Tag Archives: podcasts

Carnagecast 40: Gygax Magazine and Gary Con

Posted on by

Carnagecast logo.In episode 40 of Carnagecast, James Carpio, games editor of Gygax magazine, joins us to talk about the launch of the periodical, the process of assembling a magazine’s worth of content and finding the balance in the old and new schools of role-playing. He also shares some of his trip this past March to Gary Con, an annual gaming convention held in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin in memory of Gary Gygax, one of the progenitors of role-playing games.

Through all of James’ endeavors — designing games, publishing content, running games at conventions, putting on conventions and more — there runs the common thread of the positive influence games can have on people’s lives as a social outlet. Continue reading →

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 56:46 — 49.3MB)

Subscribe: RSS

Carnagecast 39: Carrion Crown: Broken Moon

Posted on by

Carnagecast logo.In episode 39 of Carnagecast, Dan, Hunter and Toby return to discuss the third chapter of the Carrion Crown adventure path, Broken Moon. Our heroes ventured into the Shudderwood of Ustalav, wherein Victor the unflappable coach driver made his debut, resolute against the strains of ethereal music. At an exclusive hunting lodge and in the depths of the forest, there was a cavalcade of every NPC in Golarion, their names all embroiled in a “Slavic consonant pile-up,” as Toby put it.

Broken Moon is somewhat characterized by that cavalcade of NPCs, many of which monologue about the minutiae of local lupine politics. Still, the adventure works in a fun final setpiece which sees a showdown with Auren Vrood, whom the characters have chased since The Haunting of Harrowstone. Dan marks Broken Moon as his favorite chapter in the path to date. Hunter reveals just how much he loves to play the ghost NPCs.

Also! Like the official Carnage page on Facebook. It’s page-riffic. Continue reading →

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 37:56 — 55.3MB)

Subscribe: RSS

Carnagecast 38: Unity Games XIX

Posted on by

In episode thirty-eight of Carnagecast, Sarah brings tidings from Unity Games, a one day board game extravaganza held annually in Massachusetts. Highlights of the day include teaching Power Grid: The First Sparks, learning Hansa Teutonica and Stone Age, plus the chance to meet up with Carnage friends outside the Carnage convention itself.

We also talk a bit about teaching games, Sarah’s particular techniques for doing so, and finding the balance between achieving fluency in games one already likes versus trying every new title that comes out of Essen. Continue reading →

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 26:51 — 26.4MB)

Subscribe: RSS

Carnagecast 37: Carrion Crown: Trial of the Beast

Posted on by

In episode thirty-seven of Carnagecast, Dan, Hunter and Toby return to the show to discuss their further adventures in the Pathfinder adventure path, Carrion Crown, following on from their first excursion in The Haunting of Harrowstone. From the sleepy village of Ravengro, the heroes stride further to the relative metropolis of Lepidstadt, embroiling themselves in the trial of a monster and nefarious doings of the Whispering Way.

Trial of the Beast saw the birth of Ustalav’s pickle motif, viz. the “mob of angry pickle farmers,” plus some of the most fun Toby’s had in the campaign to date in the titular court proceedings, but also warrants critique on the topics of tacked-on dungeons for the purposes of leveling and deprotagonization of player characters during narrative climax. Continue reading →

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 49:21 — 75.1MB)

Subscribe: RSS

Fiasco at Carnage Noir

Posted on by

The New England Role Players Association (NERPA) had its recorder out and rolling at Carnage Noir last month. Freshly released in their actual play podcast is a session of Fiasco that went down on Saturday of the convention.

Fiasco is more of a story-telling game than a traditional role-playing game “about ordinary people with powerful ambition and poor impulse control.” Players construct the basics of the story and guide the arc of the plot by drawing from pre-written lists of characters, MacGuffins, locations and more. Turn by turn, they frame and play out scenes in a story built to break bad on a scale worthy of the Coen brothers.

Thanks to NERPA for not only recording at Carnage, but making the episode available as part of their podcast.

Carnagecast 34: Arthur, King of Time and Space

Posted on by

In episode 34 of Carnagecast, cartoonist Paul Gadzikowski joins us to talk about his early brushes with tabletop role-playing, cartooning, his on-going series Arthur, King of Time and Space, the changing ways in which we create and consume stories, plus his long-standing interest in the Arthurian mythology and how its characters have been interpreted over the years, such as Arthur’s multiple faces, from high king of a fairy tale realm to warlord in post-Roman Britain.

