Finding Atoria
Three friends, each with 30+ years playing and running TTRPGs sit down weekly to tell stories about the games, community and topics surrounding the Table Top Role Playing world.
Episodes
Tori brings the latest and greatest news for Dungeons & Dragons content creators to share with Malcolm and Arcadia. Is this news for the community? What does it mean? Is anything new at the table for lovers of the world's largest TTRPG? Join Tori, Malcolm & Arcadia at the table as they discuss what the update to D&D's System Resource Document means for Third Party D&D content creators.
Arcadia is our GM this episode, and Jess is back! Tori leads off after losing initiative with the topic of good and bad player characteristics. The number one great player characteristic is being engaged in the game. Remember, you’re working with the GM, not against them, which rings true for most tables. Both GMs and players can work together to make this happen. Sharing the spotlight and letting folks make mistakes ...
We get to try out new podcasting tech as we have a special guest today calling in remotely. Coel Scheel joins us to talk about his experience with gaming clubs in school. For him, it was a good opportunity to meet more of his fellow gamers and bond over some of the geekier parts of life. He talks about how these high school clubs give kids the opportunity to be a part of the gaming community and access to D&D Beyo...
Malcolm GMs this one and Arcadia has the winning initiative role. Cady talks about how teachers can use TTRPGs for learning and how homebrewing can create the correct platform for teaching specific skills and knowledge. Hack and slash campaigns don't always cut it to teach economics or other subjects. Worldbuilding can be challenging to begin with and takes more consideration than most of us have time for; teache...
Malcolm is our ref for this episode, in which Tori rolled highest on initiative and comes back to the topic of the "Satanic Panic” and how we're now facing its modern re-occurrence in the form of the FURRIES Act, introduced by a legislator in Texas. Due to the vague language of this bill, it can block TTRPG clubs in schools due to “nonhuman behavior.” Arcadia comes back from break with game-based learning an...
Tori gets to ref this episode and we have a guest! Jess is with us in the studio. Malcolm covers the topic of character flaws. This doesn’t mean nerfing your character, but it does prevent players from munchkining their characters. Flaws also give a character more depth than just being stereotyped heroes. Some examples of flaws include Shadowrun's elf poser and VTM's known corpse, compromised haven, and prey...
Arcadia gets to ref this episode. Tori leads off with a list of gaming pet peeves from both sides of the table. Most of the items on that list boil down to just being aware that you're playing a collaborative game; be courteous to your fellow players and to the GM. The GM and the players are not opposing forces; it shouldn't be adversarial. Also, take the time to look at your character sheet! It will have th...
Arcadia leads off with her shot at the moderator spot. Tori brings up the topic of min maxxing in D&D. Tori is an admitted optimizer when it comes to her builds but strives not to be a problem player. Powergamers, munchkins, min-maxxers, and optimizers can be yproblem children at the table. Min-maxing and optimizing are usually brought up in the build for the PC. Munchkins are problem children regardless. DMs have...
Tori is in the moderator seat this episode. Arcadia leads off with the Satanic Panic and how D&D got roped into that mishigas. The Satanic Panic took over the US, and D&D was primed to get brought into it. Due to being started at the beginning of the latchkey kids, parents worried about those kids who were without parents constantly being available. The most ironic part of that piece of the story is that those...
Malcom gets to be the ref this episode. Arcadia comes with the idea that starting at level 1 is the way to go with starting a campaign. This can give players the ability to grow with their characters. This can move the story forward and help the players out with learning their character do's and don’ts. Tori debates this with the fact that playing a level 1 character can kinda suck. Both ladies agree that sometim...
Arcadia comes to the table as the ref this session. Malcolm starts the conversation by talking about session 0 and its uses at the table. Session 0 can be a useful tool at a gaming table. This can make sure your “social contract” is good for all members of the table. You can bring up house rules and how they will work in the game. You can also set expectations for both DM and players alike. It helps sort through trigg...
Arcadia is the moderator for this one. Malcolm leads off with how “easy” it is to be a DM. He has been our forever DM since the ‘90s. Arcadia has swapped out with him as well. There are tons of DM resources and it may not be as scary as you think. Rule #1 of DMing: if you aren’t having fun, the players probably aren’t either. Letting your players have agency is an important point as well. The players will derail you, ...
Tori gets to moderate this episode. Arcadia starts us off with the topic of finding the right table for you. Finding nightmare tables proves the old adage, no D&D is better than bad D&D. Sometimes you gotta kiss a lot of frogs to find the right partner. Finding the right group of people to game with is key because they can turn into lifelong friendships. On the other hand, sitting at the wrong table can sour y...
Welcome to our table! Three friends with over 100 years of combined TTRPG experience decide to talk about one of our favorite pastimes. With Malcolm as our moderator, the discussion begins. Tori breaks into the topic about how the hobby is becoming more accessible and acceptable to the general public. There are many pluses to this change in the gaming community. Due to those changes, there is more inclusivity in the a...