RTFM (RTFM)

Max Lander and Aaron King dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual  so that you don't have to.

With our Kickstarter running, we wanted to do a series of shorter episodes focusing on the various inspirations for our games. First up is Cybermetal 2012 by Adam Vass. What has Max repeatedly saying "Fuck you, Adam" (respectfully)? How can a game be both inextricable from its mechanics but webbed to them? Why should we make weird & personal shit?

Check out our Kickstarter here. If you want to chat about the episode, join our Discord!

Today, we interview game designer and podcast Daniel Kwan. We talk games in museums, wuxia movies, and smelly Toronto.

⁠⁠Max Lander⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Aaron King⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to.

If you want to chat about the episode, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠join our Discord⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. And ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠check us out on Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for extra episodes!

This episode is brought to you by The Lost Bay's Outer Rim Uprising. Follow the Kickstarter for this cool set of Mothership scenarios and resources!

Max Lander and Aaron King dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to.

Game designer Chris Bissette joins us to talk about Principia Apocrypha, one of the cornerstone documents of the Old School Revival (OSR) movement. What is the OSR? What use can non-OSR gamers get from it?

If you want to chat about the episode, join our Discord. And check us out on Patreon for extra episodes!

Max Lander and Aaron King dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to.

Join us on a pilgrimage to a northern island with Witch: The Road to Lindisfarne. Author Natalie Zina Walschots joins us to talk about LARP adjacency, GMing in GMless games, read-aloud ritualism, and more. It's a long episode for a short game!

If you want to support the hosts, check out the RTMF Ko-Fi store for limited-run zines and merch. If you want to chat about the episode, join our Discord! And buy Natalie's book Hench wherever books are sold.

⁠⁠Max Lander⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠Aaron King⁠⁠⁠ dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to.

Look, it's Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition! The last good D&D. We talk digital tools, layout, and doing one thing well.

If you want to chat about the episode, ⁠⁠⁠join our Discord⁠⁠⁠. And ⁠⁠⁠check us out on Patreon⁠⁠⁠ for extra episodes!

This episode is brought to you by VOID 1680 AM by Bannerless Games. It's a solo, playlist-building RPG, and it rules.

We're talking Monsterhearts 2 by Avery Alder, and we're joined by Jay Dragon of Possum Creek Games. Jay claims to know the deep dark truth of Monsterhearts, so who were we to disagree?

Max Lander⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Aaron King⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to.

If you want to chat about the episode, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠join our Discord⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. And ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠check us out on Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for extra episodes!

We're talking the Possible Worlds series by Tyler Crumrine, six discreet games boxed together. We have them fight to the death until only the best emerges victorious. Just kidding, we loved them all.

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Max Lander⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Aaron King⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to.

If you want to chat about the episode, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠join our Discord⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. And ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠check us out on Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for extra episodes!

Today we're covering Mausritter: The Estate, a box set of adventures and setting materials for teeny tiny mice adventures. What makes for a good adventure? Are you a filler-inner or a chipper-awayer? How do you deal with an evil cat wizard?

⁠⁠⁠Max Lander⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Aaron King⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to.

If you want to chat about the episode, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠join our Discord⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. And ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠check us out on Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for extra episodes!

Max Lander and Aaron King dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to.

Dan Phipps of Gem Room Games is here to talk about Blood Feud from Blackfisk Publishing! It's the start of our new season. The theme is "monsters," and we talk about the biggest monster of all: toxic masculinity. 

If you want to chat about the episode, join our Discord.

Max Lander and Aaron King dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to.

Ghostbusters International! It's Ghostbusters. We talk about caving to audience demands, sex comedies through the decades, and how bustin makes us feel. (Spoiler warning: it feels good.)

If you want to chat about the episode, join our Discord.

Max Lander and Aaron King dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of   mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so you don't have to.

This episode is the season finale! We rank the 12 games we've read so far in an intense hour of judgment and argument. (Not really; most of them were pretty easy.) We also answer listener questions!

