Category Archive

The Monster Professor creeps onto the podcast once again. Join the Monster Professor and me on a wild ride through terrifying monsters and learn how to use them in your D&D and RPG campaigns. We tackle dinosaurs, those enigmatic beasts from earth’s past. Why are they scary? Are they scary? Find out. Also, we explore monsters in fantasy realms vs. …

Entertainment lawyer and role-player, Charles Hildebrandt, joins me on the podcast today. We have a massively wide-ranging conversation from science fiction to role-playing games to film to copyright and trademark law. We learn his father was famed science fiction illustrator Tim Hildebrandt. Charles gives us insight into his RPG journey dropping some great game master advice along the way. Then …

Transmedia author and longtime role-player, Houston Howard, joins me on the podcast today. We have an outstanding conversation on a vast array of topics around role-playing, storytelling, and what small creators need to do. We learn Houston’s RPG history includes the old West End Games Star Wars D6 system. We cover game master advice, advice for small publishers and writers, …

Eric Koll, therapist and longtime role-player, joins me on the podcast today. We discuss RPGs, Dungeon and Dragons, and more. We talk about how he uses role-playing games in therapy. The conversation ranges from game master advice to many other topics and how tabletop role-playing games can help people deal with mental health issues. Chicago Nerd Therapy Links Check out …

Game designer and Rabbi, Menachem Cohen, pops in on the podcast today. We discuss work in using RPGs to help people heal and grow. We talk about game design, several games he has worked on, and tons of game master advice. Menachem Cohen Links and Twitch Show Check out Menachem’s games, RPG streaming, and other work involving TTRPGs. If you …

Narrative designer, Nick Jones, drops in on the podcast today. We discuss his work in crafting stories for video games and talk about story structure. Also, we delve into Nick’s theories and ideas of using folkloric motifs in narrative design. Please join us for this fascinating conversation about stories, folklore, and more to learn how you can become a better …

Game designer and writer, Tristan Zimmerman, joins me on the podcast once again. We always tackle incredible historical events that you can use in your RPG campaigns. The conversation today centers on the Glass Delusion, five borders towers, and Seaports. We dive into how to use these in your current role-playing games campaigns to add depth and engage your players …

Ash Kain and Brandon Miller, the masterminds behind Promethium Books, drop in on the podcast today. We discuss our gaming histories and then dive into tabletop role-playing game design. We talk dice mechanics and Promethium Books’ upcoming RPG projects. Promethium Books Links and RPGs Official Website – Promethium Books Advent Horizon on DriveThruRPG “Advent Horizon is the definitive Science Fiction …

Spelljammer creator and writer, Jeff Grubb, drops in on the podcast today. We talk about Jeff’s career and how came to work at TSR. We discuss the classic setting of Spelljammer and its genesis. Plus, Jeff was also the lead designer on the Marvel Superheroes role-playing game. The Marvel Superheroes RPG was a very important game in my development as …

Game designer and writer, Steve Kenson, joins me on the podcast today. Steve has designed and written a wide variety of tabletop role-players. He is the designer of Mutants and Masterminds as well as The Expanse RPG. He is also a staff writer for Green Ronin. We discuss running superhero RPGs and the popularity of superhero movies and TV shows. …

Two guests join the podcast today. Luke CJ Smith is a D&D adventure writer and Chris Sagovac is an artist and professor. We discuss the D&D adventures they create and release through Copper Hoard and the DMs Guild. We touch on their approaches to playing role-playing games. We dive into dungeon mastering and discuss character backstories. Plus we talk about …

RPG game designer, Jake Paul, joins me on the podcast today. We dive into the story of how Jake came to work for Parlor Gaming. We discuss the Tephra Steampunk RPG and some of Parlor’s other RPGs. Also, Jake walks us through his game design philosophy and how he uses d12s and d20s. We talk about running RPGs and Jake …

Author and game master, Aron Jolley-Meers, joins me on the podcast today. We discuss tons of different ways game masters can tell better stories. If you are feeling stuck as a GM or your RPG campaigns are lacking a bit, then listen to this episode. We talk practical RPG GM advice and how Aron collected his gaming wisdom into a …

Alex Aboud, the founder of Dragori Games, joins me on the podcast today to discuss the Tanares RPG campaign setting for Dungeons and Dragons 5e. Tanares recently kickstarted for more than two million dollars and features writers like Ed Greenwood and Bruce Nesmith. We talk about new character types, new classes, the fantasy world setting, modes of play, and more. …

The Creator of the Tale of the Manticore actual podcast, Jon Cohen, returns to the podcast. We discuss his dark fantasy storytelling podcast. Plus we talk a lot about running solo RPGs as well as other game master tips you can use in your RPG campaigns. It is a lively conversation about all things role-playing games you do not want …