Dice Exploder

Back ⁠⁠Dice Exploder season 4 on Backerkit⁠⁠ now!⁠TranscriptThis episode I'm joined by Sam Roberts (Escape from Dino Island) to talk about prestige classes, special classes from D&D 3e that you could only take by multiclassing into them. Sam thinks of these things as a noble failure: a very cool idea whose execution almost immediately dropped the ball. But what can we learn from their corpse?We get into that, along with a boots-on-the-ground discussion of what our experiences were like actually playing D&D 3rd edition and an exploration of advancement as a concept at large: how does it work in most games, and how might it work instead?Further ReadingThe Game Left Unplayed, blogpost by Jay DragonD&D third editionD&D 3.5 editionSam R’s game Escape from Dino IslandSocialsSam D on Bluesky and itch.The Dice Exploder blog is at diceexploder.comOur logo was designed by sporgory, and our theme song is Sunset Bridge by Purely Grey.Join the Dice Exploder Discord to talk about the show!

Tristan Zimmerman, designer of the award-winning game Shanty Hunters and author of the Molten Sulfur blog, joins for a deep dive into D&D mechanics. He discusses the Adventuring Day concept, meant for balanced gameplay across 6-8 combat encounters, and its practical challenges. Tristan shares memorable experiences from GenCon and how LARPing influenced his gaming journey. He also explores resource management and the evolution of spellcasting in D&D, emphasizing how innovative mechanics can reshape traditional gameplay and storytelling.

Delve into the world of Dungeons & Dragons with a skeptical perspective. Explore the cultural and community aspects of D&D, including the evolution of RPGs and character advancement. Learn about the influence of popular actual plays on gameplay styles.

Back Dice Exploder season 4 on Backerkit now!TranscriptAmong my favorite RPGs is Alex Roberts' triumph of minimalistic, elegant design: For The Queen. Today I'm doing just with along with Kimi Hughes of Golden Lasso Games. For The Queen is a card drawing prompt game, and one prompt is always the game's last: "The Queen is under attack. Do you defend her?" That's today's mechanic, but we cover most of this pretty small game at some point.You can back Kimi's new game Starscape on Kickstarter now!Further Reading:For The Queen by Alex RobertsStarscape by Kimi HughesOh Captain My Captain by James D’AmatoSocialsKimi on Bluesky as well as Golden Lasso Games.Happy Jacks on YouTube.Sam on Bluesky and itch.The Dice Exploder blog is at diceexploder.comOur logo was designed by sporgory, and our theme song is Sunset Bridge by Purely Grey.Join the Dice Exploder Discord to talk about the show!

TranscriptIt is still designer commentary season on Dice Exploder, and today I'm talking with Jason Morningstar (Fiasco, Night Witches, a million other games) about Northfield: a game we co-designed about when Jesse James tried to rob the bank in my home town, we shot the hell out of him and his gang, and then we started an annual small town fair to celebrate our victory. You play as both a member of the James-Younger gang and as a person in the present day portraying your gang member in a reenactment.It's a weird little game, much like its subject matter, and surprisingly personal to me (Jason was not surprised). On this episode, we break down the process of our collaboration and how we feel about the results (very positively).More than any other designer commentary I've done, I hope you check out this game. I'm really proud of it. You can get it on the Bully Pulpit Patreon now for $5.Further ReadingNorthfield, the game, on the Bully Pulpit PatreonVideo of the Defeat of Jesse James Days reenactmentOfficial Defeat of Jesse James Days websitePhoto of (allegedly) Charlie Pitts’ earWikipedia articles on Northfield and the James-Younger gangSocialsSam on Bluesky and itch.Jason on ⁠Bluesky⁠ and ⁠dice.camp⁠.⁠Bully Pulpit Games⁠The Dice Exploder blog is at diceexploder.comOur logo was designed by sporgory, and our theme song is Sunset Bridge by Purely Grey.Join the Dice Exploder Discord to talk about the show!

TranscriptFor Ken Lowery’s Disc 2 jam, I decided to finally release the game I’ve been working on for nearly four years: Space Fam.This is a game about, you guessed it, found family in space. In particular, it takes a lot of inspiration from The Long Way To A Small Angry Planet in that you’re the crew of a ship escorting a traveler from point A to point B, and along the way you deal with your feelings of guilt and stress about living under an oppressive government.It’s a hack of Our Traveling Home by Ash Kreider, and it’s like 90% of the way to really great. But that last 10% is always the hard 10%, and I decided it was time to let this game just be what it is and push it out into the world.As a part of that, I wanted to look back on the design process. What went well, what didn’t, what would I change if I was going to spend another 30 minutes or 30 years on this thing. To do that, I sat down with two of my friends who playtested the game, and we talked about all things Space Fam.Further ReadingSpace Fam on itchThe Disc 2 jam.A commentary podcast episode for Space Fam is available here.I wrote about the design of Space Fam's "scenes menu" here​.I wrote about the design of the Space Fam character sheet here​.Our Traveling Home by Ash KreiderStewpot: Tales from a Fantasy Tavern by Takuma OkadaSpace Post by Jason MorningstarThe WatchNight Witches by Jason MorningstarSocialsSam on Bluesky and itch.The Dice Exploder blog is at diceexploder.comOur logo was designed by sporgory, and our theme song is Sunset Bridge by Purely Grey.Join the Dice Exploder Discord to talk about the show!