If you want to make your own ranking before you listen, here's the list of games we've read: Traveller, Cyberpunk 2020, AD&D's Complete Book of Humanoids, 13th Age, Gamma World, Changeling: The Lost, Original D&D, The Game of Dungeon/Minneapolis Dungeon, Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, GURPS, Star Frontiers, and Cyberpunk Chromebook.

We also make extensive mention of Bloodbeam Badlands by Viditya Voleti, which you can get here.

If you want to support the hosts, check out the RTMF Ko-Fi store for limited-run zines and merch. If you want to chat about the episode, join our Discord!

Music by will jobst. Sound effect attribution: FX128 by jalastram.

We're taking it easy this month. So easy that we don't even talk about a game this episode. We're just talking about ourselves, uncovering our biases and histories with games, reading, and critique. So I guess we're sort of talking about the most dangerous game: human beings.

If you want to support the hosts, check out the RTMF Ko-Fi store for limited-run zines and merch. If you want to chat about the episode, join our Discord!

This episode is brought to you by The Lost Bay's Outer Rim Uprising. Follow the Kickstarter for this cool set of Mothership scenarios and resources!

Max Lander and Aaron King dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to.

This one starts as an episode about RuneQuest, but it quickly becomes about citation, ownership, and stewardship in the RPG industry. Like, almost solely about that.

Here's a link to the Feminist Killjoys blog post we mention.

If you want to chat about the episode, join our Discord. And check us out on Patreon for extra episodes!

Max Lander and Aaron King dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to.

We continue our slow exploration of D&D editions with the First Quest box set for AD&D 2nd Edition. Is the box set the ultimate expression of the RPG? Do more RPGs need to hire child actors to pretend to play the game? 

If you want to chat about the episode, join our Discord!

This episode is sponsored by Ratti Incantati, an excellent distributor of RPGs, zines, and literary ephemera.

Max Lander and Aaron King dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to.

For Mutants in the Now by Julian Kay, we're joined by Aaron Fiskradatz and Pete (just Pete). These two educators talk to us about hidden curriculum, (dis)respecting churches, and game designer permissions. It's our most contentious episode since Fiasco.

If you want to chat about the episode, join our Discord. And check us out on Patreon for extra episodes and a zero-ad experience!

⁠⁠Max Lander⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠Aaron King⁠⁠⁠⁠ dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to.

We continue on our journey to cure our brains of D&D. This time, our delicious medicine is Dream Askew/Dream Apart by Avery Alder and Benjamin Rosenbaum. We recorded it a while back, so I don't remember what else we talked about.

If you want to chat about the episode, ⁠⁠⁠⁠join our Discord⁠⁠⁠⁠. And ⁠⁠⁠⁠check us out on Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠ for extra episodes!

Max Lander and Aaron King dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics,  lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't  have to.

This episode, we're joined by special guest Matt Fennell to read The Complete Book of Humanoids by Bill Slavicsek. Nasty freaks and funky little dudes for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. We eschew our normal review process in order to rank our top three humanoids.

Also, we started a Ko-Fi! This money pays Max for all their hard editing work, and the site will eventually be home to merch, games, and weird stuff. If you want to chat about the episode, join our Discord!

Max Lander and Aaron King dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of   mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that   you don't have to.

This episode, we're joined by game designer Adira Slattery to talk about GURPS! The Generic Universal Roleplaying System is supposed to be able to handle everything, but can it handle criticism? We discuss its history, its potential shortcomings, and the place of generic RPG systems.

CONTENT WARNING for discussion of gun violence. We don't get too gruesome, but given recent events, I wanted to mention it.

If you want to support the hosts, check out the RTMF Ko-Fi store for limited-run zines and merch. If you want to chat about the episode, join our Discord!

Music by will jobst. Sound effect attribution: FX128 by jalastram.

This episode is brought to you by ⁠The Lost Bay's Outer Rim Uprising⁠. Follow the Kickstarter for this cool set of Mothership scenarios and resources!

⁠Max Lander⁠ and ⁠Aaron King⁠ dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to.

