ILLUSIONS (Remastered) - Everything is a lie and the mimic was a metaphor
The RPGBOT.Podcast
This week, we weaponize hallucinations, traumatize NPCs, and gaslight a guard dog—with illusions! Sure! Here's a funny and detailed set of show notes and key takeaways for the RPGBOT.Podcast episode titled: Show Notes: In this episode of the RPGBOT.Podcast, the gang goes full David Copperfield on your tabletop—except instead of sawing a lady in half, we’re casting Phantasmal Force to convince the BBEG his pants are full of bees. Join Tyler, Ash, and Randall as they pull back the illusory curtain on deception magic and reveal the crunchy mechanics, chaotic strategies, and absolute...
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PLANESCAPE POSTMORTEM 2 - Featuring Existential Dread, Multiversal Collapse, and a Quasit with a Lot of Opinions
The RPGBOT.Podcast
What do you get when you mix a disappearing god, a multiverse glitch, and a talking squirrel? Apparently, therapy. Show Notes: In this second helping of the Ash Ely Planescape Postmortem, the hosts dissect the juicy narrative meat of a campaign marinated in memory loss, Mind Flayers, and metaphysical trauma. From the desperate hunt for Orochalcum to the chaos of battling Cathraxus (yes, that Cathraxus), our hosts recount the highs, lows, and emotional collateral damage of storytelling across the planes. The episode dives deep into the decisions that shaped the campaign—like letting players...
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PLANESCAPE, AN RPGBOT.POSTMORTEM - Asher's Weird, Wonderful Multiverse
The RPGBOT.Podcast
In this episode of the RPGBOT.Podcast, the hosts gather for a postmortem discussion on Ash Ely’s recent Planescape campaign—a wild ride through the Outer Planes where philosophy hits like a fireball and bureaucracy is deadlier than any dragon. With plenty of laughs and genuine reflection, the crew discusses their favorite moments, mechanical experiments, player decisions, and the challenges of storytelling in a setting where time is subjective, death is optional, and your base of operations might just be a sentient castle. This is a deep-dive into what makes a great campaign weirdly...
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ABBERATIONS: Nothing says 'Fun Game Night' like Psychic Trauma!
The RPGBOT.Podcast
In this Remastered Episode of the RPGBOT.Podcast, we summon the horrors that make your players ask, ‘Can I roll to nope?’ In this episode, the RPGBOT.Podcast team delves into the weird, the squishy, and the utterly incomprehensible world of Aberrations—those delightful horrors that break the rules of reality and challenge players’ expectations. From Mind Flayers to Gibbering Mouthers, the hosts explore how these creatures can be used to discomfort, disorient, and delight your game table. Whether you’re looking to run a horror campaign, design a disturbing encounter, or just want to...
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HORROR SUBCLASSES - D&D UA 2025: Screams from the Spreadsheet
The RPGBOT.Podcast
New horror subclasses just dropped, and we’re here to reanimate them, roast them, and regret reading the action economy aloud. Support our friends at , because your dungeon shouldn't look like it was sketched during a Zoom call. Show Notes In this episode, the RPGBOT crew proves that horror isn’t just for the subclasses—it’s also in trying to sync microphones. After wrestling with some haunted audio gremlins, the hosts dive headfirst into the latest Unearthed Arcana drop from Wizards of the Coast, which brings a trio of spooky new subclass options to the D&D table. First up: the...
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STARFINDER GALAXY GUIDE REVIEWED! - Space is Weird, Math is Hard, Let's Play Anyway
The RPGBOT.Podcast
Crack open your Core Rulebook, dump stat Charisma, and calibrate your resolve points—because it’s time to roll initiative against entropy itself with the Starfinder Galaxy Guide, where space is weird, and the rules are weirder. This episode is brought to you by —because your players will never know you prepped their dungeon during the loading screen of Baldur’s Gate 3. In this multidimensional episode of The RPGBOT.Podcast, the hosts open with an honest and humorous take on Mother's Day, Father's Day, and the emotional nuances surrounding both. The discussion then shifts into exciting...
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EVIL CHARACTERS (Remastered) - Dubious (anti)heroics
The RPGBOT.Podcast
If your evil character isn’t at least pretending to be helpful, they’re not evil—they’re just unemployed. In this episode of the RPGBOT.Podcast, the hosts dive deep into the dark, morally murky world of evil characters in tabletop RPGs. With Ash leading the charge, the conversation focuses on how to play a character with evil tendencies without destroying the game, the party, or your friendships. The hosts explore different shades of evil alignments, the narrative value of morally compromised PCs, and offer practical advice on how to maintain group cohesion when one of the players...
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OTHER WORLDS 3 RECAP - The Great Pizza Debate
The RPGBOT.Podcast
From pizza to invisibility puzzles and rogue mechanics, Episode 3 of Other Worlds takes you on a whirlwind ride through culinary hot takes, heist mechanics, and the joys (and pains) of Pathfinder 2. In Episode 3 of Other Worlds, the RPGBOT.Podcast team serves up a delightfully chaotic mix of culinary hot takes and deep tabletop RPG insights. Randall makes a chicken Caesar abomination. Tyler admits that he enjoys pineapple on pizza. The pizza talk eventually turns toward more tabletop territory, but not before a quick anecdote about a friend with a professional pizza oven makes...
