The Vintage RPG Podcast

You know what kind of sucks? Awards. Oscars, Grammys, whatever. RPG awards are no exception. But Joe DeSimone doesn't think they need to be that way. So he's starting his own awards for RPGs called The Awards. And you know what? They might suck, too! He's upfront about that. But if they do, they'll suck in a completely new way and maybe even pave the way for something good. This week on the Vintage RPG Podcast, we talk to Joe about awards, The Awards and how we might be able to do better. * * * You can bother Joe on Twitter pretty much all the time.

This week on the Vintage RPG Podcast, we barely scratch the surface of RuneQuest (1978), Chaosium's classic first foray into RPGs. We talk about the games origins in the earlier wargame, White Bear & Red Moon (1975), the skill-based RPG, the limitations of class as a concept, the different sorts of magic and, seriously, that's more than enough for one half hour. We'll be returning to RQ several times in the coming weeks to cover it all!

Ever buy an old RPG box set and find some maps or a character sheet inside? For me, it conjures up a specific sort of warm feeling. This week on the Vintage RPG Podcast, we take a look at some of Tim Hutchings' efforts to preserve that sort gaming ephemera in The Habitation of the Stone Giant Lord, a book collecting homebrew D&D adventures written and illustrated by kids. We also look at Hutchings' reprint of the short-live gaming zine The Oracle. A thrilling expedition into the dusty archives of our hobby's past! * * * You can check out more about both projects at Hutchings' Play Generated Map & Document Archive. Physical copies of both can still be had at his shop, as well!

Charlie Ferguson Avery and Alex Coggon from Feral Indie Studios dive into the vibrant world of indie RPG zines during Zine Month. They discuss the evolution of the zine movement, emphasizing community engagement and workshops that empower creators. The pair share insights on upcoming RPG projects that creatively reimagine cleric abilities and enhance gameplay through mounts. Excitement buzzes over a digital bundle release, showcasing collaborative works and encouraging fresh voices in the zine community.

"The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel." That's the first line of William Gibson's 1984 novel Neuromancer and, just like that, he pretty much codified the aesthetic of cyberpunk. This week on the Vintage RPG Podcast, we go ga-ga over the novel and look at the way it influenced cyberpunk RPGs. Or was ripped off by cyberpunk RPGs. We've heard it both ways. * * * In the episode, Stu mentions a post by Gibson about Shadowrun. If you have access to the text of that, drop us a line!

This week on the Vintage RPG Podcast, we go way over the top and check out the Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG. It's got gonzo for days, horrible dooms, epic spell failures, weird ass dice and enough old school style art to fill a museum with. What's not to love?

It ain't just D&D that's getting hacked and cloned! Want to play a system that retains the flavors of 80s-era British fantasy? Warlock, from Fire Ruby Designs, has you covered by being a bit more robust than Advanced Fighting Fantasy and a lot less cumbersome than Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay. We check it out on this week's Vintage RPG Podcast.

Happy New Year! This week on the Vintage RPG Podcast, we return to Appendix N and check out The Broken Sword, a novel by Poul Anderson. Unlike Three Hearts and Three Lions, it's a fantastic, violent and often unparalleled work of influential fantasy.

We got you some monsters for Christmas! This week on the Vintage RPG Podcast, we talk about the Monstrous Compendium (1989) for second edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. You know what else we talk about? Office supplies and how great they are. Join us for another thrilling episode!

This week on the Vintage RPG Podcast, we talk about the Campaign Sourcebook and Catacomb Guide (1990), the first Dungeon Masters Guide expansion for second edition Dungeons & Dragons. That might sound dull, but I promise you, it is a wild ride into the substrate of the RPG psyche — it's one part deconstruction of the hobby and one part a kind of everyperson's treatise on RPG design theory, written largely by the always engaging Jennell Jaquays. A lot of folks think the blue and silver books are just 2E bloat, but this one should be on the shelves of anyone who thinks deeply about RPG design.