Shane Plays

Dafydd Roche of Terrain-Tronics doesn’t just want to make cool terrain, he's helping DMs and GMs bring delight to their players with easy DIY gaming terrain electronics for D&D and other RPGs. Game terrain as part of the storytelling. Theatrical D&D. The no-solder wire wrapping technique is good enough for NASA! Pretty soldering jobs versus ugly soldering jobs. Smart ways to compete with big business as a small business. Shane does his usual thing of getting into the business reality behind the creativity. Terrain-Tronics products are open source. Do horses really go to the glue factory? What chain of events had to happen for many of the inventions and innovations in human history? A minor tangent into casinos, pit bosses, and getting comped. Shane Plays Geek Talk Episode #260 - 8/15/2022 Like what you hear? Support Shane Plays Geek Talk on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/shaneplays Listen to the Shane Plays Geek Talk podcast on YouTube, SoundCloud, iTunes, Google Play Music, Amazon Music, Podbean a

Grindhouse cinema with RPG publisher and cinephile Levi Combs. What is Grindhouse, and why is it called that? The market forces that led to the rise of Grindhouse theaters. Gritty movies, violent movies, Foreign movies, exploitation movies, Kung fu movies, BRUCEsploitation movies, more! New York City as a character in movies. Sho'nuff, The Shogun of Harlem can chew scenery on a level with Darth Vader. What’s Levi’s favorite fight scene in any movie, period? Is the first Friday the 13th movie a Grindhouse movie? Plus: The RPG adventures and ‘zines of Planet X Games… hear the call of the Skeleton of the Black Lake and behold the Big Eye Chungus! Shane Plays Geek Talk Episode #259 - 7/18/2022 Like what you hear? Support Shane Plays Geek Talk on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/shaneplays Listen to the Shane Plays Geek Talk podcast on YouTube, SoundCloud, iTunes, Google Play Music, Amazon Music, Podbean and Stitcher (and other fine, fine podcast directories). Hey, you! Yeah, you! Buy cool stuff, support Shane Pl

Thrilling fantasy stories of the swashbuckling duo Mongoose and Meerkat with author Jim Breyfogle. Adventure fiction as opposed to “pulp” fiction (and what exactly does “pulp” mean, anyway). Who is Jim’s number one favorite writer from the past? Shane’s dirty little secret when it comes to Robert E. Howard’s fiction. Robert A. Heinlein was both amazing AND sketchy. Fair Witnesses are cool. The Odyssey Writing Workshop. Some love for CIRSOVA magazine and its publisher P. Alexander. Shane Plays Geek Talk Episode #258 - 6/17/2022 Like what you hear? Support Shane Plays Geek Talk on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/shaneplays Listen to the Shane Plays Geek Talk podcast on YouTube, SoundCloud, iTunes, Google Play Music, Amazon Music, Podbean and Stitcher (and other fine, fine podcast directories). Hey, you! Yeah, you! Buy cool stuff, support Shane Plays Geek Talk with these affiliate links! Humble Bundle https://www.humblebundle.com?partner=shaneplays DriveThruRPG.com https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse.php?affi

JAQ: Journey Adventure Quest is the new drafting board game with resource management, cool mechanics, challenging monsters, fun lore, and multiple paths to victory. Jesse Stacy, Tommy Noel and Brandon Beam from Triceratops Games join Shane to talk all about it (and demonstrate some actual play)! Also: Why the name Triceratops, wait until you hear about the artist, shout-outs to favorite board games, reminiscing on the early days of Magic: The Gathering, and of course more. Shane Plays Geek Talk Episode #257 - 5/27/2022 Like what you hear? Support Shane Plays Geek Talk on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/shaneplays Listen to the Shane Plays Geek Talk podcast on YouTube, SoundCloud, iTunes, Google Play Music, Amazon Music, Podbean and Stitcher (and other fine, fine podcast directories). Hey, you! Yeah, you! Buy cool stuff, support Shane Plays Geek Talk with these affiliate links! Humble Bundle https://www.humblebundle.com?partner=shaneplays DriveThruRPG.com https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse.php?affiliate_id

