GamingPerspectives

     In this episode Saul and Jolene talk about Player Narrative Control in RPG's.   It is sometimes difficult to define some of the terms that pop up in Role Playing games.  Saul defines what Narrative Control means to him and Jolene questions his definition.  Saul and Jolene discuss this term and what it means in role playing games.  Saul describes games that don't have implicit narrative contro...

     Can roleplaying games be more than games?  Saul and Jolene talk about psychology in roleplaying games.  Jolene curiosity was piqued when this subject was brought up in the many esoteric conversations she has with Saul.  After a bit of research and discussion with Saul the present episode was born.  There has always been talk about how rpgs can be used other than a game.  It turns out there ha...

     In this Episode we talk about the TV cult hit Supernatural RPG.  It is a favorite show of both Saul and Jolene.  They discuss the Supernatural RPG published by Margaret Weis Productions.  Saul talks about why he liked the system, now called, Cortex Classic.  And of course the show the RPG is based on.  It is a modern day monster hunting game.  Saul tells a story of Jolene trying to play from...

     In this episode Saul and Jolene talk about how they make encounters and things they consider when making those encounters. Jolene talks about killing Saul's newly made Paladin character in the first session he gets to play in.  Well luckily for Saul they are playing 5th Edition D&D so the Paladin only went down for a couple of rounds.  So Saul and Jolene discuss what goes through their minds...

     Saul and Jolene talk about Kickstarter.  They discuss both the pledging and creating Kickstarter Campaigns.  As a long time supporter of a few Kickstarter campaigns, Saul discusses why people support Kickstarter campaigns.  Jolene attests to the number of KickStarter that Saul has pledged and  who has been pretty happy with most of the pledges.   Saul discusses the help that is out there for...

    So the whole D&D "Band" can't get together on the next session.  Don't cancel play a D&D Boardgame to get your D&D fix.  Saul and Jolene talk about D&D themed boardgames that might scratch the D&D itch just so most of you that can get together can still play.  Saul and Jolene discuss Castle Ravenloft and some of the other themed games using the same game system.  A different type of game is Lo...

     The Ranger Class first introduced to Dungeons and Dragons players was way back in 1978 in the Advanced D&D Player's Handbook.  The class had first been seen in Dragon Magazine issues.  In the Players Handbook the Ranger really saw the light of day and it drew many players to this homage of Tolkien's novels.  The Ranger has been in D&D ever since in all editions to this day.   As a sub-class o...

     This week Saul and Jolene talk about where they get Inspiration for the RPG adventures they run.  They discuss normal avenues of inspiration for adventures such as movies, tv and books.  They also discuss other things that can inspire and help you get an idea for your next adventure.  Locations, news articles and many other things have inspired Saul and Jolene to come up with some very entert...

    The classic Cleric is discussed in this episode.  Saul thinks they are like the last class to be picked by players, like that last kid picked on the sports team.  Why does it seem that everyone thinks a party should have a Cleric but then its a hassle because nobody wants to play one.  Saul uses playing Overwatch, a computer game, where the healer is always the last character chosen.  Jolene d...

     This week Saul and Jolene talk about last years role-playing game Tales From the Loop.  Its a Swedish game translated into English and published by Modiphius where players play kids from the 1980's solving mysteries.   Its an RPG about roleplaying in the"80's that never was." which is and era both Jolene and Saul grew up in.  We talk about what it was like in the 80's growing up in small town...

   This week Saul and Jolene talk about using Miniatures(Minis) or using the Theatre of the Mind in your roleplaying games.  The discussion covers why minis are used in many rpgs and how Theatre of the mind is used in many independent or roleplay heavy games.  Jolene solidly gives her opinion on what she rather use and why.       Music by Derek Clegg, song My Mind Never Bends.   Available at FreeM...

     Saul and Jolene talk about Running a Player Friendly game.  We discuss things we think you should consider when trying to run a game that is player friendly.  Jolene says there are two basic type of players.  Saul and Jolene discuss how and why knowing his is important for running a fun game for all players.  Also there are certain techniques that help making sure that all players at your tab...

    Saul and Jolene talk about the Rogue character.  We talk about playing a rogue in D&D but as in most cases you can translate this character type into any genre or RPG game.   Saul and Jolene discuss the origins of the rogue class that goes way back to Advanced Dungeons and Dragons Thief class.  We talk about how it evolved into the Rogue class.  Saul and Jolene discuss how the latest incarnati...

    Saul and Jolene discuss the alternate history setting of Weird War.  There are many alternate settings and one subject that is very popular is Weird War.  Saul and Jolene talk about some different rule sets that let you play in that setting.  Each set of rules usually deal with different aspects of the setting.  Jolene states what kind of Weird War she rather play.  Saul talks about a Weird Wa...

   Starting a new Campaign?  What about a setting?  Buy one or make your own.  Saul and Jolene this important decision that every GM has to make.  We use D&D as an example but really the reasons we discuss can be used for any genre and any rules set.  Jolene leaves no question which she would rather do but Saul like the freedom that making your own can have.      If you listen to our podcast all w...

     In this episode Saul and Jolene discuss the often maligned character class of the Bard.  Beginning with when the Bard was introduced in Advanced Dungeons and Dragons and on through 5th Edition D&D.  Saul and Jolene talk how the Bard class has changed for a class that everyone thought was intresting but nobody played to one that more players think a Bard is a viable option.  Still Saul thinks...

     In this episode Saul and Jolene discuss running a RPG game in another favorite setting Star Wars.  We talk about the running a RPG in one of the most famous and loved science fiction/fantasy settings.   We discuss the different rpg rule sets that have been published for running Star Wars games.  From the early West End Games Star Wars through WOTC Star Wars D20 rules and to the latest and hig...

     In this episode of Gaming Perserpectives with Saul and Jolene, we look at Mages.   We discuss the Mage from the first editions of D&D to the latest incarnation of the venerable spell slinger.  We then move the discussion to "mages" in other genres from modern games to space opera setting.  We talk how mages can get their abilities to throw spells from other sources than arcane ones.          ...

    In this episode we have our first interview with Mike Eckert the new Executive Producer of KublaCon.  Kublacon is Northern California's biggest gaming  convention.  We ask Mike about his gaming roots.  When he first starting going to conventions in the SF Bay Area and how that led to helping and running of conventions over 20 years ago.  After all those years of helping run Kublacon he is now...

     In this episode Saul and Jolene talk about the GM changing the dice rolls, as known as "Fudging the Dice".   Saul and Jolene talk about what reasons a GM would have to "fudge" the dice.  They discuss situtations that would push a GM to change dice rolls from saving characters or fixing mistakes a GM might make in designing an encounter.  Saul admits to fudging the dice in the past but how he...

     After reading Mike Mearl's tweet "Railroading has gotten such a bad rap in RPG circles that we forget it is one end on a continuum.", Saul was a bit surprised that Mr. D&D was defending Railroad games.  Saul talked to Jolene about the quote and the decision was made to discuss this topic on Gaming Perspectives with Saul and Jolene.  We dicuss the definition of the term railroad and Saul slowl...

     In this Episode of Gaming Perspectives with Saul and Jolene we discuss playing the Paladin.  We talk about the origins of the Paladin class from AD&D to the present, D&D 5th Edition. We discuss playing Paladins in non fantasy game from the modern era to the Science Fiction age.  Saul and Jolene talk about how difficult it seems to play a Paladin well and how playing one can really stretch a p...

     In this Episode Saul and Jolene discuss running a genre game, specifically, Star Trek.  Many GMs are reluctant to run games that have a extensive setting with a large fan base.  Saul and Jolene discuss the games they have played and run in the Star Trek setting.  They also discuss how to mitigate the fan base knowledge of the popular intellectual property.   They talk about the best way to pr...

    In our 13th Episode of Gaming Perspectives with Saul and Jolene we discuss choosing to be a Fighter.  Though we use D&D as an example we feel that our discussion could inform people playing or using any set of rules for rpgs.  We even discuss Fighters of Modern to Science Fiction genres.  We share a few stories of Fighters that are great examples of showing experince that can be had playing a ...

  Following on how to be a better player episode we decided to switch to the GM side of the game table.  Saul and Jolene discuss what makes a better GM no matter what genre or setting.  We cover the topics from organization to how to deal with players that throw you for a loop.  We share personal stories where we used our own tips that helped our games run better and smoother and ultimately the ga...