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What Is Roleplay?
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Description
Welcome to What is Roleplay: a podcast from Beyond Cataclysm exploring the very basics of Roleplay, Role Play Games, and what it means to be part of this awesome hobby.
We will be exploring the nuts and bolts of how to play role play, with each episode themed on a particular concept or idea. Even if you know literally nothing about role play games currently, this podcast is at a level that assumes no prior knowledge.
We will have interviews with leading designers from the indie scene, and take a look into games you may have heard of, and others you haven’t heard of, but should.
Each episode ends with some short live-play examples too, to put flesh on the bones we've laid out earlier on.
We will be exploring the nuts and bolts of how to play role play, with each episode themed on a particular concept or idea. Even if you know literally nothing about role play games currently, this podcast is at a level that assumes no prior knowledge.
We will have interviews with leading designers from the indie scene, and take a look into games you may have heard of, and others you haven’t heard of, but should.
Each episode ends with some short live-play examples too, to put flesh on the bones we've laid out earlier on.
14 Episodes
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Welcome to Episode 14 of ‘What Is Roleplay?!
This episode we are joined by Johan Nohr to discuss design
Everyone can draw – as adults we stop being creative because we fool ourselves into thinking that we cannot do it.
How the independent games scene allows people to explore new ways of designing and laying out games that go against the safe mainstream game publishing norms
How good graphic design helps to communicate the feel of the game and draws the player in
The beauty of getting something hand drawn or hand made in the era of digital design
Over the top art-punk designs that skew all design norms vs minimalism and the use of white space
How tactility helps improve the player’s experience of role playing games – use of techniques such as foiling, embossing, gloss vs matt papers and printing on the book ribbons.
The differences between screen readers & printed books. The problem with PDFs being set up as if they were books when they could be better designed for onscreen use. The plus’ of digital versions when it comes to accessibility.
Listen as Chris & Johan do an actual play where they design a ridiculously meta game entitled ‘GamePOD’, intended to be published on an editable 8-track tape
An encouragement to experiment with and enjoy roleplay and roleplaying games.
Links to things we discussed:
Games:
MÖRK BORG
Delve
Umbra
Mausritter
Old School Essentials
CY BORG
Gozr
Medieval Margin-agerie
MORK ORG
ISBN Coffee
Books, Authors & Publishers:
Stockholm Kartell
SquareHex Publishers
All Rolled Up Press
More about Johan
Twitter – @artbynohr
Itch – jnohr.itch.io
Website – Stockholm Kartell
More about Us
CM Lowry on Twitter – @cmlowryauthor
CM Lowry’s website – All About Chris
Website – beyondcataclysm.co.uk
Patreon – Patreon.com/beyondcataclysm
With music generously provided by:
Powerplant & Imploders.The post What is Roleplay #14 – Design with Johan Nohr first appeared on Beyond Cataclysm.
Welcome to Episode 13 of ‘What Is Roleplay?!
This episode we are joined by Rugose Kohn to discuss Melee Combat
Trigger warning for violence and body horror!
Melee combat is usually gritty and visceral hand to hand combat as opposed to more removed and antiseptic approach such as aerial bombardment.
How early roleplaying games have sort of set the standard of combat as just charging in headlong and hoping for the best where as more modern systems make that approach obsolete and involve more subtilties.
Experimentation as an exciting approach to roleplaying.
How gravitating towards combat can squash creativity, whilst finding other ways to deal with the encounter can open up really interesting outcomes.
Systems that use interesting mechanics to deal with managing conflict such as Powered by The Apocalypse, Lichoma & Fiasco, which emphasise story telling rather than melee combat.
Rugose shares a fun experience of melee combat in a game of MÖRK BORG at GenCon 2022.
Chris & Rugose get into some actual play featuring a hardware store in Colorado, billy clubs, concealed hammers and a dishevelled criminal known only as Dobie. Broken arms and lost eyeballs ensue…
Links to things we discussed:
Games:
MÖRK BORG
Red Box DnD
Twilight 2000
Into The Odd
Warhammer Fantasy RPG
5e DnD
Powered By The Apocalypse
Lichoma
Lancer
Fiasco
Four Borg
Books, Authors & Publishers etc:
Stockholm Kartell
Bogfolk Co-op
Gen Con
Film
Monty Pythons ‘Holy Grail’
Conan The Barbarian
Rambo
Dumb & Dumber
More about Rugose
Twitter – @RugoseKohn
Itch – rugose-kohn.itch.io
Website – rugosekohn.com
More about Us
CM Lowry on Twitter – @cmlowryauthor
CM Lowry’s website – All About Chris
Website – beyondcataclysm.co.uk
Patreon – Patreon.com/beyondcataclysm
With music generously provided by:
Powerplant & Imploders.The post What Is Roleplay? #13 – Melee Combat with Rugose Kohn first appeared on Beyond Cataclysm.
