Hi and welcome back to Narrative Control.  This episode marks the end of Season 1 and offers a glimpse into Season 2.   Following that is the combined mistakes we've made over the last 10 months in a long series of bloopers.  Warning, many of these cuts were originally made because of profanity, so this episode is most definately explicit. Not safe for work or kids.

Hosts: Sean Nittner and Justin Evans

Length: 23:09

Show Notes

Sorry, not for this.  The first five minutes is a wrap up of Season 1 and intro Season 2.  The next twenty is nothing but bloopers.

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Hey all.  This week is a little long.  We’ve got two guests on the show, a convention to talk about and secrets to spill.  Check it!

Hosts: Sean Nittner and Justin Evans

Guest Hosts: Shaun Hayworth and Kirstin Hayworth

Warning: TMD + Con + NC = Swearing.  Lots of it.  Not safe for work (or kids)

Length: 38:49

[00:27] Intro to the show.  We’re at Kublacon with Shaun and Kristin from This Modern Death to talk about secrets in games.
[00:41] Where did I just wake up?
[01:31] Talking about secrets and segues.
[02:07] The games we’ve been in and how they handle secrets. 
[02:33] Sean’s Game – The Gift.  Lots of secrets.  We kept them secret from the players and I think it could have been improved if the players knew in advanced.  Actual Play write up here: http://wildljduck.livejournal.com/67833.html (scroll down a bit)
[05:29] How did the secrets get revealed.  Some were pushed for, others revealed to just some players,  and one I revealed in the middle of the game. Thus leading to what should have been a secret: A hall full of naked dwarves.
[06:30] Justin’s Game – Serpents in the Garden, a Fallout 3 LARP.  All of the players had secrets they could afford to trade.  Secrets turned into currency.
Comparing open (known by all players) vs. closed secrets.
[08:15] The conversation continued on This Modern Death… A link to the forum thread where the controversy started:  http://forum.thismoderndeath.com/comments.php?DiscussionID=202
[09:55] How secrets “can” be awesome if the reveal is just right.  How hard is it to make this happen?
[11:47] The excitement of everyone knowing the secret and pushing to see it revealed.
[13:08] Making a character out of a secret. Where does this go?  Telling stories to yourself.
[13:57] Sean’s disaster of a segue.  Recapping value of open vs. closed secrets.
Getting player buy in to reveal player secrets.
[15:41] Assure the players that revealing secrets won’t ruin their character.  Also getting an agreement from the other players not to step on each other’s fun.
[17:02] How this compares between campaign play vs. one shots.  Allows the players to moderate each other.
[18:13] When everyone knows about the secrets they are better at determining when they should come up.
[18:39] What about the player who enjoys the power of having a secret?  Make it into currency.  Allow them to trade the secrets for power or other secrets.
[19:38] As the currency starts flowing, let the secrets come back around.
[20:52] Use secrets as actual currency for plot elements.  Buying from the “secrets” vendor.
How to make the secrets come out in game
[21:46] Give the player a benefit for revealing their secrets. 
[22:17] Use that technique in Dread mechanically by allowing them to get free pulls by revealing their secrets.
[23:19] Segue to point 4! What are some good ways to make it happen.
[24:40] Incentivizing it.  Any system that has cookies you can hand out (fate chips, drama dice, etc).
[24:45] The GM can set expectations in advance about how and when secrets will be revealed.   Using an act structure that dictates when secrets must come out.  Also works as part of the pacing mechanic.
[26:25] More love for Luke Crane.  In Burning Wheel secrets move at the speed of plot.
[28:36] Having secrets revealed in advance, talked about outside of character, will push towards them being revealed in game.
[29:07] Confessionals.  Giving space for characters to speak directly to the audience.  
[30:43] How will this work in games that it is not genre appropriate?  Featured in Inspectres, but could be used in any game as a confessional scene, an interstitial scene, a journal entry, or as a thought bubble.
[32:06] One left… I hate it. Character Goals to get information from another.
[33:00] Secrets are best given voluntarily, not because of a malicious action of another player.
[33:32] This can work better in a large game like a LARP where secrets are traded around.
[33:58] Character goal secrets can also be something you want to reveal instead of hide.
[33:38] Going off script here!  What if you want to share a secret but don’t know how.
[37:50] Our secret goals…

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This week Justin and I are talking about timelines in games (flashbacks and flash forwards) and out (campaign length, how to end games, etc).

Hosts: Sean Nittner and Justin Evans

Length: 28:26

[00:27] Intro to the show. Talking about timelines in game and out.
[00:49] Telling stories about our characters.
[01:50] One way to tell stories in game is to use flash backs or flash forwards
[2:00] Justin pains me with a discussion of Lost
[03:10] Talking about timelines on two levels.

Flashing back and flashing forward

[03:30] We display our ignorance to games who incorporate time manipulation in their games.
[03:58] A LARP that flashed back and flashed forward throughout.  They worked from the far future and past closer to the present.
[06:15] This allows you to start on a very dramatic note.  Starting with tension in the present by using Flashbacks to explain how you got there.
[06:52] Flashbacks are very useful for fleshing out the backstory.
[07:14] Starting with a normal scene and flashing back (or forward) to a very tense one.
[08:06] Allows the group to ask a really specific question about the characters or the story.
[08:52] Potential pitfall of a flashback:  Plot immunity.   Opportunity to create relationships or beliefs.
[10:13] Flash forwards can tell us what scene we should be building towards.
[11:28] Potential pitfalls of flash forward: Players working against the story you are presenting.
[11:56] Something that you want to look to your group for buy in.

Structure of games

[13:02] Asking the question. How long to I want this game to run?  How should it end?
[13:29] An awkward Highlander reference.
[14:22] Prime Time Adventures uses a 5 or 9 episode season.  This works really well with the spotlight dynamic.
[15:24] Some games don’t pace the number of game sessions but they do work strongly towards and end game.
[15:54] The Shadow of Yesterday: Transcendence – Your character is written out of the story.
[16:35] Burning Wheel: Emotional Attributes force characters to leave the world in different ways.
[17:39] Dust Devils uses  harm  to push towards “The End”.
[18:29] My Life with Master constantly pushes towards the end of the game (and consequently the end of the characters).
[20:32] Creating a good end game… we don’t want to let the fun end.
[22:27] Taking away the sting of games ending.  Talking about the game afterwards.
[24:00] Building in time to debrief games at the end.
[25:10] Most LARPS end with all the players sharing their plotlines with each other.
[25:39] End long running games with a discussion of what the group will do next.  Removes some of the fear of the “cool” part ending.
[27:28] Ending this podcast with an assurance that there will be more cool ones to come, and you can remove the sting by coming to the forums.

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Welcome back to Narrative Control.  This week Justin and I respond to a old post by Vincent Baker on suspense, what cause it and how to add it to a game.

Hosts: Sean Nittner and Justin Evans

Length: 25:08

Show Notes
[00:28] Intro to the show.  What causes suspense in stories and how to recreate that in your games.
[00:39] RPGPodcast.com promo
[00:47] Do you ever doubt Jack Bauer will stop the terrorist in 24?
[01:43] What do we learn about in the first 23 hours?
[02:10] The question isn’t will he make it, but what does he have to do to get there.
[02:24] I didn’t think of this.  I read it on Vincent Baker’s blog.
[02:49] Suspense: What will the protagonist have to go through and how will they change?

Techniques we have used to create suspense

[03:33] Setting stakes that are not directly tied to the character goals.   Make the stakes involve the cost of success. Thank you Mario Brothers and Jim Butcher.
[05:18] Negotiating the stakes between GM and the players.
[05:56] Using dice cups to prolong the suspense.  Yup, we stole this from Sons of Kryos.
[06:51] Use several conflicts that create twists in the plot, still moving towards the final outcome.
[07:28] Scarcity of player resources (fate chips, action points, etc).  Players investing their resources for success.
[08:24] Using physical tokens to represent resources.  Players can see how they’ve got let.

Specific systems that have suspense building elements

[08:59] Gumshoe removes the rolling from investigation, but allows players to invest in their findings.
[09:58] Buying success in Wilderness of Mirrors.  Betraying your fellow spies.
[11:27] Resource points also act a pacing mechanic by establishing the number of obstacles you’ll face.
[11:58] Another post of Vincent Bakers: Chalk Outlines, which uses concessions to create twists.
[15:23] Schauermärchen. A different take on pass the stick models. 
[19:00] Polaris. Players creating twists for each other using a very ritualized format.
[20:34] Changes in the fiction are more meaningful than reducing player resources.  Discussion of hit points in Dungeons and Dragons vs. Sanity Loss in Call of Cthulhu.
[21:39] A variation of the core Spirit of the Century rules for consequences  instead of stress.
[22:25] Mouseguard has both conditions (which are meaningful in the fiction) or twists (which complicates the story)
[23:30] Shadow of Yesterday has the option of bringing down the pain to raise the stakes of a conflict.

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This week Justin and I talk about icebreakers, exercise and games to remove inhibitions and get everyone’s creative minds moving.

