Roleplaying Games – Page 3 – Casting Shadows Podcast

Episode 41: On Taming a Lethal Conflict Inside Old and New School D&D (with Umbramancer)

Summary

Published: July 28, 2023

This episode has quite a title, doesn’t it? It’s not hyperbole, but you may have to check out Umbramancer’s series on YouTube for the complete picture from a D&D perspective. With luck, and your kindness, the parts in this episode will make sense.

SEGMENTS:

[1] an exploratory conversation about lethality as a feature versus story as a feature. Eloy Cintron, known on YouTube as Umbramancer, shares his practical application of all of my theory talk to D&D as we explore the metric by which he assessed my ideas on Layers of and Approaches to Play: Dungeon Crawl Mode vs Story Mode in Dungeons & Dragons.

[2] Calls for greater context from Jason Connerley and Che Webster

[3] How to get involved in the discussion

REFERENCES IN THIS EPISODE:

[1] People and Podcasts of the Internet: Roleplay Rescue Podcast and Blog, The Nerds RPG Variety Cast, Keep off the Borderlands, Random Screed

[2] The Elusive Shift: How Role-Playing Games Forged Their Identity (Game Histories) Jon Peterson

[3] Umbramancer YouTube Channel: https://youtube.com/@umbramancer5466

[4] Perspectives on Play by FreeThrall The Stochasium | Substack

[5] dungeon crawl mode versus story mode a video by @Umbramancer on YouTube

[6] #RPGaDay2023

NEXT EPISODE: It is time to talk about a lot of the varied “immersions”

Remember!

#RPGaDay2023 is on its way. Check the Autocratik blog by David Chapman or my Casting Shadows blog for all the details! Also, check out this fantastic warm-up contest by Nerd’s RPG Variety Cast as we wait for August to arrive!

CONTACT ME:

[1] ⁠Send a voice message to CastingShadowsPodcast (speakpipe.com)⁠

[2] Find me on Discord, Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube @Runeslinger

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Ubiquity Roleplaying Games Discord

Episode 40: On Framing Layers as Cakes, Practical Layers, and Lamenting Lacking Lexicons

Summary

Published: July 24, 2023

This episode is filled to the brim with words. With luck, and your kindness, those words will make sense.

SEGMENTS:

[1] The episode begins with the promised reply to Che Webster’s epic call-in from the previous episode (Exploring the Experience of Play). To hear that message in its entirety, please refer to that episode. It’s right at the beginning so you won’t have to search for it; just press play and relax. In this episode, a short and directly relevant section of his call is presented for context but that wee snippet o’ Che pales in comparison to the full expression of his ideas. Don’t cheat yourself. Go back and revel in the full message. The context of the tiny morsel of Che in this episode reveals the semantic nuance of Frames that were obvious to Che but not to me, and the understanding of switching costs in cognition when “multitasking” or alternating between two tasks – an idea upon which we are in full agreement: at least for certain tasks.

[2] We then move into what might be the meat or might be the side dish of this meal, practical examples of using understanding of layers to inform how we play.

[3] The last main segment of the episode is a recap of ideas I have expressed about a lexicon of useful terms, jargon, and techniques for roleplaying games.

REFERENCES IN THIS EPISODE:

[1] People and Podcasts of the Internet: Roleplay Rescue Podcast and Blog, The Nerds RPG Variety Cast, Keep off the Borderlands, Random Screed, Primaeval Fantasy

[2] On Switching Costs: ⁠Multitasking: Switching costs (apa.org)⁠ [3] ⁠The Elusive Shift: How Role-Playing Games Forged Their Identity (Game Histories)⁠⁠Jon Peterson⁠

[4] Umbramancer YouTube Channel: ⁠ Umbramancer – YouTube⁠

[5] Perspectives on Play by FreeThrall ⁠The Stochasium | Free Thrall | Substack⁠

[6] Shared Fantasy: Role Playing Games as Social Worlds

⁠⁠Gary Alan Fine⁠⁠

Promotional Blurb: This classic study still provides one of the most acute descriptions available of an often misunderstood subculture: that of fantasy role playing games like Dungeons & Dragons. Gary Alan Fine immerses himself in several different gaming systems, offering insightful details on the nature of the games and the patterns of interaction among players—as well as their reasons for playing.

[7] All for One: Regime Diabolique (Triple Ace Games, Musketeers face Supernatural Threats and Intrigue, Ubiquity) Actual Play Playlist

Solo Player Episode: Margot; An invisible experience of immersion

Original Version: https://www.youtube.com/live/mgcY3WTsPmE?feature=share
Annotated Version: https://youtu.be/oOqDmmTmFqo
IvanMike’s Commentary: https://youtu.be/sratz8EghLU
Runeslinger’s Commentary: https://youtu.be/s-egXZY5OQc

NEXT EPISODE:

The next episode will feature Eloy Cintron, known on YouTube as Umbramancer, who shares his practical application of all of this theory talk to D&D as we explore the metric by which he assessed my ideas on Layers of and Approaches to Play: Dungeon Crawl Mode vs Story Mode in Dungeons & Dragons.

Remember!

