Grace and I just finished watching Heat again for Blue Planet #RPG preparation. She is still upset that Pacino didn't bust the dog fighting ring and still wants me to know that I am neither alone nor lonely. She's right on all three counts - and not just because my wife and I live with 6 other dogs~

Another entry in the "Friendly Conversation" series sees Scott Welker of Thieves Guild Games and recent retiree from the navy after 30 years of service join me to talk about rank and other social status factors between characters in #RPG #ttrpg situations~ youtu.be/atxgeDibiFc

A Universe Parallel to the RPG Experience Humans being humans, the way we express ourselves tends toward recognizable patterns which we can choose to hone. Looking at how an idea can be explored helps in ways that taking the idea doesn't...

This one's inspired by Anthony @runeslinger.bsky.social from the Casting Shadows realm of podcasting, YouTube, and blogging —> Three In-Character Preferences: shows.acast.com/roleplayresc...

I was once again given assistance in the unboxing of some cool #RPG books. This time the books were from @thievesoftimegames.bsky.social and written by @grahamwalmsley.bsky.social youtu.be/2UiAdGOyDAg

I did a video, an 'unboxing' of the new Laundry RPG from Cubicle 7. I was the producer/lead writer on these, and it's cool to see the 'off the tops' fresh from the printer. youtu.be/RMk-yui9_z8?...

Here is that frightfully cheerful #ttrpg conversation with @orcusdorkus.bsky.social @thirdfloorwars.bsky.social and @seanpkelley.com I mentioned the other day about Horror, Comedy, and #RPGs youtu.be/-6aV_IRHppM

Cosmic Dark from @grahamwalmsley.bsky.social has arrived here in South Korea, safe and sound, and will get the usual unboxing and exploration video in a few days. This delivery nearly went the way of that for Pendragon, but thanks to the alertness of Grace, I was in place to catch the flying box~

I had an opportunity for #RPG talk on the ebb and flow between horror and comedy with @thirdfloorwars.bsky.social , @orcusdorkus.bsky.social and @seanpkelley.com for a forthcoming episode. As usual, the hour-long chat took about 90 minutes, an delved into secrets humanity chuckles about not knowing~

I just backed Swords Without Master on @kickstarter.com www.kickstarter.com/projects/unw... I first played this, oh I don't know, maybe a decade ago. Honestly surprised more games aren't built off its chassis. One of the formative titles in indie RPGs! Very happy to finally have a real book.

Another topic skewed by the #ttrpg Story Divide is on the distribution of game learning prior to and during play, as well as that of creative responsibilities prior to and during play. It tends to obscure the reasons a group might choose a specific distribution *and* its biases imply one is better~

'Immersive experience' is seen as a positive in a cinema, video games, novels, etc. That experience is often not explained. In most cases, it does not matter that there is no clarification. We ‘just know’ what it means. Yay, us. Of course, for an #RPG it does matter. wp.me/pTI80-3ke

This year many latched onto the phrase 'culture of play' and assumed meanings for it. The playlist below has 4 videos, one each of 3 cultures of play, and a 4th video as a means of understanding and connecting with any that you find, or helping others do so with yours~ youtube.com/playlist?lis...

I have little interest in fantasy settings, and almost none in dungeoncrawling, but this post is an excellent example of how to frame GM advice for a specific system to reduce friction, decrease time spent adjusting to that system, and improve enjoyment~

This post serves up a look at the Story Divide through how it can cause friction in a group, between the group and the system, and erode some of the fun. It also offers examples and suggestions for working with a system - in this case one on the Story-as-Byproduct side of the divide~

If Inigo Montoya were a roleplayer exposed to as many #rpg #ttrpg experiences as sword techniques, he would remark about "There is/isn't a right way to play" rather than the meaning of "inconceivable." Bruce Lee told us this when he spoke of water, but couldn't beat Inigo's impact~ wp.me/pTI80-22G

Bryan and @eyedotter.bsky.social announce their next graphic novel, Lo! An Amazon! In the Age of Revolutions demanding greater liberties for mankind, Mary Wollstonecraft spoke out for the other “’one-half of the human race”: that of womankind. 1/4

The finale of #StrangerThings put me in mind of this episode of my podcast featuring @roleplayrescue.com.web.brid.gy with how it focuses on being a part of handing down the #ttrpg hobby to the next generation - and what it was like to not have that help. castingshadowspodcast.com/2025/10/28/e...

Hello to those who have recently followed me here on BlueSky. Thanks for doing so. Get to know me, beyond my being 1/2 of the RPGaDAY team, in this #rpg #ttrpg video~ youtu.be/z1EgIITKUg4?...

Gauging interest in starting a game group from scratch using the setting & rules for All For One, from Triple Ace Games. Immersive, historically...adjacent, but supernatural. All suitable PC types. Trying to find 4-5 mature people who'd commit to regular sessions (2x/month?) by February or March?

Continuing the zoomed in examination of consequences in the aftermath of the chaos at Smalls Antiques on fashionable Newbury Street, mob hitman Jimmy Calloway makes his run from cops, rival gangs, and the dark presence in the grimoire he has stolen... youtu.be/JZzmwzKFRDw #ttrpg #CallOfCthulhu

Episode 69: On the Idea of a Better Game This episode is another review of a post from the ⁠Casting Shadows blog⁠, though this time the Wayback Machine is just taking us five short years (and a few decades of observation and experience) into the past. This time we look at a post based on the…

We do not need to frame roleplaying games in a permission model. Rather than granting consent to someone to present a desired experience within specified limits, a group of players determines what they *all* like, they find a game for that, and they adjust play if needed - as peers - in consensus.