Hosts: Sean Nittner and Justin Evans

Length [28:25]

[00:26] Intro to the show. Talking about icebreakers, getting people comfortable playing together.
[00:54] RPGPodcats.com Promo
[01:05] Did you go to band camp?
[02:01] Why do we care about camp? Oh yeah, because we can rip off ideas from them.
[02:55] Links to camp games: http://www.ultimatecampresource.com/site/camp-activities/common-ground-icebreakers.page-1.html, http://www.humanpingpongball.com/
[03:39] Games at Gamestorm – camp style
[04:39] Scalagrim the Barbarian Prince.  Our Icebreaker routine.
[05:22] Part 1 - The Tale of Woe. Practicing “Yes, and…”  (a little over two minutes)
[08:17] Part 2 – The Epic Journey.  Practicing reading other players flags and sharing the spotlight. (just over a minute)
[10:41] Part 3 – The Oracle’s Answer. Practicing not interrupting each other and being flexible. (about a minute and a half)

(Total time for both explanation and performing the exercises, about seven minutes)

[12:57] Recap of what we got out of these icebreakers.

Games that have Icebreaker exercises built into them

[14:56] Prime Time Adventures pitch session.  Gets everyone on the same page about what kind of game everyone wants to play.
[15:43] Character creation in Spirit of the Century.  Building on each other’s pulp novel.
[16:42] Dogs in the Vineyard accomplishment.  Playing out one question you ask about your character.
[17:17] Mouse Guard Prologue.  A reward for recapping the previous game.   An icebreaker that also reminds everyone that happened last time and shows what parts they were excited about.
[18:35] World of Darkness Preludes.  Often a longer event, but we’ve done it as a single session where everyone ran their preludes simultaneously.

Games that you could play with people who haven’t role-played before

[20:47] Once Upon a Time.  A card game with fantasy tropes.  Mixes card game elements (like Uno) and storytelling.
[21:49] Are you a Werewolf.  A very scripted game that gets everyone talking, trying to discover the Werewolves.  Very much like reality TV elimination.

Role Playing Games that act as Icebreakers themselves.

[24:12] Breaking the Ice.  A game about two people meeting each other, but structured for two people (or more) learning to play a role-playing game.
[25:43] Sons of Liberty.  A game that encourages fast play and, like Once Upon a Time has a very visible mechanic that aids you in narration.
[26:33] Discussion of common elements in these ice breaker games.  Cards, cues, directions.  Let’s throw Zombie Cinema in the mix as well.

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Justin and I heard an episode of HGWT:FAFGM (#34) about structuring stories in RPGs and thought “Huh”.  Here’s the 25 minutes that followed our monosyllabic revelation.

Hosts: Sean Nittner and Justin Evans

Length: 25:35

[00:28] Introduction to the show.  Talking about story structure. Hippies vs. Engineers.
[00:57] Survey: http://www.spookyouthouse.com/survey
[01:19] Have Games Will Travel: For a Few Games More: #34.  Story structures.
[01:56] Dirty Hippies and Stinking Engineers
[02:11] Story Structure: A pattern that we fall into or actively follow when telling stories.
[02:47] Hippies: The original gamers playing moment to moment and allowing story to follow from their actions.   Allowing for more surprises, creativity, and immersion.
[05:07] Engineers:  A gamer who wants to structure their game and drive towards specific goals in each game.
[07:02] Games with known ends: Grey Ranks, Roanake, Polaris.  These games are one step closer to being engineered.
[07:36] Montsegur 1244 is very structured.  A story told in four acts.
[09:50] Distinction between Hippie Indie Gamers and Story structures Hippies
[10:29] Dungeons and Dragons:  A total hippie game.
[12:07] Patterns that we can draw on: Plays, TV shows, playing published adventures.
[15:15] Another engineered game: Dirty Secrets.  We all know when it will end but now how it will end.
[18:00] Zombie Cinema : Also engineered, also without a GM, also uses a board.  Hmmm… are we noticing a trend.
[19:49] Did the mechanics restrict the game?  Yes, in a good way.
[22:00] A negative experience engineering a game.  Some players really groove the hippie experience.

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This week on Narrative Control Paul Strack, Mike Parker and I talk about monsters in 4th Edition Dungeons and Dragons and what we’ve learned from the designers of the game.

Hosts: Sean Nittner

Guest Hosts: Michael Parker and Paul Strack

Length: 27:04

Show Notes:

[00:30] Intro to the show.  A sit down with Paul Strack and Mike Parker to talk about how 4E got monsters right.
[00:49] A RPG Podcast Survey:  http://www.spookyouthouse.com/survey
[01:14] Intro to the guys… some portion of Good Omens (http://www.goodomensgames.com)
[01:35] Planning the next Good Omens Convention – July 18th.  http://www.goodomensgames.com/index.php/con/
[02:13] 4th Edition does Minions really well.  Seen in other games: Feng Shui, 7th Sea but usually they never pose a threat.
[03:15] Not the way mooks are depicted in fiction, which is to heighten the tension of the story.
[03:50] Mike’s use of Minions to shake up a fight and change expectations.
[04:30] The difference is that in other games, everything about a minion is scaled down so not only are they easy to take out, but they also don’t pose a threat.   4th Edition breaks that, lowering their damage and hit points but keeping their defenses and attacks on par with the players.
[05:33] Usually they have some powers up their sleeve as well.
[06:00] Minions can really help the “big bad” giving him advantages… correction though that the 4th edition folks will catch, grab immobilizes and doesn’t grant combat advantage, but you get the point.
[06:41] Comparing to more recent incarnations of minions.  A Spirit of the Century minion. 
[08:02] Mike’s adaptation of Minion in his Hunter game.
[08:48] Can this scale up with supernatural powers?  How do minions fit into the horror genre?
[10:17] How to put it in other games?  One hit kills but they have teeth.
[10:39] What about groups of minions? Can they be treated as a unit and still be a threat.
[11:44] Making minions complimentary to the Big Bad’s plans.
[12:27] Prevents the “everyone clobber one guy” phenomenon.
[13:35] The Solo monster.  The idea that you would treat a single big boss differently
[14:26] In most games the big bad is scaled up in all aspects making him more dangerous but also more frustrating to fight.
[15:47] What makes solo bosses work in Dungeons and Dragons and how to we port that into another game?
[16:10] They formalize how they break the rules.  If you are big you get extra tricks.
[16:54] How about in a very narrative game? Take PTA for example.   Give the big bad a bigger buffer that you would usually have.
[18:10] The Spirit of the Century chase mechanics.  A very back and forth system that rolls several conflicts into one.
[18:55] Giving the main villain some form of plot immunity.
[19:42] What about a stake setting game? Should we negotiate stakes to protect antagonists?
[21:49] Polaris and the formalized player negotiation, how to scale the escalation of consequences.
[22:40] We get the same things for Solo bosses as we do for minions.  Scale them up on in certain places.
[23:30] Monsters are treated statistically different.   In other games we see this break down as powerful villains become incredibly complex to create and to play.
[25:00] Save a lot of time for both the GM and the players
[25:46] The rule of three.   The bag guy needs 3-4 abilities because that is all the time he’s going to live.
[26:00] This is a very gamist attitude.  If you can give up on simulation it will be rewarding.

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Hi and welcome back to Narrative Control.  Here's a snippet I cut from last episode about PDF vs. Print media.  It seems like a good conversation to be having right now.

Hosts: Sean Nittner, Justin Evans
Guests Hosts: Shaun Hayworth, Kristin Sullivan

Length: 9:29

Show Notes

Check out the Podcast Survey at: http://www.spookyouthouse.com/survey

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Hi and welcome back to Narrative Control.  This week we’ve got guests… guests who like us are broke but still want to game.  So we’re going to talk about how to get your game on during this tough economy.

Hosts: Sean Nittner, Justin Evans
Guests Hosts: Shaun Hayworth, Kristin Sullivan

Length: 22:35

Show Notes

[00:29] Introduction to the show: Gaming while broke with guests Shaun Hayworth and Kristin Sullivan from This Modern Death.
[00:57] Editing issues.  Trying to keep these shows in the 20 to 25 minute range. 
[01:19] A short episode (number 26) will follow this one about PDF vs. print media. 
[01:47] This Modern Death Promo
[02:22] Kristin introduces the show for us. Our normal introduction… only longer… and with sniping.
[03:40] Money spent on microphones (and maybe kids) prevent us from having a lot of money to buy gaming books
[04:10] Some game systems are expensive to get into: White Wolf, Shadowrun, Dark Heresy.
[04:37] Even some indie games are expensive.  Burning Empires is beautiful but it can set you back.
[05:51] John Wick talks about how games really haven’t gotten that much more expensive: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clmdJy0GJms&feature=channel_page

Starting at the bottom: What free games are out there

[06:36] Dan Bayn’s “Wushu”.  Core game and Matrix supplement: http://www.bayn.org/wushu/freebies.html  Free settings on Saberpunk.net: http://wiki.saberpunk.net/Wushu/WorldsAmpSettings  Wuxalted, an Exalted Wushu adaptation: http://www.voidstate.com/rpg/Wushu-Exalted_Rules_1.5.pdf  Wuxalted Redux Wiki: http://wiki.rpg.net/index.php/Wuxalted_Redux
[06:57] Rob Bohl’s “Misspent Youth”: http://misspentyouthgame.com/
[07:02] Spirit of the Century SRD: http://www.faterpg.com/dl/sotc-srd.html  Shadow over Yesterday:  The 2.5 Version: http://zork.net/~nick/loyhargil/tsoy2/book1--rulebook.html  The 3.0 Wiki Version: http://tsoy.crngames.com/
[07:35] Dungeons and Dragons 3.5 SRD is still available: http://www.d20srd.org/
[07:58] Ben Lehmans “XXXXtreme STREET luge”: http://swingpad.com/dustyboots/wordpress/?p=235
[08:08] Four Color System (the old Marvel RPG mecahincs): http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product_info.php?products_id=50837&it=1
[08:20] Development on the Forge: http://www.indie-rpgs.com/
[08:33] 24 Hour RPG submissions: http://www.24hourrpg.com/ (Click on “Entries”).   Game Chef: http://game-chef.com/index.shtml
[08:49] Jared Sorenson’s challenge to create and market a game in 30 days on the Story-Games forum: http://www.story-games.com/
[10:07] Getting in during the development process.  Play-test games.

