Podcasts by Tales From the Hydian Way
All episodes
301- The Impossible Tale from 2022-06-13T03:45:49
I’m calling this episode impossible because I never expected it to come out. Here I talk with Adam of Force Majeure and Leslie of Heroes/Tales about kickstarters and what gets us to look at other t...
Listen
300 – The Tales Tale from 2020-06-01T03:45:36
We look back at what has happened in the last 300 episodes and some of the lessons we’ve learned, what is happening on The Hydian Way, and where our hearts will take us. Things discussed in this ep...
Listen
299 – The Mindset Tale from 2020-05-25T03:45:22
We had two Heroes and two denizen the Force Majeure podcast on to talk about what they put into developing characters for a short and long time, including how far ahead they make it, as well as wha...
Listen
298 – The Rise of the Republic Tale from 2020-05-18T03:45:22
We have Kristine and Adam on to talk about the fun to be had with Rise of the Separatists and Collapse of the Republic. We go in depth on the new careers and how they can mold your campaigns in new...
Listen
297 – The Revenge of the Sith Tale from 2020-05-11T03:45:35
With three others Ben dives into the end of the prequel trilogy and comes up with several ideas and complications for campaigns and settings in some very novel ways. Things discussed in this episod...
Listen
296 – The Heroic Build Tail from 2020-05-04T03:45:14
Brandon and Wren come to talk about how their characters were built and grew over the season 2 of the Heroes of the Hydian Way, from taking a universal specialization to start with, to getting almo...
Listen
295 – The Attack of the Clones Tale from 2020-04-27T03:45:49
With a band of merry co-hosts we look at the middle movie of the prequel trilogy, the highs, the lows, the car theft. We have fun and come up with some interesting ideas for our own tables Things t...
Listen
294 – The New Wren Tale from 2020-04-20T03:45:42
Wren joins us to talk about their introduction to the Narrative Dice system, as well as their experiences in joining a podcast. How the dice shapes their outlook and how to choose a character that ...
Listen
293 – The 30 Years In Between Tale from 2020-04-13T03:45:50
Between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens there is a new galaxy for our adventures, we have Kristine on to talk about this era and man of the plot hooks that jump to mind when talking about ...
Listen
292 – The Perspective Change Tale from 2020-04-06T03:45:55
We have Kristine on to talk about several of the outlooks that change when moving to a Force and Destiny game in Star Wars RPG, and how that perspective shift colors everything else in the players ...
Listen
291 – The Conflict Tale from 2020-03-30T03:45:08
With a special guest we talk about using conflict in the Force and Destiny system and how it can both help and hurt a campaign idea if it’s not discussed ahead of time. Things talked about in this ...
Listen
290 – The Low XP Force Tale from 2020-03-23T03:45:59
We discuss the ways that starting force powers are deceptively powerful, as well as how to make sure that players at your table are not getting frustrated by starting experiences with a force user....
Listen
289 – The Prologue Tale from 2020-03-16T03:45:17
This episode has us talking about the tiny adventure before the big adventure so we all can get comfortable with our characters. From pilots to prologues we talk about how to set your own expectati...
Listen
288 – The Reason for Violence Tale from 2020-03-09T03:45:21
We bring Brandon on board as a guest to help talk about encounters and adventures looking to resolve without violence, from how to frame an encounter to ideas to discuss the topic at the start of t...
Listen
287 – The Mutant Tail from 2020-03-02T04:45:26
We decided to use the Expanded Setting Sheet and create our own setting. What came out was an empowering setting filled with fanciful technology of medical heights. With mutations in the world and ...
Listen
286 – The Vehicle Encounter Tale from 2020-02-24T04:45:46
We talk about using vehicles in your encounters and what happens when you do finally give the pilot an episode focused around them. From ideas on what others can do, to ways of structuring the enco...
Listen
285 – The Expanded Players Guide from 2020-02-17T04:45:26
Our look into the Expanded Players Guide continues with a look into themes, magic, and some of the cool ideas we have about how to bring this to the table. From helping new players learn the system...
Listen
284 – The Expanded Players Tale from 2020-02-10T04:45:11
We take a look at the Expanded Players Guide from Fantasy Flight Games and give our thoughts on this new book for Genesys. From the depths of a post apocalyptic future to the high Gothic of old sch...
