gg no re (gg no re)

We have a preview copy of the 2nd edition of Zzarchov Kowolski's Neoclassical Geek Revival, and we run it with his classic module A Thousand Dead Babies. We have a preview copy of the upcoming 2nd edition of Zzarchov Kowolski's (patreon: https://www.patreon.com/zzarchov, drivethrurpg: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse/pub/4140/Zzarchov-Kowolski) Neoclassical Geek Revival, and we run it with his classic module A Thousand Dead Babies (aff link: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/110659/A-Thousand-Dead-Babies?affiliate_id=433586). Went a bit off the rails this time, from checking in at the tavern to making a heist on a church, and then everything went sideways. We chat in some detail about the mechanics of NGR 2e; so do listen if you're interested in this ruleset. Show notes: https://ggnorecast.com/208.

Apologies in advance, but this episode is us helping Tim create a Pathfinder 2e character and complaining about it with amused detachment. In the process, you’ll hear how a quick first-time generation goes, where someone has read a little bit and has a lot of help. You’ll also hear about some of the differences between Pathfinder 2 and the past and present versions of D&D: proficiency, leveling, the action economy, etc. We do actually like some of the changes, but, of course, detest most of them. Join us in the suffering. Check the show notes for a ready-to-run version of the first playtest adventure, with annotations that make it mostly a system neutral one page dungeon. Show notes: https://ggnorecast.com/129/

Daniel shows how to add elevation contour lines to a hex map, how to calculate sight lines in terms of hexes, how to navigate overland by means of such, and muses on why in the world one might desire to do so. Show notes: https://ggnorecast.com/168.

We finish playing through the classic Gygaxian module, T1: The Village of Hommlet. Show notes: https://ggnorecast.com/80.

More Dungeon Academy actual play. They chill at the joust and then sleep. The next day, we see what a cantrip classroom looks like, and someone gets a rival. The mystery of the moaning grate deepens. Show notes: https://ggnorecast.com/141.

Clips for your amusement from our upcoming episode 111, in which we continue playing through Tomb of Annihilation.

We finish up our preview of Neoclassical Geek Revival 2e, using the module A Thousand Dead Babies, both by Zzarchov Kowolski. Kickstarter for the 2e rules: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1594988817/neoclassical-geek-revival-acidic-edition. Show notes: https://ggnorecast.com/210.

Answering questions from Reddit and our patrons: What to do about a bad priest? My players don't like old school??? Best modules? Houserules to foster dramatic play? Best encumbrance rules? Show notes: https://ggnorecast.com/212.

We play our first proper sci-fi game, Mothership. Spoilers for the official module Dead Planet follow. Hear Daniel try to figure out how space works! Thrill to tactical decompression! Feel the kachunk of mag boot engagement! 

Show notes: https://ggnorecast.com/154.

- Link to the publisher's website: http://www.tuesdayknightgames.com/mothership

- Affiliate link to the module: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/249108/Mothership-Dead-Planet?affiliate_id=433586

- Affiliate link to the system: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/245017/Mothership-Players-Survival-Guide?affiliate_id=433586