What about spending a couple bucks

[10:22] Houses of the Blooded.  FIVE BUCKS for the PDF: http://www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/product.php?productid=16617&cat=0&page=1
[10:48] Going to local conventions at game stores… like Good Omens Con: http://www.goodomensgames.com/index.php/con/
[11:17] Many game stores do demos of games.
[11:25] International Dungeons and Dragons day: http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/dnd/20050726x

Sources for old games

[12:02] Buying from convention flea markets, Ebay, local used book stores.
[12:54] Old games work looking at again: Castle Falkenstein and James Bond
[13:26] Good deals on Fred Hick’s blog.  Check it out here: http://drivingblind.livejournal.com/   Some other designer blogs not mentioned in the podcast:
John Wick: http://wickedthought.livejournal.com/
Vincent Baker: http://www.lumpley.com/
Paul Tevis: http://gameslinger-enterprises.com/
Jason Morningstar: http://gameslinger-enterprises.com/
Ben Lehman: http://benlehman.livejournal.com/
[14:08] Shaun’s pearl of wisdom: Pay attention to the internet.
[14:45] The Ashcan front: http://www.ashcanfront.net/
[15:20] Game chef anthologies:
[15:43] Another $5 John Wick Game: Wilderness of Mirrors: http://www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/product.php?productid=16756
[16:23] Very cheap… sometimes free PDFs on http://www.indiepressrevolution.com/ and http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/
[17:13] Repurpose existing games into something else.
[17:30] Lots of reasonable indie supplements.  Roanoke for $10: http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=20794&it=1
[17:43] Listen to podcast about games: http://www.rpgpodcasts.com
[18:22] Borrow from your friends.  Pass books around your circle of gamers.  Should we take good care of our books? 
[19:57] Shaun’s method of getting over the new-book feel.
[20:50] Pimping all of our forums and such.  Kristin’s Brain Place: http://babe.thismoderndeath.com

Links

Not mentioned in the show, but very useful is John H. Kim’s list of free games on darkshire.net: http://www.darkshire.net/jhkim/rpg/freerpgs/

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Hi and welcome back to Narrative Control.  This week I surprise Justin with 10 questions about his gaming preferences as an exercise to learn more about your players.

Hosts: Sean Nittner and Justin Evans

Length: 45:17

Show Notes

[00:25] Introduction the show: An experiment asking Justin 10 questions.
[02:17] Sorry about the sound quality.  Our new microphones picked up a lot more background noise.
[02:54] This Modern Death Promo
[03:49] What about role-playing games do you like?
[04:23] How does playing RPGs make you feel?
[08:16] What other activities make you feel the same way?
[09:33] What do you look like/sound like when you’re enjoying a game?
[11:47] What is a buzz kill for you, what makes the game not fun?
[15:47] What limits do you have when gaming? What don’t you want in a game?
[24:50] What do you want to happen at the end of a game session?
Hmmm…. Not quite 10 there. Yeah, I missed some.  We’ll get another one at the end.
[25:54] Questions are finished. Sean takes a minute to think… For the benefit of all, that minute has been edited out.
[26:00] Sean’s idea for a game.  1920 Gritty Crime Story.
[29:00] Justin’s revisions.
[33:05] Recap of the questions.
[33:38] Missing Question: What non-gaming activities do you like to do?
[33:36] Continuation of recap.  Creating a proposal, followed by revisions.
[37:31] Justin’s follow up question: Where there any answers that surprised Sean?
[38:59] Continued speculation. We’re going to start guessing now.
[41:31] Sean’s thought: these would be good questions to ask before starting a game.
 
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This episode Justin and I talk about what we’ve learned from video games and how we can draw inspiration from them and learn from their pitfalls.

Hosts: Sean Nittner and Justin Evans

Length: 29:49

Show Notes
[00:28] Introduction to the show – Inspiration from video games
[00:40] Some great discussion on our boards about conflict resolution here and here.
[01:05] Format of the show, inspiration, pitfalls and some personal stories.
[01:29] RPGPodcasts.com Promo
[01:37] Justin’s thrilling adventure.
[02:52] Sean’s protest. Video games don’t have the story or role-playing that tabletop RPGs do.
[04:00] Sean’s use of images, lore, etc from World of Warcraft in his Burning Warcraft game.
[05:00] Erik Woodbury’s LARP: Peace at Arathi Basin.  Video game setting, using the strengths of a LARP.
[06:15] Comparing the guessed budget of Feng Shui and Grand Theft Auto. 
[07:34] Level design as an analog for quests.
[08:17] Set pieces in games, the main encounters.
[08:56] The boss fight.  A spotlighted encounter that required fighting with different tactics.
[10:11] How this can backfire.  Make sure the character’s matter.
[12:53] Save points. Logical places to stop a session. Ending the story on a high point.
[14:30] Mouseguard session structures encapsulates the mission goals and makes sure they are resolved by the end of the session.
[15:15] A warning: avoid the grind.  Examples of the grind in video games and then in popular role-playing game.
[18:30] Justin’s fresh can of hate.  The Keep on Shadowfell.
[20:21] Some advice from Dungeons and Dragons insider: Every encounter should be meaningful to the story and have stakes the characters care about.
[22:04] A question of scaling.  Does the opposition scale with you?
[22:57] Different systems scale in different ways.  In some systems this isn’t an issue. Examples of Burning Wheel, Dungeons and Dragons and Scion.
[25:19] Justin’s story playing Oblivion.  A Minotaur in the inn?
[26:40] Fallout 3, how scaling has changed in video games.
[27:28] Sean’s analog in a D&D game where his character DID become more powerful than the status quo.  “Oh crap, it’s Sadric!”
 

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Hi and welcome back to Narrative Control.  This week Justin and I are talking about coaching players, helping them to contribute more to the game and get more out of it.

Hosts: Sean Nittner and Justin Evans

Length: 29:39

Show Notes

[00:27] Introduction to the show: Coaching players.
[01:17] RPGPodcasts.com promo
[01:33] Trying to tell a story without context… it’s hard.
[02:17] The old saying “It’s easier to tell as story with limits” – Is this really an old saying?
[03:15] Coaching players: Helping them tell good stories.
[03:25] A reading from Play Unsafe by Graham Walmsley. Sometimes at conventions players just want the GM to lead them through an adventure.
[04:47] Why players might be afraid of doing something “wrong?”
Establishing the theme of the game
[05:32] When kicking off a game, make sure everyone is telling the same story.
[05:55] In the beginning of a game establishing the theme of the game.  Make sure your players a buying in from the start.
[06:39] Example: The spy genre is very diverse.  Pussy Galore and Jason Bourne don’t belong in the same story.
[07:05] Fear the Boot “Group Template” - Players defining why their group is together and what they will be doing.
[09:05] Randy’s idea: A reality TV show of drivers on the Doc Wagon.
Establishing the goal or objective of the game.
[09:45] Up front: What is the goal of the game?  Make sure that the characters have appropriate long term goals
[11:03] Giving players short term goals they can achieve right away.  Example: Burning Wheel’s beliefs system.
[12:27] Shadows of Yesterday uses experience keys to make explicit short term goals.
[12:49] Kristin from This Modern Death suggested getting rid of the WoD Virtues and Vices and replacing them with activities you’re proud of and those which you use for coping.
[14:22] Plot Cards.  Easy short term goals that you can give out randomly to the players.  This encourages certain scenes to come up.
[16:27] Incentivizing player generated scenes with in game rewards (fate chips, drama dice, etc)
[16:45] Justin’s Firefly themed plot cards at www.sinistergame.com
Getting players to shine the spotlight on each other.
[17:28] Players were more forceful personalities hoarding the spotlight?
[18:03] What if the job of a player was to shine the spotlight on other people?  The idea came from Son’s of Kryos. You have to endure one of Sean’s stories.  Ways to encourage this.
[19:42] Burning Wheel: The helping mechanic tends to benefit you more than using the skill on your own.
[20:40] Sharing a common pool of XP and limiting how much each character can generate, so everyone has to participate to gain the group it’s greatest reward.
[21:45] Fan Mail from Prime Time Adventures. Fan mail allows you to enter a scene with a supporting role.
Rewards for good role-playing, make both hosts uncomfortable.
[22:42] Many games include an XP reward for good role-playing.  Assigning a reward to the MVP and Workhorse.
[24:40] Encourages people to continue hogging the attention and can disappoint other players.
[25:09] We also see this at con games.  Swag going to the “winner” of the game. A good idea from Rich Taylor. Giving the reward to the player that made the game the most fun for everyone else.
Games that rotate narrations, encouraging people to take the stage.
[26:45] Prime Time Adventures (I know… again) gives out a random narration element, allowing different people to narrate every scene.  Not mentioned in the podcast but another game that does this is Dust Devils.
[27:30] A similar mechanic in Zombie Cinema.  Choose a side in any conflict and decide if you want to ally, giving you a chance to narrate. 

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Hi and welcome back to Narrative Control.  This episode we’re turning 21 and celebrating by getting a little drunk.  The podcast is a long one (largely due to our inebriation) and it veers from our usual format.  The first twenty minutes is a comical review of a d20 Module, The Pleasure Prison of the B'thuvian Demon Whore, which arguably couldn’t have been taken seriously even if we were sober.  The rest of the show (almost an hour) is our recap of DundraCon 2009.    We also welcome a new voice on the show, Josh Curtis, who tells us how to be an “Elite” game master.

