On A Roll
104 episodes - English - Latest episode: almost 2 years ago - ★★★★★ - 15 ratingsThe On A Roll podcast focuses on better storytelling, better playing and better community through the belief that the only way to win an RPG is to have fun, so Ryan, Carie and Jason are sharing their experiences to help you spend more time winning! Join the Curmudgeon, the Legend and the Favorite as they talk about tabletop gaming, LARPing, MUSHing and keeping your investment in check.
Join us on Facebook (http://facebook.com/groups/onarollpodcast) and let us know your thoughts on the show, gaming and having more fun!
If you like the show, help support our production and keep us going by supporting On A Roll on Patreon. (http://patreon.com/onarollpodcast)
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Episodes
Episode 403: Exploring The Gun Belt
June 30, 2022 18:00 - 1 hour - 61.3 MBEpisode 403: Exploring The Gun Belt The Curmudgeon steps away from hosting to talk about his forthcoming tabletop RPG, The Gun Belt! The Favorite and the Legend talk to Ashley Raburn and Ryan about alien and robot cowboys riding dinosaurs in an interstellar Wild West!
Episode 402: New Players
May 11, 2022 19:00 - 57 minutes - 52.8 MBEpisode 402: New Players Carie, Jason and Ryan talk about the challenge of welcoming new players to your gaming group. They discuss the typical ways new players often behave, and how to make sure they get involved and enjoy the game! Join the Favorite, the Curmudgeon and the Legend as they explore New Players!
Episode 401: The Story of Grapevine
May 28, 2021 13:00 - 57 minutes - 52.8 MBEpisode 401: The Story of Grapevine In the season four premiere of On A Roll, the Favorite, the Curmudgeon and the Legend return with guest Adam Cerling. Adam created the infamous larp character database software Grapevine, used around the world for more than two decades as the standard for running World of Darkness larps. Carie, Jason and Ryan learn the story of how Grapevine came to be, and the tale of Adam's new project – an indie larp called Storywild! Special Guest: Adam Cerling.
Episode 330: The Hero's Journey
February 11, 2021 18:00 - 1 hour - 65.2 MBEpisode 330: The Hero's Journey The Favorite, the Curmudgeon and the Legend explore the twelve steps to greater story telling. Carie, Jason and Ryan take a deep dive into the monomyth structure of The Hero's Journey!
Episode 329: Memories of Gaming
December 04, 2020 21:00 - 1 hour - 32.7 MBEpisode 329: Memories of Gaming After an extensive sick leave, Carie, Jason and Ryan return to answer listeners' questions about our past gaming experiences!
Episode 328: Building a Gaming Org
October 20, 2020 19:00 - 1 hour - 54.2 MBEpisode 328: Building a Gaming Org In this double-length episode, the Favorite, the Curmudgeon and the Legend talk about what they've learned from being administrators of national larp organizations. Carie, Jason and Ryan then build a hypothetical org for The Gun Belt!
Episode 327: Shooting Genre From Canons
October 02, 2020 16:00 - 1 hour - 66.2 MBEpisode 327: Shooting Genre From Canons Josh Heath joins the Favorite, the Curmudgeon and the Legend to talk about genre and canon. Carie, Jason, Ryan and Josh try to define what they are before talking about how they're different, the importance of enforcing them, and if your game even needs them! Special Guest: Josh Heath.
Episode 326: Good Strong Hands
September 25, 2020 18:00 - 1 hour - 66.6 MBEpisode 326: Good Strong Hands Craig Campbell from NerdBurger Games came by to tell the Favorite, the Curmudgeon and the Legend about his new game, Good Strong Hands. Carie, Jason and Ryan learn about this fun new game based loosely on The Neverending Story! Special Guest: Craig Campbell.
Episode 325: Find a DM on CRAWLR
September 10, 2020 16:00 - 1 hour - 56.1 MBEpisode 325: Find a DM on Crawlr Jackie Zantow-Schwartz joins Ryan, Jason and Carie to tell the story of CRAWLR, the web-based social network she created that connects gamers with one another. It's like TindR, but for vampires, superheroes, deckers and clerics!
