Playing It Wrong

I've got so much going on.  I need to ramp up on the old blog, a handful of RPG projects to get done, and some DIY projects around the house. So what takes up the most time for the least return? Well, that's the podcast.  I'm done just taking a couple weeks off of the podcast. But there's going to be more on the blog and some neat stuff coming out soon.  Thanks and I'll be back.  I really do enjoy this.

You don't need any special certificate, accreditation, or license to make RPG stuff. Just do it. A lot of us older folks in the OSR get the label and I think we subconsciously follow that label that we are "The Establishment.  We aren't we're the underground comics. We're punk rock.  So let's go out there and make cool stuff and share it. Let others know about the cool stuff others are making. Personally, I have to get off my butt and get more done. More blog posts. More episodes of the pod cast. And just get a lot of that stuff that's been in my head out. And share it.

Just a very short little shout out.  Still around just getting the whole media "empire" in order.  Don't worry things will be happening.  Thanks

This episode I talk about initiative and high some interesting methods I've seen over the years in such games as TWERPS, The Hero System, Shadowrun, and Savage Worlds.  Find out where I stole my house rule from.  And finally back to reading from the Tomes of Ancient Forbidden Knowledge.  This time Druid Spells from Eldritch Wizardry, Supplement III. 

Well, made it to the 50 Likes on the Facebook page. So that means Bonus Episodes every week.  As the first one, I'm complain about Lulu's major screw up.  And send out some Get Well Soon vibes to Erik Tenkar.

I really tried to delve into the Psionics in Supplement III: Eldritch Sorcery.  It just made my brain hurt.  But isn't that what Psionics is about?  Also, a call in and another tale from the Bag of Too Many Things.  

And we're one "Like" away on Facebook.  That means bonus episodes!

Thanks for listening.  Roll dice. Kill monsters. Take their stuff. And have fun!

What can turn off a game before you even buy it, read it, or play it?  My big two things are character sheets and the community around the game. And I know this is a short episode but hey things are crazy and I'm trying to get back into some normal habits.  And it's a shorter episode than normal. But we're getting things back on track.

And remember. Roll dice. Kill monsters. Take their stuff. And have fun.

Thanks for listening

I missed last week but here I am back with another episode.  This time I'm talking about making monsters interesting. It doesn't take much and you don't have to make every one of them weird.  Because if everything is weird then nothing is weird. The top three things are tactics, personality and location. I also delve into the Druid in Eldritch Sorcery. Thanks for listening.  Remember. Roll Dice. Kill Monsters. Take Their Stuff. Have Fun. And Stay Safe!

I decided to use the Bonus Episodes as a Design Journal for my own little set of house rules which I call YARC (Yet Another Retro-Clone) and to spruce up my main campaign world, Zoong.  Heck, I may also do some rambles about my other projects.  Who knows? Remember. Roll Dice. Kill Monsters. Take Their Stuff. Have Fun. And Be Safe!

Thanks

Yes, everything is crazy.  So here's a little update.  Busy with day job and doing my best to keep things going with the Podcast and Blog.  I just may do some at the desk ramble casts as Bonus Episodes.  We shall see. Stay safe out there.

This week I delve into the Boxed Text.  The bane of many adventures. Be inspired by it but don't get tied to it. You can even ignore it. And a very special call in. Plus, I also start on reading from Supplement III: Eldritch Wizardry.  There's some pretty good thoughts in the beginning of the book. 

A crazy idea. Let's redefine Grognard.  Not the old grumpy gamer but gamer who's about the game.  After the end of G+, people are more and more forming new communities and having a good time. There's enough division and negativity going around.  Plus where I get my organic gummy bears.  And I finish up on Supplement II: Blackmoor.

Hey, all those old-school games out there are mostly compatible. So go ahead and mix and match and make the game you want to play. There's nothing stopping you.   Also, Swords & Wizardry Appreciation Day is coming soon! Congrats to every one who did the Zine Quest.  And roll those dice.  Thanks for listening.

Happy New Year, dear listeners!  Hopefully, you're not hungover.  It's a new year and time for more attitude.  Thanks to everyone. Now roll initiative against the New Year.  Let's get this party started.

"Take the Lead" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

We had a case of GM burnout in the gaming group so we're heading back to 5E with a fresh GM.  Time to make a new character.  So what should I play?  WOTC hasn't put our as many splat books as in the old days but there's still a lot of stuff.  And as far as DM's Guild goes. There's a lot of junk. I mean a whole lot of junk. Plus the usual rants and reading from the Ancient Tomes.  200 HD Monsters? 

