The Diceology Podcast

In this episode, we reflect on our favorite tabletop RPG experiences of 2024 and discuss exciting upcoming games for 2025. We explore character creation, the importance of storytelling, and how strange mechanics add depth to our games. • Reflection on standout RPG experiences of 2024 • Insights from Judd Karlman on tabletop storytelling • Exploration of the Ioun City game and its unique narrative • Importance of memorable NPCs and their impact on gameplay • Embracing the weirdness and unpredictability in RPGs • Anticipation of innovative games in 2025 • Discussion of missed opportunities for gaming experiences • Tips for running engaging and memorable game sessions Send us a text Support the show Thanks for listening to Diceology! If you enjoyed the show, don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode. You can find us wherever you get your podcasts. Want to support the show and get exclusive content? Head over to Play Fearless or My Patreon to subscribe and join the community! Let's make this our regular thing! 🤘🏾

Have you ever wondered what it's like to turn your tabletop gaming passion into a profession? Judd Karlman and I chat about our extraordinary path from hobbyists to professional game masters (GMs), revealing the quirky, exciting, and sometimes absurd adventures that come with the territory. From hilarious bachelor party RPG requests to the broader implications of monetizing our love for gaming, we peel back the curtain on a niche that's rapidly gaining traction. Join us as we reminisce about our initial foray into paid GMing and how it has evolved into a noteworthy part of our creative and community endeavors. As seasoned GMs, we also tackle the practical side of running various campaign styles, including the nuances of open table versus West Marches formats. I open up about the routines I've adopted to stay sane and healthy during long sessions at the screen, and we both reflect on the rewarding experience of watching players shape their own narratives. Setting boundaries and creating inclusive spaces for our players is paramount, and we share how we navigate these responsibilities to ensure that everyone at the table feels comfortable and safe. The episode concludes with a critical discussion on maintaining a safe and respectful gaming community, addressing the challenge of confronting 'broken stairs'—problematic individuals who threaten the group's play. We highlight the cultural impact of phenomena like Critical Role and the excitement around the Dungeons & Dragons movie, emphasizing how they shape our approach to community building. Our conversation is an invitation to listeners to engage with us and contribute to a dialogue that prioritizes safety, inclusion, and the pure joy of collaborative storytelling in gaming. Support the Show. If you're picking up, what we're putting down, consider becoming a subscriber at https://www.patreon.com/madjayzero. You can catch me on Twitter at @godiceology or Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/diceology

Jolt and his family are hunkering down at a Hilton Garden Hotel in Jacksonville, guarded by Cherry Bomb's security. It's nearly midnight when Red-Eye calls Jolt... and it's not a "wyd?!" kinda call. Chimaera is making a move to grab Citrus Climax! And you know who's coming to the rescue? I bet ya do! Support the Show. If you're picking up, what we're putting down, consider becoming a subscriber at https://www.patreon.com/madjayzero. You can catch me on Twitter at @godiceology or Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/diceology

Jolt #4 - Daye & Knight Nate and Obie encounter some extraordinary security guards when they try to make off with goods from the secret lab they've robbed. Later after getting Jason to a hospital, they have a strange encounter with 3-Pain. That night Nate, Obie, and Maggie strategize for the coming days ahead. Support the Show. If you're picking up, what we're putting down, consider becoming a subscriber at https://www.patreon.com/madjayzero. You can catch me on Twitter at @godiceology or Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/diceology

Ready for an action-packed hour of gaming discussion and adventure? Join Rich and me as we delve into the world of real life and role-playing games, exploring the connection between comic books and gaming, and discovering what it means to truly "play to find out." Experience the thrill of strategizing to keep our in-game characters, Sera and Mason, safe while handling new threats and enlisting help from old contacts. But tread carefully - who can we really trust in this thrilling adventure? Nathan "Jolt" and "OB" tackle planning the search for a warehouse and how to payoff Red-Eye. Dive into Nate's thoughts and feelings as he grapples with trusting OB to complete the mission alone. Will they need to recruit someone to keep an eye on Sera while Nate and OB are away? Tune in to find out! Support the Show. If you're picking up, what we're putting down, consider becoming a subscriber at https://www.patreon.com/madjayzero. You can catch me on Twitter at @godiceology or Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/diceology