Comics artist (and self-described art hobo) Brian Shearer has worked on such high-profile properties as Transformers, G.I. Joe, and Doctor Who as well as his own creations Gunship Thunderpunch and William the Last. How did Brian become a professional artist? Tips for creators to build an audience online. What’s the line you have to cross on a late crowdfunding project fulfillment before Shane gets annoyed? Working on G.I. Joe pages while with your wife in the delivery room. SDCC and many other big cons aren’t for comics creators and fans anymore. Transformers toy history, and Bob Budiansky and Jim Shooter’s vital contributions to Transformers lore. Some Classic Who and New Who discussion. Favorite entertainment properties from the 80s. Shane was NOT down with the Ghostbusters cartoon that had an ape. 80s anime and those sweet, sweet Star Blazers twisty laser cannons. Catching episodes of Dragon Ball and Ranma 1/2 in Japanese and trying to make sense of it. What’s that certain unique something that Cowboy Bebo

RPG designer Bruce Nesmith discusses his career as a TSR veteran (Ravenloft 2E, Gamma World 4E, Dragonlance), Elder Scrolls Skyrim lead designer, and now novelist. Bruce’s first day at TSR was an experience, to say the least. What does he consider his biggest achievement while at TSR? Bruce’s opinion of TSR under Gary Gygax versus Lorraine Williams and what he considers TSR’s “glory days”. What was his job description as lead designer on The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim? Why did Oblivion have a big celebrity but Skyrim didn’t? Bruce was years ahead of the game when it came to his revamp of the Armor Class system for Gamma World 4E. What do you do when you want to play D&D but you don’t have the rules? You invent it, including simulating the d20 with d6s. Writing for games versus writing prose. Bruce’s Loki in his novel Mischief Maker is not the MCU Loki. Shane laments the lack of a werecow in TSR publications. Shane Plays Geek Talk Episode #255 - 4/15/2022 Like what you hear? Support Shane Plays Geek Talk on Pa

RPG designers John Kennedy (Star Trek Adventures, Stargate 5E) and Sharene "Madfishmonger" Gilchrist (Capers, Vast Kaviya) join to talk their new Staged Heroism RPG: A Comedic RPG of Super-Heroics, Super-Villainy, and Failure at its Best inspired by shows like The Venture Bros. Plus: Designing not to fail forward, but to embrace the fail. The Roger Rabbit style of gameplay. Flashback scenes as a game mechanic. Venomous monarch butterflies. Where did Sharene get her nickname? Cops raiding a Vampire LARP session. The design philosophy behind Star Trek Adventures. John gets a no-prize. Everyone is entirely too amused by the Burger King Kids Club. Shane Plays Geek Talk Episode #254 - 3/25/2022 Like what you hear? Support Shane Plays Geek Talk on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/shaneplays Shane Plays Geek Talk is carried on Krypton Radio! Krypton Radio is SciFi for your Wifi http://kryptonradio.com/ Listen to the Shane Plays Geek Talk podcast on YouTube, SoundCloud, iTunes, Google Play Music, Amazon Music, Podbe

Comics writer Paul Kupperberg is the very definition of prolific! He has written 1,400 comics over 4 decades, wrote for and was the editor of the Weekly World News, wrote Mad Libs, and is still staying busy writing books and novels. Paul’s credits include the Doom Patrol, Peacemaker, Vigilante, and the first comic book miniseries (1979’s World of Krypton), as well as being the writer who killed Archie (after simultaneously marrying him off to both Betty AND Veronica). Also: In the real world, superheroes would be NUTS. The willing suspension of disbelief versus the art style. What Archie means to Paul. Target audiences for comic books over different eras. Does Paul prefer the JSA or JLA? Armchair quarterbacking by comics fans.The challenges of continuity in serialized fiction over time (with some insight behind Wonder Woman, Wonder Girl and Wonder Tot). Which classic silver age DC comics issues didn’t have a number on the cover, and why? One positive early benefit of the direct market in the comics industry.

