Fear the Boot

* (0:40) Arch-nemeses of today and times gone by. The crazy stuff people do in their sleep. * (15:20) Chad’s gaming topic: Character defining moments. Dan presents a large example. * (25:35) Brodeur does not top that. What can a GM do? Dan presents a counter-example. * (34:40) Tale of woe and reform aside, Dan answers the question. * (36:25) Another example of a GM intervention, so to speak. Even if you can’t create the change, you can create the opportunity for it. * (41:31) Responses, and gambling. Finesse in situational engineering. * (50:38) When a player requests the moment. Hosts: Brodeur, Chad, Dan, Wayne

* (0:31) A big thanks to our Patreon backers. * (1:32) NPC AI. Having non-player characters make decisions according to predetermined parameters. Our episode on quitting the field. * (5:43) Why this isn't just "deciding". * (6:41) The mechanical or rules-based approach. * (7:38) The parameterized or character-based approach. * (21:06) The psychology of fear, and the call of the void. * (23:59) Moving away from combat and into pure roleplaying. * (33:09) Star Trek, and the importance of NPC AI in such a deadly game. Deadly accidents. * (40:38) Dan restates his belief that dice are the Nth player. Treating groups as a single character. Hosts: Aisha, Chad, Dan, John

* (0:39) Fear the Con 10, June 22-24, 2017. Fear the Con 9 is lost, probably will be found-footage later. * (4:30) Brodeur goes to Archon for the aftermath of the cosplay. * (6:38) Pete introduces Brodeur to a new game, Dreamchaser. Dan comes up with "Four Hours at IKEA". * (19:24) Setting hard and soft goals for a game. * (26:07) The thinking behind the group template. * (30:04) The distinction between what a player wants from the game and what the GM wants from it. Expectations for the game. * (39:29) Thinking back to a game where the endpoints had been discussed and achieved. Hosts: Brodeur, Chad, Dan, Wayne

* (0:30) Pat is going to kill us all. * (17:03) The horror of the unknown. * (19:25) How Pat surpassed R. Lee Ermey. * (21:43) Creating expectation and setting a mood. * (23:47) Comedy = Expectation + Subversion. The human ability to cope with the known. * (26:56) The escape room: An objective-based, time-limited, puzzle game. * (28:11) The benefit to having extra people in puzzle situations. Expectations and patterns. * (31:37) Red herrings and the presupposition of significance. The Three Clue Rule. * (38:55) Brodeur compares this to the group template. Hosts: Brodeur, Dan, Pat, Wayne

* (0:18) It's just Dan and Chad today. Whatever happened to Julia? * (3:38) Behaviors tolerated and untolerated. Organization psychology. The book, Zapp! * (5:20) The four styles of leadership, as applied to roleplaying. Situational Leadership (with pictures or on Wikipedia or on the official site). * (9:48) Let it be written that here, on this date, Chad said in episode 69, "It's always better with men." I'm sure no one will take this out of context. * (12:12) Applying those four styles to roleplaying. * (22:26) The importance of recognizing the phase someone is in and knowing how to respond accordingly. Revisiting the gamification of games. * (27:52) Chad's hatred of cell phones and his very strong feelings on Pokemon Go. Dan speaks on reading the situation and self-awareness in general. * (35:04) Chad made an agreement, and it's been broken. He discusses his problems with authority. * (38:43) Consequences of the agreement. Hosts: Chad, Dan

* (0:24) The Mic-er Conspiracy, and editing what people say. * (2:26) Dan has a story! * (10:12) How Dan's story ties into gaming. The Facebook thread on the topic. Chekhov's Gun. * (15:24) The difference in how we search for meaning in life versus how we do so in an RPG. * (19:21) A tangent about Tarantino and the Rules of Eating in cinema. Everyday events that don't matter to the plot. * (22:15) Brodeur's counterpoint: Events need to further the game. * (26:04) Chekhov's Candy Sticks. * (33:13) Why do people drop things? Nowhere Man. The distinction between Chad and Dan putting detail in their games. * (44:51) Dan visits a casino in D&D 5E. * (46:13) There are five: The rivers Styx, Lethe, Acheron, Cocyteus, and Phlegethon - Hate, Oblivion, Sadness, Lamentation, and Fire. Dan yells at an undead boat driver. * (52:38) Conclusions on the incidental. What interviewing an NPC is all about for new listeners. Hosts: Brodeur, Chad, Dan, Wayne

