Roll For Topic

Join Andy (holed up in an airBnB somewhere in the hinterlands of Colorado) and Chris (holed up in his office) as they chit-chat about their recent travels and how they cannot stop thinking about running games.

Andy and Chris try very hard not to step on Brian Jacques toes while designing an adventure for a mouse!

What kind of door would simultaneously beg players to open it, yet fill them with dread at the prospect of doing? Chris and Andy devise a creepy-yet-compelling door sure to cause your players to argue about whether and how to open it.

Oh no! Andy and Chris walk fail their investigation check and walk right into a trap! As penance they have to design a series of traps for a technomancer’s dungeon.

What would you say is the coolest boat there is? Andy, Chris, and guest GM Nate put their minds together to try and create a really cool boat you can drop into your tabletop RPG.

Listen as Andy and Chris continually fail to not reference videogames as they design an arena boss rush! This question was sent into us by Ryan out in Korea. Thanks, Ryan!

Can Chris and Andy design a shop for a roleplaying game that’s actually interesting to visit? Listen as they brainstorm a quirky shop that provides not only items for your players to purchase, but opportunities for investigation and adventure. Episode 87 appendix (aka show notes): The Deep House, a horror movie that takes place entirely … Continue reading "Episode 87 — Design an Interesting Shop"

Test your might and win the prize of listening to this episode where Chris and Andy take on the design challenge of: “Create a festival” (a topic added by Tim Saucer)! Chris reminisces way too much his stint in Indiana and Andy relives some memories of horrible footwear. Then they imagine a totally normal festival … Continue reading "Episode 86 – Create a Festival!"

What space object or event would be so insanely interesting that even the most dedicated PCs will divert course to go check it out? Chris and Andy brainstorm three space anomalies that even the least curious characters couldn’t stop themselves from investigating.

Big news in this episode! Roll for Topic isn’t on its own anymore–we’re now part of a brand-new podcast network. After discussing this news (and nerding out about Michael Moorcock’s Elric novels), Chris and Andy puts their GM brains together to come up with an idea for an underwater adventure that sounds not just workable, … Continue reading "Episode 84 — Underwater Adventures (That Are Actually Fun)"

Andy and Chris ambush Peter Dillman, creator of the Dillman’s Dungeon: A Gamer’s Retreat Kickstarter campaign, and force him to design an ambush scenario for a fantasy roleplaying game. Along the way we learn all about Peter’s amazing vision for an “Air D&D” venue to host gaming getaways. Show notes: The Dillman’s Dungeon Kickstarter campaign. … Continue reading "Episode 83 — AMBUSH! (with Peter Dillman)"

Ever given the player characters a magic item that seems to have no practical use… only to have the players figure out a good use for it anyway? Andy and Chris brainstorm up several such “useless” magic items you could drop into your campaign.

We’re starting something new with this episode! Join as we roll on our brand new Table of Design Challenges to determine a random GM design challenge for Andy and Chris to create on air. The first challenge is to create a love triangle that can be added to any D&D campaign!

It’s a brand new year! We start with Chris’ reflections on running last episode’s live game, and then Andy and Chris both talk about GMing goals for 2022—as well as about plans for the podcast!

Join Nicole, Cory, Phill, and Brandon as they explore the crazy sci-fi dungeon we created in Episode 78! With Chris as GM, they encounter space pirates, escape from space bugs, and do many other exciting space-related things. The system used to run this game is the excellent Caltrop Core, which puts the divisive d4 to … Continue reading "Episode 79 — Play-a-Dungeon 2021!"

It’s our annual Build a Dungeon Special! Andy and Chris are joined by John Corey and Kyle Latino to brainstorm and build out a dungeon/adventure live on-air. Our next episode will be a play-through of the dungeon with some other special guests. Enjoy!

It’s our last “normal episode” of the year! Listen as Andy and Chris talk about what locations and time periods would make for great RPG settings.

Do the family, friends, and loved ones of your PCs play a role in your campaigns? Are they mostly there to disadvantage the PCs, or do they contribute something more to the game?

It’s Halloween one-shot season! Andy and Chris are both prepping spooky one-shots, and talk about how to quickly ease players into game rules that are new to them and make the most of the session.

This episode takes an unusual turn as Chris and Andy chat about the experience of “imposter syndrome”—of feeling unworthy to participate in this hobby we all love. After a heartfelt discussion, the episode closes out with a more upbeat talk about Halloween one-shots.

