Episode 212: Campaign Confessions: D&D 5E Part One

Continuing our Campaign Confessions series, we look at our recent pirate-themed Dungeons and Dragons 5e campaign. Part one focuses on 5e itself and the reasons why this edition has become so successful. We try to put our finger, and maybe some blame, on who dragged D&D kicking and screaming out of the basement and made it appealing to a whole new generation of players. Is it the system itself or is it social media savvy?

First comic books have become cool and now D&D. There’s hope for you toy collectors yet.

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Episode 197: Living Card Games

LCG, how can I explain? I’ll take it game by game it
To have y’all clickin’, kneelin’, playin’ it
L is for “living”, C is for “card”, scratch your temple
The last G, well, that’s not that simple
Oh, wait. It is. It’s for “game”. “Living card game”.
It’s three little words that’ll empty your wallet
Don’t complain to me, I called it.
Living? Seems I gotta start explainin’ it
You ever buy a game and try to build a deck
You find an opponent and play
And then left feelin’ wrecked
You get home, build more
But you need a card, so you go to the game store
And it’s over a hundred dollars?!
It’s not a front, a F to the R to the O to the N to the T
It’s just it’s an ultra rare.

It’s LCG time, what you see is what you get
There’s no need to for an aftermarket, just buy the set
How many players out there know what I’m getting at?
Who thinks it’s wrong that victories go to the deck that’s fat?
Well, if you do, it’s LCG, and you’re down with it
But if you don’t, gather your magic

Who’s down with LCG? (Yeah, you know me!)
“LCG” by Idle by Nature

In this episode, we talk about living card games and how to get started.

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Episode 177: GM Corner: Post Session

Take two.

In this installment of GM Corner, we look at an important but often forgotten part of preparation: post session. This is the time to get feedback from players, assess how things went, and decide what to do next, which could include the important decision of whether or not to continue with the game.

We are without Wayne this week. What we lose in gaming insight by his absence, we gain in technical savvy (i.e., knowing that you have to press the record button to record).

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Episode 159: Subculture: Punk

Prof. Harriet “Gears” Hamilton: “Was that London calling?”
Lord Nigel Hollingsworth III: “Yes. Something about engines not running and the city drowning.”
Hamilton: “That sounds dreadfully excessive.”
Hollingsworth: “What do you expect from Lady Annie Christian?”
Hamilton: “The anarchist? I say, she certainly doesn’t know what she wants.”
Hollingsworth: “But she knows how to get it.”
Hamilton: “Oh, how droll! Well, let’s assemble the League. It seems we have some thrashing to do.”
– Another reason why steampunk isn’t that punk.

In our first installment of our subcultures series, we discuss punk. Put your game to our Punk Test, a series of questions on what is punk.

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Episode 158: Transhumanism

A chimpanzee, dolphin and octopus walk into a bar. The bartender takes their order.

In this episode, we discuss transhumanism and posthumanism. We consider whether or not to explore what it means to be human (i.e., whether to outnavel-gaze a WoD player or whether to just have fun) and what kind of world to play in (“We have both kinds of topia: dys and u.”).

 

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Episode 157: Game Stores

I’m gonna pop some tags,
Only got twenty dollars in my pocket.
I – I – I’m leaving, looking to come ba-ack.
The book was fifty dollars.
Game  Shop” – Idlemore & Red Lewis

In this episode, we discuss what makes a good game store, based on some observations we made during some recent trips to North America, and what could entice people away from online  retailers.

Game stores in your area:

Toronto
401 Games

Ottawa
Fandom II
The Comic Book Shoppe

Los Angeles
The War House

Philadelphia
Atomic City Comics

Schaumburg
Gamer’s World

The D&D image discussed in the introduction.

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Episode 144: Playing Han Solo

Chris: “Lyal, Can I play Batman in your DC game. Batman with a Scottish accent. ‘Ach. Ay’m the heerooo this city deserves, ya wee lass.'”
Lyal: “Wow. I’m not looking forward to that, but sure. Wayne?”
Wayne: “Hmm, maybe Sen … Sensible … Sensual … Sen … tence. Centennial. The Centennial.”
Lyal: “The Sentry. Wrong universe. How about Superman?”
Wayne: “No thanks. I do like Spee … Speeder … Speederma … Spice. Spicer … Spicerman …”
Lyal: “Spider-Man. Wrong universe, again.”

In this episode, we discuss the advantages of playing iconic characters as well as retelling classic or not so classic stories. Also, listen to find out what all the fuss about Sparks Nevada is.

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Episode 128: (Re)Introductions

Well, hello again. Meet the Idle Red Hands for the second time. Even after two years, their stories on how they got started in gaming remain the same. From the drug-infested, Magic-playing ghettos of Philly to the cheese-eating, cheese-wearing wasteland of Wisconsin to the nuclear-fearing, sparkly-scarf-loving ground zero of West Germany, these three gamers found and fell in love with the hobby.

Listen for the answers to these questions:

Is Heroquest is an RPG?
Who was the “inspiration” for the Punisher?
How many stolen D&D products has Chris bought?

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Episode 51: Dungeons and Dragons 5e

In this episode, we seize this rare opportunity to be topical and talk about the biggest news in gaming since the announcement of Dungeons and Dragons 4e: the announcement of, uh, Dungeons and Dragons 5e. We give our 5e wish list and, oddly enough for three guys that have yet to figure out to how to monetize their podcast, give our thoughts on what Wizards of the Coast’s business strategy should be.

Next episode, we look at Street Fighter: The Storytelling Game. Here to stay?

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Episode 31: Warmachine & Hordes

In this episode, we look at the miniature wargames Warmachine and Hordes. We discuss our first impressions, for Chris and Yujiro, second impressions, for Lyal and Wayne, and whether we’ll play the games again.

If Privateer Press ever gets tired of the motto “Play Like You’ve Got a Pair”, here are a few suggested alternatives in the same spirit:

  • Ladies Need Not Apply
  • Men’s Time!
  • You’ll Die Alone
  • With an Apartment Filled with Miniatures, Dating Is Not Your Priority
  • Play Like It’s the 1950s
  • You’ll Have a Better Chance Meeting Women at Prison Than Across a Wargaming Table
  • Femiwhat?
  • All Sausage All the Time
  • Girls Have Cooties
  • Games Workshop Is for Women (and a lot of Men).
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