NOTE: This episode is the second half of a recording that began with the prior episode. * (0:24) Spiders of my Mind, a game about psychotic murderers and an insane asylum. The day and night cycle. * (18:01) Brodeur asks: What attracted you to this setting? Pat is creepy and was super into a cat. * (25:14) Chad is diligent in crediting the source of the flashbacks mechanic: Mikel Matthews. * (30:11) On finding editors. * (32:15) Brodeur brings up the trouble with playing bad people. * (40:34) Chad talks about his love of dark games and a particular session about a haunted house. * (48:05) Brodeur notes that Chad's not playing these games for "evil is fun". Hosts: Brodeur, Chad

NOTE: The raw recording was enough for two shows, but the topic change left for rather uneven times. This is the first portion, and it's rather short. The upcoming second portion changes topics and is much longer. * (0:31) Why Wayne isn't on the mics. * (1:09) Dan runs the register. Automats. * (4:52) Dan gets going, and Brodeur shares his Kickstarter idea. * (6:22) A conspiracy theory is formed. * (6:41) Another Kickstarter idea. * (7:21) How a time jump in Brodeur's game shakes out. * (10:35) 48 hours in gaming, and the opportunities that a time-skip affords. * (16:33) Routine time jumps in a game. Hosts: Brodeur, Chad, Dan

* (0:29) Getting Chris to St. Louis. Lovecraft stories and Easter Eggs in Fallout. * (6:24) The seven intelligences. * (9:43) Presenting information in the right way to a particular person. Examples from movies and RPGs. * (13:00) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR: Path of Exile is superior to Diablo 3. * (15:35) Pat as an analytical player. * (21:45) Wayne and Dan as additive players. * (28:13) Brodeur's GWAR game with the You Tell Me system. * (30:43) Beth and Dawn as accepting players. Our episode on finite choices. * (40:57) The summary Chad gave prior to the show. Game moments with or without context. * (44:53) Adaptability as a two-way street. Robot Chicken's sketch about Noah. * (53:58) Sara's "Knowledge is Power" play-style. * (1:00:32) The potential pitfalls of the play-styles. Hosts: Brodeur, Chad, Dan, Pat

* (0:28) Andy Warhol gets trolled by Dennis Hopper through Strasbergian emotional memory. * (4:30) Dropped glasses become art, perhaps because of Yoko Ono's famous picture? * (5:41) Chad has an idea to pitch. * (9:20) Telling good stories without alienating the people they're about. Catching Pat in his refractory period. * (17:11) Chad owns MorningSkye.com and can't seem to opt out of the sale of a similar domain. * (24:09) Dan's idea that never happened, and why certain ideas in general don't get done. * (37:03) Tying it all together: Things done, things never done, and why. * (43:43) Dan will try to dig up the Lookout Radio demo. Hosts: Brodeur, Chad, Chris, Dan, Pat

* (0:24) Dan will record, anyway. The Pimp's Prayer (NSFW). Brodeur can't cry. Tyromancy, the cheese magic. * (6:39) The lowest form of horror. The 1979 movie, Zombie. The silent film, Un Chien Andalou. Hobo with a Shotgun. * (17:32) A time jump in Brodeur's RPG. * (21:32) Geoff Johns uses physics to make Aquaman a good character. The war between Amazons and Atlanteans. (Correction: The individual that led the defeat of the Amazons was Mopsus the Thracian, not a Theban.) * (32:21) Running a superhero game in the Bronze Age. * (36:29) An RPG with a cartoon aesthetic. Grave of the Fireflies, Wings of Honneamise, Anohana, Kill la Kill, and Bone Tomahawk. * (43:56) Red Dwarf and the assassination of JFK. Pokémon, Star Trek VI, the UN, and the comedy of violent politics. * (48:16) Funny patient names and the Easter Eggs in CMS test data. * (53:55) The life lesson of Ben-Hur. Hosts: Brodeur, Chad, Dan, Wayne  

* (0:27) The Facebook post explaining our site difficulties. * (1:32) The Inkwell Ideas' Kickstarter for Hexographer 2. * (3:14) The cognitive dissonance of many gamers regarding fairness and success. Hosts: Dan

* (0:28) Fear the Boot's crossover with Dead Games Society. Gaming resources that are not sourcebooks. * (3:43) A sad farewell and all our love to Mark. * (4:39) Everyone begs for new chairs. Brodeur plans to steal from Good Will. * (6:10) Game-relevant table talk. Meta-gaming and immersion. * (17:41) When can a character speak and for how long? * (24:59) Action timing in Blades in the Dark. * (32:50) Models of initiative. * (46:15) Pat takes us back to the original point. * (49:13) Letting everyone talk—or not! * (55:25) Chad thanks Brodeur the Elder. Hosts: Brodeur, Chad, Dan, Pat

