Saving the Game

This is it, folks: the last episode of Saving the Game. In this one, we explain why we're shutting down the podcast, answer our remaining Patreon questions, thank people who helped us along the way, and reminisce a bit. We wanted closure for all of our listeners - and ourselves - and hopefully this episode provides it.

An Important Note: This is the second-to-last episode of Saving the Game. Our last episode will release in two weeks and will be a "goodbye" episode. More details in the episode itself and a full-breakdown in the next one. This is the second part of the Prep/Improv two-parter we brainstormed during a Patreon question. We start out with the news above and a breakdown of how Christmas went, and then get to our Patreon question for this week, which comes to us from Richard Lorenz who asks: "Which Bible verse/passage/teaching have you seen misused or mangled the most?" As you might expect, we have a bit of a field day with that one, but also move on relatively quickly because we have an interesting topic: GM improv! We stress a lot that improv is a learned skill rather than an inborn talent and discuss some various ways to develop that skill. We also devote some time (as you'd expect) to specific techniques and maintaining the proper mindset. Mentioned in this episode: International Dialects of English Archive, Solo Improv Practice, From Rewatch With Love, Melina Pendulum, HBomberGuy, The Artisan Geek   Scripture: Exodus 4:10-12, Proverbs 3:6, James 1:5

This week we have another installment in Grant's reading of the sermons of the Reverend Bob Lawrence. If you haven't heard the previous entries, this one, like the others, is an imagined slice of life from someone adjacent to the Christmas story. Rev. Lawrence was quite the storyteller, and there is a reason these sermons have become a tradition for us. Scripture: Isaiah 42:1-9, Luke 2:21-35

This episode marks the first of the two episodes we came up with based on a Patreon Question back in episode 189 - we're talking about GM Prep. We check in as usual and then - perhaps ironically, perhaps appropriately for an episode that we came up with while answering another Patreon question - we are completely blindsided by the question from Aaron Arnold who asks "Have you seen Silence by Martin Scorcese or Mother! and how did you feel about how they explore the faith?" SPOILER: This quickly becomes a game of "how do we answer a question about media that none of us have seen?" We do get some interesting discussion out of that, if maybe not quite what Aaron was hoping for, and then move on to our scripture and main topic. That main topic is kind of a general analysis and breakdown of our respective GMing styles, plus a collection of advice we've built up over the course of our gaming careers. We have different approaches to GM prep, although we all agree that it probably shouldn't be anywhere near as daunting as some folks think. We also spend a fair bit of time throughout the discussion ruminating on how running games via virtual tabletops and in-person groups differ. Resources: /r/battlemaps, Token Stamp, Episode 144: Hacking Published Adventures Scripture: Proverbs 16:9, Luke 14:28-30, James 4:13-15

It's a thing that often happens in games but seldom gets much detailed thought put into it: the PCs decide to go off and find something mundane to do like shopping or fishing. We start the episode off with the usual check-in and then move on to our Patreon question where Alex Huggett asks: "How many games do you have on the go? How often do you play?" As you might expect, we're fairly active roleplayers, so there's a fair bit to say there. After reading our scripture, we dive into the main topic, and as it turns out, all three of us approached it from a completely different perspective. Grant and Jenny focused more on the reasons why players would want to do such a thing in the first place and its utility from a narrative perspective, while Peter was more about practical advice for making it interesting. All in all, it added up to a fun and in-depth discussion. Scripture: Ecclesiastes 5:18, Matthew 25:34-40, Hebrews 2:10-17

We're back with our 4th-quarter episode selected by our Patreon backers and it's definitely kind of an "old-school" episode by our standards where we take a specifically-biblical theme and unpack and discuss it. This time, we're ruminating on the topic of Eden and all of the themes of paradise, fall, and "first-ness" that come with it. The episode starts with a quick acknowledgement that 2020 remains stressful at this current juncture, but move pretty quickly into a great Patreon question from Tom Stephens who asks "What is the strangest/weirdest/most difficult game mechanic you've ever had to deal with in game?" Given all of our varied game histories, that generates some fun and interesting discussion to warm us up for our scripture and then our main topic of Eden which went to some very interesting places. We discuss the Biblical Eden and some tropes and themes that tie back to it, but also "Eden Worlds" as seen in sci-fi and some other fun digressions. Mentioned in this episode: Jewish Fairy Tales and Legends, by Gertrude Landa, Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars books (and a podcast to go with them), the SCP Foundation Wiki, Scripture: Genesis 2: 8-9, Isaiah 51:3, Ezekiel 28:13-15, Revelation 22:1-5

