Reading D&D Aloud

Mary Fan is a sci-fi stalwart, a prolific author whose novels include the Jane Colt series among many, many, others, and lifelong reader. She shares with us her favorite short story, which happens to be by Polish genius Stanislaw Lem, and of course we argue about Star Wars and Star Trek.  Ben interviewed 2nd ed designer Zeb Cook in Hugh Hefner's suite at Gary Con and there's video! You NEED to see this! And the only way you are going to get access to this amazing interview is by subscribing to our Patreon. It's only $3 a month! Click here!

You will not regret spending an hour listening to this conversation between 5th edition designer Mike Mearls and Shadowdark designer Kelsey Dionne. The pair are without question two of the most outstanding game designers working in TTRPGs today, and in this episode, they each give us a peek into their persons and processes. You can find Mike's Patreon here! And you can be a late backer of Kelsey's newest Shadowdark expansion here! Ben interviewed 2nd ed designer Zeb Cook in Hugh Hefner's suite at Gary Con and there's video! You NEED to see this! And the only way you are going to get access to this amazing interview is by subscribing to our Patreon. It's only $3 a month! Click here!

Lin Codega is the most important gaming journalist in the history of TTRPGs. They broke the OGL scandal wide open and changed the industry forever. In this hour-long conversation, Ben picks their brain about the state of things today, and where they are going next.  Find further delight in Lin's words at Rascal!  Ben interviewed 2nd ed designer Zeb Cook in Hugh Hefner's suite at Gary Con and there's video! You NEED to see this! And the only way you are going to get access to this amazing interview is by subscribing to our Patreon. It's only $3 a month! Click here!

The pulp fiction that influenced Dungeons & Dragons and Call of Cthulhu was once considered disposable entertainment. But now it is taught in school! This week we pick the brain of Dr. Jason Ray Carney, a professor of English at Christopher Newport University who teaches weird fiction!  The next thing we're going to release on the Patreon feed is an interview with 2nd edition designer Zeb Cook from Gary Con. Zeb gives us cutting insight into the role of the RPG designer as an artist, all while sitting in Hugh Hefner's suite at Gary Con 2025! And the only way you are going to get access to this amazing interview is by subscribing to our Patreon. It's only $3 a month! Click here!

Stu Horvath is an RPG historian you need to hear about. His book, Monsters, Aliens, and Holes in the Ground is enlightening, engaging, entertaining, and informative. Oh, and gorgeous! It is a romp through 50 plus years of iconic RPG products, from the obvious to the obscure. In this episode, we discuss Chaosium's Theives' World. Pick up Stu's book here!  The next thing we're going to release on the Patreon feed is an interview with 2nd edition designer Zeb Cook from Gary Con. Zeb gives us cutting insight into the role of the RPG designer as an artist, all while sitting in Hugh Hefner's suite at Gary Con 2025! And the only way you are going to get access to this amazing interview is by subscribing to our Patreon. It's only $3 a month! Click here!

Shadowdark is the new hotness in the OSR community. Shadowdark is a cobra. Fast. Elegant. Deadly. Beautiful. I'm running Shadowdark because it is a game that demands to be played. The internet asks, is Shadowdark a D&D-slayer? In this hour-long seminar from Gary Con, Kelsey Dionne gives us a deep look into the workings of the game, her company, and most relevant to the question of Shadowdark as a competitor to D&D: sales numbers! I guarantee they'll surprise you! Like what we do on this show? Back us on Patreon, you get access to our Discord, I post historical documents from my archive there, AND YOU GET EXTRA EPISODES! Last week, I posted Wizards of the Coast founder and Gen Con owner Peter Adkison in conversation with historian Matt Shoemaker. All this, FOR A MERE $3 A MONTH! Click here to join! Here are questions from the Q+A in case you couldn't hear them: Who are your invisible friends? I don't understand what's new and what was already published in CURSED SCROLL in your Kickstarter. Please explain. If Shadowdark uses close/near/far, why have gridded maps? Do you foresee using traditional distribution in the future? Are you going to do Free RPG Day? What was your first edition of D&D? What were you trying to capture with Shadowdark? What are your plans for organized play? Would you have a metaplot in organized play? Where do you start when writing?  What is your implied setting? Where did the idea of carousing come from? How can I integrate the Western Reaches into my home game? Comment about Dungeon magazine. Is Shadowdark good for long-term play? Discussion of characters versus character sheets. How do you interact with art as you write? Where is Arcane Library going? How effective is the quickstart in getting people to buy the game? Will there be other genres of Shadowdark? What's the sales pitch for Shadowdark? Will there be frameworks for 3rd party publishers? Can I send you my ideas? I lose a little track here, but... HOW MANY COPIES OF SHADOWDARK HAVE YOU SOLD?

Michael O'Brien is vice-president of Chaosium, the oldest extant RPG company, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year! In this interview, Ben & Michael go back to the dawn of fantasy RPGs, and talk about the brilliant minds that have made Chaosium home this past half-century.  Check out O'Brien's Sun Country, which he described as "Spartans in the old west" here! Want to hear Call of Cthulhu creator Sandy Petersen discuss game design with Trail of Cthulhu creator Ken Hite? Then you NEED to join our Patreon! Patreon subscribers get access not just to special episodes like the one just mentioned, but Ben is also digitizing his document archive. Discover hidden secrets of RPG history! And there is even a patrons-only Discord. All that, for only $3! Click here to join today! 

Cory Burns is at the forefront of D&D actualplays, because his incorporates audience participation! We chew the fat with Burns, creator of Adventures Improvised, which plays D&D in front of an audience using powerpoints and audience participation. He has his own RPG, Wanderverse, which will be kickstarting on March 25th. Playtest materials for the game can be found here! We discussed MIT's ion drive, and you can learn more here! The LA Review of Books piece on the sources for Dune can be found here.  Want to hear Call of Cthulhu creator Sandy Petersen discuss game design with Trail of Cthulhu creator Ken Hite? Then you NEED to join our Patreon! Patreon subscribers get access not just to special episodes like the one just mentioned, but Ben is also digitizing his document archive. Discover hidden secrets of RPG history! And there is even a patrons-only Discord. All that, for only $3! Click here to join today! 

CthulhuTech smashes sci-fi anime with the work of Lovecraft to create something wholly new. In this episode we talk with the game's designer, Matt Grau about the game's creation, history, and his own time in video games. You can check out the CthulhuTech Kickstarter here! Want to hear Call of Cthulhu creator Sandy Petersen discuss game design with Trail of Cthulhu creator Ken Hite? Then you NEED to join our Patreon! Patreon subscribers get access not just to special episodes like the one just mentioned, but Ben is also digitizing his document archive. Discover hidden secrets of RPG history! And there is even a patrons-only Discord. All that, for only $3! Click here to join today!  

Pirate Borg designer Luke Stratton is a true polymath. Not only did he make the setting and the rules for his brutal, fast, and fun pirate RPG, but he also did the art! Additionally, he is a famous lighting designer who traveled the world lighting grunge gods, the Smashing Pumpkins! Want to hear Call of Cthulhu creator Sandy Petersen discuss game design with Trail of Cthulhu creator Ken Hite? Then you NEED to join our Patreon! Patreon subscribers get access not just to special episodes like the one just mentioned, but Ben is also digitizing his document archive. Discover hidden secrets of RPG history! And there is even a patrons-only Discord. All that, for only $3! Click here to join today!   Luke Stratton's THE GAME is here.