Posted by Stargazer | Posted on 20-08-2010
Category : GenCon, Interview, Podcasts, RPG
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For quite some time the crew of RPG Circus and me tried to figure out how to get me on their show. Alas because of the different time zones this has been more problematic than we anticipated. But when I decided to attend Gen Con this year, we planned to record something in Indianapolis.
So on one of the “Four Best Days In Gaming”, Mark, Jeff and I (Zach was running a game at this time) sat down at the Champions restaurant in the Marriott hotel, had some great food and talked a bit about Gen Con.
This little talk made it into the latest episode of RPG Circus, which is finally available! I also want to use the opportunity to thank Jeff, Mark and Zachary for having me on the show. They are the nicest people and I can’t wait to meet them at Gen Con 2011 again!
6 people like this post.
Posted by Stargazer | Posted on 14-04-2010
Category : Advice, News, Reviews & Culture, Podcasts, RPG
Today, on my daily commute, I listened to episode 1 of the new “Dungeon Master Guys” podcast. In this episode the three hosts, ChattyDM, DaveTheGame, and NewbieDM talk about how they prepare their games, about creating a cast-of-heroes to allow players to switch characters and how to make failures more interesting.
I initially feared the show might be pretty D&D-centric, I soon realized that the advice they were giving applies to almost every game. ChattyDM’s talk about making failure more interesting was based on his experiences with the Mouse Guard RPG. When I remember correctly we actually talked about this on Skype before, which later inspired me to write about failure and complications myself.
If you are a gamemaster, or if you want to become one, listening to this podcast is highly recommended. The advice given was good and I am sure even some DM veterans can learn a thing or two from the DM guys. Keep up the good work, Dungeon Master Guys!
For more details on the podcast (including show notes, etc.) check out the official website.
6 people like this post.
Posted by Stargazer | Posted on 24-03-2010
Category : Interview, News, Reviews & Culture, Podcasts, RPG
Earlier today Ed Healy tweeted about his interview with my good friend Philippe-Antoine Ménard aka ChattyDM. They not only talk about roleplaying games but also about Philippe’s teaching, politics and more. You definitely should check this out!
4 people like this post.
Posted by Youseph | Posted on 02-03-2010
Category : Advice, D&D4e, Feature, Podcasts, RPG
I think the best thing any Dungeon Master can to do improve his or her game is to join a game. You can learn a lot from other games and gamers. I find that I learn so much about how to improve my own DM’ing skills when I play or listen to other games. I can study other DMs. Learn what they are doing right and what they are doing wrong and use that to help me improve my own game.
If your not able to join a D&D game the next best thing you can do is listen to D&D podcasts of games. Wizards of the Coasts has several podcasts with Chris Perkins, Penny Arcade, PvP, and Wil Wheton all sitting around and playing D&D. I have learned a lot just from listening to these games in my spare time and as a result my own personal game has improved quite a bit. These podcasts have become an invaluable recourse for me.
Wizards of the Coast has also released a video of a game with Chris Perkins and the writers from robot chicken. This is great because you can actually watch the game and not just listen to it. These videos and podcasts are great tools for any one who DM’s.
What gaming podcasts do you listen to and how have they improve your game?
6 people like this post.
Picking up a meme started by Zachary Houghton and the other hosts of the RPG Circus podcast, I look back at the best and worst in last year’s gaming.
Best Gaming Company
That’s not an easy category at all. There are a couple of gaming companies that did well this year. But in my opinion the best gaming company this year was Paizo Publishing. I have to admit I don’t play Pathfinder myself, but I appreciate what they’ve done for their fans this year. Releasing their brand-new game for open alpha and beta testing was a bold move. And they even repeated this for the new classes etc. they developed. They also run regular contests for fans and as I’ve heard their customer support is one of the best.
Best Gaming Company, Small Press Division
Hmm, I am not sure if you can call Q-Workshop a 
“Small Press” gaming company, since they produce dice and not anything in print, BUT they are small all right! This small company from Poland produces the best-looking dice I’ve ever seen in my life. Instead of using fancy materials these dice have elaborate designs which make Q-Workshop dice really unique. I don’t know how many Euros I spend on their products last year (it was probably much too many), but let me assure you that they make perfect gifts for any roleplayer. This makes Q-Workshop my best small gaming company of 2009.
Best Sci-Fi Product
There have been quite a few great SF game releases last year and it was quite hard for me to pick a winner, but I think I choose Diaspora (Read my post on it here). The FATE powered game is not as flashy as many of it’s competitors but it’s one of the games that impressed me most in 2009. It’s incredibly well written and is probably one of the best implementations of the FATE rules I’ve read. When I have the time I will definitely try to run a short Diaspora campaign in 2010 and even if not, I might use the cluster generation rules to create solar systems, etc. for my Ad Astra game.
Best Fantasy Product
For me the best fantasy product last year was Green Ronin’s Dragon Age RPG. Based on the successful Dragon Age: Origins video game it combines a fresh new setting with rules-light game mechanics reminiscent of old-school games. The boxed set will probably come out in early 2010, but when you preorder the box, you get the PDF version for free. In my opinion it’s a great game to introduce new people into the hobby, but even veteran players may enjoy a Dragon Age campaign. My girlfriend is very excited about that game, too, because she enjoyed Dragon Age: Origins tremendously, so I will have to run that in 2010, too. 
This concludes part 1 of my “Best & Worst of 2009” series. Stay tuned for more!
1 person likes this post.
Posted by Stargazer | Posted on 19-11-2009
Category : Fantasy Craft, News, Reviews & Culture, Other Systems, Podcasts, RPG
That’s what almost happened to me. When someone recently mentioned the latest RPG Circus (iTunes Store Link) episode, I was surprised that I haven’t listened to it. Usually I check it out on the day it gets released. And this time my blog and I actually got mentioned by Jeff during the interview! Alas he still doesn’t know the name of my blog.
So, why should you listen to episode 11 (or any episode) of RPG Circus? For one RPG Circus is actually the greatest show in gaming! I am not kidding you. I have listened to several podcasts and RPG Circus is definitely my favorite show. Another reason is probably that the hosts are all members of our RPG Bloggers Network, so they often talk about topics that were raised in the community. The latest episode is actually something special because it features a long interview with the guys from Crafty Games. Especially if you are interested in Spycraft or Fantasy Craft, you shouldn’t miss RPG Circus episode #11!
Disclaimer: I don’t get paid to regularly praise RPG Circus! I just enjoy the show and I feel the need to share my love for that show with you guys!
