G*m*s Magazine Podcast Channel

Working with an IP can be a very challenging topic. To take something that has already been created and transform it into an RPG that does it justice is a tricky exercise that requires a deep knowledge of both the original IP and the RPG design process. Dave Chapman is one guy who knows a lot about that, since he was one of the responsible people to create Cubicle 7’s Dr. Who Roleplaying Game. He kindly agreed to come to the show to be interviewed and I gladly proceeded to do so. ¡Hope you enjoy the show!

Chaosium, a company that has been going on for longer than most, has brought some of the most emblematic and beloved franchises to the RPG world. Glorantha, RuneQuest, Call of Cthulhu… all of them prolific lines that have been supported by many thousands in many languages over many years. And yet, the company has also gone through some very rough times in the last few years. So much so that a lot of people thought it would go under. However, it was rescued by a rather terrific group of people, one of them I had the pleasure of interviewing. Jeff Richard is the Creative Director for the company and, being an accomplished game designer with a passion most would envy, he has a lot to say, not just about the past, but about the future of the company. And he is a fun guy to boot!

James Bond RPG came out a very long time ago and, even though no longer published or popular, it is a very relevant game today. It is interesting that some games that have been out of print for a long time can, and indeed have some ideas that a vast amount of more modern games could learn from. Perhaps having ideas was easier all those years ago. Or simply the industry was more audacious than today. Or we pander to the “easy design” a bit too much. I don’t know. But the fact remains that when one reads Chris Klug’s James Bond RPG, it is not easy to find a spy game that fits so well both to the genre and the IP. It was thus an honour to have Chris on the show to talk about dilemmas in RPGs and the extent of their importance. This one, my friends, I can say is one of the good episodes. Enjoy!

In an attempt to break our record for the weirdest episode, Jim and I attempt to discuss what games have been good for the industry. A few weeks ago we chatted about what games were bad for the industry and a good number of them came up. Today we try to do the opposite with some very varying results… Also we spent a while watching some ski tyre jumping from Japan. That was really, really weird… https://youtu.be/f62Z8Ev9OXA

Very often we find encounters during our adventures that are, quite frankly, appalling. Truly unsatisfying either because they are too hard, too easy, the monsters don’t really matter or, simply, it makes no sense. Designing encounters is a tad harder than it might appear, so I invited Kevin Watson, from Dark Naga Adventures, to come to the podcast, since he has designed more encounters and adventures than most and he knows his salt. Hope you enjoy the interview! You can find out more about Dark Naga in the following links: Dark Naga Website Dark Naga Facebook page Dark Naga Kickstarter page

You know, I am pretty tired of stupid, petty minded assholes who prefer to take offence of anything rather than celebrate diversity. I am sick of idiots who don’t have what it takes to feel safe and secure in their masculinity and whinge and complain endlessly when something is organise just for women or minorities. And I am fucking fed up with seeing responses that make me feel ashamed of being a man. If you have a problem with initiatives like the one Green Ronin had recently to find female writers for a project, please do fuck off. Go back under the stone you call world and stay there reading your games lit by the sun coming out of your ass. Or stop being stupid and join the normal humans who understand the richness of diversity and celebrate rather than bemoan it. And yes… in this episode we talk about this issue.

Since it came out so many years ago, Shadowrun has been the favourite game of connoisseurs and indies alike. It has inspired millions of people to look forward to a future where magic and science can coexist, and where computers are but the landscape of the mind. Indeed it has inspired pretty much any and every game Jim Pinto has ever created based on some of his best experiences as a player and GM. In this episode, we pay tribute to the game that redefined RPGs, fantasy, Science Fiction and society itself. Help us by becoming a Patreon: https://goo.gl/EpSluL Subscribe to our YouTube Channel here: https://goo.gl/rl8MsU For our YouTube Channel in Spanish: https://goo.gl/CXPc1H For our podcast: https://goo.gl/M54zau   Follow us in Twitter: https://goo.gl/moZgvK OUr Facebook page: https://goo.gl/YkbQIj Find us in Google+: https://goo.gl/dsIdHv

