19 Hits the Dragon

A spirit screeches through the air waves of the radio station Antenna 8. Voices call out to some listeners and whispers drive away others. The station has called in the investigators of Paranormal Inc. to appease or dispel the spirits. 

The mystery begins in our actual play of the Paranormal Inc. Mystery "Antenna 8" by Sven Truckenbrodt. 

Alex Rodriguez will be playing Madame Nancy, the medium. Alex can be found on Two Weeks One Sh...

We're back with another Actual Play arc! We begin our playthrough of Paranormal Inc. with meting the cast of characters and talking about how the game works.

Really excited for all of our guest players, all of whom will be familiar to long time listeners. 

Alex Rodriguez will be playing Madame Nancy, the medium. Alex can be found on Two Weeks One Shot a hilarious TTRPG variety podcast and guesting on lots of other great actual play...

Our Actioneers reach the IT Archives floor and they are within reach of finding the Floppy Disk and fulfilling their daily objectives. It won't be so easy though as they are met with the dread and depression of the IT collective who have been under the boot of Senior Leadership. How can the Actioneers persevere in the face of utter despair caused by corporate abuse? 

If you want to hear more from the creator of Corner Office, follo...

Our team of Actioneers continues to pursue their objectives and deliver on their KPIs. The Halloween party on the HR floor is, well no longer lively and the Company Co. snack table has left them wanting something...juicier. 

I've heard Corporate Offices were full of mindless drones but this is ridiculous! 

Join us for Part 2 of our Actual Play Series of Corner Office!

Follow Conan on Twitter @Conan_Lybarian, you can find his games ...

What's the scariest place you could possibly be this weekend? If you guessed stuck in a corporate office, you are correct. 

Conan Lybarian returns this time as H.R. and running his game  "Corner Office." My fellow Actioneers Alex Rodriguez and Josh Newton join me as we navigate our way through Company Co. HQ. In today's episode we meet our Actioneers in the morning huddle, discuss our objectives for the workday, and learn that hell...

This special episode officially kicks off the actual play portion of our season. In today's episode I read the journal wrote while playing "And The Gunslinger Followed" a solo RPG by Hypnos. Check out the previous episode for an interview with the creator and download the game on itch https://michanikos.itch.io/and-the-gunslinger-followed

Follow me on twitter @19HitstheDragon for updates on the season and general nerd shenanigans.

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I talk a lot about how Tabletop RPGs are a collaborative storytelling experience. Friends around a table, whether physical or virtual, rolling dice and telling a story together. But maybe you don't know anyone who wants to game with you, or sometimes you can't get your friends together, or perhaps you'd rather just spend some time telling a story on your own. Whatever the reason you find yourself wanting or needing to roll some dic...

Game Masters not just creators of stories, we are also enjoyers of stories. And with so many great stories that have been told throughout the history of humanity it's inevitable that you're going to find other stories that inspire you, stories you want to bring to your table and share with your friends. 

Today I'm joined by Kate the Master Teacher over on "Of Mice And Men And Monsters" who shares the insight's she's gained from bri...

The Big Bad Evil Guy is a tried and true trope. No matter what story your game is telling there is going to be someone or something that is working against your players. Someone to personify the forces of evil; some nefarious creature out to cause havoc and destruction; Or maybe one character's dad is just an asshole. But how do you make the BBEG interesting? What makes for a compelling villain? Can my players smooch my villains? 

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Reality is weird, really weird. Scientists work to understand just how weird our world is and have given us many wonders to marvel at. 

Today I'm joined my the twice graduated Reed, GM of Bring your Own Mech and Deimos Paradox. They're hear to tell ups about the weird and fantastical side of science and how to use it to inspire your Tabletop RPGs. From strange real world creatures and phenomena to fascinating applications of scienc...

There are a ton of things that go into producing TTRPG supplements. Beyond creating whatever adventures, creatures, items and the like that are the focus of the supplement, there's artwork, layouts, edits upon edits to make it all look great and be the thing you're proud to publish. As one of our guests puts it "Writing a book is hard." 

Today I'm joined by my good friends Josh Glen and Lewanika from Tabletop Journeys to talk about...

Planning for player choices is incredibly challenging. TTRPG players are notorious for going left when you wanted them to go right or making any choice other than the ones you thought of and prepared for. So how can you as a Storyteller make your games just as enjoyable without spending so much time and energy on plans that you never use? 

Today I'm joined by Kerri Smith of Crossroad Games with her deceptively simple yet incredibly...

Dungeon Master. Storyteller. Game Mom. Keeper of Arcane Lore. Whatever you are called, running any Tabletop RPG requires a lot of effort and a ton of labor on the part of the narrator. Countless hours can be poured into planning and preparing your games, especially if you're running a long form campaign. Well today I'm joined by Artemis the GM of the podcast Cyberpunk Tales From the Oasis to offer advice on how to cut down on the t...

There are so many different types of Game Masters out there. It can be easy to try and emulate what you've seen on Actual Plays or try to copy your previous GM in your own games. But how do you find your own voice, your own style? 

Today I'm joined by Justin aka 4everDM_Justin to talk about his own style and approach to the table. We swap stories about how we've found our own style and the ways it's impacted our games for better or...

Often in my conversations with guests, we talk about how TTRPGs are really just a form of collaborative storytelling. But DnD and other games like it have a habit of becoming a situation where the players are playing through a story that kind of exists without them specifically. So how do we change that and make our games something that can feel more like players have an impact on the story? 

Well I'm joined by Tyler of Miss-Rolled...

I love sitting down at a table with people who are new to TTRPGs. New players are the best! They bring such life and nuance to games without any presumptions and expectations about what a game "should be." Though it can be kinda tough to get them out of their shell and I guess teaching them the mechanics of a game can take a while. You know what? There's nothing like a veteran player that knows the game and can sit down with a fill...

I've mentioned several times that Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition is a build-your-own TTRPG. The source books also do a great job of encouraging players and GMs to create their own content for the game. In today's episode I'm joined by some excellent creators who are doing just that. 

Daniel Lieberman and Rene Beauregard of DragonRoc RPG Design have built up a catalogue of player focused homebrew content. They've created lots of g...

GMs, don't you just hate when your players trip you up by asking the name of an unplanned NPC and you have to make something up on the spot as if you had the answer all along? Well today I'm joined by Mike Ashmoore of Tales of Asperran to tell you to how to stop doing that. 

Aside from setting the precedent of having the first Mike to make a guest appearance on the show, I'm very excited for this discussion because it touches on a ...

There are some incredibly talented people in the TTRPG community. With new content getting churned out all the time you gotta wonder, how do creators keep coming up with ideas? Well today I'm joined by Zac Harrison aka Conan Lybarian to discuss ways to keep filling your well of ideas. We talk about how to draw on other works, monster books, mythology and the like. Zac gives some insight into the card pack cracking he does to create...