Episode 21: Rogue's Gallery
Rascal Radio Hour
(Hey gang, Chase here. My audio produced this very strange, high pitched whine throughout. I've done my best to either cut or minimize it, but this could still be an unpleasant listen for some folks. My apologies -- will have this sorted by the next episode.) Two members of the newly founded Rogue.site, Ryan Gilliam and Cass Marshall, join Chase and Rowan to talk about their worker-owned video game website. More than simply "Rascal but for video games", Rogue is a continuation of human-centric writing from some of the best voices lost in Polygon's layoffs earlier this year. Afterwards, they...
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Episode 20: Pedant Party
Rascal Radio Hour
Um, actually, it's pronounced 'PEE-dunt'. This is the slightly grating but technically correct energy that Caelyn and Chase bring to this episode. After discussing more tariff nonsense, the pair discover that most of the news is a huge bummer and they'd rather delve into their experience creating characters for the Cosmere RPG. Caelyn talks about hidden information and futzing about in Foundry, while Chase feels trapped by D20 combat assumptions. Later, both of them fondly remember a certain green box full of mutants while traversing the Question Dungeon. Someone has asked about trad RPGs that...
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Episode 19: Horus-scopes
Rascal Radio Hour
The crew psychoanalyze each other at least twice during this episode of the Rascal Radio Hour, which features everyone but Rowan (she brought home an illness souvenir from Gen Con) wading through a dense thicket of tabletop news from the last two weeks. They discuss two new RPGs adapted from book licenses and what exactly is gained when making that jump. Later, they break down White Wolf's new creative director and an unfortunate (but ultimately not substantive) brush with AI. Oh, also, Gen Con happened! The back half of the podcast breaks down some of the more interesting bits that...
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Episode 18: Yard Goats to Throat GOATs
Rascal Radio Hour
Rowan and Chase finally deliver a tight 60-minute podcast discussing itch.io's abrupt deindexing of explicit and games tagged as "NSFW" or "adult", among others, thanks to pressure from payment processors and right-wing citizen lobbyists from Australia. It's a strange and sad affair with ties to Steam, sex work, and the political wielded by corporations against individuals. The pair also wade into Hasbro's latest earnings call with investors, where Chase sees the IP-addled brainworms leading to some weird decisions regarding Magic: The Gathering's future. Rowan is deep into trick-taking and...
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Episode 17: A Franchise By Any Other Name
Rascal Radio Hour
Chase and Lin Codega co-host an episode that is all about licensed games and this week's dirty word: franchise. The pair discuss the cancelled Tomb Raider RPG and what IP-scrubbed game might rise from its ashes, along with the continually disastrous Diamond Comic Distributors bankruptcy leaving some tabletop publishers bereft of consigned books. The big story of the week is D&D's apparent "full franchise" turn, which Chase argues is a meaningless distinction and Lin believes fits with Wizards of the Coast's past behavior. Both agree the word franchise is dumb. They also discuss...
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Episode 16: Cardboard Coercion
Rascal Radio Hour
We're tackling a stuffed two weeks of news on this week's episode. Thomas and Caelyn join Chase in discussing Jeremy Crawford and Chris Perkins' professional shuffle over to Darrington Press, and what it does and doesn't mean for the future of Daggerheart. We also cover Rebel Scum's censorship on DriveThruRPG, Draw Steel's imminent public launch, and the complicated politics of a crowdfunding bundle benefiting a Ukrainian organization. Elsewhere, Caelyn's parter has lovingly persuaded her to play Magic: The Gathering, much to Chase's horror. Thomas is serving his players their just desserts at...
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Episode 15: Soft Moves and Soft Power
Rascal Radio Hour
Someone on this podcast doesn't like Belonging Outside Belonging games, and the other doesn't find much use in industry awards. Both Chase and Thomas showed up ready to ruffle feathers on this week's podcast, but only after discussing BackerKit's new self-crowdfunding plans, impressions of UK Games Expo, and what Cephalofair's Price Johnson is doing at the US capitol. Elsewhere, the pair have been watching their friends reap what they sow in Blades '68 and describing a beautiful but largely meaningless ecology in Mappa Mundi. The Questing Dungeon befuddled our adverturers so completely that...
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Special: Final Fantasy - Magic: The Gathering, feat. Ash Parrish and Emma Partlow
Rascal Radio Hour
Magic: The Gathering's crossover with Final Fantasy drops on June 13, but unfortunately Chase doesn't know much about the storied Japanese RPG video game series. So, he brought in a couple of bona fide experts to talk about this already massively successful set. The Verge reporter Ash Parrish and TCGPlayer/ChannelFireball content manager Emma Partlow discuss FFxMTG's mechanical quality, the secret ingredient that uplifts fan service, a bevvy of blorbos, and so much more. Also on the docket is the effect of licensing fees on an already expensive hobby, the creeping takeover of Universes...
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Episode 14: Five-fingered Praxis
Rascal Radio Hour
Uh, oh. It's another episode with just Chase and Rowan. Time to get punchy, and we're not only talking about our favorite way to bully the disappointingly nerdy fascists ruling reality. The pair dig through a chunky layer of news that includes Rowan, Rook and Decard's decision to not attend Gen Con this year, Itch.io's negligence in distributing charity funds to a group saving lives in Gaza, and Goodman Games' ruffling a bunch of feathers by doing business with previously ostracized bigots. Later, they talk about a deliciously smooth Triangle Agency campaign and a solo RPG that pulls a neat...
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Episode 13: A Stool With Two Legs
Rascal Radio Hour
The entire crew gather to mourn the sudden and untimely death of games media outlet, Polygon. Along with Giant Bomb and the Daily Dot, Polygon's sale to Valnet -- and the immediate layoff of nearly every staff member -- constitutes an unnecessarily tragic blow to games journalism. Included in the layoffs is Charlie Hall, the outlet's one-man tabletop desk and an indelible piece of Rascal's own creation. The team discuss what this loss means for the industry going forward, the limits of independent websites like Rascal, and how this cycle of executive malfeasance robs journalism of its own...
info_outlineThe entire crew gather to mourn the sudden and untimely death of games media outlet, Polygon. Along with Giant Bomb and the Daily Dot, Polygon's sale to Valnet -- and the immediate layoff of nearly every staff member -- constitutes an unnecessarily tragic blow to games journalism. Included in the layoffs is Charlie Hall, the outlet's one-man tabletop desk and an indelible piece of Rascal's own creation. The team discuss what this loss means for the industry going forward, the limits of independent websites like Rascal, and how this cycle of executive malfeasance robs journalism of its own future.
It's not all doom and gloom, though: the crew also delve into The Question Dungeon after discussing SALUTE, Hasbro's MTG-shaped tariff insulation, and Rascal's first real toe into OSR waters. Finally, Dungeon World is getting a sequel from a surprising team who want to take the game in a fresh direction.
[Note: After Chase completely bungled speaking both Florence Smith Nicholls (they/them) and Mike Cook's (he/they) names, he then later accidentally misgendered Nicholls. He sinerely apologizes for the error.]
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Games mentioned:
Dungeon World 2
ArchaeOS
Realis
MIRU
Doomsong
board games???
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Hosted by Chase Carter (@chasecarter.bsky.social).
Featuring Rowan Zeoli (@rowanzeoli.bsky.social), Caelyn Ellis (@caelyn.bsky.social), and Thomas Manuel (@newmadras.bsky.social).
Theme song by People Need Goals.
Cover art logo by Johan Nohr (@johannohr.bsky.social).