344: Why You Shouldn't Learn to Roleplay From Actual Plays, with Zach Reeves
The Good Friends of Jackson Elias
Release Date: 07/27/2026
345: Alien, with Holly from RPG Reanimators
The Good Friends of Jackson Elias
Main Topic: Alien Since its release in 1979, Alien has become a fan favourite, spawning any number of spin-offs across every medium. But what is the secret of its enduring appeal? How well does it stand up after almost five decades of imitators and pastiches? And what can we take from its strange DNA for our own games? Our Guest Host We are delighted to welcome Holly back to the Good Friends! Holly co-hosts , a podcast focusing on providing resources for GMs and players of horror RPGs. She’s also a regular on , an actual play YouTube channel. In addition to RPGs,...
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344: Why You Shouldn't Learn to Roleplay From Actual Plays, with Zach Reeves
The Good Friends of Jackson Elias
Main Topic: Why You Shouldn’t Learn to Roleplay From Actual Plays Actual play podcasts and streams have grown in popularity massively over the past 20 years, redefining and dominating the hobby. They play a huge role in bringing people into roleplaying games, and possibly an even larger one in teaching new players how they work. But is this always a good thing? What are the advantages and possible pitfalls of learning from APs? And what other approaches might we recommend? This episode was recorded live at A Weekend With Good Friends 2026. While it mostly follows the usual format, we do...
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343: Reactive GMing, with Ross Bryant
The Good Friends of Jackson Elias
Main Topic: Reactive GMing No game ever goes to plan. Whether you have prepared for every eventuality or are running off the cuff, players will always do the unexpected. Improvisation is a key skill for GMs, from spinning narrative on the fly to incorporating whatever chaos the players come up with. But what are some of the key techniques in making this work? How do you learn to let go as a GM? And are there ever times when you might want to keep a grip on the reins? We have discussed similar topics in earlier episodes on and . This episode was recorded live at A Weekend With...
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342a: ENnies Nomination Special
The Good Friends of Jackson Elias
We were delighted to hear that The Good Friends of Jackson Elias has been nominated for an ENnie Award in the Best Streaming Content category. This is both exciting and unexpected. The Good Friends has been running for over 13 years now and we’re just happy that people are still listening! The awards themselves are decided through . If you are a fan of the podcast and you’d like to vote for us (and earn our undying gratitude), you can find . Voting runs between the 10th and 19th of July 2026. If you are voting, you might also consider casting votes for Jayson Green’s “The...
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342: The Stuff, with cuppycup
The Good Friends of Jackson Elias
Main Topic: The Stuff Following on from our discussion of last episode, we’re taking a look at Larry Cohen’s 1985 film The Stuff. Cohen blended horror, social satire, and absurd comedy to create one of the stranger mainstream releases of the decade, lampooning America’s growing obsession with guilt-free snack foods and the intrusive ways in which they were marketed. As well as discussing the film itself, and how it might inspire our games, we’ll talk a little about Larry Cohen himself and what made him such a unique filmmaker. Our Guest Host We are delighted to...
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341: Food and Horror, with Cuppycup
The Good Friends of Jackson Elias
Main Topic: Food and Horror To live is to require sustenance. Food is not only nutrition but usually a source of pleasure. But our relationship with food is complicated and filled with potential horror. Can we trust that what we eat is not tainted? What happens when our relationship with food becomes dysfunctional? Should we blind ourselves to the horrors of how our food is manufactured? And how do we react when humans find themselves on the menu? We touched on some of these issues in episode 182, on . Content Warnings After our episode on gore, we had some requests for content warnings...
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340: Environmental Storytelling, with Alex Sun
The Good Friends of Jackson Elias
Main Topic: Environmental Storytelling Every location bears scars. These might have been left by human occupation, entropy, natural disasters, or something altogether more eldritch. Whatever the cause, places have their own stories to tell. But just how does environmental storytelling work in fiction and gaming? What turns seemingly random items into a non-linear narrative? And how might we use these techniques in our own games? We touched on related matters when we discussed with Heather Miller in episode 304. Our Guest Host This episode we’re delighted to welcome Alex Sun back...
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339: Liminal Spaces, with Alex Sun
The Good Friends of Jackson Elias
Main Topic: Liminal Spaces Liminal spaces have been a source of fascination on the internet for several years now. Like much of the analogue horror movement, they are defined more by an aesthetic than any specific subject matter or tropes. But for all their vagueness, they have found their way into fanfic, short films, video games, and now, with the forthcoming Backrooms movie, onto the big screen. So what makes a space liminal? Why are they so uncanny? What are some of the best uses we’ve seen in media? And how might we use them in our own games? We touched upon this topic when...