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OTHER WORLDS 3 - Reflections, Revelations, and Really Weird Drinks
The RPGBOT.Podcast
This episode of the RPGBOT.Podcast is brought to you by Dungeon Flow. – Because your dungeon deserves more than graph paper and panic. In Episode 3 of Other Worlds, the RPGBOT crew mixes magical mayhem with mundane mischief. What begins with a hilarious debate on olives and grooming spirals into a multi-layered roleplaying session filled with stealthy maneuvers, magical puzzles, and mirrored mysteries. The players explore the social dynamics of fantasy bartending, wrestle with illusions and invisibility, and uncover a portal to a parallel world that forces them to confront questions of...
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LANGUAGES (Remastered) - Perfect for Parties that Talk First and Think Later
The RPGBOT.Podcast
In this episode of the RPGBOT.Podcast, the hosts dive deep into the often-overlooked tool of language in tabletop RPGs—how it shapes worlds, defines characters, and enhances immersion. Whether it’s a dwarven curse word, a whispered draconic threat, or a gnomish pun that lands like a rock in a puddle, the power of language can turn a good campaign into an unforgettable one. The discussion explores the practical, narrative, and mechanical implications of language in TTRPGs like Dungeons & Dragons and Pathfinder. The hosts share ideas for incorporating multilingualism into your campaign...
info_outlineEpisode Summary
In this episode, the RPGBOT hosts take a deep dive into the origin, design, and legacy of the Pokémon Jr. Adventure Game—a tabletop role-playing game released at the height of the Pokémon craze. Despite achieving strong initial sales, the game was ultimately considered a failure by its creators due to issues surrounding pricing, marketing strategy, and corporate oversight.
The discussion navigates through the creative process behind the game, its design for a young audience, and how it served as many players' first introduction to TTRPGs. The episode also reflects on broader topics such as missed opportunities in the tabletop space, the tension between business decisions and creative intent, and what lessons developers and publishers can learn today.
Links
Bill Slavicsek, designer on Pokemon Jr. Adventure Game
- https://www.billslavicsek.com/
- Youtube Interview about Pokemon Jr with A.A. Voigt
Stan! (Steven “Stan” Brown), designer on Pokemon Jr. Adventure Game
- YouTube
- Interview with David Wise - Great discussion of the late days of TSR and the early days of D&D and Wizards of the Coast, including the d20 System+OGL era
- Wikipedia: Steven Stan Brown
- Pokemon Jr. on Archive.org
- Wikipedia: Pokemon
Other Folks Mentioned in the Episode
Ben Riggs, DnD historian
Brian Lewis, formerly in legal at WotC, now co-owner of Gen Con and a lawyer at Azoria Law, which manages the ORC license
Cindi Rice, brand manager at WotC from 1997-2001
David Wise, director of WotC publishing group from 1997-2002
Ryan Dancey, VP and brand manager at Wotc from 1997-2001
Main Discussion Points
The Genesis of Pokémon Junior
- Inspired by Pokémon’s massive popularity and the need for a child-friendly RPG
- Designed as a simple, parent-child bonding experience
- Game mechanics were intuitive and accessible for young children
Game Development and Team Dynamics
- Created by a small, dedicated team
- Emphasis on storytelling and character interaction over complex mechanics
- Collaborative design process, shaped by focus groups and child feedback
The Paradox of Success and Failure
- Launched with high expectations and massive initial orders
- Sold over 800,000 copies in the first year
- Despite strong sales, it was considered a commercial failure due to pricing and overproduction
Marketing and Business Decisions
- Pricing was initially too high, hindering accessibility
- Internal sales team competition and lack of communication impacted distribution
- Marketing decisions were made independently of the designers’ input
The Impact and Legacy
- Planned expansions and sequels were ultimately shelved
- Nostalgia for the game remains strong, particularly among those introduced to RPGs through it
- Reflections on missed opportunities in extending the brand and community-building
Broader Industry Implications
- Highlights the fragile balance between creativity and profit
- Demonstrates the importance of aligning marketing with product design
- Suggests future success depends on community engagement, smart strategy, and risk-taking
Key Takeaways
- The Pokémon Jr. Adventure Game is a notable piece of RPG history despite its short lifespan.
- High sales numbers can mask deeper structural and strategic failures.
- Overestimation of demand and poor pricing strategies led to the game's early demise.
- Designers had little control over critical business decisions, including marketing and pricing.
- The game was meant to be a gateway for young players into the world of TTRPGs.
- Focus groups revealed that intuitive, non-text-dependent design was crucial for child audiences.
- Nostalgia plays a powerful role in how the game is remembered today.
- Internal company dynamics, including sales team competition, had real impacts on product success.
- Missed opportunities included additional product lines and long-term brand building.
- The industry must find ways to support innovation and community engagement to ensure future growth.
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How to Find Us:
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Tyler Kamstra
- Twitter: @RPGBOTDOTNET
- Facebook: rpgbotbotdotnet
- Bluesky:rpgbot.bsky.social
Ash Ely
- Professional Game Master on StartPlaying.Games
- Twitter: @GravenAshes
- YouTube@ashravenmedia
Randall James
- @JackAmateur
- Amateurjack.com
Producer Dan
- @Lzr_illuminati