Episode 126: Locales: Haunted Locations

Posted on October 23, 2013 by Idle Red Hands

GM: Just as you’re about to go into the bathroom stall, you feel a chill.
Player: Hanakosan is in there, right?
GM: Maybe. We’ll see.
Player: I go to the next stall.
GM: What? Uh, it’s occupied.
Player: I wait.
GM: You really need to go to the bathroom. Make a stamina check.
Player: Seriously? Man, I knew I should’ve taken the Steel Trap Sphincter Advantage.

In our second episode of our Month of Horror, we look at haunted locations, from houses to ships to bathroom stalls.

Episode 125: Creature Feature: The Inquisition

Posted on October 17, 2013 by Idle Red Hands

In our first episode of our third annual Month of Horror, we look at the Inquisition. Sodomy, bigamy, heresy, and witch, uh, sorcery; this episode has it all. We discuss how to play an inquisitor as an antagonist (easy) and how to play them as a protagonist (not so easy).

Special guest appearances by one of Lyal’s cats and some of his dishes. He has since been brought in for questioning on suspicion of witchcraft.

Episode 124: Conventions & Innovations

Posted on October 9, 2013 by Idle Red Hands

With Wayne back from Strategicon‘s Gateway 2013 and Lyal fresh off of reading books on the history of role-playing games, we decide to combine these for this episode’s topic. We look at the innovations that role-playing games brought to gaming and how these can be found in today’s convention games. Since we’re talk about conventions, we cover an eighties cartoon, zombies, neck beards, teenage girls (Wait. What?) and One Direction (Which convention did Wayne go to?).

Episode 123: Cosmic Heroes

Posted on September 26, 2013 by Idle Red Hands

“In blackest day, in darkest night, may the force be with you.”
-Idle Red Hands

Go big or go home. This week we tackle a galactic sized topic with “Cosmic Heroes”. Marvel’s Nova Corps, D.C.’s Green Lantern Corps, the Jedi and other heroes – in spaaaaaaaace.

Episode 122: Inspirations #1

Posted on September 19, 2013 by Idle Red Hands

In this first installment of a new series, we look at things that have given us at least one game idea. The three inspirations for this episode are Princess Mononoke, Saga of the Swamp Thing and Cloverfield.

We had considered opening these show notes with the lyrics to Chicago’s “You’re the Inspiration”, but we were worried that the song would get stuck in your head. ARGH! Too late!

Episode 121: Locales: Myanmar

Posted on September 8, 2013 by Idle Red Hands

“Old cows like young grass.”
– Myanmar proverb

The proverb really has nothing to do with our episode, but, darn, Myanmar, you speak the truth.

In this installment of Locales, we discuss Myanmar the Golden Land. In true Idle Red Hands fashion, we don’t just Google it; we put a man on the ground. Lyal comes back from Myanmar to augment Chris’s and Wayne’s exhaustive research. Oh, Lyal gets all coy because his wife was in the room. Yes, he was talking about the sex industry. It really couldn’t be any clearer.

Episode 120: Warriors: Apache

Posted on August 30, 2013 by Idle Red Hands

“It is better to have less thunder in the mouth and more lightning in the hand.”
– Apache proverb

The warpath
When lightning strikes, bows and war clubs gleamin’
No sunshine, no Geronimo dreamin’
The cavalry roamin’ on the loose, you got juice
Up for abuse, when Chiricahua is induced
So suck along, rock on, the brain waves

What you clocking, I’d be tomahawking, you get maimed
The games you play, look up and say you want to change
And rearrange, the strange, you never go the way
Don’t look back, forget that, you need that
Just sit back, look at the show, and see that

In this installment of warriors, we look at the Apache. Are we just thunder in the mouth?

It is better to have less thunder in the mouth and more lightning in the hand.

Episode 119: Endings

Posted on August 17, 2013 by Idle Red Hands

“You know, the only thing that matters is the ending. It’s the most important part of the story.”
—Mort, Secret Window

So, why leave it up to your players? Kidding.

In this Waynelss episode, Chris and Lyal discuss the different types of endings you can have in your game. This episode seems better than usual for some reason. We can’t figure it out, though.

Episode 118: Literature Lessons: George R. R. Martin

Posted on August 6, 2013 by Idle Red Hands

GM: After reading A Song of Ice and Fire, I’ve been thinking of making our campaign more “Martinesque”.
Player: George R. R. Martin? You mean the guy that kills off his main characters? It sounds like you’re just looking for an excuse to run a player-killer campaign.
GM: …
Player: Seriously. What else would make a game “Martinesque”?
GM: Uh, complex relationships, like the one between Jaime and Cersei. You said your PC has a sister, right?
Player: …

In this installment of Literature Lessons, we discuss how to make your games more Martinesque. However, despite the delay with this episode, we have no plans to make our upload schedule Martinesque.

Episode 117: RPG Rookies: Pathfinder

Posted on July 18, 2013 by Idle Red Hands

Today’s a training day, new player. Show you around; give you a taste of the business. I got 4 games pending people’s schedules, 3 active campaigns, another 25 in my notes that I can’t think of a decent act two for. I GM five players. That’s five different personalities. Five sets of problems. You can be number six if you act now. But I ain’t holding no hands, okay? I ain’t baby-sitting. You got today and today only to show me who and what you’re made of. You don’t like Scottish accents, get the frak away from my table. Go get you a nice, wimpy desk game, chasing Mario’s kart or something, you hear me?

In our second installment of RPG Rookies, we go over the things players and gamemasters need to discuss when starting up a new game, using our upcoming Pathfinder game as an example.

Idle Red Hands

A Podcast From Japan About Games and Gamer Culture

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