Also… we’ve got the explicit tag on this one for a reason.  You’ve been warned.

Hosts: Sean Nittner, Justin Evans, and Josh Curtis.

Length: 1:14:23

Show Notes

[00:27] Intro to the show.  Game module and convention review.
[01:13] What is an Elite Game master? I guess not Sean.
[02:08] What are we doing? A review of The Pleasure Prison of the B'thuvian Demon Whore.  Actual play!
[20:00] What are we doing here? Celebrating our 21st episode.
[21:18] Introducing Josh Curtis
[22:48] Hungered for some good gaming and found it at DundraCon!
[23:39] Review: “The Gift” – Sean’s Burning Wheel game.
[30:00] Review: The Pajama LARP
[31:52] Review: Deathwish, a variant of Dust Devils
[33:28] Review: “Firefly: Lap of Luxury” – Justin’s Firefly game, using FATE mechanics.
[34:53] Drunk morons singing.
[35:28] Episodic Con games. Win or Fail?
[37:38] Josh’s comparison useful backstory vs. GMs giving too much irrelevant information.
[42:30] Review: “The Hand You’re Dealt” – Rich Taylor’s Werewolf: The Apocalypse game.
[44:19] “Oh Shit, there I was!”
[45:26] What else was good at the con? Not the food.
[46:39] Review: Zar and Superhero LARP… actually mostly just bullshit.
[48:12] Review: Zombie Cinema
[54:32] Review “Ribbons” Justin’s Horror game, using FATE mechanics!  Eat that TMD.
[01:07:something something] End of the show… we’re really tired. Not sure if this part is worth listening too but by this point in the editing, I got too tired to cut.

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Hi and welcome back to Narrative Control. This episode is a long one.  Justin and I are talking about Horror elements in stories and how to bring those into your games.

Hosts: Sean Nittner and Justin Evans

Length: 53:23 - Told you it was a long one

Show Notes

[00:28] Introduction: Horror in RPGs.  Breaking down the horror genre, distilling the elements and then talking about systems that back up those themes
[01:33] Sean trying to scare Justin.  Can you just make a fear check?
[02:10] Are we trying to scare the character or the player, or both?
[02:40] Call out to Rich, who asked us to talk about genres and the games that fit into them.
[03:30] What makes a horror story?  Different types.
Definitions: Horror Genres.
[04:00] Splatter horror.  Buckets of Blood!  Going for shock value.
[05:35] Haunted House.  Alien: A Haunted House in space.  Suspense horror, hidden from the audience as well as the protagonists.  Excitement of piecing the clues together and the edge of the seat suspense.
[06:50] Psychological Thriller.  Getting into the mind of the killer.  Warning: Spoilers.  Looking into the protagonists.  External conflict serves to spotlight the internal issues. 
[08:18] Pimping the Dresden Files one more time!
[08:49] Monster hunter story.  Action/Suspense vs. Horror?
[09:53] Survival Horror.  Hunted by the monsters.  The end is never certain.
Elements of a Horror Story
[11:27] Suspense. Will we make it out of here alive?  Not a very interesting question.  Only relevant in games where death is possible.
[12:30] Spiral into insanity. Getting into the mind of the killer.  What happens to you?
[13:12] Investigation.  Following the trail of clues.
[13:44] Paranoia. Who can you trust?
[14:50] Inevitable doom.  The story is about the struggle.
[16:08] Hope and Despair.  Balances the story, give the protagonists a reprieve or a allow them to accomplish something important.
Systems that support Horror Stories
[18:08] Justin’s game in the Fate System.  This Modern Death said this wasn’t possible.  How will Justin use Fate’s internal mechanics to tell a horror story? “Cuts himself to feel alive” is still an aspect!
[20:20] Making the story personal to the characters.  Players handing out aspects to each other, using back story, etc.
[23:13] Sanity decks.  A consequence for failing a resolve roll.  The cards give an aspect that reflects you’re loss of Sanity.  (Available at sinstergames.com soon).
[25:29] Dresden Files RPG will be much grittier than Fate.   There are fewer Fate chips and the GM is given license to really pound on the protagonists.  Not quite horror.
[26:35] Call of Cthulhu. One of the first games to offer a mechanic around sanity loss.  Sean has to get over his dislike of percentile system, but the sanity system was novel in creating consequences.
[29:25] Unfortunately Cthulhu became an inside joke.  Ryan Macklin talked about this on Master Plan on his episode on emergent play.
[30:55] Gumshoe. A game system designed specifically to facilitate investigation.  Each clue is found and then leads to another scene.
[33:32] Roanoke.  Uses a Doom Counter to measure the final endgame.  Allowing players to put nails in their own coffins.
[37:08] Dread.   The “pull” created an increasing level of danger… for everyone.  This makes the danger present visible to everyone.    Also, allows for a brief reprieve after someone dies.  Models survivor horror very well and creates a pacing system.
[41:18] Don’t Rest Your Head.  Uses Despair to make bad situations worse, but that fuels Hope, which can buy a brief reprieve.  Creates an economy of despair and hope.
[43:58] Don’t Rest your Head… again.  Players also have the ability to bring in horrific elements: Exhaustion and Madness.   Trading power for self destruction.  Players have to balance success against risking their character’s sanity.
[46:55] World of Darkness.  How unimpressed Sean is by the lack of Horror on WoD games.  Very hard to create suspense.  Can work when playing mortals, but much less so than when playing monsters.  There is some support from the system: Willpower, Virtue, Vice, etc. 
[52:00] Wrap up.  Looking for other suggestions for shows. Email us or get on the forums. 

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Hi and welcome back to narrative control.  This week Justin and I are talking about board games, specifically what we’ve taken from them to improve our role-playing games.

Hosts: Sean Nittner and Justin Evans

Length: 20:40

Show Notes:

[00:29] Introduction: Using principals from board games in your RPGs.
[00:57] RPGPodcasts.com Promo
[01:03] Hey Sean, do you like Math?
[01:32] Character sheets are full numbers… one big story problem?
[02:33] Board games have a very focused play.  We all know what the game is about.
[03:33] Using physical representations of math (poker chips, tokens, glass beads, etc)
[05:22] This helps a GM gauge the status of the player characters.
[07:07] Using a “board” i.e. a battle map and miniatures
[08:35] A counter system to measure the external threat (e.g. doom counters).
[09:27] Mapping out extended skill challenges
[11:41] Game Mastery’s “Item Cards”
[12:32] Physical Representation of a Mechanic.  Mini games inside the game.
[13:29] Using timers to create tension and enforce urgency
[13:50] Dread’s mechanic.  The Jenga Tower
[14:19] An example of bringing this all together.  Zombie Attack!
[17:34] Preventing player analysis paralysis.
[19:10] Closing. Let us know how board game elements have improved or detracted from your games.

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Hi and welcome back to Narrative Control. This episode continues our discussion on running games at conventions. This episode is about how to get the game started quickly and get the players into the action.

Hosts: Sean Nittner and Justin Evans

Length: 24:36

Show Notes

[00:26] Introduction to the Show: Hitting the ground running
[00:56] Canon Puncture Promo, er maybe Atomic Ray Podcast Promo
[01:46] Part II of running con games. How to get the game rolling quickly.
[02:46] Starting games with a bang. Showcase each character’s ability.
System
[03:45] Teaching the mechanics to the players.
[04:41] Start by making sure you’re players are equipped with everything they need.
[05:21] Provide a quick summary of relevant rules.
[07:25] Teach rules as needed.
[08:27] Focus on the mechanics that you are going to be using for this game
[09:15] Providing “half-baked” characters.
Setting
[09:50] See what you can trim from the system and setting to make it manageable.
[11:48] Setting exposition in game.
[12:02] Focusing on one portion of a setting.
Characters
[12:20] Give each character an agenda.
[13:50] Some systems provide these: Burning Wheel, SotC, etc
[14:05] How to provide direction if the system doesn’t have a mechanic for it.
[16:09] Creating interconnections between player characters
Pacing
[16:39] You know what sucks?
[17:41] Woops… should have been in the last episode. Playtest your games.
[18:44] Watch the clock and jump to endgame when it time is short.
[19:54] Short circuit the end conflict if necessary
[20:23] Making sure all the players have had the spotlight.
[20:41] Factoring in cleaning up after the game.
Closing
[22:11] Summary and request for feedback
[22:25] Make sure you know the game mechanics well yourself.

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Hi and welcome back to a “regular” version of Narrative Control.  This week Justin and I talk about preparing for convention games.  The first two thirds of the show covers creating a strong threat or plot and creating props.  The second portion begs the question, is preparation really necessary?