Welcome to Episode 12 of ‘What Is Roleplay?!
Join Chris & Dave as they get very silly in an All Outta Bubblegum actual play special!
A brief explanation of the rules of All Outta Bubblegum
A safety talk
Counting for fun
Setting the scene
Pizza delivery mishaps and corner shop catastrophes
More counting
Listen as the game unravels as we run out of bubblegum
Conclude with us that you don’t always have to spend hours prepping before a fun rpg session – you can take inspiration from things around you and have a great laugh in the process
Links to things we discussed:
Games:
All Outta Bubblegum
FREE PDF Download
Movies:
They Live!
More about Us:
CM Lowry on Twitter – @cmlowryauthor
CM Lowry’s website – All About Chris
Website – beyondcataclysm.co.uk
Patreon – Patreon.com/beyondcataclysm
With music generously provided by:
Powerplant & Imploders.The post What is Roleplay #12 – All Outta Bubblegum actual play first appeared on Beyond Cataclysm.
Welcome to Episode 11 of ‘What Is Roleplay?!
This episode we are joined by Guilherme Gontijo to discuss Design
How design is very similar across the board, and how the differences often just come down to execution?
Why does design matter?
It is more than just style or a taste aesthetic
Design is more about translating ideas on the abstract plane into visuals
Good design helps roleplay games (RPG) creators to communicate the ideas, mood and feel of a game visually
You can fit a whole lot of fun into a small amount of space with good design
The DIY ethos and how the punk spirit has influenced the Indie RPG scene
Funding the beauty in both minimalist as well as heavily illustrated RPGs such as MÖRK BORG
The major importance of remaining faithful to ideas – starting at the essence of the idea and allowing it to inform the design. Making an alliance with the idea and not allowing outside influences to change it & allowing open ended questions to remain.
Italian ‘Giallo‘ horror movies and their influence on Gontijo’s game Blurred Lines
Listen as CM Lowry & Gontijo live design a new game where monks fall into temptation to one of the seven deadly sins and end up in a sepia hell where everyone is in perpetual motion. The working title? ‘No Rest for the Wicked!’
Links to things we discussed:
Games:
Vaults of Vaarn
Honey Heist
Lasers & Feelings
MÖRK BORG
Blurred Lines
Books, Authors & Publishers:
Grant Howitt
Johan Nohr
DriveThruRPG.com
itch.io
More about Guilherme
Twitter – @gontijolab
Itch – gontijo.itch.io
Website – gontijolab.com
More about Us
CM Lowry on Twitter – @cmlowryauthor
CM Lowry’s website – All About Chris
Website – beyondcataclysm.co.uk
Patreon – Patreon.com/beyondcataclysm
With music generously provided by:
Powerplant & Imploders.The post What is Roleplay #11 – Design with Guilherme Gontijo first appeared on Beyond Cataclysm.
Welcome to Episode 10 of ‘What Is Roleplay?!
This episode we are joined by Spencer Campbell to discuss Stats
Laying out some of the basic types of stats that are used in roleplaying games
The concept of Min/Max
The good, the bad and the ugly of Stats
Focusing on skills and approaches rather than just a list of stats
Exploding dice!
How stats enable us to connect with our character and the world of the game
Links to things we discussed:
Games:
Rune
The Lumen System
The Lasers & Feelings System
End of the World
Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition
Nova
Savage Worlds
Spire
REAP
Books, Authors & Publishers:
Fantasy Flight Games
Wizards of the Coast
More about Spencer
Twitter – @GilaRPGs
Spencer on itch – gilarpg.itch.io
Gila RPG website – Gila RPGs
More about Us
CM Lowry on Twitter – @cmlowryauthor
CM Lowry’s website – All About Chris
Website – beyondcataclysm.co.uk
Patreon – Patreon.com/beyondcataclysm
With music generously provided by:
Powerplant & Imploders.The post What is Roleplay #10 – Stats with Spencer Campbell first appeared on Beyond Cataclysm.
Welcome to Episode 9 of ‘What Is Roleplay?!
This episode we are joined by Cezar Capacle to discuss Chance & Probability
Be amazed by Cezar’s amazing productivity levels – 20+ games in three years!
What on earth are “Conflict Resolution Mechanics”?
