Level Up Your Gaming: Tabletop RPG Podcast
198 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 22 hours ago -The Level Up Your Gaming Podcast is a tabletop RPG podcast. Assisting GM's DM's and Players, the Level Up Your Gaming Podcast is here to help you take your games to the next level. Each Wednesday your hosts, Aaron and Josh, talk about a new topic to help you improve your tabletop role playing games. You can email us your questions, comments, and episode suggestions at [email protected] Follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/LevelUpYourGamingAlso leave us a review on apple podcasts or your favorite podcast site here. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/level-up-your-gaming-tabletop-rpg-podcast/id1494186757
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Episodes
Corporate Games
April 25, 2024 02:00 - 39 minutes - 27.4 MBIn today's episode we discuss running corporate games. What is a corporate game? What do you need to avoid when running this type of game? How should I structure the game? How do I make the most of the time? We give you our thoughts and answer all these questions and more in today's episode. Leave us an email for feedback, questions, or thoughts at [email protected] or Follow us on Facebook and engage with us at https://www.facebook.com/LevelUpYourGaming Please leave...
Let's Make A One Shot: Axe Marks The Spot
April 12, 2024 03:00 - 52 minutes - 35.8 MBIn today's episode we continue our series of Let's Make A One Shot. The game we make a one shot for comes from the prompt Axe Marks The Spot. We describe all the details you would need to consider to pull this one shot off. Enjoy this episode as we make a one shot using the tools we talk about. Leave us an email for feedback, questions, or thoughts at [email protected] or Follow us on Facebook and engage with us at https://www.facebook.com/LevelUpYourGaming Please leav...
Making Your Mooks More Human
March 29, 2024 21:00 - 39 minutes - 26.9 MBIn today's episode we discuss making mooks more human. What are mooks? How can we improve them? How does this make for memorable encounters? How much should I add to my mooks to improve them? We give you our thoughts and answer all these questions and more in today's episode. Leave us an email for feedback, questions, or thoughts at [email protected] or Follow us on Facebook and engage with us at https://www.facebook.com/LevelUpYourGaming Please leave us a review or ...
Playing The Good Guys
March 21, 2024 20:00 - 45 minutes - 31.6 MBIn today's episode we discuss playing the good guys. What is a good guy? How do we play this character? Doesn't it limit my players? How can adding constraints to character morality improve fun and engagement? We give you our thoughts and answer all these questions and more in today's episode. Leave us an email for feedback, questions, or thoughts at [email protected] or Follow us on Facebook and engage with us at https://www.facebook.com/LevelUpYourGaming Please lea...
Making Your Story Fit Your Setting
March 15, 2024 20:00 - 47 minutes - 32.4 MBIn today's episode we discuss making story fit your setting. Does any story work for any setting? How do you bend story to fit into different settings? What are things that we need to consider when fitting story into settings? We give you our thoughts and answer all these questions and more in today's episode. Leave us an email for feedback, questions, or thoughts at [email protected] or Follow us on Facebook and engage with us at https://www.facebook.com/LevelUpYourGa...
Let's Make A One Shot: Carnival Of Mirrors
February 29, 2024 22:00 - 53 minutes - 36.9 MBIn today's episode we continue our series of Let's Make A One Shot. The game we make a one shot for comes from the prompt Carnival Of Mirrors. We describe all the details you would need to consider to pull this one shot off. Enjoy this episode as we make a one shot using the tools we talk about. Leave us an email for feedback, questions, or thoughts at [email protected] or Follow us on Facebook and engage with us at https://www.facebook.com/LevelUpYourGaming Please lea...
Adding Minigames
February 16, 2024 20:00 - 36 minutes - 25 MBIn today's episode we discuss adding minigames to your game. What are some examples of minigames? How do I make minigames feel good? Does it take away from playing a Table Top RPG? We give you our thoughts and answer all these questions and more in today's episode. Leave us an email for feedback, questions, or thoughts at [email protected] or Follow us on Facebook and engage with us at https://www.facebook.com/LevelUpYourGaming Please leave us a review or a five star ...
