Threat Dice

On this episode of Threat Dice, Kylen does a system overview of Pathfinder 1st Edition, a game which he has spent FAR too many hours playing over the past three years. After joining a PF1E game on a lark with a group of online friends, he has grown to truly respect and admire the system for what it can accomplish, despite its limitations. The best part? SO MANY CHARACTER OPTIONS! Questions? Comments? Tweet us @tumbledie! Today's quote is from The Soulforge by Margaret Weis. Music...

Having faced the dangers of the wilderness, the three Legionnaires have reached the mysterious ruins. What will they find inside? Will it be worth the danger they face, as they trespass on a place that time rightfully forgot? Questions? Comments? Tweet us! (@tumbledie) Music in this episode (Main Theme: Last Stand and Recap Theme: Lifeless Eyes Watching) is licensed CC-BY 4.0 by VINDSVEPT: youtube.com/vindsvept, patreon.com/vindsvept, vindsvept.bandcamp.com. This episode also contains...

Reyah isn't sure that Aerus is fully of sound mind on this one, but he's in command, so she goes along. She only remembers that the ruins they're heading for made her feel deeply uneasy, the last time they were there. Both the terrain and weather are against them--how will our intrepid heroes fare in the trek across the wilds, reluctantly toward their destination? Questions? Comments? Tweet us! (@tumbledie) Music in this episode (Main Theme: Last Stand and Recap Theme: Lifeless Eyes...

At last, the first episode has arrived! VERITAS is a solo live-play of Tumbledie Games' RPG-in-development, Trove! On today's episode, the heroes Reyah, Aerus and Navar deal with the fallout of the prologue's devastating events. What will they do, now that they have been robbed of their home, their honor and their life's purpose? The Worlds We Weave is now its own podcast! Find it right here. Questions? Comments? Tweet us! (@tumbledie) Music in this episode (Main Theme: Last Stand and...

We're BACK! After far too long away, Kylen returns to the microphone with something new. After a first full season of talking near-everything RPGs, and then a short time away for unavoidable reasons, it's time to come back and tell some stories. This episode is the prologue for a new solo live-play/audio drama, powered by the upcoming TROVE RPG system developed by Tumbledie Games. VERITAS is a dark epic fantasy which will serve as an important gateway into the fiction that TROVE will...

Welcome to The Worlds We Weave, a worldbuilding experiment where you can join in. This episode's spark is "A Holiday" and I am joined by Kevin, Kylen and a special guest. Our next spark is "An Heirloom". Is it mundane? Blessed? Cursed? Who is passing it down to whom? Check out Tale of the Manticore at https://taleofthemanticore.blogspot.com/ Send your heirloom ideas to afling@tumbledie.com or add them in a comment on the Worlds We Weave blog at...

I just wanted to let you all know, this week's episode has been postponed until next week. I hope you will join us then. The "holiday" spark is still open for submissions. Does it celebrate an ancient dragon? Does it commemorate a galactic war? Does it involve the worship of an eldritch beast? Send your holiday ideas to afling@tumbledie.com or add them in a comment on the Worlds We Weave blog at https://worldsweweave.blogspot.com/ Questions? Comments? Tweet us! (@tumbledie) Music in this...

This episode is a continuation of episode 1 with some housekeeping, a new segment, and a late Barkeep submission. Our next spark is a holiday. Does it celebrate an ancient dragon? Does it commemorate a galactic war? Does it involve the worship of an eldritch beast? Send your holiday ideas to afling@tumbledie.com or add them in a comment on the Worlds We Weave blog at https://worldsweweave.blogspot.com/ Amanda Gorman's "The Hill We Climb":...

Welcome to the first episode of The Worlds We Weave, a Threat Dice worldbuilding experiment where you, the listener, are the weaver. I am joined by Kevin and we discuss three submissions on our first spark, the barkeep. Our next spark is a holiday. Does it celebrate an ancient dragon? Does it commemorate a galactic war? Does it involve the worship of an eldrich beast? Send your holiday ideas to afling@tumbledie.com Check out Tale of the Manticore at...