We explore mechanics within various games systems that make good use of chance and probability
Listen as Cezar’s technique of ‘playstorming’ builds a game within the actual play section, involving a Knight, a Ford Fiesta, Glory & Chaos!
Links to things we discussed:
Games:
Push
Dungeons & Dragons
MÖRK BORG
Death in Space
Call of Cthulu
Mothership
Dread
Spectaculars
Ironsworn
Powered by the Apocalypse
Grimdark
Lucky for None
Savage Worlds
Stuck
Derelict Delvers
Books, Authors & Publishers:
Adams Media
The Die Decides by CM Lowry
Rowan, Rook & Decard
Odd Jobs: RPG Micro-settings Vol. 1 by Sasha Sienna & Jonathan Sims
MacGuffin & Co Publishers
Loot The Room
Tim Clare
The Ultimate RPG Character Backstory Guide, Expanded Genres Edition by James D’Amato
Podcasts:
Cezar Capacle on Dieku Podcast
Cezar Capacle on the Yes Indie’d Pocast
More about Cezar
Capacle Twitter – @capacle
Capacle on itch – capacle.itch.io
Capacle on Bento – bento.me/capacle
More about Ud
CM Lowry on Twitter – @cmlowryauthor
Website – beyondcataclysm.co.uk
With music generously provided by:
Powerplant & Imploders.The post What is Roleplay #9 – Chance & Probability with Cezar Capacle first appeared on Beyond Cataclysm.
Welcome to Episode 8 of ‘What Is Roleplay?!
This episode we are joined by James D’Amato to discuss Personal Play
An important, yet often undiscussed, topic – personal play encompasses anything in game play that you do on your own – things like world building, rolling dice to create a character, and writing character backstories.
The realisation that roleplaying isn’t just the time we spend around a table with other people.
‘Play’ is something that we are encouraged to grow out of as we reach adulthood – in reality it is fun and therapeutic for adults too!
Personal play as a good option for folks who don’t get to game with others as often as they’d like.
Links to things we discussed:
Games:
Dungeons & Dragons
The Traveller RPG
MÖRK BORG
We Sail Beyond
Microscope
Paranoia
Spire
In The Blue Light
Skyjacks
Illimat Boardgame
Books, Authors & Publishers:
Adams Media
The Die Decides by CM Lowry
Rowan, Rook & Decard
Odd Jobs: RPG Micro-settings Vol. 1 by Sasha Sienna & Jonathan Sims
MacGuffin & Co Publishers
Loot The Room
Tim Clare
The Ultimate RPG Character Backstory Guide, Expanded Genres Edition by James D’Amato
Podcasts:
The One Shot Podcast
The Skyjacks Podcast
Rusty Quill Podcast
More about James
James D’Amato Twitter – @OneShotRPG
Find James’ book here – The Ultimate RPG Gameplay
With music generously provided by:
Powerplant & Imploders.The post What is Roleplay #8 Personal Play with James D’Amato first appeared on Beyond Cataclysm.
Welcome to Episode 7 of ‘What Is Roleplay?!
This episode we are joined by Marx Shepherd to discuss Life Paths
So, this episode was released a bit out of order… it’s not episode 3, but actually 7! It’s also worth noting that Marx no longer runs the Yes Indie’d Podcast!
We cover tables, and rolling from them!
Anime, and super super anime things.
Defining a character’s development through guides mechanics.
Staying within the boundaries of genre without having to work too hard.
Links to things we discussed:
Games:
Powered by the Apocalypse
Sengoku
Treasures of the Troll King
Fuzion
Bubblegum Crisis
Traveller
Pathfinder
Mork Borg
Spire
Blades in the Dark
Books:
Play Dirty by John Wick
The Die Decides by CM Lowry
Duncton Wood by William Horwood
Podcasts:
Yes Indie’d Podcast
All my fantasy children by Jeff Stormer
More about Marx
Marx Shepherd – @IAmPhophos
Yes Indie’d Podcast
In*Die Zine
Find their games at marxofhighwater.itch.io
With music generously provided by:
Powerplant & Imploders.The post What is Roleplay #7 Life Paths with Marx Shepherd first appeared on Beyond Cataclysm.
Welcome to Episode 6 of ‘What Is Roleplay?!
This episode we are joined by Chris Bissette to discuss Character Creation
What actually is Character Creation? Deciding who you are going to be in a game, right?
How traditional RPGs such as Dungeons & Dragons handle character creation.
Randomly generating versus picking skills
Beginning with a background story – or finding out who your character is through play.
Character Creation as a game in itself!
