Book club episode! We discuss Eberron Campaign Setting by Keith Baker. As always, you can participate in the talkback episode by sending in a response to any or all of the following questions. You can record yourself speaking, you can post in the discord thread for this episode, or write to thomas@rascal.news. Looking forward to hearing from you. Discussion Questions What do you think of Eberron? Do you like the encyclopedia style? Has your relationship to that kind of book changed? If you've played it, what was your campaign about? How did you use the setting? Which part jumped out and grabbed you? How do you think about the pleasure of reading versus playability? Is this a binary or are there games that do both? Show Notes: Michael Moorcock's anti-Tolkien essay Epic Pooh Aaron Trammell's new book about how quantification and orientalism affect D&D Prismatic Wasteland's The Keep On The Borderland is full of lies Daydreaming about Dragons episode about making history and lore useful at the table The music used for this show is by Nihilore and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. The opening track is So Does Hope and the closing track is Something Beautiful Is Going To Happen. For more from us, visit Rascal News.
Book club episode! We respond to people's responses about my discussions questions regarding Blades in the Dark and Doskvol. Show Notes: Games mentioned: Mythic Bastionland, Spire, Paranoia, Silent Titans Kieron's blog about Mythic Bastionland on Old Men Running the World COTTONMOUTH LAW, THE 400 BLOWS & KUNG FU CAPITALISM, a blog from Was it Likely The music used for this show is by Nihilore and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. The opening track is So Does Hope and the closing track is Something Beautiful Is Going To Happen. For more from us, visit Rascal News.
Book club episode! We discuss Blades in the Dark by John Harper. Read more here. As always, you can participate in the talkback episode by sending in a response to any or all of the following questions. You can record yourself speaking, you can post in the discord thread for this episode, or write to thomas@rascal.news. Looking forward to hearing from you. Discussion Questions What are your thoughts on Duskwall? Do you have a cool example of a moment in the game that came out of factions and their connections? As a GM or as a player? What do you think about the idea that Duskwall is "a city designed for heists"? Do you feel a strong difference between the rules in systems and the rules of the setting? Do you think one is easier for you to remember or forget? What do you think about the idea that a good setting helps you figure out cause and effect so that it's easier to make players' decisions and actions be meaningful? Show Notes: Thursday Garreau's blog series on the history of Blades in the Dark and its setting Dice Exploder podcast episode on Lightning Barriers The music used for this show is by Nihilore and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. The opening track is So Does Hope and the closing track is Something Beautiful Is Going To Happen. For more from us, visit Rascal News.
Rowan joins Chase and Thomas for a podcast that almost immediately flies off the rails and deep into tangent territory. Also, Chase gets roundly bullied by his friends and coworkers. The crew discuss Rowan, Rook and Decard's new union, Wizards of the Coast's vision keynote at Gen Con, and the culmination of a Band of Blades campaign that left Thomas and Rowan impressed with themselves and the Forged in the Dark-style fantasy RPG. Later in the Question Dungeon, the crew offer PbtA advice and discuss what a "normal player" would even look like. -- Hosted by Chase Taylor-Carter (@chasecarter.bsky.social). Featuring Thomas Manuel (@newmadras.bsky.social) and Rowan Zeoli (@rowanzeoli.bsky.social). Theme song by People Need Goals. Cover art logo by Johan Nohr (@johannohr.bsky.social). -- Games we mention: Pirate Borg Dungeons & Dragons Band of Blades Masks: A New Generation Stonetop
Subscribe now to get 33% off an annual memberships! Already a subscriber? We'd appreciate a donation to our tip jar. Rascal News needs your help. You might have seen our recent article laying out the potentially dire financial straits that the website finds itself facing. In this special episode of the podcast, Chase and Thomas tackle the reasons why and what you, dear listeners, can do to support us through this (hopefully) brief economic blip. It's a conversational and transparent discussion about finances, failed projects, experimentation, and dreams. We also answer some reader questions, which prompts a long tangent about reviewing tabletop RPGs. -- Hosted by Chase Taylor-Carter (@chasecarter.bsky.social). Featuring Thomas Manuel (@newmadras.bsky.social). Theme song by People Need Goals. Cover art logo by Johan Nohr (@johannohr.bsky.social). -- Chris Gethard Show's famous episode, "One Man's Trash" No Pun Included's video on why they're rethinking the channel's approach to reviews.