This week's episode is something a little bit different: we did an online panel on spooky elements at the tail end of SAFe 2020, sort of a sum-up of our "spooky fall" series with some general advice. It turned out well enough that we have decided to pull the audio and provide that as our episode this week. This will be a bit less-produced than you're used to with us, but should still be plenty listenable.If you'd rather watch the video instead, that can be found here: https://youtu.be/R54vwpRo39A

As October continues, so does our "Spooky Fall" lineup of horror and horror-adjacent topics. This time, we're talking about "creepy crawlies" - the vermin and pests from snakes to spiders to locusts that can cause problems far bigger than their apparent size. We start off as usual with a host check-in, but we really haven't had much going on lately. Well, except for Jenny, who had a very topic-appropriate nuisance to contend with. Our Patreon topic this week comes from Mike F who puts us on the horns (or perhaps in the fangs?) of a dilemma by asking "Would you rather spend two weeks in quarantine with a goblin raised by wolves, a wolf raised by goblins, or two children under three?" Once we've sorted that out, it's time to talk about rodents, and bugs, and snakes, and arachnids, and all the other various and sundry small things that can cause big problems and be used to signify various spooky things in our games and story telling. But sometimes these things we think of as gross aren't quite so unequivocally bad. Rats can sniff out landmines, and peacock spiders can be straight-up adorable. There's also a lot of interesting science and culture around insects out there. Massive ant wars and the unnerving world of parasitic wasps, just to name two examples. And of course, there's plenty of potential story uses as well. Scripture: Exodus 10:13-15, Psalm 78:45-46, Revelation 9:7-11 Other links: Animal trials, Japanese entomology culture

Spooky fall continues with creative collaboration episode! We start with a check-in and some news - we can now be found on the Pray.com app and Faithcasts.com, should either of those strike your fancy. We all had fairly decent weeks leading up to recording, and kick off with a discussion that rapidly leads into "what have you been reading?" Our Patreon Question this week comes from Aaron Arnold, who asks "What's your view on how today's culture affects the way you game with strangers? If at all." That question, as you might imagine, sparks a nice, meaty discussion. From there, we read our scripture and launch into a rare creative collaboration with all three hosts - this time putting our heads together to build a haunted house. But not just any haunted house. A haunted mcmansion smart house. Yeah, we went for it. Buckle up folks, our imaginations were firing on all cylinders this time! Scripture: Leviticus 26:27-35, Isaiah 13: 19-22, John 1:5, John 8:12 Mentioned in this episode: Fortnight Frights, McMansion Hell

  We've decided that a fun way to carve some enjoyment out of this uncooperative year is to do a general spooky topics roundup and so we've got another one for you this week.   We start off with some exciting news: Jenny has done a fashion walk and Peter is on the general design team for En Publishing's Level Up project. We start off with our impressions of the idea of WotC's new D&D-themed Magic: the Gathering set (coming early next year) and then get into our individual news. We also basically decide on the mics to do a "spoopy fall," so look forward to more monster and horror themed episodes in the near-term.   From there we read our rather minimal scripture (werewolves are not at ALL Biblical) and then launch into our topic. Werewolves may not have any scriptural basis, but boy howdy is there a boatload of mythology, folklore, and popular fiction about them. This one ran almost as long as our alignment wrap-up and probably could have gone longer.   Scripture: Genesis 49:27, John 10:11-16   Supplemental media: While it wasn't mentioned in the episode, if you're looking for a good piece of werewolf media both Jenny and Peter can vouch for, take a look at Sang-Froid: Tales of Werewolves. It's currently free(!) on Steam, but wasn't always, and was worth paying for back when it was for sale for actual money. The game hits a lot of the same themes we talk about in this episode.  

  If you like our longer episodes, you're in for a treat with this one. We had a lot to say this time, and the fact that we recorded this one in two different sections due to some connection issues probably also contributed to the overall length.   We start off as we usually do, checking in and introducing our guest, who in this case is one of our earliest listeners, Douglas Underhill. We've answered a bunch of Doug's Patreo questions in the past and he's been a friend of the show for years, so it was great to finally get him on the mics.   Our Patreon question this week comes from David Pflug, who asks: "What's the most hopeful thing you've encountered this week?" From there as usual, read our scripture and launch into our topic which is a mix of final thoughts and stuff we can't believe we missed the first time around. Opinions about alignment vary pretty widely among the four of us, so that also makes a decent discussion, and we even got into a lengthy aside about how we'd fix D&D along the way.Mentioned in this episode: Part 1 of System Mastery's Critique of D&D, How to be Anti-Racist, Peter's "Articulated Thoughts" blog post, Peter's Virtue/trait-based alignment system, Letter From a Birmingham Jail, Information about Save Against FearSome of Doug's Work: the Parsec RPG, Iron Pax, Charts of Darkness, Hoard of House Rules   Scripture: Daniel 3:14-18, Micah 6:8, Matthew 9:13, James 1:27  