Maximising sales in the RPG market is real hard. In fact getting sales in the RPG market is hard. ¿Is it that there are too many products out there, or that there is a lacking in the sales process understanding? Jason Eric Nelson has been learning how to, and selling very well, a lot of books at Legendary Games. With a few successful Kickstarters (some of which I missed) and some truly amazing books out there, he knows what he is talking about. And he was kind enough to give me his time and share some of his knowledge, which was truly interesting for me to hear. I hope you get some good inspiration in this podcast and it helps you boost your sales as much as possible! Enjoy the show!

Fenris Games has been at the forefront of miniatures creation for a very long time. They know the business and what it takes to survive. Having a modelling company and producing minatures is a lot more glamorous from the consumer side than the side of the business and staying abreast of the market is a very tough nut to crack. In this episode I speak to Ian Brumby about the hardships and rewards of owning a miniatures creation company. Enjoy the show! Help us by becoming a Patreon: https://goo.gl/EpSluLSubscribe to our YouTube Channel here: https://goo.gl/rl8MsUFor our YouTube Channel in Spanish: https://goo.gl/CXPc1HPara nuestro podcast: https://goo.gl/M54zauFollow us in Twitter: https://goo.gl/moZgvKOUr Facebook page: https://goo.gl/YkbQIjFind us in Google+: https://goo.gl/dsIdHv

In this episode we are not going to do anything with games. This is all about geeky food and cooking, because, contrary to what might appear, we geeks like to eat. A lot! I met Ilana Greenberg-Sud in Facebook and I was interested right away. She has a pretty neat store in Etsy that sells all sorts of geeky morsels for the empty stomach. Or the full one, because I think I would eat her food even if I weren’t hungry. If you wanted to try Elvish Lembas Bread, this would be your place. Or if you are a Dr. Who fan, these would be his Jammie Dodgers of choice… and like that many, many more. But have a listen… you might find more inspiration than you think! Enjoy the show!

Justin Mason is one of those prolific RPG creators who isn’t known enough. With a great talent for map making and graphic design, he has worked on a cool ton of projects, but it seems he hasn’t worked on enough yet! For years he has honed his skills to become a skilled cartographer with a pretty immense portfolio for companies like Adventureaweek.com, Paizo, Dark Naga Adventure, AAW Games and many, many more. But I was curious to know how someone like him can actually survive using the world of RPGs as a means of income, considering how hard to is to make a living these days. And we also talked maps… lots of map! Hope you enjoy the show!

In last episode Jim and I discussed if casual gamers are actually bad for the hobby or not. With polarised opinions, Jim believes that casual gamers are a lot less needed than hardcore gamers in order to sustain the hobby, whereas I believe the more casual gamers we have, the better. Regardless of who is right or wrong on this one, he fact is that the presence of casual gamers and their numbers do help shape the state and direction of the industry for keeping a casual gamer interested is a much different task than keeping a hardcore gamer hooked. So, based on that, what games are no longer made because of the proliferation of casual gamers? Are indeed casual gamers responsible for the disappearance of any game at all? Once again, Jim and I have different opinions on this one!

For very many valid reasons, a lot of people like OSR games. To play in a style of games that resemble and replicate the original games from so many years ago. However, that movement has also received a lot of criticism for some people seem to be stuck in the old ways beyond those of gaming. Some posts that could be considered insensitive or out of place have given place to a reputation that would suggest the OSR movement is a very toxic one. Iit is pretty clear, though, that not all things are bad and there are a lot of people doing what they can to eradicate bad tropes and bring a more modern social environment reflection into an old style of gaming. As I am very interested in art, I had to interview someone who does artwork in a diverse and inclusive manner for that movement and find out where things are now and where they could be going in the not-too-distant future. Denis McCarthy has been creating enough artwork for enough time to understand the market and he is indeed good at it. And has a passion for

Mindjammer has been a favourite of mine since before it came out in its current edition. I read the novel before I knew the game and loved it and now it is my go-to Science Fiction game. And that is because Sarah Newton, as well as being a good friend, is for me the most talented writer and designer out there. Yes… in the world. When Sarah carried out her rather successful Kickstarter campaign, one of the stretch goals was a conversion of the Mindjammer game into the Traveller system. Since I am not an expert on Traveller, I was very curious to know how a game with a system as open as FATE could be converted to a system that is a lot more rules-heavy and relatively restrictive as Traveller. And now you can find out too. Hope you enjoy the show!