Episode 324: Ryan Asks A Question
September 04, 2020 15:00 - 1 hour - 68.9 MBEpisode 324: Ryan Asks A Question Jason's finished his surgery, so we're back! This week, Ryan made a list of fun questions about our experiences in gaming. With no preparation, Ryan asks Carie and Jason all sorts of things about games, players, locations, game lines and more!
Episode 323: Australian Nerdball
August 21, 2020 20:00 - 1 hour - 72.5 MBEpisode 323: Australian Nerdball Brendan Faithfull joins us from Melbourne to talk about larp in Australia and the popularity of weekly battle larps they refer to as Nerdball. Carie, Jason and Ryan learn about his larp, Exodus, and talk about the differences and similarities of international larp philosophies!
Episode 322: Great Artists Steal
August 13, 2020 20:00 - 1 hour - 56.2 MBEpisode 322: Great Artists Steal This week, the Favorite, the Curmudgeon and the Legend take a look at where great ideas come from. Carie, Jason and Ryan discuss great sources for plots, characters and themes you can adapt for your games!
Episode 321: Craig Campbell and Nerdburger Con Online
August 05, 2020 15:00 - 1 hour - 57.6 MBEpisode 321: Craig Campbell and Nerdburger Con Online Nerdburger Games' Craig Campbell. creator of Capers and Die Laughing, stops by to tell the Favorite, the Curmudgeon and the Legend all about Nerdburger Con Online, coming Aug. 14-16, 2020. He also tells Carie, Jason and Ryan about his upcoming game, Good Strong Hands, and how to run an online con! Special Guest: Craig Campbell.
Episode 320: Of Goats and Idiots
July 31, 2020 17:00 - 1 hour - 56.7 MBEpisode 320: Of Goats and Idiots Internationally renowned larp creator Dan Comstock joins the Favorite, the Curmudgeon and the Legend to talk about Goat Larp 2, Village of Idiots and the crazy world of larp production. Carie, Jason and Ryan also speak with him about the future of larp in a pandemic land! Special Guest: Dan Comstock.
Episode 319: NPCs
July 16, 2020 17:00 - 1 hour - 57.4 MBEpisode 319: NPCs Non-player characters are essential, so the Favorite, the Curmudgeon and the Legend take a look at the kinds of NPCs that are in a game. Carie, Jason and Ryan then examine the best ways to utilize them!
Episode 318: Building South Fallenrock
July 03, 2020 16:00 - 1 hour - 61.6 MBEpisode 318: Building South Fallenrock This week, the Favorite, the Curmudgeon and the Legend test a session zero component of Ryan's roleplaying game, The Gun Belt (http://thegunbelt.com)! Ryan leads Carie and Jason through the town-building process as they create the interstellar wild west streets of South Fallenrock!
Episode 317: A Game's First Impression
June 25, 2020 17:00 - 1 hour - 63.3 MBEpisode 317: A Game's First Impression Jason bought a new rpg, so the Favorite, the Curmudgeon and the Legend explore why. Carie, Jason and Ryan do an analysis of the things people look at when deciding if they want to buy a new roleplaying game!
Episode 316: Running Kid-Friendly Games
June 18, 2020 18:00 - 1 hour - 62.7 MBEpisode 316: Running Kid-Friendly Games Librarian and gamer Drew Meyer joins the Favorite, the Curmudgeon and the Legend to talk about his experiences running RPGs for kids and teens. Carie, Jason and Ryan explore the wonders and challenges of young gamers and learn Drew's 10 Rules For Running Kid-Friendly Games! Special Guest: Drew Meyer.
Episode 315: Running for New Players
June 04, 2020 21:00 - 1 hour - 57.5 MBEpisode 315: Runnning for New Players Jason's been running D&D for a group of brand new players, so Carie and Ryan join him to talk about what he's learned. We talk about best practices for making sure your new players have fun and come back for more!
Episode 314: Character Acting
May 28, 2020 17:00 - 1 hour - 68 MBEpisode 314: Character Acting Lee University theater Professor Dan Buck joins the Favorite, the Curmudgeon and the Legend to talk about acting. Carie, Jason and Ryan get schooled on how to find a character and how to act it out!