Though we've done an episode on undeath in general, we figured that ghosts deserved an episode of their own, since they occupy a somewhat unique role in fiction. We start the episode off with a check-in as usual and... last Monday and the days leading up to it were rough, folks. The equipment issues have been dealt with, but yeah. Not great. Understandably not wanting to linger on that for too long, we launched into our Patreon topic from Douglas Underhill who asks "What is your favorite band/musician? Least favorite musical genre?" From there, we read our scripture, including the story of Saul and the witch of En-Dor from 1 Samuel, one of the longer pieces of scripture we've had on the podcast. And then, as is our wont, we launched into our main topic. Ghosts, as it turns out, are really a poor monster, but that doesn't mean they can't do a lot for your games is used well! We dug into the tropes and powers around ghosts, their usefulness as puzzles and mystery elements, and even a bit of the theology of them. Mentioned in this Episode: Shawn James: The Curse of the Fold, Fortune and Strife Scripture: 1 Samuel 28: 1-21, Job 14:7-12, Isaiah 8:19, Mathew 14: 22-27, Matthew 27:51-54

With Grant out due to illness and a host of technical issues (that have thankfully since been mostly resolved) besetting us, we opted for a bonus episode this week. This episode is specifically focusing on adding some additional texture to the religious life of a Karkovian barony for a future game Peter would like to run. As this was a bonus episode, there's no Patreon question, so we went straight from intro to scripture and then into brainstorming, where we discussed, among other things, a secret porpoise grave. Scripture: Proverbs 27:17, 1 Peter 4:10

This week's episode is the second-quarter Patreon topic (a little late). We've referenced cosmic horror a number of times throughout our run, but never in this kind of depth. As is usual, we spend a bit of time catching up and then move into our Patreon question, supplied this time by Paige Lowe who asks "If you had an unlimited budget to buy one thing for your game, what would it be?" Just wait until you hear what Grant offers as his answer for that one. With that bit of shock and awe out of the way, we move into our main topic, and boy howdy, is this one ever a doozy. This turned out to be the longest episode we've recorded so far in 2020, and we needed every minute of it. If you like the episodes where we go deep, you'll find this one especially enjoyable. There was a lot to talk about, including subgenres of cosmic horror, using it as a main course vs. a seasoning, adding it to other genres, and of course, the intersection with faith.   Mentioned in this Episode: Harlem Unbound, Rapture: The End of Days, Jeff VanderMeer, Episode 145: Roleplaying Mental Illnesses, Get Out, GURPS Horror (4th ed), GURPS Alternate Earths 1 & 2, GURPS Monsters, Permanent Record   Scripture: Exodus 33:17-23, Job 40: 1-7, Ezekiel 1:4-14, Revelation 13:1-3

Not feeling well and not being able to get to the internet robbed us of Jenny this week. However, despite that lack, this was a great episode because we had an awesome guest host! Paranoia writer WJ MacGuffin joined us to talk about incorporating real-world faiths into our gaming. We started off the episode with a quick general check-in and let WJ introduce himself and his work, talking a bit about what we've been reading in the process. From there, we fielded out Patreon question, which came to us via John and Ginny Swann, who asked "Your recent series on D&D alignments got me to thinking. I know you aren't huge fans of the Palladium system but what are your thoughts on their alignment system?" Fortunately, while we did have a bit to say about Palladium's alignment system, the presence of a guest kept us from creating a new multi-part series. From there, we read our scripture and dove into our rather meaty main topic. The main topic was just what it said on the tin - and there's a lot to think about with regards to incorporating a real-world faith into one's game - whether that's as a writer, a player, or a GM. Sensitivity, accuracy, and still keeping it gameable are all very real concerns. Mentioned in this Episode: Project Infinite Hole on Kickstarter, the Paranoia RPG, Raising White Kids: Bringing Up Children in a Racially Unjust America, Dennis E. Taylor's Bobiverse novels, Letter From a Birmingham Jail, Holey Moley, The Innocence Files, and Jelle's Marble Runs Scripture: Exodus 20: 1-3, John 13: 34-35, James 1:26-27