Tools For Building A World
February 08, 2024 21:00 - 1 hour - 41.3 MBIn today's episode we discuss different tools for building a world. What are some tools available online? What are some techniques I can use to build a world? What if I don't know where to begin? We give you our thoughts and answer all these questions and more in today's episode. Leave us an email for feedback, questions, or thoughts at [email protected] or Follow us on Facebook and engage with us at https://www.facebook.com/LevelUpYourGaming Please leave us a review ...
Nostalgia In Games
January 25, 2024 21:00 - 42 minutes - 29.2 MBIn today's episode we discuss nostalgia in games. Why do we use nostalgia in games? How can this be a helpful thing? What makes it such a powerful tool? What are the problems with using nostalgia in games? We give you our thoughts and answer all these questions and more in today's episode. Leave us an email for feedback, questions, or thoughts at [email protected] or Follow us on Facebook and engage with us at https://www.facebook.com/LevelUpYourGaming Please leave u...
Cinematics And Autopilot
January 18, 2024 21:00 - 33 minutes - 22.9 MBIn today's episode we discuss using cinematics and autopilot. How do I use cinematics? Is there a right time to use autopilot? How much is too much? What are the downsides to using these storytelling techniques? We give you our thoughts and answer all these questions and more in today's episode. Leave us an email for feedback, questions, or thoughts at [email protected] or Follow us on Facebook and engage with us at https://www.facebook.com/LevelUpYourGaming Please l...
Streamlining Games
January 04, 2024 20:00 - 54 minutes - 37.2 MBIn today's episode we discuss streamlining games. How do different games streamline their systems? What can be learned form looking at other games? Do all streamlining ideas mesh? We give you our thoughts and answer all these questions and more in today's episode. Leave us an email for feedback, questions, or thoughts at [email protected] or Follow us on Facebook and engage with us at https://www.facebook.com/LevelUpYourGaming Please leave us a review or a five star r...
Let's Make A One Shot: Bard To The Bone
December 14, 2023 21:00 - 38 minutes - 26.4 MBIn today's episode we continue our series of Let's Make A One Shot. The game we make a one shot for comes from the prompt Bard To The Bone. We describe all the details you would need to consider to pull this one shot off. Enjoy this episode as we make a one shot using the tools we talk about. Leave us an email for feedback, questions, or thoughts at [email protected] or Follow us on Facebook and engage with us at https://www.facebook.com/LevelUpYourGaming Please leave ...
GM Note Taking
December 08, 2023 20:00 - 22 minutes - 15.5 MBIn today's episode Josh talks about taking notes as a GM. Why should you take notes as a GM? What are the benefits of note taking? How does it help you tell better stories? Josh answers all these questions and more in today's episode. Leave us an email for feedback, questions, or thoughts at [email protected] or Follow us on Facebook and engage with us at https://www.facebook.com/LevelUpYourGaming Please leave us a review or a five star rating wherever you get your pod...
How Real Is Too Real
November 30, 2023 20:00 - 40 minutes - 27.6 MBIn today's episode we discuss how real is too real in your game. How much gritty realism should I add to my game? When should I lean away from the realism? When should I embrace it? Do I need realism at all? We give you our thoughts and answer all these questions and more in today's episode. Leave us an email for feedback, questions, or thoughts at [email protected] or Follow us on Facebook and engage with us at https://www.facebook.com/LevelUpYourGaming Please leave...
Let's Make A One Shot: Assassination At The Opera
November 16, 2023 22:00 - 57 minutes - 39.4 MBIn today's episode we do our first in a series of Let's Make A One Shot. The game we make a one shot for comes from the prompt Assassination At The Opera. We describe all the details you would need to consider to pull this one shot off. Enjoy this episode as we make a one shot using the tools we talk about. Leave us an email for feedback, questions, or thoughts at [email protected] or Follow us on Facebook and engage with us at https://www.facebook.com/LevelUpYourGaming...