Episode 313: Imagining Werewolf 5th Edition
May 23, 2020 14:00 - 1 hour - 71 MBEpisode 313: Imagining Werewolf 5th Edition Josh Heath joins the Curmudgeon and the Legend to imagine and dream about Werewolf 5th Edition. Carie, Josh and Ryan brainstorm on what they would do if they were developing the new Werewolf: the Apocalypse game! Special Guest: Josh Heath.
Episode 312: Advanced COVID 19th Edition
May 14, 2020 12:00 - 1 hour - 67.5 MBEpisode 312: Advanced COVID 19th Edition The pandemic is a lot to process, so Ryan and Carie sat down with gamer and research scientist Tim Clancy from the Infomullet. He puts COVID-19 into gaming terms that even the Curmudgeon and the Legend can understand, addressing the virus, the response, how it will affect conventions like Gen Con or Dragon Con and what it's like to be sick from it! Special Guest: Tim Clancy.
Episode 311: Kids on Brooms on Podcasts!
May 07, 2020 16:00 - 1 hour - 70.5 MBEpisode 311: Kids on Brooms on Podcasts The fun flies in on a broomstick this week as the Curmudgeon and the Legend are joined by the creators of the all new Kids on Brooms rpg! Jonathan Gilmour and Doug Levandowski (who created Kids on Bikes) join us with their Kids on Brooms co-creator Spenser Starke to talk about these amazing games! Special Guests: Doug Levandowski and Jonathan Gilmour.
Episode 310: For Whom The Bell Tolkiens
May 01, 2020 14:00 - 1 hour - 62.5 MBEpisode 310: For Whom The Bell Tolkiens Are Orcs a racist construct from Tolkien that persists in modern day Dungeons and Dragons, or is it a lot to do about nothing? After a firestorm on Twitter, the Favorite, the Curmudgeon and the Jason's Replacement do a deep dive into Tolkien, orcs and racism. Special Guest: Rob Alderman.
Episode 309: Typing Your Roleplay
April 09, 2020 15:00 - 58 minutes - 53.8 MBEpisode 309: Typing Your Roleplay Socially isolated from each other, the Favorite, the Curmudgeon and the Legend take a look at the differences in roleplaying by text versus at a larp or tabletop game. Carie, Jason and Ryan talk about what makes a good post when playing by text on Discord, chat room, MUSH or a play by post game! Also, Jason does his laundry.
Episode 308: Character Voices
March 26, 2020 16:00 - 1 hour - 61.3 MBEpisode 308: Character Voices What should your next NPC sound like? The Favorite, the Curmudgeon and the Legend dive into the things that make people speak the way they do. Are you bad at voices and accents? Ryan shares the 9 character voices anyone can do!
Episode 307: Socially Distant Roleplaying
March 18, 2020 13:00 - 1 hour - 58.8 MBEpisode 307: Socially Distant Roleplaying Staying safe and isolated, the Favorite, the Curmudgeon and the Legend look at what gaming is like during the coronavirus outbreak. Carie, Jason and Ryan share all of the resources gamers can use, as well as the free and discounted products being offered, as we all practice socially distant roleplaying!
Episode 306: Playtesting
March 10, 2020 18:00 - 1 hour - 60 MBEpisode 306: Playtesting Have you ever playtested a new game? The Favorite, the Curmudgeon and the Legend talk about games they have ran playtests for, and also the playtests they've played in. Carie, Jason and Ryan deep dive into what you should know if you are running or playing a playtest in this week's episode!
Episode 305: Live - Ask Me... Whatever
March 05, 2020 20:00 - 1 hour - 56.9 MBEpisode 305: Live - Ask Me... Whatever Gearing up with tech and bravery, the Curmudgeon, the Legend and the Favorite take on Facebook Live and hold their second "Ask Me Anything"-style show. Ryan, Carie and Jason talk about their past games, the games they want to play, why they do this podcast and everything else they get asked by our listeners.
Episode 304: Session Zero
February 27, 2020 21:45 - 1 hour - 62.7 MBEpisode 304: Session Zero We talk a lot about Session Zero, so the Favorite, the Curmudgeon and the Legend decided to deep dive into just what a Session Zero is. Carie, Jason and Ryan discuss why games need Session Zero and what should happen at them!
