Roleplay Geeks Podcast

When Things Go Sideways

Players start fighting, somebody decides to ignore an adventure hook, a bad roll leads to an unexpected character's demise, what is a game master to do?  This week we discuss various solutions to some of the problems that make games go sideways.

Roll vs. Role

When do you roll for something to happen versus when do you just roleplay it.  We have Chris back to weigh in along with the rest of the geeks to see if we can find the sweet spot between the two approaches.

Gaming in the Material World

We are well into the pandemic and each of us are dealing with it in different ways.  One aspect of our life that has changed quite a bit is how we game.  Staying social and keeping safe at the same time has required adjustments many other gamers have adopted. Lets look at the pros and cons of gaming in the virtual world vs the material world.  

Trapped!

How do you run an adventure when your options are limited because you are in a prison?  In this episodes we share our dos and don't of running a prison adventure and provide some resources to help you navigate one of the more difficult adventure settings out there.

Finding a Roleplay Group

Finding a good table top group can take time and effort but when you find that perfect group it can change your life.  In this episode we will discuss different places you can go to find a group and give tips and pointers on what to look for in a group.  We also practice singing.

Side Quest

Need to take a break from your regular campaign because your gamemaster isn't prepared for the next session?  Maybe you just want to use that miniature you just bought and it doesn't quite fit into your current game.  Whatever your reason, side quest can be a fun way to spend an evening and breath new life into your games.

An Introduction to Traveller

Mayday Mayday, We are under attack!  This week we talk about Traveller and discuss how to get started playing and why it's one of our favorite games!

Creative Spellcasting

Ever get tired of casting the same old spells?  This episode is all about how to look at spell casting from right angles.  We talk about spell casting creatively and the game mechanics surrounding spells.  We even have time to cook some chicken!

Dungeon Crawls

We go back to the roots of Dungeons and Dragons where it was all about wargaming and dungeon crawls. Then, we meander through the 80s as we reference video games like gauntlet.  Finally, we give the ol' dungeon crawl a thumbs up or thumbs down based on our personal preferences.  This and more in this week's episode of Roleplay Geeks.

World Building

We invite Mark Ballard back to discuss different approaches and techniques utilized when building worlds for your adventures. 

Collecting Roleplaying Games and Accessories

We dive into our gaming collections and then talk about what we collect and why.  We identify items we don't have but would love to score and then argue over the difference between accumulating games vs collecting them.

Start a Gaming Store - An Interview with the Four Horsemen

This week we interview Ron Davis, the proprietor of Four Horsemen Comics and Gaming which has been in business for over a decade.  With advice covering starting and running a game store to the current pandemic shutdown, Ron takes us through the ups and downs of the dream of owning your own gaming store.  Stick around for the contest at the end of the episode to get your chance to win the first of several giveaways of some fun gaming accessories!

Creating Memorable Characters

This episode features Chris McDowell, a seasoned gamer with a knack for creating characters.  He joins us for this episode to impart his wisdom and experience in the craft of bringing characters to life.

Pop Culture RPG

The Roleplay Geeks look at pop culture influences on roleplay games and then at roleplay games influences on pop culture.  There's discussion of shows (Community, Big Bang Theory, IT Crowd, The Expanse), movies (Mazes and Monsters, Dungeons and Dragons), roleplay games (Star Trek, Star Wars, Dr. Who, Serenity, Farscape, Battlestar),   and music (Billy Joel).  Stick around for the cage match, it's all in good fun!

Homebrewed Games

From house rules to home brewed, we look at how you can make your favorite games customized to your style of play even if that means creating your own game from scratch.  

Fantasy Grounds and Exploding Cars

In this episode, we invite a veteran of the Fantasy Grounds virtual tabletop application software to hold our hands and take us on a tour of this amazing piece of software with a suspect interface.  Joins us for bad bards, exploding cars, Elvis sightings, and much more as we explore this amazing piece of software.

Call of Cthulhu in Modern Times

We are wrapping up our Call of Cthulhu adventure and it's been a wild ride!  Here we talk about H.P. Lovecraft's world and how we fared in it.  Stevo gives us insight into the game master's side of things while the rest of the gang talk about their experiences from the players side of the table.  It's all about the mythos, game mechanics and corpses with this latest dive into a great role-playing system.

Villains Are My Heroes

Isn't every villain somebody's hero?  Is a force of nature a villain?  What was that whole "Cruella Di Vil" thing about?  The Roleplay Geeks get in line to signup for their individual takes on villains, making sure they brought enough gum for everyone.  From Darth Vader to Aliens and a return to Joseph Campbell and the hero's journey we explore the villains place in roleplay games leading us to question if the villain isn't really the hero.  

