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Epic Adventure

Steve Kellams

Are you ready for an epic adventure? Welcome to the Epic Adventure Podcast! Host Steve Kellams and guests discuss all things table top roleplaying. From TTRPG news and tabletop RPG game design to tips and tricks to make your games epic.

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21 episodes
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Avg 30 min
English

Episodes 21

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Wednesday · 16 min
You Heard it Here Last S4E22
Send us Fan Mail Welcome to You Heard it Here Last where we talk about news, you’ve already heard. https://www.enworld.org/threads/dungeons-dragons-is-unionizing-citing-ai-personal-ip-rights-layoff-fears-and-crunch-experiences.720898/ On October 6th the designers, artists, writers, producers, and workers behind Dungeons & Dragons, Magic: The Gathering, Duel Masters and D&D Beyond, are forming a union with the Communications Workers of America. Anybody who did not see this one coming must have got a critical failure on their perception check. As we reported earlier in the year Magic The Gathering: Arena workers unionized so this was just the next step since they are all under the same Wizards of the Coast umbrella. Their announced reasons for the unionization; Fair Wages, Promotions, and Job Security. Remote Work Protections and Sustainable Workloads. Reliable and Easily Accessible Healthcare. Protections against AI and, Full ownership of what is created outside of work. Christina, I knew we have different opinions on some of these things, but overall, what are your thoughts on this news? [Kick to Christina] Next up on your business Bingo Card is AI! https://www.enworld.org/threads/uk-games-expo-finally-bans-ai-from-the-convention.720770/ The UK Games Expo has finally banned AI from the convention. Now we can all breath a sigh of relief. Insert sarcasm emoji. Over the last couple of years, the UK Games Expo has faced public backlash over allowing AI products to co-exist side by side on the vendor floor with products not made using AI. I get it and I don’t believe anyone should be able to us AI without acknowledging the use. But let’s be real. AI is the new tool on the block and it’s impossible to not use it. I used AI when searching for news articles to talk about on this podcast. I even have an AI search set up to keep me informed with new changes on topics that interest us at Epic Adventure. You can’t use any online system without some form of AI baked into it. Full disclosure, I used AI to check the spelling on my script. These types of bans only do one thing. Create liars. Now people are going to use AI and then lie about it and as AI advances it will become almost impossible to know that AI was used. Instead of banning why don’t we just require it to be announced. Then those people who like AI or don’t mind AI use can buy the products and those that are against AI can shop elsewhere. This really hurts the small creators, the new independent companies that can’t afford to have the big work groups with contracts and unions saying you have to pay a guy 500 bucks an hour to draw a logo. I mean, it’s censorship. We’ve seen it before, it’s never good, and we are going to keep seeing it in the future. Now Christina, tell me why I’m wrong and overreacting. [Kick to Christina] And there you have it, all the news, you’ve already heard.
S4 · E22
October 28 · 41 min
The Halloween One Shot
Send us Fan Mail The Halloween One-Shot! Everybody has got Halloween wrong. I’m serious. Traditionally Halloween is a time for kids to get dressed up in costumes and wander through the neighborhood gathering candy. It’s a time to embrace the creepy and the spooky, the weird and the unusual. Throw in a good scary movie and most people call it a successful holiday. As you grow up, you might throw in a lot of alcohol, some questionable decisions and some inappropriate costumes, but the reality is little changes from when you were a kid. And here is what everybody has gotten wrong about Halloween. Halloween was built for roleplaying! Think about it. Halloween can trace its origins back to Samhain, the ancient Celtic traditions honoring the harvest. People back then believed that the veil between the living and the dead thinned on this night. That the ghosts and spirits of the dead could cross over into our world. I mean as a TTRPG it kinda writes itself. I firmly believe in the Halloween roleplaying game and on this episode, Christina and I are talking about running a Halloween game for your family and friends on All Hallows Eve. We talked about the horror genre before, but this isn’t how to run a horror game specifically. It’s how to get your friends together on or around Halloween and create a memorable spooky night around the gaming table. Christina, If you were invited to a Halloween game, what would you hope the GM had planned? [Kick to Christina]