In addition to our usual show links below, Paul has provided his own annotations and links to the episode’s conversation over on his Livejournal. Check them out! Continue reading →

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 36:45 — 38.3MB)

Subscribe: RSS

Carnagecast Extrasode 8: Fate of the Norns: Ragnarok

Posted on by

In extrasode 8 of Carnagecast, Andrew Valkauskas joins us to share his role-playing game Fate of the Norns: Ragnarok, now celebrating its twentieth anniversary with a third edition on Kickstarter. In Fate of the Norns: Ragnarok, players delve into the grim fantasy of a world without the sun or moon, when Fimbulwinter lays heavy on the nine worlds.

Hear about the rune-based resolution system Andrew developed, where a character’s essence and destiny play a hand in their success or failure, as well as how outside the traditional character progression, a meta progression provides a mechanical kick for hearty warriors not only to relish every battle that may be their last, but enhances the social aspects of role-playing, even in traditionally asocial aspects.

We also talk about the history of Fate of the Norns, from its conception as a computer game to the iterative development it goes through today from player feedback, and the success of the Kickstarter campaign, in how that process has informed the publishing of the game, particularly showing the need to reach a worldwide market.

Fate of the Norns: Ragnarok has currently reached its funding goal on Kickstarter, but the project doesn’t end until Sunday, September 16th. Visit the Kickstarter page to learn more and see the physical components of the game. Continue reading →

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 51:29 — 50.8MB)

Subscribe: RSS

Carnagecast 29: Carnage Noir Update

Posted on by

In episode 29 of Carnagecast, we bring news of Carnage Noir. The convention’s coming up the first weekend of November in Fairlee, Vermont. Game submissions are rolling in, but the deadline looms at the end of July for submissions to be included in the convention book.

Rod brings news of CCGs and board games, including special multi-table sessions of Battlestar Galactica and A Game of Thrones (second edition), plus the return of the kids’ gaming area for the younger set.

Griff’s got the miniatures pulse, with Centuries of Conflict covering the 20th century in historical miniatures — not the 19th, as Griff states in the recording — plus Warhammer Fantasy, Warhammer 40,000, Warmachine and maybe even some Flames of War.

Gaylord talks through the GM’s dilemma of fitting role-playing scenarios into noir and hits on a switcheroo solution that should pique the interest of no small number of players.

Update! The Winter Kotei has moved to allow for a Saturday Legend of the 5 Rings tournament at Carnage. Continue reading →

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 23:57 — 34.1MB)

Subscribe: RSS

Carnagecast 27: Companions of the Firmament and Geek Industrial Complex

Posted on by

In episode 27 of Carnagecast, we talk with Neil Carr of Geek Industrial Complex, based in Barre, Vermont. Neil’s raising funds via Kickstarter for his first role-playing publication, Companions of the Firmament, which brings flying characters, mount options and expanded aerial rules to the Pathfinder role-playing system.

Neil tells us about his goals for Companions of the Firmament: supporting a robust experience of flying in a Pathfinder-style role-playing game and using this book, along with previously published articles, to demonstrate to the role-playing community that Geek Industrial Complex can offer quality material. Neil also talks about his experiences with the crowdfunding model, including conducting a study of previous role-playing related funding campaigns and using that data as a guide to design his own crowdfunding effort.

We manage find time to ponder about the paradox of playing games of pretend that are structured to rule out certain modes of pretending. Why do people do that? Continue reading →

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 58:53 — 53.3MB)

Subscribe: RSS

Carnagecast 26: Tales from the Fallen Empire

Posted on by

In episode 26 of Carnagecast, James Carpio of Chapter 13 Press returns to tell us about his latest endeavor, Tales from the Fallen Empire, a sword and sorcery campaign setting for Goodman Games’ Dungeon Crawl Classics role-playing game.

James tells about the world of Leviathan, formed from the carcass of a primordial dragon, and the people who scratch out a living after the fall of the Sorcerer Kings of old. It’s a world that samples from the buffet of history and fiction, where the elephant golem of Shesh carries a market on its back around the land of Kesh and the Draki people seek a way back to their home dimension. As a sandbox setting, James wanted Tales from the Fallen Empire to recapture the freeform nature of old school gaming, where the players’ choices kept the GM on his toes.

The conversation turns to the Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG as well, and how it differs from its root sources, such as the character funnel leading up to a first level character, the hazardous, unpredictable nature of magic and the other alterations made to the core classes. Additionally, Tales from the Fallen Empire introduces its own variants, such as the sorcerer, drawing inspiration from the original pulp fantasy tales of Howard and Lieber, the pirate and the witch.

Since recording this interview, Tales from the Fallen Empire is now on Kickstarter! From now until the drive ends on July 18, 2012, backers can pledge money to fund the project and receive special rewards, which include the book itself, but extend to elements within the world of Leviathan. Continue reading →

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 58:23 — 51.2MB)

Subscribe: RSS