Jolt #2: Nathan interviews for the super spokesmodel position at Door Dash but gets an emergency text from his wife and leaves abruptly! 3Pain, the witness protection assassin, has made a house call! Later, Nathan and OB discuss OB's debt to Red-Eye, the wetwork job left undone, and a secret lab OB found while doing that job. Support the Show. If you're picking up, what we're putting down, consider becoming a subscriber at https://www.patreon.com/madjayzero. You can catch me on Twitter at @godiceology or Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/diceology

Jolt #1 - Nathan is lured into a CHIMERA experiment as they trap him on the Buckman bridge to observe his abilities! Back home, it’s parent-teacher conference night for him Sarah and their kid Mason. OB stops by looking for a hanging-out buddy. And Danny “Red-Eye” comes looking for OB. It was a smooth session of #ChampionsNow, mostly - the area effect rules tripped me up a little. But We got to see Nathan put the slap down on some CHIMERA agents with his super speed. Support the Show. If you're picking up, what we're putting down, consider becoming a subscriber at https://www.patreon.com/madjayzero. You can catch me on Twitter at @godiceology or Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/diceology

2Eleven returns with Jolt! Welcome to Session Zero for Jolt! A Champions Now actual play. I feel like I must remind you I do not receive any kickbacks for the millions of Champions Now sessions, content, or name drops! 🤣 Champions Now RPG has been a great source 0f fun for me, and I am thrilled to have Rich Rogers of +1 Forward fame along for the ride! Nathan Fellows was the Jolt! Cola Super Supermodel back in the day. Today, Nathan is an aging, unemployed speedster juggling multiple gigs in Jacksonville. He's got a wife and kid and his old pal Obie. This is his origin story. How Rich and I talk through session zero for this game. Support the Show. If you're picking up, what we're putting down, consider becoming a subscriber at https://www.patreon.com/madjayzero. You can catch me on Twitter at @godiceology or Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/diceology

Champions Now Jolt #2 -3 Nathan interviews for the super spokesmodel position at Door Dash but gets an emergency text from his wife and leaves abruptly! 3Pain, the witness protection assassin, has made a house call looking for 'Claire' AKA Sera, Nathan's wife, who's in the program. Later, Nathan and OB discuss OB's debt to Red-Eye, the wetwork job left undone, and a secret lab OB found doing that job. Next Jolt #3: Nathan and OB check out that secret lab with help from Cherry Bomb, Forbes CEO of the year! But they won't like what they find in that lab!! r/CapitolCryptids #5 -6. Anita, Raul, and Father Martin do a lot of legwork to discover who the old man in the video footage of the museum heist is and the location of the artifact that was stolen. It turns out Michael, Father Martin's brother, has the artifact -an ankh. And the old man is some sort of mummy sorcerer named Asim. Bonus find: All the heist planning was done using a new app called Sieben for crime gigs! H/T @widdledragon https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/littlewish/the-old-the-cold-the-bold/description Later Father Martin and Raul visit an old occult acquaintance, Papa Raam, to get his thoughts on the Ankh artifact. Their meeting is interrupted by a murder of crows and a large fire-breathing tengu with a spear - they all squawk the same two words. “Ankh. Give!” Rolemaster The Oracle at Scalu. Our questing heroes discover a mass of folks waiting at the cliffs of Scalu to see the oracle. Visitations and payment are handled by Tava and her crew, which includes a rather hulking man, Brinanr, who sports a shield and ill-fitting helm that belonged once to a Deathless Regiment member. This is not lost on Deronil, likely the last of the Deathless. The heroes pay for a place in the Oracle queue while scouting out other temple entries. They find a cave tomb, and awaken the dead buried there! The finale in 2 weeks! Twilight 2000 Wroclaw Winters had a by-week. I spent some time updating the Foundry VTT and thinking about VTTs in general. We'll easily break 50 sessions as we move into the urban city sandbox and survive the winter. Thomas Moore is big on the Todos list and getting Anne and Antonie back. Support the Show. If you're picking up, what we're putting down, consider becoming a subscriber at https://www.patreon.com/madjayzero. You can catch me on Twitter at @godiceology or Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/diceology

Support the Show. If you're picking up, what we're putting down, consider becoming a subscriber at https://www.patreon.com/madjayzero. You can catch me on Twitter at @godiceology or Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/diceology

