How do you put more character in your #ttrpg character? You don't have to go full method actor, here are some simple and actionable ideas to get you started. If you dig actual plays played with vim and vigour, check out the new ⁠Unconventional GMs YouTube channel⁠.

Episode 186 – What Games Workshop Can Teach Us There's a lot of crossover between geeky hobbies, and with the lads both working for the big Games Workshop back in the day, what can skirmish games teach us about RPGs? If you dig actual plays played with vim and vigour, check out the new ⁠Unconventional GMs YouTube channel⁠.…

Episode 185 – Cities (aka Fantasy Tripadvisor) After wandering the wilderness and diving down dungeons, plucky adventurers wish to go to an enthralling city. Maybe your entire campaign is based around one location. The lads explore various cities from ttrgps and the merits and flaws thereof! If you dig actual plays played with vim and vigour, check…

Episode 184 – Hot War, Cold City (with Jon Hodgson and Malcolm Craig) Joining the ‘cast this time, Jon Hodgson of Handiwork Games and RPG author and academic Malcolm Craig. The Cold War period and monster hunting in Berlin come to the fore as the lads dive into Hot War and Cold City among other great games from the Handiwork studio! You can find ou…

Episode 183 – Unacceptable! (a.k.a. It’s Not You It’s Us) There are a plethora of gaming events to go to these days and you meet all kinds of people and playstyles. Often this is a cause for celebration, a way to pick up new ideas and techniques. Sometimes though, it’s suboptimal. There are still some people who haven’t got the memo about gaming wi…

Episode 182 – How To GM with Justin Alexander The lads are delighted to have returning Good Friend of the Show, RPG producer and designer at Atlas Games, Justin Alexander. He’s got a new book coming out, available in all good purveyors of such things, So You Want To Be A Game Master. Join for great insights, some not seen or heard before on the Ale…

Episode 181 – Gaming in Ukraine with Tasha from idearoll Fresh from The Kraken gaming retreat, the lads have met old friends and made new ones. Chief among those is Tasha from the idearoll youtube channel, who joins them this week to talk about gaming events, the scene in Ukraine and challenges of the current environment. A great episode full of en…

Episode 180 – Shadow of the Weird Wizard with Rob Schwalb Returning special guest Rob Schwalb, creator of Shadow of the Demonlord, Punk Apocalyptica, D&D designer and more, returns to the show to tell us all about his design process and work on his new Kickstarter, Shadow of the Weird Wizard. The Kickstarter project page is here: Shadow of the Weir…

Episode 179 – Pendragon 6e with David Larkins Returning special guest David Larkins, Line Editor for the King Arthur Pendragon RPG joins the lads to talk about the new edition, it’s starter set and get back to basics on what Pendragon is all about for new players and old hands alike! If you dig actual plays then check out the new ⁠Unconventional GM…

Episode 178 – Starforged With Shawn Tomkin Returning special guest Shawn Tomkin, designer of Ironsworn and of particular interest this time, Starforged. It’s an excellent Sci Fi RPG and well worth digging into, which is exactly what the lads do this time! If you dig actual plays then check out the new ⁠Unconventional GMs⁠ for games played in about …

Episode 177 – Wilderness Travel Fancy a trip to the Isle of Dread!? This episode the lads take a look at traveling in the wilderness, how to make it interesting and what tips and trips can improve the journey. If you dig actual plays then check out the new ⁠Unconventional GMs⁠ for games played in about two hours!…

Episode 176 – Dungeons Not Dragons Whether you’re from the old school days of white-lined maps on blue backgrounds, or newly arrived at the idea of maps, scouring the internet for your Roll20 backgrounds, dungeons have a long and storied history in RPGs. Join the lads as they look back over the years at dungeons, what makes them good and how they c…

If you’re a fan of the show, you’ll know we love AGON, powered by the Paragon system. This time the lads are delighted to be joined by Sean Nittner, the co-author and independent game designer Tim Denee, who’s done some great stuff with the game. Come on in for a deep dive on the game design process, what makes these sets of games great and how to …

Episode 174 – Beyond Dread Portals (a.k.a. Climinal) This time the boys are joined by Good Friend of the Show and returning guest Dr Mitch and Newt from D101 Games to talk about their new project Beyond Dread Portals. A game for those wanting to move slightly away from what D&D has to offer, but with some familiarity so the leap of faith isn’t too …

Episode 185 – Cities (aka Fantasy Tripadvisor) After wandering the wilderness and diving down dungeons, plucky adventurers wish to go to an enthralling city. Maybe your entire campaign is based around one location. The lads explore various cities from ttrgps and the merits and flaws thereof! If you dig actual plays played with vim and……

A musical discussion: Steve Leventhal, creator of InternetFM, and his son and cofounder Eric Leventhal, talk about their music and broadcasting experience, what is top-shelf radio, paying for songs, why vinyl is popular with some younger music fans, commercials, changing technology and music delivery, how they define oldies, the resurgence of psych…

Episode 184 – Hot War, Cold City (with Jon Hodgson and Malcolm Craig) Joining the ‘cast this time, Jon Hodgson of Handiwork Games and RPG author and academic Malcolm Craig. The Cold War period and monster hunting in Berlin come to the fore as the lads dive into Hot War and Cold City among other…By evilgaz