Running Your First Game
November 09, 2023 18:00 - 32 minutes - 22.6 MBIn today's episode we discuss running your first game. How do I get started GMing my first game? What do I need to know in order to run a game? What resources are out there? Do I have to do all this prep that you guys talk about? We give you our thoughts and answer all these questions and more in today's episode. Leave us an email for feedback, questions, or thoughts at [email protected] or Follow us on Facebook and engage with us at https://www.facebook.com/LevelUpYo...
Giving Your Players Life
November 02, 2023 15:00 - 50 minutes - 34.7 MBIn today's episode we discuss giving your players life. How do I guide my players to make good backstories? How much detail do they need? How do I use these stories in my storytelling? What should you avoid when adding details to a character? We give you our thoughts and answer all these questions and more in today's episode. Leave us an email for feedback, questions, or thoughts at [email protected] or Follow us on Facebook and engage with us at https://www.facebook....
Promo 2023-2024
October 27, 2023 12:00 - 50 seconds - 650 KBThe promo for the podcast for end of year 2023 - 2024
Inspiration VS Insight
October 20, 2023 03:00 - 33 minutes - 23.2 MBIn today's episode we discuss inspriation vs insight for your players. Should I give my players the answer when the character has the knowledge? How long to I allow them to figure out a story or mystery? What do I do when my players are stuck? What if no one posseses the knowledge on their character sheets? We give you our thoughts and answer all these questions and more in today's episode. Leave us an email for feedback, questions, or thoughts at [email protected] or ...
Learning How To Relax
October 05, 2023 01:00 - 41 minutes - 28.4 MBIn today's episode we discuss how to relax as a GM. Do I always have to be running at 100%? What do I do when my players go off the rails? How do I maintain energy each game session? Do I have to duplicate perfect game sessions? We give you our thoughts and answer all these questions and more in today's episode. Leave us an email for feedback, questions, or thoughts at [email protected] or Follow us on Facebook and engage with us at https://www.facebook.com/LevelUpYou...
Building A Better World
September 21, 2023 21:00 - 39 minutes - 27.2 MBIn today's episode we discuss how to build a better in game world. What makes for good world building? What should I focus on first? What should I wait to flesh out? How much is too much? Should I avoid anything when world building? We give you our thoughts and answer all these questions and more in today's episode. Leave us an email for feedback, questions, or thoughts at [email protected] or Follow us on Facebook and engage with us at https://www.facebook.com/Level...
Telling A One Shot
September 06, 2023 20:00 - 31 minutes - 22 MBIn today's episode we discuss how to tell a one shot game. What makes for a good one shot? Are ones hots really different? How much prep do I need for a one shot? What should I not do in a one shot? We give you our thoughts and answer all these questions and more in today's episode. Leave us an email for feedback, questions, or thoughts at [email protected] or Follow us on Facebook and engage with us at https://www.facebook.com/LevelUpYourGaming Please leave us a rev...
Telling A Multi Part Mystery
August 25, 2023 20:00 - 33 minutes - 23.1 MBIn today's episode we discuss how to tell a multi part mystery. What is a multi part mystery? How do you give players clues? How do you move players along? What if the players get stuck? What makes for good building blocks? We give you our thoughts and answer all these questions and more in today's episode. Leave us an email for feedback, questions, or thoughts at [email protected] or Follow us on Facebook and engage with us at https://www.facebook.com/LevelUpYourGam...
How To End A Game
August 16, 2023 19:00 - 33 minutes - 22.8 MBIn today's episode we discuss how to end a game. What makes a good ending to a game? What should you do to set up a good ending? Why is a good ending so important? We give you our thoughts and answer all these questions and more in today's episode. Leave us an email for feedback, questions, or thoughts at [email protected] or Follow us on Facebook and engage with us at https://www.facebook.com/LevelUpYourGaming Please leave us a review or a five star rating wherever y...
