TPK: Famine In Far-Go – Episode 4
Welcome to the NPC Cast ACTUAL PLAY! The guys are joined by their friends Matt and MC DeTG as they make their way through the apocalyptic wastelands of Gamma World! Abombinable Joe sings a lot.
NPC CAST: YOUR PLACE FOR FACE TO FACE GAMES.
NPC Cast Episode 20: This, That, and the Other.
In this episode, the guys cover three mini-topics: Negativity in game culture, what makes a good FLGS, and how to teach a game! Also: Del returns, Chris bleeps, and Aaron goes inverted! (60min)
Some things we discuss on this episode:
An Open Letter from the Angry DM: Pretty much what it says.
Carpe GM Podcast: A fellow podcast, check them out!
Modern Masters: A link to an article about the upcoming MtG set…Modern Masters.
Inverse World Kickstarter: A setting for both Dungeon World and FATE.
NPC CAST: YOUR PLACE FOR FACE TO FACE GAMES.
TPK: Famine In Far-Go – Episode 3
Welcome to the NPC Cast ACTUAL PLAY! The guys are joined by their friends Matt and MC DeTG as they make their way through the apocalyptic wastelands of Gamma World! Famine In Far-Go is 4e and fighty.
NPC CAST: YOUR PLACE FOR FACE TO FACE GAMES.
NPC Cast Episode 19: Beyond the Wall
In this Del-light version of NPC Cast, the guys chat about the methods they use to start planning for a campaign! Also: Chris makes up words and Aaron gets more forgiving! (56min)
Some things we discuss on this episode:
The Writer Next Door: A writing blog by industry professional John Adamus.
Terra Mystica: A boardgame by designers Jens Drögemüller and Helge Ostertag.
The World’s Worst Dungeon Crawl Kickstarter: A Dungeon Bastard project.
Cartoon Action Hour: The 1980′s Action Cartoon RPG.
NPC CAST: YOUR PLACE FOR FACE TO FACE GAMES.
TPK: Famine In Far-Go – Episode 2
Welcome to the NPC Cast ACTUAL PLAY! The guys are joined by their friends Matt and MC DeTG as they make their way through the apocalyptic wastelands of Gamma World! These players really have gotten themselves into a jam, hopefully they can beat the clock and nail one from downtown.
NPC CAST: YOUR PLACE FOR FACE TO FACE GAMES.
NPC Cast Episode 18: So You Want To Get Into: Board Games!
In this episode, the guys help explain how YOU can get started with board games! Also: Aaron loves trains, Del offers up some nerve tonic, and Chris offers up little resistance. (45min)
Some things we discuss on this episode:
Tabletop: A youtube show about tabletop games hosted by Wil Wheton.
Watch It Played: A youtube show about tabletop games hosted by Rodney Smith.
Boardgame Geek: The biggest board game resource on the web!
NPC CAST: YOUR PLACE FOR FACE TO FACE GAMES.
TPK: Famine In Far-Go – Episode 1
Welcome to the NPC Cast ACTUAL PLAY! The guys are joined by their friends Matt and MC DeTG as they make their way through the apocalyptic wastelands of Gamma World! If a Yeti explodes in the wastes and everybody that is unlucky enough to be caught in its devastating blast dies, does it make a sound?
NPC CAST: YOUR PLACE FOR FACE TO FACE GAMES.
NPC Cast Episode 17: Shelf Life.
In this episode the guys chat about house rules! Also: Aaron gets immortalized, Chris gets wild like a hurricane, and Del starts getting real. (50min)
Some things we discuss on this episode:
Boardgame Geek: The biggest board game resource on the web!
Experience Music Project: A museum owned by rich person Paul Allen.
Andy Hopp: Artist and Designer of the game Low Life.
NPC CAST: YOUR PLACE FOR FACE TO FACE GAMES.
Total Party Kill – Session 1 – Episode 7
Welcome to the NPC Cast ACTUAL PLAY! The guys are joined by their friends Matt and MC DeTG as they explore the original D&D module “In Search of the Unknown.” Oozes and thangs.
NPC CAST: YOUR PLACE FOR FACE TO FACE GAMES.
NPC Cast Episode 16: Hugging Adele.
In this episode the guys talk about Playgroup Dynamics! They also answer a listener email about running a mystery game! It’s NPC Aaron’s birthday!(62min)
Some things we discuss on this episode:
The Gumshoe System on RPG Geek – An RPG system specifically designed to deal with sleuthing.
Geek Social Fallacies – An interesting list of traits that certain game enthusiasts exhibit.
Robin’s Laws of Good Gamemastering – Recommended reading!!!
Rocket Dice – The Kickstarter is over, but the fun is just beginning.
Urbania on Board Game Geek – A board game designed by Simone Luciani
Torchbearer – A dungeon delving RPG with resource management. By the makers of Burning Wheel and Mouse Guard.
