Episode 172: Interview: Southlands

Posted on October 6, 2014 by upturnedtable_sx8obi

Wolfgang: “It’s essentially the role-playing campaign for Pathfinder that Indiana Jones would run. Not the Indiana Jones of Raiders or Last Crusades, though: the Temple of Doom Indy. But this Indy didn’t escape and save the children. He failed. He was tortured and broken. Empty and haunted, he can’t numb the pain, but he can share it. Share it with a world of demonic cults, man-eating insect folk, fifty-foot snakes and ruined cities. Oh, and dinosaurs because everyone loves dinosaurs.
Us: “…”
-unedited elevator pitch

In this episode, we interview Wolfgang Baur from Kobold Press about his latest Kickstarter campaign, Southlands: Adventures Beneath Pitiless Sun, the game Steven Spielberg would have made.

Episode 171: Interview: 13th Age in Glorantha

Posted on September 28, 2014 by upturnedtable_sx8obi

Some combinations were never meant to be, such as Burger King body spray, Facebook privacy, and strip clubs buffets. Some were, such as cheese anything, free anything (except U2 albums), and 13th Age in Glorantha.

In this plus-sized episode, we interview Rob Heinsoo, the creative director of Fire Opal Media, and Jeff Richard, the creative director of Moon Design Publications, about their Kickstarter collaborations, 13th Age in Glorantha and The Glorantha Source Book. If you’re a devotee of Glorantha and wondering whether or not 13th Age can do it justice, then this episode is for you. If you’re a fan of 13th Age and wondering why Glorantha is the favorite setting of so many game designers, then this episode is for you too. We even get a few teasers about what we could expect after these two books.

Episode 169: Interview: The Sprawl

Posted on September 13, 2014 by upturnedtable_sx8obi

In this episode, we interview Hamish Cameron, the author of The Sprawl, a Powered-by-the-Apocalypse cyberpunk game currently on Kickstarter. Since Hamish is from New Zealand, we’ve provided a Kiwi-English dictionary below.

Kiwi – English
sitting – setting
dick – deck
bin – been
pin – pen
pin – pin (We know.)
Didya git eyes for Chrissmas, bro? – Is there a reason why you’re looking at me, sir?

Episode 164: Warriors: Longbowmen

Posted on August 10, 2014 by upturnedtable_sx8obi

“A long bow and a strong bow,
And let the sky grow dark.
The nock to the cord, the shaft to the ear,
And a foreign king for a mark!”
– Robert E. Howard

In this installment of Warriors, we discuss the English longbowmen and Welsh lngbwmn (probable spelling). Listen to learn how surprisingly easy it is to make a longbow, according to Chris, and how to safely remove an arrow, according to Lyal.

This is another Wayneless episode. He refused to participate in protest over our refusal name this episode “longbowpeople”.

Episode 162: Inclusiveness

Posted on July 23, 2014 by upturnedtable_sx8obi

A female Thor! A black Captain America! A straight Constantine! This episode has it all true believers, except Asians. Would an Asian Hulk get mentioned on the View?

In this episode, we discuss the recent examples of inclusiveness in comic books and games as well as whether or not you should try to make your games more inclusive. Like everyone else, we forget that Captain Marvel, a black woman, led the Avengers in the eighties and that the previous leader had been Wasp, another woman. Lyal even had those issues.

The article by we mention by neongrey titled D&D, Inclusivity, and Why I’m not Buying the New Edition can be found at the link above.

Note: Due to work and technical issues, our next upload will be Aug. 2.

Episode 161: Review: D&D Basic Rules

Posted on July 13, 2014 by upturnedtable_sx8obi

“Dungeons & Dragons is some of the most crazy, deep, deep, deep nerd s**t ever invented. Every word you’re saying is made up. Motherf***ers talk like Yoda.”
– Ice T’s rejected cover quote for the 5e Player’s Handbook

In this episode, we review the D&D Basic Rules and give our thoughts on whether or not 5e is a success. We also discuss inclusiveness, how spell components should actually be used, and the real reason why there needed to be elves of colour.

Episode 160: Game of Thrones S1-4

Posted on July 7, 2014 by upturnedtable_sx8obi

“Dungeons and Dragons, first edition, you raped it. You murdered it. You killed my childhood.”
Bradley Martell, the Red Gamer

All seasons must end, so at the end of the fourth, we discuss Game of Thrones, the most illegally downloaded show of all time. (I’m not sure that counts as the iron price.) We share our favorite and least favorite characters as well as the storylines we love and the controversies we, well, love.

SPOILER ALERT: There was no way to discuss the series without discussing the series.

Episode 159: Subculture: Punk

Posted on June 29, 2014 by upturnedtable_sx8obi

Prof. Harriet “Gears” Hamilton: “Was that London calling?”
Lord Nigel Hollingsworth III: “Yes. Something about engines not running and the city drowning.”
Hamilton: “That sounds dreadfully excessive.”
Hollingsworth: “What do you expect from Lady Annie Christian?”
Hamilton: “The anarchist? I say, she certainly doesn’t know what she wants.”
Hollingsworth: “But she knows how to get it.”
Hamilton: “Oh, how droll! Well, let’s assemble the League. It seems we have some thrashing to do.”
– Another reason why steampunk isn’t that punk.

In our first installment of our subcultures series, we discuss punk. Put your game to our Punk Test, a series of questions on what is punk.

Episode 158: Transhumanism

Posted on June 22, 2014 by upturnedtable_sx8obi

A chimpanzee, dolphin and octopus walk into a bar. The bartender takes their order.

In this episode, we discuss transhumanism and posthumanism. We consider whether or not to explore what it means to be human (i.e., whether to outnavel-gaze a WoD player or whether to just have fun) and what kind of world to play in (“We have both kinds of topia: dys and u.”).

Episode 157: Game Stores

Posted on June 15, 2014 by upturnedtable_sx8obi

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.