RP_OK: Gaming, Storytelling, Tabletop

Breath of the Wild and Mass Effect: Andromeda. The nifty, nerding natterers of RP_OK are back! We catch up on recent activities surrounding D&D's Curse of Strahd (in which Zack experiences a tragedy, and Chris cackles) and Out of the Abyss (in which Ben tries to run a game and Chris is basically a lion), and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (which Zack has purchased). We also talk a little about the critical hype surrounding Horizon: Zero Dawn, and Ben's progress on his slow-rolling quest to play every Final Fantasy game. We also, inevitably, talk Mass Effect: Andromeda, shortly before the game's official release, and what we've gleaned from the bits and pieces released on the game's official YouTube channel...and why we aren't actually interested in watching half-hour long "First Look" videos to learn more about the game. (The recent Mass Effect-themed expansion for Cards Against Humanity might also come up. A bunch.) Ben's pre-order has been pre-downloaded for a week -- how about you? Hosts Ben Lee Chris Loe Zack McQueen Editor / Producer Ben Lee Executive Producers Mike Fatum Jarys Maragopoulos Logo Design Sarah Wiener (sarahwiener-art.com) Theme "Crunk Knight", Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) For more podcasts, videos, news, and assorted geekery, check out aceofgeeks.net!

More discussion of the latest in the Doom franchise, as well as everyone's favorite topic (at the time we recorded), the vagaries of rarity in Pokemon Go, and Ben's far-flung network of Internet friends. Also, oh my god, we get it, you vape. Don't worry, though; in the time since this was recorded, we've all gotten considerably stronger Pokemon. (Well, a little stronger, anyway.) And what song is stuck in Zack's head?

The All-Day D&D Session. ...Maybe we shouldn't have let Zack do the intro. Chris, Zack, and Ben are back to talk about our recent morning-to-night session of Dungeons and Dragons, and ten whole episodes of roleplaying and storytelling nonsense in podcast form! We talk about running your own story compared to running someone else's, games like The Last of Us and Va-11 Hall-A, and even our childhood experiences with tape recorders! On the subject of our all-day session, we talk about charging into areas far beyond your characters' level, Chris's take on critical fumbles, Zack's terrible rolling (and a request for help!), being wired to the gills on Mountain Dew, and how Chris just can't ever be prepared enough to run us through a session. Hosts Ben Lee Chris Loe Zack McQueen Editor / Producer Ben Lee Executive Producers Mike Fatum Jarys Maragopoulos Logo Design Sarah Wiener (sarahwiener-art.com) Theme "Crunk Knight", Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) For more podcasts, videos, news, and assorted geekery, check out aceofgeeks.net!

Just what you've always wanted â?? Zack and Ben playing and discussing Doom before Episode 9! (Slightly more than our usual level of adult language involved. Also pauses, while Zack shows Ben something that you can't see, because audio podcast.)

Doom, Dungeon World, and Overwatch. Zack's been playing Doom until he's turned into a demon, and is incredibly excited for the launch of Overwatch (into which by now, most of you have already sunk hours upon hours)...despite not remembering Hanzo's name! Ben's been GMing Zack and their friend Theresa through Dungeon World, the postmodern narrative lover's answer to Dungeons & Dragons! Ben and Zack get interrupted multiple times attempting to make a podcast! Chris isn't in this episode on account of being busy fighting people with actual (foam) swords and drinking (socially and in moderation, we swear)! All this and more, in the latest RP_OK! Hosts Ben Lee Chris Loe (in absentia) Zack McQueen Editor/Producer Ben Lee Executive Producers Mike Fatum Jarys Maragopoulos Logo Design Sarah Wiener (sarahwiener-art.com) Theme "Crunk Knight", Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) For more podcasts, videos, news, and assorted geekery, check out aceofgeeks.net!

Before Episodes 8 and 8A, Ben, Chris, and Brian discuss Ben's Zip disk coasters, quotable films, why Brian once stopped an entire Dagorhir attacking line in mid-charge, and desperately try to record the podcast intro.