The Silent Majority When I reflect on this blog and what my projects under the name of Runeslinger are, it is inescapable to conclude that in the beginning, these endeavors were rooted in an effort to maintain a conversation with the dead.

What happened in the aftermath of the previous sessions' explosive conclusion? Answers for some of the survivors are provided this week in our #rpg release of Session 37 for #CallOfCthulhu youtu.be/2vswBaq6Ez0

Episode 67: On What Might Be in a Name This episode includes a call from Jason Connerley in regard to the Episode 65 with the Arcane Alienist, about RPGs and memory, and then sets the Wayback Machine for 2010 and a fresh look at an old post called By any other name~ and the town that got away.

Part 2 of the intense cross-over event which brought most of the independent threads of the campaign together in a tiny antiques store to devastating results is now available: #CallOfCthulhu #rpg youtu.be/99BIo4ZQjjs

For this episode, I am joined by Jason Hobbs. He and I dive into some core elements of his recent foray into game writing with his release 'Bite the Bullet' which is based on Into the Odd, puts a tight focus on who the character is and what they will do to get what they want.

I had a good chat yesterday with @hobbs665.bsky.social A podcast episode will be out this weekend~

With a few special guests, the recent arrival of Blue Planet Recontact has been unboxed and explored~ youtu.be/sodHdkvYGXE #rpg #BluePlanet #BluePlanetRecontact @biohazardjeff.bsky.social

Spoiler: I really appreciate BRP by @chaosium.bsky.social castingshadowspodcast.com/2025/10/29/e...

If I were new to the RPG Blue Planet, and its new edition, Blue Planet Recontact, this is the interview I would like to listen to: creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/...

Little by little the conception of the activity narrowed, the terminology skewed toward less than the whole, and now some obvious ways to play are both obscured and feel like rebellion~ youtu.be/SC6Kxcrx3Q8?...

After tremendous perseverance on the part of @biohazardjeff.bsky.social the final stages of delivery are being completed for Blue Planet: Recontact - including for me, here in Korea. #rpg #BluePlanetRecontact #ttrpg

Eventually all roads lead to Rome, or in this case to Smalls Antiques. It's not a place used to such violence and villainy... #CallofCthulhu youtu.be/JnD2pktqYHs

Things fall apart, and what can regular people do to keep the center intact? Does it take your all? The campaign takes bigger steps into the world behind the world, setting up a major crossover of 3 of 5 branches~ youtu.be/TEfPZSIcIZc

Do to computer and time issues, it has been many moons since I have been able to share a scrying window into the growing horrors in our fictional Boston of our immersive sandbox #CallofCthulhu campaign - Turn of a New Leaf. Today, we offer a double feature~ youtu.be/2VXDkvgZ-XE?...

I will always be grateful to have found the Call of Cthulhu RPG by @chaosium.bsky.social and this one was my introduction to it~

Sometimes when I check my email, cool stuff from @grahamwalmsley.bsky.social is in one... such as this PDF release to backers of: #CosmicDark #rpg #ttrpg

Truth.

I have seen the King, and he has Six Strings Recently, I managed to record a series of talks with Jason Connerley of the Nerd's RPG Variety Cast Blog and Podcast about the film, Six-String Samurai, and part of that included taking my BRP adaptation of it out for a spin like a beloved platter from…

RPGs manifest at the intersection of each player's actions, reactions, and interactions in play, where they are filtered through each person's perceptions of that play, before being morphed by memory, relating those memories as a story, and then by each retelling of that story~ wp.me/pdgy0y-7

@gobagpod.com this might be the link you were looking for in the veiled reference from @spezbaby.bsky.social in the recent call-in episode~ Audio version: castingshadowspodcast.com/2020/10/07/e... Original text: wp.me/pTI80-8E

I have enjoyed being a guest on Nerd's RPG Variety Cast once again, this time for a series on Six-String Samurai and BRP. Part 1 is available now: spotify.link/xJuIqZ6yXXb

It is rare, I feel, to find so cogent a discussion of Cthulhu, Lovecraft, and the effect of HPL as this one: spotify.link/vF0AaxinXXb

A Spectrum of Character in RPGS In a significant percentage of roleplaying games, playing a character is a core activity. From the start of the hobby, this has been one of those things we expect to find in an RPG. Once the hobby began to broaden with more titles and with more approaches to play,…

To improve access to episodes of the Casting Shadows podcast and the relevant links pertaining to them, I have caused CastingShadowsPodcast.com to come into being. A more memorable link, search and tags which work, and optional notifications are the result~

This week, I enjoyed an exploration of personal preparation for long-term or open-ended #RPG campaigns of cosmic horror with @seanpkelley.com with a heavy focus on @deltagreen.bsky.social Annotated video: youtu.be/o55hwQ1PKH8 Unabridged Audio: spotifycreators-web.app.link/e/A960QuYzMXb

engine trouble #digitalart #scifi #rpg

To horse! Pendragon Classic is live on Kickstarter. This is a full and faithful reprint of the 1st edition of this magnificent game, on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of its original publication. Just looking at the cover makes me want to go questing. www.kickstarter.com/projects/cha...