foldedfrequencies

PC Customization with Tyler [S3E7]

In this week’s episode, we chat with Tyler about big beefy robots smashing into each other, character specialization and specificity, and playing with a whole party of GMs. This interview started out as being about the Lancer system in particular, but we ended up talking about building and levelling PCs more generally.

Tyler tells us about Lancer and its free COMP/CON character-building website and also mentions a few other games:

He also plugs going to Itch.IO and downloading a free TTRPG and getting back into Tumblr. Both of these sound like excellent suggestions to us.

This isn’t our first interview about giant robots! We also heard from Erika (who GM’d a campaign in Beam Saber) last season. For that matter, we spoke with Austin (who wrote Beam Saber) earlier this season.

This week’s intro comes from Bobby!

If you like the music on the show, go check out more of Reilly’s music.

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On Location at OrcaCon (Part 2) [S3F6]

In this week’s Flashlight, we’re still at the OrcaCon tabletop games convention in Seattle! We see a lot of excellent wizard hats, we hear about a lot of cool projects, and Jake reveals the deep lore of Campaign Spotlight. We can’t wait to get back to the con next year!

Here’s everyone we spoke with in this episode. Some of these were booths at the con, and some were people who saw us with a mic and wanted to let our listeners know what they were working on. We’re really grateful to everyone who took the time to speak with us!

We heard about the Alzheimer’s Association and its games fundraising project The Longest Day.
North End Makerspace has a ton of cool equipment including a water laser cutter! Their booth was staffed by Rebecca, who’s contributed to the horror anthology podcast Waterlogged.
Blue Cactus Press is a publishing house with collaborators from historically marginalized groups on projects like the game Reveal the Elephant.
We heard about Black Shield Productions, who run some incredible con games and have a very dedicated fan base.
Start Here is a TTRPG from Beach House RPGs.

We mention it on the episode – but if you’d like to introduce an episode in-character as your PC, or if you’d just like to tell the world about your character or your campaign, get in touch! The hotline is 724 320 2020 if you have anything you’d like to call in. So far, we don’t have way to send Reilly cute things, but we’re working on it.

Also, thanks again to everyone from the Oppegaard Meadery episode who recommended OrcaCon to us!

If you like the music on the show, go check out more of Reilly’s music.

Professional GMing with RP [S3E6]

In this week’s episode, we chat with RP about the expectations of the hero’s journey, mysterious celebrity clients, and getting paid to DM. Spoilers for Beowulf, I think? We tank our chances for a Neuralink sponsorship in this one, just like we tanked our chances for a Tesla sponsorship earlier this season. (Also, just in case it wasn’t clear, we recorded both this interview and the interview with Austin before the election, when joking about Elon Musk’s failing companies felt different somehow.)

RP plugs Order of the Stick in this episode, and the fact that this webcomic has been running for more than two decades has made Jake feel intensely mortal. They also plug Demon: A Memoirand The Silmarillion. Head on over to RP’s Instagram to see what they’re working on, send them an email to ask about playing in one of their professionally DM’d games, or support them on Patreon or Ko-fi.

In this episode we also refer back to a couple previous conversations, including our interview about OSR-style gameplay with Max and our Flashlight on recent decisions at Wizards of the Coast.

This week’s PC intro comes from Hali, who plays in one of RP’s home games with friends, and who’s also been a player in one of Jake’s campaigns.

If you like the music on the show, go check out more of Reilly’s music.

On Location at OrcaCon (Part 1) [S3F5]

In this week’s Flashlight, we head to the OrcaCon tabletop games convention in Seattle! We hear about a bunch of cool projects, we spot a prominent state official, and Jake is flummoxed by the concept of 24-hour livestreams. This convention was honestly so much fun, and we’re already scheming to get to more tabletop gaming events.

Rainbow Roll Network features actual plays by LGBTQIA+ creators and runs Rainbow Roll Fest, which is an online TTRPG festival
Legends of Gadia is a fantasy card game with an active Kickstarter based on an upcoming fantasy novel series
Game On Youth is a gaming group for neurodivergent youth in Seattle
Extra Life is a peer-to-peer fundraising organization that supports Children’s Miracle Network hospitals through gaming
Brush Wielders Union is a community with a bunch of cool resources for miniatures gamers including a podcast
Terminal City Tabletop Convention is coming up in Vancouver next month
Chance Encounter Games offers TTRPG workshops, games, and accessories in Seattle
Outsider Comics is a cozy and inclusive comic book store in Seattle
Goblin Society Games is an independent developer and publisher of board, card, and tabletop roleplaying games
Around the Table is a local game store, cafe, and pub in Lynnwood
Green Ronin Publishing, a roleplaying game company that’s producing a Fifth Season TTRPG we’re really excited about
Cay Fletcher is an independent author and artist in Portland

Also, thanks to everyone from the Oppegaard Meadery episode who recommended OrcaCon to us!

If you like the music on the show, go check out more of Reilly’s music.

Writing Story for LARP with Andrew [S3E5]

This week, we chat with Andrew from Legacies LARP about terrorizing the town as a fae abductor, depicting a demonic plague, and writing story for a long-running live-action role-playing game. This is a conversation about a very different type of storytelling experience in a game that’s been running continuously for decades where each plot team only controls the narrative for six months at a time. (Also, if you’re wondering, lthe town was called Fortnight long before the game Fortnite even existed.)