Listen
283 – The Phantom Menace Tale from 2020-02-03T04:45:24
We find the tales in The Phantom Menace that we think would be amazing adventures from podracing to the heights of Courscant intrigue. Things we talk about in the episode: Master and Apprentice Que...
Listen
282 – The Mandalorian Tale from 2020-01-27T04:45:32
To talk about The Mandalorian we brought on Brandon from Heroes and Chris Ing. We have a fair bit of fun looking at the surface of the show, some of the themes and some of the very generic ways tha...
Listen
281 – The Follow On Tale from 2020-01-20T04:45:24
Preparing to improvise is one of the trickier things to happen. We talk about some of how players can twist how we change things because how our players act and expect to make a much more engaging ...
Listen
280 – The Rise of Skywalker Tale Pt 2 from 2020-01-13T04:45:47
We’re all back to talk about the force and redemption in the Rise of Skywalker. The ways that it can feel fulfilling to us and the ways that show an understanding. Things talked about in this show:...
Listen
279- The Rise of Skywalker Tale PT 1 from 2020-01-06T04:45:42
There was a movie that came out recently that had a crawl and was a Star Wars movie. This is part one of our discussion about the movie, the choices made, and a few thoughts of what we thought woul...
Listen
278 – The Specialized Tale from 2019-12-30T04:45
A discussion about how to prepare players for a campaign launches us into talking about how you communicate ahead of time about a general topic, what specializations are allowed, and how to adjust ...
Listen
277 – The Return of the Jedi from 2019-12-23T04:45:13
We look to the first ending of a trilogy in Star Wars, from murder bears to the ending of galactic crime lords we have ideas on where we can put stories that coincide and are inspired by the Return...
Listen
276 – The Recap Tale from 2019-12-16T04:45:17
Getting going again at the start of a new session can be torturous, echoing our favourite hotshot pilot of who talks first. We have ideas on how to keep notes on what comes next and how to start of...
Listen
275 – Into the Fire Tale from 2019-12-09T04:45:17
Taking on deeper topics at the table can be a great way of working through your feelings as a group, but it can be intimidating. We have ideas on how to do it at the table without scaring your play...
Listen
274 – The Disruption Tale from 2019-12-02T04:45:21
It can only mean one thing, invasion. We were emailed a question about a player using the crafting mechanics at the table, from there we expanded the scope into talking about disruptive players and...
Listen
273 – The House Rule Tale from 2019-11-25T04:45
When Ben is looking for help coming up with tag team rules for a fight in a game he turns to Rissa for advice and a second set of eyes. We then take a look at a few of our own house rules that we’v...
Listen
272 – The Saber Tale from 2019-11-18T04:45
We were given a prompt on our discord server, and got talking about using sabers and the force in Star Wars adventures and how to make getting a lightsaber into something momentous for the characte...
Listen
271 – The Empire Strikes Back Tale from 2019-11-11T04:45:46
Rissa and Ben take a look at The Empire Strikes Back to see what stories that they get inspired to tell by the movie and little corners that create new avenues for adventures for you to use. Things...
Listen
270 – A Tale of Building from 2019-11-04T04:45:26
We talk of setting and communicating difficulty to not overpower your characters, and to make sure that your players understand the difficulties that are presented to them. From a single patrol to ...
Listen
269 – The Lawless Tale from 2019-10-28T03:45:16
Law enforcement through out the galaxy has different textures that your players can feel. We start off talking about what to do with players who seem to be a law unto their own, not paying Stormtro...
Listen
268 – The Side Quest Tale from 2019-10-21T03:45
We talk about making obligation and character side quests simple and and achievable along side the main plots. From keeping the ideas contained, to getting the players involved we have ideas on how...
Listen
267 – The New Hope Tale from 2019-10-14T03:45:02
We start our series on taking inspiration from the Star Wars movies and seeing what stories we want to tell in the cracks, and what giant plots and galaxy changing things we see as coming from the ...
Listen
266 – The Expensive Tale from 2019-10-07T03:45:59
We talk about the stages of an adventuring party, from the poverty of starting to gaining the experience and equipment to be awesome. Ideas about how to handle the frustrations and lack of equipmen...