S4 · E21
October 21 · 47 min
Conflict Not Combat
Send us Fan Mail Has this ever happened to you? Your party makes its way room to room through the dungeon fighting monsters at every turn. And then the climactic battle with the evil wizard and their minions. Three hours of dice rolling combat later you finally win. As your characters stand around and survey all the damage they have caused and gather the loot, the GM says “The volcano you’ve been fighting in is about to explode. Without the wizard’s power to keep the lava at bay you only have minutes before the chamber is filled?” And the players answer with “We grab the stuff and run out” Good job, way to beat the big bad guy, on to the next adventure. Wow, that was boring For far to long in far too many adventures the only action has been seen as combat. Inside the initiative rounds the players have to make decisions, use resources, and the stakes feel very high. Outside the initiative rounds, nothing has any stakes. That is what we call a wasted opportunity. On this episode we are going to talk about action and combat and why the two terms are not synonymous. When you can master action outside of combat you open an entirely new world of roleplaying. One where tension, stakes, suspense, and decisions mater and the game feel way more immersive. Christina, With Leviathan Rising coming out soon this topic seemed right on point, because in Leviathan Rising you can’t really fight the monsters, can you? [Kick to Christina]
October 14 · 13 min
You Heard it Here Last S4E21
Send us Fan Mail Welcome to You Heard it Here Last where we talk about news, you’ve already heard. Let’s kick things off with the seedy underbelly of publishing. https://www.enworld.org/threads/diamond-bankruptcy-settlement-hits-snag-as-sparkle-pop-files-objection.720559/ Well, maybe that’s not fair, although this is where my friends who aren’t fans of capitalism point to me and say “Told Ya So”. We talked last month about the long running Bankruptcy of Diamond Comics Distribution and the fact that several game companies had millions of dollars of stock held up due to the bankruptcy proceedings. This has led to Paizo having some cashflow problems and laying off staff. Other companies like Green Ronin have had to lean into crowdfunding for legal bills, all while trying to get back their product from Diamond Comics. This is a very complicated case, Bankruptcy isn’t as simple as somebody unable to pay their bills, especially when you get into the distribution and consignment side of things. Then along comes Sparkle Pop. Sparkle Pop is a spin off Limited Liability Corporation that spun off of Ad Populum and collectible and toy holding company. They were created right in the middle of the bankruptcy case for the sole purpose of sliding in and purchasing warehouses owned by Diamond Comics, which would give the access to the contents of said warehouses. They then started selling the product in the warehouses against court orders. You would think that would get them into hot water, but it hasn’t. Instead, they are holding up the entire settlement saying they haven’t gotten their money. Money, they didn’t earn, money they shouldn’t have access to, and money that is hurting businesses in our hobby. Have I oversimplified things, mostly. But I have a history of keeping things simple. And this is, in my opinion, simply unethical. Christina, as our in-house ethicist, let’s talk. [Kick to Christina] Since we started off with a pretty negative story, we might as well stay in the headspace. Ok, that’s not fair, and maybe I should try a positive spin on this next piece of news. https://www.wargamer.com/dnd/dan-ayoub-interview-ogl-lessons In a recent interview with Wargamer. Dan Ayoub the Head of Wizards of the Coast Dungeons and Dragons talked about his first year in the position and the steps D&D has taken to fix some mistakes made during the OGL scandal. Dan says the biggest thing he has done is to listen and his work will never be done listening. It reminds me of the answer everyone gives when doing a job interview: What’s your biggest negative, the thing you don’t do well. And you answer with “I work too hard” Bullshit. The whole interview just screams bullshit. I trained in PR and making press statements and after reading the interview twice I still can’t find where he answered a damn question. But, to be fair and try and stay positive let’s point to the fact that D&D had a strong presence at GenCon for the first time in decades and that they have made amends with some of the old creators and worlds that made D&D what it is today. So maybe there are positive things coming out of WOTC right now, just don’t look for them in this interview. Chistina, what did you take away from this interview? [Kick to Christina] And there you have it, all the news, you’ve already heard.