* (0:29) A loose sound card, Patreon, falling pants, and attack chairs. * (3:42) The TSA, full-body scanners, and having to take your belt off. Wave of babies. * (8:14) RPG people tricks, starting with Dan trolling. * (10:46) Wayne getting the feel of a game. * (12:16) Brodeur interviews himself. * (14:04) Dan CAN judge you. But he rehearses his lines, too. * (16:28) Voices and the methods by which accents can be attained. Theme songs, and more ways to get hyped for a game. * (22:33) Chad's confession: The hit points are a lie. Conceptual damage instead of hit points. * (27:08) It's not fair? * (30:30) Wayne asks why. * (40:37) Naming NPCs after things in the room. * (44:59) Pregame rituals * (47:19) Fortunetelling for your NPCs. Hosts: Brodeur, Chad, Dan, Wayne

* (0:22) Horrible things you can do with Pokémon GO. * (1:04) Augmented Reality and Alternate Reality Games. Drug addiction. * (7:34) Wayne's wrestling efed. Gnarl's adventures on Twitter. * (17:53) Wayne's wrestler's name. * (26:18) The psychology of roleplaying. The freedom that a mask grants, particularly when it's a fully articulated gnoll mask. * (32:30) What would Brodeur say if he had Twitter and a purrsona? Next time, on "Everyone is Furries Furever". Mind-mouth filtering for the good of mankind. Hosts: Brodeur, Dan, Wayne

* (0:33) Moon, Dredd, and Batman v Superman Ultimate Edition. * (8:25) Dan comes up with one nice thing to say about the movie, Battleship. Also, they're voxels, not pixels. * (12:58) Chad recommends The Seventh Seal. * (14:15) Dan's Gnollsona days are to be in their peak soon. * (15:30) All the things worse than gamer categories. The Sokal affair and other uses of world salad. * (18:59) The three facets of GMing, starting with the adversarial. * (21:56) The confederate. * (28:29) The middle ground: the adjudicator. * (33:56) Pat's special dice. Labels are better at describing a moment than the GM. * (36:29) Chad hates the Myers-Briggs test. Dan hates the Keirsey Temperament Sorter, though it isn't mentioned in the show. Hosts: Chad, Dan, Pat

* (0:31) The end of Brodeur's honeymoon with 5th edition D&D and his endless honeymoon with a Marilith. * (4:32) Brodeur denies, as all subs do, that he wants to bang the Marilith. * (14:21) When the whole thing needs to go. * (16:08) Topic of this episode: Sound and music. MyNoise. * (23:17) Issues with sound. Blending soundscapes together. The value of sounds people aren't aware of. Frederic Chopin's Raindrop Prelude. * (38:10) Let's talk about music. The NPR interview with the composer for Epic Mickey. Also, Radio Rivendell. * (43:45) Examples of music as used in Blades in the Dark, video games, and Dan's car. * (53:02) Rapid-fire advice. Hosts: Brodeur, Chad, Dan, John

* (1:19) The requisite disclaimers. * (1:57) How mental health affects gaming, as the person with the condition. * (2:26) Attendance issues. * (5:15) Accepting that some issues can't be dealt with or accommodated in the context of gaming. * (7:02) Some ideas for accommodating attendance issues when you can. * (10:53) Beating yourself up during the game. * (12:12) Accommodating mid-game issues. * (17:37) Being anxious about being anxious. * (22:28) The relationship between depression and self-value. Asking the right questions. * (27:23) Tough thoughts during the downtime. * (31:55) Dan versus the X card. The importance of communicating meaningful information. Applying Hanlon's Razor to issue of offense. * (52:22) Wayne gives his thanks to a group at DruCon. The value of distraction. * (54:49) A big thanks to our Patreon backers! Hosts: Brodeur, Chris, Dan, Wayne

* (0:39) Mental health as a topic, why we're talking about it, and some important disclaimers. * (8:49) Why this relates so closely to gaming. * (13:47) Dan's history and issues. * (18:41) The uniqueness of the conditions when compared to "normal" thoughts. The courage of getting treatment. * (26:04) The anatomy of a panic attack. * (27:24) PTSD can come from any serious trauma. * (28:54) Brodeur's history and issues. * (32:47) The anatomy of PTSD. * (34:39) Wayne's history and issues. * (38:03) Medication as a way to get a handle on an issue. * (40:13) Time does not heal all wounds, but there are ways to cope. The Anxiety & Phobia Workbook. * (46:22) Advice to people that know someone suffering from a mental disorder. Hosts: Brodeur, Chris, Dan, Wayne

