Coming up with a trio of games that could all be plausible one-shots would be challenging. I’d want to limit it to one-shots, because I wouldn’t want to spend more than three sessions on the experiment. It’d be nice to find a set some or all of us already knew, so we could focus on the play rather than the learning.

Andrew: I think we have a pretty full docket of games for the next JoD but grab us and we’ll talk Dreadamame. I’m dead serious.

Also, I love the APs.

We talk a lot about playing the right game for the type of story you want to tell. I’d love to see that put to the test with an AP Medley. Maybe play three sessions using a different game for each session, but keeping the characters and story continuous. It would be interesting to see if the sessions were different and in what ways they are different. Here are some proposed games/genres just to get people thinking. I tried to pick games I am fairly certain you guys have played or could pick up easily.

Supers game: 1) BASH, 2) Marvel RPG, 3) Godlike/WIld Talents
Horror game: 1) Call of Cthulhu, 2) Trail of Cthulhu, 3) Dread
Space opera game: 1) Lady Blackbird, 2) Bulldogs!, 3) Star Wars D6
Sci-Fi game: 1) Remember tomorrow, 2) Missspent Youth, 3) Freemarket

I’m sure this has been done somewhere else, but I don’t know where, and I’d like to see you guys pull it off.

Maybe this is a crazy thought and wouldn’t work at all. Either way, the APs have been great. Keep up the great work.

See if I give any of you a ride anywhere ever again. Rashum Frashum.

I did just google it, though, and we SORT OF figure that out in the next two sessions. That’s definitely the way to go in this game. Thanks for the direction, there.

Nick Cave & Warren Ellis
Zoe Keating
Adam Hurst
Blackfilm
The “Book of Eli” Soundtrack
A Winged Victory for the Sullen
and Vieo Abiungo

*scampers off to read Apocalypse World and listen to more Jank Cast episodes*

http://stores.lego.com/en-US/default.aspx#

Now go make with the cool robits.

The game that Fuzzy was talking about that you don’t interact with and stats go up is called Progress Quest and I used to be obsessed with it just because of how dumb/brilliant it was. I actually ran a guild in it for a while for some forgotten, but probably sad reason. Stats!

Sounds like you’ve got an awesome series going!

In the meantime I’ll edit the page so that there is location info, since there isn’t any right now. My ultimate goal is twofold: get people interested in games that aren’t D&D, and get together a group to play games that are not D&D so I don’t have to be the only one running them.

TL;DR warning!

First off, I realize not all these games are strictly “story” games, but they’re all non-traditional, which is what I wanted to expose people to.

We started with Lady Blackbird. I actually ran it twice because we had too many people show up the first day (!) I’d never run or played it before and only listened to one AP, but the thing everyone says – that it is completely different every time – is totally true. The first game was a bunch of action trying to escape from the Hand of Sorrow; the crew split in two, with Snargle and the women, in the Owl, rescuing the rest of the team from the bridge of the Hand of Sorrow by smashing the windows and airlifting them out. The second game started in Haven and was them trying to get the ship fixed and take off for Nightport and the Remnants – in that one, there was no Snargle and Lady Blackbird was an insufferable, snooty jerk; just as they were taking off (under fire from Imperial troops) she learned the “Fly” spell and jetted off without them.

The next game was Fiasco, with the Old West theme, and fun was had by all. I didn’t play because I was anticipating a second game starting later that evening with different players, but the people who were going to play had other engagements and I never got to participate (I really want to play a game of Fiasco). The game ended with two of the players going on an impromptu killing spree after a robbery plan to steal back some stolen money went awry (one shot the sheriff; the other shot the deputy for good measure).

After that, we pulled out Don’t Rest Your Head, which was epic, though it required me to step it up to pull it off convincingly in one session. The players were really good at giving me flags and suggestions for where they wanted their characters to end up, and I think I managed to hit them all. And there were a few scenes I cooked up that made the players actually gasp! Three of them survived, though one would have been better of if she hadn’t

I was going to run On Mighty Thews this last week but it was Spring Break and a couple of students who said they’d be around didn’t show. I want to play so badly that I’m bumping off one of the games I had scheduled – the rest of the spring is going to go Dread – Badass – On Mighty Thews – Mist-Robed Gate, then I’ll be running an Apocalypse World campaign this summer.

The web page is here, if any readers happen to be in southwest VA and want to swing by.

On F-List Internet Radio Host Appreciation Day, I am totally okay with being lavished with gifts and praise, even though being a F-List radio host is something I do anyway.

I’m not kidding about liking tulips, people.

Also, my favorite flowers are tulips.

Just saying.

The dark side of just playing your characters until they naturally get to the conflict is that you may never get there. The flatness of conflict-too-soon gets replaced with the flatness of conflict-never. In Zombie Cinema, the pressure of the zombie escalation can only lead to conflict if there’s a conflict to be had.

That said, if there’s a need for a judgement call on when to engage the mechanics, I’m still trying to figure that out. Lately I’ve been reading some advice along the lines of “Don’t play towards the conflict, just play your characters.” So even if the game demands that PC’s be in conflict with each other to move forward, what the players should really be doing is just playing out their characters desires and urges and when those naturally come to a conflict, throwing down. The suggestion seems to be that other systems than the direct conflict one will ramp up the tension in such a way as to force a reaction. For instance: in zombie cinema, it’s perfectly fine to have conflictless scenes, it just makes it more likely that everyone will be eaten. Eventually the stress that you might be eaten by zombies and nothing you are doing is stopping it from happening will get to the characters, and they’re likely to turn on each other.

Just a thought.