Andy and Chris discuss ways to get your players more invested in a roleplaying game—but not before they pursue tangents including Jack Vance’s “Dying Earth” novels and how to handle keeping-watch sequences at the table.

This week Chris talks with GM Phill Cameron! We talk about a lot of stuff including Vampire: The Masquerade, make a d6 table about the places you’ll go if you follow a butterfly, and then we even roll on the table to talk about designing puzzles.

Andy and Chris diverge from the show’s regular format to discuss a novel they both love and how to set meaningful stakes for RPG encounters… until Chris fails his saving throw and goes into a wild rant about the character creation process in D&D. Listen as they try to salvage some positive insight from Chris’ … Continue reading "Episode 71 — What’s Up with D&D Character Creation?"

We had ourselves a game convention! Chris and Andy share some brief reflections on the first Roll for Topic Con, a (very) mini-convention at which games were run, old RPG sourcebooks were traded, and fun was had.

Special guest Laura joins us to talk about the challenge of finding the right balance of tone and story at the gaming table. We also hear about Laura’s experience helping to organize the U-Con convention, and about her recently-finished East Texas University campaign, in which her players dealt with supernatural threats, midterm exams, and mean … Continue reading "Episode 69 — How Do You Balance Action, Levity, and Drama? (with guest GM Laura)"

What do large-scale battles look like in the games you run? Chris and Andy discuss the different ways that big battles can play out in a roleplaying game, and talk about the appeal and limitations of large-scale combat.

Amber Seger (@rocketorca) and Kyle Latino (@kylelatino) join Chris and Andy for part two of our playthrough of The Ground Itself! Show notes for Episode 67: Amber Seger, graphic designer, illustrator, co-owner of the Geekspective podcast network, and all sorts of other awesome things Kyle Latino, mad master of RPG maps The Ground Itself, the wonderful RPG … Continue reading "Episode 67 — ‘The Ground Itself’ Actual Play Part 2 (with Amber Seger and Kyle Latino)"

Amber Seger (@rocketorca) and Kyle Latino (@kylelatino) join Chris and Andy for an epic playthrough of The Ground Itself! Working together, we collaborate to tell the story of one extremely weird castle and the people who live and (maybe) die there. Show notes for Episode 66: Amber Seger, graphic designer, illustrator, co-owner of the Geekspective … Continue reading "Episode 66 — ‘The Ground Itself’ Actual Play Part 1 (with Amber Seger and Kyle Latino)"

After an opening reflection about character creation, Chris and Andy tackle the question that drives us all: what is THAC0, how does it work, and why do so many gamers point to it as a confusing stumbling block?

Join Chris, Andy, and guest GM Joel Boonstra as they venture off-script and deep into the heart of 1980s children’s cartoons! With the help of the Gamma World roleplaying game, they create a team of barge-dwelling crime-fighters certain to dominate Reagan-era toy store shelves and Saturday morning TV.

For a change of pace, Chris and Andy take a break from talking about roleplaying games and actually play one! We play a short game of Sports Are Just Numerology, a fun one-page RPG for two players by Ben Roswell. Listen as your co-hosts stumble through the frightening world of sports!

How are your physical game books a part of the experience of tabletop gaming? How do you handle, annotate, and use them at the table? Andy and Chris wade into questions about the beloved books that contain the games we play.

Once you have an idea for a new campaign, how do you make it happen at the table? Guest GM Murph joins Andy and Chris to discuss different ways to approach the first days of a new roleplaying game.

Andy and Chris get personal and share all about the campaigns they really want to run, but just can’t quite bring themselves to dive into. It’s a GM therapy session! Appendix: Band of Blades Friends at the Table The Quiet Year The Ground Itself The Great Pendragon Campaign Beyond the Mountains of Madness

Mazes and labyrinths are a fixture of fantasy roleplaying games, but are they actually fun? Chris and Andy talk about what goes into making mazes fun for your players to interact with. Episode 59 appendix: Candlekeep Mysteries, a new D&D compilation of library-themed adventures that Chris hopes to run soon. The Descent, a 2005 horror … Continue reading "Episode 59 — How Do You Use Mazes in a Roleplaying Game?"

Tim Saucer joins Andy and Chris to discuss his recently-completed Waterdeep: Dragon Heist campaign, before diving into this episode’s topic: how do you use PDFs and other digital game resources at your table?