* (0:40) Pulp Gamer isn't gone—just the network. * (1:30) Drucon. Special thanks to Adam, Bob, and Derek. * (2:43) Introducing Aisha and thanks to our Patreon backers. Her history with roleplaying games and video games. * (15:32) How some hosts are hard to edit. * (19:58) Our main topic: Old school ideas that still have value. * (27:22) The use of common sense regarding random charts. * (30:37) Something 5th edition brought back: Character Archetypes. * (34:01) Brodeur hates 5th edition and wants it to die. * (34:55) In defense of collars. Or callers. * (38:41) In defense of RP scripts. * (42:13) Brodeur's Sidebars: Exploring things OOC. * (46:41) Box text. * (49:20) Encounter XP. * (54:01) You can welcome Aisha through her forum profile. Hosts: Aisha, Brodeur, Dan, Wayne

* (0:31) With Pulp Gamer closing their network, Fear the Boot is now a proud member of the RPG Academy network of shows. * (1:20) TsunamiCon in Wichita, KS, from October 7th to 9th. You can find their page here and support their Kickstarter here. * (4:07) Where's Dan? Wayne went to a shibari event once... Also, duct tape is not to be used for bondage. * (5:02) After effects of the index card suggestions: Brodeur's game of reckless colonial expansion, party-throwing, and "What's money for?" * (11:06) The problem with index carding: Which of these things do I actually get around to doing? * (19:33) Problematic Plothook Parties. * (21:34) Success with consequences in Blades in the Dark. * (28:07) Game aftercare for GMs and players. * (29:47) They always wanna kill his girls. Maybe it's Pavlovian at this point. * (31:08) The serial killer, and how Chad screwed up. * (37:31) The forest for the trees. Table rules regarding phones. Salvaging the game from a plot hole and too many weeks off. * (51:29) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR: I hate you too, Brodeur and Sgt. Dan. Hosts: Brodeur, Chad, Sgt. Dan, Wayne

* (2:29) Chad's garage sale find. You can find the relevant images here. * (10:46) On the formation of "The White Box", the first complete D&D set. * (14:46) Dan reads the sample roleplaying text in his bedroom voice. * (17:40) A touching foreword from Tom Moldvay. * (20:08) A page of Inspirational Reading. * (21:35) The RPGA form and the Roll20 Survey. * (26:14) Where it all went wrong. * (28:37) Alignment languages. * (30:10) Mappers, Callers, and sheet clutter. * (33:14) Who WERE these people?! * (39:13) Critiquing the character. * (47:04) Dramatic reading ideas. Hosts: Brodeur, Chad, Dan, Wayne

* (1:32) Patreon milestones coming up, including a live-stream Shadowrun AP. * (2:48) Dan played D&D 5E, and he liked it. Pat thinks it should feel wrong, but it feels so right, instead. * (15:14) Improving games by using the Stoplight. * (19:27) Removing the red lights to preserve feelings. * (20:47) Pat's take on the advantages of open communication. * (24:03) Phrasing the suggestions to be future-oriented instead of past-oriented. * (26:17) Stoplighting also needs to be applicable to GMs. * (33:42) Filling out a form for yourself. * (37:18) Chris' short film, It Figures, is being played at the Gen Con Film Festival. * (38:49) Why the Stoplight is worth doing. Hosts: Dan, Pat, Wayne

* (0:29) Fear the Boot is now 10 years old! * (4:39) The three promises of Fear the Boot: no ads in the show, no politics or religion, and never putting primary content behind a pay wall. * (9:35) Ways we want to improve the show over the next 10 years. * (12:40) If you want to help the show, Fear the Boot's Patreon, milestones, and backer rewards can be found here. * (18:05) Some thanks to the hosts, listeners, and industry professionals that have helped make this all possible. * (19:46) Things that have changed for us over the past 10 years. * (29:36) Dan mentions Stellaris (which is a great game) but actually meant Rebel Galaxy. * (30:02) Explaining boat anchor characters and how they change the parameters of what's occurring in the game. * (34:47) A child Chad played in a sci-fi game and an old man he played in a post-apocalyptic game. * (44:41) Adjusting the game to accommodate such characters, or opting not to allow them at all. * (50:17) Looking around you for inspiration and understanding. * (51:56) Discussing the changes to the game before it begins. Hosts: Chad, Dan, Pat, Wayne

* (0:54) Revisiting side games. * (1:39) How we deviated from our prior advice. * (3:47) Chad loses InSpectres and switches to Wilderness of Mirrors. * (6:13) On the activities of the players and their gang. * (9:18) Objective 1: Kill James Waite. * (11:28) Not keeping the side game and main game related. * (12:32) Could players that aren't there for side games be left in the dark? * (28:18) Easter Eggs for longtime fans that aren't necessary information to understanding the plot. * (31:57) Going back in time. * (33:48) Generating game ideas by asking what the players would like to learn more about. Hosts: Brodeur, Chad, Dan, Pat

