In this week's Flashlight, we talk the rise of actual plays, the incredible profitability of Wizards of the Coast, and the professionalization of a hobby. We get into both academic media theory and SEC filings. Reilly is astounded by how many movies Jake has never seen. Spoiler warnings for Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves as well as "I Ha…

In this week's episode, we chat with Wolfgang about the struggle of making it in showbusiness, the importance of embracing a system's genre conventions, and the deployment of feminine appeal. Spoiler warning for Jaws in this one? And, to a lesser extent, The Young and the Restless. Disclaimers that we're not actually sponsored by Adobe Acrobat and …

In this week's Flashlight, we talk about playtesting at scale, becoming a cult leader, and the development of D&D 3e and D&D 3.5e as well as Pathfinder. Reilly shares his philosophy on ability checks and roleplay. Jake really doesn't know anything about cinema. We mention the games Swords of the Serpentine and Time Watch, both of which look extreme…

In this week's episode, we chat with Rex about being a mean satyr, the role of persuasion and compulsion in TTRPGs and LARP, and how to step out of your players' ways and let them tell their own stories. This conversation might actually have convinced Jake and Reilly to start getting into LARP. Jake is very concerned about whether you still get to …

In this week's Flashlight, Reilly introduces some very special guests, Jake is intimidated by game store employees, and we discuss the meteoric rise of Wizards of the Coast. We also get into the economic situation in the 1990s, the Canadian political system, and how our podcast production works behind the scenes. The bit about unpaid interns was a …

This week, we chat with Erika about running a campaign using multiple systems, the upsides of metagaming, and worldbuilding at a table of dirty anarchist punks. Spoiler warning for Super Dimension Fortress Macross. In a sure sign that we're close to middle age, we do joke about the contents of our filing cabinets. Here are the TTRPG systems that Er…

In this week's Flashlight, we chat about the complicated corporate history of TSR, monetizing your hobbies, and how we'd deal with getting sued. Reilly wields a sword. Jake makes a metaphor about a goose that calls into question whether Jake has ever seen a goose before. In this episode we also introduce Monocles McGillicuddy with absolutely zero c…

In this week's episode, we chat with Max about Old School Revival gameplay, the joys of exploration, and how being a guest on our show can improve your romantic relationship. Minor spoilers for Lost Mine of Phandelver, if that matters to you. Also, if you're wondering what the production process looks like, the beginning of this episode has a bit o…

In this week's deep dive into the history of D&D, we talk about the origins of two iconic aspects of the game: the variety of dice and the extremely weird and specific monsters. Jake describes probability distributions, Reilly comes up with appealing backstories for creatures, and we take a brief detour into the concept of good and evil in fantasy …

This week, we chat with Kit about incorporating intimate character moments in a campaign with a cosmic scale, themes of family and lineage at an all-queer table, and dealing with a whole menagerie of PC pets. Spoiler warnings for A Series of Unfortunate Events. We also talk about the poem "Auguries of Innocence". Unfortunately, we never did manage …

In this season's Flashlight episodes, we're taking a deep dive into the history of Dungeons and Dragons. Whether you love it, hate it, or are grimly resigned to playing it because everybody already knows the rules, the long history of D&D parallels the history of modern TTRPGs. We're starting out in the 1960s and working forward to the present day.…

In our very first episode of Season 2, we chat with Perry about running a campaign motivated by spite, building a griot PC class, and becoming a cleric by eating another cleric. Spoiler warnings for the D&D 5e Tomb of Annihilation module - although, honestly, this episode is a great primer for running any campaign set in Chult. This is our first ti…

In this week's Flashlight, we talk about the experience of making a podcast about the creativity and uniqueness of home TTRPGs! Jake describes the terrible initial plan for this project, Reilly recounts an incident of subpar DMing, and we go wildly off the rails by the end. It's been a real privilege to get to hear about the wild fun games our frie…

In this week's episode of Campaign Spotlight, we chat with Chris about healthcare crowdfunding, LARPing on a remote island, and the virtues of small-scale personal stories. No spoilers this week, although we do discuss quite a few old D&D modules in general terms. Also, it's not clear why Chris and Jake are so dead-set on winning sponsorships from …