Promoting New Players
August 03, 2023 20:00 - 34 minutes - 23.8 MBIn today's episode we discuss promoting the next generation of players. Why is it important to bring up a new generation of players? How do you cater to new players? What are some of the challenges you face GMing for newcomers to the game? How can it improve your GM style? We give you our thoughts and answer all these questions and more in today's episode. Leave us an email for feedback, questions, or thoughts at [email protected] or Follow us on Facebook and engage w...
Flavor Text
July 20, 2023 20:00 - 41 minutes - 28.4 MBIn today's episode we discuss adding flavor text to your games. What is flavor text? How should I incorporate it? When should I use it? When should I avoid it? How much is too much? We give you our thoughts and answer all these questions and more in today's episode. Leave us an email for feedback, questions, or thoughts at [email protected] or Follow us on Facebook and engage with us at https://www.facebook.com/LevelUpYourGaming Please leave us a review or a five st...
Making Effective Encounter Maps
July 12, 2023 13:00 - 33 minutes - 22.8 MBIn today's episode we discuss making effective encounter maps. What is an encounter map? What makes for good design of one? How much detail should I include? What do the players need to know about? How can I improv details on the encounter map? We give you our thoughts and answer all these questions and more in today's episode. Leave us an email for feedback, questions, or thoughts at [email protected] or Follow us on Facebook and engage with us at https://www.facebo...
Making Travel Fun
July 01, 2023 03:00 - 28 minutes - 19.8 MBIn today's episode we discuss making travel fun in games. How do I make travel fun? Should I avoid it all together? What should I avoid if having my players travel? What do I need to do to make this play style engaing? We give you our thoughts and answer all these questions and more in today's episode. Leave us an email for feedback, questions, or thoughts at [email protected] or Follow us on Facebook and engage with us at https://www.facebook.com/LevelUpYourGaming P...
Writing A Game With A Partner
June 15, 2023 12:00 - 40 minutes - 27.6 MBIn today's episode we discuss writing your game with a partner. What is co-writing? How do I write with a partner effectively? Can this partner be a player in my game? What are the disadvantages of writing with someone else? What are the ground rules? We give you our thoughts and answer all these questions and more in today's episode. Leave us an email for feedback, questions, or thoughts at [email protected] or Follow us on Facebook and engage with us at https://www...
Players Who Steal The Spotlight
June 08, 2023 15:00 - 30 minutes - 21.1 MBIn today's episode we discuss players that steal the spotlight. How bad is it when a player steals the spotlight? Can this be a good thing? How can you address the issue? How does it hurt or help your table? We give you our thoughts and answer all these questions and more in today's episode. Leave us an email for feedback, questions, or thoughts at [email protected] or Follow us on Facebook and engage with us at https://www.facebook.com/LevelUpYourGaming Please leave...
A Look At The D&D Movie
May 25, 2023 14:00 - 37 minutes - 26.1 MBIn today's episode we discuss the D&D Movie. How was the movie? Was it any good? What lessons can we learn from the movie? Was it true to D&D? We give you our thoughts and answer all these questions and more in today's episode. Leave us an email for feedback, questions, or thoughts at [email protected] or Follow us on Facebook and engage with us at https://www.facebook.com/LevelUpYourGaming Please leave us a review or a five star rating wherever you get your podcast.
Storytelling On The Fly
May 10, 2023 20:00 - 38 minutes - 26.5 MBIn today's episode we discuss storytelling on the fly. How do you storytell a game out of no where? What tricks can you use to make it a good experience? How do you make the experience a fun one? How can you buy yourself time to improve the game experience? We give you our thoughts and answer all these questions and more in today's episode. Leave us an email for feedback, questions, or thoughts at [email protected] or Follow us on Facebook and engage with us at https:...
House Rules
April 28, 2023 12:00 - 49 minutes - 34.1 MBIn today's episode we discuss house rules. What are house rules? Why should I use house rules? What are different types of house rules? Can house rules be used across multiple games? We give you our thoughts and answer all these questions and more in today's episode. Leave us an email for feedback, questions, or thoughts at [email protected] or Follow us on Facebook and engage with us at https://www.facebook.com/LevelUpYourGaming Please leave us a review or a five st...