* (0:32) Running a game in a very short time slot. A possible Skies of Glass show series and Wayne's lunch game. * (2:33) Keeping this a fully-developed game instead of using a specialized system or one-off approach. * (3:20) Limiting the time spent on social interactions. * (4:05) The value of proactivity. Moving some discussions offline to keep the game going. True Dungeon and Escape STL. * (11:44) Forced energy and keeping the pace. Putting aside complex rules. * (20:20) Changes to game prep and execution. * (31:59) Chad's character concept. * (35:23) Being episodic or skipping over periods of transition between major plot points. The potential sacrifice of some player agency. * (42:55) Being pro-player when their agency is reduced. Hosts: Chad, Dan, Pat

* (0:30) Pat's messed up sound levels and a really strange rant remind Dan that you can now get Fear the Boot on Google Play. * (4:35) Running smaller, lower-prep games—that are related to your main campaign—to save the game from dying during downtime. * (15:21) Some ground rules for making games like this work. * (27:42) Keeping the side game from eclipsing the main game. * (37:37) Keeping the tone of the side game from affecting the main game. * (41:54) Fear the Boot’s Warframe clan. You can download the game here and find details on the clan here. Hosts: Brodeur, Chad, Dan, Pat

* (0:29) Welcoming back James from The One Shot Podcast. Our prior interview with them can be found here. * (4:08) The Kickstarter for Noisy Person Cards. * (8:35) The value of using alternate voices in a roleplaying game. * (13:09) Adding emotion to the voice. * (16:29) The intensity of an emotion. Drawing on life experiences to make the emotion more real. * (25:12) The cadence of a voice. Billy West's interview on Fresh Air. * (27:38) Changing up the characters. * (46:48) Paracosm Press. Hosts: Chris, Dan, James, John

* (0:32) Fear the Boot's Warframe clan, Fear the Ninja, is active again. You can download the game here and find details on the clan here. * (4:21) Get your votes in for what game you'd like to hear us play with the folks from One Shot Podcast. * (6:50) A big thanks to the people recommending our show on Reddit! * (7:38) Brodeur gets touched. You can donate to Wayne's Make-A-Wish fundraiser here. * (17:19) Significant time jumps within the course of an RPG's plot. * (23:58) The importance of establishing the purpose of the time jump. * (27:38) Observing what the players latch onto during that opportunity. * (29:51) A chance for the players to introduce new ideas. * (35:02) Evaluating the changes that have happened during that time. * (45:12) The varying significance and scale of time to different characters. Hosts: Brodeur, Chad, Dan, Wayne

DISCLAIMER: While profanities were censored from this episode, the subject matter is more crass than what Fear the Boot normally covers.  Personal discretion is advised. * (0:40) Welcoming Stu and Stork from Happy Jack's podcast. You can find the latest episode Dan and Wayne guest hosted here. * (0:57) Rosebud. * (5:52) The origin of "Happy Jack" and the narrative curve of his career. * (11:48) The worst hygienic choice you can make in a game shop. * (19:02) Stinky, the couch, and the worst hygienic choice you can make in a car. * (25:04) The most horrifying gaming story we've ever heard. * (31:31) An obnoxious interview subject. * (38:42) Things overheard in the game shop. The real-life inspiration of the play, Equus. The Animaniacs survey. * (43:23) A really dysfunctional Ren Faire. Hosts: Brodeur, Dan, Stork, Stu

* (0:29) Dan can't operate a mixer. * (2:21) 1d4Con in Martisburg, WV from April 15th - 17th. * (4:07) Upcoming crossovers with Happy Jacks. * (4:29) Noah the Destroyer. * (11:00) A Twitter poll we ran about whether it's best for game designers (or GMs running a game) to err on the side of too many or too few rules. * (14:21) The value of crunch in settling disputes, enshrining character traits, and maintaining fairness. Rules can be ignored more easily than written. * (24:47) Our own preferences in balancing the quantity and complexity of rules. * (27:30) The value of a rules light approach. The games are less intimidating, easier to learn, and allow for greater creative freedom. Weird West, the PocketMod game by Stuart Robertson. Hosts: Brodeur, Dan, Pat, Wayne

