Epic Adventure

Send us a textI remember being a young roleplayer diving into my first rpg’s. Character creation was similar in most of the games on the market. Make a very basic character, adventure with them, kill monsters, find treasure, gain experience points, gain levels, get more skills, rinse, repeat. Back in the day we would memorize the XP charts so we would know when our characters would level up.Those old TTRPG’s were bad enough, but when computer programmers took their favorite table top games and ported them into the computer world the character advancement concept of “leveling up” started to look like heroine dealers giving their junkie friends the first taste for free.Over the years character advancement has been closely tied to the leveling up concept, but I’ve noticed something interesting as I’ve become an older and more mature gamer.I don’t care about leveling up.It’s not the character advancement I’m looking for. I think I first became aware of the anti-leveling up faction when I first started playing Traveller all of those years ago. In Traveller you create a seasoned, experienced character. After character creation nothing really changes. And then there was Call of Cthulhu a game in which your character is more likely to get worse as you play and not better.Funny enough, those are my two favorite roleplaying games.In this episode Christina, and I are going to talk about character advancement. The traditional methods and why it was innovative and important at the time and the current ideas of character advancement and how they have changed over the years.First let’s start with the Doc.Christina, what are you personal thoughts on character advancement, before we get into all the scientific nitty gritty?Kick to Christina

Send us a textWelcome to You Heard it Here Last where we talk about news, you’ve already heard.We have a little D&D announcement coming out of Wizards of the Coast that I’m actually kind of interested in.https://www.enworld.org/threads/wizards-of-the-coast-re-registers-dark-sun-with-uspto.716113/Wizards of the Coast recently filed an application to register Dark Sun in the US, a sign that D&D could be bringing back the campaign setting in the near future. That’s the opening sentence to the article about the move on EN world. The article goes on to point out that the trademark on Dark Suns lapsed a year ago and that this might be basic paperwork, but I’m kinda holding out hope.Dark Sun was an original campaign world set on a post-apocalyptic desert planet and in my opinion the only interesting setting D&D has ever had. It was dark, gritty, and at the time of it’s release in 1991 genre-bending. It was also a little controversial at the time and I think it would be even more so today. The setting had slavery, genocide, and leaned into racial themes such as the “muls” a half human half dwarf created for forced labor. I’m not sure those would fly today.Chirstina, this seems like a setting just dripping with ethical issues and your our ethical expert…thoughts?[Kick to Christina]Next on our list is a cultural mile marker. One of those things that can really tell you where you are at in the great timeline. If you doubted that roleplaying had become a common hobby then this is the final piece of information you have been waiting for to change your mind.https://www.enworld.org/threads/review-of-how-to-dungeon-master-parenting.716272/This new book, designed for expecting families breaks down parenting in a way that gamers will understand. Move over Dr. Spock, we have How to Dungeon Master Parenting. While I haven’t read the book, the article on EN World is enough to sell me on it.Christina, from a cultural standpoint, how important is a book like this that mergers our favorite hobby with raising kids?[Kick to Christina]And there you have it, all the news that you’ve already heard.

Send us a textIn 2023 I was already neck deep into my Kickstarter obsession when I saw an advertisement for a brand new OSR style roleplaying game called Shadowdark. It was the creation of Kelsey Dionne and it looked very cool. The book was large and black with silver script and silver artwork of what I thought was a beholder.I immediately backed it. But to be fair I was immediately backing a lot of things back then. When I turned on my YouTubes I got blasted with a social media blitz unlike any I had seen before. All of the TTRPG sites that covered anything even remotely different than D&D were all over this game. The superlatives seemed to match the online excitement and soon it had garnered 1.4 million dollars on Kickstarter.I couldn’t wait to get the book. But while I was reading the .pdf and waiting for the hardback to arrive I had the chance to watch Kelsey Dionne herself walk backers through her creation process of the ranger class. I also got to see a number of interviews with her regarding the product. Again, I just kept getting more and more excited.When the book finally came it sat on my bookshelf. Now don’t be sad for the game, that’s what tends to happen to most of the stuff I grab off of Kickstarter. But, it was on a short list of games to be played.Finally, my Masks of Nyrlethotep came to a shuddering, bumbling halt and I wanted something fast, easy, and different as a palette cleanser. Enter Shadowdark. I quickly brushed up on the rules and set the date for my group. This was about the same time that the Glass Cannon Podcast announced they were going to be using Shadowdark as the rules for their next big live play. Yep, stoked again.We dove head first into Shadowdark.And it was … Ok … I guess.Not the resounding plug you thought I was going to give.If you are fans of the game, stick around because we are diving deeper than that. There are some really good things about this game. Some really bad things about this game. And a lot of mehh things about this game. In this episode Mike, Christina, and I are going to walk you through all of that and give you our honest review of the game.

