Episode 29 of The Gauntlet Podcast is out today!

Episode 29 of The Gauntlet Podcast is out today!

Episode 29 of The Gauntlet Podcast is out today! This one is pretty terrific (with thanks to Richard Rogers  for taking over editing duties this week). Here’s a breakdown:

Games We Have Been Playing

The Dresden Files FAE

Dungeon World

Lacuna Pt. 1 by Jared Sorenson 

Masks by Brendan Conway 

Monster of the Week by Michael Sands 

Urban Shadows by Andrew Medeiros 

Soth  by Steve Hickey 

Main Topic – Some Introductory Story Games (and the Lessons They Teach)

Primetime Adventures by Matt Wilson 

Apocalypse World by Vincent Baker 

Microscope by Ben Robbins 

Archipelago III by Matthijs Holter 

InSpectres by Jared Sorensen 

Community Feedback

An interesting discussion sparked by comments from Davide Pignedoli  and Ryan Ó Laoithe 

http://gauntletpodcast.libsyn.com/episode-29

34 thoughts on “Episode 29 of The Gauntlet Podcast is out today!”

  5. Also, we don’t think there is an official link or anything for CheapCon, but I’m tagging steven watkins and Lisa Kueter in case anyone is interested and wants to get in touch with them. 

  6. Also, we don’t think there is an official link or anything for CheapCon, but I’m tagging steven watkins and Lisa Kueter in case anyone is interested and wants to get in touch with them. 

  7. Mark, thanks for the feedback. I did try to reduce the interstitial sound after feedback from Dan and Jason and I thought it was ok. The stinger at the end, I ran that through a compressor to level the sound there, but I probably should have dropped that level some more.

    I’m sorry to have made your ears bleed!

  8. Mark, thanks for the feedback. I did try to reduce the interstitial sound after feedback from Dan and Jason and I thought it was ok. The stinger at the end, I ran that through a compressor to level the sound there, but I probably should have dropped that level some more.

    I’m sorry to have made your ears bleed!

  9. Here’s another game that I would add to the list of games that exist but probably should not be played. I find it fascinating that the thing exists in the first place and I would also never be able to play it myself.

    It’s called Pie Shop. You play a serial killer. You think like a serial killer and play out that killers actions in game. I would hope it serves up a dose of revulsion at the thought of playing it.

    http://www.peregrine.madasafish.com/pieshop/

  10. Here’s another game that I would add to the list of games that exist but probably should not be played. I find it fascinating that the thing exists in the first place and I would also never be able to play it myself.

    It’s called Pie Shop. You play a serial killer. You think like a serial killer and play out that killers actions in game. I would hope it serves up a dose of revulsion at the thought of playing it.

    http://www.peregrine.madasafish.com/pieshop/

  15. Thank you for mentioning how good Urban Shadows is at describing a PvP process. I’m going to have to check that out. And thanks for taking Soth for a spin: that was great feedback.

    I can lay out some of the lessons I’ve learned about running PvP combat in Soth, here. You also made me think about an option which might reduce the load on the GM: I’ll put that at the end.

    So, PvP:

    I like to start off by telling the players that if their cultists die then they’ll either play a new main character or you’ll invite them to play some of the investigators and other townsfolk. I phrase it that way, because I want to preserve the surprise of what could happen after the third ritual. 

    The important thing with PvP is to keep everything above board. Throughout a conflict, I tend to explain my thought process for why I’m making the judgments that I’m making. I’ve found players are fine about their characters being disadvantaged or hurt, if the reasoning behind it is clear.

    When you’re orchestrating a round of attacks in Soth, you’re a little bit like a director of a film.

    After getting everyone’s declarations of what they’re doing, I use the conflict diagrams in the Optional Rules section. That gives us all a clear and shared understanding of what’s happening. We can see who’s targeting who right now. I’d just draw them out quickly (one diagram for each round of attack).

    The diagrams act like a freeze-frame just before everything goes to hell.

    Then you establish the order of actions. After you’ve asked if anyone’s seizing the initiative, you evaluate the order of actions based on capability, positioning, resources, momentum and health.