Aaron Lim is here to chat about Troika! by Daniel Sell and the Melsonian Arts Council, where game mechanics are lore and inspirations are a compost heap from which oddness blooms.

If you want to chat about the episode, ⁠join our Discord⁠. And ⁠check us out on Patreon⁠ for extra episodes!

Max Lander and Aaron King dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so  that you don't have to.

Come with us to the future! KeganExe joins the podcast to talk about transhumanist sci-fi RPG Eclipse Phase. Who imagines the future? How do we free ourselves from the present? And when do we all get to start purring?

If you want to support the hosts, check out the RTMF Ko-Fi store for limited-run zines and merch. If you want to chat about the episode, join our Discord!

Max Lander and Aaron King dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to.

Haunted house time! Natalie Zina Walschots joins us to talk about Bluebeard's Bride. What's the deal with men? Can you consent to a book? Can tone go too far?

If you want to chat about the episode, join our Discord.

Max Lander and Aaron King dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics,   lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't   have to.

This episode, we're joined by will jobst of Good Luck Press. We talk about Gamma World, the 1978 post-apocalyptic RPG. Learn about game archaeology, artifact diagrams, and zoo-pessimism. And check out will's new post-apocalyptic driving RPG, TORQ!

If you want to support the hosts, check out the RTMF Ko-Fi store for limited-run zines and merch. If you want to chat about the episode, join our Discord!

Music by will jobst. Sound effect attribution: FX128 by jalastram.

Max Lander and Aaron King dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to.

As monster season continues, Dia Lacina joins us to talk about Wet Grandpa by Evey Lockhart. What's the best way to write an adventure? Do vibes rule everything? And why do we end up talking about '90s RPGs?

If you want to chat about the episode, join our Discord.

Max Lander and Aaron King dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to.

Another trip to the dungeons with dragons. This time, it's the first outing from Wizards of the Coast. We're talking unified mechanics, feat trees, and Max's secret origin. Also, we conclude this season and rank the games.

Note: we recommend some movies/shows that are maybe stricken materials under the current SAG-AFTRA/Writers Guild strike, so don't check them out! Instead, listen to this interview with a Writers Guild member & organizer.

If you want to chat about the episode, join our Discord. And check us out on Patreon for extra episodes!

Max Lander and Aaron King dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets  of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to.

Shh, it's time for reflection. Rev. Haven Green joins us to talk about The Quiet Year by Avery Alder. Is it a mapmaking game or a game about community? How do radical organizations make decisions? And learn about a game so good that Max won't play it.

If you want to support the hosts, check out the RTMF Ko-Fi store for limited-run zines and merch. If you want to chat about the episode, join our Discord!

Max Lander and Aaron King dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to.

We're joined by Aaron Voigt to talk Apocalypse Keys, mechanized feelings, hungry worms, and hurting God with your sins.

This episode is sponsored by ⁠Ratti Incantati, an excellent distributor of RPGs, zines, and literary ephemera⁠.

If you want to chat about the episode, join our Discord. And check us out on Patreon for extra episodes!

Max Lander and Aaron King dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to.

Quinns from Shut Up & Sit Down joins us to talk about Brandon Leon-Gambetta's Pasión de las Pasiones, the telenovela RPG. We cover adding drama to your game, the player-to-GM pipeline, and kissing in dungeons.

If you want to chat about the episode, join our Discord. And check us out on Patreon for extra episodes!

Max Lander and Aaron King dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of  mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that  you don't have to.

This episode, we're joined by Izzie Colpitts as we return to our roots, taking another look at Cyberpunk 2020. This time, we're discussing the Chromebook "style guides." Is RPG layout the same as UX? Can a confusing book be redeemed by looking cool? How can we modify our meat hands?

We also talk about Izzie's cool game design nonprofit, DMG Toronto.

If you want to support the hosts, check out the RTMF Ko-Fi store for limited-run zines and merch. If you want to chat about the episode, join our Discord!

Music by will jobst. Sound effect attribution: FX128 by jalastram.

Max Lander and Aaron King dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to.

