Also check out our shorter video discussion of robots in TTRPGs on our YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/c/idleredhands

Robots, androids, replicants. They are called by many names and have a variety of origins and motivations. How can they best be used in your TTRPGs? Find out in our discussion about using robots in your tabletop campaigns, both as antagonists and protagonists. For additional inspiration, we also give you a list of possible campaign ideas (thank you, GURPS!).

In the tradition of our Creature Features, we watched the 1980 scifi film Saturn 3, starring Kirk Douglas, Harvey Keitel, and Farrah Fawcett. It includes some interesting examples of how to use a robot as an RPG character, even if it failed in its use of the robot as a movie character.

“Akeyo offers moi a kazi. Tres facile, she says. Cho lucrative, she says. Faces always lie. Tatemae, hombre. Allez, my brain says. OK, my boca says. Weil she with Sergei. His gun is ookii. His ‘tude is zverskiy. Samurai always punish. Sergei no hablo Angelo. He hablo Gewalt.
The paise is gooood. The crew is prooo. The kazi is faciiile. In and out, bra. You win, bra.
But the street don’t lie: THE SYSTEM ALWAYS WINS!”

– Neff Jacks, hardboi runner

In this episode, we present a list of questions that define cyberpunk. If a game, book, or movie checks these boxes, it’s cyberpunk. If not, sorry, bra. Is Shadowrun cyberpunk? Is The Matrix? Listen for the definitive answers.

A return of a classic series: Creature Features!

In this installment, we talk about golems, the unstoppable clay (Wait, clay?) automatons, and similar constructs. Listen to find out how you can create a homunculus using porn and a horse uterus or a Seto Taisho through sheer laziness. We also discuss It!, the 1967 horror classic that shows how innocent we once were about the dangers of nuclear weapons and the durability of clay.

“You know, the only thing that matters is the ending. It’s the most important part of the story.”
—Mort, Secret Window

So, why leave it up to your players? Kidding.

In this Waynelss episode, Chris and Lyal discuss the different types of endings you can have in your game. This episode seems better than usual for some reason. We can’t figure it out, though.

What’s the first thing you think of when you hear the word “slavery”? “Fun”? “Engaging”? No? Well, after this episode you just might. Probably not, though.

Plus: The Lord of the Rings: The Untold Story