Well folks, this is it - the last of the 3x3 grid of alignments, and arguably the worst of the worst. We start off with an announcement that mirrors our recent blog post. TL;DR: we're going to be a little freer talking about politics. That does not mean partisanship or campaigning, but we're going to touch some issues from time to time. The Patreon question this week comes from Douglas Underhill, who asks "What's your biggest pet peeve for players? GMs/DMs?" As you can imagine, we have a bit of fun with that, and then it's time to read our scripture and dig into the awful and talk about chaotic evil. As with the previous evil alignments, we break down what the alignment means in practical terms and also hit some specific villainous archetypes to help GMs get the most out of this particular villainous mindset. Scripture: 1 Kings 18:25-29, Isaiah 13: 17-18, Hebrews 11: 36-38

A quick note: our two-week lead time can sometimes mean that a lot happens between when we record an episode and when we release it. On may 25th, four officers of the Minneapolis, MN police department killed George Floyd, an unarmed black man. On May 28th, we recorded this episode as Mr. Floyd's death was just entering the zeitgeist. Since then, the US, and to a lesser extent, the entire world, has erupted in protests over the outrage of that killing and countless others like it. We took advantage of the off-week schedule of the blog to put up a statement, but while there are some promising early signs of systemic change occurring, the struggle for equality and justice for POC in the United States is far from over. In this episode, we're joined by Krissi Woodward - Grant's wife and a core member of our Saturday night gaming group. We start off with our usual banter and then move relatively quickly into our Patreon question from David Hastings who asks "What book on your shelf have you been telling yourself you'll get around to reading for *years* now?" As you can imagine, that turns into a bit of a thing (see our list of shame below in the "mentioned in this episode" list) but we do eventually get around to our main topic: the Chaotic Neutral alignment. Krissi plays a fair number of CN characters and has a lot of solid advice about how to do so in an enjoyable and non-disruptive manner. Mentioned in this episode: Peter's Multiclass Feats article for En5ider, Numberphile, The Cuckoo's Egg, Plagues and Peoples, Role-Playing Game Studies, Jonathan Strand & Mr. Norrell, Secret Agents Four Scripture: Ecclesiastes 9:11, Zephaniah 1:8-12, Matthew 6:19-21

In this episode we're joined by none other than Elizabeth Garn of Christ and Pop Culture. (Elizabeth has written some great articles about faith and gaming and she should be on your radar if she wasn't already!)We start off the episode with the usual check-in, which includes this time that Grant is running his seven-year-old daughter through Lost Mines of Phandelver and she is apparently killing it. Our guest question this time comes from Douglas Underhill who asks "Who is your favorite post-biblical Christian figure and why? How about one ancient and one modern?" Once we're done chewing on that, we wade into the topic of the day, Chaotic Good. Elizabeth provides an excellent conversational foil for the rest of us and a really fun, interesting, and productive discussion comes from it. Along the way, we talk about why Robin Hood might not be quite as textbook of an example of Chaotic Good as many might thing, referencing OSP's analysis of the legend along the way. Scripture: Proverbs 14:31, Isaiah 61:1, Matthew 21:12-13, Luke 11: 46-53

This week we have more unstructured, conversational episode for you. Grant and Peter realized back in episode 173 that we'd like to talk about when players know what the GM is planning, but as we talked about the upcoming episode, we all realized that what we had was more of a discussion and a collection of observations than a collection of structured advice. We start with the usual check-in, which has Peter and Grant both craving classic genre fiction and Jenny the Goblin Queen a bit under the weather. We then move into our Patreon question this week , which comes from Tom Stephens, who asks " (as someone who just got a MLS degree recently myself - finished in 2016, this one's for Jenny with a generalized version for the others): What was your most and least favorite class from your library degree program. For the others, what was the most and least favorite class from any training you've had recently or even going back to college? " From there, we launch into a loose collection of advice and observations that comprise the central topic. More than usual, we can see multiple sides of this and talk about when it's useful for the players to know more, when it's not, why you might or might not want to hand out more information in your games, the considerations of various genres, and so on. Mentioned in this episode: Star Power Scripture: Psalm 33:10-11, Proverbs 16:3, Matthew 6:25-34

Grant, Peter and Jenny are joined by Jason Brick, veteran freelance writer in the TTRPG industry (and several others besides!). We kick off with a little chatter and swiftly move into our Patreon question from Joseph Linardon who asks " What would be your dream job?" Answering that takes significantly less time than you'd expect, and after some quick scripture we're on to our main topic, which is basically taking advantage of Jason generous spirit and wide expertise about freelancing by getting him to do a brain dump. Among his many writing hats, Jason is one of the authors of Random Encounters, which is a resource that Peter has really enjoyed having on his shelf, as well as numerous other projects. Lots of good, practical advice in this one.Scripture: Proverbs 14:23, Matthew 5:9, Matthew 20:1-7, James 4:13-16