Episode 303: In Character Romance
February 20, 2020 21:00 - 58 minutes - 54.2 MBEpisode 303: In Character Romance Love was in the air this week (blaaaaghhhh!), so the Curmudgeon and the Legend decided to talk about in character romances. Carie and Ryan dig into the topic, looking at the differences between loving at the tabletop, loving at a larp and loving in a MUSH, as well as the reasons and results of these relationships!
Episode 302: Visiting The Midnight World
February 13, 2020 15:00 - 1 hour - 64.5 MBEpisode 302: Visiting the Midnight World Indie game developers James Davey and Jim Beverly join the Favorite, the Curmudgeon and the Legend to talk about their upcoming tabletop rpg, The Midnight World. Carie, Jason and Ryan talk with these two incredible combat veterans about their game and its unique focus on PTSD and mental health awareness! Special Guests: James Davey and Jim Beverly.
Episode 301: Better Than Fine DMing
February 06, 2020 15:00 - 57 minutes - 52.5 MBEpisode 301: Better Than Fine DMing In our first episode of season 3, the Favorite, the Curmudgeon and the Legend analyze what makes a storyteller better than just "fine." Carie, Jason and Ryan discuss how you can tell if you are a great DM, and how your players will tell you if you are!
Episode 239: Thankful Gaming
November 27, 2019 21:00 - 57 minutes - 53 MBEpisode 239: Thankful Gaming This week is our final episode of season 2, so the Favorite, the Curmudgeon and the Legend spend some time talking about what they are thankful for in gaming. Carie, Jason and Ryan do some Thanksgiving work and share some love before the break! Season 3 will signal our hosts' return in January 2020!
Episode 238: The Gun Belt
November 22, 2019 19:00 - 1 hour - 62.8 MBEpisode 238: The Gun Belt After two seasons of trying, the Favorite and the Legend finally convince the Curmudgeon to let them talk to him about his independent roleplaying game project. Carie, Jason and Ryan spend some time this week exploring the frontier, wild west world without wheels featured in The Gun Belt!
Episode 237: Problem DMs
November 14, 2019 18:00 - 59 minutes - 54.4 MBEpisode 237: Problem DMs The Curmudgeon and the Legend have talked a lot about problem players, but this week they have a conversation about what happens when the game runner is the problem. Carie and Ryan do a deep dive into how gamers can address and prevent problem DMs! This program is presented as originally created. It may contain outdated cultural depictions.
Episode 236: What the Heck is MUSH?
October 17, 2019 13:00 - 1 hour - 66.2 MBEpisode 236: What the Heck is MUSH? This week, the Curmudgeon and the Legend hang out with Sarah to do a deep dive into what the heck MUSHing is. Carie, Sarah and Ryan discuss the hobby, how it works and what makes it the same and different from other kinds of roleplaying games!
Episode 235: Ten Things That Will Make Your Character Better
October 11, 2019 13:00 - 1 hour - 60.3 MBEpisode 235: Ten Things That Will Make Your Character Better Continuing the Ten Things lists, this week the Favorite, the Curmudgeon and the Legend talk about better characters. Carie, Jason and Ryan assemble a list of the Ten Things That Will Make Your Character Better!
Episode 234: Ten Things to Make Your Setting Better
October 03, 2019 13:00 - 58 minutes - 53.7 MBEpisode 234: Ten Things to Make Your Setting Better This week, the Favorite, the Curmudgeon and the Legend investigate some basic approaches to making the setting where your game takes place even better. Carie, Jason and Ryan gleen their experiences to compile a list of ten simple things anyone running a game can do right now to improve locations in their game and help everyone have more fun!
Episode 233: Don't Run This, But If You Must...
September 26, 2019 17:00 - 1 hour - 61.3 MBEpisode 233: Don't Run This, But If You Must... There's a lot of talk about offensive topics in games right now, so the Favorite, the Curmudgeon and the Legend examine sexual assault, child abuse, pregnancy, miscarriage and abortion in gaming. Carie, Jason and Ryan discuss alternative stories that storytellers can run that can evoke the same kinds of emotional responses from players without creating threatening, unsafe or uncomfortable games!