S4 · E20
October 7 · 49 min
Historical Roleplaying
Send us Fan Mail Ok, wait a minute…they’ve got rules for guns in this. Sweet! I remember saying that exact line when I first dove into Steve Jackson’s GURPS. The Generic Universal Roleplaying System had come out of their skirmish system Man to Man which I had loved. This was 1986 and the 18-year-old me was looking for new roleplaying games. Sure, I had done my early work on D&D. I had even played around a little with Gamma World and Traveller, but even at 18 I was a history nut. I was reading Cornealius Ryan’s A Bridge Too Far at the time and Alexander Dumas the Three Musketeers was already solidified as my favorite book. So as soon as I saw this new game that had rules which would let you mix fantasy with reality and bring in historical roleplaying, I was hooked. GURPS would become my favorite and only roleplaying game for a good decade and don’t get me started on Call of Cthulhu. Using GURPS I would run and play in historical and realistic based games set in Three Musketeers world of 1620s France. The Wild West of the 1870s. The Espionage filled world of the 1980s. The Vietnam jungles of the 1970s. The beaches of Normandy in the 1940s. and even the creepy cornfields of Kansas in the 2010s. I personally find that I prefer games set in realistic and historical settings then the pure fantasy settings found in most roleplaying games. On this episode Christina and I are going to talk about running games in a historical setting and give you some tips and tricks and address some myths to help you transition your games into something really special. Christina, you do a lot of gaming in those alternative history settings. It’s really the same thing, right? [Kick to Christina]
September 30 · 11 min
You Heard it Here Last S4E20
Send us Fan Mail Welcome to you heard it here last where we talk about news, you’ve already heard. Let’s start off with some news that’s close to our heart. Oddfish Games has announced that Wordleaf Media is joining their Leviathan Rising team. Wordleaf Media is a TTRPG focused publishing support company that provides professional editing, layout, graphic design, art, and creative content. This is going to help bring the amazing rules of Leviathan Rising to life in the upcoming Kickstarter scheduled for a January start. https://www.wordleafmedia.com/ Christina, since this is your game, what’s the addition of Wordleaf Media mean for the production of Leviathan Rising [Kick to Christina] But wait, that’s not all the news on the Leviathan Rising front. Oddfish Games has also announced that the cover for the Leviathan Rising book will be created by Sammy Castillo. https://www.castillostudios.ninja/ Castillo Studios has provided art content for Batman, Detective Comics, Legends of the Dark Knight, George Romero’s Toe Tags, Green Arrow, Catwoman, Spider-man, Savage Dragon, G.I Joe, Magic The Gathering, Dungeons & Dragons, Warhammer, Fangoria, and Rolling Stone Magazine, just to name a few. We had the pleasure of meeting and talking with Sammy at GenCon and are very excited to be able to announce her as the cover artist for the upcoming Leviathan Rising. Christiana, are you jazzed to have Sammy working on the cover? [Kick to Christina] And there you have it, all the news, you’ve already heard.
S4 · E19
September 23 · 40 min
One For All and All For One
Send us Fan Mail Alexander Dumas’s The Three Musketeers is one of my favorite books of all time. I first read the classic in junior high and I was immediately blown away. It was like reading my favorite super hero comics, but it was a classic. It’s one of those books that made me want to read, and that’s a love I have never lost. I tend to read a lot, rarely going back to books I’ve already finished, but The Three Musketeers is the exception to that rule. I have read the book 4 times now and what is amazing is that every time I read it, I look at it completely different, and I connect with a different character. That Jr. High me was all about D’Artagnan. The young brash kid trying to make something of himself. To prove himself and to fight for the queen and for his country. I connected with that character and loved him. I picked the book back up a decade later. I’m in my early 20’s starting a career. And this time it was Aramis. The intellectual, the reluctant soldier, the scholar, the lady’s man. He was complex, interesting, and always seemed to have something going on. He made me feel smart and refined. Fast forward another decade and this time it was Porthos. I had always overlooked Porthos. He was comic relief and not really important. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Porthos was the heart of the group. He was what really held them all together. He also has the most tragic story of the entire group. My last read of the book in my 50’s really brought Athos into the limelight. I had always liked and appreciated the character of Athos, but I never truly connected or understood him. But just as I move into my later years. Recognizing the weight of life’s baggage. How decisions stay with you forever and the weight of quiet leadership. On this episode we are going to dive into The Three Musketeers and talk about the characters, the archetypes, and why they made an excellent adventuring party in the novels and would continue to make an excellent adventuring party in your games. Christina, what was your initial impression of the Three Musketeers? Kick to Christina
September 16 · 16 min
You Heard it Here Last S4E19
Send us Fan Mail Welcome to you heard it here last where we talk about news, you’ve already heard. Let’s start off with at the end, or the beginning of the end, or…well I guess it’s been going on for a while now, but…let’s just start with I told you so. https://www.enworld.org/threads/is-the-5-5e-dark-sun-going-to-remove-controversial-aspects-of-the-setting.720375/ Dark Suns, the very mature themed D&D setting that is coming back in 2027 will be released in shrink wrap due to its content. Let’s call that a win. Greg Bilsland--D&D executive producer--has confirmed that the content is being reviewed by sensitivity readers, and that the setting will not need to focus on elements such as slavery in order to make it feel gritty and oppressive. Well, you lost me a sensitivity readers. Dark Suns was mature, dark, down right evil in places and that’s what made it good. Everyone was a slave and that was far from the darkest aspects of the setting. When they announced that it was coming back I cautioned that it was going to be watered down for the modern audience. Do I think this setting should be played with children. No Do I think this source book should come shrink wrapped so unaware and unprepared eyes don’t flip through it. Sure Do I think you can remove the things that make the setting dark and have the same experience. Absolutely not. Ladies and gentleman, whatever Wizards of the Coast ends up printing will not be Dark Suns. It will just steal its name. The darkest thing in that book is going to be the title. Christina, am I overreacting? [Kick to Christina] Next up we have a topic that’s been going back and forth between us for awhile now. Crowd Funding costs. EN World has a great article about the rising costs of crowdfunding. https://www.enworld.org/threads/on-ttrpg-kickstarters-merchandise-and-600-markups.720290/ The article talks about profitability and the 600% markup. That seems a little excessive. With our own Dr. Stiso’s Leviathan Rising coming to Kickstarter in January we have been talking costs. As currently planned the hardback book will sell for around $60 dollars, but Kickstarter pledges today are all about the add-ons and add-ons cost money. Not just to the buyer, but to the seller as well. Christina, with your new game Leviathan Rising coming in the very near future what are your thoughts? [Kick to Christina] And there you have it, all the news, you’ve already heard.