NPC CAST: YOUR PLACE FOR FACE TO FACE GAMES.
Total Party Kill – Session 1 – Episode 6
Welcome to the NPC Cast ACTUAL PLAY! The guys are joined by their friends Matt and MC DeTG as they explore the original D&D module “In Search of the Unknown.” Our love for doors is as deep as a sacrificial pit.
NPC CAST: YOUR PLACE FOR FACE TO FACE GAMES.
NPC Cast Episode 15: A is for Alignment
In this episode the guys talk a bit about Alignment systems in role-playing games, and how players and GM’s can best utilize them! Also: Aaron goes for the long con, Chris has a bad feeling about this, and Del goes robo! Oh yeah, and Taylor Swift.(58min)
Some things we discuss on this episode:
The Angry DM - Unabashedly opinionated DM advice.
Twisted Geeks Podcast – A podcast hosted by a few friends of the show!
Star Wars X-Wing - A Star Wars miniatures game by Fantasy Flight.
NPC CAST: YOUR PLACE FOR FACE TO FACE GAMES.
Total Party Kill – Session 1 – Episode 5
Welcome to the NPC Cast ACTUAL PLAY! The guys are joined by their friends Matt and MC DeTG as they explore the original D&D module “In Search of the Unknown.” Goblins playing dice? Must be somebodies lucky day. (most likely the goblins)
NPC CAST: YOUR PLACE FOR FACE TO FACE GAMES.
NPC Cast Episode 14: Candyland – Bullet Points!
In this episode, we take a crack at redesigning Candyland via the best thing ever, BULLET POINTS! Also: Chris likes to think, Aaron thinks kids should read, and Del introduces a new character for the kids! (57min)
Some things we discuss on this podcast:
Candyland WIKI - Pretty much what you assume it is.
Watch It Played – A youtube channel about board games!
SPARK RPG - An awesome-looking RPG by Jason Pitre!
Jennisodes Podcast - A podcast that focuses mainly on interviews.
Castle Ravenloft – An Origins-Award-Winning board game by Wizards of the Coast.
Space Cadets- A co-op board game…in space!
NPC CAST: YOUR PLACE FOR FACE TO FACE GAMES.
Total Party Kill – Session 1 – Episode 4
Welcome to the NPC Cast ACTUAL PLAY! The guys are joined by their friends Matt and MC DeTG as they explore the original D&D module “In Search of the Unknown.” If everything is trapped, then is anything really trapped? Mind blown.
Thanks to the Delvers’ Podcast for the show intro, check their actual play out!
NPC CAST: YOUR PLACE FOR FACE TO FACE GAMES.
NPC Cast Episode 13: Jerry Hawthorne!
In this episode, we get the chance to interview Mice and Mystics designer Jerry Hawthorne about how he got started in the industry, Plaid Hat Games, and gives us the scoop as to what is on the horizon for our herodents! (Do you see what we did there?!) Woo! (65min)
Some things we discuss on this podcast:
Watch It Played – A youtube channel about board games!
Bioshock Infinite – The boardgame by Isaac Vega and Plaid Hat Games!
InkedPlaymats.com – A company that makes custom playmats for TCG’s and other games!
Delvers’ Podcast – An actual play podcast that is awesome, check it out!
NPC CAST: YOUR PLACE FOR FACE TO FACE GAMES.
Total Party Kill – Session 1 – Episode 3
Welcome to the NPC Cast ACTUAL PLAY! The guys are joined by their friends Matt and MC DeTG as they explore the original D&D module “In Search of the Unknown.” It’s a cat-jar party!
NPC CAST: YOUR PLACE FOR FACE TO FACE GAMES.
NPC Cast Episode 12: (chain)Mailbag.
On this episode, the guys answer some viewer emails! Del says you’re fired, and Chris and Aaron give what can only be described as patently terrible dating advice. The guys also share their favorite Podcats, plus so much more! (47min)
Some links which may be useful while this episode seeps into your ears and nests:
Shade’s LARP List – A place to find LARPs in your area.
Nearby Gamers – A place to find games of all types in your area.
One World By Night – A listing of WoD LARPs.
Mind’s Eye Society – Yet another listing for WoD LARPs!
Bits and Mortar – The pro-brick-and-mortar ebook initiative.
Podcasts we mention:
Ken and Robin Talk About Stuff
NPC CAST: YOUR PLACE FOR FACE TO FACE GAMES.
Total Party Kill – Session 1 – Episode 2
Welcome to the NPC Cast ACTUAL PLAY! The guys are joined by their friends Matt and MC DeTG as they explore the original D&D module “In Search of the Unknown.” This whole player mapping thing can’t possibly go wrong.
NPC CAST: YOUR PLACE FOR FACE TO FACE GAMES.
NPC CAST Episode 11: So you want to get into: Miniatures Games.