In this week's episode, I introduce a new Threat Dice program, The Worlds We Weave, a worldbuilding experiment that you can contribute to. The First Spark: Barkeep I feel a good start is not an object or location, but a person. After all, stories usually don’t add up to much without them. And this is a person I think many of you will be familiar with as a character that helps launch many of the stories we tell around our game tables: the barkeep. They might sling ale at the tavern in the...

Thank you all so much for a wonderful year! For our last episode of 2020, Kylen takes a look back at the months of May through October on Threat Dice, highlighting some of his favorite moments. To know where you're going, it's always a good idea to remember where you've been. See you in 2021! Questions? Comments? Tweet us! (@tumbledie) Music in this episode is licensed CC-BY 4.0 by VINDSVEPT: youtube.com/vindsvept, patreon.com/vindsvept, vindsvept.bandcamp.com.

On this week's episode of Threat Dice: Non-Player Characters. The players of a tabletop RPG portray a tiny slice of the people that populate a fictional world. All the rest of them belong to the GM. But how do we create them? How do we make them feel real? How can we inspire sympathy in fictional characters, to the end of guiding and inspiring the players? All that, and more, in this week's discussion! Questions? Comments? Tweet us! (@tumbledie) Music in this episode is licensed CC-BY 4.0...

Kylen's back from NaNoWriMo, and boy are his fingers tired! With his return, he brings some thoughts on what inspired him to take on the NaNo challenge for the first time in 7 years. A book by Gail Carriger called The Heroine's Journey is what drove Kylen back to the word mines. It tells us about a different fundamental structure for stories, one that is somewhat underappreciated in mainstream media's constant search for the eternal loner hero. But what does this have to do with tabletop...

In this episode, I gather all nerds to me and have a talk with Kevin, Kylen, and Eric. Questions? Comments? Tweet us! (@tumbledie) Music in this episode is licensed CC-BY 4.0 by VINDSVEPT: youtube.com/vindsvept, patreon.com/vindsvept, vindsvept.bandcamp.com. This week's quote is from William Shakespeare.

In this episode, I talk with my friend and business partner, Kevin Baringer on the subject of RPG art. Questions? Comments? Tweet us! (@tumbledie) Music in this episode is licensed CC-BY 4.0 by VINDSVEPT: youtube.com/vindsvept, patreon.com/vindsvept, vindsvept.bandcamp.com. This week's quote is from J.R.R. Tolkien.

In this episode, I interview my good friend and renowned DM (at least in the New Hampshire seacoast area), Eric Doucet Questions? Comments? Tweet us! (@tumbledie) Music in this episode is licensed CC-BY 4.0 by VINDSVEPT: youtube.com/vindsvept, patreon.com/vindsvept, vindsvept.bandcamp.com. This week's quote is from Douglas Adams.

In this episode, a special host interviews a special guest covering the topic of the RPG homebrew. Questions? Comments? Tweet us! (@tumbledie) Music in this episode is licensed CC-BY 4.0 by VINDSVEPT: youtube.com/vindsvept, patreon.com/vindsvept, vindsvept.bandcamp.com. This week's quote is from Frank Herbert's "Dune".

On this episode of Threat Dice, Kylen is all about 'player agency' -- making sure that the players around the table have real impact on the stories you tell with your tabletop RPG system of choice! A system-agnostic discussion. It's about choices and consequences, and how to help guide a group of players with just the right touch to make sure they don't get 'railroaded', but also taking care not to drown them in the 'sandbox'! Questions? Comments? Tweet us @tumbledie! Today's quote is...

On this week's episode of Threat Dice, Kylen gets a bit personal, and talks about the idea of the "power fantasy". (Not that one.) Each of us has their own personal idea of what we would do, given infinite time and resources. That can come through in how we play video games, how we read books, watch movies, and specifically -- how much we enjoy a certain campaign or story in our tabletop RPGs. What are the unifying themes and stories that really get you to your ultimate engagement in a...

Kylen approaches a dangerous topic with sword and shield raised. ALIGNMENT! A tradition, and institution--and so often used as a garrote against players of the game. Is it time for the two-axis, Law vs. Chaos & Good vs. Evil alignment to be consigned to the dustbin of history? There's no way in the world he's the first person to say it, but Kylen says "yes." Tune in to this week's episode to find out where the concept of alignment started, an alternate look at the idea through the lens of...