My guests, Jason Lutes and Paul Beakley, and I get lost in the West Marches game style. Jason is currently running his second West Marches campaign using Freebooters on the Frontier and Arden Vul as the setting. I get an incredible amount of joy from running West Marches campaigns, and geeking out with both Jason and Paul on the subject was good stuff. I am very, very sorry for some of the audio. I recorded using a new audio platform and discovered issues with Paul's audio in the recording that didn't appear live. Hopefully, my audio sorcery is potent! Support the Show. If you're picking up, what we're putting down, consider becoming a subscriber at https://www.patreon.com/madjayzero. You can catch me on Twitter at @godiceology or Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/diceology

Easily the week of the West Marches. Starting with my halfling wizard’s Arden Vul adventure to helping my local gamers launch their own IRL West Marches games. It’s got me thinking about other non-fantasy applications. On the Gauntlet, we’ve wrapped up a three-session run of Fading Suns with Lowell Francis at the helm. He also hosted a Zoom talk about Legacy 2E: Life among the Ruins. Best practices, some thoughts around running the game, hacking the game. Pretty much talked me into running Legacy again on The Gauntlet using some of these new insights. Also wrapped up Rebels of the Outlaw Wastes with Micael Addison of Nerdy Pup Games. Rebels of the Outlaw Wastes has players exploring a hyper-saturated dystopian world that's being controlled by a tyrannical collective of powers. And the usual suspects - Twilight 2000, Cortex work on Lifted: Indomitable. Support the Show. If you're picking up, what we're putting down, consider becoming a subscriber at https://www.patreon.com/madjayzero. You can catch me on Twitter at @godiceology or Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/diceology

Fading Suns Fading Suns on The Gauntlet. Lowell Francis trying out the system, and you can tell he’s down his prep. I’m playing an Ur-Ukar witch with TK-like abilities. We’ve taken up a mission from a noble to be his escort and eyes and ears in a hostile system. Fading Suns has pulled at me for some years now; I’m hoping to jump-start my future runs of it by playing it first. At its core, it is a Skill + ability roll under system. This was our session one, and we got a small, easy skirmish under our belt so far. Into the Odd In Dragonslayers, using Into the Odd, I play a reluctant tailor pressed into military service against the dragon empire. The dragons have won, and we're left in the aftermath of many battles. This was mostly session zero, making characters and setting up things. Our first act next session is to free our captured griffin riders and griffins!! Judd also runs games out on StartPlaying.games, and I paid to play his Spelljammer + Into the odd game: Rock of Braal. (I’ll have more to say very soon about paying to play and GM-for-hire) I played a warden, one of two survivors off a gith vessel. The other was an Illithid captive. We both took on a bounty from a ghost pirate to recover his stolen goods. Into the Odd is a great system for getting folks in fast and keeping them hooked through the session. I forget I much I LOVE combat mechanics where there is a free & clear declaration step, followed by the dice then reading the outcomes! Rebels of the Outlaw Wastes - Session 01 Centered in the apocalypse of Florida, I play an ex-Imagineer, (ex-jackboot in Outlaw parlance) trying to escape my former employer. With the help of an Abe Lincoln animatronic, an Alligator-Man hybrid, and a gothic biker with electricity powers. We flee into the swamp -bogs of Florida chased by Imagineer security on hoverboards! Big thanks to Michael Addison of Nerdy Pup Games for running his new game on Actual Play! Champions Now - Lifted. The KC Defenders get stomped by Protheseus agents during a simple recon of the downtown train yard. The rail house was, in fact, not abandoned or empty. I still get a kick out of agents as hazard rules in Champions Now, especially when player characters try to ignore the agents! Sci-fi West Marches Reading the Gateway saga. Looking to use the premise of an abandoned alien space station and its network of ships and unknown routes as a column in a Sci-Fi West Marches game. Currently hacking BX via OSE to get the play experience I want. Prepping Remember Tomorrow Another Gregor Hutton jam that holds up great n these modern times. It’s a cyberpunk RPG, GM-less, but best with a facilitator. You play troupe-style Gibsonesque characters at odds with various factions. What did you play last week? Support the Show. If you're picking up, what we're putting down, consider becoming a subscriber at https://www.patreon.com/madjayzero. You can catch me on Twitter at @godiceology or Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/diceology

Support the Show. If you're picking up, what we're putting down, consider becoming a subscriber at https://www.patreon.com/madjayzero. You can catch me on Twitter at @godiceology or Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/diceology