Hosts: Sean Nittner and Justin Evans

Length: 32:06

Show Notes
[00:27] Intro to the show – Preparing for Convention Games
[00:46] This Modern Death Promo
[01:35] Conventions coming up that we are excited about: DundraCon, Kubla Con and …. GEN CON!
[02:04] To run a good game we have to prepare, or do we?
[02:47] What experience you want to give your players at a convention.
[03:03] Teaching new players the game.  Important?
[03:31] Start with a central threat or plot that will engage all of the players (and their characters)
[04:00] Story shaped by system or system picked to fit a story?
[05:09] Generating characters that will have a common interest.
[06:18] Opening scenes used to introduce the story, the mechanics and excite the players.  Idea from Prime Time Adventures that shows start when something major has just changed.
[07:23] James Bond movies make a great format for con games.  Start with an opening vignette that shows the protagonists full of awesome and lead into the main story.
[08:08] Gnome Spy Games:  Gnome Impossible!, Dr. Gnome and Gnomes Like Us.
[08:45] Many conventions games spoof popular media. Win or Fail?
[09:55] Win! Gathers interest, sets expectations and creates familiarity.
[10:27] Fail. Players might not take the game seriously.
[11:37] Props!  Justin and I both love them.
[11:53] Definitions: Props are anything you physically provide for the players, including dice, character sheets, nourishment, your appearance, etc.
[13:05] Character sheets.  Make them evoke the feel of the game as well as provide easy access to relevant game statistics.
[14:50] Props can eat up a lot of time, hopefully not a lot of money.
[15:38] Examples of cheap props.  Tape cassette character sheets.
[16:58] Call of Cthulu published adventures came with props included.
[17:45] My experience with “One Ring” regarding props.
[18:20] Backfired for Justin, players hording props.
[18:46] Props that can’t be hidden! Daggers, Amulets, etc.
[19:59] Some other cheap and easy props.   Templates in Microsoft Word (faxes, form letters, resumes, etc)
[20:16] Paper props for Fantasy Games.  Making them yourself?
[21:14] Some resources: Gamer the Podcasting and Ronin Arts.
[22:18] Wear your props! Another cheap creation I used for My Life with Joker.
[23:39] Build to your strengths. Make props that are fun for you to create.
[24:00] High Tech: Justin’s pseudo-CDC website for the characters.
[24:40] Is any of this preparation necessary?
[24:58] Some pickup games are really designed to be played on the fly.  Example of Spirit of the Century.
[26:06] Pickup plots guarantee that they are character driven.
[26:27] Different genre’s.  What about pickup horror?
[27:57] In pickup games, it is important to have the players invest in the creation.  Creating characters and feeding ideas to the GM is part of the fun!
[29:16] Setting expectations before the game starts, helps people play to the strengths of that genre.
[30:04] Dogs in the Vineyard.  A game that works well as a pickup, specifically because of the early introduction to the system and setting.

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Happy new year and welcome back to Narrative Control. This episode, recorded just after Christmas (on Boxing Day in fact) is a reflection of our 2008 and our hopes for 2009.  This episode as also much more relaxed than any we’ve done before.  You might light our antics or you might be frustrated by the lack of concrete useful information.  If the later, don’t worry I’ll be streaming a “regular” episode shortly.

Hosts: Sean Nittner and Justin Evans

Length: 33:41

Show Notes

None this time.  Not that I couldn’t do show notes for this episode, but we don’t hit bullet points like we normally do.  The first half is about what we loved in 2008 and the second half is what we’re looking forward to in 2009.  Enjoy.

Hi, welcome to Narrative Control Episode 15. This week Justin and I tackle different resolution methods (task, conflict and scene), give a couple examples, talk about the strengths and weaknesses, and as always talk about ways we use them in our games.

Hosts: Sean Nittner and Justin Evans

Length: 24:00

Show Notes

[00:32] Introduction to the show. Task, Conflict and Scene resolution.
[01:03] A lot of podcasts celebrating 2, 3 or even 4 years of syndication. Check them out at RPGPodcats.com
[01:47] Brilliant Gameologists Promo
[02:03] My New Years Resolutions… not
[02:20] What are we talking about?
[02:38] Task Resolution Definition by way of example.
[05:13] Consequence of failure in task resolution.
[06:22] Conflict Resolution defined by Justin.
[07:13] Consequences of successes or failure in conflict resolution.
[07:54] Player narration either way.
[08:08] Settings stakes
[10:45] Comparing Task and Conflict resolution.
[11:40] 4th Edition Dungeons and Dragons skill challenge. A blend of the two.
[12:27] Examples of systems that use conflict resolution. Wilderness of Mirrors, Shadows of Yesterday, Chalk Outlines.
[14:47] Mixing the two. Games that aren’t explicit about resolutions. Don’t Rest Your Head, you can go either way.
[15:14] Example of combining the two in a 4th Edition Dungeons and Dragons Pirate battle. Task resolution became too tedious. Macro vs. Micro mechanics.
[18:16] Justin unveils it… Scene resolution. Ending each scene with a lead.
[20:23] Task vs. Conflict resolution. Final Showdown!
[23:00] Closing. Let us know what you think. What have your experiences been?

Links

RPGPodcats.com
Brilliant Gameologists
Dungeons and Dragons
Wilderness of Mirrors
Shadows of Yesterday
Chalk Outlines
Don’t Rest Your Head

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Hi and welcome to Narrative Control, Episode 14.  This week Justin and I talk about bringing indie games to your table.  We share some of the resistance we’ve experienced as well as offer some advice for how to get your group to open up and try one out.

Hosts: Sean Nittner, Justin Evans

Length: 18:01

Show Notes

[00:28] Intro to the show. Bringing indie games to your kitchen table.
[01:03] Give credit where it’s due.  Thanks to you Mikael.
[01:36] Battle of Wits cards. Sinstergame.com domain name down.  Backup URL: http://02af916.netsolhost.com/sinistergame/
[02:07] Narrative Control Holiday Schedule.
[02:45] RPG Podcast Promo
[02:55] Sean’s problem.  Cream is available.
[03:16] Sean’s other problem. I want to play indie games.
[04:56] I’m missing cookies.  That must be the problem.
[05:22] Perception of indie games. Lack of familiarity. This is something new. I don’t know what that is.
[05:52] More responsibility being placed in the hands of the players.
[07:09] Traditional games don’t have a mechanic for handing over narrative control.
[08:20] Idea that Indie games are one-shot games.  This could discourage players who want to see long term games and character progression.
[10:24] How I’ve been able to convince my group to try a game.
[10:28] Lead by example.  Want to play a game? Run it!
[10:58] Focus on just the first session of a game.  Character creation or a pitch session.
[12:28] Focus on the setting or genre of the game rather than the system. 
[13:34] Justin’s synopsis of my methods: be sneaky, sugar coat it. Thanks Justin.
[13:48] Try to tailor games to the player’s interest.
[14:18] Are there any gateway games? Have I been gushing about Fate enough already?
[15:15] Start with a gateway system or hack in indie elements into traditional games?
[17:06] Request for feedback.  Let me know if you’ve had the same frustrations or if you have some other solutions.

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Hi, and welcome back to Narrative Control. This is my 13th episode, my 4th show on the Dresden Files RPG, but my first... numero uno interview. Fred Hicks, from Evil Hat was kind enough to share one of his afternoons talking to me about Dresden files, reviewing our experiences as play testers and share a little behind the scenes look at creation of his games. I had a great time talking to Fred and I hope you enjoy the conversation.

Hosts: Sean Nittner, interviewing Fred Hicks

Length: 31:13

Show Notes

[00:29] Intro to the Show – Interview with Fred Hicks
[00:51] Links to Battle of Wits not resolving. Email us for a copy: narrativecontrol@gmail.com
[01:24] Show was recorded with Skype and PowerGramo – How did it sound?
[01:54] This Modern Death Promo
[02:31] Welcome to _a_ Fred Hicks
[03:03] First Question from a listener Mikael – Talk about Points of Tension
[03:10] Fred has discussed this before with Ryan Macklin at Master Plan, Episode 33
[03:46] Points of tension start around resource management, always wanting more.
[05:10] This should move the character from a static state and tilt them in one direction
[06:10] In Dresden Files RPG this is expressed in trading Free Will for Power.
[07:15] Which is more important? System or Setting? Neither and Both!
[09:20] Structure of the aspects also affects this. The "Theme" aspect in particular drives the conflicts.
[10:45] The Character Sheet is a lover letter to the GM. I love you, but do these things and I'll love you even more.
[11:37] Don't Rest Your Head created to some extent to bring the level of character pain Fred had been looking for.
[12:00] Where did the idea of a love letter to the GM come from?
[12:56] What you want is on the character sheet. Giving weight to the soft want.
[14:34] The Kirk effect!
[15:38] Second Question - Anticipated format of the game. Dresden Files is pitched as a campaign game.
[17:38] Advancement system is going to center around major story arcs as a unit of time.
[18:43] Major milestones - Raising Refresh (new powers!) and joining a new weight class.
[19:02] Minor advancement - Gaining a few skill points or parts of character evolution, shuffling skills and aspects.
[19:47] Characters changing is interesting, not necessarily getting more powerful. Change is cheap. Growth takes a long time.
[21:23] Third Question - Changes from SoTC. Stunts and Damage system!
[22:10] Stunt creation is now explicit. Empowering players to create their own.
[24:20] Supernatural Stunts are where the system really enforces the feeling of the Dresdenverse.
[26:02] Fred's goal is to publish a game sticks close to canon but leaves doors up.
[27:00] Damage System. Getting hit HURTS!
[28:00] Consequences are so proximate that you're always fearing them coming on.
[29:07] Broken, Bruised, Bleeding, Demoralized and Scared as Hell - The way a Dresden fight should end.
[29:50] An example of social conflict: Harry in the car with Marcone the first time they meet.

Links

Evil Hat
Dresden Files RPG
This Modern Death
Master Plan Podcast

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Hi and welcome back to Narrative Control, Episode 12. This week Justin and I talk about players characters taking actions that disrupt the group, either by upsetting another player or by removing their character from the scope of the game.

