Mastering The RPG

In the season finale, Carl and Eric wish James a fond farewell as they go through a number questions posed by listeners and friends of the show. Visit us at https://masteringtherpg.com and mail gamemaster@masteringtherpg.com for comments and questions!

Carl and Eric interview James about being a professional GM. They talk about everything from how he started to how the business is run. 00:00 - Introduction 05:57 - Main Topic Visit us at https://masteringtherpg.com and mail gamemaster@masteringtherpg.com for comments and questions!

The crew deep dives into the tabletop RPG Savage Worlds. Savage Worlds is a generic game system that is one of the favorites of Carl and Eric. 00:00 - Introduction (Carl’s Music Video: https://youtu.be/pq-FKUDw7ro) 04:55 - Main Topic Visit us at https://masteringtherpg.com and mail gamemaster@masteringtherpg.com for comments and questions!

This week the gang talks about managing unrealistic expectations of both players and GMs in RPGs. People often talk about the "Mercer Effect" in tabletop RPGs and the crew takes on ideas to lesson it. 00:00 - Introduction 03:22 - Main Topic Visit us at https://masteringtherpg.com and mail gamemaster@masteringtherpg.com for comments and questions!

Eric walks through all the details of Pathfinder 2e from Paizo. This includes discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of the system and what makes it fun for GMs and Players. He has some thoughts on the new remastered version, too. 00:00 - Introduction 06:34 - Main Topic Visit us at https://masteringtherpg.com and mail gamemaster@masteringtherpg.com for comments and questions!

The crew talks about the concept of “failing forward” in tabletop RPGs. This concept includes ideas on continuing the narrative after a failure or allowing for success but at a cost. The team certainly has different opinions on this topic! 00:00 - Intro 06:27 - Main Topic Visit us at https://masteringtherpg.com and mail gamemaster@masteringtherpg.com for comments and questions!

James does a deep dive on the Call of Cthulhu game fro Chaosium. He details the mechanics, great features, and how he plays the game as a Gamemaster (GM) and player. Eric drives the conversation with questions that probe everything about this great game. 00:00 - Intro 04:50 - Main Topic Visit us at https://masteringtherpg.com and mail gamemaster@masteringtherpg.com for comments and questions!

The crew talks about running hex and point crawls in tabletop RPGs like Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) and Savage Worlds. They go into the differences, advantages of each, and tips for running each kind of overland travel technique. 00:00 - Introduction 05:00 - Main Topic Visit us at https://masteringtherpg.com and mail gamemaster@masteringtherpg.com for comments and questions!

The crew takes on how you flavor magic or special abilities in tabletop RPG such as Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) to create a more interesting character concept. 00:00 - Introduction 06:31 - Main Topic Visit us at https://masteringtherpg.com and mail gamemaster@masteringtherpg.com for comments and questions!

The crew take a look at their physical and virtual RPG bookshelves to talk about the most interesting books and items they have on them. Some of the items are rare or somewhat unique and some are simply cannot-live-without books. Visit us at https://masteringtherpg.com and mail gamemaster@masteringtherpg.com for comments and questions!

The crew answers an email asking about favorite characters and NPCs. Another email asks about how to find and vet players when Looking For Group online. The main topic discusses ways a GM can be creative and handle curve balls thrown at them from players moving in unanticipated directions during our tabletop RPG sessions. 00:00 - Introduction 02:54 - Email 20:57 - Main Topic Visit us at https://masteringtherpg.com and mail gamemaster@masteringtherpg.com for comments and questions!

James, Eric, and Carl talk about different ways player characters could be introduced to each other at the beginning of a tabletop RPG campaign. They include the ways players might link backstories and why a tavern isn't such a bad place to meet after all. 00:00 - Introduction 04:29 - Email 12:10 - Main Topic Visit us at https://masteringtherpg.com and mail gamemaster@masteringtherpg.com for comments and questions!

The crew talks about ideas for bringing a new player into the RPG hobby. They touch on how do you introduce them to rules, character creation, and RPG concepts. In addition, they also cover bringing a new player into an existing group (both new to hobby or experienced). 00:00 - Introduction 03:50 - Email 10:40 - Main Topic Visit us at https://masteringtherpg.com and mail gamemaster@masteringtherpg.com for comments and questions!

The crew talks about some of the greatest games they played or GM’d … and some of the not-so-great. Just a fun discussion for the season finale about our memories of games past. 00:00 - Introduction 02:50 - Email 15:00 - Main Topic Visit us at https://masteringtherpg.com and mail gamemaster@masteringtherpg.com for comments and questions!

Eric, Carl and James talk about how to run a horror game in a tabletop RPG. Ideas on how to engage players, set expectations, and drive the narrative are presented. 00:00 - Introduction 04:20 - Main Topic Visit us at https://masteringtherpg.com and mail gamemaster@masteringtherpg.com for comments and questions!

Eric, James, and Carl talk about what essentials are in their RPG GM toolkit. Everything from websites, books, and tools for running their role-playing game in person or online. Some of the items mentioned in the episode: Savage Worlds Characters - Saveged.us Carl’s OneNote template - https://youtu.be/41_HXccph1k Lazy DM Notion Template TokenStamp - https://rolladvantage.com/tokenstamp/ Tokens: Splattered Ink Tokens, Forgotten Adventures, Jan Loos and David North Battlemap Creators: DM Andy, Morvold Press, Mythos Maps, Tych Maps Music: Syrinscape ---------- Visit us at https://masteringtherpg.com and mail gamemaster@masteringtherpg.com for comments and questions!

James, Eric, and Carl discuss ways of providing the lore of your setting without the dreaded lore dump. They also discuss how knowledge skills play into discovering this information. The team walks through the good and bad ways to provide information to players during the game. Visit us at https://masteringtherpg.com and mail gamemaster@masteringtherpg.com for comments and questions!

Carl, Eric, and James discuss ideas on how to make combat and fights in RPGs more interesting and engaging for players regardless of the game system. They offer advice around four pillars-maps, enemies, victory conditions, and narrative aspects. Thank you to a listener for a cool stuff found this week! 00:00 - Introduction - Fun talk about 150th episode of Tabletop Tango and Jame’s campaigns 09:55 - Cool Stuff Found: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/391108/Backstory-Cards-for-Foundry-VTT?manufacturers_id=17009 16:40 - Main Topic Visit us at https://masteringtherpg.com and mail gamemaster@masteringtherpg.com for comments and questions!

James, Eric and Carl talk about how to create a cohesive party in any RPG such as Dungeons and Dragons and Savage Worlds. They look at how the GM can help and what players can do to help make an effective and narratively interesting group of adventurers. The discussion includes how partnering with other players, sharing backstory, complementing mechanically, and other ideas can lead to success. 00:00 - Introduction 01:20 - Cool Stuff 150th Tabletop Tango Episode livestream: https://youtube.com/live/j58YM7-NRbA?feature=share “Monster Manual” Song: https://youtu.be/VAxDqAzKY9U 04:55 - Main Topic Visit us at https://masteringtherpg.com and mail gamemaster@masteringtherpg.com for comments and questions!

Eric and Carl discuss using small narrative breaks (such as Savage Worlds Interludes) for additional role-playing opportunities for players to explore backstories or share character information between intense parts of an adventure. The information is inspired by Savage Worlds but is applicable to any RPG—including D&D (Dungeons and Dragons). 00:00 - Introduction 01:30 - Cool Stuff 07:35 - Main Topic Visit us at https://masteringtherpg.com and mail gamemaster@masteringtherpg.com for comments and questions!