Have you ever wondered to yourself, how can I get into minis gaming? Well, on this episode the guys chat with minis aficionado Kris about just that! He explains what a minis game is, and goes through the basic steps you need to know in order to pick up and play one today! (39min)
Some links you may find useful while perusing this episode:
Games Workshop – Maker of a plethora of miniatures games, including Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000.
Privateer Press – Maker of Warmachine and Hordes.
Infinity – A miniatures game created by European gaming company Corvus Belli.
Flames of War – A miniatures games based in WWII.
Malifaux – A miniatures game created by Wyrd Miniatures.
CoolMiniOrNot – A site which features some of the best painted miniatures from around the world!
Beasts of War – A Youtube channel featuring news and programming for tabletop gaming!
NPC CAST: YOUR PLACE FOR FACE TO FACE GAMES.
Total Party Kill – Session 1 – Episode 1
Welcome to the NPC Cast ACTUAL PLAY! The guys are joined by their friends Matt and MC DeTG as they explore the original D&D module “In Search of the Unknown.” Nobody knows for sure what lies ahead, but let’s be honest there are probably traps.
NPC CAST: YOUR PLACE FOR FACE TO FACE GAMES.
EPISODE 10: Where it all started.
Yay, ten! On a bit of a more personal episode, the guys talk about some of their most memorable experiences in role-playing games! Chris also gets excited about the new Kobolds Ate My Baby, Aaron talks meeces and Jerry Hawthorne’s game “Mice & Mystics,” and Del gets a-brewing for his new MtG Standard deck! (48min)
NPC CAST: YOUR PLACE FOR FACE TO FACE GAMES.
NPC Cast Episode 9: Theme Things (MP3)
In this week’s episode the NPC’s talk about themes in games, including their most favorite and least favorite! Also: Del learns to love, Chris gets preachy, and Aaron gets savage! The guys also speak a bit about International Tabletop Day, and how they plan to celebrate! (46min)
NPC CAST: YOUR PLACE FOR FACE TO FACE GAMES.
NPC Cast Episode 8: Alas Wallis (MP3)
On today’s special episode of NPC Cast, we have the chance to talk to Award-Winning game designer James Wallis about a whole slew of things, including his new role-playing game ALAS VEGAS, currently being funded on Kickstarter! We are also excited about a couple of other Kickstarter projects: Story War and Machine of Death, and James explains why Del and Aaron are moving to Norway! (77min)
If you can’t get enough of your Wallis fix, check out some of the other places he has been featured this week:
NPC CAST: YOUR PLACE FOR FACE TO FACE GAMES.
by NPC Chris.
In the post last week, I covered the two main questions a GM must ask when approaching generating backstory in a game. Once these questions have been asked and answered, what is left is the first session and how you plan to extract this information from your players. Yes, extract. Like problem teeth. Tooth often…pardon me. TOO often, a backstory session is like taking a test, and even the most prepared player typically doesn’t enjoy the act of taking a test. In this week’s blog we will discuss some novel ways in which we can incorporate backstory into a campaign. The only test that will be discussed is the testimony from your players attesting to your campaign being the best! (Sorry)
I am a busy guy. Extremely busy. Even busier than I was when I foolhardily agreed to run two simultaneous campaigns. I work (often overtime), record and edit a podcast, conduct meetings regarding future projects, and even write the occasional blog post. As my time is a valuable thing, and I love to enjoy my RPG sessions as a means of social interaction and escape, I find myself incredibly hesitant to waste a session. This means that 90% of the time I would rather not spend an entire session with backstory. In the first half of this article I spoke briefly about how your character doesn’t tend to become fully realized until you have the chance to play it; and what better time to start playing it than the first session! Something that I picked up from my friend and co-host NPC Del, is the concept of performing a backstory generation session in character. I will give you a couple of examples:
In my most recent D&D 4E campaign, Del determined that all of our characters would begin the campaign while locked up in a mental institution. This allowed him to ask us questions about our character backstories from the perspective of our therapist during our group counseling sessions. This novel approach led to some genuinely interesting interactions and play between the player characters, and offered a bit more insight into our characters than a standard questionnaire approach would have. This is in part because we were encouraged to answer the questions in character. Mine was a rogue named Spane Tribald, and he spoke of his time in the military and of his days as a field surgeon with an affinity for anatomy. As it turns out, he in fact was just incredibly handy with sharp blades and really had an affinity for slicing people’s throats. Medical experience? Well, not so much. This led to a more layered backstory that was able to be revealed bit by bit over the course of the first few sessions. It can be argued that an assassin backstory is a bit overused and a field surgeon may be a bit bland, but an assassin who convinces others (and possibly even himself) that he is a surgeon when he in fact isn’t, can be pretty fun to play. This backstory session led directly into the beginning of the campaign, as the mental institution we were in began to be attacked by demonic forces. In a moment of ultimate redemption, we were able to slay our crooked therapist and escape. It was seamless, it was glorious, and I commend Del for giving us the chance to experience it.
