You laugh at them at the circus. You welcome them into your homes to entertain your children. You let them sell you hamburgers. But who are the men and women who hide behind the makeup. In this Creature Feature, we showcase clowning through history, and we discuss how you can play them as antagonists and protagonists in your role-playing games. And before you ask, “sexy clown” did not make the cut.

[embedyt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjG7h6YmfiI[/embedyt]

For a longer discussion on clowns listen to our podcast here.

“What are you going to do with those pies, boys?”
– second last words of Farmer Gene Green

“Aaaarrrrgh!”
– last words of Farmer Gene Green
Killer Klowns from Outer Space

Happy Halloween! You laugh at them at the circus. You welcome them into your homes to entertain your children. You let them sell you hamburgers. But in this Creature Feature, we look at the horror that is the clown. We discuss clowning through history and clowns in fiction. And while we can’t imagine why anyone would want to play them as protagonists, we share ideas on how you could.

Also check out our video on clowns here.

Still on the fence about getting into the latest edition of Warhammer 40K? Well, you’re in luck. We unbox Dark Imperium, the “ultimate” Warhammer 40,000 8th edition starter set. We also discuss the value of the set, the quality of the miniatures, and how to best approach getting into 40k if you are new to the hobby.

[embedyt]https://youtu.be/XERL1B7gw-g[/embedyt]

I’m gonna pop some tags,
Only got twenty dollars in my pocket.
I – I – I’m leaving, looking to come ba-ack.
The book was fifty dollars.
Game  Shop” – Idlemore & Red Lewis

In this episode, we discuss what makes a good game store, based on some observations we made during some recent trips to North America, and what could entice people away from online  retailers.

Game stores in your area:

Toronto
401 Games

Ottawa
Fandom II
The Comic Book Shoppe

Los Angeles
The War House

Philadelphia
Atomic City Comics

Schaumburg
Gamer’s World

The D&D image discussed in the introduction.

In our first episode of our third annual Month of Horror, we look at the Inquisition. Sodomy, bigamy, heresy, and witch, uh, sorcery; this episode has it all. We discuss how to play an inquisitor as an antagonist (easy) and how to play them as a protagonist (not so easy).

Special guest appearances by one of Lyal’s cats and some of his dishes. He has since been brought in for questioning on suspicion of witchcraft.

No guest stars this episode; we stick with the Holy Trinity of Lyal, Chris and Wayne. (Did you see what we did there?)

Rather than focus on specific faiths, myths and rituals in this episode, we look at how religion, in general, would impact your game setting. This includes the tendency to tie faith to power and the idea that “science is the new religion”. We also discuss whether it’s fair to spring setting and rule surprises on players.

We hope to revisit this topic in the future because it’s so big.

Although we talk about religion, we manage to not offend any world faiths. Chris does cost us our creationist listeners, however.

Everything you always wanted to know about pen-and-paper role-playing games but were afraid (or couldn’t be bothered) to ask.

The Idle Red Hands are blessed with some great friends who, despite having no clue about RPGs, listen to our podcast. One recommended that we record an episode that explains some of the basic concepts to help him follow along, so we did. This is for him and all those who have ever wondered why some people choose to spend their Saturday nights rolling dice.

If you’re an experienced gamer, have a listen to see if you agree with our descriptions, definitions, and recommendations.

To start a lifetime of adventure, download these free rules for GURPS 4th Edition from the good people at Steve Jackson Games (or visit your local army recruiting center).

Special note: We debut our new microphone this episode.

In part two of the D&D 4e Campaign Confessions, we talk about what we liked and didn’t like about Chris’ Red Hands campaign. Fight! Actually, not really. Chris just quietly takes the criticism. Wayne says it’s because Chris is so easygoing. Lyal says it’s because Chris is a time bomb. You be the judge.

We touch on the use of flashbacks, what makes for a good villain, and character death.

Yujiro and Tom join us again.