Mad Jay talks about Mythras and Glorantha, Twilight: 2000, Horizon Zero Dawn, Cortex and BX D&D with Old School Essentials! Support the Show. If you're picking up, what we're putting down, consider becoming a subscriber at https://www.patreon.com/madjayzero. You can catch me on Twitter at @godiceology or Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/diceology

Support the Show. If you're picking up, what we're putting down, consider becoming a subscriber at https://www.patreon.com/madjayzero. You can catch me on Twitter at @godiceology or Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/diceology

My guest today is a gamer I admire for his style of DMing and asking players questions. He has the uncanny ability for generating gameable premises. He is the author of the Dictionary of Mu, a favorite sword and sorcery setting of mine. He's the host of the Daydreaming About Dragons podcast and my current Friday morning GM for Trophy Gold. Judd Karlman Blog: githyankidiaspora.com Podcast: https://anchor.fm/daydreaming-about-dragons Twitch.tv/ActualPlay Trophy Gold Worlds of Dungeons Dungeons & Dragons Hutt Cartel | Cartel RPG Canva Stars without Number RPG Support the Show. If you're picking up, what we're putting down, consider becoming a subscriber at https://www.patreon.com/madjayzero. You can catch me on Twitter at @godiceology or Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/diceology

I've recorded this conversation with Geoff and Neil from my Twilight: 2000 Saturday morning game. This group, this time slot, and the game are a magical thing for me right now, and I suspect for the four players as well. I wanted to get their thoughts and feels 10 sessions in about the game, the group, and whatever else comes up. Content warning. Twilight: 2000 is a survival sandbox game set in war-torn Poland in the 2000s. There are parallels with the current invasion of Ukraine and we talk about the early stage of the war in Ukraine. We're using Free League's setup for Foundry VTT and it's been incredibly useful. ICYMI check out my post The Promise of VTTs. BIG shout out to The Gauntlet and their Open Gaming program. This game grew out of a one-shot I ran for an Open Gaming weekend hosted by the Gauntlet. Support the Show. If you're picking up, what we're putting down, consider becoming a subscriber at https://www.patreon.com/madjayzero. You can catch me on Twitter at @godiceology or Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/diceology

Started Mothership with Judd. I'm playing a character inspired by Fox Mulder. The pitch: Two scientists investigate the disappearance of their professor and the crew of a science vessel. Twilight: 2000: The discovery of a dead soldier stashed in the woods and a convoy heading toward Barnes's occupied Polish town, sends Bard and Justin off to extract Tracy and Janush. They decide to confront the polish spook, Phil before sneaking out of the encampment and back to their base in the woods. Legacy 2E: Gale and Manta-ray kill each other in the Endless city over control of the "Hand" artifact. Gale's death move sends both players to an eternal hellscape. The artifact is lost to the Endless City. And the Third age begins. Wrath & Glory: Exotic weapons have been turning up in skirmishes on Gideon Prime. Tasked with investigating the origins of these weapons our favorite Tech-Priest follows a trail that leads him to the Spacehulk - Veritagous. Playing Elden Ring - dying, wonder, exploring, dying. Prepping Barbarians of Lemuria: Treachery at Axos Mountains. We have a fully leaned-in sorcerer, a sky-ship pilot, and an amnesiac mercenary being pursued into the Axos Mountains where they hope to find a haven of outcasts to go to ground at. Improv for Gamers 2e will be on Gamefound by Evil Hat. I've got a piece in there as well as a cornucopia of amazing folks, check it out. And GauntletCon Open Gaming end of March. C'mon out and play!! Support the Show. If you're picking up, what we're putting down, consider becoming a subscriber at https://www.patreon.com/madjayzero. You can catch me on Twitter at @godiceology or Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/diceology

Rich Rogers, co-host of Plus One Forward and designer of Hit the Streets: Defend the Block, an ENnie award-winning street-level supers RPG joins me to talk about his gaming week - it's like a mini-con!! Rich's Stone Top duet game with his wife, Vampire 5e, Bounty of the Week (Monster of the Week hack), Gravity Rip, Star Wars Blades in the Dark, Rascals, X-Crawl. Support the Show. If you're picking up, what we're putting down, consider becoming a subscriber at https://www.patreon.com/madjayzero. You can catch me on Twitter at @godiceology or Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/diceology