Stephen Chenault aka the Troll Lord of Castle & Crusades publisher Troll Lord Game joins to talk about what’s new with C&C and some wise principles he uses to run TLG that have helped them tremendously while other companies have encountered severe disruption during COVID. Plus: Steve has to do daily battle with Skynet for sales. The perfect timing of the emergence of crowdfunding for TTRPG companies. Steve’s honesty when asked if he’s ever considered giving up. Dissecting the current massive popularity of RPGs. What is Steve’s favorite monster, and why is it the Gibbering Mouther? How did Troll Lord Games get its name? Some comic book industry discussion. Tribute to David Middleton aka The Digital Dungeon Master.  Shane Plays Geek Talk Episode #252 - 2/4/2022 Like what you hear? Support Shane Plays Geek Talk on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/shaneplays Shane Plays Geek Talk is carried on Krypton Radio! Krypton Radio is SciFi for your Wifi http://kryptonradio.com/ Listen to the Shane Plays Geek Talk

A cool project to make 3D-printable RPG miniatures from Jeshield’s art. Plus! How did he build his RPG stock art business as the main part of his income? What was the RPG that influenced him to become an artist, and what piece of its art impacted him the most? Straight talk on the financials of the RPG art business. Comparing an artist website versus Patreon vs DriveThruRPG. The importance of a rate sheet. Beware the mighty werefrog! Shane Plays Geek Talk Episode #251 - 11/19/2021 Like what you hear? Support Shane Plays Geek Talk on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/shaneplays Shane Plays Geek Talk is carried on Krypton Radio! Krypton Radio is SciFi for your Wifi http://kryptonradio.com/ Listen to the Shane Plays Geek Talk podcast on YouTube, SoundCloud, iTunes, Google Play Music, Amazon Music, Podbean and Stitcher (and other fine, fine podcast directories). Hey, you! Yeah, you! Buy cool stuff, support Shane Plays Geek Talk with these affiliate links! Humble Bundle https://www.humblebundle.com?partner=shanepla

Gaming historian Jon Peterson works through the unhappy but fascinating drama of Gary Gygax, Dave Arneson, and TSR to bring us the facts of it all regarding the two most important personalities and the most important company in RPG history. The legal battles over royalties and ownership of Dungeons & Dragons and TSR itself. What is a game, legally? The Eggbert Incident and its effect on TSR’s financials. Inflated number reporting and lavish expenditures. Gary Gygax walks into the ambush at Sheridan Springs thinking he has all the bullets. Lorraine Williams’s impact on financials by the numbers. Arneson’s last day at TSR. What discovery surprised Jon during his research? Some Sam Witwer love. More! Shane Plays Geek Talk Episode #250 - 11/9/2021 Like what you hear? Support Shane Plays Geek Talk on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/shaneplays Shane Plays Geek Talk is carried on Krypton Radio! Krypton Radio is SciFi for your Wifi http://kryptonradio.com/ Listen to the Shane Plays Geek Talk podcast on YouTube,

Writer and “horror bottomless pit” Mark Pellegrini joins for a great horror movie discussion. Essential found footage movies. What makes found footage different from other types of movies? Horror franchises that forget their roots. Horror films adapted to TV series. Overlooked horror gems in the slasher genre. Analog horror. Halloween Kills, what makes Michael Myers scary, and how the Halloween franchise went way off the rails before the 2018 restart. The Burning versus Friday the 13th versus Sleepaway Camp. What’s the deal with the hockey mask in the Alone in the Dark movie from 1982? Romero’s zombie rules and social commentary. Heck, let’s throw in a little J-Horror, too. Mark’s writing and comics work including Kamen America and Black Hops. Bad Homer Simpson Jokes. Shane Plays Geek Talk Episode #249 - 10/27/2021 Like what you hear? Support Shane Plays Geek Talk on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/shaneplays Shane Plays Geek Talk is carried on Krypton Radio! Krypton Radio is SciFi for your Wifi http://krypt

Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition is the new RPG that adds depth and options to your 5E experience but avoids unnecessary complexity! Lots of love for the exploration pillar. Rethinking classes while keeping their core concepts. Meaningful decisions every time you level up. Modular heritage design. The journey can be the adventure. More! The dynamics, behind the scenes, and fiscal realities of Kickstarter campaigns. Stretch goal economics. Stretch goal fever. The U vs the hockey stick. Kicktraq and other services that “project” Kickstarter campaign totals. Revenue versus profit. Everyone has good ideas, executing a good idea is the hard part. Shane Plays Geek Talk Episode #248 - 10/15/2021 Like what you hear? Support Shane Plays Geek Talk on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/shaneplays Shane Plays Geek Talk is carried on Krypton Radio! Krypton Radio is SciFi for your Wifi http://kryptonradio.com/ Listen to the Shane Plays Geek Talk podcast on YouTube, SoundCloud, iTunes, Google Play Music, Amazon Music, Podbean a

Ed Bickford aka Metal Robot is a tabletop RPG illustrator, syndicated cartoonist, comic book artist, and an award-winning illustrator and graphic designer. Ed’s great to talk with and he’s very open in sharing honest thoughts on the hopes and trials of creators in the trenches. The business side of being a professional artist. Your art style finds you. Some tips for writers also apply to artists. The current state of mainstream comics. Five Nights at Freddie’s is totally (ok, not really) based on a true story. Shane Plays Geek Talk Episode #247 - 9/23/2021 Like what you hear? Support Shane Plays Geek Talk on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/shaneplays Shane Plays Geek Talk is carried on Krypton Radio! Krypton Radio is SciFi for your Wifi http://kryptonradio.com/ Listen to the Shane Plays Geek Talk podcast on YouTube, SoundCloud, iTunes, Google Play Music, Amazon Music, Podbean and Stitcher (and other fine, fine podcast directories). Hey, you! Yeah, you! Buy cool stuff, support Shane Plays Geek Talk with these

Matt Lister aka Cobra Commander joins to talk chiptune music, retrocomputing, and some classic G.I. Joe and Transformers. Trackers, hardware, and sound chips, oh my! What is MIDI (and can MIDI be chiptunes)? PAL, NTSC and electron guns. Atari 2600 game development and racing the beam. Yars’ Revenge had very tricky programming. Behold the Casio XW-PD1 Trackformer, aka the Millennium Falcon, and grovel before its amazingness. Shane Plays Geek Talk Episode #246 - 9/1/2021 Like what you hear? Support Shane Plays Geek Talk on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/shaneplays Shane Plays Geek Talk is carried on Krypton Radio! Krypton Radio is SciFi for your Wifi http://kryptonradio.com/ Listen to the Shane Plays Geek Talk podcast on YouTube, SoundCloud, iTunes, Google Play Music, Amazon Music, Podbean and Stitcher (and other fine, fine podcast directories). Hey, you! Yeah, you! Buy cool stuff, support Shane Plays Geek Talk with these affiliate links! Humble Bundle https://www.humblebundle.com?partner=shaneplays DriveThr

Tékumel is a deep setting with published fiction, multiple tabletop RPGs, a miniatures wargaming scene, and more. We revisit this fascinating science-fantasy world with Tékumel Foundation president Victor Raymond. Learn how Tékumel and the Empire of the Petal Throne are so much more than just the "first RPG setting published" (and its creator Professor M.A.R. Barker is a fascinating character). Different versions of Tékumel RPG games. What is the important role the Tékumel Foundation plays? Cons with Tékumel gaming. Tékumel has a video game. Some OD&D history. Some love for Elder Scrolls and Morrowind. Shane and Victor have an udderly good time with the bad joke of the week. Shane Plays Geek Talk Episode #245 - 7/31/2021 Like what you hear? Support Shane Plays Geek Talk on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/shaneplays Shane Plays Geek Talk is carried on Krypton Radio! Krypton Radio is SciFi for your Wifi http://kryptonradio.com/ Listen to the Shane Plays Geek Talk podcast on YouTube, SoundCloud, iTunes, Goo