S4 · E18
September 9 · 35 min
Leviathan Rising: Conversations
Send us Fan Mail For those of you that were lucky enough to get a chance to play Leviathan Rising at GenCon, you are welcome. It was a great time and we got to see players laugh, clap, applaud, cheer, and generally have as much fun as we were hoping. Leviathan Rising is a hit. But, it’s going to be better. The rules are written, it’s been playtested, and now we are going into pre-production to get all the art, stories, lore, and special abilities fleshed out so that by GenCon 2027 you can hold the full rulebook in your hands. On today’s episode we are going to talk to Christina about writing the game. The rules, and how it went at GenCon. And as usual Mike and I will be throwing in our own observations. So, let’s kick this thing off, Christina, let’s start with GenCon. How did it go? [Kick to Christina]
September 2 · 9 min
You Heard it Here Last S4E18
Send us Fan Mail Welcome to you heard it hear last where we talk about news, you’ve already heard. Paizo is in the news again. But this time it sounds like good news https://www.enworld.org/threads/paizo-may-finally-get-its-inventory-back-from-bankrupt-diamond.720248/ It seems that Paizo and Diamond Comics Distributors have reached an agreement to release millions of dollars of Paizo inventory they have held since January of 2025. Diamond Comics originally intended to sell the stock to pay their bills, but a flurry of legal activity brought that to an end. This agreement is a big deal for Paizo. I attended the Paizo address at GenCon and was very critical of the way it was structured. It was clear to me that Paizo built a wall to avoid having to talk about any of their financial troubles, but after this announcement it is clear that they couldn’t because of this legal settlement. Mike, what does this news mean for Paizo going forward? [Kick to Mike] Christina, Will Paizo bounce back right away or will it take some time to get their stride back? [Kick to Christina] Up next is as they say, something completely different, and I think that is pretty cool. https://www.enworld.org/threads/classic-horror-dark-conspiracy-rpg-returns-using-traveller-rules.720279/ The classic dark horror urban fantasy game Dark Conspiracy’s is back and this time with a different rules system. Dark Conspiracy was originally printed by Games Designer’s Workshop in 1991 and the setting was post-apocalyptic where the players were demon hunters facing off against an incursion of monsters in a near future world. The game has had three editions by three different companies, but the new version is being published by Mongoose and will be using the Traveller rules. That might be a first for me. I don’t think I have seen the Traveller rules used to play anything other then Sci-Fi. I love Traveller so I think this is pretty cool. I only hope they keep the lifepath system. Mike, What do you make of this? [Kick to Mike] Christina, what about you, does this interest you? [Kick to Christina] And there you have it, all the news, you’ve already heard.
