Radio Grognard

I talk about the ol' Consent in Gaming flap and my take on it.

I talk (thanks the John Alan Large) about toys and other inanimate objects being possessed.

I talk about being able to tell time in an underground area.

I talk about how to possibly use clowns in your campaign. Seriously.

I talk about going back to the old fairy tales for campaign inspiration.

I talk about starting PCs at a higher level and how you should adjust for that.

I talk about how GMs should pay attention to their players.

I talk about placing multiple McGuffins in your campaign.

I talk about how even while the PCs are recovering there can be adventure.

I talk about how every group should, on occasion,  get into at least one unarmed combat.

I talk about mundane projects for the PCs and the adventure possibilities therein.

I talk about having characters do good works for the village, town, etc. and how it can benefit them and the campaign.

I talk about the Dependent Non-Player Character and how you can utilize them in your games.

I talk about how deadly do you want your game?

I talk about when players want to create new spells or magic items and how they will impact the campaign world.

I talk about placement of features on campaign maps.

I talk about using a campaign world with a different ruleset and the conversion things you have to consider.

I talk about taking the "7-Sentence NPC" method and using it to flesh out your PCs background.

I talk about how GMs pass info to players in private.

I talk about how, done right, a lil' bait-and-switch won't hurt the adventure.

I talk about background things going on in a campaign and how they may or may not have an affect on the adventure.

I review a few drop-in locations my buddy John Alan Large has on DriveThru and also about other things like that for easy use in campaigns.

I talk about listening to appropriate music during prep.

I talk about using rumors in your adventures (true or not) and having fun switching them up a bit.

I talk about using an adventure to give the flavor of your campaign world and condense it down for easier manageability.

I talk about how I like to see modules and supplements laid out.

I talk about level caps and XP versus Adventure-Based Advancement.

I talk about expanding your campaign world.

I talk about players who try to bend the game (and the Group) to their will.

I talk about using different technologies in a fantasy RPG.

I talk about board games with RPG-type elements.

I talk about possibly adding locomotives to my somewhat steampunk fantasy RPG world.

I talk about not worrying when the game is going TOO good.

The third of John Allan Large's voicemails, this time about my previous episode about returning to RPGS. I elaborate a bit.

I play another John Alan Large voicemail and I talk more about duration of sessions and when to pause them.

In this small series of episodes I play John Alan Large's voicemail talking about my character motivation ep and elaborate on it a bit.

In the second episode on this topic I talk about another NPC you should use in your game - the Eccentric Holy Man/Alchemist.

In this two-parter I talk about an NPC that is a great help with equipping PCs as well as adventure hooks - the Eccentric Inventor.

I talk about GMs who have been away from the hobby and want to get back behind the screen again.

I talk about players who try to disrupt the game through their character's actions, citing "that's what my character would do." I'm not a fan.

I talk about running an adventure like a buddy road trip.

A few more thoughts about pacing in RPGs, from the player and GM POV.

I review Fists and .45s! by Paper-Dragon Productions.

I talk about keeping track of time in RPGs.

I talk about adventure-building the Lester Dent Way.

I talk about Appendix N, how it affected me in my gaming history and how it seemed to me to cause and possibly perpetuate a schism between gamers.

I talk about, once more, defining the role of GM and players.

I talk about using the leftover gaming material found in used books and such as research for your campaign.

I talk about the GM's Last Resort - The God Card and how I am loathe to use it.

I talk about running more than one campaign and some ideas I have to keep track of them.

I talk about what PCs can do in the time between adventures.

I talk about adventuring in high altitudes.

I talk about how GMs should never penalize players for being clever.

I talk about how rolling dice does not trump role-playing.

I talk about how to break down a module for play.

I talk about some riffs on the standard holiday RPG session.

I review The Prepless Game Master by Drag N' Drop Games.

I talk about using encounter tables as springboards for adventures.

I talk about getting inspiration by observing the world around you.

I talk about where to start campaigns in established (i.e. store-bought) worlds.

I ruminate on ways to start, grow and maintain a group.

I watched a YouTube video and decided to muse about character arcs. Link to video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qe-GvxooYDs

I talk about PC gambling in adventures and a few ways to do it.