We look back at this season's games, rank them, and chat about our upcoming season three.

Check out our Kickstarter here. If you want to chat about the episode, join our Discord!

Hey, it's the darkest time of the year, and the light of knowledge refuses to shine on our cursed podcast. Thus, instead of reading, we think. In darkness. About what it means to (not) roll those bones.

This one focuses on game design theory, disclaiming dice rolls, and getting out of your comfort zone.

There's an episode 0 of this series over on our Patreon. If you want to do the homework, join us on Discord.

A guest had to reschedule, so Max and Aaron had to scramble and invent a whole new schema through which to observe RPG discourse.

⁠⁠Max Lander⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Aaron King⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to.

If you want to chat about the episode, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠join our Discord⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. And ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠check us out on Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for extra episodes!

This episode is brought to you by ⁠Cloud Empress: Life & Death by watt⁠. Back it on Kickstarter now!

The sex continues with Vice & Violence by Rapscallion, an explicitly horny and lewd RPG. The art is great, but is it a good game? (Yes, it's a very good game.)

About the show: ⁠⁠Max Lander⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Aaron King⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to. If you want to chat about the episode, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠join our Discord⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. And ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠check us out on Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for extra episodes!

⁠⁠Max Lander⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠Aaron King⁠⁠ dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to.

⁠Dia Lacina is back to talk about more adventure modules. This time, it's that classic Gygax, Keep on the Borderlands. Is it good? Is it horny? Is it colonial? And what's with all these totally normal men?

If you want to chat about the episode, ⁠⁠join our Discord⁠⁠. And ⁠⁠check us out on Patreon⁠⁠ for extra episodes!

Max Lander and Aaron King dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to.

This episode, we're joined by Rae Nedjadi of Sword Queen Games to talk about Changeling: The Lost. We cover the White Wolf sexuality rubric, faesonas, and butt tattoos.

If you want to support the hosts, check out the RTMF Ko-Fi store for limited-run zines and merch. If you want to chat about the episode, join our Discord!

Music by will jobst. Sound effect attribution: FX128 by jalastram.

This episode is sponsored by ⁠The Lost Bay RPG, on Kickstarter now⁠.

⁠⁠⁠Max Lander⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Aaron King⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to.

We're joined by Sam Dunnewold of Dice Exploder to cover Errant by Ava Islam, an OSR game that is "rules light, procedure heavy."

If you want to chat about the episode, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠join our Discord⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. And ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠check us out on Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for extra episodes!

Max Lander and Aaron King dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets  of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to.

We finally break our streak of fighting about books! We're talking Apocalypse World with 0sarahXfrank0. How did it revolutionize game design? How do you untrain your brain from bad game habits? How much can we talk about sex before our listeners get uncomfortable?

Small programming note: Max's recording setup got messed up, so some of the audio isn't of the usual quality. Our apologies!

Check out Sarah's Apocalypse World actual play, DIRT, on Twitch. And find Max's recent writings on sex in games in Splat #3.

If you want to support the hosts, check out the RTMF Ko-Fi store for limited-run zines and merch. If you want to chat about the episode, join our Discord!

Max Lander and Aaron King dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to.

This episode, we're joined by Adam Waldron-Blain to talk about Minneapolis Dungeon, a set of rules recorded by a 14-year-old in 1974. Was it the first D&D hack? What's it mean to build community through RPGs? And how can we relate to the problematic material of the games of yesteryear?

You can get a free & legal copy of Rules to the Game of Dungeon via Jon Peterson's "Playing at the World" blog.

If you want to support the hosts, check out the RTMF Ko-Fi store for limited-run zines and merch. If you want to chat about the episode, join our Discord!

Music by will jobst. Sound effect attribution: FX128 by jalastram.

It's a holiday miracle! This Christmas, we're covering Pendragon, the classic RPG of chivalric knighthood. Can the game split the difference between history and fantasy? What can you learn by staring at bees? And would you like to roll on the cuck table?

⁠⁠⁠⁠Max Lander⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Aaron King⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to.