Listen
265 – The Consequences Tale from 2019-09-30T03:45:23
There are times when players seem to not recognize when their actions should have consequences for their characters. We give advice on how to tie their actions explicitly back to the character acti...
Listen
264 – Tales of the Early Years from 2019-09-23T03:45:59
Every GM will have issues they have to overcome, there isn’t a set path to learning and being good at it. Rissa and Ben have had to learn along the way from their own mistakes. We share some of the...
Listen
263 – The Structured Tale from 2019-09-16T03:45
We started to talk about how to build in the flexibility to deal with your players improvising at the table in the scenes you’re creating. Plus how to shape the fun in a way to not curtail the play...
Listen
262 – The Tale of Vergences from 2019-09-09T03:45:59
Adam from Force Majure asked about vergences and how to use them to guide the story and adventure. We have several ideas on how to make things even more out there for Star Wars and how we’re able t...
Listen
261 – The Three Plot Tale from 2019-09-02T03:45:46
We go back to the list of RPG plots and gain ideas for you and us to use. From a fish out of water, to diplomacy, and racing in between we have ideas on engaging plots and some nifty places to find...
Listen
260 – Setting The Hook Tale from 2019-08-26T03:45:30
We talk about story hooks and trying to set the ones you as a GM want, while still being okay with the changes your players will inadvertently want. Growing beyond the plots we have and maturing in...
Listen
259 – A Blockade Run Tale from 2019-08-19T03:45:15
Rissa was posed a question about how to get players to run blockades, we both have ideas and advice on how to make the seemingly impossible into challenges your players won’t balk to see. Things we...
Listen
258 – A Tale of Two NPCs from 2019-08-12T03:45:49
For Heroes Act 2 Ben needed advice on how to do an important characters voice without doing an accent. Rissa has experience with making new voices and showing off different personalities for charac...
Listen
257 – The Shepard’s Tale from 2019-08-05T03:45:17
Ben had a question for Rissa, how do you guide the players without taking their agency away from them? How do you get the players to choose to do something that will be cool, but they have no idea ...
Listen
256 – The Android Tale from 2019-07-29T03:45:07
In part 2 of our Android review we talk careers, the construction of the book, the favor economy, and hacking. We loved the setup and found that it sparked each of our imaginations in making us wan...
Listen
255 – The Beanstalk Tale from 2019-07-21T15:45:27
A little while back Shadow of the Beanstalk launched from FFG, we decided to do a review episode about it and even brought in noted cyberpunkfile David Pickering. We talk about the lore and why the...
Listen
254 – The Edge to Age Tale from 2019-07-15T03:45:33
Players grow and some want to move from the Edge of the Empire style of scum and villainy and a shade of grey for every action to something more obvious of good and bad. We have ideas on how to sug...
Listen
253 – The End of Thursday Tale from 2019-07-08T03:45:17
Ben’s Thursday night campaign is coming to an end, but he’s unsure how he should do it. Rissa has several helpful ideas on how to bring it in for an end in a satisfying fashion. Things talked about...
Listen
252 – The Failing Up Tale from 2019-07-01T03:45:36
After a session or two when your players are having no luck with the dice it can be so disheartening, and which can lead to player resentment. We talk about how to deal with failure after failure i...
Listen
251 – The Tale of Destiny from 2019-06-24T03:45:57
We get talking about the Destiny pool and how to keep it in play and moving between sides. From using it as a GM intrusion to an adventure to upgrading rolls and so many places in between You can f...
Listen
250 – The GM Experience from 2019-06-17T03:45:42
We have David and Leslie on to talk about our methods of preparation, what we find needed, and how to encourage a new GM into running a second campaign. Things we talked about in the episode: Fiasc...
Listen
249 – The Period Tale from 2019-06-10T03:45:23
Playing in the Old Republic Era has no stats behind it, nor does the Sequel Era. We have ideas on how to still use the system to tell amazing tales and not worry about the mechanics behind everythi...
Listen
248 – The Composition Tale from 2019-06-03T03:45:19
Translating the inspiration for a campaign into what the players hear and see is hard. We have a few ideas on how to take that comncept that evoked your desire to run the adventure into what your p...