Hosts: Sean Nittner and Justin Evans

Length: 22:36

Liner Notes

[00:28] Intro to the show. Player characters taking actions that step on other players fun.
[00:49] Battle of Wits, the card system based on the Duel of Wits from Burning Wheel at Sinistergame.com
[01:35] RPGPodcasts.com Promo
[01:55] “That’s what my character would do” – We borrowed this topic from Episode 55 of Son’s of Kryos.
[02:51] Definition: Players taking actions that upset other players or take actions that remove their character from the story.
[04:05] Preventative Methods: Come to an agreement about what the game is going to be about ahead of time.
[04:26] One element to hash out: Situation. What is going on?
[04:42] Yeah, we found this one in Prime Time Adventures as well in the pitch session. This will define the theme of the game, the genre, and the characters or character archetypes.
[05:22] Example pitch session: Ch-osh-kys. Clerks meets Office Space.
[06:13] Concessions we made to include all the elements we wanted: Hardware plus food.
[06:45] Situation: The two stores have just been purchased and are merging together.
[06:54] Characters: The Lifer, the snotty kid and the kiss ass manager.
[07:20] Sets: Reinforces where conflicts will occur. Keeps things in the story.
[07:50] More traditional format. GM presents a situation but the players still make an agreement about how their characters will interact with the situation.
[08:57] Avoid throwing out ideas that will remove characters from the game unless that is presented as a conflict to overcome.
[09:45] Fear the Boot (Episode 2) talks about Group Templates for creating characters.
[10:00] Another example. A gladiator game that was about being gladiators slaves, not escaping.
[11:18] Justin’s Game set in Cadwallon: Outside the city the world is at war, the “game” however takes place within the city walls as the character act on the behalf of the duke.
[11:52] How to bring some of those “out of game” elements into the game for the players behalf and to make the story richer.
[13:25] Corrective measures: What happens if player characters breath the forth wall anyway?
[13:47] Possibly this is the time for the character to leave the game. Maybe this is a good time for their story to end?
[14:25] Escalate the conflict around that decision. Make it a hard choice to leave the game. Also, you could give the character and easy out if the player wants to keep the character in the game, but can’t figure out how.
[15:19] Alternatives to allow for characters to leave the story:
[15:28] Granting a solo session to a player. Justin and Sean disagree on this.
[16:33] Use the Living City technique and have the other players take the roles of NPCs in the character’s spotlight scene. This can also work well with simmering scenes.
[17:52] What about players stomping on each others fun?
[18:43] Create a cliff hanger moment. Pause the game and ask the offending player how they see this playing out? What direction do they think this will take their character in.
[19:40] Ask the potential “victim” how they feel about this.
[20:22] Set stakes for the conflict. Stakes have to be agreed on by both characters. This allows both players to know what worst case scenario and how the character relationship might change.
[21:29] Feedback. Let us know how if this is come up in your games. How has your group dealt with it?

Links

Burning Wheel
Sinistergame.com
RPGPodcasts.com
Son’s of Kryos
Prime Time Adventures
Fear the Boot)
Cadwallon

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Hi, and welcome back to Narrative Control, episode 11. Justin and I are back to talk about framing scenes. Why and how to do it.

Hosts: Sean Nittner and Justin Evans

Length: 20:08

Liner Notes

[00:29] Show Intro – Scene Framing
[00:40] Special thanks to listeners William, Mikael, and Robin for correcting us (er Justin). We did in indeed steal previews from Prime Time Adventures.
[00:56] This Modern Death Promo
[01:33] Your in a 10’ corridor!
[02:13] That is what a game without scene framing feels like.
[02:52] Definition of scene framing: Location, who is present, and what is going on.
[04:08] Why do we frame scenes? To avoid the tedium and get right to the action.
[06:01] Scene framing described well in Prime Time Adventures. Something else in PTA as well.
[06:54] In a Wicked Age – Driven strongly by scene framing. Nothing happens outside of a scene.
[07:07] Scene Framing in Panty Explosion in 5 parts: Location, Mood, Action, Who’s There and Supernatural Activity
[07:33] Strategies for framing a scene. Start a scene at the last possible moment.
[08:34] To montage or not to montage?
[08:54] Justin’s campaign. Nothing happens out of a scene. Much of the mundane is skipped.
[09:22] Strategy for moving from one scene to the next. Ending with tension.
[10:02] How to bring this to the table? Make the scenes personal to the characters. Each scene should matter. Take cues from the characters (aspects, keys, beliefs, virtues). Start them with a direction based on those cues.
[11:43] Simmering scenes. Borrowed from Sons of Kryos and Ron Edwards.
[13:10] Weaving. Bring up elements from one character’s personality or background in other character’s scenes.
[14:00] Weaving us used constantly in My Life with Master. This prompted a lot of character interaction.
[14:55] Situation Sheets from Full Light, Full Steam. Players writing a document of what kinds of scenes they would like to see.
[15:56] Thematic Batteries. Require scenes that will charge these batteries.
[16:49] Questions to ask your self in the scene: What happens if nobody intervenes? Who might profit or suffer from the conflict? Setting some stakes in advance.
[18:26] Wrap up and recap of scene framing.

Links:
This Modern Death
Prime Time Adventures
In a Wicked Age
Panty Explosion
Sons of Kryos
Ron Edwards
Full Light, Full Steam

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Hi, and welcome to Narrative Control, episode 10. We're back on the Dresden Files RPG. This time Kevan and I review the roll of compelling aspects in the game.

Hosts: Sean Nittner and Kevan Forbes

Length: 20:19

Liner Notes

[00:28] Show Introduction: Returning to the Dresden Files RPG.
[00:45] Introduction to Kevan Forbes a Good Omens GM in Sacramento.
[01:19] This episode is a reflection of our play, specifically compelling aspects.
[02:13] Thanks to everyone who has given us feedback over email or on the forum. You guys rock!
[02:50] This Modern Death Bumper
[03:28] Greetings from Sean and Kevan
[03:54] The Compel Mechanic!
[04:07] Explanation of aspects from Fate and how compels work with them.
[04:54] Fate chips are much more precious in Dresden RPG.
[05:24] Comparison to compelling in Spirit of the Century.
[05:45] Example of a tough compel and the price to pay it off.
[06:38] How to use a compel #1: Plot Hooks
[07:49] How to use a compel #2: Binding the characters to the story.
[08:13] Example of a compel: The Vodou priest wakes up with blood on his hands.
[08:55] How to use a compel #3: The toolbox for adventure creation.
[09:40] How to use a compel #4: An alternative to the standard conflict resolution.
[11:40] Comparing compels to other games that give out cookies for game play (7th Sea, Buffy, Exalted, etc).
[12:43] I miss the reward system from other games when the players are performing exceptionally.
[13:17] Compelling, however, brings the characters deeper into the story.
[14:17] Keeping the fate chip currency moving with compels. An example from play.
[14:56] Fate chip economy!
[15:15] How to use a compel #5: Players compelling other characters
[15:38] How to use a compel #6: Moving the story along when players don't want to budge.
[16:47] A reward for good role-playing?
[18:11] Accidental Survivors Bumper.
[18:51] Review of the show. Disappointed with the audio quality.
[19:20] Request for feedback.

Links:

Dresden Files RPG
Good Omens Games
Evil Hat
This Modern Death
Accidental Survivors

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Hi, and welcome to Narrative Control. This week's episode has two segments. The first half covers using previews to prime your next game. The second section is a review of my experience running Good Omens Con. I review all the steps and hopefully offer up some useful advice.

Hosts: Sean Nittner and Justin Evans

Length: 23:48

Liner Notes

[00:28] Show Introduction: Previews and Running Conventions.
[01:32] RPGpodcasts.com Bumper
[01:54] Part 1. Definitions of Preivews
[02:04] Okay, the real Definition of Previews
[02:14] Justin's Bleeding Edge Stuff
[02:57] Modeled after previews to TV shows, designed to get players excited about the next game.
[03:48] How Justin uses it in his game. Players create brief (vague) scenes for the next game.
[04:35] Incorporating them into the next game.
[05:08] Can be difficult if you don't know how long the game will be.
[05:48] The players end up giving you fuel for the games.
[05:59] What if you can't find a place to fit the preview in? Does it feel forced?
[07:48] What about players framing their scenes including the preview?
[08:50] Allowing the players to fill in the details.
[09:58] Sean has requested scenes in advance form players. Mixed results. Do previews ever have these troubles?
[11:03] Keep the previews short and vague.
[11:33] Authoring other player's characters into your previews?
[12:30] Players enjoy the spotlight being put on them.
[12:51] Sean's superior math skills
[13:05] RPGpodcasts.com Bumper
[13:12] Part 2. Good Omens Con
[13:42] Stats: 60 attendees, 14 games, and a Guest GM: Carl Rigney
[14:16] Covered by 2d6Feet.com
[14:28] Instant Pre-Order for Don't Loose your Mind
[15:30] The History of Good Omens Con
[15:48] Both Cons were Chartiy Events: Alemeday Food Bank
[16:49] First starting thinking about this early 2005
[17:38] Location. Find a place to host the con. EndGame hosted our con. They Rock!
[19:12] Date: Pick a date where there aren't other convetions going on
[19:42] Round up GMs.
[20:26] Coordinante the game sign ups.
[21:12] Feeing of running a con is great. A chance to give back to the gamer community.
[21:20] Sean's Mantras - Scratch someone elses back first.and "Free is Good!"

Links:

RPGpodcasts.com
Good Omens Games
2d6Feet.com
Don't Loose your Mind
EndGame

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Pacing in games. Justin and I talk about mechanics and techniques we have used for pacing our games. These range from dice mechanics, to actual timers and at the end a discussion of player created urgency in the Sons of Liberty.