Alternatively, my most recent Iron Kingdoms campaigns began with both parties applying for a Mercenary Charter. In doing this, the deputy was asking them questions in order to file all the necessary paperwork (in triplicate, naturally). Most of the questions they were being asked pertained to their work together as a group.*
*I chose to focus on the group more than the individual during the initial backstory generation. I did this because the campaign was initially conceived as an episodic one that would be played occasionally as a reprieve from our D&D sessions. Because of this, I didn’t want to spend much time trying to shoehorn the group together and instead wanted them to establish a camaraderie from the very beginning.
The questions I focused on were straightforward: “How long have you been working with these other men?” “What are your responsibilities within the team?” “What sort of talents do your team possess that would make it in our best interest to charter you instead of somebody else?” In this way, the structure was quite simple but allowed for more depth of information as everybody was answering in first person, and in character. In order to hammer home the unity of the team even further, I then asked for their group to describe the first mission they went on as a team. They immediately answered with a story of being sent to capture a renegade sorcerer, which led to my spin on mid-session backstory generation: The Flashback Encounter. Once the players had described a bit of their first mission, I put the terrain on the table along with some miniatures and we proceed to play it out as though their characters were remembering it. Because the encounter represented a time when the characters were still learning to work together, and because this was the first game session, the players also had to learn their individual strengths and weaknesses. It felt pretty cool, especially with little things like our Alchemist proclaiming to be very good with “controlled explosions” during the interview portion, and then proving it with some pinpoint grenade placement during the flashback.
Ideas like these are what make GM a rewarding experience for me, and hopefully some of this will inspire you to incorporate backstory generation into your game session in unique and awesome ways. As a recap, this is done by asking yourself the questions:
“What do I want out of this backstory session?”
“What information is necessary now, and what can be discovered later?”
and then using some creative and outside-of-the-box thinking that encourages your players to give you the information you desire while in character. Doing this will establish a tone to the campaign while giving most of your players a cool experience that they have most likely never had before!
That is it for this installment, if you have any questions, concerns, or critiques I would love to hear them. You can contact me at thenpccast@gmail.com or on Twitter as @NPCChris.
Thanks so much for reading, and support your local game store!
NPC Chris is a player and a GM. He has been as far back as he remembers, and will most likely be forever. And ever.
NPC Cast Episode 7: Monopoly! (MP3)
Its a big one! In this week’s super sized episode the NPC’s take on the task of re-designing Monopoly! Aaron also needs bigger bullet points, Chris recovers from fugue, and Del goes dogcatcher! (72min)
In this week’s episode the guys chat about cooperative tabletop games! Also: Del enables Chris, and Aaron definitely doesn’t get a sweet new nickname that we will call him for the rest of his life! (58min)
NPC CAST: YOUR PLACE FOR FACE TO FACE GAMES.
NPC Cast Episode 5: Name that Sword! (MP3)
In this week’s episode the guys blab about cliches, spurred by a sad panda post on Reddit! Also: Del does black and blue, Aaron yearns for something new, and Chris is mad Fate Core doesn’t rhyme! (56min)
NPC CAST: YOUR PLACE FOR FACE TO FACE GAMES.
NPC Cast Episode 4: I’m No Excited (MP3)
Welcome to NPC CAMP; Some technical difficulties can’t keep us down! In this episode we talk about what Tabletop Games can take from Video Games, Chris is on the hunt, Del evokes the 2d, and Aaron misses dragons! (34min)
NPC CAST: YOUR PLACE FOR FACE TO FACE GAMES.
“Those boards don’t work on water; you need more powwwwwaaaa!” This week the guys talk about the concept of “power creep” in game design, across a wide variety of game types. Chris also snap keeps hands with Savannah Lions, Del hangs up the magical dark wizard costume, and Aaron talks about a game bringing dungeon crawling back! (49min)
NPC CAST: YOUR PLACE FOR FACE TO FACE GAMES.
In this episode, the guys answer a question from Twitter and talk about digital things and stuffs that you can use alongside your tabletop games. Chris also reveals his next GM gig, Aaron likes rolling imaginary dice, and Del predicts a future scandal in Major League Baseball through an adventure hook for Shadowrun! Yes, really! (55min)
Some links we discuss in this episode:
NPC CAST: YOUR PLACE FOR FACE TO FACE GAMES.
Here it is! The Big 0-1! In this inaugural episode of NPC Cast we discuss what Game Masters can do when their campaigns go off the rails, Chris has an out of body experience, Aaron dumps dexterity, and Del has an MtG relapse! (48min)
NPC CAST: YOUR PLACE FOR FACE TO FACE GAMES.