Brian Duncan, Pt. 2. Ben and Chris are back to continue our chat with Brian Duncan! We get right into it by talking about Deadlands, one of Brian's first tabletop games, and then talk about the FATE Core game that Chris and Ben played with Ace of Geeks chair Jarys. Dungeons and Dragons comes up, including some of Ben's favorite character moments, and then we get into a character discussion in full â?? creating them, finding handy bases to start from, character development and interaction at the table, and even relating characters to each other as a shorthand way to create them. Join us for all this and more in the second half of Brian's visit to RP_OK! Guest Brian Duncan Hosts Ben Lee Chris Loe Zack McQueen (in absentia) Editor / Producer Ben Lee Executive Producers Mike Fatum Jarys Maragopoulos Logo Design Sarah Wiener (sarahwiener-art.com) Theme "Crunk Knight", Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) For more podcasts, videos, news, and assorted geekery, check out aceofgeeks.net!

Brian Duncan, Pt. 1. Chris and Ben are joined by Chris' roommate, Brian! We talk about Brian's experiences playing RPGs with a group suffering from Game ADD, and chat about what we've been up to lately - with detours to D&D, Feng Shui, The Division, Pathfinder, and...a motorcycle gang? It's a tabletop-heavy, guest-featuring episode this week - and tune in again next week for Part Two! Guest Brian Duncan Hosts Ben Lee Chris Loe Zack McQueen (in absentia) Editor / Producer Ben Lee Executive Producers Mike Fatum Jarys Maragopoulos Logo Design Sarah Wiener (sarahwiener-art.com) Theme "Crunk Knight", Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) For more podcasts, videos, news, and assorted geekery, check out aceofgeeks.net!

Before we can talk about DunDraCon, we've got some things to get out of our system, firstâ?¦specifically, some music, some terrible puns, lots of being distracted, more terrible, terrible puns, and a quick tangent into discussing Stephen King's *The Dark Tower* series. Somewhere, maybe, we just might even record a podcast! ...Maybe.

We're back from DunDraCon, and it was an incredible experience! We've all got some favorite moments to talk about, from Chris playing Microscope, to Ben trying out the Dungeons & Dragons Adventurer's League, to the awesome Star Wars build of Fate Core that Zack played named "Kellian's Fist". We go into detail about our experiences, what we've been up to, and some of our most interesting new discoveries. If you enjoy roleplaying games, then you owe it to yourself to attend a gaming convention one of these days -- listen in to find out why! Referenced in this episode: Microscope (http://www.lamemage.com/microscope/) D&D Adventurerâ??s League (http://dndadventurersleague.org/) Kellian's Fist, by Dovi Anderson (powered by Fate Core; see the Big Bad Con 2015 listing: http://www.bigbadcon.com/events/kellians-fist/) Hosts Ben Lee Chris Loe Zack McQueen Editor / Producer Ben Lee Executive Producers Mike Fatum Jarys Maragopoulos Logo Design Sarah Wiener (sarahwiener-art.com) Theme "Crunk Knight", Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) For more podcasts, videos, news, and assorted geekery, check out aceofgeeks.net!

We're at DunDraCon this week in the Bay Area, and we haven't got time to record a show -- but we'll be back next week to talk about some of our experiences at the show and try to bring some guests on while we're at it! For more information, check out www.dundracon.com .

Villains, Part Two: Spotlights. SPOILER WARNING: Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Final Fantasy VII. Ben has finally seen The Force Awakens, and Zack and Chris are frothing at the mouth to finally be able to talk about it! Along the way, we re-tell our latest exploits with Dagorhir, Portal 2, and Final Fantasy II and continue our discussion of villains. Discussing the likes of Vader, Ren, and Sephiroth makes for a great excuse for Ben to overuse the word 'iconic' as we discuss what makes each character engaging and memorable as a villain and as a human being. Join us as we analyze just a few of the most notable villains to join the stories we weave as part of our series on villainy -- then tell us who else we left out! Hosts Ben Lee Chris Loe Zack McQueen Editor / Producer Ben Lee Executive Producers Mike Fatum Jarys Maragopoulos Logo Design Sarah Wiener (sarahwiener-art.com) Theme "Crunk Knight", Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) For more podcasts, videos, news, and assorted geekery, check out aceofgeeks.net!

Trying to start a podcast is all fun and games until Zack tries his best Ben impression...and then things go absolutely off the rails in this nonsense recorded before Episode 5. Before you know it, Zack has made multiple attempts to start the podcast, Ben discusses his editing philosophy, and you'll love our new...morning radio show...?

