System Mastery
422 episodes - English - Latest episode: 6 days ago - ★★★★★ - 215 ratingsJef and Jon review old roleplaying games
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Episodes
After the Bomb – System Mastery 22
July 02, 2014 02:10 - 1 hourhttps://systemmastery.files.wordpress.com/2014/07/systemmastery22.mp3 SystemMastery 22 – After the Bomb Wounded and battered from months of learning new systems, we take a brief respite to review something we knew already. This week, we spend a lot of time talking about Bio-E, the difference between the rad animal men of yesteryear and today’s watered-down furries, and general Palladium shenanigans. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
System Mastery 21 – Nobilis
June 17, 2014 15:58 - 1 hourhttps://systemmastery.files.wordpress.com/2014/06/systemmastery21.mp3 SystemMastery 21 – Nobilis Have you ever dreamed of being the god of something? Perhaps the god of socks, or the god of internet memes, or the god of cabbage? This odd, dense game may be as close as you can get to realize your weird boring dreams, internet friends! Take a tour through the mind of Rebecca Bergstrom, aka Jenna Moran, aka the Writer clad in Ranunculus, aka the Auctor Errabundus, as we look into the craz...
System Mastery 20 – Cthulhutech
June 05, 2014 02:35 - 1 hourhttps://systemmastery.files.wordpress.com/2014/06/systemmastery20.mp3 Episode 20 – Cthulutech It might just be because we like 75% of the brazenly lifted source material, but Cthulhutech passes our review gauntlet and comes up looking pretty fun. We discuss the many variations on giant robot and giant monster robot you can play as, discuss the latest iteration of merits and flaws, and hash out the concept of poker dice in our latest episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megapho...
System Mastery 19 – Furry Pirates
May 20, 2014 15:21 - 59 minuteshttps://systemmastery.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/systemmastery19.mp3 SystemMastery 19 – Furry Pirates This week, we take hold of a book with a bifurcated design sensibility. Will we actually discover “Swashbuckling Adventures in the Furry Age of Piracy”? Or will we find that the furries appear to have been added to this book late during development? Is this a case of Type 1 or Type 2 Furabetes? What social rank must a male furry be at before he is expected to wear a wig (unless he is a...
System Mastery 18 – Big Eyes, Small Mouth
May 07, 2014 02:01 - 1 hourhttps://systemmastery.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/systemmastery18.mp3 SystemMastery 18 – Big Eyes, Small Mouth We sit down for a rousing discussion about the many varieties of anime, and the game that tries to let you play them all. Big Eyes, Small Mouth is a charming attempt to capture the entirety of a diverse range of shows into a single ruleset. There are a few glaring errors, but that’s what new editions are for, we guess. In the meantime, let’s make fun of an old book and a bunch of...
Episode 17 – Don’t Look Back: Terror is Never Far Behind
April 23, 2014 05:11 - 1 hourhttps://systemmastery.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/systemmastery171.mp3 SystemMastery 17 – Don’t Look Back: Terror is Never Far Behind Don’t Look Back is a mid-90s Horror RPG, featuring hilarious send-ups of your favorite 80s horror film tropes! Oh no wait, that’s just the cover. The actual text appears to be a middle school math book with some surprisingly opinionated digressions about what constitutes a “techno-nerd.” With a name like this, we didn’t really expect a realism heartbreake...
System Mastery 16 – Scion: Hero
April 08, 2014 18:06 - 1 hourhttps://systemmastery.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/systemmastery16.mp3 In today’s installment of System Mastery we seek to determine if one dad could beat up another dad, assuming the dads were Susano-O and Papa Legba. We’re reviewing Scion, a White Wolf game of thoroughly modern godlings in a modern world, battling titans to stop hell on Earth or some damn thing. Special guest host Claire joins us in our discussion of a stereotype battle to determine if this book’s Japanese gods of anime cou...
System Mastery 15 – Indiana Jones RPG
March 26, 2014 15:28 - 1 hourhttps://systemmastery.files.wordpress.com/2014/03/systemmastery15.mp3 This week, we test the very limits of what defines an RPG, with a game that removes a core element to the concept. There are seven characters in this game. There is no character creation in this book. There is however a lot of high adventure, archaeology, and … light sexual abuse of a student. We review Indiana Jones, the 1984 RPG from well-remembered developer TSR. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm...
System Mastery 14 – Street Fighter
March 05, 2014 16:16 - 1 hourhttps://systemmastery.files.wordpress.com/2014/03/systemmastery14.mp3 Editors Note: Before pressing record on this podcast, I had to press Forward, Down, and Down-Forward. We take a look at the 1993 White Wolf storytelling classic, Street Fighter. A grim parade of cheap stereotypes, or a surprisingly charming fighting system? Can’t it be both? System Mastery is always looking for suggestions. If you have a specific old RPG you think we should discuss, love it or hate it, let us know in ...
System Mastery 13 – Urban Arcana
February 17, 2014 17:06 - 58 minuteshttps://systemmastery.files.wordpress.com/2014/02/systemmastery13.mp3 The worst thing about this book is right there in the picture. Someone really had a …fascination with drow, and their apparent immediate abandonment of spider-themed fetish gear for spider-themed raver gear. The best thing about this book? Nearly everything else! Join us for a surprise example of a D20 product we didn’t hate in today’s review of D20 Modern: Urban Arcana. System Mastery is always looking for suggestio...