RPG Designer Julian Bernick on Jack Vance’s The Dying Earth book series and the new Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG setting based on it. Why is it such a cool world to read about and play in? How much influence did The Dying Earth have on Gary Gygax and D&D? Hint: a lot. What was DCC’s design philosophy and what was the thought behind its extra dice types? Long-form Lovecraftian poetry. How to say grognard. More! Shane Plays Geek Talk Episode #244 - 7/14/2021 Like what you hear? Support Shane Plays Geek Talk on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/shaneplays Shane Plays Geek Talk is carried on Krypton Radio! Krypton Radio is SciFi for your Wifi http://kryptonradio.com/ Listen to the Shane Plays Geek Talk podcast on YouTube, SoundCloud, iTunes, Google Play Music, Amazon Music, Podbean and Stitcher (and other fine, fine podcast directories). Hey, you! Yeah, you! Buy cool stuff, support Shane Plays Geek Talk with these affiliate links! Humble Bundle https://www.humblebundle.com?partner=shaneplays DriveThruRPG.com ht

Zeb Cook’s RPG design history includes such important highlights as the “Expert” portion of B/X D&D, AD&D 2nd Edition, Oriental Adventures, Planescape, Star Frontiers, and more! He’s also had career highlights in video games including City of Villains, Fallout 2, and The Elder Scrolls Online. Did you know AD&D 2nd Edition had a significant playtest effort (and why wasn’t the armor class system changed then)? Whose idea was it to have the first wilderness adventure, why were there dinosaurs in The Isle of Dread, and why was it set on an island? Crashing on Gary Gygax’s couch. What strange business venture did TSR make that had Zeb in stitches? Shane Plays Geek Talk Episode #243 - 7/1/2021 Like what you hear? Support Shane Plays Geek Talk on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/shaneplays Shane Plays Geek Talk is carried on Krypton Radio! Krypton Radio is SciFi for your Wifi http://kryptonradio.com/ Listen to the Shane Plays Geek Talk podcast on YouTube, SoundCloud, iTunes, Google Play Music, Amazon Mus

FASERIP Tactics is the tactical superhero miniatures game based on the rules from the classic TSR Marvel Superheroes RPG. Developer Ned Leeds shares the amazing and incredible feats this game brings to the table! It's monstrous fun, and it's FREE. Shane Plays Geek Talk Episode #242 - 6/22/2021 Like what you hear? Support Shane Plays Geek Talk on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/shaneplays Shane Plays Geek Talk is carried on Krypton Radio! Krypton Radio is SciFi for your Wifi http://kryptonradio.com/ Listen to the Shane Plays Geek Talk podcast on YouTube, SoundCloud, iTunes, Google Play Music, Amazon Music, Podbean and Stitcher (and other fine, fine podcast directories). Hey, you! Yeah, you! Buy cool stuff, support Shane Plays Geek Talk with these affiliate links! Humble Bundle https://www.humblebundle.com?partner=shaneplays DriveThruRPG.com https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse.php?affiliate_id=488512 SHOW NOTES FASERIP Tactics http://faseriptactics.azurewebsites.net/index.html  FASERIP Tactics Facebook grouph

The new Awfully Cheerful Engine (ACE) RPG with Russ "Morrus" Morrissey of E.N. Publishing. ACE is an action-comedy RPG inspired by a frightfully cheerful game from the 80s that’s quick and fun to play. Plus: A Level Up Advanced 5E RPG project update. Giant monkeys punching giant lizards. Sketch comedy writing. Sea Monkeys. How to watch Eurovision. It's awfully contentful! Shane Plays Geek Talk Episode #241 - 5/29/2021 Like what you hear? Support Shane Plays Geek Talk on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/shaneplays Shane Plays Geek Talk is carried on Krypton Radio! Krypton Radio is SciFi for your Wifi http://kryptonradio.com/ Listen to the Shane Plays Geek Talk podcast on YouTube, SoundCloud, iTunes, Google Play Music, Amazon Music, Podbean and Stitcher (and other fine, fine podcast directories). Hey, you! Yeah, you! Buy cool stuff, support Shane Plays Geek Talk with these affiliate links! Humble Bundle https://www.humblebundle.com?partner=shaneplays DriveThruRPG.com https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse.php?aff