Hosts: Sean Nittner and Justin Evans

Length: 30:20 Minutes

Liner Notes

[00:30] Show Introduction - Pacing Mechanics.
[01:24] RPGpodcast.com bumper
[01:42] Definition of Pacing. A couple useless ones first.
[02:00] Controlling the urgency in the game upping the stakes.
[03:19] Preventing analysis paralysis and encouraging immersion.
[03:47] Pacing built into most games, usually in combat systems. Something we are all familiar with.
[04:32] The same hit point system most gamers are familiar with from Dungeons and Dragons are used in Burning Empires to represent Disposition.
[05:47] Situation: Disarming a bomb in Spirit of the Century. Creating pacing for a non-combat conflict to create urgency.
[07:48] Another SotC mechanic extended skill challenge.
[08:15] How Justin used an extended skill challenge in a Firefly game to represent the race to find an outlaw before he was caught by a bounty hunter.
[10:42] Using props as a visual aid to represent margin of success and chance of failure.
[11:11] Skill Challenges in 4th Edition Dungeons and Dragons are very similar.
[12:10] This form of pacing comes form game mechanics.
[13:00] Bringing in outside elements. Sand timers, egg timers. Not giving players enough time to analyze all the information available.
[13:50] Introducing a mini game as a spotlight moment.
[14:45] How Justin escalated things even further, causing distractions.
[15:58] Potential backfire? Does this still work if the characters fail?
[16:37] Using a timer in My Life with Joker to trigger random events.
[18:24] Ding! Ding! Ding! A bank blows up!
[18:57] An extreme example in John Wick's Play Dirty.
[19:44] Applying the mechanics as in game effects. In a Matrix game "Time is always against you."
[20:49] Doom in Roanoke. Affects narration of end game.
[21:42] Sean was disappointed there wasn't more doom.
[21:52] Pace set by the players in Sons of Liberty
[28:54] Pacing is game agnostic. Try it out.
[29:04] Another RPGPodcasts.com bumper
[29:09] Show Recap
[29:50] Let us know what you think: narrativecontrol@gmail.com

Links

RPGpodcast.com
Dungeons and Dragons
Burning Empires
Spirit of the Century
My Life with Master
Play Dirty
Roanoke
Sons of Liberty

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Hi, welcome to Narrative Control. This episode Justin and I talk about high prep vs. low games and the advantages and pitfalls of both.

Hosts: Sean Nittner and Justin Evans

Length: 29:33 Minutes

Liner Notes

[0:27] Introduction to the show. Zero prep vs. high prep games.
[0:55] Rpgpodcasts.com bumper
[1:16] Cage Match! We want two winners
[1:32] Definitions: Zero Prep games.
[2:21] Example of a zero prep game: Spirit of the Century. Pickup or zero prep? The same thing?
[4:40] Even less prep: In a Wicked Age using oracles.
[6:51] Story starts being developed during character/setting creation. Creates situation and conflict for the GM to use.
[8:10] Definition: High Prep game
[9:57] May create different player motivations. Instead of directing plot, pursue developing character or find a reason to connect to the existing plot.
[11:00] Foster antagonism between the GM and players?
[12:40] Listening to Have Games will Travel: For a Few Games More. Paul talks about different types of stories.
[14 :44] More examples of low prep games: Universalis. Players sit down with a blank slate and bit on story elements to include.
[15:35] Prime Time Adventures. Pitch session is zero prep. From then on, low prep.
[17:07] Games that include a mechanic to push the story forward. Shab-al-Hiri Roach and Sons of Liberty and Polaris
[18:54] Show Notes (not schnotes, just in case you thought you heard me wrong but didn't)
[19:32] High prep games examples. Dungeons and Dragons, White Wolf games, Call of Cthulhu and Shadowrun.
[20:04] John Wick's method for combining low prep mechanics in high prep games: Dirty Dungeon. Method from Wilderness of Mirrors
[21:11] Win and Fail of low and zero prep games.
[21:23] Win! Low prep games offer a great time savings.
[22:42] Win! Player Buy in. They like it because they built it.
[23:35] Fail. The game could be potentially less coherent. Different players with different ideas about what the game is about.
[24:45] Fail and Win! Investment in the game for both GM and players.
[25:00] Win! Less pressure on the part of the GM.
[27:04] What happens if someone isn't exited about a game?
[28:33] Try swapping back and forth. Spice it up!
[28:44] Closing notes. Lets us know what you think at forum.narrativecontrol.com or email narrativecontrol@gmail.com

Links
Rpgpodcasts.com
Spirit of the Century
In a Wicked Age
Have Games will Travel: For a Few Games More
Universalis
Prime Time Adventures
Shab-al-Hiri Roach
Sons of Liberty
Polaris
Dirty Dungeon
Wilderness of Mirrors

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Hi and welcome to Narrative Control. This week's episode is an actual play report from a Burning Wheel game that I played in with the guys from This Modern Death. The game setting is heavily inspired by the HBO show Deadwood and it rocked hard. Warning, as per fitting with the genre, this show has an explicit tag, though truthfully I don't think we were nearly as bad as we could have been.

Length: 22:47

Hosts: Sean Nittner, Shaun Hayworth, Kristin Sullivan, and Randy Davenport

Liner Notes

[0:30] Thanks for the feedback from last episode
[0:53] Burning Las Vegas got me thinking about Burning Wheel
[1:21] Experimenting with actual play reports
[1:45] RPGpodcats.com Bumper
[1:52] Introduction to the hosts
[2:34] What is Burning Deadwood?
[2:58] Discussion of the show Deadwood
[3:40] Deadwood isn't setting, its situation
[4:40] Orks be here!
[4:50] Game defined by the character's motivations
[5:26] A group of players looking to be screwed with
[5:50] Brief background on the game.
[6:11] Levi, the fire and brimstone priest of Zoltek
[6:50] Player vs. Player conflicts built into beliefs: "The wizard must burn!"
[7:02] Role of religion in westerns
[7:48] Woops, the wizard botched his spell and turns a forest to crystal
[8:27] Gunning for a Dual of Wits with a torch in hand.
[8:55] The story is driven by the players but we all got suprised a few times.
[10:00] Seans's strategy: Rally the congregation against the Wizard!
[11:04] Converting the mother of the son to turn against her child. Evil priest!
[12:00] Oddly anti-climatic ending that was very satisfying
[13:20] Pet peave of Sean's: Players don't recognize authority figures. How does it play out differently when they are controlled by the GM vs. another player?
[14:28] Group dynamic. These are people climbing the food chain, not the heroes of the dawn.
[15:06] The mechanics support this. NPCs have some serious weight to throw around.
[16:06] NPCs and PCs use the same tactics, and death is easy.
[16:58] Separate plots advancing during the game.
[17:44] Players opting to screw themselves over made the game rock.
[18:58] Opening scene as a foreshadowing for the themes of the session.
[19:13] Character driven story meant we could split up and move the story forward
[19:37] A very restricted geography keeps the characters running into each other.
[20:58] Burning Wheel mechanics make it unnecessary to have a story scripted, everything moves forward from a starting condition.
[21:39] Thanks to Shaun, Kristin and Randy.

Links

RPGPodcats.com
This Modern Death
Burning Wheel
Deadwood

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Hi, and welcome to Narrative Control. This week Justin is back and as usual we're giving our own spin on a much beloved topic. We're talking with me about hacking systems. Everything from porting games into different settings to combining our favorite mechanics.

Liner Notes

[0:28] Introduction to the show. Hacking systems.
[0:50] The show is a bit long. Let me know if it is too long. Email us: narrativecontrol@gmail.com
[1:42] RPGPodcasts.com bumper
[1:58] What we mean by hacking systems.
[2:36] Justin's current game. A hodgepodge of games:
[2:52] Cadwallon - Setting and Dice pools
[3:28] Wushu mechanics - Detailed bad ass combats on the fly.
[3:52] Fate - Stunts
[4:04] Shadows of Yesterday - Experience Keys for experience and character flags.
[5:00] How has this been accepted by the players? Pros and Cons
[6:17] Is this play testing a new game?
[7:08] Sean's accidental hack of Prime Time Adventures with Exalted.
[7:39] Removing screen presence to allow equal importance for con games
[7:53] Allowing every player narration rights.
[8:30] Changes made specifically for the con environment.
[9:07] Change fan mail to allow the producer to grant fan mail.
[9:40] Other reasons to hack games? Games that don't have strong social conflict mechanics.
[10:38] Hacking Duel of Wits from Burning Wheel
[10:55] Why? Players want to do actions in a game that involve a complex and fun mechanic.
[11:38] Brining it together. Molding mechanics to fit in the core game so players aren't learning completely separate systems.
[12:33] Systems that are very easy to borrow from: Wilderness of Mirrors, Fate
[15:17] Games with great mechanics and situations screaming to be ported into other settings: Dogs in the Vineyard
[15:34] Using In a Wicked Age by swapping out Oracles
[17:03] A Battlestar Galactica oracle on www.sinistergame.com
[17:25] Don't get Sean started on shnotes
[17:36] My Life with Master has a very thin setting, easy to move. Sean ported it to My Life with Joker.
[18:47] Some games that are tightly coupled with their settings. Value in playing the game as intended?
[19:08] Dozens of setting hacks for Dogs in the Vineyard but the original setting has so much character, don't discount the value of playing a straight dogs game.
[22:10] Settings that have benefited from different systems: Exalted using Prime Time Adventures and Wushu/Wuxalted
[23:30] Exalted Unplugged
[24:12] Shadowrun alternative systems: Prime Time Adventures, Burning Wheel and Don't Rest Your Head
[29:46] Our parting worlds on hacking systems. Try it!