CONTACT ME:

[1] ⁠Send a voice message to CastingShadowsPodcast (speakpipe.com)⁠

[2] Find me on Discord, Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube @Runeslinger

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Send in a voice message via Speakpipe!

Ubiquity Roleplaying Games Discord

Episode 39: Exploring the Experience of Play with Roleplay Rescue

Summary

Published: July 22, 2023

Thanks to Che Webster for leaving the lavish sensorium that is Roleplay Rescue for a time to drift about in this cemetery of lost content. Yes, I jest. Visit the great stuff that Che is doing his enjoyable site.

We will respond directly to Che’s call at the start of the show in a later episode focused on those ideas. Have no fear! Visit Keep off the Borderlands, Random Screed, and the Nerd’s RPG Variety Cast for more segments and messages along these general lines!

RELEVANT LINKS FOR THIS EPISODE:

Che Webster’s site – Roleplay Rescue

Spencer’s podcast – Keep Off the Borderlands

Jason Connerley’s Podcast – Nerds RPG Variety Cast

Jason Hobbs’ Podcast – Random Screed

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Ubiquity Roleplaying Games Discord

Episode 38: On Layers and Conceptions of RPG Play

Summary

Published: July 15, 2023

This is another one of Runeslinger’s Reflections from the Road episodes, now replete and complete with rain and hydroplaning!

No Callers were hurt or drowned in the making of this episode. Thanks to Spencer/FreeThrall and Jason for their messages! Visit Keep off the Borderlands and the Nerd’s RPG Variety Cast for more of those fine gentlemen. References to Roleplay Rescue abound in this episode. Seek it out to learn why! You can interact on these and other gaming topics by sending a voice message via SpeakPipe or sending me a recording via e-mail or Discord. Contact me by e-mail at runescastshadows at gmail dot com

Ubiquity Roleplaying Games Discord

RELEVANT LINKS FOR THIS EPISODE:

Spencer’s podcast – Keep Off the Borderlands

Che Webster’s site – Roleplay Rescue

Jason Connerley’s Podcast – Nerds RPG Variety Cast

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Episode 37: On Real and Imagined Sand – RPG Sandboxes

Summary

Published: July 8, 2023

Blame it on the rain. Yeah. Yeah.

With listener calls to spice things up, this reflection from the road by Runeslinger delves into the seemingly forgotten history of why RPGs refer to sandbox play, how that is not on a spectrum with Railroading, and shows how Grimaud’s Crowbar teams up with Chekhov’s Gun, as the kilometers fly by~

Guest voices appearing in this episode were Jason Connerly of the Nerds RPG Variety Cast, and Joe Richter of the Hindsightless podcast. Reference was made to Che Webster’s Roleplay Rescue podcast and Jason Hobbs’ Random Screed podcast.

RELEVANT LINKS FOR THIS EPISODE:

For more on my corollary to Chekhov’s Gun obscurely titled Grimaud’s Crowbar please follow this link to my Casting Shadows blog: https://castingshadowsblog.com/2018/02/11/grimauds-crowbar/

You can interact on these and other gaming topics by sending a voice message via ⁠SpeakPipe⁠ or contact me by e-mail at runescastshadows at gmail dot com

Joe Richer’s podcast – Hindsightless

Che Webster’s blog – Roleplay Rescue

Jason Hobbs’ – Random Screed Podcast.

Jason Connerley’s Podcast – Nerds RPG Variety Cast

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Episode 36: On Editing Games, Morrow Project, Hobbs and Layers~

Summary

Published: June 28, 2023

Blame both Jasons, Connerley and Hobbs, for the different topics about the range of possible play experiences covered in this new season’s first reflection from the road.

You can interact on these and other gaming topics by sending a voice message via ⁠SpeakPipe⁠ or contact me by e-mail at runescastshadows at gmail dot com

RELEVANT LINKS FOR THIS EPISODE:

Levels of Play Episode from Jason Hobbs’ – Random Screed Podcast.

Jason Connerley’s Podcast – Nerds RPG Variety Cast

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Episode 33: On Play Experiences (Bonus)

Summary

Published: December 11, 2022

Using an example from the Halloween Cerebrevore episode, we briefly suggest some ideas about playing for character experience versus playing a role in a story~

Links mentioned in the episode:

Nerd’s RPG Variety Cast

⁠Cerebrevore: On Serious Horror RPG play

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Episode 31: On Temporal Techniques and Devouring Minds

Summary

Spinning off from an episode of the Cerebrevore Podcast on the topic of time travel in RPGs for which I was a panel guest, this episode looks at the notion of metagaming, player skill, and messing with the presentation of time – without resorting to brute force techniques such as the railroad or the quantum ogre.

Relevant Links:

Cerebrevore Podcast – Time Travel in RPGs Parts 1 to 4

1) Concepts of Time part 1

2) Concepts of Time part 2

3) Time Travel Methods in RPGs

4) RPG Time Travel Panel

Phantom Thoughts Podcast

1) Episode 9: Call-ins, Player Skill, Metagaming, System Mastery

2) Episode 10: Call-ins and more on Metagaming

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