* (0:28) Fear the Con coming up June 16th – 18th, 2022. * (2:54) Making a plot that’s personal to the characters, without falling back to cheap shots. * (9:42) If you don’t want purely violent responses, don’t rely on purely violent hooks. * (15:43) An example about a Firbolg. Our two episodes on West […]

Fear the Boot, RPG Podcast

Episode 580 – compelling depth

* (0:29) Introducing Vece. You can find the Skies of Glass playtest on our Patreon. * (1:35) Brodeur continues hurting himself. You can find his podcast here. * (11:35) What got us thinking about playtesting a roleplaying game. Gage’s playtest survey. * (14:43) Why you may not know what you need to ask. * (18:35) […]

Episode 579 – playtesting a game

* (0:30) Let the bodies hit the floor! * (5:24) Defining the “action economy”. The video of three master fencers versus 50 random people can be found here. * (14:57) Consider not using a lone enemy. * (17:48) Using objectives instead of enemies. * (27:37) The erosion of the Game Master’s enjoyment. The idea of […]

Episode 578 – action economy

* (0:28) Dan’s situation with his Blades in the Dark character. * (2:21) The “play cycle” of an RPG. * (6:06) Designing a character that works in the play cycle, but not very well outside of it. * (24:54) Why not just play another character or revise the existing character traits? * (32:55) “That’s not […]

Episode 577 – evolve instead of excise

* (0:33) Brodeur’s ongoing work to blind himself. * (2:40) Gaming when down a person. Putting some parameters on the discussion. * (7:53) Avoiding cliffhangers that hinge on a single character. * (11:58) Subtly reframing the scene to obscure the unknowns. * (16:31) Get a few what-if tips from the missing player to help you […]

Episode 576 – cliffhangers and missing players

* (0:24) Maybe combat shouldn’t be played to the point of annihilation. Violence as part of the human experience. * (5:50) The social contract of a fight. Jason Brick’s Safest Family on the Block show. * (9:43) Playing the enemies sub-optimally, or managing combat according to your strengths as a GM. * (21:18) The “soft” […]

Episode 575 – tension and violence, part 2

* (0:29) Wayne gives a shoutout to Old Man Hussey. (Unfortunately, there doesn’t appear to be a link to the AP he ran.) * (3:15) Brodeur gets us started on the joys of combat in roleplaying games. How initiative balances the spotlight. * (7:05) Why fight at all? * (11:31) Intermixing roleplaying and combat. * […]

Episode 574 – tension and violence, part 1

* (0:52) A love that makes Brodeur and Wayne uncomfortable. * (4:37) Actor has a seat at Brodeur’s table but doesn’t seem to enjoy it. * (10:14) The importance of looking for context and motive to understand a behavior. * (18:50) Someone else’s struggles don’t invalidate your boundaries. * (26:33) Getting perspective, possibly with the […]

Episode 573 – meeting people halfway

* (0:27) Where’s Brodeur? * (2:00) Fear the Con Online, June 25th – 27th. You can create and sign up for games on the website. * (4:04) Having patience for people, whether in discomfort or just struggling with old habits dying hard. * (6:42) Neglected gaming spaces and snack stashes. * (13:01) Change up your gaming […]

Episode 572 – reentry to in-person games

* (0:28) And the cat came back…! * (1:13) Fear the Con Online, June 25th – 27th. You can create and sign up for games on the website. * (4:00) As we get close to gaming face-to-face again, we look back at over a year of online gaming. * (5:43) It’s better than not gaming […]

Episode 571 – remote gaming post-mortem

* (0:39) Silver milk. * (7:54) Spotlight vs. validation. * (12:40) Being a fan of the players. * (18:27) Evaluating whether the idea is genuinely bad, or you’re just being judgmental. * (23:39) Asking players why they think their ideas would work. * (27:25) Picking the hills that are worth dying on. * (36:36) Not […]

Episode 570 – validating questionable ideas

* (0:40) Delusions of Reference (or not) in a Mexican restaurant. * (21:16) Wayne’s weird skill of making eating interesting. * (23:45) A Dresden game gets a bit depressing, but not all entertainment needs the same tone to succeed. * (30:47) An engaging story, that’s true to your creative vision, is worth more than cheap […]

Episode 569 – managing a dark tone

* (0:22) Hating on Zoom, and welcoming Tex and Old Man Hussey. * (1:48) Welcoming author and former Assistant BattleTech Line Developer Ben Rome, and other/new Tex from Tex Talks BattleTech (his recommended episodes for BattleTech veterans and the one for non-players). * (6:21) BattleTech in the 80s, including the greatest piece of art it […]

Bonus Episode 92 – the stories behind the fiction

* (0:24) Blades in the Dark as a Charles Dickens’ book, rewritten by H.P. Lovecraft. Fallen London as a genre. Richard Trager from Outlast. * (8:06) Where Dan’s plans for his character diverge from what our game can reasonably handle. * (15:42) Balancing resources a player wants for their character. * (27:36) Not doing the […]

Episode 568 – GM negotiation, part 2

* (0:29) Sharing space with other GMs and three kids. * (7:40) XP and loot in a West Marches game. * (11:57) And a child shall lead them… * (19:22) Lifelines to sanity. Wayne’s blog and fiction fragments. * (21:16) Player negotiation with the Game Master. Seven questions to help develop characters. * (29:17) When […]

Episode 567 – GM negotiation, part 1

An irreverent look at tabletop roleplaying games and a little bit more.

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Fear the Boot, RPG Podcast

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