now av...

Hosts I-Hsien and Shane take flight and head to the skies as they discuss airships. In the Gates of Mourning campaign, the party books a ticket out of town, and Spike Spiegel brings his Jeet Kune Do to the Character Creation Forge. (59m) Sponsors: Kobold Press: Check out products like Empire of the Ghouls, the Underworld Player’s Guide, and Underworld Lairs! Important Links: Co-op Mood: Shane’s ne...

Hosts I-Hsien and Shane revisit the Player Personality Types series with updates for the age of online gaming. In the Gates of Mourning campaign, the party cracks a vault, and L solves mysteries while remaining mysterious in the Character Creation Forge. (47m) Important Links: Castle Amber: Join Sally, Dylan, Shane, and I-Hsien as they play through a classic D&D module, updated for 5e and run by A...

Hosts I-Hsien and Shane consider their unexpected–and unfortunate–heritage as they discuss playing characters with aberrant dragonmarks. In the Gates of Mourning campaign, the party battles in the streets, and Inuyasha faces down inner demons in the Character Creation Forge. (46m) Sponsors: Elderwood Academy: Artisans who make awesome gaming accessories! Kobold Press: Check out products like Tome...

Hosts I-Hsien and Shane journey on the high seas to discuss pirates, leviathans and ship-to-ship combat. In the Gates of Mourning campaign, the party rescues a friend, and Sailor Neptune is a cultured presence who commands the waves in the Character Creation Forge. (65m) Sponsors: Kobold Press: Check out products like Tome of Beasts and the Midgard Campaign Setting! Important Links: Castle Amber:...

Hosts I-Hsien and Shane are in your ears, pouring poison into your games, as they discuss making, using, and curing poisons. In the Gates of Mourning campaign, the party upgrades their accommodations, and the Dart Frog proves to be a toxic party member in the Character Creation Forge. (60m) Sponsors: Kobold Press: Check out products like Tome of Beasts and the Midgard Campaign Setting! Important L...

Hosts I-Hsien and Shane explore a foe that’s typically portrayed as shallow and fanatical to understand their goals, motivations and tactics. In the Gates of Mourning campaign, the party meets a secret cabal, and the Deprogrammer brings back the innocent, whether they want to come or not, in the Character Creation Forge. (59m) Important Links: Castle Amber: Join Sally, Dylan, Shane, and I-Hsien as...

Hosts I-Hsien and Shane dive into the depths of Dungeons & Dragons lore as they discuss using Slaad in your games. In the Gates of Mourning campaign, the party dines with an old acquaintance and the Toad Battler was born to beat up slaad in the Character Creation Forge. (59m) Important Links: Kobold Press: Check out products like Tome of Beasts and the Midgard Campaign Setting! Total Party Thrill...

Hosts I-Hsien and Shane talk about how games and gaming groups can better adapt to an uncertain, socially-distanced world. In the Gates of Mourning campaign, the party gets an unexpected assignment, and the Nosomatic Chirurgeon gives doctors a bad name in the Character Creation Forge. (57m) Important Links: Stream of Blades: Watch as we play Band of Blades with some cool friends on YouTube! Total...

Hosts I-Hsien and Shane finally dive into the default campaign setting of Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition: The Forgotten Realms. We’ll cover both its real-world and fictional histories, locations, NPCs, plot hooks, and more in this jam-packed episode brought to you by our patrons on Patreon. (75m) Sponsors: Elderwood Academy: Artisans who make awesome gaming accessories! Important Links: Stream of...

Hosts I-Hsien and Shane finally dive into the default campaign setting of Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition: The Forgotten Realms. We’ll cover both its real-world and fictional histories, locations, NPCs, plot hooks, and more in this jam-packed episode brought to you by our patrons on Patreon. (69m) Sponsors: Elderwood Academy: Artisans who make awesome gaming accessories! Important Links: Stream of...

Hosts I-Hsien and Shane dive into the first official D&D book for the campaign setting from Matthew Mercer’s “Critical Role.” Wildemount is a new continent filled with dangerous creatures, scheming empires, and the forgotten secrets of a divine war. In this cover-to-cover review, they discuss player options like new subclasses, new subraces, magic items, new monsters and more in this super-sized e...

Hosts I-Hsien and Shane solve for using puzzles in your games so you don’t have to. In the Gates of Mourning campaign, the party puzzles a priest, and the Kundarak Keymaster leaves even the most daring thieves puzzled in the Character Creation Forge. Puzzles! (59m) Sponsors: Kobold Press: Check out Warlock on Patreon! D&D Beyond: The official digital toolset, rules compendium, and character builde...

Hosts I-Hsien and Shane are no fans of the party, as they discuss gamemasters who think their fun comes at the expense of the players’. In the Gates of Mourning campaign, the party gets an unwanted delivery, and the Troll Hunter leaves no monster unburnt in the Character Creation Forge. (56m) Sponsors: D&D Beyond: The official digital toolset, rules compendium, and character builder for D&D! Kobol...

Hosts I-Hsien and Shane dive right in and immerse themselves in underwater adventures. In the Gates of Mourning campaign, the party meets a precocious teen, and the Siren’s Song will shipwreck even the sturdiest in the Character Creation Forge. (61m) Sponsors: Elderwood Academy: Artisans who make awesome wooden gaming products! D&D Beyond: The official digital toolset, rules compendium, and charac...

Hosts I-Hsien and Shane polish their halos for a discussion about the angelically-descended aasimar race. In the Gates of Morning campaign, the party fights blind, and the Earth Angel channels the divine power of nature in the Character Creation Forge. (56m) Sponsors: D&D Beyond: The official digital toolset, rules compendium, and character builder for D&D! Knuckle Dragger: An action-oriented TTRP...

Hosts I-Hsien and Shane make up for past mistakes with a handwave as they discuss retconning. In the Gates of Morning campaign, the party makes some acquisitions, and the Self-Forged crafts themselves in their own image in the Character Creation Forge. (60m) Sponsors: Fish in the Pot: Check out the Fish in the Pot Character collection for 5th Edition, now on Kickstarter! Kobold Press: The Tome of...

Hosts I-Hsien and Shane brave a risky position to strip the Forged in the Dark system for parts to use in other games. In the Gates of Mourning campaign, the party makes a macabre discovery, and the Night Fox swipes with style in the Character Creation Forge. (60m) Sponsors: D&D Beyond: The official digital toolset, rules compendium, and character builder for D&D! Elderwood Academy: Artisans who m...

Hosts I-Hsien and Shane sound red alert, man battlestations, and stand by for main phasers as they discuss the universe of Star Trek as a campaign setting. In the Gates of Mourning campaign, the party catches up with a friend, and Section 31 operates in the shadows in the Character Creation Forge. (57m) Sponsors: Kobold Press: The Tome of Beasts II Kickstarter is live! Fish in the Pot: Check out t...