Thanks to Legacies LARP for making this interview possible! We’re talking about Legacies LARP this week because we really enjoyed learning about Gothic LARP with Rex last season. In addition to Legacies and Gothic, Andrew also mentions Shadow Accord and Dystopia Rising.

This week’s intro comes from Kaji, who’s a player in Legacies LARP! We hope the demonic plague didn’t get him. Go check out his Twitch channel.

If you like the music on the show, go check out more of Reilly’s music.

On Location at Howloween (Part 3) and a Midseason Update [S3F4]

In this week’s Flashlight, we’re back on location one last time at the Howloween furry convention in Vancouver! This season, we’re getting out into the community and asking people about their PCs and their campaigns. We hear about banishing political figures from the timeline, a party with multiple competing cultists, and becoming the first vampires to climb Mount Everest.

Also this week, Jake and Reilly chat about the season so far and what’s coming next for Campaign Spotlight. Along the way, we talk about the difference between GM-only players and PC-only players, and Jake pleads with Reilly to run a campaign someday.

Thanks to Zero, Delcan, Miranda, Masq, and Cylixeen for taking the time to chat with us! Howloween was an incredible experience that really made us realize how much fun we’d have wandering around with a mic asking people about their characters and campaigns. We’ll be doing a lot more of this in the future.

Also, here’s the PC playlist that Masq mentions in the episode. As of posting, it’s over 24 hours long.

If you like the music on the show, go check out more of Reilly’s music.

High-level Campaigns with Rob [S3E4]

In this week’s episode, we chat with Rob about order and chaos, recruiting a potato peeler, and running an epic high-level campaign. Rob shares a very controversial take on combat that Jake’s still not sure about. Spoiler warnings for Mass Effect in this one.

In our discussion of worldbuilding, we mention our very first interview with Mike. We also mention the Genesys system a couple times. Rob introduced Jake to the system many years ago, and we tried it out on the podcast way back in Season 1. (Incidentally, that’s also the Flashlight where Reilly introduces Monocles McGillicudy.) Rob also references the D&D 3rd Edition book Weapons of Legacy, which is extremely fun for a high-level campaign. He recommends a few helpful resources:

WorldAnvil for keeping track of worldbuilding details
Syrinscape for soundscapes during the game
RPG Campfire cards for helping build out the PCs and their bonds

This week’s unhinged intro comes from Cameron! Thanks Cameron for helping our show earn its explicit rating.

If you like the music on the show, go check out more of Reilly’s music.

On Location at Howloween (Part 2) [S3F3]

In this week’s Flashlight, we’re back on location at the Howloween furry convention in Vancouver! This season, we’re getting out into the community and asking people about their PCs and their campaigns. We hear about elfaboos, being dumb in a productive way, and a LARP character that actually steals things. Because we’re at a furry convention, one of us is wearing a very clanky bell, and you can hear it throughout the recording. The host who’s wearing a very clanky bell would like to apologize to the host who edits the audio for that poor satrorial decision.

Thanks to Shakaar, Ono, Evelyn, Jed, and Shane for taking the time to chat with us! (And if you talked to us at Howloween but you’re not featured in this week’s episode or last week’s episode, stay tuned for the next Flashlight.)

Shakaar mentions Legacies LARP in this episode. Later this season, we’re going to be talking with one of the people who writes plot for Legacies.

If you like the music on the show, go check out more of Reilly’s music.

Special Guest Stars with Mike [S3E3]

This week, we chat with Mike about killing your PCs’ beloved animal companions, treating your players to cool hats with powers, and bringing in guest players for very special episodes. Mike refers quite a few times to our interview with Sam way back in Season 1. Also, spoiler alert for How I Met Your Mother.

Sam also recommends the podcast Dungeoncast, which is sadly shutting down.

This week’s PC intro comes from Marquis, who’s also one of the guest stars Mike mentions. Marquis also plays in Sam’s campaign from Season 1, and played in Prim’s campaign from Season 1, and has played in one of Jake’s campaigns too. You should go check out all of Marquis’s projects.

If you like the music on the show, go check out more of Reilly’s music.

On Location at Howloween (Part 1) [S3F2]

In this week’s Flashlight, we’re on location at the Howloween furry convention in Vancouver! This season, we’re getting out into the community and asking people about their PCs and their campaigns. We hear about hat enthusiasts, revenge at all costs, and giving up the reins of your PC to your DM.

Thanks to Joey, Sean, Kaesu, Shadowsmyst, Fir, Robin, and Kaji for taking the time to chat with us! (And if you talked to us at Howloween but you’re not featured in this week’s episode, stay tuned for the next Flashlight.) You can listen to Kaesu’s music on Spotify, you can see Shadowsmyst’s whole webcomic on their website, and you can see some of Sean’s PC art right here:

Kaji mentions Legacies LARP at the very end of the episode. Later this season, we’re going to be talking with one of the people who writes plot for Legacies.

Here’s the portrayal of us recording the show we commissioned from Shesta of Critter Cove:

And here’s a picture of the sign we were waving around at the con to get people’s attention. Jake, who has no graphic design experience or aesthetic sensibilities, designed this:

If you like the music on the show, go check out more of Reilly’s music.