We end by creating character together live as an “actual play” demonstrating some of the cool things Chris had introduced.
Today’s adventure involves creating characters in Mausritter, a game for small mice and dangerous escapades…
Links to things we discussed:
The Wretched
Loot The Room
Dungeon Crawl Classics
Spire RPG
TYRANNOSAUR INSIDE with stats from Chris Bissette
With music generously provided by:
Powerplant & Imploders.The post What is Roleplay? – #6 Character Creation with Chris Bissette first appeared on Beyond Cataclysm.
Welcome to Episode 5 of ‘What Is Roleplay?!
This episode we are joined by James D’Amato to discuss One Shots & Campaigns
We discuss RPG One Shots and Campaigns and how the contrast as well as compliment each other.
We talk about the difficulties of scheduling campaign play sessions and how one-shots can make for much simpler, streamlined & spontaneous play.
We define some helpful terms you’ll need to know, like One Shot (a role-play game adventure that takes place in one play session) and Campaign (An ongoing role-play game that takes place over many game play session and can literally last for years).
The pitfalls and hilarity of live streaming campaigns using apps like Zoom.
The definition of Campaign can be very mercurial, discussing expections and safety before game play is important.
We end, as usual, with some live “actual play” using James’ Luminaries, to demonstrate a one-shot & the of the concepts we’ve discussed.
Today’s adventure involves dread, a desperate goodbye, and a player character sacrificing themselves for the greater good…
Links to things we discussed:
Beyond Cataclysm – beyondcataclysm.co.uk
The One Shot Podcast
The Skyjacks Podcast
Ultimate RPG Guide Series
All Outta Bubblegum
Millenial Apartment Hunters
Dungeons & Dragons by Wizards of the Coast
The Eberron Setting for D&D
The Luminaries
Greetings Adventures Podcast
Yes, No, Maybe – A safety tool by CM Lowry
West Marches
Fiasco
Bully Pulpit Games
Dread
Star-Crossed
The Watch
Pheonix Star Command
The Ultimate RPG Gomeplay – by James D’Amato
Write To Them
With music generously provided by:
Powerplant & Imploders.The post What Is Roleplay? – #5 One Shots with James D’Amato first appeared on Beyond Cataclysm.
The second half of our 'What is Roleplay?" special episode...
In the concluding part, CM Lowry loses his voice, but talks to many interesting designers at the UK Games Expo to teach you how to enjoy RPG at games conventions.
The hodge-podge of cool people we chatted to includes...
Ben from The Party RPG
Brian at Stout Stoat Press - try typing that ten times quickly
Anna from Blackwell Games
Nick Spence, author of Gangs of Titan City
Grant Howitt from Rowan, Rook & Decard
Tom Brewster from Shut Up & Sit Down
Chris Birch, head honcho at Modiphius Entertainment
Panny & Aled from Leyline Press
And JOHAN NOHR, who I definitely gushed all over, designer of MÖRK BORG!
Links to cool stuff we saw:
The Party RPG
Apawthecaria
Delve (Buy it in the BC webstore!)
Umbra (check it in our store!)
Gangs of Titan City
Heart
Spire
Dodo
2d20 RPGs
Agents of Dune
Salvage Union
MÖRK BORG
Cy_Borg
With music generously provided by:
Powerplant & Imploders.
Transcript
[00:00:04.090] - Dave
Beyond Cataclysm presents for your listening pleasure what is roleplay? Welcome to What Is Roleplay, a podcast from Beyond Cataclysm exploring the very basics of roleplay, roleplaying games and what it means to be part of this awesome hobby. We'll be exploring the nuts and bolts of how to play roleplay. Even if you know literally nothing about roleplay games currently, this podcast is always at a level that assumes no prior knowledge. This is the second of two special episodes recorded live at a gaming expo by CM Lowry that we have dubbed surviving a Games Convention. Because he's such a blabbermouth by day two, CM Lowry's voice was failing him. So here we go!
[00:01:00.210] - CM Lowry
We are here for day two of the UK Games Expo and clearly my voice has gone ridiculously. Who am I chatting to today?
[00:01:09.980] - Ben
You're chatting to Ben from The Party RPG.
[00:01:12.320] - CM Lowry
The Party RPG. Glorious. What is The Party RPG?
[00:01:16.770] - Ben
Yeah, so the Party RPG is a really simple, fun way to enjoy role playing games without the fuss of having to prepare, like spend 3 hours, 4 hours preparing for a session. So really easy to get newbies in, but also really good if you want a more casual gaming experience.