It’s a totally hard thing, though. It’s like the episode of Itchy and Scratchy where they bring in Poochie and Milhouse is going “WHEN ARE THEY GOING TO GET TO THE FIREWORKS FACTORY?!” Engaging the mechanic is the fireworks factory and all WANT to get there, so when we don’t, like Timo said, sometimes it doesn’t feel like we’re “playing the game.”

How do you suggest trying to get out of the trad mindset of “fiat” engagement? Or getting people not to rush to the conflict? Do you have any tips or tricks?

(Also, y’all made me realize that the one time we tried to play In a Wicked Age we were doing it completely wrong. Maybe we should get Zombie Cinema and practice on that a bit before I try it again.)

Kevin made a good point, I thought, when he said that a lot of gaming groups that worked for years are suddenly thrown into flux when someone discovers the new game that does what they want but not what someone else in the group wants.

The group I play with clicks very well, but we have had games which have thrown us off our rhythm, or thrown one or two of us off our rhythm.

Thanks for responding! The players are definitely important, but I definitely disagree about “The game stays the same.” Different games cater to different experiences, especially now that we’re seeing games that involve thoughtful design. As such, choosing the right game can make a huge difference. And especially when you’re talking about landmark experiences, either first game ever or first game with this group of players, choosing the right game can be a very important decision.

So yes.

Well said, Chris.

Phil, I gave Timo a ruffie before the cast.

We are also the 8th most listened to podcast by women. I attribute that mostly to me and my beautiful man-voice.

Having said that, I think we’re all just pretty psyched that we made that top 20 list at all, even at the very bottom. We tend to think of ourselves as fairly niche (how about “boutique?” Is there such a thing as a boutique podcast?) so to actually have ANYONE care about what we do is very cool and humbling to us.

I would also add that one thing the survey found is that podcasters have a large influence on what games people play and buy. As we say in our (new and shiny!) intro, we play a lot of games and we want other people to play them too. I really think of us as a delivery mechanism for getting games, including some under the radar games that deserve people’s attention, to people. If we help with that, I’m happy.

I mean… thanks man!

Onmyouza

Area51
http://youtu.be/hLuidYvXTow

Boris
http://youtu.be/emJmRpLRLdg

Blood Stain Child
http://youtu.be/2oi-8xl7uZs

Corrupted
http://youtu.be/zWJw7tsInY4

Dragon Guardian
http://youtu.be/BaKhYIWiNkY

Gaia Prelude
http://youtu.be/gtyyTaCwC_E

Gallhammer
http://youtu.be/Hnxu9x-k_eI

Knights of Round
http://youtu.be/GN3M3pPODaY

Hizaki Grace Project
http://youtu.be/BW1lfMGTbtA

Iron Attack!
http://youtu.be/b-Pj5SzcyYc

Sword of Justice
http://youtu.be/zj5vOR_t4JI

X Japan
http://youtu.be/_ovAk5avdzE

Versailles
http://youtu.be/FCJfhEWpoeM

Azrael
http://youtu.be/ogJB2dFO_9E

Greenmachine
http://youtu.be/b5NhiYzC7_o

Church of Misery

Jank is probably the best RPG podcast right now – as informative as the BGs plus a regular release schedule and awesome APs.

What I’m getting at is this: More people should be listening to the Jank Cast. Is there anything I can do to help evangelize? We gotta get the word out!

Either way, as I said, her pronunciation was the least of her problems.

But fine. If it means that much to you, I retract my condemnation of her alternate pronunciation. You have bested me, valiant defender. I yield.

Quinoa
Pronunciation: /ˈkiːnəʊə, kwɪˈnəʊə/

Maybe check a dictionary for alternate pronunciations before condemning people based on how they say certain words…

The biggest problem with foreshadowing, Chekhov’s gun, etc. is that they’re techniques for an artist to use on an audience. We want to feel that delight or dread when the details snap into focus and we suddenly know where the story is taking us. But in gaming, I want to be both artist and audience. I can’t purposefully surprise myself. All I can do is contribute to a creative foment that will allow me to accidently surprise myself, and be surprised by the other players.

I had a thought about Chekhov’s Gun: what about props? In a sense, Chekhov’s gun is precisely that: a prop on the stage. Being, as you know, a prop kinda guy, and having brought a gun as a prop the last time we gamed Dogs — and NOT firing it! — I was wondering to what extent bringing real objects to the table have an impact on your discussion. I guess I would say that my gun, at least in the service of Dogs and specifically that last session with Brother Joshua, did sort of act for me at least as a kind of “character magnet.” What I think I mean by that is that the object itself had something fundamental to do with the character, allegorically speaking. So the gun might have represented Joshua’s potential for internal combustibility, for instance. The object itself, when turned either on someone — whether an enemy or oneself — also offers up more dimensions to Joshua: I found myself asking, “is he the kind of character to shoot himself in the head?” Dogs in general is a good game to bring up in terms of Chekhov’s guns for obvious reasons. We all carry our own very special gun, but also hat, coat, etc. But when I brought my real gun to the table, how did its physical presence make it more like Chekhov’s gun?

Circles, as Todd pointed out, really make it a better place to talk about specific (and quasi-private) subjects than similar venues. I’ve got my Gamers circle, of course. And circles for all the various RPGs I’m involved in, too. I’ve got a circle for the people who tend to come to our nightly hangouts, and one for Chicago people, and one for all the people I play Team Fortress 2 and other Steam games with. I’ve got and Atrocity Tourists circle for when I want to share horrible Internet treasures with the kind of people who appreciate such things. I’ve got a circle for folks who enjoy bad movies. Inevitably, there’s a huge amount of overlap in these groups (Oh, man, wouldn’t it be rad if G+ could generate a Venn diagram of your circles?), but the distinctions are extremely useful.

But, yeah, almost my whole range of friends is extremely Internet, so it’s a perfect fit for me.