If you want to chat about the episode, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠join our Discord⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. And ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠check us out on Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for extra episodes!

This episode is brought to you by No-Tell Motel from Bannerless Games, a solo murder mystery game. It rules!

Our sex game trend continues with Let These Mermaids Touch Your Dick Maybe from Riverhouse Games. Want to slap a dildo with a sticky hand? Is it a lyric game? Has anyone played it?

⁠Max Lander⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Aaron King⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to.

If you want to chat about the episode, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠join our Discord⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. And ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠check us out on Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for extra episodes!

⁠⁠Max Lander⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Aaron King⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to.

It's Mobile Frame Zero: Firebrands by Meguey Baker & D. Vincent Baker. Returning guest Essay joins us to discuss a game that has been pitched to Max as exactly what he wants. But is it?!

If you want to chat about the episode, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠join our Discord⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. And ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠check us out on Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for extra episodes!

We're back with another box set. This time, it's the Swedish Drakar och Demoner, or as it's known in English, Dragonbane. Who is this game for? Why can't indie devs get a big box budget? And why am I now keeping track of every person who's ever harmed me?

⁠⁠⁠Max Lander⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Aaron King⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to.

If you want to chat about the episode, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠join our Discord⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. And ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠check us out on Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for extra episodes!

This episode is brought to you by Cloud Empress: Life & Death by watt. Back it on Kickstarter now!

Max Lander⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Aaron King⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to.

Today, we cover ANAL WIZARDS by the Genchi Brothers. It's a comic book, but it's a game. We talk about transgressive art and sex sex sex.

If you want to chat about the episode, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠join our Discord⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. And ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠check us out on Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for extra episodes!

RTFM is back from hiatus! And this time, it's personal. We'll be alternating our regular book reviews with interviews, and to usher in this new era, we have Will Jobst, designer of Torq and the currently crowdfunding Plasmodics. We talk about game design, learning new skills, and mutants mutants mutants.

⁠Max Lander⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Aaron King⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to.

If you want to chat about the episode, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠join our Discord⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. And ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠check us out on Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for extra episodes!

⁠⁠⁠⁠Max Lander⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Aaron King⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to.

A freewheeling discussion of the themes and lessons of the season: ownership, games criticism, social versus mechanical rules. We discuss what's next for the podcast and, as always, we rank the games.

If you want to chat about the episode, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠join our Discord⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. And ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠check us out on Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for extra episodes!

Max Lander and Aaron King dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to.

We're talking Slugblaster by Mikey Hamm, and we're joined by Sean Harkin. We cover metacurrencies, skateboarding histories, and who's the chillest of them all.

If you want to chat about the episode, join our Discord. And check us out on Patreon for extra episodes!

NOTE: This was the first episode we ever tried to record. As such, the audio isn't great! But we wanted to release it so that we could reference it in future episodes. Plus, Traveller is a cool game!

Max Lander and Aaron King dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of   mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to.

This episode, we look at the classic sci-fi game Traveller. You can also probably hear Aaron open beers throughout. We were so bad at recording. :(

If you want to support the hosts, check out the RTMF Ko-Fi store for limited-run zines and merch. If you want to chat about the episode, join our Discord!

Max Lander and Aaron King dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so  that you don't have to.

Tyler Crumrine of Possible Worlds Games has brought us Agone, a French fantasy RPG. We talk about "what is an RPG?" sections, horny satyrs, and Aaron's favorite actual play podcast, Friends at the Table.

If you want to support the hosts, check out the RTMF Ko-Fi store for limited-run zines and merch. If you want to chat about the episode, join our Discord!

Books are out, boxes are in. That's the philosophy behind this latest episode, covering the Green Knight starter set, direct from A24.

⁠⁠Max Lander⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Aaron King⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to.

If you want to chat about the episode, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠join our Discord⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. And ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠check us out on Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for extra episodes!

Max Lander and Aaron King dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to.

We're joined by Kait Tremblay to talk about Thousand Year Old Vampire, breaking rules, medium conventions, and "Lightning Crashes" by Live.