[00:01:31.070] - CM Lowry
I mean, that's very much my cup of tea. That sounds good. And it seems like you're more aimed at kind of families and kids and that sort of stuff.
[00:01:40.510] - Ben
Yeah, well, we're really aimed at mix, so yeah, definitely people that want to enjoy role playing games with families or kids, but also established players and kind of adults who want a bit of fun. So if you want to play it while you're drinking, have a bit more casual experience, this is perfect for that as well. So you can either play it with families or you can play it with friends in a kind of more casual setting.
[00:01:59.180] - CM Lowry
And what's in your book? Have you got adventures? Have you got...
[00:02:02.550] - Ben
Yeah. So there's 16 locations in the book that you can play through kind of one campaign, but the whole experience is really well guided, so you don't have to do any preparation to play. You just jump in, the book tells you exactly what you need to do and then you can just focus on all the fun parts of role playing, which is the role playing itself.
[00:02:19.340] - CM Lowry
There are a lot of fun parts of role playing.
[00:02:21.840] - Ben
Honestly, it's amazing. If anyone's new to the hobby, it's one of the best, I think one of the best games that you can play at a table because everyone gets involved. Your imagination runs wild, you can create any situation you want. It's really the perfect outlet for creativity, I think.
[00:02:36.640] - CM Lowry
Amazing. And if someone was new to RPG and they were going to a convention, what would your advice be? If someone was here, they'd never done any RP, they didn't know anyone. What would you do?
[00:02:49.990] - Ben
I tell them to buy The Party RPG.
[00:02:52.870] - CM Lowry
That's a very common answer that I'm getting from yeah, I suppose more what would you do? What would you do, like, socially here?
[00:03:02.940] - Ben
So I just mix with people, talk to people that are involved in the hobby, just get a different perspective, go to lots of different stands, understand what different type of role playing games there are, because you can get some super law heavy, so you really need to be invested in the story. And then there are some that you don't have to be as invested in the story because they're a little more casual and it really depends what you're after. If you're into getting into something that really immerses you in a new world and immerses you in a really deep story with lots of lore, go and chat to some of the really huge heavy sourcebook campaign teams. If you want something a bit more light, go and chat to role players that have something a bit more light.
[00:03:40.900] - CM Lowry
I think one thing I would say as well is that if you find people who are making Indie RPGs, like yourself, you've got a lot of experience of playing RPGs and you know the difference, if you go to the big heavy, DnD Stall, they're going to know DnD and maybe not have as wider range of experience. Whereas if you come and chat to the small stalls, you're just so enthusiastic.
[00:04:09.710] - Ben
Yeah, exactly. And not that I guess ultimately the product is there that we've created. So almost we're really invested in the hobby and said that I mean, everyone that's here, right, you can see it from the passion of everyone that comes. I think everyone at the Expo is really passionate about games and the hobby, so I think it's just case of chat to anyone that's going to sell their RPG and you'll get a really good take and just talk to as many people as you can.
[00:04:34.580] - CM Lowry
Awesome. And we can find you on Twitter, Facebook, all that stuff. Yeah.
[00:04:38.510] - Ben
On Twitter, Facebook and at www.thepartyrpg.com
[00:04:42.030] - CM Lowry
Fantastic. Thank you very much.
[00:04:51.870] - CM Lowry
So, still with no voice. I'm here at a stall I came to because they had quite a handmade banner with we forgot our banner written on it. Where am I?
[00:05:04.960] - Stout Stoat
You are at Stout Stoat Press at UK Games Expo.
[00:05:08.440] - CM Lowry
Indeed. And tell us about your banner.
[00:05:12.470] - Stout Stoat
So I forgot my banner in Scotland. We're from Edinburgh and that's 400 miles away from Birmingham. So my sister, who's a blacksmith, came over, made us a new like banner holder out of wood and nails. And then I have on a sheet written Stout Stoat with my logo so beautifully drawn. It's gorgeous. It's the most amazing thing I've ever done. And also a little caveat saying, we forgot our banner, please don't judge us.
[00:05:38.650] - CM Lowry
So Stokes desk. Let's try again. Stout Stoat Press. Why did you start? What was your reason?
[00:05:47.200] - Stout Stoat
So Stout Stout Press is entry level on all fronts. I'm autistic and queer and I find that role play is such a key way of learning social skills, of making friends, of being able to talk about problems that you have in a safe space. And I wanted to share that with other people. And I found that huge systems like dungeon and dragons, Pathfinder, they're like 900 pages of words and that's a lot to get through. So I wanted to make stuff that was simple and easy. I was also an art graduate and no one likes art graduates. I couldn't get work. I did so many free gigs that never led to anything. So I wanted to make my own books so that I could hire my friends and then we could have, like, the air quote experience to go get real jobs. But now I just do this full time.