Listen
247 – The Rumble Tale from 2019-05-27T03:45:44
An episode of Heroes makes Ben wonder about different ways of presenting encounters to the players. Rissa and Ben have some ideas on how to make sure that the players weapons aren’t always the firs...
Listen
246 – The Player Pet Tale from 2019-05-20T03:45:29
Recounting a few missteps in our own history we have a few ideas on how to make the pets of a player matter to the game and to the players in ways that aren’t always obvious. References for the sho...
Listen
245 – The Growing Threat Tale from 2019-05-13T03:45:53
We said it was going to be a series, and we’re starting it. Threat is a tricky thing to use since it’s very easy to undervalue it, we have ideas on how to make it more vibrant and how to not try to...
Listen
244 – The New Advantage Tale from 2019-05-06T03:45:17
We start our discussion about the extra mechanics in the FFG narrative system with advantage, as we start talking about the scale of what makes one advantage a small boost versus making three or fo...
Listen
243 – The Indecisive Tale from 2019-04-29T03:45:31
We talk about methods of how you as a player and a GM can move a disagreement at the table between characters and players along to some form of resolution, with a few examples from our own tables. ...
Listen
242- The Unexpected Tale from 2019-04-22T11:40:12
Surprises can be an amazing thing, and we have a few ideas on how to turn a cliff hanger into something that the players will never expect. From fantastic settings to NPCs that will haunt your play...
Listen
241 – The Conflicted Party Tale from 2019-04-15T03:45:40
An explosion of discussion happens in this episode about using the conflict mechanic as two GMs talk about their strategy for completely integrating the mechanic into their adventures and sessions....
Listen
240 – The Momentum Tale from 2019-04-08T03:45:36
We talk about how to end a scene and how to keep narrative momentum up when interest feels like it’s flagging. From adventure starts and getting that spur into adventure to the pacing when your pla...
Listen
239 – The Narrative Tale from 2019-04-01T03:45:51
We talk about getting your players to narrate their actions more, from beginners who have never played an RPG before, to dungeon crawlers, to GMs who are there to relax. Things talked about in the ...
Listen
238 – The Explosive Character Tale from 2019-03-25T03:45:12
Ben and Rissa watched a live stream of Star Wars the RPG and things happened, over the top things, things that made us want to talk about it. Here we are talking about what happens when a group tha...
Listen
237 – The Starting Character Tale from 2019-03-18T03:45:44
A longtime patron got in touch with us about something that was on their mind and we thought it would make a good episode. This is talking about what do you give characters to start with and how do...
Listen
236 – The Force Majeure Tale from 2019-03-11T03:45:39
We have Adam Beltane on from the Force Majeure Podcast to talk about their experience with running their games, how they prepare, and how they got into the fun of Star Wars Roleplaying Things we ta...
Listen
235 – The Escort Tale from 2019-03-04T04:45:37
We looked to a list of RPG plots and figured out many ways of making them work, from escorting NPCs to transporting items, to what happens when you find a ghost ship? Things discussed in this episo...
Listen
234 The Variable Party Tale from 2019-02-25T04:45:18
We talk about the need of theatrics at the table and how and why the need grows the less you know the players at the table as well as how it can become harder to do at the table. We referenced in t...
Listen
The Trope Tale from 2019-02-18T04:45:31
Tropes get brought up quite a bit, we’ve heard it so much, from how a scene is hollow because there isn’t anything else attached to the trope to how some tropes repeated enough can be harmful to yo...
Listen
The Writers Block Tale from 2019-02-11T04:45:29
Rissa ran into writers block and we go through a few ways of inspiration while doing a very good method of talking out what lead to the indecision. Talked about in this episode The Single Shot Tale...
Listen
The Clue Path Tale from 2019-02-04T04:45:54
We talk with Leslie from Heroes and get questions about how to make sure your adventures don’t hit dead walls when giving players paths forward, especially with setting scenes and making sure that ...
Listen
The Branded Tale from 2019-01-28T04:45:11
I got watching the Bumblebee trailer and then wouldn’t stop talking about it, so Rissa and I got talking about how to bring our more favorite franchises into being used in Genesys and Star Wars. Th...
