RPG Lessons Learned
The show where you can learn from our mistakes... We talk about our games, and the lessons we learned while playing them.
Episodes
Tanner runs Slug House for Dusty, an old-school dungeon that's a bit bigger than what they are used to! Topics of converstation include hacking together your own OSR system, one player running multiple characters, the difference between a good online game vs a good in person game, eating food in a dungeon, perilous random encounters, shopping, GM never rolling dice, and managing yo...
Tanner ran Dusty through a one-on-one sci-fi OSR adventure in Death In Space, and it wasn't great! They chat about the joy of creating characters by rolling on random tables, playing a character with 1 HP, the power of a good setting and a pretty book, unstructured adventures, and the struggle to find one-on-one games that suit Dusty and Tanner's tastes.
Dusty tells Tanner about running games for some family and friends, and talk about secret doors in dungeons, metagaming the map, Jaquaysing the dungeon, keying your maps, pacing and indecision, red dragons vs green dragons, running Dusk again (!), homebrewing monsters, considerations for running games for youngsters, and the evils of fudging dice rolls!
Tanner gives Dusty an update on his Lancer campaign with his home group, talking about how long combat takes, the importance of scheduling, designing tactical combat encounters, roleplaying mechanics, and the strengths of different mecha and sci-fi subgenres.
- LANCER RPG: https://massif-press.itch.io/corebook-pdf
- Operation Solstice Rain: https://massif...
Dusty ran Tanner a one-on-one one shot in West End Game's Star Wars d6 system. Discussions include the fun of making an adventure vs running one, the best types of characters to play for a game with only one player, concepts vs practicality in adventure design, failing forward, and scripted lines for players!
- Escape From Drassana: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1...
Dusty and Tanner talk their favorite GM advice from games they love, as well as some not-so-great advice, including advice on random encounters, asking your players what they want, magic tricks at the table, building trust between players and the GM, railroading in published adventures, and linear story structure.
Tanner seek's Dusty's advice for his next campaign he is running for his home group, the LANCER RPG. Topics of discussion include 4th edition D&D, scenario design, roleplaying in combat, and lair assaults.
- LANCER RPG: https://massif-press.itch.io/corebook-pdf
Intro / Outro Music: Mirror Image by BernardW100!
...Tanner and Dusty talk the finale of their Cyberpunk RED mini-campaign, discussing tactical combat on battle maps, virtual tabletop gaming, and the campaign and system as a whole.
- 2-Minute Tabletop: https://2minutetabletop.com/product/secret-research-facility-pack/
Intro / Outro Music: Mirror Image by BernardW100!
...Dusty and Tanner talk about their second session in Cyberpunk RED, playing the published adventure Agents of Desire, discussing pre-written adventure layouts, PC and GM expectations for combat, and if a twist can be too obvious.
- Tales of the RED: Street Stories: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/404486/tales-of-the-red-street-stories
Tanner ran the quick-start adventure for Cyberpunk RED for Dusty, and they chat after the game about their first impressions of the system, cyber Joe Rogan, the necessity for a Cyberpunk game to feel like cyberpunk, strangely-written adventures, pre-made characters, and combat rules.
- Cyberpunk RED Easy Mode: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/409912/cyberpunk...
Dusty gives Tanner an update on his long-running OSE campaign with the world's greatest GM, Martin, and they talk simulationism in RPGs, GMPCs, missing content in games, remembering RPGs for posterity, and expanding a published adventure into a campaign.
- Old School Essentials: https://necroticgnome.com/products/old-school-essentials-basic-rules
- Palace...
Dusty and Tanner discuss the conclusion to their Mutants & Masterminds game, and cover the volatility of 1-on-1 combat encounters, sidestepping GM prep, luck rolls, and how to talk GM-to-player instead of GM-to GM.