- Intro clip from Wicked: https://soundcloud.com/wickedthemusical/defying-gravity

~~~Make a Search Check~~~

patreon: https://patreon.com/ggnore

itunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/gg-no-re/id994417067

twitter: https://twitter.com/ggnorecast

anchor: https://anchor.fm/ggnore

We start playing the classic 1980 module by Gary Gygax, the Village of Hommlet. Show notes with tabletop photos and links: https://ggnorecast.com/2017/03/29/72/.

 

We continue playing through the classic Gygaxian module, T1: The Village of Hommlet. Show notes: https://ggnorecast.com/79.

We continue playing B3: Palace of the Silver Princess. Show notes: https://ggnorecast.com/198.

Pluto hits the books, looking for info on the sewer system, and meets Nero, the winner of the joust — prequel jokes — a magic-gril looking for her lost seeing eye dog — entering the dungeon proper for the first time — a weeping humanoid spider. Check show notes for reference images from the game, portraits of the characters, and shots of the character sheets and action sheet: ggnorecast.com/143.

 We had an off week this time; so, instead of a typical episode, here's a crosspost from Daniel's podcast, Detect Magic, in which he talks about a system he's going to be using in the upcoming Dungeon Academy actual play episodes. 

Blood Pools is a system for modeling how characters get better at fighting particular monsters (and in general) that's separate from the XP system.

Blog post with more info about the Blood Pool rules: https://detectmagic.wordpress.com/2019/01/17/blood-pools/

Show notes: https://ggnorecast.com/148

We review the classic Gygaxian module, T1: The Village of Hommlet. Show notes: https://ggnorecast.com/81.

We discuss and show off Talespire, a virtual tabletop in closed beta right now on Steam.

Show notes: ggnorecast.com/194.

We finish our run of our first proper sci-fi game, Mothership. Spoilers for the official module Dead Planet follow. Listen as it is revealed that Daniel still doesn't know how space works and knows one and only one metric system equivalence. Does the party escape the dead planet or spectacularly TPK? Do we get the rules half right? Just click, nay, SMASH that play button and find out, dear listener. 

Show notes: https://ggnorecast.com/156.

We start our very serious and important rpg advice column. Write in with questions of your own for next time. 

Show notes: https://ggnorecast.com/170.

"Werq" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

ADND n00bz try to play the game. We fight skeletons and find secret doors. Show notes: https://ggnorecast.com/215.

This week in Dungeon Academy, new best friends, striking out at romance with a foodie, passing and failing tests, and some reverse-ambushing in the Shady Grove. Music, maps, and PC pics in the show notes: https://ggnorecast.com/183. 

Music is "Monarchy" by Mosh: https://iammosh.bandcamp.com/track/monarchy

We continue the 1K Dead Babies module using the 2e preview of Zzarchov's Neoclassical Geek Revival system. (Apologies for the weird background noise—will fix that for next time.) Show notes: ggnorecast.com/209.

This starts our play of Dungeon Academy, Daniel's homebrew campaign framework in which you play students in dungeon-school, D&D Hogwarts with the serial numbers filed off. In this episode, we see what a Sunday morning at the academy looks like. The players are new to this as well; so you'll be learning the game as they do. There's live game design, and you can see the process by which some of the mechanics are refined in play. Show notes: https://ggnorecast.com/139.

We continue the module "Hideous Daylight" by Brad Kerr. Read Bryce Lynch's review of it here: https://tenfootpole.org/ironspike/?p=7079. Show notes with links to all the module author's stuff: https://ggnorecast.com/220.

We talk about the upcoming Essentials Kit for D&D 5, the actual play of which will be our next episode. We also touch on how we created characters, both mechanically and dramatically, and discussed more broadly the issue of suiting PCs to settings, especially when you don't know what kind of themes will be present in the setting or module. 

Show notes: https://ggnorecast.com/166.

We clear a minidungeon in the module "Hideous Daylight" by Brad Kerr. Read Bryce Lynch's review of it here: https://tenfootpole.org/ironspike/?p=7079. Show notes with tabletop photos and links to all the module author's stuff: https://ggnorecast.com/221.

The players struggle for life in the finale Cloister of the Frog-God. (They all die. Harpies kill them in a cave.) Show notes: https://ggnorecast.com/235.

