A podcast about creating great encounters in Dungeons and Dragons and other tabletop roleplaying games. We're Rosie and Adam, siblings and hard working dungeon masters. Every episode we get forensic on an RPG encounter: why it works, where it could - or did - go wrong and what's cool about it. Whether you play narrative or sandbox, OSR or 5e we want to give you useful tools for thinking about your game. In our show notes, you'll find system neutral write-ups of every encounter discussed, along with an alternative, wild take from the Gelatinous Cube, our squelchy f(r)iend from the depths of the dungeon.
We're back with Gelatinous Cube 19. Our prompt this week, provided by the very lovely and talented Kyle Latino of Map Crow, provides the inspiration for a wide-ranging discussion of cartographical errors, problems, and opportunities. How does a map structure and ground the world of an rpg, and what might happen if the map proves false?
It's fighting time on Gelatinous Cube as we tackle a multifaceted boss inspired by the big bads of JRPG's. Lots of ideas in play this week but they boil down to a simple core: how do we create interesting monsters? Huge thanks to: Jojiro of https://dungeonantology.com/ and Vance A of https://leicestersramble.blogspot.com/ for all their excellent thoughts :)
Adam's brought a lethal encounter to the table this week, and we discuss character death in RPG's. We cover TPK's, liminality, and offer a defense of death rolls. Works cited this week include the luminous ponderings of Emmy Allen, and the firecracker of a game that is Brindlewood Bay.
This week we dig into Rosie's encounter "This Damsel is in Distress!" We consider the status of women as victims in ttrpg's, and how we can make them as colourful as the villains they face. You can find Rosie's Princess Stress Response tables, along with the Gelatinous Cube's thoughts on the prompt, right here: https://tinyurl.com/yc24cped
Adam and Rosie are back for a discussion of the pitfalls and potentials of living dungeons. We tour beastly bellies, disturb micro-ecologies, and welcome the grotesque. Watch where you step dear listener, it's extremely squelchy in the dungeon this week.
For a special bonus episode Rosie hangs out with her fangs out, pondering the doomed land of Barovia. What is the curse in Curse of Strahd, and how does its horror draw the world together?
It's ghost stories for Candlemass this week on Gelatinous Cube, as we tackle Rosie's séance encounter The Spirits are Restless! We discuss Pre-Raphaelite ghosts and the artists who loved them, the magic of props and lighting, and a disaster at Castle Ravenloft. SHOWNOTES: Our podcast host has changed things up and no longer embeds shownotes! Catastrophe! But you can find the encounters at gelatinouscast.blogspot.com
Team GC are getting AMBITIOUS this week, as Rosie and Adam discuss Rosie's fairytale adventure Red Riding. We discuss the impossibility of originality, the benefits of tradition, and the general headaches of devising RPG's for publication. Then we check back in with the Gelatinous Cube for an encounter that considers how fame might bless and confound an adventuring party. Check our show notes below for the full encounter write-up https://tinyurl.com/yc7cp7ss You can also get the 5e version of Rosie's adventure on Roll20! https://tinyurl.com/sxu8thwj Title music: Shadows in the Night by Adrian Berenguer
We focus on the Weird in RPG's this week, as we contemplate Adam's bizarre chaos-demon confection The Whirlywhip. What makes a thing weird, and how can this quality enliven our games? Then we trip over to the lovely folks from the OSR RPG group on Facebook for more weird and wonderful happenings. Full encounter here Title music: Shadows in the Night by Adrian Berenguer
Rosie and Adam discuss Rosie's mushroom trap, and the importance of shrooms to fantasy and folklore. We ask why mushrooms are so alluring (clue: drugs), what makes a trap a trap, ponder mycophobia and consider how worlds emerge from small player actions. Oh, and there are goblins. There are always goblins. Then it's over to the Gelatinous Cube for a Weird woodland trance party encounter. Check our show notes below for the full encounter write-up https://tinyurl.com/te8u6dxp Title music: Shadows in the Night by Adrian Berenguer