Episode 232: That New Consent Checklist
September 19, 2019 18:15 - 1 hour - 65.6 MBEpisode 232: That New Consent Checklist Monte Cook Games published a Consent Checklist book this week, so the Favorite, the Curmudgeon and the Legend gave it a read. Carie, Jason and Ryan discuss what's in the document, as well as their thoughts on it as a tool for gaming! They even look at some of the reactions folks are having to it.
Episode 231: Trolling the Waters
September 12, 2019 16:45 - 54 minutes - 49.8 MBEpisode 231: Trolling the Waters With the Favorite off for the week, the Curmudgeon and the Legend examine the six gaming topics most likely to cause troll-ignited dumpster fires. Carie, not-Jason and Ryan talk blackface at larp, professional DMing, the Mercer effect and more!
Episode 230: The Eight Fun Languages
August 22, 2019 17:00 - 58 minutes - 53.3 MBEpisode 230: The Eight Fun Languages A group of scholars determined that there are eight types of fun in games. The Favorite, the Curmudgeon and the Legend explore these "fun languages." After learning about them, Carie, Jason and Ryan examine how players and game runners can use them to make their games more fun!
Episode 229: Help! I'm a new player!
August 15, 2019 13:00 - 59 minutes - 54.7 MBEpisode 229: Help! I'm a new player! After hearing from a friend who played their first D&D game ever recently, the Favorite, the Curmudgeon and the Legend decided to talk about what new players should think about as they join a game. Carie, Jason and Ryan deep dive into the things new players should do to help make their first game even more fun!
Episode 228: Ten Things To Make Your Game Better
August 09, 2019 13:00 - 1 hour - 59.6 MBEpisode 228: Ten Things To Make Your Game Better This week, the Favorite, the Curmudgeon and the Legend investigate some basic approaches to making your game better. Carie, Jason and Ryan gleen their experiences to compile a list of ten simple things anyone running a game can do right now to improve their group and help everyone have more fun!
Episode 227: Maury Brown on New World Magischola
August 02, 2019 18:00 - 1 hour - 72.8 MBEpisode 227: Maury Brown on New World Magischola Maury Brown joins the Favorite, the Curmudgeon and the Legend this week to talk about the massively successful New World Magischola larp and the new Magimundi Bestiary currently on Kickstarter. Carie, Jason and Ryan talk about bisonatees, changing the world through larping, whimsical cryptids, destination larp organization and how "transmedia" doesn't really mean anything! Special Guest: Maury Brown.
Episode 226: Dice Dice Baby!
July 25, 2019 18:00 - 1 hour - 63.1 MBEpisode 226: Dice Dice Baby Why do people love dice? Gamers have to have all the dice they can get, so the Favorite, the Curmudgeon and the Legend spend some time with Lucia Versprille of Monstrous Incantations to talk about the little plastic buggers. In the process, Carie, Jason and Ryan learn all about the artisinal crafting and techniques of making your own dice by hand! Special Guest: Lucia Verspille.
Episode 225: RPG Omnibus
July 18, 2019 19:15 - 1 hour - 56 MBEpisode 225: RPG Omnibus It's a round robin extravaganza this week, as the Favorite, the Curmudgeon and the Legend tackle a ton of topics in rapid succession. Carie, Jason and Ryan plow through the first On A Roll RPG Omnibus!
Episode 224: Ethics in Gaming
July 11, 2019 20:00 - 1 hour - 58.1 MBEpisode 224: Ethics in Gaming The Favorite, the Curmudgeon and the Legend tackle the difficult but important topic of ethics in gaming this week. Carie, Jason and Ryan try to figure out just what ethics are and how they affect gaming communities, as well as what gamers can do to help improve things! Huge thank you to Dr. Andrea Phillips from Lee University for graciously contributing to our show this week through her research on ethics – used with permission.
Episode 223: Anatomy of a Power Gamer
July 03, 2019 17:30 - 1 hour - 55 MBEpisode 223: Anatomy of a Power Gamer Inspired by something said in an interview on last week's show, the Favorite, the Curmudgeon and the Legend do a deep dive into power gaming. Carie, Jason and Ryan look at the reasons power gamers exist, how they affect your game and whether or not they are good or bad!