Casual gamers are, in my opinion, the bread and butter of any hobby. The vast majority of any hobby’s follower is a casual person who enjoys whatever it is on an ad-hoc basis. And of course the presence of casual gamers has an impact on the gaming experience. If anything because the level of commitment of a casual gamer is never going to be the same and thus they might not engage or otherwise participate in the same way as a more hard-core gamer. And it would seem that can be a frustrating thing for some. Like Jim. In this episode we actually get to disagree a fair bit about it, for I think casual gamers are a good thing and it is the responsibility of the person around the table to control how they behave. In this episode it becomes even clearer that Jim is the nicest of us two!

How many times have we seen the same clichés in RPGs? How many more times will we have to endure them? Truth is that clichés have a reason to exist because they make life easy for the writer or player, so it is not surprising that we see them so often. However, overuse and simplification have made those clichés to become really tired and boring. Even though they do have a place and a time, usually it is not the correct place or time when they are used and we find too many of them in our games. In this episode, Jim and I discuss what clichés should never be seen again in our games and why.

RPGs are home to too many orphan characters. Characters with no past, no grounding or no substance. Often we see people who create characters and have no background whatsoever, or want to have the “mysterious” character with no past. A character that will take as close to zero as possible effort to play because they don’t have to justify their actions or add some sort of congruence to their personality. Even if there is nothing wrong with playing a character like that, the chances are that the player is missing out on some intense gaming experience. What can be done and why is not a good idea to play an orphan character? Jim and I talk about it for a bit.

I recently discovered the X-Card thanks to Jim. I had no idea it existed and it was a truly fantastic revelation that will grace my table from now on. For those of you who don’t know, the X-Card is an invention by John Stavropoulos that aims to stop discomfort at the table. As part of the social contract around the game, the X-Card is introduced at the very beginning as a means to seek help from everyone in order to take away from the game anything that make people uncomfortable and stop a bad situation from escalating into something worse. The trick of the card is that it also says that explanations are not needed. If you don’t want to say why something makes you uncomfortable, you don’t have to say it. Simple as that. Privacy comes first. This card is specially useful around a table where people are strangers, where unexpected situations and unknown circumstances can make life hell for some people. And yet, it has a huge number of detractors who prefer to put the game ahead and above people’s safety. Jim an

Having Jennel Jaquays on the show was long overdue. With so much talking about OSR and what games were like all time ago, Jim and I thought it was about time we had someone who knows *a lot* about the old days and the starts of many things. Jennel has been writing games since the mid 70s and has written some books that continue to influence creators to this day. And she has some truly amazing stories and, by the sounds of it, a really well packed library at her home! Hope you enjoy the show!

Dungeonology is one of those books that are not aimed at you but you still love them because it is gorgeous and, deep inside (or not so deep as the case might be) we all have a child in us. This book, published in November 2016, is a collaboration between Wizards of the Coast, Candlewick Press and Templar Press. The lore of WOTC has come together with the know-how of two very experienced publishers who put out quality books for children. And it shows. Dungeonology is lavish, extremely well written and truly gorgeous to look at, as you can see in the video. Hope you enjoy it! Wizards of the Coast site: http://dnd.wizards.com/products/tabletop-games/rpg-products/dungeonology Candlewick Press link: http://www.candlewick.com/cat.asp?browse=Season&season=current&page=1&mode=list&pix=y&catheader=y Templar Publishing: http://www.templarco.co.uk/