Guest GM Matt Wilson (@hypomodern) joins the show to discuss his recently-finished 18-month campaign of “Eternal Lies”! Matt talks about what worked and what didn’t, how he adjusted the campaign for his table, and what GM tricks he used to make the experience come alive for his players. Episode 57 appendix: Eternal Lies, an epic … Continue reading "Episode 57 — “Eternal Lies” Campaign Postmortem (with Guest GM Matt Wilson)"

Guest GM Kyle Latino joins Andy and Chris to discuss luck, fate points, divine intervention, and other ways that games equip players with get-out-of-jail-free cards! We hear from Kyle about his new Kickstarter project, and then chat about every type of deus ex machina we can think of. Episode 56 appendix: Old Roads, Kyle’s map … Continue reading "Episode 56 — How Do You Handle Luck and Divine Intervention? (with guest GM Kyle Latino)"

Every GM knows that scheduling game nights is the hardest part of their job. Andy and Chris chat about how they manage (or fail) to get everybody to the gaming table.

Join us for a special acutal-play episode as GM Chris shepherds a party of guest players through “The Accidental Tomb,” the adventure we brainstormed in episode 53!

Please redownload this! We had an audio glitch with the original and needed to do a quick edit! Happy holidays! Andy and Chris welcome guests John Corey and Kyle Latino for a special episode in which they brainstorm a dungeon. Chris will DM this very dungeon in the next episode for a gang of unwitting … Continue reading "UPDATED: Episode 53 — Holiday Special: Live Build-a-dungeon!"

Chris and Andy create a d10 random table of unexpected things that can happen when the players start a fire—and after some discussion of Andy’s “Alien” campaign and D&D Christmas giving, we launch into our official topic: expectations you place (or don’t place) on your players at the start of a new campaign. d10 Mysterious/Interesting … Continue reading "Episode 52 — What Expectations Do You Place On Your Players When Starting a Campaign?"

Special guest GM Tim Saucer joins Andy and Chris to discuss the ins and outs of handling inventory, equipment, and encumbrance in roleplaying games. Plus, the gang puts together a special bonus Thanksgiving-themed random table, in case you need some holiday inspiration!

Brace yourselves for a big episode! Chris talks about his experience running a Halloween scenario for two very different groups of players. And then, to cap off the first “season” of the podcast, Andy and Chris brainstorm a new Table of Topics!

All all GMs are wont to do, Chris and Andy continue to break their self-imposed rules and make yet another d6 table on air. This time it’s all about fixing broken control panels on space ships. After that they talk about Andy’s upcoming Aliens inspired game and recap Chris’ halloween one shot. d6 table for … Continue reading "Episode 49 – Broken Control Panels, Aliens, and Spoopy Sitcom Recaps"

Chris and Andy break all the rules in a special episode centered around Halloween gaming. Listen as we create a d6 table you can roll on to see what scary things are happening in this warehouse (you needed one of those, right?), and then move on to discuss a unique Halloween game that Chris is … Continue reading "Episode 48 — Scary Warehouses, 90s Sitcoms, and Halloween One-shots"

Listen as Ryan Gough teaches Andy and Chris all about a game played by millions of people that they barely understand. For regular listeners this one is a bit far afield from what we normally do, but we thought it’d be fun to discuss on air. Hope you enjoy it! Extra special thanks to Ryan … Continue reading "Episode 47 – A Different Kind of Fantasy Gaming"

Do you build encounters and adventures in such a way that players have lots of opportunity to show off their character’s abilities, powers, and personality? Andy and Chris discuss!

Tom Knauss of Frog God Games joins us to discuss the new Lost Lands: Tehuatl Kickstarter. We enjoy an in-depth talk about the process of creating a Mesoamerica-themed setting book, then launch into this episode’s topic: how you care for your physical game books. Note: the sound quality for this episode isn’t up to our … Continue reading "Episode 45 — Tom Knauss, Tehuatl Kickstarter, and the Care and Feeding of Your Game Books"

This week Christopher Becker came on to talk about running set-piece encounters. Those points in your game where you take some special care to prepare. Do you break out special terrain or miniatures? Do you prepare a big speech for the BBEG to deliver? Do you treat every moment as a set-piece lovingly created for … Continue reading "Episode 44 — How Do You Prepare Set-piece Encounters?"