S4 · E17
August 26 · 53 min
GenCon 2026
Send us Fan Mail Normally we'd all be sitting around the microphones, arguing over games, movies, roleplaying, and whatever other rabbit hole we decide to wander down. But this week... well... life got in the way in the best possible fashion. We went to Gen Con. You know, there are some places that just have an energy all their own. A baseball stadium on Opening Day. Walking into Disney for the first time. Maybe your favorite band's concert before the lights go down. Gen Con has that same feeling. But for many of us our favorite time isn't actually when the convention is packed. It's setup day. You walk through those giant convention center doors and everything is buzzing. Forklifts are backing up. Pallets of games are everywhere. Booths are half-built. Someone is hanging banners thirty feet in the air while somebody else is frantically looking for a roll of duct tape they swore they packed. The halls are busy... But they're not crowded. Not yet. That's the strange part. You've been here before. You know exactly what these halls are going to look like in less than twenty-four hours. Right now you can actually see the floors. Tomorrow... You won't. Tomorrow every aisle will be shoulder to shoulder with gamers, collectors, cosplayers, families, creators, publishers, artists, dice goblins, card sharks, miniature painters, and people carrying bags that somehow weigh more than they do. You know it's coming. And everyone setting up knows it's coming too. That's what makes setup day so fascinating. Every booth tells a story. Somebody spent years making the game sitting on that table. Someone mortgaged vacation time, emptied a savings account, drove across three states, or spent months designing artwork just hoping people will stop, smile, and say... "Tell me about your game." That's where we are this year. Over at the Oddfish Games booth we've got a whole table full of products we're proud of. Adventure Scents. How to RPG With Your Cat. Cooking with Dice. Radiance. And this year... Leviathan Rising. It's Christina Stiso's brand-new roleplaying game, and we've poured an incredible amount of time, creativity, testing, rewriting, and plain old worrying into getting it ready for people to experience. And that's the thing about Gen Con. Hope. Every publisher hopes people stop at their booth. Every game designer hopes someone sits down to play. Every artist hopes somebody notices their work. Every creator wonders... "Did we make something people are going to love?" You don't really know. You can playtest for months. You can have friends tell you it's great. You can polish every page until you're convinced you've found every typo. But none of that answers the only question that really matters. Will complete strangers care? That answer doesn't arrive until Thursday morning. Ten o'clock. The doors open. And then... It happens. Thousands... and I mean thousands... of gamers surge into the exhibit hall. They actually have a nickname for it. The Running of the Nerds. And I say that with absolute affection. It's glorious. People aren't running because they're escaping danger. They're running toward games. Toward their favorite publishers. Toward limited editions. Toward demos they've been waiting all year to play. Toward that one booth they've had circled on their map for six months. It's one of the happiest stampedes you'll ever witness. There's nothing quite like it. Because for four days, Indianapolis becomes the center of the gaming universe. Now, because Gen Con has a funny way of consuming every waking hour we had planned for recording, we didn't have time to put together a traditional episode this week. So instead... I grabbed a couple of microphones. I wandered the convention. I cornered my co-hosts. I talked with friends. I chatted with designers. I may have accidentally eavesdropped on a few conversations that were just too good not to share. What you're about to hear is Gen Con as it really happens. Not polished. Not scripted. Just real people experiencing one of the greatest gaming conventions on Earth. We're going behind the scenes. We're getting first impressions. We're talking to people while the excitement is still fresh. And that's where we're going to begin. Our first guest is someone pretty special to us. He had just finished playing one of the very first public games of Leviathan Rising. The dice had barely stopped rolling. The adrenaline was still there. The story was still unfolding in his mind. Before he had time to overthink anything, we handed him a microphone and simply asked... "So... what did you think?" Here's his immediate reaction, recorded just moments after the game ended.
August 19 · 11 min
You Heard it Here Last S4E17
Send us Fan Mail YHIHL S4E17 Let’s start off with some news that made me give an audible “Ohhh!” Renegade Games Studios has announced they will be launching Ann Rice’s Immortal Universe Roleplaying Game later this year through Backerkit. https://www.enworld.org/threads/anne-rices-supernatural-world-is-coming-to-a-ttrpg-near-you.719998/ That was one of those announcements that had me at hello. I am a huge fan of the Ann Rice novels. I’m typically not a fan of sparkly vampires, but when I first picked up a copy of Interview with a Vampire in college, I was hooked. I dove into The Vampire Lestat, Queen of the Damned, The Tale of the Body Thief and then really enjoyed the Mayfair Witches. I pretty much trailed off after that; I have always had a soft spot for those books. This is one of the IPs that I never really thought of, but as soon as I read it, I realized it was just spec written for modern roleplaying. Christina, I know you are a big fan of the urban fantasy, vampire stuff. What’s your take on this announcement? Kick to Christina Mike, Vampire the Masquerade is a game you love, does this announcement tickly your fancy? Kick to Mike In another interesting bit of news, Chaosium just unveiled a new source book for Call of Cthulhu. Innsmouth. Innsmouth is the definitive guide to the rotting seaport town—one of the most iconic settings for Call of Cthulhu. And the most exciting part…it’s available right now! https://www.enworld.org/threads/chaosiums-new-book-on-lovecrafts-innsmouth-is-the-definitive-guide.720001/ No Backerkit. No Kickstarter. No wait. By the time listeners here this I will have my grubby hand on it. Christina, what do you think about this release? Kick to Christina Mike, Will you want to play our Halloween game in Innsmouth this year? Kick to Mike An there you have it, all the news you’ve already heard.