I review Minimal Worlds Fantasy by QuestWise Publishing. Link: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/323605/Minimal-Worlds--Fantasy

I talk about learning a few things about plotting adventures from the comics.

I talk about the "what if?" in your game.

I talk about a possible way to stage cutscenes in adventures.

I talk about how to end your adventures and announce a drawing for some stuff.

I talk about how to organize a pointcrawl for sandbox (and non-sandbox) adventuring.

I talk about adapting outside adventures to your campaign world.

I talk about my love of sea-going adventures and dislike of underwater ones.

I talk about creating custom classes or sub-classes.

I talk about the type of RPGs beginning gamers should play.

I talk about low-level characters and a few tips on how to survive those levels.

I talk about how becoming a better GM is all about practice and how GMs should not stop learning and improving.

I talk about dungeons and how to find them.

I talk about underused resources for handouts and visual aids, focusing on the camera on your phone.

I talk about identifying the potential stop-points in your game and working with the players to fix them.

Wrapping up the look at Astonishing Swordsmen and Sorcerers of Hyperborea, I look at the resources within the Appendixes.

I talk about the campaign world as I go through the Gazetteer for Astonishing Swordsmen and Sorcerers of Hyperborea.

I talk about how Astonishing Swordsmen and Sorcerers of Hyperborea deals with treasure.

I talk about the mundane and unique critters in Astonishing Swordsmen and Sorcerers of Hyperborea.

I continue looking at Astonishing Swordsmen and Sorcerers of Hyperborea, today focusing on the magic system.

I talk about combat in Astonishing Swordsmen and Sorcerers of Hyperborea.

In this short series I talk about the classes in Astonishing Swordsmen and Sorcerers of Hyperborea.

I talk about fudging dice and make a personal challenge.

I talk about campaign timelines and how to handle them.

I talk and muse about the Save or Die mechanic and alternatives.

I talk about contacts, resources and how Chekov's Gun figures into all of this.

I talk about things like generic and blank tokens to use to beef up you mini/token collection.

I talk about things PCs can do to prep for adventure.

I talk about different ways to do combat.

I talk about how PCs don't always get the whole story and that's okay.

I talk about party/encounter balance and how it's not as important to me as you may think.

I talk about mixing your fantasy with some sci-fi and How I do it.

I talk about a couple of premises for a campaign: PC Specialists and Temps hired by an Agency.

I talk about the things I go through to keep the RPG torch burning and forcing creativity.

I talk about the need, or absence, of skills, feats, special abilities, etc. and if used, how much is enough?

I talk about Surreal situations and plot twists and how you should be careful using them.

I talk about PCs having a daily routine and what happens when the adventure messes with it.

I talk about the length of RPG sessions and how shorter ones my benefit your campaign.

I talk about how groups usually have natural leaders and how it's okay to be the supporting PC.

I talk about making sure everyone (including the GM) has fun by not letting a player or GM ruin it.

I talk about how to fix things in your campaign, from adjusting history to retconning sessions.

I talk about thinking up adventures like a B-Movie producer.

I talk about an alternate way to use a map without figures or tokens.

I talk and muse on how simple or codified you need your RPG rules to be.

I talk about Basic D&D's Race-As-Class and how you could modify it.

I talk about illnesses and other things that would put characters under the weather.

I talk about how to relax behind the screen and not to stress over stuff.

I talk about loose ends at the end of a session/adventure/campaign and how /when to use them.

I talk about how GMs should make sure the players work the clues to resolve the adventure.

I talk (read: rant) about trying to get players involved in the adventure and dealing with indifference.

I talk about descriptive words and learning new ones.

I talk about monster ecologies and how they affect your campaign world.

I talk about thoughts on using a deck of cards for adventure creation.

I talk about how I would like to see a module done.

I talk about a different way to start a campaign.

I talk about alternate rules for certain situations and how to use them in your RPG.

I talk about revisiting the old question of why dungeons exist.

I talk about different types of McGuffins for your adventures.

I talk about dice roll modifiers and my preferences of such.

I talk about how opponents would use their familiarity of their area in encounters.

I talk about Professional Game Masters and mull over why I am not one.

I talk about finally deciding to use pointcrawls instead of hexcrawls.

I talk about the use of coincidence in adventures.

I talk about finding what is the "normal" feel for your campaign world.

I talk about starting a character as a loser and building him up into a hero.