This time I go totally off the normal beaten track and talk about search engines and social media and that they're pretty much stacked against the little guy or the "outsider". Let's face it. Celebrity and controversy get more traction than content. So to heck with it. Time to do things your way.  Enjoy the doing and let the rest of it rot.    And a special shout out to The Happy Whisk and the usual features.  D&D Boot Camp and I continue reading from Greyhawk.

"Take the Lead" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

An encounter should be more than just a PC's and monsters attacking each other.  Those some interesting terrain or environmental hazards into the mix.   Also, this episode the "new" cleric spells in Greyhawk and a little rant for beginners trying to play a magic-user.

"Take the Lead" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

I travel back in time and talk about world building again.  This time it's all about the player characters.  Go ahead and mess around with Races & Classes and all that player facing stuff.  And we've got a call-in from The Yawning Owlbear himself. Thanks, Mark.

In this episode, I rant about being yourself and and finding your own voice whether it be in blogging, gaming, or podcasting.   Plus updates and what's been going on, mysterious hints about what's on the way, and more readings from the Little Brown Books of D&D. This week it's the example of play.

I've got shout to Happy Whisk and emails from the Yawning Owlbear.  And I go off on  a little rant on actual play podcasts and streams.  And I finish up on Volume 2: Monsters & Treasures of the Little Brown Books.

More rants about gaming.  Previously, I talked about how adventures are guidelines. Guess what?  They are setting too.  And all the usual features.  What been happening around my game table and more readings from the Little Brown Books.

This week we're back to normal with a brief summary of the Labyrinth Lord game where in I ran a nice little adventure by Tim Shorts (The Demon Baboon of Porters Crown). Also, I go into a little rant on Thieves' Skills on old school games. And we've finally made it to the treasure part of Monters & Treasure in the Little Brown Books.

You don't eat pizza everyday so why play the same game all the time.  Not only that changes are coming to this Podcast and the good old blog.  Thanks for listen and stay tuned!

This time I rant about lethality in 5E and some humorous stories of TPK's.  Some introspection on when to podcast, when to blog and when to publish and continued readings from the 0E D&D Little Brown Books.

Don't cross the streams.  Yes, cross the streams and by streams I mean genres. Hack away to heart's content.  Random settings. Random rants. And more reading from the Little Brown Books.

It's a short episode this week. A little bit of self critique here. I've been lazy in DMing of late.  Simple monsters without flair.  But also being reactive to those crazy things that the players do or the dice cause.  

May is going to be a busy month.  Teasers about what's going to happen.  Plus a little rant about the retroclone de jour and how we may change rules but still play the same game.  And VAMPIRES!  

I talk about running a campaign based in one city.  Remember the Dungeon Crawl Classics  Lankhmar  is coming soon.  And I find out that Gnolls are actually a cross between Gnomes and Trolls.

Make your own monsters or make your flavor of existing monsters.  As a DM you don't always have to follow exactly what the book says.  Remember rules are just guidelines and so are monster books.  Plus some interesting bits on Orcs from the original Little Brown Books. Roll Dice. Kill Monsters. Take Their Stuff. And Have Fun!

More on Zweihander,  The Make Your Own Damned Retroclone Challenge and even more rants.  

I ramble on about grim dark and start thinking of running Zweihander, or Warhammer Fantasy or maybe something else in the future.  Plus a little update on the Labyrinth Lord game.   And we begin covering Cleric spells from the Little Brown Books.  

This week's episode is a bit short and a day behind.  Sorry about that.  In this episode, meet the characters from my Labyrinth Lord game. and their initial trials. Plus I rant a little bit about 6th level magic user spells from the Little Brown Books.

A quick and rambling episode. I talk a little about the new game from Old Skull Publishing, Solar Blades & Cosmic Spells. Complain about OBS's server migration. Read from the Little Brown Books and jump thru hoops to get ready for my next campaign.

A bit of ramble this week.  I talk a little about Thieves Guilds, Ethiopian Food, and we get a Call In!  Bonus still reading from the Little Brown Book. 

Mise En Place is cooking term. Basically, doing all your preparation beforehand. And that's what I rant about this episode.  Getting ready to run Advanced Labyrinth Lord and all the things I'm trying to get ready.

We've got your usual rants plus I talk about hazards in dungeons besides traps and monsters.  And the regular feature of a spontaneous reading from the Little Brown Books. This episode Level 2 Magic-User spells. 

I rant about my "system neutral" DM Notebook and how it's important and it's important to clean the thing out every once in a while. Also, continue with the reading from the Little Brown Books. This time up: 1st Level Magic-User spells.

New year, new beginnings.  Let us make 2019 the year of sharing the fun. Be excellent out there.  

Best wishes to all the listeners out there. Thanks and let's have a great 2019.