Check out Kait's book, Collaborative Worldbuilding for Video Games!

This episode is sponsored by ⁠Ratti Incantati, an excellent distributor of RPGs, zines, and literary ephemera⁠.

If you want to chat about the episode, join our Discord. And check us out on Patreon for extra episodes!

This episode is brought to you by The Lost Bay's Outer Rim Uprising. Follow the Kickstarter for this cool set of Mothership scenarios and resources!

Max Lander and Aaron King dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to.

By popular demand, we're talking Blades in the Dark with returning guest Essay from the Three of Hearts podcast. Topics include built-in settings, position and effect, and CRIME.

If you want to chat about the episode, join our Discord. And check us out on Patreon for extra episodes!

Max Lander and Aaron King dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics,  lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't  have to.

This episode, we're joined by Dan Phipps of Gem Room Games to talk about 13th Age. We cover fantasy heartbreakers, lore incorporation, and using your forum voice.

If you want to support the hosts, check out the RTMF Ko-Fi store for limited-run zines and merch. If you want to chat about the episode, join our Discord!

Sound effect attribution: FX128 by jalastram.

Just Aaron today with a stopgap episode covering session planning and playing Traveller. Why run an incomplete game? Is the military bad? How can you get a horse with an exoskeleton?

⁠⁠⁠⁠Max Lander⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Aaron King⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to.

If you want to chat about the episode, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠join our Discord⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. And ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠check us out on Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for extra episodes!

Max Lander and Aaron King dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to.

Our holiday extravaganza concludes as Max is joined by return guests KeganExe, Rae Nedjadi and new guest Josh Hittie to talk about Patchwork World. Is it the real D&D? What's up with all the whales and parents?

If you want to support the hosts, check out the RTMF Ko-Fi store for limited-run zines and merch. If you want to chat about the episode, join our Discord!

Fantasy soap opera in a box? That's what you get in Dragonlance: Fifth Age. We talk about Dragonlance in general, card-based RPG mechanics, and kender genitals.

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Max Lander⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Aaron King⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to.

If you want to chat about the episode, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠join our Discord⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. And ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠check us out on Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for extra episodes!

Max Lander and Aaron King dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to.

Actually, that's a lie. Max isn't here this time, because we're talking about the game he wrote, Himbos of Myth & Mettle. Aaron is joined by previous guest Izzie Colpitts and himbos extraordinaire Adam Guzkowski and Ivory. We talk about light game structures, the meaning of camp, and hashtag fries.

If you want to support the hosts, check out the RTMF Ko-Fi store for limited-run zines and merch. If you want to chat about the episode, join our Discord!

Max Lander and Aaron King dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to.

We return to R. Talsorian Games and Mike Pondsmith in order to talk about CyberGeneration! We cover regretting and correcting their creative decisions, punk and optimism, and malls. Also, R. Talsorian keeps their out-of-print books available as print-on-demand, so you can get CyberGeneration and read along.

Check out our Kickstarter here. If you want to chat about the episode, join our Discord!

This episode is sponsored by The Lost Bay RPG, on Kickstarter now.

⁠⁠Max Lander⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Aaron King⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to.

Today, we're talking about Vermis, which isn't an RPG. Or is it? We discuss channeling inspirations, prose quality, and why you should read things that are like other things.

If you want to chat about the episode, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠join our Discord⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. And ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠check us out on Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for extra episodes!

Max Lander and Aaron King dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to.

This is the final mini-sode exploring the influences behind the games we're Kickstarting. First up is Kismet by Cezar Capacle, a deceptively simple game with revolutionary mechanics. Then we talk about The Invisibles, a comic by Grant Morrison and a whole host of artists. Discussion ranges from designer toolboxes to messy queer narratives and ends in an invitation to work sex magic so that our Kickstarter funds.

We also mention Tunnel Goons by Nate Treme.

Check out our Kickstarter here. If you want to chat about the episode, join our Discord!

This episode is sponsored by Ratti Incantati, an excellent distributor of RPGs, zines, and literary ephemera.

Max Lander and Aaron King dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to.

