Dice Exploder

Victor Lane discusses mystery RPGs and Theorize move, delving into Three Clue Rule, structured vs emergent surprises, mechanical clues, and advice on running Brindlewood Bay. They touch on quantum villains, complexity, and the blend of writing, reading, and playing mystery stories. Games like Brindlewood Bay and GUMSHOE are highlighted, along with movies and TV shows like Knives Out and Murder She Wrote.

Experienced RPG player and game designer, Pam Punzalan, discusses Devil's Bargains in Blades in the Dark. Topics include rulebooks as guidelines, safety tools, favorite DBs, and retconning. They explore unique game mechanics, character depth, emotional choices, and devil's bargains impact on gameplay.

Game developer Michael Elliott discusses failure and conflict in RPGs, genre mechanics, spotlight passing, and simplifying game mechanics. They explore Composure in Antiquarian Adventures, pulp adventure stories, enhancing gameplay with tropes, and addressing racism in RPGs.

Join Ray Chou in a discussion on minimalism, genre mechanics, and the balance between randomness and fate in RPGs like Lasers & Feelings. Explore the fun of beer & pretzels gaming and the creative challenges of game design. Discover the essence of storytelling through diverse characters and engaging mechanics.

Coming June 2023: DICE EXPLODER, a new podcast where each week we break down a tabletop RPG mechanic as deep as we possibly can, with Sam Dunnewold and a rotating co-host.Produced by the Fiction First Network. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit diceexploder.substack.com