TranscriptThe first ever Dice Exploder game jam came to a close about a month ago, and today I sit down with the three hooligans from the discord who put it together and go through some of our favorite entries. If Dice Exploder is a show about concrete examples, this episode is as Dice Exploder as it gets.All the games we talk about are pretty short, so it should be easy to follow along at home. Check out all the jam submissions here.Thanks to Audrey Stolze (aka Lady Tabletop), Chris Greenbriar, and Sam Roberts for running the jam!Further Reading:Game Exploder full list of entriesSam D's late entry: World Ending Game (Sam's Version)SocialsSam D on Bluesky and itch.Sam R's game Escape from Dino Island.Audrey on ⁠Tumblr⁠, and her podcast ⁠Alone at the Table⁠ about solo games.The Dice Exploder blog is at diceexploder.comOur logo was designed by sporgory, and our theme song is Sunset Bridge by Purely Grey.Join the Dice Exploder Discord to talk about the show!

TranscriptWhat if your D&D adventuring party settled down and opened a tavern, and the vibes went from dragon murderers to Bob’s Burgers? That's my pitch for Stewpot: Tales from a Fantasy Tavern, one of my favorite RPGs. It's currently on Backerkit, and you should check it out.This week I'm talking about a super simple unnamed mechanic from Stewpot, and presumably other games before it, that's inspired much of my own work: everyone goes around and adds a detail about the scene at hand or whatever we're talking about. Simple but effective.I think of this mechanic, and Stewpot generally, as especially welcoming to people new to the hobby. And so I brought on my favorite new to the hobby person: Lee Conrads, acclaimed theater director (there's a lot of theater and audience theory in this one) and also my spouse. It's a very special episode.Further Reading:The Stewpot backerkit campaignCircle X theater companyGreat Reckonings in Little RoomsComedy Book by Jesse David FoxSocialsSam on Bluesky and itch.The Dice Exploder blog is at diceexploder.comOur logo was designed by sporgory, and our theme song is Sunset Bridge by Purely Grey.Join the Dice Exploder Discord to talk about the show!

TranscriptIs sharing music with your friends an RPG? It sure is when you're playing Avery Alder's game Ribbon Drive. Takuma Okada, the designer of Stewpot: Tales from a Fantasy Tavern (⁠on Backerkit right now⁠), joins me this week to talk about music, contemplation, and unconventional ways to inspire players.Further Reading:⁠Ribbon Drive⁠⁠Spindlewheel⁠Everything Is Illuminated, the book and film⁠Ten Candles⁠⁠Dread⁠⁠Star Crossed⁠⁠Our Radios Are Dying⁠⁠Void 1680 AM⁠Sam’s ⁠playlist⁠ from playing Ribbon Drive⁠The Awards⁠ website⁠The Awards interview on Yes Indie'd⁠SocialsTakuma on Twitter and Bluesky.Sam on ⁠Bluesky⁠ and ⁠itch⁠.The Dice Exploder blog is at ⁠diceexploder.com⁠Our logo was designed by ⁠sporgory⁠, and our theme song is Sunset Bridge by Purely Grey.Join the ⁠Dice Exploder Discord⁠ to talk

Transcripts are available at diceexploder.comPeople talk a lot about how and whether RPGs emulate TV and movies, but this week cohost Meguey Baker (Apocalypse World, Under Hollow Hills) brings in a game that takes that sentiment to a compelling meta level. Fan Mail, from Primetime Adventures by Matt Wilson, is the core of the game's key metaphor: that players are simultaneously writers of a TV show, fans watching that show, and the characters portrayed on screen. We talk about the storygame scene in the early 2000s, how Primetime Adventures has influenced Meg's work, and how different this mechanic can feel in a one shot vs a full campaign.This game feels like a classic. I wish I'd known about it ten years ago.Further Reading:Primetime Adventures by Matt WilsonThe Revolution Was Televised by Alan SepinwallInspecters by Jared SorensenA Thousand and One Nights by Meguey BakerRitual in Game Design by Meguey BakerMeguey & Vincent’s new game Under Hollow HillsSocialsMeg on Twitter and Bluesky.The Baker family blog and games.Sam on Bluesky and itch.The Dice Exploder blog is at diceexploder.comOur logo was designed by sporgory, and our theme song is Sunset Bridge by Purely Grey.Join the Dice Exploder Discord to talk about the show!