Listen
The Environmental Tale from 2019-01-21T04:45:32
We look at environments and how to make them matter to your players who have taken talents and species that would make use of them. We also talk about how to lead the way in getting the most use ou...
Listen
The Social Tale from 2019-01-14T04:45:25
We’re back and talking social skills, how we use them, how the intent of the rolls are a good indication of how they should be adjudicated, and how two skills can be used for the same roll Things t...
Listen
The Single Shot Tale from 2019-01-07T04:45:28
Thinking about the one shots we’ve run, and how we’ve gone into preparing the adventures. We look at two vastly different styles of creating an experience for our players. Things we talked about in...
Listen
The Road Ahead Tale from 2018-12-31T04:45:18
We talk about what 2018 has brought to the show and where we’re planning to take Heroes and Tales in the next year. Things we talked about in the show: Tales from the Loop Jeff Romo The Glass Dagge...
Listen
The Charming Combat Tale from 2018-12-24T04:45:51
We talk about how big can one social check be in a combat action, especially one that has gone on quite long. From there we talk about types of actions that are easier to adjudicate and give some f...
Listen
The Present Player Tale from 2018-12-17T04:45:06
People aren’t always paying attention and can be distracted by a great many things, we talk about when it starts impacting their participation at the table as well as others. Thing talked about in ...
Listen
The Adding a Player Tale from 2018-12-10T04:45:02
We look at the difficulties in adding a new player and their character in the middle of an ongoing campaign and making it as seamless and as rewarding as possible. Thing we talked about in the show...
Listen
The Secret Society Tale from 2018-12-03T04:45:25
Secret societies show up in more places than we’d normally think. They are a very valuable story telling tool and we explore them in a fashion that makes them easier to use. Things talked about in ...
Listen
The Group of Individuals Tale from 2018-11-26T04:45
We talk about a topic from the discord regarding mixed groups and how to make it feel that everyone is in the story, instead of just given simple tasks to do. From magic users and Genesys to how to...
Listen
The In Character Tale from 2018-11-12T04:45:58
From policing what or why your character would act a certain way to figuring out ways to make sure your split party compartmentalizes we have ideas on how to get your players and characters to iden...
Listen
The Plotting Tale from 2018-11-05T04:45:27
Your players do weird things and will deal with situations out of the order in your head. We talk about some of our experiences with players going left when we’d have expected them to go right, and...
Listen
The Going into Business Tale from 2018-10-29T03:45:15
Ben has players that through paying attention to all the little throw away ideas he had have found enough parts to go into business for themselves as an arms manufacturer. This boggled his mind, so...
Listen
The Player Guidance Tale from 2018-10-22T03:45:34
Sometimes players get analysis paralysis and it gets frustrating for both the GM and the players alike. We have a few strategies to lessen the effect of it at the start of a session when the last s...
Listen
The Backstory Tale from 2018-10-15T03:45:07
Ben is joined by Heroes Kristine and Leslie to talk about character backstory and motivations. From informing the characters actions to providing hooks for the Game Master to propel the story along...
Listen
The Lost in Space Tale from 2018-10-08T03:45:37
We talk about challenges we’ve had as GMs to get players engaged with the stories we’re trying to tell and some of the solutions we’ve had for when the players actively try to derail your plot. Thi...
Listen
The Murder Mystery Tale from 2018-10-01T03:45:50
Rissa and Ben set out to talk a little about making careers in Genesys, that idea was a red herring apparently as they fall into the trap of making a whole murder mystery one shot for you to use. T...
Listen
The Forgotten Skill Tale from 2018-09-24T03:45:16
From discipline to astrogation many skills are forgotten by the whole table. We talk about several ways to make them more valuable for you and your players. Things talked about in this episode: Vap...
Listen
The Player Choice Tale from 2018-09-17T03:45:03
This week we start with a Minotaur stepping on the gas and it gets weirder from there. We talk about how you can plan for players being unpredictable and how you can recover from them doing somethi...
Listen
The Expanding Narrative Tale from 2018-09-10T03:45:16
Ben and Rissa talk about bringing meaning to your scenes and items. From making the blaster your gambler is carrying mean something extra to the framing of a dead body at the start of an adventure....