We review (positively) the rules and module in the Shadowdark Quickstart, written by Kelsey Dionne and published by the Arcane Library. Show notes: https://ggnorecast.com/232. Our actual play of the quickstart module is here: https://ggnorecast.com/231.

We continue playing Cloister of the Frog-God. Show notes: https://ggnorecast.com/234.

Daniel got it into his head to run a Dante's Inferno tactical D&D war/storygame. Unfortunately, Roll20 doesn't let you export entire campaigns; so we're dumping all the assets out there for you to use if you want—or at least for you to get an idea of the kind of assets that would be involved were you to want to do something similar. Be sure to check the show notes page for all the goodies. 

Show notes: https://ggnorecast.com/165.

At last, the Observatory. Our pointcrawl concludes, and we experience the moment of eponymony. Show notes: https://ggnorecast.com/2016/12/04/48-2/.

The party hopes to resolve a misunderstanding with Count Clanton's usurper brother. To gain his trust (and some cash), they head down to the lair of a recently arrived dragon. Show notes: https://ggnorecast.com/228.

We continue our play of R A T T L E D, a campaign framework Daniel is making for playing reverse D&D with skeletons. No Prep, All Calcium. Will be releasing the rules for how to play this yourself as Halloween approaches. In this episode, we start the downtime phase, complete an encounter, and ARISE, KILL, & EAT. Show notes: https://ggnorecast.com/136.

An archaeology of play for First Edition Advanced Dungeons and Dragons! Gary says to start play by entering a village, finding a tavern, and buying gear. So that's what we do. This is not a "best practice," but it is the THE RULES. Join us as the PCs learn about the area and get ready to head out to adventure. Show notes: https://ggnorecast.com/213.

We generate characters for the heartwarming Japanese RPG Ryuutama. If you listen, you will know how to make them. Show notes: ggnorecast.com/176.

Tim and Daniel recap the events of the first proper foray into the dungeon beneath the academy. Show notes: https://ggnorecast.com/190.

Music is "Monarchy" by Mosh: https://iammosh.bandcamp.com/track/monarchy

We actually play Mathfinder. After all the trash talk, we finally see what it's really all about. You'll see the new 2e playtest mechanics in action (at least the ones that Daniel can remember), and hear us wail in acute existential despair! Review coming next ep. Show notes: https://ggnorecast.com/130.

We walk through the highlights of the rest of the module and talk about its pros and cons. Show notes: https://ggnorecast.com/199.

We start our playthrough of the classic module B3: Palace of the Silver Princess. We follow procedures exactly, become the bane of the elderly, fight tons of orcs, and get lost due to verbal mapping. Show notes: https://ggnorecast.com/197.

We continue to explore the observatory. A comedy of errors. Situations grotesque, risible, & fantastical—all for you. Show notes: https://ggnorecast.com/2016/12/25/51/.

We talk about our most recent session of EPIC GAMING, in which the first  Dungeon Academy "plot arc" wrapped up: what happened, DM techniques  employed, some behind the scenes info. 

Show notes:  https://ggnorecast.com/187.

This episode is an example of what can happen when you follow your random encounter procedures to the bitter, bitter end—and don't flinch at the dice. It's great! Show notes: https://ggnorecast.com/2016/11/28/47/.

We review the Pathfinder 2 playtest. Show notes, including a one page dungeon version of the first adventure, here: https://ggnorecast.com/131.

We talk about our experience playing and running first edition Advanced Dungeons and Dragons. Show notes: https://ggnorecast.com/217.

We talk about where the OSR and DIY scene should migrate after Google Plus fails to save vs death. Show notes: https://ggnorecast.com/142.

We prepare to enter the ruined dam. Show notes: https://ggnorecast.com/2016/11/05/44/

We continue our playthrough of Gygax's Village of Hommlet with a (mostly) successful incursion into the moathouse. Show notes: https://ggnorecast.com/74.

We conclude our play of R A T T L E D, a campaign framework Daniel is making for playing reverse D&D with skeletons. No Prep, All Calcium. In this episode, bring the SKELETON WAR to the first location, expand the dungeon, and give concluding thoughts on the framework. (And, shhhh, maybe talk a bit about game design post-outro.) Show notes: https://ggnorecast.com/138.

