

System Mastery
Jef Aldrich and Jon Taylor
Jef and Jon review old roleplaying games
Episodes
Mentioned books

Aug 13, 2020 • 1h 21min
System Mastery Special – Things We Hate About D&D – Part 2
https://systemmastery.files.wordpress.com/2020/08/things-we-hate-about-dd-part-2.mp3
Hey whoops this was only ever free on our Patreon. Should be here too. Now it is. Hooray! The balance is complete and finally I can diminish, and go into the West.
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Aug 12, 2020 • 1h 14min
Robotech – System Mastery 180
https://systemmastery.files.wordpress.com/2020/08/system-mastery-180-robotech.mp3
Yeah, we needed a break again. Jesus, Wraeththu. So for now, let’s dive into dependable old Palladium. Two scoops of whoops in every book! Robotech is one of the early Palladium license titles, which is always a source of hilarious conflict and tone problems in every try, and here we find it, surprisingly fast. For an 80 page book.
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Jul 29, 2020 • 1h 31min
Wraeththu: From Enchantment to Fulfillment – System Mastery 179
https://systemmastery.files.wordpress.com/2020/07/system-mastery-179-wraeththu-from-enchantment-to-fulfillment.mp3
Okay, guess break time’s over! This book is enormous, weird, and in a lot of ways, misguided. The world has collapsed, humanity has fallen, and the Wraeththu have risen in their place. And what are the Wraeththu? Androgynous hermaphroditic semi-vampiric aruna-having yaoi people, duh.
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Jul 14, 2020 • 1h 20min
The Land of Ogg – System Mastery 178
https://systemmastery.files.wordpress.com/2020/07/system-mastery-178-the-land-of-ogg.mp3
We needed a break to finish our second book, and when you live in a gig economy that just means doing a smaller job that week! The Land of Ogg started around 1993 and is a game about dumb cavemen failing at everything. Here is an obligatory joke about the current federal government. Please enjoy.
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Jul 4, 2020 • 1h 20min
System Mastery Special – Things We Hate About D&D – Part 3
https://systemmastery.files.wordpress.com/2020/07/things-we-hate-about-dd-part-3.mp3
No really, they’re the worst. Play another game. Also while we’ve got that picture of Radcliffe up there, our opinion is that JK Rowling is a TERF piece of shit, so. Everyone sucks. Just sucks. Sorry about it.
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Jun 30, 2020 • 1h 22min
SenZar – System Mastery 177
https://systemmastery.files.wordpress.com/2020/06/system-mastery-177-senzar.mp3
With 26 races, nearly 40 classes, giant complex martial arts systems and a battle world that has run amok for aeons aesthetic, where could SenZar possibly go wrong? It’s an excess of boring riches on today’s System Mastery.
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Jun 17, 2020 • 1h 23min
High Strung – System Mastery 176
https://systemmastery.files.wordpress.com/2020/06/system-mastery-176-high-strung.mp3
Grab your amps and start planning setlists, as we take a look at a game that eschews the classics of dungeon diving in favor of trying to make it big in the music world. Does it deliver hot licks? Or… I am bad at music, I guess cold licks? Yes, does it deliver cold licks? Well, come find out!
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Jun 3, 2020 • 1h 32min
Call of Cthulhu (5.6) – System Mastery 175
https://systemmastery.files.wordpress.com/2020/06/system-mastery-175-call-of-cthulhu.mp3
Yes, it’s not a D&D game. Don’t worry. It’s going to be okay. We still found a classic, the Chaosium flagship and the biggest name in leaning heavily on public domain stuff Call of Cthulhu. And hey, you might just be in need right now of people dumping on the febrile racism of a cowardly germophobe (Lovecraft. I meant Lovecraft.) so here’s that, just for you all.
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May 20, 2020 • 1h 21min
Alma Mater – System Mastery 174
https://systemmastery.files.wordpress.com/2020/05/system-mastery-174-alma-mater.mp3
We’ve posted so many episodes at this point that the only reason this one’s description isn’t just “Fuck this game” is that I’m not sure I didn’t do that for a previous odious heap. This game was banned from GenCon in the 80s because it’s got a bunch of teen sex in it. That’s one of the reasons it’s bad. Sure. Here’s an hour of other ones.
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May 11, 2020 • 1h 8min
System Mastery Special – Things We Hate About D&D – Part 1
https://systemmastery.files.wordpress.com/2020/05/system-mastery-special-things-we-hate-about-dd-part-1.mp3
So hey, remember when we wrote that book? Jef apparently didn’t because this special content powered by pre-orders has been sitting unedited on an external HD for months. The only thing that could force him to remember was the diligent reminders from listeners couple with the completion of our second book (details coming soon!). For now, please enjoy this fine list of things that we don’t like about D&D (or D&D Culture, we may have had some crossed wires in there). You earned it!
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