
Ludonarrative Dissidents
Ludonarrative Dissidents is a podcast from Greg Stolze, James Wallis, and Ross Payton to explore and analyze tabletop RPGs. What does each game do, how does it work, and why do people play it? We are currently in season 3, and we've expanded to include sourcebooks and adventures. Visit our website at https://www.ludonarrativedissidents.com/ to get detailed show notes. Join our Discord at https://discord.gg/CQt5DbFZCD
Latest episodes

Jul 15, 2024 • 1h 30min
Heart: The City Beneath
Heart: The City Beneath is a game of unconventional fantasy adventurers who are drawn to enter, explore and lose themselves in a very corporeal underworld beneath the city of Spire. They’ll face horrific foes, bizarre locations and a mysterious and eldritch subway system. It’s from the same designers and publisher as Spire, it’s an indie darling, but what will the Ludonarrative Dissidents make of it? Will they locate the life-ending revelation they seek in its fleshy realms? Will Heart find a place in their ribcages, or turn them into a big ol’ train?
Heart: The City Beneath at DriveThruRPG
Heart: The City Beneath at Rowan, Rook & Decard
FULL SHOW NOTES ARE AVAILABLE HERE
Discuss this episode on the LND Discord!
Intro music by Arcane Anthems

Jul 5, 2024 • 1h 10min
Ludonarrative Dissidents Livestream #3 - Superhero RPG and Build a Bag mechanics
Greg has an idea for a build a bag mechanic for a RPG, so James and I discuss some options for it. We look at board games that use this mechanic and how the mechanic could work.

Jun 10, 2024 • 1h 12min
Livestream for May 2024 - Choose Your Own Adventures and other game books
We're discussing Choose Your Own Adventure, Fighting Fantasy, Lone Wolf, and other similar game books. This is an audio version of this Youtube livestream, if you want to see the visuals.

Apr 30, 2024 • 1h 15min
Season 3 Livestream #1 - Topics for S3 revealed!
In this livestream, we reveal the topics for season 3! If you have questions about them, ask on our Discord.
You can watch the livestream here.

Mar 14, 2024 • 1h 18min
The NASA RPG Adventure and Season 3 Kickstarter update - March 10th Livestream
Our Kickstarter for Season 3 is doing well but we have a long way to go! We livestreamed on March 10, which you can view here on Youtube, but this episode has cleaned up audio. We're looking at the free adventure released by NASA, The Lost Universe. We dive deep into it and answer viewer questions.

Mar 4, 2024 • 1h 18min
Hole in the Sky - Dungeon Crawl Classics
The Kickstarter is live! Back it today so we can have a full season of great episodes!
The Lady in Blue, a mysterious figure of cosmic power, enlists a band of simple peasants for a strange task. They are to follow an invisible bridge until they arrive at a hole in the sky – and then jump through. Death awaits all but the bravest, strongest, and luckiest, but the Lady offers a reward beyond all the riches of the world: the chance to change the very stars these peasants were born under, and thus change their destiny.
We're reviewing our first adventure for this season! We played it as the finale of last season and now you can hear what we think of the adventure as a published scenario.

Feb 11, 2024 • 1h 18min
Livestream February 24: Season 3 Kickstarter March 4!
We're back with more info on season 3 and here to talk about RPGs. https://www.ludonarrativedissidents.com/

Jan 5, 2024 • 1h 24min
Livestream December 2023: Update on Season 3, questions, and more!
We livestreamed back in December to update listeners about Season 3 and answer questions about RPGs. You can watch it on Youtube or just listen to it here. Enjoy!

Nov 28, 2023 • 3h 6min
Hole in the Sky - Dungeon Crawl Classics Module #86 - Actual Play
The Lady in Blue, a mysterious figure of cosmic power, enlists a band of simple peasants for a strange task. They are to follow an invisible bridge until they arrive at a hole in the sky – and then jump through. Death awaits all but the bravest, strongest, and luckiest, but the Lady offers a reward beyond all the riches of the world: the chance to change the very stars these peasants were born under, and thus change their destiny.
NEWS: On Saturday December 16th, at 23:00 UTC (18:00 EST, 17:00 Central) Greg, James, go live for an hour of discussion, conversation, and answering your questions.
RPPR on Twitch
RPPR Streaming on Youtube
If you miss the livestream, the Youtube version will stay up afterwards.
We are planning an episode 0 of season 3 to discuss this adventure so stay tuned for that!
Get full show notes at our website!
Discuss this episode on the LND Discord!

Nov 2, 2023 • 1h 27min
Pendragon 6th Edition Starter Set
Pendragon is a game of Arthurian legends, first released in 1985. The sixth edition starter set was released in 2023, with a full released plan next year. It is set in a world of brutal medieval realism. Player characters are knights in King Arthur's court, striving to uphold the code of chivalry despite their passions and flaws pulling them in other directions. The starter set contains pre-made knight player characters, several adventures, and all the rules necessary to run the game.
Get full show notes at our website!
Discuss this episode on the LND Discord!
Our next episode is the season finale, an actual play in Dungeon Crawl Classics with two guest players!