Listen
The Driven Tale from 2018-09-03T03:45:29
Ben and Rissa talk about the differences in approach that character driven and plot driven campaigns can take and are generated for your players. Things talked about in this episode Buffy The Vampi...
Listen
The Traditional Tale from 2018-08-27T03:45:13
We start talking about the different sorts of force traditions there are from the Gand Findsmen to the Dathomiri Witches and try to come up with ways to make it matter in your game. Things we talke...
Listen
The Character Finding Tale from 2018-08-20T03:45:12
We talk about finding the stories that specializations want to tell and learning to find the ones that are there and not always forcing our own onto the career and specializations. Things talked ab...
Listen
The Cheese Wheel Tale from 2018-08-13T03:45:01
Ben, Rissa, and Leslie were talking about the absolute cheese that is in Star Wars and related products, how it’s baked into the essence of it, and discuss many ways to add it in and vectors to add...
Listen
The Player Mayhem Tale from 2018-08-06T03:45:46
We talk about the players who shoot first and may remember to ask questions after they’ve looted the bodies. We get ideas on how to make the experience broader with them and how to try and how to m...
Listen
The Investigation Tale from 2018-07-30T03:45:49
Ben is getting ready to run Mask of the Pirate Queen, Rissa runs a bunch of investigation and mysteries for her players. Rissa gives insights from her many adventures and what has worked and what h...
Listen
The One Shot Tale from 2018-07-23T03:45:51
This week we’re excited to welcome James D’amato from the One Shot Network to talk about improvisation and some strategies to make it easier at the game table when players throw you for a loop. Thi...
Listen
The Captured Character Tale from 2018-07-16T03:45:30
A scenario that’s always hard to setup is getting player characters captured. We talk about how to make it more intuitive for the characters to be captured, how to deal with a near total party kill...
Listen
The Thisspiasian Tale from 2018-07-09T03:45:39
We started to talk about playing different species for your games and how to make it matter for your players. From how NPCs interact to how to set expectations at the table Things talked about in t...
Listen
The Closing Tale from 2018-07-02T03:45:43
Episode 200, you’d think we’d talk about something profound. We talk about one of the most profound things you can actually do for your campaign. How to end it. Three hosts talk about the different...
Listen
The Challenging Player Tale from 2018-06-25T03:45:44
The topic of difficult players came up in discussion in the Tales twitter DMs. This brought up the different sorts of ways players and GMs can not see eye to eye on ideas and drew us to this episod...
Listen
The Gambler Tale from 2018-06-18T03:45:10
We were asked about a particular build for a character, it raised a bit of a flag for us and all hosts decided we should talk about specializations that require a bit more work by those around the ...
Listen
The Han Tale from 2018-06-11T03:45:56
We have a huge group to talk about Solo: A Star Wars Story and share our perspectives. To a person we liked the movie, but we also are the sort who can look at it and see what could be done better...
Listen
The Difficulty Tale from 2018-06-04T03:45:16
Communicating difficulty in an encounter is trickier than just giving out a number of dice. The players need to know before hand how to set their expectations. We discuss how and a few things that ...
Listen
Into The Character Tale from 2018-05-28T03:45:21
We talk about how to inhabit a character and create a perspective to separate two characters in a scene. We also touch on ways of acting to make a character unique in your play group as a player Th...
Listen
The Module Tale from 2018-05-21T03:45:09
Ben and Rissa discuss running a module and some of the pitfalls that can emerge from trying to follow too close to the text as written. Things talked about in this episode: Beyond the Rim Friends l...
Listen
The Steam Setting Tale from 2018-05-14T03:45:19
We created a steampunk setting in Genesys and look to different ideas that could come from the location we’ve created in Firemouth Outpost. Things talked about in this episode: Heroes of the Hydian...
Listen
The Genesys Vehicle Tale from 2018-05-07T03:45:58
Ben Rissa and David talk about vehicles in Genesys and how they’re different from Star Wars while trying to remember all the rules for both systems. Things talked about in this episode: Sea of Thie...
Listen
The Rissa Tale from 2018-04-29T15:45:38
No, we haven’t gone full Star Trek. We’re bringing on a new host and we’re interviewing her in this episode to give our listeners an idea of her style and some of the things she’s bringing to the t...