Send us a textWelcome to You Heard it Here Last where we talk about news, you’ve already heard.Let’s start with my favorite Vin Diagram. Roleplayers and Cat Owners. It’s a perfect circle. And to prove it we are going to start with the King of Crits, 2025 Dice Advent Calendar.https://dnddice.com/products/dice-advent-calendar-2025?variant=46949401395426&country=US&currency=USD&utm_source=chatgpt.comThe dice are cute as hell and if you or someone you know is into advent calendar’s then this is perfect.Mike, what do you think about the King of Crits 2025 Dice Advent Calendar.[Kick to Mike]Christina, you love dice are you in on this one?[Kick to Christina]The King of Crits isn’t the only dice advent calendar on the market this year.https://diceenvy.com/products/advent-calendar?currency=USD&variant=47074082324723&stkn=1f01dd7311e3&utm_source=chatgpt.comDice Envy has gotten into the game with their 2025 dice advent calendar. The twist on this one is you get to decide if you want the Nice version with Santa and all the traditional happiness that comes with that or the Naughty version based on Krampas with the darker side of Christmas dice. They also have an option to let the Christmas goblin decide which one you get when you order, which I think is pretty cool.Christina, the more dice the merry I assume, but which one of this do you like better? And I’m not Christmas shopping, pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.[Kick to Christina]Mike, I’m going to assume you like the cat dice, but which one is it for you?[Kick to Mike]Next up we have the Glass Staff Player Journal.https://forgedgaming.com/products/glassstaff-player-journal?variant=47958671098087&country=US&currency=USD&utm_source=chatgpt.comI love these player journals. They are faux leather bound with gold foil and premium paper. They look great and inside they have almost 200 pages to keep track of your character. From pages with all of the little boxes for character stuff to open pages to write about your adventures. The only problem for me is that they all seem to be made for D&D5e and since I don’t play that…oh well.Finally, how about a little fantasy glass ware. Nobody can have enough glass ware and if you settling down with your friends after storming the duke’s castle and sharing some of your favorite adult beverage then you need something cool to put it in.https://www.fantasyglassworks.com/Fantasy Glass Works can pretty much custom make whatever you want from beer mugs to coffee cups and most things in between. And they are family owned out of Rockford Illinois so that’s a bonus. I think I would get a Tankard Beer Mug with the Sigil from our Conan Campaign.Mike, how about this as a Christmas gift?[Kick to Mike]Christina, any favorites?[Kick to Christina]And there you have it, all the news, you’ve already heard.

Send us a textThe internet is filled with hobby advice. From podcasts, to YouTube channels, you can probably find what you’re are looking for very quickly. Or not. That’s part of the problem. With so much out there it’s hard to figure out what’s good, what’s bad, and what’s really bad.Our friend Jen and Oddfish Games hooked me up with John Glavin. John is the creator of Two-Gun Pixie a Youtube channel that focuses on board games and roleplaying game reviews and he’s been at it for a while. And by awhile, I mean over 8 years. John is also jumping into the professional GM world with his new Adventurers Union: Local 218.I had a chance to chat with John about roleplaying, Two-Gun Pixie, and his personal style.