* (0:41) Chris' short film, It Figures. * (6:30) Wayne takes a turn at moderating the show. * (7:18) Leaving a gaming group. Wayne sets some ground rules for the discussion. * (14:26) The parallels between breaking up with a gaming group and breaking up with a significant other. Getting out of a game by ghosting. * (17:19) When the problem really is on you, but the rest of the people involved may not accept that. * (22:41) How the nature and history of the group affects the decision. A metaphor from MMOs. * (28:34) Evaluating the overall state of the gaming group. * (30:46) Gritting your teeth until a reasonable stopping point. * (32:41) Living authentically. * (38:11) The best time to drop out. Hosts: Chad, Chris, Dan, John, Wayne

* (0:26) Introducing Bob and offering a fair warning. * (2:24) Eva Amurri, the nanny incident, and Dan's cynicism. * (5:21) Bob sets the record straight on the drywall incident. * (8:35) Green bean casserole. * (16:51) Bob saves Brodeur from drowning. * (20:00) How Bob got into gaming. * (29:33) How Bob got Brodeur into gaming. * (33:36) The value of gaming as a mental health aid. * (36:51) Brodeur's real friends. * (38:45) The subjectivity of suffering. * (47:45) DGS Games and their Kickstarter for Traazorite Crusaders. * (48:10) A shout-out to TableTop Game and Hobby in Overland Park, Kansas. * (50:16) The Alex Jones conspiracy that Johnny G made his ringtone. Hosts: Bob, Brodeur, Chad, Dan

* (0:36) The new XCOM Saga has started. You can watch it on Twitch here or keep up with the RP and after-action reports here. The next stream will be on Wednesday, February 10th, at 7:00pm Central time. * (3:20) Some more information on DruCon. You can find out more on the Facebook group and sign up for events on Con Planner. * (6:21) The Battletech dice contest is indeed over, but you can still see the plot ideas here. * (6:50) A conversation about how to get started with Battletech (see our episode on that topic for more info) led to a novel approach for GM-driven character creation. * (18:06) Reasons to consider using this approach. * (32:33) The potential drawbacks to GM character creation. * (35:52) Three rules for making this work. Hosts: Chad, Dan, Wayne

* (1:09) Pat and the nuclear football can be found in Bedtime Stories 5. * (1:34) Giving life to a location. Making it feel like more than just a stopping-off point in the plot. Our episodes on dungeon building (part 1 and part 2). * (7:07) Reasons to avoid getting too caught up in the minutiae of the setting. Cityographer by Inkwell Ideas. * (18:05) The six questions to flesh out a location. You can find a sample questionnaire in the resource documents. * (25:18) Letting the players answer the questions through their RP. * (34:19) Locations that lack heart. Hosts: Chad, Dan, Pat, Wayne

* (0:35) Preparing a fallback game for one that has yet to die. * (4:36) Brodeur is asked to pass his game notes off to another GM who wants to continue his campaign. * (10:42) The positive reasons to share your game notes. Dan's sample game notes (explained in episode 209) can be found here, here, here, and here. * (12:20) The practical problems with sharing your game notes. * (28:26) Making your notes available to the general public. * (36:04) Passing off the entire game to a new GM. Hosts: Brodeur, Dan, John, Julia

* (0:29) The Battletech contest is complete! You can find the list of winning game ideas here. I'll be emailing the winners within the next week to get their mailing addresses. * (1:51) Blades in the Dark, digital edition early access with upgrade support through the finished product. You can grab your copy here. * (3:05) Wayne was trying to figure out what he wants to run at DruCon and decided on a Power Rangers game. The gritty fan film. * (9:24) Writing down the dirty dozen: roughly twelve ideas the game needs to portray in order to really capture the original intellectual property. * (17:26) Either adapting an existing product in whole or cherry-picking ideas from multiple sources. * (20:07) Handling a situation where multiple players are controlling a single, combined character in a game. * (28:22) Using the dirty dozen to prioritize design choices. * (38:46) The dated economics of Back to the Future. Hosts: Brodeur, Dan, John, Wayne

* (0:28) A pregnant pause. Dan hates Skype. Dan hates Norton even more. * (1:11) Voting for the science fiction plot hooks is ending on Sunday, January 10th, at 11:59:59pm Central Time. You can get your votes in here. * (2:07) Brodeur the Elder wants to hear about ABBA. That hate for disco. N-Trace's hip hop remix of Stayin' Alive. The mashups of Max Tannone. * (8:46) Fear the Boot's spoiler policy. * (11:05) The long bomb plot of Nier. * (18:27) Tying this back to tabletop RPGs. Creating games where the most obvious explanation of events isn't the most accurate one. * (21:11) Don't lie to the players or invalidate their actions. * (28:57) When the villain just might have a point. Gnarl's Twitter feed. Fable 3. * (44:58) The relationship between the long bomb and a more traditional mystery. L.A. Noire. * (59:15) Brodeur and the Case of the Brand Comparison. Hosts: Brodeur, Chad, Dan