[00:06:29.950] - CM Lowry
So you're not planning on ever getting a real job now?
[00:06:32.500] - Stout Stoat
Well, this is a real job. I work really hard and I get very stressed and then I'm very happy when everything comes together.
[00:06:38.610] - CM Lowry
No, I mean, if we're defining a real job as creating real things, the stuff on this stall is so pretty. Tell us about one of your games that you're excited about here.
[00:06:50.290] - Stout Stoat
So we just I say we because I partnered with Anna Blackwell at Blackwell Games for Apawthecaria. It's a solo journaling game where you are a little beast on a big adventure through the Scottish undergrowth. You're making potions, you're trading for food and shelter, you're building a wagon. There's so much going on.
[00:07:06.410] - CM Lowry
I didn't know it's through the Scottish Undergrowth. That's a lovely crunchy bit of specificity.
[00:07:11.470] - Stout Stoat
It's because we both really love Loch Lomond and the Trossachs. It's a region north of Glasgow. Anna goes wakeboarding there like, every weekend. And I've been playing a campaign set there in this post human future where all humans have vanished and animals have taken back the land. I've been playing a campaign there called Beast Fables for two years and then we just happen to bump heads and go, oh, we love this place, we should make a game about it.
[00:07:34.630] - CM Lowry
I mean, I I absolutely love the outdoors as well. I've not been to Scotland very much, but I helped run like, a bothy up in the Lake District. We should totally do an RPG getaway there. Oh, my yeah, that should happen. Okay, I'll email you about it. Brilliant. I don't know what more to say Apothecary.
[00:08:00.430] - Stout Stoat
Apawthecaria. Yeah, because Apothecaria was Anna's original game and Apawthecaria with a paw in the word is like our little animal version.
[00:08:07.610] - CM Lowry
And they can buy it here, but this podcast is coming out after the expo, so where can they go to get it, aside from that.
[00:08:15.060] - Stout Stoat
stoutstoat.co.uk
[00:08:17.110] - CM Lowry
Marvellous. We will send people there. Thank you very much. I've been a pleasure to meet you.
[00:08:21.400] -
A special episode of ‘What is Roleplay?!
In this episode CM Lowry wanders around the UK Games Expo to pick up tips on how to enjoy RPG at (and generally survive) these massive games conventions.
We chat to lots of awesome people about games, roleplay and the weird world of gaming cons, including:
Chris Samson of Magpie Games - and mostly getting distracted by their amazing dice rings from Crit Success!
Anna Molla from Mottokrosh Machinations and the beautiful Hypertellurians game!
Matt Sanders representing the awesome Soul Muppet publishers!
Zachary Cox, whose claim to fame is being the "&" in Rowan, Rook & Decard.
Cat Evans, from fellow micropublisher Ex Stasis Games!
Links to cool stuff we saw:
Root RPG
Zombie World RPG
Hypertellurians
Mini B/X
Cantrip
Brave Zenith
Manse
Apparition
With music generously provided by:
Powerplant & Imploders.
Transcript:
[00:00:03.890] - Dave
Beyond Cataclysm presents for your listening pleasure 'What is roleplay?'
[00:00:15.410] - Dave
Welcome to What is roleplay? A podcast from Beyond Cataclysm that explores the very basics of roleplay, roleplaying games and what it means to be part of this awesome hobby. We'll be exploring the nuts and bolts of how to play roleplay - even if you know literally nothing about roleplay games currently, this podcast is always aimed at a level that assumes no prior knowledge. This is the first of two special episodes recorded LIVE at a gaming expo by CM Lowry that we have dubbed Surviving a Games Convention! Enjoy.
[00:00:58.850] - CM Lowry
How are you finding your experience of the NEC so far, Joen?
[00:01:03.110] - Joen
Not very good at the moment.
[00:01:05.290] - CM Lowry
We accidentally parked a good 20-25 minutes walk away from the convention centre...
[00:01:13.160] - Joen
...in a 17 pound car park!
[00:01:15.650] - CM Lowry
17 pounds! "Have a great day!" the sign above us said.
[00:01:24.490] - CM Lowry
So, after a long car park, we're inside. We're in the food hall bit. What are you looking forward to, Joen? Should we go and find stuff?
[00:01:33.650] - Joen
Yes.
[00:01:42.590] - CM Lowry
Here we are at the UK Games Expo. And who am I talking to?
