This week Chris and I discuss… not that Chris, the other one. We discuss GenCon and its possible cancellation. San Diego Comic-Con and WonderCon canceled. Kickstarter down 35% and facing layoffs, but maybe just the labor organizers. Star Wars Powered by the Apocalypse Engine. Solo gaming with Tunnels and Trolls by Flying Buffaloe and the zine RPG, The Artefact by Jack Harrison. Microscope a Fractal Roleplaying Game of Epic History by Lame Mage Productions. Frosthaven Kickstarter in its final week and breaking US$9 million.

Microscope: A  Fractal RPG of Epic History:
http://www.lamemage.com/microscope/

Star Wars Omegas Edition:
https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/0B0a_iGRNRo6BUm53Q2ZNdVZZcDQ

Frosthaven Kickstarter:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/frosthaven/frosthaven

The Artefact RPG:
https://mouseholepress.itch.io/artefact

 

Rumors of the demise of the Fantasy Flight RPG department, including the Genesys System, Star Wars RPGs, Legend of the Five Rings RPG, Keyforge RPG and Android RPG settings. Spider-man and Star Lord are interested in doing a 5E actual play. Chris watched the Critical Role actual play of Monsterhearts 2. Physical copies of Ironsworn are on the way. Prince August is selling prototype test castings of never-released Heartbreaker terrain. Free League Publishing launches Free League Workshop on DriveThruRPG.com to support the development of content for their Tales From the Loop, Symbaroum, Coriolis: The Third Horizon and Mutant Year Zero. The Alien RPG by Free League is also getting several foreign language editions. Kickstarter employees vote to unionized making them the first tech company to organize.

Prince August White Metal Casting:
https://shop.princeaugust.ie/

Free League Workshop on DriveThru RPG:
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/cc/30/free-league-work-shop

Chris on Itch.io:
https://hyvemynd.itch.io/

Abusecartoons Weekly Cartoons:
http://www.abusecartoons.com/
https://www.twitch.tv/abusecartoons
https://twitter.com/abusecartoons

Chris on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/hyvemynd
https://twitter.com/LoveUTilItHurts

Idle Red Hands on Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/idleredhands

Follow Idle Red Hands:
https://twitter.com/idleredhands
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https://www.twitch.tv/idleredhands
https://www.instagram.com/idleredhands/

 

[embedyt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIErNLRlirg[/embedyt]

“The storm has a name… The Other Roleplaying Game, er, Torg, I mean, Torg.”

The year is 1990. MC Hammer, Vanilla Ice, and Technotronic are teaching the world to dance. Nothing compares to Sinead O’Conner. TV would be forever changed with the debuts of Twin Peaks, 90210, Fresh Prince, and Law & Order. And West End Games of d6 Star Wars fame would release Torg, a cinematic multi-genre role-playing game that used cards.

Join us as we unearth the original d20 system and discuss what led to the game being buried for so long. Come see what 1990 gaming looked like. #torg #torgeternity #ulissesspiele

[embedyt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiMxvrDnk9E[/embedyt]

“The storm has a name … and comes in a very heavy box.”

Curious about the new version of TORG? Want to see what $200 gets you? Well, we unbox the massive TORG Eternity Cargo Box from Ulisses North America, which includes the core rules and drama deck. Are we happy with the purchase or cursing the seductive call of nostalgia?

Since these boxes promise to be a staple of the TORG Eternity Kickstarters (Living Land had a Survival Box), this video will help you decide whether or not to jump in on the next one. Think of them like Loot Crate, but with stuff you might actually use.

In this episode, we pick the five RPGs every role player should have on his or her shelf, including which edition to have. These aren’t our five favourite games or the five most popular games of all time. Nope. These are five games whose mere possession will contribute to your overall gaming experience.

These are the criteria we used. Play along at home.

Innovative
Impact
Representative of a specific type of a game
Widespread
Paid us to mention them (Kidding. No company took us up on our offer.)

The results are in for the tabletop role-playing industry survey that was distributed late last year and what a shock! Actually, the results weren’t that shocking, so we dedicate the first episode discussing them to the results that didn’t surprise us. Well, except for Wayne, who decides to get into one of the biggest surprises for him. (Big surprise.) In addition to this, we discuss some of the books and articles (see the tags) about the tabletop role-playing industry that helped determine what questions were asked on the survey.

Watch this space because we will be linking all of the questions and results to the survey here.

Chris: “Lyal, Can I play Batman in your DC game. Batman with a Scottish accent. ‘Ach. Ay’m the heerooo this city deserves, ya wee lass.'”
Lyal: “Wow. I’m not looking forward to that, but sure. Wayne?”
Wayne: “Hmm, maybe Sen … Sensible … Sensual … Sen … tence. Centennial. The Centennial.”
Lyal: “The Sentry. Wrong universe. How about Superman?”
Wayne: “No thanks. I do like Spee … Speeder … Speederma … Spice. Spicer … Spicerman …”
Lyal: “Spider-Man. Wrong universe, again.”

In this episode, we discuss the advantages of playing iconic characters as well as retelling classic or not so classic stories. Also, listen to find out what all the fuss about Sparks Nevada is.

“Forever young, I want to be forever young.
Do you really want to live forever, forever, forever?”

– “Forever Young”, Alphaville

Assail your opponent from behind, only fire at close range, and always, always keep the sun behind you. In this installment of Warriors, we talk about l’as, the star-turn, der uberkanonen, the flying ace.

It was to be a story for the ages. Its heroes dwarfed The Iliad‘s. Its pathos rivaled Oedipus Rex. It had more earth-threatening disasters than a Roland Emmerich film. And it lasted three sessions.

In this episode, we discuss The Marius Chronicles and its premature demise. We talk about party design, “yes” GMs, “no” GMs, and the dangers of elevator pitching a game.

Everything you always wanted to know about pen-and-paper role-playing games but were afraid (or couldn’t be bothered) to ask.

The Idle Red Hands are blessed with some great friends who, despite having no clue about RPGs, listen to our podcast. One recommended that we record an episode that explains some of the basic concepts to help him follow along, so we did. This is for him and all those who have ever wondered why some people choose to spend their Saturday nights rolling dice.

If you’re an experienced gamer, have a listen to see if you agree with our descriptions, definitions, and recommendations.

To start a lifetime of adventure, download these free rules for GURPS 4th Edition from the good people at Steve Jackson Games (or visit your local army recruiting center).

Special note: We debut our new microphone this episode.