In today’s Dungeon World session, I had a character retire to safety after reaching Level 10 and finishing the…
In today’s Dungeon World session, I had a character retire to safety after reaching Level 10 and finishing the campaign. This is the first time this has ever happened in the hundreds of sessions of DW I have run. In fact, only a tiny handful of player characters in my games have even made it to Level 9 (fewer than 5); most are killed or stop seeing play around Level 7. I am excited for the player in question who achieved this milestone (Fraser Simons) but I’ll tell you what: I threw everything I had at that character. I was determined to send him to the Black Gate before he could retire to safety, and almost did, but the sly use of a Fighter move by Maria Rivera forced a re-roll on the monster’s attack damage that saved his bacon. It was a very exciting moment.
Here is a link to Episode 07 of Monsterhearts: Return to Mercy Falls!
Here is a link to Episode 07 of Monsterhearts: Return to Mercy Falls!
If you haven’t started to listening to PSP yet, consider giving it a shot. The Mercy Falls saga is some of the best roleplaying I’ve ever been part of. The story is dark and engaging, and the play is wonderfully collaborative. The thing I like most about Mercy Falls is that it is actual play. PSP is real people playing real games really well. You can listen to what we’re doing on PSP and actually emulate that at your table.
Deadline for Favorite Game of 2017 Audio Submissions Approaching!
Deadline for Favorite Game of 2017 Audio Submissions Approaching!
The deadline to submit an audio clip for Favorite Game of 2017 is tomorrow night at 11:59 PM EDT. This is far and away the most popular episode of The Gauntlet Podcast we do all year. Thousands of people will hear it. Make sure the game you loved in 2017 gets all the recognition it deserves!
We would particularly love to hear from women in the community.
Here are the submission guidelines:
-MP3 format
-No more than 2 minutes in length
-Begin with “My name is X, and my favorite game of 2017 is…”
-Briefly explain why you chose that game.
You can use any criteria you wish in picking your favorite game. The game does not have to have been released in 2017. Also: you don’t have to choose a game system. You can pick a module, an adventure, a supplement, whatever, so long as it’s a text-based RPG product. (“Favorite Text-Based RPG Product of 2017” doesn’t have quite the same ring to it, you know).
Gauntlet Hangouts is an incredible success story. There are presently 183 sessions on the Gauntlet Hangouts calendar through February. I suspect that number will rise to 200+ within the next few days as we solidify January and keep adding to February.
Here is what we are playing:
Indie Scwharze Auge – Fiasko in der Binge (German language one-shot)
Apocalypse World: Fallen Empires West
Bedlam Hall (2 sessions)
Blades in the Dark: Dark Nights & Cold Steel (4 sessions)
The newest episode of Fear of a Black Dragon is here!
The newest episode of Fear of a Black Dragon is here! In this one, Tom McGrenery and I encounter magic and mendacity in Michael G. Barford’s The Lies of the Child Kingdom!
It seems like a really good day for Dreams, so let’s do some of those.
It seems like a really good day for Dreams, so let’s do some of those.
Dreams to Richard Rogers and Rach Shelkey for the awesome work they are doing on +1 Forward. They took a show that already had a winning formula and pivoted to make it even more fresh and winning. Not an easy thing to do.
Dreams to my partners on Fear of a Black Dragon, Tom McGrenery and Paul Edson. I think this show is really, really special. People are going to be discovering it years from now, and that’s something to be proud of.
Dreams to Lowell Francis for helping to make Gauntlet Hangouts an amazing place to game. I couldn’t ask for a better partner as we get ready to kick ass in 2018.
Dreams to the Codex folks, including Oli Jeffery and Claudia Cangini, but also many more. I’m still amazed at what we have been able to do these last 16 months.
Dreams to Kate Bullock, David LaFreniere and Fraser Simons, who just get it. I know that’s vague, but they know what I mean, and they know how important it is to me.
Dreams to some folks who care about the Gauntlet in a really deep and profound way, and whose work and enthusiasm are hugely beneficial to the community (and who constantly give me life, even if they don’t know it): Christo Meid Dylan Ross Shane Liebling Lauren McManamon Rob Abrazado and Gerrit Reininghaus.
Dreams to some of the Gauntlet’s rockstar GMs and the rockstar GMs-to-come: Michael X. Heiligenstein Tyler Lominack Michael G. Barford Donogh McCarthy Maria Rivera, David Rothfeder Jeremy Scott Kyle Thompson Lu Quade Pat Perkins Robert Ruthven Yoshi Creelman Josh Gary Tomer Gurantz
Dreams to some of the regular players at my table, whose creativity and passion inspire me every week: Jennifer Erixon Matthew Doughty Phillip Wessels
Something that really bugs me about the hobby is that the more popular you become and the more money you make, the…
Something that really bugs me about the hobby is that the more popular you become and the more money you make, the less people hold you to account for issues related to diversity. The Gauntlet is a frequent target for accusations of not being diverse, and this always bugs me because 1) if you do your research, you’ll learn that’s a wildly inaccurate charge and 2) we are not exactly rolling in it over here. Although we enjoy a moderately successful Patreon, it’s still barely enough to pay the bills (and we still manage to put more money in the pockets of queer and women creators every single month than outfits vastly larger than us). I’m not saying there aren’t things I want to improve about the Gauntlet vis-a-vis diversity, but people who make these charges aren’t usually seeing the full sweep of what we do.
On the other hand, I can rattle off twenty successful, mid-sized indie publishers whose work I otherwise greatly admire, but who have likely never hired a POC. How many games about women have been published in which not a single woman was consulted during their development? How many of the most popular Twitch personalities stream games every day that are entirely white dudes? These are folks who are simply not held to any kind of standard when it comes to diversity because they are popular. And you see this in the culture writ large: popular white guy never has to do shit with his money or time in order to improve things, but less popular, less wealthy queer/woman/POC is expected to change the entire fucking world.
Umm, also: If you’re a successful publisher, being on a panel is not enough. Posting supportive words on social media is not enough. Get out your spreadsheet and see how much money you put in the pockets of diverse creators. If the number is little to none, you’re part of the problem.
I’m not sure where this is going, except to say before you step to me regarding diversity, do your research. Also: look at your own circles and the people you elevate. There is a strong chance you’re being very hypocritical.
It’s that time of year again: we want to hear about your Favorite Game of 2017! If you want to participate, please submit an audio recording talking about your favorite game. Here are the requirements:
-MP3 format
-No more than 2 minutes in length
-Begin with “My name is X, and my favorite game of 2017 is…”
-Briefly explain why you chose that game.
-Deadline 12.15.17
You can use any criteria you wish in picking your favorite game. The game does not have to have been released in 2017. Also: you don’t have to choose a game system. You can pick a module, an adventure, a supplement, whatever, so long as it’s a text-based RPG product. (“Favorite Text-Based RPG Product of 2017” doesn’t have quite the same ring to it, you know).