Listen
The Starting Player Tale from 2018-04-23T03:45:57
Ben and Marcus talk about some of the mechanics involved with starting characters and why somethings are more important than others at low XP amounts. Things talked about in this episode: Old Man L...
Listen
The Tale Vs Darkside from 2018-04-16T03:45:05
Ben has Marcus on to talk about his Force and Destiny podcast he creates with his kids and the lessons that can be learned from there. So much of the advice can be well used for bringing in any new...
Listen
The Tools Tale from 2018-04-09T03:45:25
Ben and David talk about preparation tools for GMs and players as well as communication and character creation. Things talked about in this episode: Adversary Cards OneNote Obsidian Portal Band Gam...
Listen
The Surprised GM Tale from 2018-03-26T03:45:27
Kristine and Ben talk about what they do when the players surprise them and leave them wondering what to do next. Things we talked about on the show: Weik Deadspace Stay on Target Mouseguard Hitchh...
Listen
The Backgrounder Tale from 2018-03-19T03:45:08
We talk about some of the ideas and issues of starting a player character and how much background is too much, as well as how much is not near enough. Things talked about in this episode: Angel – X...
Listen
The Villainous Tale from 2018-03-12T03:45:51
Ben and David talk about villains and how to present them to your players as fallible beings who can be defeated. Things talked about in this episode Horus Heresy Bruce Banner The Joker Injustice D...
Listen
The Absent Player Tale from 2018-03-05T04:45:48
We’ve all had players missing a game or having to leave the game, Kristine and Ben talk about how to make the blow softer and strategies to make it more fun for you and your group. Things talked ab...
Listen
The Genesys Tale from 2018-02-26T04:45:41
Ben and Kristine discuss with David what we’ve taken away from the Genesys core book and some of the interesting tidbits we are looking forward to for the system. Things talked about in this episod...
Listen
The Deep Force Tale from 2018-02-19T04:45:40
Ben has Chris Ing from Silhouette Zero and Heroes on to talk about the force and some of the deeper things you can look at when using the force in your games. From what is light and dark, to the di...
Listen
The Everything is Terrain Tale from 2018-02-12T04:45:38
We talk about space combat and a few issues that can come up as well as a few unintended consequences of putting mechanics before narrative. Things talked about in this episode: Serrano Legacy Seri...
Listen
The Low Resource Tale from 2018-02-05T04:45:57
We talk about how to run an adventure with few player resources and how to make it so player ingenuity is welcome when you take their toys away. From survival to horror to investigations we talk ab...
Listen
The Fail Tale from 2018-01-29T04:45:22
We talk about failure in your game and how to make it feel like that isn’t the end of the action or the story. We show how there is always effects after an action even if they aren’t the desired on...
Listen
The Allied NPC Tale from 2018-01-22T04:45:17
This week we talk about NPCs why some get elevated, how to deal with the mechanics for those that do get elevated, and why some people make full PCs for an NPC. Things talked about in this episode:...
Listen
The Last Jedi Tale from 2018-01-15T04:45:42
We talk about themes in The Last Jedi and several of the things we ponder about the story, from using bombers to why using force face time would be useful in an RPG setting. Things talked about in ...
Listen
The Way to End Tale from 2018-01-08T04:45:46
We talk about how to end a session and a scene. With tips and examples of dramatic situations to leave your players in, the hosts have some deep thoughts about coming to that brick wall. Things tal...
Listen
The Behind the Scenes Tale from 2018-01-01T04:45:59
Kristine and Ben talk about the ways that you can use the in between session times to make your games better and keep engagement going when you have ideas that just need to get out. Things we talke...
Listen
The Split Party Tale from 2017-12-25T04:45:09
Splitting the party can be treacherous for a GM, from boring other players to finding there’s just too much going on to keep track of. We have ideas on making it make more sense and a few tricks on...
Listen
The Failed Crafting Check Tale from 2017-12-18T04:45:24
We talk of how to make a failed crafting check mean something, what comes from not making something, and how to make it become a part of the story. Things discussed in this episode: Stranger Things...
Listen
Finding the Destroyer Tale from 2017-12-04T04:45:45
This is Kristine and Ben talking about the ‘hunt the Bismark’ campaign Ben did and ways to bring out the things that Ben had in his head for it at the table. We also talk of how to take ideas and s...