A Retrospective Look At Tabletop RPGs
April 20, 2023 17:00 - 1 hour - 60.9 MBIn today's episode we celebrate our 150th episode by taking a look at the history of Tabletop RPGs through the decades. Where did Tabletop RPGs come from? How did they evolve over the years? What are the trends we will see in the future? We give you our thoughts and answer all these questions and more in today's episode. Leave us an email for feedback, questions, or thoughts at [email protected] or Follow us on Facebook and engage with us at https://www.facebook.com/L...
Making The Most Out Of Short Game Sessions
April 13, 2023 20:00 - 36 minutes - 24.9 MBIn today's episode we discuss how to make the most of short game sessions. What length constitues a short game session? What game types fit best in a short game session? How do I get my players to feel involved in a short game session? How do I keep the players focused in a short game session? We give you our thoughts and answer all these questions and more in today's episode. Leave us an email for feedback, questions, or thoughts at [email protected] or Follow us on ...
Talking About The Critical Role In The Room
April 05, 2023 18:00 - 52 minutes - 36.1 MBIn today's episode we discuss the popular live play Critical Role. What is Critical Role? What are the benefits of live play? How does the show help the hobby? In what ways does the show hurt the hobby? What can you learn from live plays? We give you our thoughts and answer all these questions and more in today's episode. Leave us an email for feedback, questions, or thoughts at [email protected] or Follow us on Facebook and engage with us at https://www.facebook.com...
Will AI Steal Your GM Job
March 24, 2023 20:00 - 32 minutes - 22.6 MBIn today's episode we discuss if AI will steal your job as a GM. Am I obsolete? How can I effectively use AI as a GM? What are it's limitations? What are the different applications of AI in gaming? We give you our thoughts and answer all these questions and more in today's episode. Leave us an email for feedback, questions, or thoughts at [email protected] or Follow us on Facebook and engage with us at https://www.facebook.com/LevelUpYourGaming Please leave us a revi...
Extra Episode: When Chat GPT Takes Over Level Up Your Gaming
March 16, 2023 19:00 - 10 minutes - 7.21 MBJosh had a bit of fun this week and gave Chat GPT some prompts about our podcast. This is the result. Enjoy this episode this week as next week we'll discuss how you can use a tool like Chat GPT to help build and inspire ideas in your games.
Helping Players Take Better Notes
March 08, 2023 20:00 - 39 minutes - 27.5 MBIn today's episode we discuss getting your players to take better notes. Why don't your players take notes? How do I get my players to take notes? Why should they take notes? What information should we just give them? Are there any rewards I can give for taking good notes? We give you our thoughts and answer all these questions and more in today's episode. Leave us an email for feedback, questions, or thoughts at [email protected] or Follow us on Facebook and engage ...
Making Maps
March 01, 2023 14:00 - 36 minutes - 24.8 MBIn today's episode we discuss creating maps for your games. What are the different types of maps? What makes a good map? What should you focus on when creating maps? We give you our thoughts and answer all these questions and more in today's episode. Leave us an email for feedback, questions, or thoughts at [email protected] or Follow us on Facebook and engage with us at https://www.facebook.com/LevelUpYourGaming Please leave us a review or a five star rating wherever...
Monetization In D&D
February 16, 2023 13:00 - 39 minutes - 26.9 MBIn today's episode we discuss monetization of D&D. What is the history of the D&D license? What is happening with D&D in the future? Is my current edition of D&D staying unchanged? What does this mean for the future of playing D&D? We give you our thoughts and answer all these questions and more in today's episode. Leave us an email for feedback, questions, or thoughts at [email protected] or Follow us on Facebook and engage with us at https://www.facebook.com/LevelUp...
