Episode 175: Creature Feature: Imposters

“I know I’m human. And if you were all these things, then you’d just attack me right now, so some of you are still human. This thing doesn’t want to show itself; it wants to hide inside an imitation. It’ll fight if it has to, but it’s vulnerable out in the open. If it takes us over, then it has no more enemies, nobody left to kill it. And then it’s won.”
-MacReady, The Thing

Our month of horror has been reduced to a week, so we give you a plus-sized episode about imposters: doppelgangers, pod people, jumpers, things, etc. Wayne didn’t know that we were allowed to read or see anything for people over eighteen, so be prepared for his tour of the young adult section of the library. We also discuss John Wick’s article “Chess is not an RPG: The Illusion of Game Balance.”

Share

Episode 174: Campaign Confessions: 13th Age Part 2

“Warriors, come out to play.”
-Cyrus, The Warriors

In the second part of our 13th Age campaign confessions, we focus on the story, which was inspired by the story of the Ten Thousand and the movie The Warriors. It was a story of heroism, with the leaders of a mercenary company leading their troops to safety (well, half of them). It was a story of camaraderie, except when the leaders complained how their troops were dead weight. It was a story of sacrifice, up until the point when one of the leaders abandoned the others to save his own skin.

Share

Episode 173: Campaign Confessions: 13th Age Part 1

We’re back in first non-interview episode since early September and are forced to talk to each other. In this installment of campaign confessions, we discuss 13th Age and Lyal’s adventure. In the first part, you’ll hear our advice on when to do Icon rolls, some examples of One Unique Thing (and an example of someone phoning his in), and our impressions of the game after playing.

We also review the 13th Age Bestiary, although it came out one week after we wrapped up our game. Timing.

Share

Episode 172: Interview: Southlands

Wolfgang: “It’s essentially the role-playing campaign for Pathfinder that Indiana Jones would run. Not the Indiana Jones of Raiders or Last Crusades, though: the Temple of Doom Indy. But this Indy didn’t escape and save the children. He failed. He was tortured  and broken. Empty and haunted, he can’t numb the pain, but he can share it. Share it with a world of demonic cults, man-eating insect folk, fifty-foot snakes and ruined cities. Oh, and dinosaurs because everyone loves dinosaurs.
Us: “…”
-unedited elevator pitch

In this episode, we interview Wolfgang Baur from Kobold Press about his latest Kickstarter campaign, Southlands: Adventures Beneath Pitiless Sun, the game Steven Spielberg would have made.

Share