Adam Vass of World Champ Game Co joins us to talk about Bloodbeam Badlands by Viditya Voleti. Including:

• what it actually takes to put out an RPG
• putting yourself into your games
• T. rex with a gun face

Check out Adam's Kickstarter, 1978 (a final girl two-player RPG) here! If you want to chat about the episode, join our Discord. And check us out on Patreon for extra episodes and a zero-ad experience!

Max Lander and Aaron King dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to.

This episode, we're joined by Essay Mnktl, audio engineer and player on the Three of Hearts podcast. We talk about the first edition of Fiasco by Jason Morningstar. What's up with these "story games"? How can a designer set tone and expectations for potentially problematic material? And who wins the first out-and-out argument between Max and Aaron?

If you want to support the hosts, check out the RTMF Ko-Fi store for limited-run zines and merch. If you want to chat about the episode, join our Discord!

Box season continues with A Guide to Casting Phantoms In the Revolution by Adam Vass & Will Jobst. We're talking mechanical crunch in narrative structure, scene-based roleplaying, and breaking Kickstarter.

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Max Lander⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Aaron King⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to.

If you want to chat about the episode, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠join our Discord⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. And ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠check us out on Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for extra episodes!

Max Lander and Aaron King dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to.

This episode, we're joined by JP Robichaud, and he brought Star Frontiers with him! What's up with this 1982 sci-fi game from TSR? What are the differences between the sci-fi subgenres? And why don't these games ever get horny for aliens the way Diego Luna gets horny for Jabba the Hutt?

If you want to support the hosts, check out the RTMF Ko-Fi store for limited-run zines and merch. If you want to chat about the episode, join our Discord!

Music by will jobst. Sound effect attribution: FX128 by jalastram.

RTFM just learned about indie RPGs. Have you heard of this shit? They're so cool! RTFM's biweekly Zine Club will be hosted on Pateron, where hosts Max Lander and Aaron King each bring an RPG zine to discuss. Like show and tell but with swears.

This episode is our little sampler for everyone, and it's all about Amanda Lee Franck's zines, focusing on Mouth Brood (a hex crawl mutant biome) and Vampire Cruise (a boat crawl monster vacation).

Max Lander and Aaron King dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to.

Christian Sorrell of MeatCastle GameWare joins us for the first of two episodes about Star Wars. Here, we discuss the Star Wars RPG published in 1987 by West End Games. Topics include genre emulation, morality in roleplaying, and scripts in RPGs. Also, Aaron does a Yoda voice.

If you want to support the hosts, check out the RTMF Ko-Fi store for limited-run zines and merch. If you want to chat about the episode, join our Discord!

The RTFM interview series continues. We talk to Austin Walker and Tyler Crumrine about Realis, the meaning of "ashcan," and Wawa versus Sheetz.

⁠⁠Max Lander⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Aaron King⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to.

If you want to chat about the episode, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠join our Discord⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. And ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠check us out on Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for extra episodes!

You have been selected to work at the Triangle Agency. Game designer Sam Leigh joins us to talk about this corporate horror RPG by Caleb Zane Huett. Is corporate horror for the youths? Does metafiction have a place in RPGs? And who is the yellow voice?!

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Max Lander⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Aaron King⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to.

If you want to chat about the episode, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠join our Discord⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. And ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠check us out on Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for extra episodes!

Who even has time to read? Not us! So today, we're talking about our own game design. Then we get sidetracked into discussing immersive experiences.

⁠⁠Max Lander⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Aaron King⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to.

If you want to chat about the episode, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠join our Discord⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. And ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠check us out on Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for extra episodes!

Max Lander and Aaron King dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to.

Sen Holiday joins us to discuss Monster of the Week. The game has a laser focus, but it's a popular D&D off-ramp. What's the deal with that?

If you want to chat about the episode, join our Discord.

Max Lander and Aaron King dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to.

Jonathan Levstein joins the conversation on Monster Care Squad from Sandy Pug Games. How many player choices are too many? How does layout affect the reading experience? What's the best monster, and why is it the one who wants people to live in it?