Episode 183 – Unacceptable! (a.k.a. It’s Not You It’s Us) There are a plethora of gaming events to go to these days and you meet all kinds of people and playstyles. Often this is a cause for celebration, a way to pick up new ideas and techniques. Sometimes though, it’s suboptimal. There are still some……

John Siuntres (host and creator of the popular Word Balloon livestream and podcast and I often talk on the phone for at least an hour, so we decided to do a livestream conversation, and it ended up being much longer! Topics covered: how entertainment and the media have changed, the WGA and SAG/AFTRA strikes, creativity and syndication in TV and rad…

Episode 182 – How To GM with Justin Alexander The lads are delighted to have returning Good Friend of the Show, RPG producer and designer at Atlas Games, Justin Alexander. He’s got a new book coming out, available in all good purveyors of such things, So You Want To Be A Game Master. Join for…By evilgaz

Episode 181 – Gaming in Ukraine with Tasha from idearoll Fresh from The Kraken gaming retreat, the lads have met old friends and made new ones. Chief among those is Tasha from the idearoll youtube channel, who joins them this week to talk about gaming events, the scene in Ukraine and challenges of the current……

Episode 180 – Shadow of the Weird Wizard with Rob Schwalb Returning special guest Rob Schwalb, creator of Shadow of the Demonlord, Punk Apocalyptica, D&D designer and more, returns to the show to tell us all about his design process and work on his new Kickstarter, Shadow of the Weird Wizard. You can jump on……

Episode 179 – Pendragon 6e with David Larkins Returning special guest David Larkins, Line Editor for the King Arthur Pendragon RPG joins the lads to talk about the new edition, it’s starter set and get back to basics on what Pendragon is all about for new players and old hands alike! If you dig actual……

Episode 178 – Starforged With Shawn Tomkin Returning special guest Shawn Tomkin, designer of Ironsworn and of particular interest this time, Starforged. It’s an excellent Sci Fi RPG and well worth digging into, which is exactly what the lads do this time! If you dig actual plays and reviews of played modules, check out the……

Episode 177 – Wilderness Travel Fancy a trip to the Isle of Dread!? This episode the lads take a look at traveling in the wilderness, how to make it interesting and what tips and trips can improve the journey. If you dig actual plays and reviews of played modules, check out the new YouTube channel.…By evilgaz

Ravi Baichwal is an anchor at ABC 7 Chicago and talks about his hockey documentary Summit 72; his hometown Toronto and Canadian culture; his radio career at CKNW in Vancouver before he went to CTV National News, then doing CTV and being on the air at CFRB radio in Toronto (where I previously interviewed Jerry Agar and John Moore); filling in at WLS…

Episode 176 – Dungeons Not Dragons Whether you’re from the old school days of white-lined maps on blue backgrounds, or newly arrived at the idea of maps, scouring the internet for your Roll20 backgrounds, dungeons have a long and storied history in RPGs. Join the lads as they look back over the years at dungeons,……

Justin Roman has done a lot during the 21st century: he hosts The MVP Game (sign up there to be a guest on the show) with Kenzie K (who was his fiancée when this was recorded); it's a super-fan Cubs game show (and a couple of Bears shows during the off season) on the Marquee Sports Network. He talks about his media and performing career, which incl…

Doug Cummings is a resident of Highland Park, where the shooting tragedy happened on July 4th at the Independence Day parade. He wrote the personal safety handbook, Escaping the O-Zone, to help people take steps to keep themselves safe and preventing becoming a victim. All proceeds go to the Highland Park Community Foundation. He talks about his re…

Episode 173 - Third Floor Wars (a.k.a. Third Party Podcaster) A third podcaster, Craig Shipman from Third Floor Wars joins the lads this time to talk about some of our collective GM experiences at running three different games. From Blades in the Dark to Savage Worlds by way of Call of Cthulhu, this mighty triumvirate of gaming tells you what's hot…

Karen Schaler was a journalist and crime reporter who is best known for the Netflix hit "A Christmas Prince." She talks about how her journalism experience led to Hollywood success; how she got into the TV biz at a station in Billings, Montana, then worked at a number of stations: in Twin Falls, Idaho, in South Dakota, at KSTP-TV in Alexandria, Min…

Episode 172 - OGL OMG (a.k.a. Version Wars) There has been no end of social media frenzy about Hasbro / Wizards of the Coast and their attempt to introduce a new Open Gaming Licence. What is? Why are they doing? What's everyone upset about? Does it impact your game at the kitchen table? Find out, all this and more, with special guest Mat from Steam…

For two decades, Kathy Hart was part of the most popular morning show in Chicago, on 101.9 WTMX The Mix. She talks about how she went from being an intern to getting on the air in Rockford at WKKN and WYFE, then driving the station van at WZOK and WROK; how she was different from the "pukers" and wanted to be authentic on the air; how her radio exp…

Episode 171 - 2022 Retrospective (a.k.a. A Polite Golf Clap) A look back on the past year, what's been good for gaming, what can we look forward to and more. A genial fireside chat with your amiable hosts. If you are interested in solo play for Ironsworn as mentioned check out this channel. If you dig actual plays and reviews of played modules, che…