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338: New Takes on Classic Monsters, with Sasha Sienna
The Good Friends of Jackson Elias
Main Topic: New Takes on Classic Monsters It’s probably safe to say that every horror fan loves monsters. While we regularly see new creations breaking free from the laboratory, so many monsters in media are old favourites. Whether they’re vampires, werewolves, or Deep Ones, there are certain archetypes we’re drawn to over and over. But what are some ways of making them feel fresh? How have we seen others do so in films, stories, or other media? And how might we come up with some new takes on old favourites in our own games? Our Guest Host This episode we’re welcoming Sasha Sienna...
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337: Gateway Horror, with Sasha Sienna
The Good Friends of Jackson Elias
Main Topic: Gateway Horror Every horror fan started out somewhere. The works that draw us into the genre are often gentler ones, created to appeal to those put off by terror or gore. These are often aimed at children or teens, although there are plenty of entry points for adults as well. What are some of our favourite examples of gateway horror? What makes them more accessible to someone who isn’t already a horror fan? And how can we use this approach in our games? We’ve touched on similar topics in , with Baz Stephens, and , with Josephine McAdam. Our Guest Host Sasha Sienna is...
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Main Topic: Why You Shouldn’t Learn to Roleplay From Actual Plays
Actual play podcasts and streams have grown in popularity massively over the past 20 years, redefining and dominating the hobby. They play a huge role in bringing people into roleplaying games, and possibly an even larger one in teaching new players how they work. But is this always a good thing? What are the advantages and possible pitfalls of learning from APs? And what other approaches might we recommend?
This episode was recorded live at A Weekend With Good Friends 2026. While it mostly follows the usual format, we do spend a bit of time towards the end answering questions from people who were watching live. You can see the video for this and all the other seminars on the AWWGF YouTube Channel.
Our Guest Host
We are delighted to welcome Zach Reeves back to The Good Friends of Jackson Elias! Zach is the game master, producer, and editor of Pretending to be People, a horror/comedy actual play podcast. Zach enjoys karaoke with his wife, dancing with friends, and creating elaborate scavenger hunts. He is afraid of losing his mind and Styrofoam.
Pretending to be People will be appearing live at Gen Con 2026, at 4 PM on Friday the 31st. Tickets are still available. There will also be meetups throughout the con, so keep an eye out for those.
Zach has previously joined us to discuss:
Links
Things we mention in this episode include:
- Harmontown
- Nerd Poker
- The Adventure Zone
- The Glass Cannon Network
- Delta Green
- Call of Cthulhu subreddit
- Delta Green subreddit
- D&D subreddit
- RPG subreddit
- How We Roll
- Into the Darkness
- Vampire: the Masquerade
- RPG.net
- The Forge
- Carmen Sandiego’s click-and-point adventure
- D&D
- Traveller
- Writing a Novel by John Braine
- “Politics and the English Language” by George Orwell
- The Fellowship of the Ring by JRR Tolkien
- Matt Mercer Effect
- Critical Role
- “Side Effects May Include” on Push the Roll With Ross Bryant
- The Two-Headed Serpent on How We Roll
- The Two-Headed Serpent
- Dungeons and Daddies
- “The Burning Stars” on Into the Darkness
- “The Burning Stars” from Terrors From Beyond
- “Amidst the Ancient Trees” on How We Roll
- Dimension 20
- “PX Poker Night”
- “Hell is Other People” from KULT: Screams and Whispers
- The Good Friends of Jackson Elias Discord server
- The Magic School Bus
- Fantastic Voyage (1966)
- Pretending to be People Discord server
- Blade Runner on Ain’t Slayed Nobody
- Blade Runner RPG
- Audacity
- Reaper
- “Operation STOP REPO” shotgun scenario
- “Operation STOP REPO” with Jared Logan on Pretending to be People
- Vaesen – Nordic Horror Roleplaying
- Miskatonic University Podcast
- Seth Skorkowsky
News
2HS on HWR
After 9 1/2 years, How We Roll have recorded the final episodes of The Two-Headed Serpent. This has been an epic journey, and Scott would like to thank everyone who took part, specifically Joe, Dave, Kuran, Camille, Liisa, Aron, Eoghan, and Mav. Oh, and Greg, of course.
These last episodes will come out over the course of the next few months. Expect death, destruction, and sheer bloody chaos.
Now for a short rest before the inevitable sequel.