    Most of these will be pretty clear to everybody. Capability can be a bit tricky, though.

    By this point in the game, you should have a good feel for the capabilities of the characters: who’s generally more competent, faster, stronger. Who has a stronger will to survive. … So, when making your evaluations, you can back these up by describing specific examples of what the cultists have done in the previous session.

    It’s pretty important to remember that the cultists’ actions don’t occur simultaneously. As they act, the people further down the list will find the situation and their options will change. Again, players  are usually pretty comfortable with this if you clearly lay out how the changed situation has limited or reduced their options.

    (In some ways, to be successful in PvP combat in Soth, you need to be as sneaky and smart as you would be in planning a murder or deceiving someone.)

     

    It’s these sorts of PvP conflicts where I find it invaluable to imagine myself as an engaged audience member watching a thriller and judging the plausibility of what the characters are doing. That really helps me distance myself so that I’m not an antagonistic GM; I just want it to feel ‘right’: plausible, lethal, and as messy or real as the situation demands.

    I hope that helps for the next session. Happy to expand on anything I’ve expressed unclearly, or if that advice isn’t addressing your concerns.

    And great comments about the number of options the GM has to remember. They triggered a thought. I think Soth would play find if you added this rule: the GM can have the investigators take any action they want. However, the GM needs to find the option in the Suspicion menu that most closely matches the magnitude of what the investigators have just done. The GM spends an amount of Suspicion equal to that option. [That’s a first-draft of that rule: hopefully it’s clear.]

  16. Thank you for mentioning how good Urban Shadows is at describing a PvP process. I’m going to have to check that out. And thanks for taking Soth for a spin: that was great feedback.

    I can lay out some of the lessons I’ve learned about running PvP combat in Soth, here. You also made me think about an option which might reduce the load on the GM: I’ll put that at the end.

    So, PvP:

    I like to start off by telling the players that if their cultists die then they’ll either play a new main character or you’ll invite them to play some of the investigators and other townsfolk. I phrase it that way, because I want to preserve the surprise of what could happen after the third ritual. 

    The important thing with PvP is to keep everything above board. Throughout a conflict, I tend to explain my thought process for why I’m making the judgments that I’m making. I’ve found players are fine about their characters being disadvantaged or hurt, if the reasoning behind it is clear.

    When you’re orchestrating a round of attacks in Soth, you’re a little bit like a director of a film.

    After getting everyone’s declarations of what they’re doing, I use the conflict diagrams in the Optional Rules section. That gives us all a clear and shared understanding of what’s happening. We can see who’s targeting who right now. I’d just draw them out quickly (one diagram for each round of attack).

    The diagrams act like a freeze-frame just before everything goes to hell.

    Then you establish the order of actions. After you’ve asked if anyone’s seizing the initiative, you evaluate the order of actions based on capability, positioning, resources, momentum and health.

    Most of these will be pretty clear to everybody. Capability can be a bit tricky, though.

    By this point in the game, you should have a good feel for the capabilities of the characters: who’s generally more competent, faster, stronger. Who has a stronger will to survive. … So, when making your evaluations, you can back these up by describing specific examples of what the cultists have done in the previous session.

    It’s pretty important to remember that the cultists’ actions don’t occur simultaneously. As they act, the people further down the list will find the situation and their options will change. Again, players  are usually pretty comfortable with this if you clearly lay out how the changed situation has limited or reduced their options.

    (In some ways, to be successful in PvP combat in Soth, you need to be as sneaky and smart as you would be in planning a murder or deceiving someone.)

     

    It’s these sorts of PvP conflicts where I find it invaluable to imagine myself as an engaged audience member watching a thriller and judging the plausibility of what the characters are doing. That really helps me distance myself so that I’m not an antagonistic GM; I just want it to feel ‘right’: plausible, lethal, and as messy or real as the situation demands.

    I hope that helps for the next session. Happy to expand on anything I’ve expressed unclearly, or if that advice isn’t addressing your concerns.