[00:01:46.680] - Chris Samson
Well, hello. My name is Chris Samson. I'm the director of Sales at Magpie Games and it's a pleasure to be here. Thanks for having me on.
[00:01:53.300] - CM Lowry
It's an absolute pleasure to be chatting to you. So the UK Games Expo is a it's a place that's got mostly board games, or at least, I mean, a lot of board games. So many board games I almost can't breathe.
[00:02:05.260] - Chris Samson
It's wild. My eyes are swimming. There's so many new games here.
[00:02:10.280] - CM Lowry
And have you been to many other cons, like, in America?
[00:02:13.570] - Chris Samson
Yeah, long before I started working in the con industry, I was myself a huge fan of cons. So gaming cons, tabletop gaming cons, anime cons, whatever it is, I'm there, but being part of the industry is really fun. And I'm here now with Magpie Games. I'm relatively new, I've been working for about six months and this is our first time at the UK Games Expo. First time travelling to the UK, first international show. It's a lot of firsts this year. It's really exciting.
[00:02:45.070] - CM Lowry
A lot of firsts. Yeah, I think we'll actually we'll come back to your experience with cons because I'm really interested with that, because obviously our podcast is aimed at people who are just getting into roleplay or who haven't necessarily found their niche yet. And there are some cons that are really friendly and, like, really very comfortable to come and do roleplay games at. And there are some that are maybe a little bit less so. Aircon, which I went to a few months ago, is such a friendly convention where there's a lot of space to do tabletop roleplay gaming. What roleplay games have you brought to the con today?
[00:03:25.830] - Chris Samson
I'm glad you asked. So our number one flagship title for this show is Root, the Role Playing Game. Super exciting. It's very new, it's the result of a very successful Kickstarter campaign, but the official release date was this past March and this is the first show ever to have Root, the RPG. So congrats UKGE and all you awesome Brits out there. And it's an incredible release, officially licenced by Leader Games. So it's based on the same board game.
[00:04:00.940] - CM Lowry
So, yeah, so that for those who who don't know, and I think obviously a lot of people listening will know, but Root is a very successful board game. Came out about 2019, 20 around then, I think.
[00:04:13.310] - Chris Samson
Yeah, somewhere around there.
[00:04:14.850] - CM Lowry
And it's set in a forest. It's got a very unique style and it's got as a board game, it's very interesting because it's very what we call asymmetric so every player, they're almost playing a completely different game against each other. How's it been translated into roll top?
[00:04:33.190] - CM Lowry
Roll top?
[00:04:34.070] - Chris Samson
Roll top, yeah.
[00:04:35.020] - CM Lowry
Roll top.
[00:04:35.580] - CM Lowry
That works.
[00:04:36.710] - Chris Samson
You gotta you gotta copyright that. That's that's a new term.
[00:04:39.580] - CM Lowry
How's it how's it translated into RPG?
[00:04:41.660] - Chris Samson
Well, I'm glad I'm glad you asked. Root, the role playing game is based on the powered by apocalypse system. So for those who don't know, it's a two d6 gaming system, or use two six sided die to push the story forward with a series of basic moves, and unique moves, tied to your playbook, or a type of archetype where you build your character around. Now, how that relates to Root, like we said before, it's set in the same world, same IP, and the story set in the woodland. To give someone, I guess, a primer is a lot like Game of Thrones with cute little woodland creatures, but they're not as cute as they seem. The woodland has been taken over by the marquise, the cat, like this powerful dynasty of cats, and the balance of power and the fate of the woodland is in total chaos as they're taking over. But you, as you as a player, create a vagabond. And for those who are familiar with the board game, the vagabonds are these roving bands of like, mercenaries and grokes free agents. You have no allegiance to anyone but yourself.
[00:06:01.060] - CM Lowry
Because I did wonder about that, because I did wonder if you were just going to be picking your characters from the different factions, it would be quite hard to pull together a story that was believable, where you were all in one kind of group, one party together, but so you're playing as a group of vagabonds exactly. Interacting with those different factions.
[00:06:18.470] - Chris Samson
Exactly. So as the vagabonds, you are beholden to no one and you are this X factor, you are this tipping point where what you do will affect the rest of society, will affect the fate of the woodland. So you could ally with one faction and be opposed to the other, but that'll have consequences. You create new allies, you create new enemies. Or alternatively, you could be selfish and just be mercenaries for hire and just be in it for yourself. And that itself has its own set of consequences. So what's really cool about it is you're a group of vagabonds, and you are finding your space within The Woodlands. And what you do will affect the fates of The Woodlands around you in terms of the balance of power, in terms of who wins or who loses, who gets control of a certain woodland, who controls resources, who controls and the consequences, good or bad, that result from that.