In this week's Flashlight, we explore the game Dallas, based on the TV series from the 1970s and 1980s! Reilly leaves in a hot-mic moment, Jake tries to sound knowledgeable about buying horses, and neither one of us can sustain a Texas accent. Here's the link to SPI Wargame Resources, where you can find the ruleset for Dallas if you really want to …

In this week's episode of Campaign Spotlight, we chat with Jesse about the Mophidius 2d20 system, the information flow between players, and improving the lot of your noble house. Spoiler warning for Dune, because Jesse's using the Dune TTRPG system. Also, spoiler warning for Game of Thrones, we guess. What's going on with all the sirens in the back…

In this week's Flashlight, we explore a very old ruleset for Advanced Dungeons and Dragons, First Edition! Reilly attempts to befriend a sloth, Jake covets Reilly's dice, and we speculate on the role of a sociologist in a Tolkienesque fantasy world. Finding an old copy of the rules can be tricky. OSRIC has compiled a set of first-edition rules (exc…

In this week's episode of Campaign Spotlight, we chat with Kyros about making your own story out of a pre-existing module, adding too many NPCs to the party, and flesh golem weddings. Spoiler alerts for the Curse of Strahd module - although, as we learn, this isn't necessarily a great choice for your next campaign. Talking about this module with Ky…

In this week's Flashlight, we explore a rules-light tabletop game called Radical Catgirl Anarchy! Reilly displays a profiency for catgirl name generation, Jake learns about rollerskates, and we ponitificate on the difference between catgirlism and radicalism. Here are the rules for Radical Catgirl Anarchy, here are the rules for the original game L…

In this week's episode of Campaign Spotlight, we chat with Jake about making the most of players' busy schedules, dealing with important story beats happening offscreen, and Philadelphia energy. (This is our third guest this season from the Delaware Valley and yet somehow this is the first episode where Wawa comes up.) Very light spoilers for Neon …

In this week's Flashlight, we explore everyone's favourite minis wargame, Warhammer 40k! Reilly deploys a tape measure to manifest a smite, Jake repents for overly sweaty final showdowns in past campaigns, and we begin to wonder if playing a minis wargame on a podcast was a mistake. Here's the link to the publisher's website for the Warhammer 40k s…

In this week's episode of Campaign Spotlight, we chat with Sam about running novel and interesting combat encounters, raising the stakes by putting everyone's favourite NPC in danger, and ethically nonmonogamous orc throuples. Spoiler warning for Sam's campaign - although we recorded this a while ago, and we're pretty sure the players have already …

In this week's Flashlight, we explore the Genesys TTRPG system! Reilly expounds a new definition for sports, Jake gets a little heated about private equity, and we seriously damage our chances that Spirit Airlines will ever sponsor the show. Here's the link to the publisher's website for the Genesys system and here's the dice roller we use in the e…

In this week's episode of Campaign Spotlight, we chat with Chris about his DM PC, Disney movie monarchies, and the wonders of extremely crunchy combat sessions. Spoiler warning for The Emperor's New Groove, I guess? Although it's not the topic of the episode, this is the first time that Jake and Chris have chatted about the campaign they played tog…

In this week's Flashlight, we explore Dungeon World and chat about Powered by the Apocalypse-based games! Reilly gets some serious firepower, Jake approves of biblical plagues, and we both struggle to recall basic facts about modern American history. Here's the link to the publisher's website for the Dungeon World system, and here are the other Pow…

In this week's episode of Campaign Spotlight, we chat with Prim about sharing narrative control with your players, hitting dragons with sticks, and the joys of being a deeply adversarial GM. Very light spoiler warning for Fullmetal Alchemist. Will Jake ever get on board with a TTRPG system that doesn't let you roll big chunky handfuls of dice every…

In our very first Flashlight, we explore the worldbuilding game Microscope! Reilly shows off his voice-acting abilities, Jake is very enthusiastic about a curse, and we both realize we much we rely on the randomness of a dice roll to drive a story forward. Throughout this episode Jake used a very squeaky whiteboard market to track our decisions, wh…

In our very first episode of Campaign Spotlight, we chat with Mike about building a vibrant and realistic world for your campaign, NPCs who just want to be messy, and the importance of learning AutoCAD. Spoiler warning - especially for Annihiliation but also for 3:10 to Yuma and maybe Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Does Jake's mic discipline get a…