I talk about an Idea I had about game flexibility by running a campaign with rotating PCs.

I talk about having a set of generic encounters for adventure fill-ins.

I talk about encumbrance in RPGs.

I talk about a couple of unusual resources for maps.

I talk about how to run a game with no rules resources.

I talk about geography in RPGs and how I can't seem to get it even close to right.

I talk about plausibility in storytelling and how it is the glue that holds up the suspension of disbelief.

I talk about how to end a campaign with a few plot threads hanging.

I talk about weather patterns in your game and the effect it has on the scenario.

I talk about finesse and the pitfalls of dealing with traps.

I talk about a few GMing odds and ends.

I talk about NPCs and have them set up and further the adventure.

I talk about how planning encounters is analogous to doing chores (in a good way).

I talk about writing my campaign world and making it system-neutral for maximum ruleset flexibility.

I talk about how players can add to the campaign world in small ways with unusual equipment, place names, etc.

I talk about setting up daily or weekly GM challenges to help you brainstorm and keep your mind sharp.

I talk about what's needed for a plausible dungeon.

I answer John Alan Large's voicemail and elaborate on adventure length and how much is enough.

I talk about character backstories and if and/or when you should flesh them out.

I talk about how adding a supernatural layer to your adventures could enhance it overall.

I look through my copy of The First Fantasy Campaign and show how Brevity can help adventure and campaign creation.

I talk about how, as a GM, you should always have a sense of where the adventure is headed.

I talk about the little things GMs can do to help the PCs be more immersed in the campaign world.

I talk about the pace of the game and not to rush it to get to the "good parts."

I talk about how major mysteries should be planned and developed in campaigns.

I talk about how to handle a large game collection.

I talk about modularity and pre-made packages in RPGs.

I talk about my views on metagaming.

I talk about what to allow and how to handle other races and creatures as player characters.

I talk about having the PCs be something like tax collectors or insurance adjusters.

I talk about RPG rulesets and GMs who discourage players from playing certain types of characters.

I talk about how to work out adventures by digging into RPG sandboxes.

I talk about motivating myself to get the adventure out of my head and onto the paper.

I talk about races...okay, I talk about orcs, my opinion on the current "discussion", how I see then and their use in the game.

I talk about the use of animals in RPGs.

I talk about whipping up a game session out of practically nothing.

I talk about when other GMs use your adventure.

I talk about developing a rogues' gallery for your PC party.

I talk about the uses of basic stats in RPGs and a side order of rant.

I talk to the newbies and other GMs who struggle about how to take some stress out of running a game.

I talk about how to handle your NPCs.

I talk about using master encounter tables for your campaign.

I talk about an Idea I have for doing quick dungeons.

I talk about birthdays in RPGs, namely characters coming-of-age, fate and prophecies linked to them.

I talk about how you can use food to spark a plot.

I talk about how I get inspiration from song titles, in particular Blues song titles (because I like the Blues).

I talk about how sometimes the adventures just don't come together and how I work it out.

I talk about dungeons, making it plausible and how the idea of it can be adapted to other situations.

I talk about swapping rulesets for a campaign world.

I talk about co-GMing.

I talk some about the 5 room dungeon and it's application in RPGs.

I talk about the plot thread and how to manage it.

I talk again about the use of voices in RPGS.

After a couple of voicemails I talk (warn) about losing your enthusiasm in the middle of the session.

I talk about how there may be a method to my prep madness  - mainly to keep the game flowing.

I talk about the latest things I use for prep, electronic or not and my (non-paid) endorsement of the Neo 2 Word Processor.

I talk about taxes, fees and other financial obligations in your campaign.

I talk about PC death - when does it happen and how?

I talk about using playing cards for adventure creation.

I talk about gaming outside in parks and other outdoor areas.

I talk about creating adventures with a minimum of detail, knowing the start and possible end and filling it in as it's played (or something like that).

I talk about weather effects and how to use them in your game.

I talk about creating and converting spells to different RPG rulesets.

I talk about using the premise of Getting Home for the arc of a campaign.

I talk about morality in older modules and how it reflects those societies.

I talk a bit more about structuring adventures and encounters without a rigid resolution.

I talk about using your strengths as a GM to bolster your weaknesses in concocting adventures.

I talk about using the s