The Ultimate Gaming Table

The Roleplay Geeks weigh in on what they think the ultimate gaming table would look like.  Snack compartments, dice trays and hover chairs make the cut.  Join us on this fun dive into the world of gaming table wish list to see what we missed and what we didn't.  Then jump over to the comments/reviews and let us know your thoughts on what would be included in your ultimate gaming table!

At the Mountains of Madness and Mediocracy with Roll20

While COVID-19 and a national lockdown have us hunkered down waiting for the all clear, we take advantage of the Roll20 platform to play our games.  With a little time under our belt, we talk about what we like and don't like about the platform.

D&D meets Magic the Gathering?

In this episode, we invite two brothers who are masters at the card game Magic the Gathering to discuss the relationship it has with D&D.  Along the way, we talk about the things we like and don't like, we talk about the D&D manual "Guildmaster’s Guide to Ravnica", elf transformations that anger card players, and sentence diagramming.  It's all about knowing when to hold them and when to fold them in this weeks episode of Roleplay Geeks.

Monsters! You can't spell carbuncle without uncle.

In this week's episode we talk about D&D monsters.  We checkout the various manuals from the original Monster Manual to the latest manuals found in D&D 5e.  We identify the dumbest monsters and our favorites.  An in between, we talk about how we use them in our games.  It's a bumpy ride and more than once, you'll see a carbuncle and at least once, a flumph.

Dungeons and Dragons - Monsters!

In this week's episode we talk about D&D monsters.  We checkout the various manuals from the original Monster Manual to the latest manuals found in D&D 5e.  We identify the dumbest monsters and our favorites.  An in between, we talk about how we use them in our games.  It's a bumpy ride and more than once, you'll see a carbuncle and at least once, a flumph.

Alignment, Hasslehoff, and Ninja Dog

RPG Video Games & Bowling

In this episode we discuss which video games capture the best roleplaying experience.  We each talk about what we like and didn't like and then we discuss bowling with babies.

Gaming during a Global Crisis

With the Covid 19 (Sars CoV - 2) officially in all 50 states and in many countries across the globe, our daily routines have changed and that includes the enjoyment of our hobby.  We take a look at ways to safely tabletop roleplay remotely and discuss the benefits and ways you can pass the time while keeping distance between yourself and others.

D&D Classes Favorites and Least Favorite

In this episode we tackle the Dungeons and Dragons classes throughout the years and which ones hold up and which ones don't.  We learn what a binder class is all about.  Steven is the odd man out on Willow, the movie.  Finally, we learn that even through a giant can play a halfling, it's still damn funny.

Our First and Favorite Roleplaying Experiences

In this episode, we talk about our first role-playing and favorite roleplaying experiences.  There's even some mention of Frank's familiar and the bad roll that brought them together.

Music use in Roleplay Tabletop Games

In this episode we will be talking about music in gaming, both how it inspires us to create and how we use it to enhance the gaming experience.

Roleplay Games Sandbox vs Story

In this episode we discuss two approaches to storytelling in table top games: sandbox and story.  We talk about pros and cons of each approach, a few experiences and their outcomes, and finally our personal preferences.

Roleplay Geeks Podcast - Season 1 - Sandbox vs Story

In this episode we discuss two approaches to storytelling in table top games: sandbox and story.  We talk about pros and cons of each approach, a few experiences and their outcomes, and finally our personal preferences.

Roleplay Geeks Podcast - S1E2 - Sandbox vs Story

In this episode we discuss two approaches to storytelling in table top games: sandbox and story.  We talk about pros and cons of each approach, a few experiences and their outcomes, and finally our personal preferences.

Roleplay Geeks Teaser

Roleplay Geeks explores the various roleplaying systems, gameplay, and the industry trends through the lenses of four lifelong friends with a combined 160 years of experience.Join us as we laugh, cry (laughing), and sometimes shout (laughing) as we share both our wisdom and lack of wisdom in this hourish long podcast.

Roleplay Geeks Podcast - Season 1 Teaser

Roleplay Geeks explores the various roleplaying systems, gameplay, and the industry trends through the lenses of four lifelong friends with a combined 160 years of experience.Join us as we laugh, cry (laughing), and sometimes shout (laughing) as we share both our wisdom and lack of wisdom in this hourish long podcast.

Roleplay Geeks Season 1 Teaser

Roleplay Geeks explores the various roleplaying systems, gameplay, and the industry trends through the lenses of four lifelong friends with a combined 160 years of experience.Join us as we laugh, cry (laughing), and sometimes shout (laughing) as we share both our wisdom and lack of wisdom in this hourish long podcast.