* (0:28) The amount of bleeping in the prior episode. * (2:13) Voting for the science fiction plot hooks is still going on. You can get your votes in here. * (3:32) The flooding in Missouri. * (8:08) Natural disasters in roleplaying games. The eruption of Krakatoa. The radioactive fire at the West Lake Landfill. * (12:13) The mundane aspects of life that get represented in a character's background but not during play. * (14:04) Aspects that are excluded because they're too boring. * (17:52) Aspects that are excluded because they're done alone. * (20:43) Aspects that are excluded because we'd prefer not to think about them. * (23:37) Aspects that are excluded because they create unwanted vulnerabilities. * (28:23) Erasing the separation between items that are interesting enough to be in backstory but don't seem to make it into the game. * (39:20) Turn around, don't drown. Hosts: Chad, Dan, Wayne

* (0:23) Voting for the science fiction plot hooks has begun. You can get your votes in here. * (1:38) Wayne has creative block while trying to make a character for an online game of Wield. * (5:55) Generic-Man to the rescue! Pat is always rich. * (14:55) Welcome to Fanfiction.net! (and Wattpad). * (16:26) Being too distracted by life to contribute to a game. * (17:31) Not knowing enough about the game to contribute. * (19:34) Building the parts you know. Using random generators. Inkwell Ideas' card decks. * (22:59) Mixing and matching. Play Doh and LEGOs. * (29:43) Finding the character mid-stride. * (33:45) OCD in video games. The house that's a museum. * (39:08) Roleplaying in MMOs. Ralph Pootawn (link contains some NSFW material). Hosts: Dan, John, Pat, Wayne

* (0:30) Why it's not "still" Chris or Brodeur. * (3:12) Chad's audio, visual, and computer setup for running Blades in the Dark. Google Drive and Myth Weavers. * (5:01) How Blades in the Dark handles conflict. Devil's lettuce. The Doomsday Clock. Building tension. * (13:33) Details on Chad's setup and how he uses it to improve the game and add immersion. Microsoft Onenote. Chad's collection of files for the game. * (32:34) Lower tech alternatives. * (34:44) Nihilistic Jeff Bridges as an example of an obstacle instead of just an enemy. Hosts: Brodeur, Chad, Chris, Dan

* (0:29) This is the last week to enter for the metal Battletech dice. You can enter by leaving your plot idea for Battletech (or generic science fiction) on this website. * (1:55) Chad's Blades in the Dark game. You can BitD's Google group here. The video game, Dishonored. * (9:24) Playbooks. * (12:46) Uptime, downtime, and ongoing projects. * (17:21) The "project clock". Stress, vice, and coin. * (26:25) Similar mechanics for long-term projects in other games. * (31:10) Illustrating the long gaps of time between adventures. * (37:01) The value of an essay structure when speaking. * (38:21) The takeaways that apply to other game systems. * (42:42) Playing a game that's still being written. Hosts: Brodeur, Chad, Chris, Dan

* (0:44) Down a few for Thanksgiving. * (1:14) Hamlet's Hit Points by Robin Laws. Tracking the story beats of an RPG. * (3:37) How much game advice can actually be internalized and used. * (8:58) An analogy from art theory about how the human mind compresses information into a usable form. * (13:08) What Brodeur is internalizing for his current 5th edition game. Hosts: Brodeur, Dan

* (1:54) John observes an uptick of socially competitive games at Gen Con. Are You a Werewolf. Junta. Coup. * (7:15) Undertale and how it changed John's mind on merciless gaming. * (10:05) Why Dan can't betray people, even when it's the intended mechanic of a game. * (17:27) What Undertale did for John's empathy that no previous game had. Never Have I Ever. * (20:06) Being the betrayer when you don't want to. The Resistance, Battlestar Galactica, and Shadows Over Camelot. * (25:05) Winning games through consistent behavior. * (32:35) Too many games came out on November 10th. * (38:16) How behavior in boardgames reflects our GMing style. Hosts: Chad, Dan, John, Julia

* (0:27) When Fear the Boot turns into AM radio. * (2:42) Giving away some metal Battletech dice. You can enter by leaving your plot idea for Battletech (or generic science fiction) on this website. * (3:32) The Library Land Podcast. * (4:44) The value in offering players finite options. Infocom games. Hosts: Dan

