Author: upturnedtable

Episode 76: Rogues: Black Marketeers

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“In the criminal Idle Red Hands system, Rogues will be separated into two separate yet equally important groups: the crimes and the people who commit them. These are their stories.”

The month of debuts gets another debut! This time, it’s Rogues, a look at criminals and the crimes they commit. We look at the proud noble tradition of deal dealers, gunrunners and pimps (and those guys that sold jeans and Beatles records in the Soviet Union). Believe it or not, we actually suggest how to play black marketeers. Chris tries to cheat by recommending a “black” marketeer who provides food to the starving, but Wayne and Lyal put a stop to that nonsense.

Episode 75: Locales: Ships

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The month of series debuts continues with Locales, a look at how to use different settings in your games. In this episode, we also look at ships, from submarines to starships (not the band, although Lyal does talk about the band), with the added bonus of how to use them as antagonists and protagonists.

Also, Chris talks about the virtues of booth babes, Wayne talks about the benefits of emphasizing the monotony in games, and Lyal talks about how drowning and suffocation aren’t so bad. Oh, and we had some opinions that weren’t completely wrong as well.

Episode 74: Magic: Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn

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With male strippers, Vancian magic and the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, this episode has something for everyone. It’s also the debut of our Magic series, which will examine real world examples of “magical” organizations and magic.

Plus: Another entry in our D&D Next Diary (yes, magic)

Episode 73: Campaign Confessions: Apocalypse World & Skype

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No one knows how it happened. To understand, you’d have to go back to a time before D&D Next or Monsterhearts. In a blaze of madness and surrounded by the hum of computers, we tried Apocalypse World. It was a world and there had been an apocalypse. I guess it was too much to ask for a more creative name.

In this episode, we talk about Apocalypse World. We played it over Skype, so we share our experiences with that as well.

Plus: Our next entry in our D&D Next Diary

Episode 72: Pantheon Pandemonium: Egypt

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A lion, crocodile and hippopotamus walks into a bar. Oh, did I mention that this is just one  demon?
In this addition to Pantheon Pandemonium, we look at the Egyptians. As you would expect, we don’t talk about pyramids and mummies barely get a mention. Instead, we discuss ma’at, ka, ba, the Book of the Dead, some hippopotamus-lion-crocodile demon, and gay marriage.

Plus: D&D Next Diary

Episode 71: Warriors: Stormtroopers

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“O la vittoria, o tutti accoppati.”
– Arditi motto
“We either win, or we all die, eh?”
– Canadian version (Often used by the Olympic hockey team)

In this installment of Warriors, we look at the original stormtroopers, the German Stosstruppen of World War I. But that’s not all! Download now and we’ll throw in the Italian Arditi. Wait! For a limited time, we’ll include the Canadian Expeditionary Force, arguably the even more original stormtroopers, with all listens of $0 or more. Beauty, eh?

Plus: Our first D&D Next Diary (DNDND) entry.

Episode 70: Friday Night Lights

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“Clear eyes. Full hearts. Can’t lose!”
– Dillon Panthers’ motto

It’s Sunday night, folks, and the Idle Red Hands are without one of their star players, Chris “Flesh Wall” Idle. They’ve faced this situation before, but they are also looking at a strict no spoiler policy with this episode. It’s going to be tough talking about one of the best TV series of all time without ruining storylines. I hear that Coach Taylor is going to have them discuss how to use certain key elements and characters types in your games. Are you ready for some football?

Episode 69: Sexism and Gender Bias

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In this episode, we discuss sexism and gender bias. To tackle a subject of such delicacy, we use Lego, as you would. We also discuss whether a gaming company can handle tentacle rape in a classy and tasteful way, especially when they don’t even try to.

Please excuse the unfortunate episode numbering. It was completely unintentional.

Episode 68: Apocalypse Part 2

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“Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.”
– Winston Churchill

Was Churchill talking about World War Two or a game of Axis and Allies?
With an apocalypse, the end is not really the end either. In fact, it’s where the fun really begins, if radiation sickness, starvation and sterility could be called “fun”.
In this episode, we talk about the post-apocalypse, including zombies, vampires, farmers, and Sam Gamgee’s second favourite topic.

Special Note: The Novel which Chris refers to, in which weapons are used to remove information from matter, is titled “The Gone-Away World” by Nick Harkaway.

Episode 67: Hasbro and Board Games

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***ATTENTION*** We interrupt the impending apocalypse to bring you the following  movie and game reviews:

Battleship (no spoilers)
1812: The Invasion of Canada
Discworld: Ankh-Morpork
Illuminati
Lords of Waterdeep
Neuroshima Hex
The Resistance
Wrath of Ashardalon