We continue Temple of 1000 Swords, an adventure by Brad Kerr. Read Bryce Lynch's review of it here: https://tenfootpole.org/ironspike/?p=7505. Show notes with tabletop photos and links to all the module author's stuff: https://ggnorecast.com/226.

This is the new superhero RPG hotness. Listen as four heroes unite to fight GARBAGEMAN, Neo-Birmingham's newest villain. 

Rules and show notes: https://ggnorecast.com/181.

WE STAN is a snappy game that produces an actual storyboarded comic book each time you play (no drawing talent necessary). It uses panoptical GM rulings to adjudicate superheroic action rather than using extensive rules and keywords. Its GM-facing procedures create dramatic arcs while still preserving player freedom and encouraging creative problem solving. 

Music from https://filmmusic.io / "The Descent" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com) / License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

D&D 5e Essentials Kit continued. Show notes: https://ggnorecast.com/171.

We rate the 5e races. Make sure to check our youtube for an actual video of the process. Show notes: https://ggnorecast.com/163.

Daniel gives an update on the podcast and tells you what to expect in future episodes. We'd like to hear your feedback on this one; so ping us in the comments or @ggnorecast on twitter. At the end, Daniel interviews his wife, who hates playing RPGs, and they talk about why people might feel that way and measures you can take to ease folks into the hobby. 

Show notes: https://ggnorecast.com/155.

Canon in D Major Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Our RPG advice column reprises with more questions from the internet and our patrons. Show notes: https://ggnorecast.com/179.

We start up Thulian Echoes by Zzarchov Kowolski, an innovative and clever module that's easy to slot into most campaigns. Show notes: https://ggnorecast.com/205.

Seeking to fulfill their deadly geas, the party floats on over to Clanton, Alabamia. But the peaches are withered; there's a civil war brewing; and an aristocrat wants them to slay a dragon. Show notes: https://ggnorecast.com/227.

We start the module "Hideous Daylight" by Brad Kerr. Read Bryce Lynch's review of it here: https://tenfootpole.org/ironspike/?p=7079. Show notes with links to all the module author's stuff: https://ggnorecast.com/219.

- Hideous Daylight (aff): https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/333639/Hideous-Daylight?affiliate_id=433586

- Demon Driven to the Maw (aff): https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/372360/Demon-Driven-to-the-Maw?affiliate_id=433586

- Brad Kerr's podcast Between Two Cairns: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2042709/

- Brad Kerr's itch.io site: https://brad-kerr.itch.io/

- Swordlords Publishing: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse/pub/17426/Swordlords-Publishing

We start playing Cloister of the Frog-God, shipped all the way from Hungary. Show notes: https://ggnorecast.com/233.

- Buy the Cloister of the Frog-God module:

- Directly: https://emdt.bigcartel.com/product/cloister-of-the-frog-god

- DTRPG: https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/476849/cloister-of-the-frog-god?affiliate_id=433586

- Bryce's review of the module: https://tenfootpole.org/ironspike/?p=9043

- Shadowdark RPG Rules: https://www.thearcanelibrary.com/pages/shadowdark

We kick off season 3 of the show by making Into the Odd characters for our actual/let's play of Deep Carbon Observatory.

If you want to get right down to the play, head to episode 40, the first proper episode of the new season.

But here we talk about who made the the system and the module, what's cool about them, what's different than standard D&D or Lamentations of the Flame Princess, and there's lots of affected southern accents.

Show note: https://ggnorecast.com/2016/09/21/39/

The gamers discuss the function of art in RPGs and enact coronavirus discourse. Show notes: https://ggnorecast.com/192.

We ggnore:view The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and talk about the lessons it teaches for TTRPGs. Then we review the new DnD movie, Honor Among Thieves. Show notes: https://ggnorecast.com/223.

We discuss our experience with the downtime rules in Xanathar's Guide to Everything. Topics: fictionally involved vs summarized, small addition to campaign vs focus of campaign, using the rules to improvise a campaign, mechanical details of the activities. Show notes: https://ggnorecast.com/195.