[00:07:26.670] - CM Lowry
So if I was to pick up the Root RPG, and hopefully at some point we plan to have that in the Beyond Cataclysm web store as well, but if you would, if someone who's not really played roleplay before was to pick it up, what tips would you give them? How can they onboard as easily as possible into that?
[00:07:48.470] - Chris Samson
I think the system here is really integral to the answer. So PBTA, Power by the Apocalypse, is a system where it establishes and encourages collaborative storytelling and it really facilitates that. Even if you fail, the story is always pushed forward. So in terms of that, it gives you a lot of flexibility to pull from your favourite tropes, favourite conventions, Root being like a high fantasy. You do play as a group of sentient, roving, woodland critters.
[00:08:32.310] - CM Lowry
but we don't know that's not true.
[00:08:35.270] - Chris Samson
Mhm, Yeah, you raise a good point and there's a lot of really great IP out there as cultural touchstones that you could rely on. So Red Wall, Mouse Guards, Warriors, these are probably Red Wall is probably the most pressured one that comes to mind first. So if you're predisposed to that type of context and language and imagery, you're already halfway there. You're already primed to be the hero or the villain or the anti hero you want to be in this game. On top of that, PBTA is so awesome because it allows you to just if you're new to the RPG, I want to try this, I want to do that. And as a GM, the system is flexible enough where it's like okay! I want to try to infiltrate this base or achieve a certain goal. The system is flexible enough where it falls on an overarching basic move or unique move. And based on the dice roll, you create the circumstances for pushing the story forward, whether for good, for bad. And I would say in terms of player and GM, you have a lot of flexibility. You're having a dialogue, a sort of dance, you're making theatre.
[00:10:05.730] - CM Lowry
But I think the pressure is off there a bit as well, because you're not on a stage. You're with your friends.
[00:10:11.380] - Chris Samson
Exactly.
[00:10:11.800] - CM Lowry
And so you can say, let's infiltrate this band. I don't know, I'm going to put leaves in the hair of my fox to try and
Episode two of ‘What is Roleplay?!
This episode we are joined by CJ Eggett to discuss DEATH!!!
How the threat of death or overcoming death is the driving force in most roleplay games.
How loss, madness and other missing pieces are analogues for death
Some more terms you’ll need to know, like Railroading (Being forced down a particular narrative path) and OSR (Old School Revival, a resurrence in simpler, more traditional Roleplay)
Damage in Dungeons & Dragons, and alternative ways of handling that in Tunnel Goons.
CJ's obsession with weird puppet magic monsters in The Dark Crystal.
We end, as usual, with some live “actual play” to demonstrate the concepts we've discussed.
Today's adventure involves death, a eulogy, and a player character not going to university...
Links to things we discussed:
Beyond Cataclysm – beyondcataclysm.co.uk
Artefact by Mousehole Press
A Set Of Scrubs by CM Lowry
Call of Cthulhu from Chaosium Inc.
Tunnel Goons by Nate Treme
MÖRK BORG from Ockult Örtmästare Games and Stockholm Kartell
The Dark Crystal Adventure Game from River Horse
Tyrannosaur Inside – by CM Lowry
With music generously provided by:
Powerplant & Imploders.
Welcome to the very first episode of our semi-regular Beyond Cataclysm podcast – ‘What is Roleplay?’
This episode we are joined by author CM Lowry to discuss:
A very loose definition of ‘role play’ and how we’ve all done it in real life
Some basic terms you’ll need to know like RPG (Role Play Game), GM (Games Master), and PC (Player Character)
The various dice you might come across (featuring too many dice rolling sounds!)
The mechanics of Stats
We even do a little bit of live "actual play" role play, which we think makes for pretty fun listening.
Links to things we discussed:
Beyond Cataclysm – beyondcataclysm.co.uk
Visions Press – visionspressdiy.bandcamp.com
CM Lowry Author – allaboutchris.org
Tyrannosaur Inside Kickstarter - https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/cmlowry/tyrannosaur-inside-a-monstrous-quest-inside-a-giant-t-rex
All Outta Bubblegum RPG - https://www.dropbox.com/s/c9vhigdldvg8ji4/AllOuttaBubblegum.pdf?dl=0
Lasers & Feelings RPG - http://www.onesevendesign.com/laserfeelings/
With music generously provided by:
Powerplant & Imploders.