S4 · E16
August 12 · 42 min
Professional Roleplaying Part 2
Send us Fan Mail On our last episode we started talking about turning roleplaying into a career. If you haven’t listened to that would I would recommend going back and diving into it. We planned on keeping it pretty conventional and immediately went off the rails into a deep dive on, well, starting a career in anything. For a quick recap I think we ended up with a few tips. One, Work Hard. Two, Be Patient. Three, Don’t Give Up. And Four, Look for opportunities. But we never got into chatting about some of those non-traditional careers that roleplaying can play a big part in. So today we are going to dive in and spend some time chatting about those and why roleplaying games can be so beneficial in helping you accel in those career fields. Mike, You want to talk about Roleplaying as Therapy and since that was on my list for the last episode let’s not waist any time. Start us off.
August 5 · 13 min
You Heard it Here Last S4E16
Send us Fan Mail Welcome to You Heard it Here Last where we talk about news, you’ve already heard. https://www.enworld.org/threads/pathfinder-is-ending-its-relationship-with-archives-of-nethys-updated.719899/ We start off with more Paizo News. Specifically, Paizo has ended its 8-year relationship with the Archives of Nethys, citing lack of earnings and financial issues. The Archives of Nethys has been the online repository of all things Pathfinder and Starfinder providing free rules and early access to products. Archives of Nethys isn’t going away, but it’s official licensing with Paizo has ended as of July 24th, 2026. You should remember that just recently Paizo had to lay off 12 employees due to the Diamond Comics Bankruptcy debacle. Mike, is this just more of the same, a company trying to stay afloat or is there something else going on here? Kick to Mike Christina, what’s this look like to you? Kick to Christina Our next bit of news relates to some new crowdfunding releases that are still available to back. https://www.enworld.org/threads/rpg-crowdfunding-news-%E2%80%93-deathbringer-sly-flourish-garys-appendix-and-more.719895/ First up, Professor Dungeon Master’s Deathbringer is back on Backerkit. The most anticipated TTRPG release of 2026, Deathbringer is Professor Dungeon Master’s take on old school, high-lethality fantasy RPGs. Using a version of Shadowdark RPG where there is no magical healing and surviving death unlocks the greatest powers. This one wraps up on August 13th. The next one that jumps out is from someone Mike likes to mention. Sly Flourish and The Rise of the Lazy Gamemaster. This one wraps up crowdfunding on August 6th. The master of minimal game prep is remastering one of the best GM guides in gaming! Behold, Rise of the Lazy Gamemaster! If you run TTRPGs, this book, and Sly Flourish’s other tomes, are a time-tested source of tips, tricks, and ways to organize your campaigns and adventures so they don’t eat your free time. Mike, Any of this interest you? Kick to Mike What about you Christina? Kick to Christina And there you have it, all the news, you’ve already heard.
S4 · E15
July 29 · 49 min
Professional Roleplaying
Send us Fan Mail On this episode Mike, Christina and I are going to talk about professions that you can get into either directly involved in the roleplaying game industry or those professions that roleplaying will help you get into. Or at least that was the goal. You will see that we went an entirely different direction. Christina, as a Dr. of Education games and game designing has played a prominent role in your profession. When did you realize that was going to be your thing and that gaming was going to be a big part of it? Kick to Christina Mike, You own a gaming company so we have to say that this topic is right in your wheelhouse. Kick to Mike Takeaways: Work Hard, Be Patient, Don't Give Up, Look for Opportunities.
July 22 · 13 min
You Heard it Here Last S4E15
Send us Fan Mail Welcome to you heard it here last where we talk about news, you’ve already heard. Our first news article is going to kill two birds with one stone. https://ttrpgfans.com/origins-awards/ The Origins Awards winners were announced at this years Origins convention that was held in Colombus Ohio June 17th through the 21st. The Origins Awards are an annual award that recognizes excellence in the tabletop gaming industry, including board games, card games, miniatures and roleplaying games. First presented in 1975 at the inaugural Origins Game Fair in Baltimore, the awards are currently managed by the Game Manufacturers Association or GAMA. The winner of the Roleplaying Game of the Year is the Land of Eem Deluxe Box Set by Exalted Funeral. Notably, Land of Eem is a rules-light TTRPG created by authors Ben Costa and James Parks (and based on their Rickety Stitch and the Gelatinous Goo graphic novels). It’s described as a lighthearted blend of Lord of the Rings and The Muppets, with a dash of Adventure Time thrown in for good measure. The Winner of the Roleplaying Supplement of the Year is Call of Cthulhu: The Sutra of Pale Leaves – Twin Suns Rising from Chaosium. The Sutra of Pale Leaves – Twin Suns Rising is a campaign supplement for the Call of Cthulhu RPG, set in 1980s Japan. It reimagines the iconic King in Yellow mythos by having a lost, ancient scroll resurface with ties to a sinister entity. The book features three interconnected scenarios and, in addition to featuring many of the familiar Lovecraftian tropes, also explores the unique cultural and historical setting (which is a radical departure from the traditional 1920s setting of New England). But before we dive into the winners and the long list of nominees, Dr. Christina attended Origins this year. Christina, how was the convention this year? [Kick to Christina] Mike, any thoughts on this year’s winners [Kick to Mike] Christina, what about you, thoughts on the 2026 Origin Awards Winners? [Kick to Christina] Our next news item will make Dr. Christina very excited. https://ttrpgfans.com/masks-a-new-generation-rpg-second-edition/ Ten Years ago, Magpie Games released Masks: A New Generation, the ENNIE award-winning tabletop RPG of teenaged angst and superhero action. Now, after more than a decade, Magpie has officially unveiled details for a new Masks Second Edition. The upcoming core rulebook will include new mechanics, character options, GM advice, artwork and lore for the setting of Halcyon City. The project will first land on crowdfunding, but you can sign up for alerts now on Kickstarter or the Magpie website. Christina, on a scale from 1-10 just how excited are you about a second edition of one of your favorite roleplaying games? [Kick to Christina] Mike, I know this isn’t up your alley. But when Christina gets the second edition are you going to suck it up a play a session or two? [Kick to Mike] And there you have it, all the news, you’ve already heard.
S4 · E14
July 15 · 45 min
Espionage
Send us Fan Mail I was sixteen years old in 1985, sitting around a table with a group of friends, a pile of dice, some character sheets, and a copy of the James Bond 007 roleplaying game. Now, I'd seen the movies. I'd watched Bond race across exotic locations, escape impossible situations, and somehow always come out on top. But that day was different. We weren't watching James Bond. We were James Bond. I still remember the adventure taking us through the famous speedboat chase from Live and Let Die. The GM described the engines roaring to life. The water spraying across the deck. The bad guys closing in behind us. Every turn of the river felt dangerous. Every die roll mattered. What sticks with me all these years later isn't whether we followed the movie exactly. Honestly, I couldn't tell you. What I remember is the feeling. The excitement around the table. The tension as we tried to stay one step ahead of our pursuers. The laughter when something went wrong. The cheers when a crazy plan actually worked. For a few hours, a bunch of teenagers in the Midwest weren't sitting around a table anymore. We were spies. We were secret agents. We were caught up in a world of danger, intrigue, and adventure. And that's the thing about espionage as a genre. At its best, it makes you feel clever. It makes you feel like information matters. It creates suspense not because of what you know, but because of what you don't know. Who can you trust? Who's lying? What's really going on behind the scenes? The older I get and the more games I run, the more I realize just how powerful those ideas are. Whether you're running fantasy, science fiction, horror, or historical games, espionage elements can elevate a campaign in ways that few other genres can. So today, we're going to talk about the espionage genre. We'll look at where it came from, some of the movies, books, television shows, and games that helped define it, and the key ingredients that make spy stories so compelling. Most importantly, we'll discuss how you can bring those elements into your own tabletop roleplaying games to create adventures filled with mystery, intrigue, tension, and unforgettable moments. Because sometimes the most exciting thing at the table isn't defeating the villain. It's discovering who the villain really is. Mike, do you have any specific memories of your favorite espionage movie?
July 8 · 16 min
You Heard it Here Last S4E14
Send us Fan Mail Welcome to you heard it here last where we talk about news, you’ve already heard. https://www.enworld.org/threads/paizo-laying-off-12-due-to-fallout-from-diamonds-bankruptcy.719446/ No one likes layoffs Piazo, the publisher of Pathfinder among other games has announced it will be laying off 12 employees due to the fallout from Diamond Comics bankruptcy last year. We discussed the Diamond Comics bankruptcy and the possible fallout from that in a previous episode of You Heard it Here Last, but it looks like the ripple effects are starting to kick in. Piazo states they lost over 2 million dollars in 2025 due to the seizure of their books being held by Diamond Comics on consignment. And the layoffs as well as other cutbacks are temporary until they can start to see some profitability. 2 million bucks in our industry aint chump change. It’s a big deal and it’s a shame to see companies like Piazo having to deal with the fallout. Mike, give us your business thoughts on this one. [Kick to Mike] Christina, how about your ethics hat, anything to discuss with this one? [Kick to Christina] Next, we find ourselves going back to Hasbro and D&D. https://www.enworld.org/threads/d-d-beyond-admits-that-blocking-drops-sharing-was-not-the-right-decision-will-release-yearly-bundles-of-drops-content-for-sale-for-non-subscribers.719383/ D&D Beyond has released a statement about its decision to not allow sharing on their new drops. We talked about this announcement on a previous YHIHL and evidently the users have expressed their dissatisfaction. In a post D&D Beyond stated "It’s become clear from your feedback that there were two main things we got wrong with D&D Beyond Drops: content sharing and non-subscriber access," the post also states that not allowing sharing for drops "was not the right decision." They followed this statement up with doing…absolutely nothing to change it. So, I guess an admission of a mistake is something, but damn it. Fix the mistake. It’s easy to just turn on sharing again, or am I asking for too much. Mike, thoughts? [Kick to Mike] Christina, what about you? [Kick to Christina] And there you have it, all the news you’ve already heard.
S4 · E13
July 1 · 48 min
Our Favorite Mechanics
Send us Fan Mail Have you ever had this awkward moment in your roleplaying game? “As you turn the corner you come face to face with an animated walking corpse! Give me a Fright Check” “Uh, this game doesn’t have fright checks.” “What, Seriously…hang on, surely it has a mechanic…crap.” If so, then you are not alone. I pretty much pulled that dialogue word for word out of one of the games I was running. The more games you play the more you learn about game systems, what works, what doesn’t work, and more specifically what you like. Now I am a fan of playing a variety of systems. We change games up a lot, not just because I like to try new genre’s but because I want to try new systems and over the years I have found a few mechanics that I think are just amazing. On this episode we are going to talk about our Favorite Mechanics in roleplaying games. The little things that we might take for granted originally but as we move from game to game we realize we can’t live without them. Mike, Chistina and I are going take turns revealing our favorite game mechanics, what game they came from, or at least what game we first encountered them, and why we think they are the bomb. Let’s just dive right into this one. Mike, give me one of your favorite game mechanics that you just can’t live without.
June 24 · 11 min
You Heard it Here Last S4E13
Send us Fan Mail Welcome to you heard it here last were we talk about news, you’ve already heard. Let’s start todays episode off with…WoW And I mean that in a good sense. https://www.enworld.org/threads/dungeons-dragons-announces-gen-con-plans-including-a-takeover-of-6-story-building.719238/ Wizards of the Coast has released some of it’s plans for GenCon. And it’s pretty cool. The recently announced plans include a live performance of their Dungeon Masters show, a live concert, and a "short-play" experience. All of this will take place at the Indiana Repertory Theater, a six-story building in the heart of downtown Indianapolis that's being taken over by D&D and turned into a "D&D Tower," which Wizards describes as "six D&D-ified floors and adventures galore." As everyone should be well aware of by now we are not fans of Hasbro, Wizards of the Coast, or D&D but for a change I have to say, good on them. When I first attended GenCon way back in the Milwaukee days the exhibit hall floor was dominated by a D&D castle. Filled with all things TSR it was glorious to behold and a joy to the eyes. I have missed that over the years. I have missed the biggest game in our hobby being basically absent from GenCon for far to long so It’s about time they changed course and brought back a presence to the convention. And it looks like it’s going to be a massive presence indeed. Christina, what do you think about D&D taking over a 6-story building in Indy for GenCon? [Kick to Christina] Mike, what about you. Glad to see D&D back in a big way to GenCon? [Kick to Mike] Up next, we have our own GenCon announcement straight from Oddfish Games. www.oddfishgames.com Adventure Scents by Oddfish Games will be at booth 720 this year in the exhibit hall, which is basically the same location they had last year so it should be easy enough for fans to find. On top of that cool news, we have a couple of new additions to announce that will be sold exclusively at GenCon. First, we have a complete campaign book for How to RPG With Your Cats. Scratch Marks: The Nine Lives of Claw Malone will be available for purchase at the booth. This campaign book has three distinct adventures for How to RPG With Your Cat that can be played separately or together as a complete campaign. Just like the core game you can play this with any gaming system or as a stand-alone system with your cats or inspired by your cats. And after GenCon you will be able to pick it up at Oddfishgames.com. Next, the Systems Reference Document for Leviathan Rising will be available. Not a QuickStart, because it won’t have any art or diagrams, but the basic rules for Dr. Christina Stiso’s new game will be available for download. She will be running three sessions of the game, but they sold out fast. So, if you didn’t get a chance to register to play then stop by the booth, scan the code, and get a copy of the rules to play around with. Leviathan Rising will be going to crowdfunding soon to be able to match the incredible game system with some incredible art and layout. Basically, make the Adventure Scents by Oddfish Games booth 720 a must stop on your exhibit hall foray this year. Christina, any other tidbits of information about Leviathan Rising you want to share? [Kick to Christina] Mike, are you excited to be able to offer some new things this year for GenCon? [Kick to Mike] And there you have it, all the news, you’ve already heard.

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