Improving Mysteries
February 08, 2023 20:00 - 44 minutes - 30.8 MBIn today's episode we discuss improving mysteries. What are some different types of mysteries we can tell? How do I improve on a mystery? What elements make a great mystery? What are some good guidelines in telling a mystery? We give you our thoughts and answer all these questions and more in today's episode. Leave us an email for feedback, questions, or thoughts at [email protected] or Follow us on Facebook and engage with us at https://www.facebook.com/LevelUpYourGa...
Food, Music, And Art In Games
February 01, 2023 20:00 - 33 minutes - 22.9 MBIn today's episode we discuss food, music, and art in games. How do I use these elements in game? What does this do for my game? How can I tell better stories with these elements? How can I offer insight to my players with these tools? We give you our thoughts and answer all these questions and more in today's episode. Leave us an email for feedback, questions, or thoughts at [email protected] or Follow us on Facebook and engage with us at https://www.facebook.com/Lev...
Suspending Disbelief
January 26, 2023 14:00 - 43 minutes - 29.8 MBIn today's episode we discuss suspending your disbelief in games. Why should I suspend my disbelief? What do the players gain? What does the GM gain? How can I improve impossible situations to increase enjoyment in the game? We give you our thoughts and answer all these questions and more in today's episode. Leave us an email for feedback, questions, or thoughts at [email protected] or Follow us on Facebook and engage with us at https://www.facebook.com/LevelUpYourGam...
Avoiding Accounting And Math
January 19, 2023 00:00 - 37 minutes - 26.1 MBIn today's episode we discuss avoiding accounting and math in your games. What is the purpose of the numbers? What stuff can you ignore? Why would you want to avoid the numbers? When do you need the numbers? We give you our thoughts and answer all these questions and more in today's episode. Leave us an email for feedback, questions, or thoughts at [email protected] or Follow us on Facebook and engage with us at https://www.facebook.com/LevelUpYourGaming Please leave...
Stealing Ideas From Media
January 11, 2023 21:00 - 32 minutes - 22.4 MBIn today's episode we discuss Taking ideas from existing media. What should I borrow from? What should I avoid? What if my players recognize the source? Does it make sense to adapt ideas? Are there any concepts that don't work without leaning in? We give you our thoughts and answer all these questions and more in today's episode. Leave us an email for feedback, questions, or thoughts at [email protected] or Follow us on Facebook and engage with us at https://www.face...
Building Encounters
December 29, 2022 14:00 - 42 minutes - 29.2 MBIn today's episode we discuss building encounters. What types of encounters are there? How do I make the encounters meaningful? What things should I consider in making encounters? What about the environment? How do I progress my players through encounters? We give you our thoughts and answer all these questions and more in today's episode. Leave us an email for feedback, questions, or thoughts at [email protected] or Follow us on Facebook and engage with us at https:...
Virtual Table Tops
December 21, 2022 21:00 - 45 minutes - 31.2 MBIn today's episode we discuss various virtual table tops. What are the differences between them? What are the pros and cons? How do I choose one? Can I really go wrong with one or the other? We give you our thoughts and answer all these questions and more in today's episode. Leave us an email for feedback, questions, or thoughts at [email protected] or Follow us on Facebook and engage with us at https://www.facebook.com/LevelUpYourGaming Please leave us a review or a...
Learning New Systems
December 15, 2022 21:00 - 30 minutes - 20.8 MBIn today's episode we welcome Josh as the new cohost and discuss learning new systems. What are the challenges with learning new systems? How should I approach learning a new system? Why would I want to try a new system? What makes a game successful in any system? We give you our thoughts and answer all these questions and more in today's episode. Leave us an email for feedback, questions, or thoughts at [email protected] or Follow us on Facebook and engage with us at...
Combat Length Action Problems
December 07, 2022 21:00 - 16 minutes - 11.4 MBIn today's episode I discuss combat length action problems. What are the problems with combat lengths? How do you address these problems? Can you fix some other actions in combat to fix the action length problem. I answer all these questions and more in today's episode. Leave us an email for feedback, questions, or thoughts at [email protected] or Follow us on Facebook and engage with us at https://www.facebook.com/LevelUpYourGaming Please leave us a review or a five ...