* (0:42) The value of simplicity, flat math, and limited modifiers. * (5:10) The intentional lack of specificity in the 5th edition rules. The history of Anti-Magic Shell. * (11:22) Are there any plans for setting material and the like? * (17:22) Beast form and martial arts attacks. Sage Advice on Twitter. * (19:34) Was the d20 mechanic a central part of design? An obstacle? An accepted legacy? * (22:44) Why switch to 5th edition? What are its distinguishing traits and values? The free download of the basic rules and the starter box set for D&D 5th edition. * (27:30) What ongoing adventure support does WotC have planned for DMs? * (28:39) Wanting to hear more about insanity rules and madness. * (29:03) Tagging bonds to award inspiration. * (30:09) A question about flanking. * (32:16) The relegation of feats, and the options for diversifying a class. * (34:47) How did 4th edition influence 5th edition? * (36:49) What other games were played during the design period and ultimately influenced the final product? Designers & Dragons. * (40:20) Acknowledging some questions that didn't have available answers. * (41:30) Why isn't there a full-length PDF for 5th edition? * (43:25) To what does Vince most attribute the success of 5th edition? * (44:04) What was the impetus for the advantage and disadvantage system? * (46:02) Vince's favorite house rules and hacks for 5th edition. * (46:32) What weakness of previous editions did they strive to avoid? * (47:49) If you have any questions for Vince, you can chat him up in the forum thread for this show. You can also find him through Venture Land Games, his Twitter account, or his YouTube channel. Hosts: Brodeur, Dan, John Guests: Vincent Venturella

* (0:35) Introducing Vince of Venture Land Games and The Narrative Game System. * (4:44) Questions we collected from social media. In case you don't have the links you can find us at: Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and our forums. * (5:06) Vince's favorite 'Mech and his take on the Clans. The Black Knight. Fortunetelling by favorite 'Mech. * (11:16) Giving away some metal Battletech dice. You can enter by leaving your plot idea for Battletech (or generic science fiction) on this website. * (14:14) Understanding the role of a rules consultant and how Vince contributed to D&D 5th edition. * (23:19) The importance of tradition to D&D. The Legacy of Heroes. * (25:58) What discoveries were made during play testing? * (27:26) How did the existence and success of Pathfinder influence 5th edition? * (32:00) What are the most common misconceptions about 5th edition that Vince would like to correct? * (36:11) Scaling armor class and hit points for the right experience. * (41:43) If class and background overlap, why can characters pick any skill? * (43:40) Why do monsters play by a different set of rules than the PCs? Hosts: Brodeur, Dan, John Guests: Vincent Venturella

* (1:31) DruCon: the fan convention on June 3rd and 4th of 2016. You can find the Facebook group here and back the funding campaign here. * (2:28) Using a well-established NPC in your game. * (6:30) Why is the character there at all? * (7:44) Know the character as a whole person. * (8:49) Throw canon out the window. * (10:35) Don't act like a fan of the character. * (11:22) Remember that your game is a story about the player-characters. * (13:42) Making sure the NPC doesn't dominate the players in ability, gear, contacts, or knowledge. * (16:57) Give the character meaningful weaknesses. * (19:41) Have the NPC be a fan of the PCs. Hosts: Dan

* (0:39) Welcoming Dr. Bob Arens to the show. * (0:58) DruCon: the fan convention on June 3rd and 4th of 2016. You can find the Facebook group here and back the funding campaign here. * (3:20) The episode we did with Bob about artificial intelligence in game. The Time Cube website (FAIR WARNING: very strong language). * (7:45) John is wrong about John on Reddit. * (10:10) Introducing FIWAGs and setting some boundaries on the discussion. * (11:23) Players that grind their weed at the table. * (12:53) Players and GMs that have shameless enthusiasm. * (14:00) The diggers: people that latch onto cues and look for more in your game. * (16:02) Alpha gamers. * (16:38) Drink and snack bringers. * (18:09) The group cop. * (19:55) Players that challenge us as GMs. * (20:33) The group librarian. * (25:35) People that keep the game going between sessions. * (28:14) Players that are open to a variety of campaign parameters. * (31:22) GMs that clearly put effort into preparing their games. * (37:23) The group artist. Nihilisa Frank and Nihilist Arby's. Hosts: Bob, Brodeur, Dan, John, Julia

* (0:29) We don't win 'em all. * (1:07) Character pictures and why Wayne hates them. People that benefit from a visual element in the game. The concept art for the Star League throne. The legend of the collapsible cup. * (12:16) The over-sexualization of female imagery. * (17:08) The supposed link between gaming and anti-social behavior. The distinction between murder and killing, as illustrated by Witcher 3 and Robotech: Invasion. * (26:52) The human knack for justifying evil. The value of a game that's deep enough that you can empathize with the "villain". * (37:30) The relationship between moral behavior and consequences. Watch what you reward. Hosts: Brodeur, Chad, Dan, Wayne