Links

RPGPodcats.com
Cadwallon
Wushu
Fate
Shadows of Yesterday
Prime Time Adventures
Burning Wheel
Wilderness of Mirrors
Dogs in the Vineyard
Sinister Game
My Life with Master
Exalted
Wuxalted
Shadowrun
Don't Rest Your Head

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Hi, welcome to Narrative Control.  This episode is part two of Burning Las Vegas, the city creation process for the alpha test of the Dresden Files RPG. We run through the locations we created in Las Vegas, the personalities we put there and how we intend to use these in our games. Plus, there's a little insight into Sean's vampire aversion. Listen and laugh.

Hosts: Sean Nittner and Erik Woodbury

Liner Notes

[0:27] Intro to the Show - Burning Las Vegas, part 2
[0:50] Promo for This Modern Death
[1:44] Creating Locations - What this does for the game
[2:16] Player contributions create investments immediately
[2:54] Why Sean won't include vampires in his games
[3:22] Dealing with gambling
[3:39] Location #1 - The Strip - How much granularity do we need to define now?
[5:16] Location #2 - Voodoo Lounge - A hang out and safe area for supernaturals. Changes we made in the real world.
[6:22] Erik is a real pain in the donkey.
[7:18] We're accepting donations to go to the Voodoo Lounge. Yeah, right!
[7:40] Aspects: "Let your inner party animal out Discrete Inquiries; Apply Within" and "You only start trouble once." - How we combined a few themes to create make these aspects.
[9:49] Location #3 - Fremont Street Experience - Home of the mob.
[10:40] Aspect: "You're only safe under the lights." This place represents the conflict between the old guard and the new powers
[11:50] Why we create an utter mundane, Grandpa Tony.
[14:13] Location #4 - Las Vegas Country Club Resort - Why the high rollers won't be coming here.
[15:13] Aspect: "Power Plays on the Back Nine."
[15:45] Characters in the story will be coming here to make major changes. The player characters will be movers and shakers.
[16:50] How the books may end up differing from the game.
[17:28] Location #5 - University of Nevada, Las Vegas - Home of the Rebels
[17:58] A stripper who met her husband at a strip club... it could happen to you.
[18:34] UNLV Student Body - Finger on the Pulse of the parties, entry point to other places in the city, built in victims.
[19:50] Professor of Aberrant Psychology - A source of local lore.
[20:44] Other locations we haven't detailed here but we've got on the web site: http://www.sadric.com/dresden/
[21:33] Our Area 51 Operative
[22:37] The steps to follow
[23:14] Fred Hicks RPGpodcasts.com Promo
[23:26] Closing and contact information

This Modern Death
Evil Hat Productions
RPGPodcasts.com
Dresden Files RPG
Jim Butcher's Website
Burning Las Vegas

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Hi, welcome to Narrative Control.  This episode is part one of Burning Las Vegas, the city creation process for the alpha test of the Dresden Files RPG. We introduce the Dresden Files and then step through our process of picking a city and giving it life. Next week, part two will wrap up with the locations and personalities we created.

Hosts: Sean Nittner and Erik Woodbury

Liner Notes

[0:30] Mashing things up. A few changes.
[0:33] New co-host Erik Woodbury
[0:50] Brian Isikoff invited me to be a guest on Episode 38 of 2d6feet in a Random Direction
[1:18] Burning Las Vegas. Alpha Play Test of the Dresden Files RPG.
[2:15] RPGpodcasts.com Bumper
[2:37] Introduction to the Dresden Files novels setting
[3:58] Step One - Pick a City. How we chose Las Vegas.
[4:53] Brainstorming cities
[5:54] The issue of Primacy
[6:19] Our difficulty settling on one city. Trying to avoid stereotypes
[8:56] Step Two - The theme of the Las Vegas
[9:38] Vegas is a crossroads for the world
[10:08] Potential themes: "Luck be a Lady tonight", "What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas", "The haves and have nots", "A holiday for morality", "That's nothing, just wait till you see what happens next weekend" and "Grandfather Thunder is displeased."
[11:18] Focusing these aspects on themes that would be easy to use in game and that would push the story forward.
[13:15] Conflict between "Sin City" and "Entertainment Capital of the World"
[14:50] Our personal experiences in Las Vegas
[16:54] Our final picks for themes
[17:17] How Aspects will work in Dresden Files RPG (as per Fate)
[18:20] Little known fact. Las Vegas means "The Meadows"
[18:51] End of part one, intro to part two: Locations and Personalities
[19:09] Contact information

2d6 Feet in a Random Direction
Evil Hat Productions
RPGPodcasts.com
Dresden Files RPG
Jim Butcher's Website

Live Journal Entries for Burning Las Vegas:
Viva Las Vegas
The Entertainment Capital of the World
Fear and Self Loathing in Las Vegas

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Hi, welcome to Narrative Control. This episode is on Living City, a technique of giving conrol of NPCs to the players and allowing them to bring more life to your world as well as turn the story in the directions they are exited about.

Hosts: Sean Nittner and Justin Evans

Liner Notes

[0:38] Introduction – Living City
[0:40] Source – John Wick's Play Dirty
[1:28] Justin answers “What is Living City?”
[3:00] How it's done. John Wick's example: NPCs given to player.
[4:39] Pitfalls with antagonistic or knowledgeable NPCs?
[5:30] Disseminating information through the players.
[6:00] Sean's use of a similar techniques in his Mage: The Awakening game.
[8:30] NPC Information: Name, Nature, Aspects and Motivation
[9:47] Bread Crumbs. How changing information on the cards can throw players off balance.
[11:15] The technique gives players who would normally be out of scene a chance to play.
[11:29] How to make up NPCs on the fly: Sins and Virtues cards.
[11:47] Show Notes vs. Schnotes battle returns
[12:23] Back to Sins and Virtues...
[14:55] Why would you create a Living City? New plots, granting players narrative control, more believable NPCs.
[17:50] Some of the most interesting interactions happen between players are taking the roles of NPC.
[18:08] More emotional involvement between PC and NPC vs. PC and PC?
[19:45] Pitfalls. Too much information shared? NPCs not coming to life? GMs gets left out? GM needs to be more prepared.
[21:58] Burning Dresden City Creation. Entire group creates locatoins and personalities.
[23:25] How to contact Narrative Control

Wicked Dead Brewing Company
Shnotes siting - Beware!
Sinister Game
Dresden Files RPG

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Hi, Welcome to Narrative Control. This episode is on Backstory, a quick technique for GMs to use at the start of games to connect characters to each other and to the story

Hosts: Sean Nittner and Justin Evans

Liner Notes

[0:28] Show Introduction – Backstory
[0:48] Source: Brian Isikoff
[1:40] Where we first learned about Backstory
[2:58] This has been talked about before on 2d6 Feet in a Random Direction – Episode 8
[3:44] Sean’s first experience with Backstory – Questions Brian asked me.
[5:40] Backstory is part of the game itself.
[6:45] How this helped resolve the “Leader” role
[8:10] Used to fill a gaps in a long term game
[8:36] Established player buy in
[9:30] Does this give players Narrative Control?
[9:45] What if players throw curve balls at you?
[10:45] Method 1: Roll with it
[12:20] Method 2: Establish the genre in advance, tailor response to fit the theme
[13:54] Where could Backstory present problems in long term games?
[15:21] Paul Tevis and Remi Treuer on limitations of endowments in role-playing
[16:15] How to work in Backstory in a long term game.
[16:40] Other games that incorporate back story like elements: Dread
[19:10] Shaun Hayworth tweaked Dread to be more like Backstory
[20:40] Other games that contain similar character creation elements: Spirit of the Century, Dogs in the Vineyard, Prime Time adventures.

2d6 Feet in a Random Direction, Episode 8
EndGame
This Modern Death
Have Games Will Travel, Episode 98

Dread
Spirit of the Century
Dogs in the Vineyard
Prime Time Adventures

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Hi, Welcome to Narrative Control.  This is our first episode.  It focuses on what the show will be about, a continuation of a conversation.  What conversation you ask? Stop reading and go listen to the show.

Hosts: Sean Nittner and Justin Evans

Liner Notes

[0:28] Show introduction
[0:36] Dedication to Kristin Sullivan (of This Modern Death)
[0:58] Main Topic: What is this show about?
[1:16] The But-one-Justin
[1:50] Being a pretentious ass – Name dropping Ryan Macklin of the Master Plan Podcast
[2:52] rpgpodcasts.com (Sean got the name wrong and called it .net, Tool!)
[3:30] Sean: This show is about our gaming experiences and our reactions to those.
[4:38] Justin: One big conversation about a hobby we all love
[5:00] Inspiration from other podcasts
[5:40] Who might be interested in Narrative Control
[6:32] Can we expand on the “Agony and Ecstasy of games”
[8:53] “Show Notes” vs. “Shnotes”
[11:00] Who is Sean? Why is Sean?
[12:38] Good Omens – A group of GMs that Justin and Sean are part of.
[15:57] Who is Justin Evans?
[18:15] Why is Justin podcasting?
[19:39] Geek Philosophers or Pretentious Tools?
[20:42] Justin expands on “keeping the conversation going”
[22:40] We’d like to hear what you have to say
[22:56] Closing
 
Links

This Modern Death
Master Plan
RPGPodcasts.com
Good Omens

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