System Mastery 12 – D20 Modern
February 07, 2014 15:11 - 1 hourhttps://systemmastery.files.wordpress.com/2014/02/systemmastery12.mp3 Seriously, another edgy urban game with no magic or sci-fi elements at all? Well, almost. D20 Modern wants to be every game for everyone, as long as it’s not D&D. We discuss Stat Heroes, the most boring feats ever, and a crazy wealth system in today’s episode. Tune in next time as we do our first expansion review, as well. We’ll be tackling the crazy awesome or awesome crazy D20 Modern: Urban Arcana, the one with the ...
System Mastery 11 – Haven: City of Violence
January 22, 2014 05:00 - 1 hourhttps://systemmastery.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/systemmastery11.mp3 Delivered straight to your grim, gritty earholes, System Mastery brings you a review of Haven: City of Violence. This “hyperkinetic action simulator” boasts a three-line deep Wikipedia page that tells of it’s glorious record as “the first game to be optioned for a movie before the game was complete!” They probably should have just stopped writing at that point. We talk racism, sexism, Sepultura, wicked sweet wrestling ...
System Mastery 10 – Exalted
January 10, 2014 02:58 - 1 hourhttps://systemmastery.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/systemmastery10.mp3 Seriously, just look at that. It’s ridiculous. That’s the cover of one of the supplements. They wanted you to buy that book. They didn’t want you to hide it a featureless brown paper bag and try to smokescreen the purchase with a Snickers bar and one of those Bic lighters. Anyway, this week we read and discussed Exalted, the White Wolf anime demigod simulator. Can you wear a maxi pad instead of any sort of pants in t...
System Mastery 9 – Legend of the Five Rings
December 17, 2013 04:17 - 1 hourhttps://systemmastery.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/systemmastery9.mp3 Guest host Brian joins us to discuss Legend of the Five Rings, a game of swords, sorcery, swords, etiquette, and swords. It’s one of those katana things. We dig into the vast array of clans and the tiny array of classes that make up this surprisingly good Asian-themed RPG. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
System Mastery 8 – Skyrealms of Jorune
November 20, 2013 17:13 - 1 hourhttps://systemmastery.files.wordpress.com/2013/11/systemmastery81.mp3 We dug pretty deep to find this game, a sci-fi/fantasy far-future romp on a distant planet where all the magic is colored orbs and there are three different sizes of humans! Come with us as we grapple to understand the deepest reserve in history of sci-fi fantasy names, dig into a graph-derived combat system that we still don’t quite get, and for some reason spend a lot of time talking about breakfast cereal mascots. We ...
System Mastery 7 – Everquest D20
November 08, 2013 04:01 - 59 minuteshttps://systemmastery.files.wordpress.com/2013/11/systemmastery7.mp3 We’re joined for the first time by a guest host, our good friend Russ, as we discuss Everquest D20, an unholy confluence of 3rd edition open-source D20 gaming and the first modern MMO. Is that a tank mechanic we found? And just exactly how much can we digress to talk about Everquest before it’s just an MMO podcast? We seek those answers here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
System Mastery 6 – Ghostbusters RPG
October 24, 2013 16:17 - 54 minuteshttps://systemmastery.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/systemmastery61.mp3 Is Slimer the Judas of the Ghostbusters franchise? We delve into the long-gone Ghostbusters RPG, and apparently hit our heads on the bottom. This RPG is tiny and weird and unfinished, but definitely worth a look. Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Episode 5 – Orpheus
October 08, 2013 16:13 - 2 hourshttps://systemmastery.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/systemmastery5.mp3 The mild, heartwarming scares continue with our first Horrortoberfest podcast of October! Orpheus is a weird, weird outlier from the Old World of Darkness family. Get some friends together to play as sexy secret agent ghosts or the world’s worst bicycle messengers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Episode 4 – Prime Directive: The Star Fleet Universe RPG
September 24, 2013 06:37 - 1 hourhttps://systemmastery.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/systemmastery42.mp3 This episode goes out to Dan, the only person we know of who ever played this game. We have to assume he hated it as much as we did. We’re discussing, Prime Directive, the Star Fleet Universe RPG. Come along and learn about everything from Toltec Space Lizards to Glowing Maori. Just be careful not to say Star Trek. No amount of this game is Star Trek. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Episode 3 – Tales From the Floating Vagabond
September 13, 2013 02:32 - 1 hourhttps://systemmastery.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/systemmastery3.mp3 This time around, we review Tales from the Floating Vagabond, from Avalon Hill. It’s a comedic sci-fi roleplaying game set the exact center of a cartoon universe. Shticks, poorly named skills, boring alien races, and space NAZIs abound! With such zany highlights as [a cat meows] and [I think one of us farts], we delve into finding out if this classic is worth the paper it’s printed on, and it is printed on surprisingly c...
Episode 2 – Buffy the Vampire Slayer
August 28, 2013 03:57 - 57 minuteshttps://systemmastery.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/systemmastery2.mp3 Hey there Mr. Skippy! Not sure how you found your way to our little corner of the web, did you get lost while trying to find that hot new nightclub? Anyway, we have one of those things, a pod-thing, that you should check out. We get down on some awesome reviewage of this basically okay roleplaying game! There, that was the best attempt we can make at recreating the roughly 300 pages of Buffy-style dialog we slaved over ...
Episode 1 – Heroes Unlimited
August 09, 2013 01:01 - 53 minuteshttps://systemmastery.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/systemmastery1.mp3 Episode 1 – Heroes Unlimited Aliens, Cyborgs, Mutants, and Stage Magicians share the pages of the 1998 classic “Heroes Unlimited.” We dive into the odd but oddly beautiful Palladium Games engine, discuss the plight of the mutant animal in a world that rejects them, and try to figure out how to destroy the invincible door in the first ever episode of System Mastery. Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphon...