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By Tyler on May 13, 2013
In episode 43 of Carnagecast, Gaylord joins us to talk role-playing games. His personal history with the form goes back to watching his stepson play with college friends in the dining room, including a notable encounter with the lich Adolf Hitler. From there, he went on to Vampire: The Masquerade, Call of Cthulhu and more.
Gaylord specializes in convention games, so we talk about the different needs of the four hour format versus home games. How does one handle the various kinds of players one gets at the table, particularly those who play their characters “sensibly” and those who are there for the glory of adventures followed to their gory conclusions? This leads to discussing the different levels of abilities and needs that a GM may encounter in a convention setting. Gaylord has related stories ranging from Call of Poohthulhu to Terra Incognita.
And, perhaps most importantly, we ponder whether spending a Willpower point in a Storyteller game is cheating. What do you think? Leave a comment behind the jump and check out the show notes for Tom’s Firefly pole dance. Read more…
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Posted in Carnagecast | Tagged call of cthulhu, Carnagecast, gaylord, GMing, horror, modern, podcasts, Role-Playing Games, vampire: the masquerade |
By Tyler on April 29, 2013
In episode 42 of Carnagecast, after a teaching session at the Green Mountain Gamers’ spring game day, Rod and Sarah discuss Tzolk’in: The Mayan Calendar, a worker placement game which draws inspiration for its mechanics from none other than the titular Mayan calendar, particularly interlocking wheels that move pieces around the board. In addition to the usual crunch of never enough resource and actions for players to do everything they’d like to, the discussion touches upon how the addition of something so spatially and visually oriented as the wheels affect how players think about the game.
Who do Sarah and Rod think should give Tzolk’in a try? Listen in — and check out the show notes behind the cut. Read more…
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Posted in Carnagecast | Tagged Board Games, Carnagecast, podcasts, rod, sarah, tzolkin: the mayan calendar |
By Tyler on April 15, 2013
In episode 41 of Carnagecast, Rod and Tyler discuss the boom of crowdfunding, the process whereby individuals contribute money to the creation of an item or event in exchange for backer rewards, and the tabletop game hobby. Before the meat of the conversation, they talk Carnage on the Mountain, the way to reserve rooms at Killington by calling the hotel directly and Green Mountain Gamers’ Spring Meltdown, a full day of tabletop gaming at the Lake Morey Resort, beloved stomping ground of Carnage-goers.
What is crowdfunding? How does it differ from a preorder system like GMT Games’? The role of crowdfunding as a tool for established publishers and a means for new designers to make their mark. Crowdfunding removes barriers to entry, which has positive and negative consequences. Rod expresses concern about whether those dropping barriers allow more sub-par games to make it to the market, as they’re propelled directly by the people to whom they appeal.
Wrapping up, they speculate about the future of crowdfunding. Listen in for astonishing predictions!
Enjoy extensive, comprehensive notes behind the jump! Read more…
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Posted in Carnagecast | Tagged Board Games, Carnagecast, crowdfunding, indiegogo, kickstarter, podcasts, Role-Playing Games |
By Tyler on April 1, 2013
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. Read more…
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Posted in Carnagecast | Tagged Carnagecast, chapter 13 press, conventions, dungeon crawl classics, dungeons & dragons, gary con, gygax magazine, james carpio, podcasts, Role-Playing Games, tales from the fallen empire |
By Tyler on March 18, 2013
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. Read more…
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Posted in Carnagecast | Tagged actual play, broken moon, Carnagecast, carrion crown, dan, fantasy, hunter, pathfinder, podcasts, Role-Playing Games, toby |
By Tyler on March 4, 2013
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. Read more…
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Posted in Carnagecast | Tagged agricola, Board Games, Carnagecast, clash of cultures, game days, GMing, hansa teutonica, massachusetts, podcasts, power grid: the first sparks, sarah, stone age, tzolkin: the mayan calendar, unity games |
By Tyler on February 11, 2013
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. Read more…
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Posted in Carnagecast | Tagged actual play, Carnagecast, carrion crown, dan, fantasy, hunter, pathfinder, podcasts, Role-Playing Games, toby, trial of the beast |
By Tyler on January 28, 2013
In episode 36 of Carnagecast, we emerge from hiatus just in time to still be able to wish everyone a happy new year. Pillar of the Carnage board Rod Sheldon is with us to talk about the highlights of this past Carnage Noir, the gaming we’ve gotten in over the holidays and plans for 2013: both at Carnage and conventions across New England. Read more…
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Posted in Carnagecast | Tagged Board Games, card games, carnage noir, carnage on the mountain, connecticon, council of 5 nations, Green Mountain Gamers, killington, ogc, pathfinder, Role-Playing Games, stack academie, totalcon, unity games, vermont |
By Tyler on September 24, 2012
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! Read more…
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Posted in Carnagecast | Tagged arthur king of time and space, arthurian mythology, Carnagecast, comics, fantasy, paul gadzikowski, podcasts |
In episode 43 of Carnagecast, Gaylord joins us to talk role-playing games. His personal history with the form goes back to watching his stepson play with college friends in the dining room, including a notable encounter with the lich Adolf Hitler. From there, he went on to Vampire: The Masquerade, Call of Cthulhu and more.