I Am Hear

Makenzie and I talk about her work, mental health, writing for a project that directly reflects and connects her Filipino heritage, streaming, the community, and how important it is that we keep pushing that door open for future waves of players and creators. Makenzie De Armas Website Twitter The Island of Sina Una MCDM Productions I Am Hear I Am Hear is a conversational podcast that focuses on the guest and their experiences with RPGs and the RPG community. It explores the unique stories of RPG community members and purposefully features members of the community marginalized by race, gender, sexuality, neurodivergence, and/or disability. I Am Hear aims to boost those folks and their stories. The intro and outro music was composed by Emily E. Meo. All graphic art and assets were created by Mathias Grelli. Relevant Links RPG Casts: A podcast directory dedicated to being the most up-to-date resource for currently-releasing RPG podcasts. We make it easy, and purposefully so, to find podcasts that feature folks of marginalized genders (women, nonbinary, and trans folks), BIMPoC (black, indigenous, mixed, and people of colour), members of the LGBTQIA+ community, and disabled/ neurodivergent people. With over 300 podcasts listed, RPG Casts is the biggest and best RPG podcast resource. Tabletop Micdrop: A publication and newsletter about tabletop roleplaying games (TTRPGs), storytelling, and the RPG podcast industry. International Podcast Month: September Is International Podcast Month (IPM)! IPM is a wonderful opportunity for podcasters to cross-promote, celebrate each other, and share the love of podcasting with the world. Support Patreon Ko-fi

Amanda and Eric from Multitude Productions (Join the Party, Spirits, Horse, Potterless, and Waystation) sit down to talk about D&D, being Good Humans (like Chad), Toxic Masculinity, why they do what they do, the work and intention they put into Join the Party

Fay and I talk about hir show and website, Writing Alchemy, how important accessibility in RPGs and RPG Podcasting is, the importance of checking our language, and what it means to be neurodivergent and the ever-evolving language in our society. We also chat about hir upcoming game, Magic Goes Awry.

Orion and I sit down to talk about Mutants in the Night: how it fosters fighting oppression in a healthy way, encourages still having fun, champions self care instead of vices. We also chat about how it came to be, what inspires Orion, the importance of community in their game and in real life, how they strive for positivity and uplifting those who need uplifting, and how important it is to find your people and find belonging.

Deven Rue, Cartographer Extraordinaire from Rue Ink, sits down to talk about Deven's artistic processes, inspirations, what visual impairment means for her profession, how she started mapmaking for a living, the beauty of a community that gives, and how much she loves the RPG Community.

Brie Beau and I talk about selfies, self image, exploring identity through selfies and self-portraiture, game safety and consent in play, character agency,

Misha and I sit down and talk about game design, what inspires and pushes Misha to create, how she moves through and past mistakes, her experience being a black woman in the RPG community, how important it is to showcase black women, and not just black women who show-case euro-centric beauty norms, and so much more.

And we're back! Megan Schlarlau, member of the Actual Play one-shot podcast Tabletop Potluck, sits down to talk about her experiences in the community, how games can be mechanically more inclusive, how easy it is to be inclusive and diverse, and what it means to see yourself represented in RPG media.

Therin Stapp, co-creator of the Audio Drama Interference and player-soon-to-be-GM on the 5E D&D Actual Play Roll Like A Girl, sits down to talk about her experiences in the community, how to foster an open table, how D&D forges relationships, and D&D in the library.

Kira Magrann, TTRP and LARP designer, sits down to talk about queer communities, the overlap of queer and gaming communities, growing up, always learning, and never shutting our hearts and minds to new information, identities, and understanding.

Cole Burkhardt, voice actor and podcast extraordinaire, who voices on virtually every podcast ever, talks about their bi-racial experiences, exploring their black heritage through game play, the importance of diversity and sharing the community, their love of collaborative gameplay and world building, the brilliance that is the 'X' card system, and how we can be a better, inclusive, and open community.

Mr. E sits down to talk about introducing D&D to his school and students, why it's important to him to see his students have a positive first experience with the game, and how impactful D&D has been for the girls, for him, and for the community.

Rhi, creator and GM of the Blades in the Dark actual-play podcast The Magpies, talks about her love of the Blades in the Dark system, her foray into RPGs, what she's doing to make her games more accessible and inclusive, and her experience in the community.

Meghan Dornbrock, host of the RPG Discussion show Modifier, and GM and host of the yet-launched Actual-Play Dragon Age podcast, Tales from Thedas, talks about accessibility, her experiences in the RPG community with a visual impairment, how important representation of disabled peoples is, her various cool projects, and how we can be a more accessibility-friendly community.

Haley and Vee, the brilliant team behind Storybrewers Roleplaying Games and creators successful Jane Austen RPG game, Good Society, talk about what fuels their creative and design process, how their life experiences influence their creations, and how the act of design is still play, and how regardless of designing or playing games, the delight of story building is so powerful.

Julia Highsmith, Illustrator, Artist, and Crafter of beautiful pride dice, talks about their experiences in D&D, their love of the game and how it has connected them to friends, and the importance of the intersection of self identity and hobby.

Quinn Wilson, GM and host of the actual-play podcast, Swallows of the South, talks about removing toxicity in the RPG community, checking privilege, and the importance and weight of tables being a safe space for vulnerability.

Kat Kruger, GM and host of the D20 Dames Actual-Play Dungeons and Dragons podcast, talks about storytelling, writing adventures, her biracial experience in D&D, the importance of visibility and diverse experiences both at the table and at game development, and how important it is for women to be visible at conventions playing RPGs, running RPGs, and sitting on panels talking about RPGs.

Curt and his twin nine-year-old daughters, Sammie and Birdie, of the Dungeons and Dragons Actual-Play podcast Dungeons & Dragons & Daughters, talk about being girls playing D&D, what they love about playing with their dad, and all sorts of additional silliness. Sammie and Birdie show that any girl can (and should!) play RPGs.

Renee Rhodes, GM and host of the Dungeons and Dragons Actual-Play podcast Fate and the Fablemaidens, talks about physical health, mental health, disabilities, and how they can drastically affect the creative brain, how we can use RPGs to explore the abilities or skills we wish we could have or don’t currently have in our real lives, how RPGs empower us to be whomever we want to be, and the strength of community. Note: We had to stop recording at one point, and the second part of the recording ended up with some weird audio, hence the switch in quality at around the 30-minute mark. Apologies, and hopefully you can still enjoy the episode!