 The party continues into a labyrinth of the kobold lair, has to navigate using verbal description only, and gets into a dicey fight. Later that night, back in the real world, Saggitarius witnesses something that will have serious implications in the future.

Show notes: https://ggnorecast.com/164.

After the blow-by-blow of session 1, we discuss railroading vs sandboxes, emergent narrative, and how the medium can shape the story. Show notes: https://ggnorecast.com/2017/03/31/73/.

The Essentials Kit for D&D 5e continues. Show notes: https://ggnorecast.com/169.

We finish up Thulian Echoes and give our thoughts. Show notes: https://ggnorecast.com/207.

We continue our play of R A T T L E D, a campaign framework Daniel is making for playing reverse D&D with skeletons. No Prep, All Calcium. Check show notes for the rules: https://ggnorecast.com/137.

The gg no re bois are back with the classic lightning-round opinion panel. This time: live service games, wines of various kinds, dungeons, dragons, classic D&D monsters, and more. 

Show notes: https://ggnorecast.com/152.

We enter the dam; and, don't worry, everything's fine, and nothing's bad! Show notes: https://ggnorecast.com/2016/11/14/45/

We finish up the module "Hideous Daylight" by Brad Kerr. Read Bryce Lynch's review of it here: https://tenfootpole.org/ironspike/?p=7079. Show notes with tabletop photos and links to all the module author's stuff: https://ggnorecast.com/222.

New audio gear! The students visit Pluto in the hospital, busy themselves with normal school stuff, and romance blossoms for Luna.

Show notes: https://ggnorecast.com/146.

We try out the 5e conversion of Pokemon that the great benefactor of mankind @JOEtheDM has created. Our PCs get their Pokemon trainer licenses and encounter Team NORMIE in the rain-slick streets of Neo Pallet Town. 

Show notes: https://ggnorecast.com/151.

Intro song by Goblins from Mars: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POl5UDpQvhQ

Beard ASMR & Blood Pools. Got projector armbands. Got Patroclus to come with. Explored side paths then found a cave complex beneath the hill off the path. Found a smoky spirit of a student named Antolius. Then entered a labyrinth where they fought kobolds and giant albino lizards. Saggitarius broke through the kobold barricades, cut one down, then was rekt. Left off in dungeon. Show notes: https://ggnorecast.com/149. 

We actually play Brewkessel, by Kettlesberg Games (Tom Holmgren). It's (currently) two levels of a Hogwarts-themed megadungeon. (We also had a million players for this session, and people had to share mics; so do forgive us for any gnarly audio.) Show notes page showing player map for this session and a qute quasit: https://ggnorecast.com/237.

We play the intro scenario for heartwarming indie RPG from Japan,  Ryuutama. Learn about how it handles overland travel, and see how you  might use these procedures in other games. Show notes: ggnorecast.com/177.

DRAGONS OF DESPAIR comes to its desperate end with a sequence-breaking dragon fight. Show notes: https://ggnorecast.com/202.

Asa runs a Star Wars game using the Galaxy Far Away ultralite rules from d66 Kobolds. Show notes: https://ggnorecast.com/204.

The 5e Essentials Kit playthrough hits a VERY STRONG inflection point. Show notes: https://ggnorecast.com/173.

We review the D&D 5e Essentials Kit. Disregard the positive reviews you've seen. It is not good. Show notes: https://ggnorecast.com/175.

Our discussion & review of Deep Carbon Observatory, text by Patrick Stuart and art by Scrap Princess. MAJOR SPOILERS. Show notes: https://ggnorecast.com/2017/01/01/53/.

The gang fights a dragon in hopes of finally breaking their deadly geas. Tabletop photo and dungeon map journey on the show notes: https://ggnorecast.com/230.

We start our actual play of the new 5e Essentials Kit. Show notes: https://ggnorecast.com/167.

The party continues to explore the Shady Grove, searching for the entrance of the dungeon proper, but things go a bit sideways.

Show notes with character portraits and maps: ggnorecast.com/184.

Intro music "Monarchy" by Mosh

We continue playing through the classic Gygaxian module, T1: The Village of Hommlet. The second half has us discussing why Daniel is running the game the way he is, and Daniel gives a dubious genealogy of D&D. Show notes: https://ggnorecast.com/77.

We enter the observatory and behold its wonders. Follow dungeon SOP, achieve expected results. This didn't go as planned or desired at all, but ya gotta kill yer darlins. Or have them exploded. Thank you, bone magnet. Show note: https://ggnorecast.com/2016/12/11/49/.