Villains, Part One: Conflicts and Categories. We're starting a series about villainy and we couldnâ??t be happier to be bad! Zack, Ben, and Chris look at the spectrum of antagonists in narrative games and mention some of our favorite examples, from Vaas to GLaDOS to the Joker, and an incredibly harrowing (spoiler horn) BioShock memory. We cover plenty of games in this episode and plenty of delicious villains and engaging conflicts. Listen in, and then tell us who you think we missed! Hosts Ben Lee Chris Loe Zack McQueen Editor / Producer Ben Lee Executive Producers Mike Fatum Jarys Maragopoulos Logo Design Sarah Wiener (sarahwiener-art.com) Theme "Crunk Knight", Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) For more podcasts, videos, news, and assorted geekery, check out aceofgeeks.net!

We've got it all! Fallout 4, Dwarf Fortress, My Singing Monsters -- everything but a podcast. In this bonanza of bonus content from before both halves of our Fantasy RPG Draft, Ben gets billy clubbed, Zack is publicly shamed, Chris briefly loses his grip on reality, and Lamps has some opinions about Pokemon. Despite nonsense, laughs, and spores (take 1d4) we eventually manage to get the podcast started -- we do get a bit loud, though, so be careful if you're listening via headphones this week! Other rejected episode titles: "Siri, Open The Ham Horn" and "Take 1d4 Damage For Not Seeing Star Wars." We'll see you again Thursday, when we start up a new series of episodes on villainy!

Fantasy RPG Draft, Part Two. It's a little late and we're a little punchy, which is obviously the best time to finish up our RPG Fantasy Draft! Ben, Chris, and Zack are rejoined by Lamps to take the six games we drafted last week and try to turn our disparate pieces into a game we'd want to play. How successful are we? Well, you know how things go around here... Before you know it, we've made typos out loud, spoken in tiny voices, made terrible, terrible puns, and hit Ben in the head with a sack of quarters -- and come up with a few fantasy patchwork video games! Just another day at RP_OK -- listen for yourself, then let us know what you think! Guest Michael "Lamps" Lampert Hosts Ben Lee Chris Loe Zack McQueen Editor / Producer Ben Lee Executive Producers Mike Fatum Jarys Maragopoulos Logo Design Sarah Wiener (sarahwiener-art.com) Theme "Crunk Knight", Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) For more podcasts, videos, news, and assorted geekery, check out aceofgeeks.net!

Fantasy RPG Draft. We're trying something new -- Zack, Chris, Ben, and their friend Lamps are doing a fantasy draft of role-playing video games! In six rounds, we'll each select a video RPG and chat a bit about our selections. In the next round, we'll apply our six picks into six categories: Protagonist, Supporting Cast, Antagonist, Setting, Combat System, and a Wild Card -- and next week, we'll try to build a game out of these various pieces! With twenty-four picks to make, it's safe to say there are plenty of distractions, tangents, and unwanted insights into our personal lives -- we had a ton of fun making this episode. Join us for one of our most ridiculous episodes yet! Guest Michael "Lamps" Lampert Hosts Ben Lee Chris Loe Zack McQueen Editor / Producer Ben Lee Executive Producers Mike Fatum Jarys Maragopoulos Logo Design Sarah Wiener (sarahwiener-art.com) Theme "Crunk Knight", Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) For more podcasts, videos, news, and assorted geekery, check out aceofgeeks.net!

Making the podcast go is not an easy task, as Chris gets every opportunity to remind us this week -- while Ben riffs on ABBA, Zack gets stoked about Rick and Morty, and Chris himself goes hunting for Star Wars music on the Interwebs. Along the way, we hit belches, I Love The 80's, and at least two false starts trying to get started recording Episode 3. Enjoy, and we'll see you next week for our first-ever Fantasy Role-Playing Game Draft!

Character Creation and Evolution. With the launch of Fallout 4, it's the perfect time to discuss characters and character creation. Ben, Zack, and Chris have plenty to say about character builds, from Fallout to Skyrim to Mass Effect, and the ways that a narrative can influence a player's character creation experience. After that, we bring tabletop games into focus, and the ways a character can grow and expand and change as time passes, and as they live through new experiences. Then Chris brings up Dwarf Fortress, and all bets are completely off -- you'll have to listen in for yourself! Discussed today: Dwarf Fortress, Bay 12 Games http://www.bay12games.com/dwarves/ Boatmurdered, a Dwarf Fortress Letâ??s Play http://lparchive.org/Dwarf-Fortress-Boatmurdered/Introduction/ Hosts Ben Lee Chris Loe Zack McQueen Editor / Producer Ben Lee Executive Producers Mike Fatum Jarys Maragopoulos Logo Design Sarah Wiener (sarahwiener-art.com) Theme "Crunk Knight", Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) For more podcasts, videos, news, and assorted geekery, check out aceofgeeks.net!