- Carnival of Crime, Part 3: https://drive.google.com/file/d/11D7cdBx1fZtZ7FK483V8um6RSWY6qb7P/view?usp=sharing
- Dusty's Mutants & Ma...
Dusty and Tanner chat about Part 2 of Carnival of Crime in Mutants & Masterminds, and talk three-act structures, player agency vs railroading, and more.
- Carnival of Crime, Part 2: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1WuEwj5T8twwJ0gS5qA3FvDawyFW4OkTr/view?usp=sharing
- Dusty's Mutants & Masterminds Cheat Sheet: https://drive.google.com/file/d/11fyTPL...
Dusty and Tanner discuss the first session of their three-part Carnival of Crime mini-campaign in Mutants & Masterminds!
- Carnival of Crime, Part 1: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pDz9vxtWEGHk_Vl-GdlJgwegNtSYWOzl/view?usp=drive_link
- Dusty's Mutants & Masterminds Cheat Sheet: https://drive.google.com/file/d/11fyTPL_Yqr81e6DLY1hbNRmULuNjpnls/vi...
Dusty ran "Rat Trap," the adventure in the "Mutants & Masterminds" third edition quickstart, for Tanner!
- Mutants and Masterminds Quickstart: https://freeronin.com/3e_files/MnM3_Quickstart.pdf
- Dusty's Mutants & Masterminds Cheat Sheet: https://drive.google.com/file/d/11fyTPL_Yqr81e6DLY1hbNRmULuNjpnls/view?usp=sharing
Tanner ran "Abberant Reflections," an Old-School puzzle-based dungeon, for Dusty in "The Black Hack!"
- Abberant Reflections by Directsun on DrivethruRPG: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/419533/aberrant-reflections
- The Black Hack 2e by Gold Piece Publications on DrivethruRPG: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/255088/the-black-hack-second-e...
Tanner talks about taking the Hex Dungeon format back to his home group!
- The Hex Dungeon Manifesto by Tanner on Itch: https://thecrystalmaw.itch.io/the-hex-dungeon-manifesto
- The Slime Tunnels of Allorala by Tanner on Itch: https://thecrystalmaw.itch.io/the-slime-tunnels-of-allorala
Dusty runs his original hex-based Christmas dungeon for strangers online!
- Basic Fantasy Role-Playing Game: https://www.basicfantasy.org
Dusty runs "The Veiled Society" for Tanner as a Mystery Dungeon Crawl using Chris Gonnerman's "Basic Fantasy Role-Playing Game!"
- Basic Fantasy Role-Playing Game by Chris Gonnerman: https://www.basicfantasy.org
Tanner talks to Dusty about the 5th Edition D&D game he’s running for his home group.
- Monster Manual on a Business Card: https://www.blogofholding.com/?p=7338
- Ironsworn RPG: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/238369/Ironsworn
- Knave RPG: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/250888/Knave
- Worlds Without Number: https://www...
Popular Podcasts
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
If you eat, sleep, and breathe true crime, TRUE CRIME TONIGHT is serving up your nightly fix. Five nights a week, KT STUDIOS & iHEART RADIO invite listeners to pull up a seat for an unfiltered look at the biggest cases making headlines, celebrity scandals, and the trials everyone is watching. With a mix of expert analysis, hot takes, and listener call-ins, TRUE CRIME TONIGHT goes beyond the headlines to uncover the twists, turns, and unanswered questions that keep us all obsessed—because, at TRUE CRIME TONIGHT, there’s a seat for everyone. Whether breaking down crime scene forensics, scrutinizing serial killers, or debating the most binge-worthy true crime docs, True Crime Tonight is the fresh, fast-paced, and slightly addictive home for true crime lovers.
The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show. Clay Travis and Buck Sexton tackle the biggest stories in news, politics and current events with intelligence and humor. From the border crisis, to the madness of cancel culture and far-left missteps, Clay and Buck guide listeners through the latest headlines and hot topics with fun and entertaining conversations and opinions.