Daniel provides a framework for creating (or enhancing) a world for your game. These techniques will help you create a world that's engineered for actual play, not infodumps, in which the players will be more successful the more they invest in your world.

You incentivize your players to care about your lore by making knowledge of it a key to success in your game. As players know more about the lore of your world, they can play more effectively.

Show notes: https://ggnorecast.com/105.

It's the fabled Roll Tide or Naw? episode! We have a topic and then give what we think about it. See show notes for topic list: https://ggnorecast.com/134.

Daniel finally gets to run Dogs in the Vineyard, adapted to a familiar D&D setting. It's teenage pseudomormon gunslingers, but with St. Cuthbert instead of Mormonism. Tim and John have rolled up 5e clerics, and Daniel explains the few changes necessary to make D. Vincent Baker's game of hard ethical judgments with potentially explosive consequences work when adapted to **the world's most popular roleplaying game**. In this episode, we get through both initiation conflicts; when we pick back up, the clerics will hit their first town. 

Show notes: https://ggnorecast.com/160.

Pale Rider Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

We recommend Brewkessel, by Kettlesberg Games (Tom Holmgren). It’s (currently) two levels of a Hogwarts-themed megadungeon. Show notes: https://ggnorecast.com/236.

 Actual play proper of our experimental 5e intro campaign, Kirland. Refer to the previous episode for background on how it was created, and see the show notes for all the material Daniel had generated to run the first session of it.

In this episode, the characters explore around the barrow-downs, find hidden treasure, learn a bit about the town, grab some rumors, and head out to the marshes to collect a bounty on a bandit king's head.

Show notes: ggnorecast.com/162.

The misery begins. Deep Carbon Observatory opens with a unique procedure for presenting the chaos of a desperate town in the middle of a cataclysmic flood. That's what this session covers. Our PCs try to save some people, kill others, and set their eyes down the valley on the looming dam.

Show notes: https://ggnorecast.com/2016/09/21/40/

In our first ever gg no re interview, we talk to Montrail, a player new to tabletop RPGs whom we randomly met at Dragon Con. We learn about how he came to find out about D&D and RPGs in general, what his experience of organized play was like, and muse about what this might mean for the hobby more broadly. Show notes: https://ggnorecast.com/133.

An old face returns and a new one appears as the students attempt to  rescue a burning dryad and delve into a lair beneath her tree. 

Show notes: https://ggnorecast.com/186.

Music is "Monarchy" by Mosh: https://iammosh.bandcamp.com/track/monarchy

Yellow mold! Throwing axes at spiders! Verbal mapping! Failing to open doors! Looking things up! Audible frustration! Our first foray into ADND 1e dungeon delving truly has it all. Show notes: https://ggnorecast.com/214.

Bickering and exploring. Mostly bickering. Show notes: https://ggnorecast.com/2016/12/18/50/.

 Daniel gives a preview of a patron-only 4-in-1 page dungeon that we'll be releasing soon, describing its method for making traps beforehand or at runtime.

And, speaking of traps, there's DM perfectionism. You want everything in your setting to be up to your standards; so you end up producing less than you need. This induces a nasty cycle. Daniel says how he's broken it with the help of old school fundamentalism.

Show notes: ggnorecast.com/159.

We make our way up the flood valley. Knife-fighting wizards, carrion, and more. [excuse the tapping, we figured it out (a shock mount) in an episode or two.] Show notes: https://ggnorecast.com/2016/10/16/42/

We (in the last underwater recording) discuss, gush, and throw shade on each other's fav videogames. Show notes: https://ggnorecast.com/153.

We continue playing through the classic Gygaxian module, T1: The Village of Hommlet. Show notes: https://ggnorecast.com/78.

Yeah, I'm thinking we're back. Listener question, Dear Gary, and amusing digressions. Show notes: https://ggnorecast.com/196.

We start off with an undeleted deleted scene where we talk about MCU, whether anyone actually likes Superman, and get confused about Highlander 1. Then we start the meat of the module a few minutes in (5:10). Show notes: https://ggnorecast.com/2016/10/03/41/.