    And great comments about the number of options the GM has to remember. They triggered a thought. I think Soth would play find if you added this rule: the GM can have the investigators take any action they want. However, the GM needs to find the option in the Suspicion menu that most closely matches the magnitude of what the investigators have just done. The GM spends an amount of Suspicion equal to that option. [That’s a first-draft of that rule: hopefully it’s clear.]

  17. Steve Hickey Thanks for taking the time to share that feedback! I’ll let Daniel Lewis chime-in about the GM-related stuff, but for my part, I really enjoyed reading the Soth text. It really grabbed me from the get-go. The Coen brothers-style noir vibe really shines through. It was also some of the most fun RP I’ve done in awhile. The Masks of Sanity rule is great fun in play. 

    We have one more session, which means we’ll discuss it one more time on the podcast (on the episode that releases 10.30.15; next Friday is an interview with the Notorious ECB). I’ll tag you so you can listen in and see how we did. 

  18. Steve Hickey Thanks for taking the time to share that feedback! I’ll let Daniel Lewis chime-in about the GM-related stuff, but for my part, I really enjoyed reading the Soth text. It really grabbed me from the get-go. The Coen brothers-style noir vibe really shines through. It was also some of the most fun RP I’ve done in awhile. The Masks of Sanity rule is great fun in play. 

    We have one more session, which means we’ll discuss it one more time on the podcast (on the episode that releases 10.30.15; next Friday is an interview with the Notorious ECB). I’ll tag you so you can listen in and see how we did. 

  19. Thanks. It’s a great podcast, btw. And it’s fun to see how closely your current play tracks to what I’ve been into recently:

    – I played my first game of Dungeon World two nights ago and thought it was a perfectly designed engine of fun

    – I’ve been considering running games of Dresden FAE and Lacuna

    – Masks is getting some serious play here in New Zealand (Magpie Games are doing great work: Cartel is amazing)

    Look forward to hearing how it turns out.

  20. Thanks. It’s a great podcast, btw. And it’s fun to see how closely your current play tracks to what I’ve been into recently:

    – I played my first game of Dungeon World two nights ago and thought it was a perfectly designed engine of fun

    – I’ve been considering running games of Dresden FAE and Lacuna

    – Masks is getting some serious play here in New Zealand (Magpie Games are doing great work: Cartel is amazing)

    Look forward to hearing how it turns out.

  25. My game to instruct people is Primetime Adventures. It’s one of my favorites. The mechanic is screen presence. Screen presence says “in this episode, I matter more than you and you matter more than her.” As Richard Rogers pointed out, people tried to cram fan mail into every game and it usually didn’t work. The converse here: almost no one has picked up on this innovation in PTA, and it’s a damned shame.

  26. My game to instruct people is Primetime Adventures. It’s one of my favorites. The mechanic is screen presence. Screen presence says “in this episode, I matter more than you and you matter more than her.” As Richard Rogers pointed out, people tried to cram fan mail into every game and it usually didn’t work. The converse here: almost no one has picked up on this innovation in PTA, and it’s a damned shame.

  29. Also I’m shocked to hear the idea that the Forge and indie RPGs in general were focused more on theory than actual play. The culture I was familiar with from 2005 onward has been fiercely focused on AP.

  30. Also I’m shocked to hear the idea that the Forge and indie RPGs in general were focused more on theory than actual play. The culture I was familiar with from 2005 onward has been fiercely focused on AP.

  31. You’re far more knowledgeable about it than I, Robert Bohl. My brief exposure to The Forge was to read through an intimidating glossary and look over a number of discussions over terms about the things we do when we play games. It was way over my head and I ducked out quickly.

  32. You’re far more knowledgeable about it than I, Robert Bohl. My brief exposure to The Forge was to read through an intimidating glossary and look over a number of discussions over terms about the things we do when we play games. It was way over my head and I ducked out quickly.

  33. Richard Rogers My experience was much the same. I came late to the party (around the time Ron was winding it down), and said to myself “It looks like they figured it all out; let’s just go play some games.” 

  34. Richard Rogers My experience was much the same. I came late to the party (around the time Ron was winding it down), and said to myself “It looks like they figured it all out; let’s just go play some games.” 

Comments are closed.