We start with Zack discussing a butts super-cut, and go rapidly downhill from there as we try to get ourselves together and record a podcast. Featuring in this reel are loud singing, ice cream, several attempts at an intro, Chris's preferred 40K faction, and learning which of us is the babby of the podcast, in this audio from both before and after episode 2.

Narrative Structure and The Quiet Year. We recorded this episode the day before Fallout 4 was released, and Zack, understandably, is nearly melting down. We talk about Buried Without Ceremony's The Quiet Year, a fantastic quick-start game that lets you build a story and a future for a post-apocalyptic community with a paper, playing cards, a few dice, and an $8 PDF, all in just a few hours. We also discuss narrative structure -- the ways in which being open-world, on-rails, or level-by-level changes the way in which a video game's story is told and its world is built. We might even make it through the show without bringing up Mass Effect -- you'll have to listen to find out! Discussed today: The Quiet Year, Buried Without Ceremony http://buriedwithoutceremony.com/the-quiet-year/ Hosts Ben Lee Chris Loe Zack McQueen Editor / Producer Ben Lee Executive Producers Mike Fatum Jarys Maragopoulos Logo Design Sarah Wiener (sarahwiener-art.com) Theme "Crunk Knight", Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) For more podcasts, videos, news, and assorted geekery, check out aceofgeeks.net!

If you think we're strange during the podcast, you should hear how weird Zack, Ben, and Chris get before we ever start recording.  We sat down to record a podcast; singing, yelling, and making fun of ourselves ensued instead, in this clip of pre-roll from before we recorded Episode 1. As a bonus, after that comes excerpts of our pre-roll for Episode 0, when we chatted about gaming experiences and tried very hard to decide on a title for the podcast; you can almost hear the gears clanking in our head the whole time -- we even try to find a way around deciding right away! Enjoy -- we'll be back with another episode next Thursday!

Proof of Concept. Welcome to RP_OK! Ben, Zack, and Chris introduce a bit of their personal roleplaying and gaming histories before launching into a discussion of their favorite worlds to play in. Do we bring up Mass Effect? Of course we do! But wait, there's more -- we discuss The Elder Scrolls, Dragonlance, and ask what settings we've never played in but wish we had. We talk about scalability in roleplaying games, terrible, terrible puns and some of our most engaging or triumphant roleplaying moments. (There might be butts.) This is actually the very first episode we recorded; even though it shows in our production value a bit, we really enjoyed this episode and didnâ??t want to just drop it. There's some crackling from the mic that starts around twenty minutes in and gets a bit louder, which could be a little rough if you're listening to the episode on headphones, so be forewarned â?? but have fun! Hosts Ben Lee Chris Loe Zack McQueen Editor / Producer Ben Lee Executive Producers Mike Fatum Jarys Maragopoulos Logo Design Sarah Wiener (sarahwiener-art.com) Theme "Crunk Knight", Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) For more podcasts, videos, news, and assorted geekery, check out aceofgeeks.net!

Characters. It's the first episode of RP_OK! Chris, Ben, and Zack are here to discuss all manner of storytelling games, from video games to tabletop games to interactive media and everything in between. Today, we explain a bit about the podcast's purpose, then discuss some of our favorite characters. Along the way, we make fun of Ben's Steam shame list, go straight into denial about our imaginary listeners, heap praise upon BioWare, and possibly accidentally mention butts. At least once. This was actually the second episode we recorded - the 'test episode' referenced in this week's episode will be up in a few days! Hosts Ben Lee Chris Loe Zack McQueen Editor / Producer Ben Lee Executive Producers Mike Fatum Jarys Maragopoulos Logo Design Sarah Wiener (sarahwiener-art.com) Theme "Crunk Knight", Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) For more podcasts, videos, news, and assorted geekery, check out aceofgeeks.net!