Listen
The Moral Beginner Tale from 2017-11-27T04:45:48
We get talking about the morality mechanic and a few things we’ve been having a hard time with lately when looking at what the morality system can become and how to make it grow into bigger charact...
Listen
The Bounty Board Tale from 2017-11-20T04:45:23
We talk about Bounty Boards and how they can tell a story, even just in how they are accessed, and how they can propel your story forward to make amazingly complex worlds. Things talked about on th...
Listen
The Threatening Tale from 2017-11-13T04:45:12
We start talking about social encounters and then expand to talk about how to bring threats and advantage to the table in more narrative ways than just boosts and setbacks going into the next roll....
Listen
The First Tale from 2017-11-06T04:45:58
We slip from idea to idea as we talk about learning what your players want to do and giving them the tools to do it. Things talked about in this episode: Masks Dungeons and Dragons Secret of Monkey...
Listen
The Round Table Tale from 2017-10-30T03:45:15
We look into some of the ways to save a flagging group from having co GMs to genre swapping on a regular basis. Talked about in this episode: Masks Pathfinder Yggdrasil Dresden Files Silhouette Zer...
Listen
The Personal Module Tale from 2017-10-23T03:45:11
We talk about Dead in the Water and how you can break down the modules you see and read to make them more your own and get inspiration for the campaigns you want to run. Things talked about in the ...
Listen
The Party’s Problem Tale from 2017-10-16T03:45:30
We talk about how to make adversaries and villains build in power, how to make them build in threat relevant to your player characters, and how to make these characters be more of an actual charact...
Listen
The Obligation Tale from 2017-10-09T03:45:48
We have Kristine Chester on to talk about obligation and ways to braid it into your plots so they don’t become plot derailing intrusions into your story and complement the characters that are there...
Listen
The Mysterious Tale from 2017-10-02T03:45:50
We talk about building mysteries and setting hooks for players to get interested in the adventure you have planned. From disappearing children to a penpal that wants to meet we have ideas on how to...
Listen
The Creature Tale from 2017-09-25T03:45:57
We talk about several ways to make creaturesmatter to a scene and how to make sure they don’t get lost in normal role-playing. From keeping tracking of characters to helping them set scenes. Things...
Listen
The Party Starting Tale from 2017-09-18T03:45:23
We talk about getting the players to be hooked for an adventure lead and how to make them more of a player party instead of just players. From discussing other RPGs to how to manage disagreements w...
Listen
The Home Brew Tale from 2017-09-11T03:45:42
We talk about some of our different approaches of rules at the table, from how powerful the force is, to how much experience we give out at the table. It’s fun to see our different approaches and h...
Listen
The Silhouette Zero Tale from 2017-09-04T03:45:17
Chris Ing has been a part of Heroes almost from the start, but Ben wanted to talk to him about his other podcast Silhouette Zero and two person gaming in general since it isn’t the typical way to r...
Listen
The Street Fighter Tale from 2017-08-28T03:45:02
For our three year anniversary David and Ben talk about making brawling and mêlée characters that can keep up for damage, as well as looking at ways to build up specializations that don’t normally ...
Listen
The Gearing Up Tale from 2017-08-21T03:45:59
We get talking about how to show your gear is your gear. From the care that Mandalorians put into their armour to the lengths that gunfighters will customize their blasters. We also touch upon brin...
Listen
The Traditions Tale from 2017-08-14T03:45:26
We get talking about how to use some of the other traditions of force use, where you can expand past the ideas of Jedi and Sith. We also talk about how to feel more epic for your power level and ho...
Listen
The Learning GM Tale from 2017-08-07T03:45:03
We get talking about how to entice your player onto the plot you’re wanting and what to do when they don’t do what you expect or will not engage with what you put before them. (hint: talk to your p...
Listen
The Video Game Tale from 2017-07-31T03:45:42
We start asking how can you bring the narrative from a video game to the table top and get into emphasizing how you can show off narrative choice in letting the players find agency in what their ch...
Listen
The Characteristic Tale from 2017-07-24T03:45:36
We talk about how characteristics need to be thought of for your characters as your creating, knowing where your character is now in the timeline of their growth, and how you can shape your charact...
Listen