This episode we talk Adam's dark fairytale farmyard encounter. Rosie and Ad discuss why the weird is privileged over the uncanny in RPG creation, horror in the familiar, and motivating players through moral appeals. They get into the virtues of over preparation and what do if your players sidestep an encounter than you've spent an age crafting. All that and a disturbing dinner party courtesy of the Gelatinous Cube. Check our show notes below for the full encounter write-up and the Gelatinous Cube's take on the prompt https://tinyurl.com/4c2tr38e Title music: Shadows in the Night by Adrian Berenguer
Merry met, friends! Revelations abound as we shine the divine light of Pelor on Rosie's favourite PC, Moonie the Cleric. Rosie and Ad discuss how players can "presence" their cleric's god to make games more surprising and fun, and explore how clerics tap into the deep magic that happens at the D&D table. Check our show notes below for the full encounter write-up and the Gelatinous Cube's take on the prompt: a rescue mission that would test anyone's faith! https://tinyurl.com/44wc7jfk Title music: Shadows in the Night by Adrian Berenguer
Adam's wonderful and strange beer garden. We discuss whimsy in RPGs, micro-sandboxes, the magic of taverns and the pleasures and perils of roleplaying downtime. Check our show notes below for the full encounter write-up https://tinyurl.com/8eh6bkcr Title music: Shadows in the Night by Adrian Berenguer
We discuss Rosie's doomed expedition to a hell gate. Peril and mystery as adventure hooks, greed as a player motivator, how gothic twists can enliven RPG creativity and the setting altering potential of deals with the devil. Check our show notes below for the full encounter write-up https://tinyurl.com/7m2hhfyf Title music: Shadows in the Night by Adrian Berenguer
We dig into Adam's encounter, "this worm is cosmic". Get ready for monsters-as-traps, zero gravity made simple, and the surprising importance of prog rock aesthetics. Yeah, we weren't expecting that either. Check our show notes below for the full encounter write-up, along with the slimeous fabulations of the Gelatinous Cube: https://tinyurl.com/e425ywh8 Title music: Shadows in the Night by Adrian Berenguer
We discuss Rosie's encounter, "this mountain has a witch on it", and get into random tables, sneaking, and fabulous witch chalets. Check our show notes below for the full encounter write-up, along with the luxurious thoughts of the Gelatinous Cube: https://tinyurl.com/9mw4v6cu Title music: Shadows in the Night by Adrian Berenguer
We discuss Adam's encounter, "this backroom is a trap." Join us in the dungeon for evil geometry, mad geography, and some very nasty wallpaper. Check our show notes for the full encounter write-up, along with the lurid decorations of the Gelatinous Cube. https://tinyurl.com/h23c4s8w Title music: Shadows in the Night by Adrian Berenguer
This week we discuss Rosie's encounter, "the moon is full", and get into aesthetics, time tracking, and dog bonuses. Download our show notes for the full encounter write-up, along with the acid dreamings of the Gelatinous Cube: https://tinyurl.com/2h6hvd2r Title music: Shadows in the Night by Adrian Berenguer
This week we discuss Adam's encounter, "this daimon is drunk". We talk daimons, demons and drunken quests Download our show notes for the full encounter write-up, along with the fevered scrawlings of the Gelatinous Cube. https://tinyurl.com/3rrkavpu Title music: Shadows in the Night by Adrian Berenguer
Welcome to the first episode of Gelatinous Cube! A podcast about creating compelling problems for players in Dungeons and Dragons and other tabletop RPG's. This week we talk clues, combat, and Glenn Close. Rosie is DM and the prompt is "this goblin wears lipstick." Download our show notes for Rosie's encounter, along with the mad imaginings of the Gelatinous Cube. https://tinyurl.com/6d72tzfx Title music: Shadows in the Night by Adrian Berenguer
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