If you want to chat about the episode, join our Discord.

Prepare to enter The Zone by Raph D'Amico. We compare the gamefeel of cards versus tables. We talk mutations. And we talk shit about the Southern Reach Trilogy.

We're talking the ⁠Possible Worlds series by Tyler Crumrine⁠, six discreet games boxed together. We have them fight to the death until only the best emerges victorious. Just kidding, we loved them all.

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Max Lander⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Aaron King⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to.

If you want to chat about the episode, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠join our Discord⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. And ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠check us out on Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for extra episodes!

Max Lander and Aaron King dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual  so that you don't have to.

With our Kickstarter running, we wanted to do a series of shorter  episodes focusing on the various inspirations for our games. It's movie night! With Battle Royale and The Matrix. We talk about subtext, text, and supertext and just sort of compliment both movies.

Check out our Kickstarter here. If you want to chat about the episode, join our Discord!

Max Lander and Aaron King dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of  mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that  you don't have to.

This episode, we're joined by John Geary, game designer and Warhammer knower. Listen to us talk about fans of ideas vs fans of companies, how to write a tutorial adventure, and the beautiful turtle lizard centaur creature known as the zoat. And buy Sledgehammer, the grimdark rules-lite RPG that is much easier to play than Warhammer!

If you want to support the hosts, check out the RTMF Ko-Fi store for limited-run zines and merch. If you want to chat about the episode, join our Discord!

Music by will jobst. Sound effect attribution: FX128 by jalastram.

Max Lander and Aaron King dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to.

Christian Sorrell of MeatCastle GameWare joins us for another Star Wars episode. This time, it's Edge of the Empire from Fantasy Flight Games. We talk about proprietary components, walls of text, and play experiences.

If you want to support the hosts, check out the RTMF Ko-Fi store for limited-run zines and merch. If you want to chat about the episode, join our Discord!

Max Lander and Aaron King dig through RPGs of yore to bring you valuable nuggets of mechanics, lore, and strangeness. They read the fucking manual so that you don't have to.

This episode: Cyberpunk 2020 by Mike Pondsmith. Learn what it takes to survive in the future-past of Night City! Learn to be...a cyberpunk.

• Lifepaths to love.
• Hackers to hate.
• The perfect adventure format?

Related reading:

• Balikbayan by Rae Nedjadi
• Arcon by Kienna Shaw
• The Veil by Fraser Simon
• Asians Represent: Asian Representation, Techno-Orientalism, & Cyberpunk 2077
• Cyborg Memoirs by M. Téllez

If you want to support the hosts, check out the RTMF Ko-Fi store for limited-run zines and merch. If you want to chat about the episode, join our Discord!

In this episode, Max and Aaron talk about the original Dungeons & Dragons trio of booklets by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, published in 1974. RTFM is a roleplaying game book club podcast.

Other sources mentioned in this episode:

- Playing at the World by Jon Peterson

- Trying to Be Kind podcast

- OD&D's Implied Setting by Wayne Rossi

If you want to support the hosts, check out the RTMF Ko-Fi store for limited-run zines and merch. If you want to chat about the episode, join our Discord!

Max Lander and Aaron King do live game design at Exalted Funeral Con! By reading random excerpts from random RPG books (along with some audience participation), they put together an aquatic game of genetic manipulation and rebel resistance. And lots of juice and milk and ooze.

If you want to support the hosts, check out the RTMF Ko-Fi store for limited-run zines and merch. If you want to chat about the episode, join our Discord!

Music by will jobst. Sound effect attribution: FX128 by jalastram.

We're currently on hiatus, so here's a Patreon episode that ended up being a sort of prequel to our "Brain Power One" episode. It's about Tunnel Goons by Nate Treme at Highland Paranormal Society.

Thank you to our patrons for making this episode possible! We'll be back in a couple weeks with more content here and in the Patreon.

Also, Thomas Manuel invited us onto the Yes Indie'd podcast! We talked about criticism and reading in the RPG field. Go check it out!