Fear the Boot

Fear the Boot is an irreverent, round table discussion of tabletop role playing games. In this weekly show we debate game-related issues, offer advice for improving your game, and poke fun at the hobby. Our cast changes a little from show to show, but we always assemble a group of dynamic individuals with divergent views, guaranteeing you will hear several perspectives on everything we discuss.

Bonus Episode 104 - WPC 1: random traits 12/19/2024

Bonus Episode 104 - WPC 1: random traits * (0:24) A joke to an AI becomes a show topic. * (2:48) Characters born in a cursed forest, without sunlight. * (7:48) Characters who compulsively collect…feathers…? * (13:18) Characters who accidentally caused a rebellion. * (19:29) Characters with an unusual knowledge of fungi. * (25:03) Characters who cannot stand the sight of open water. Hosts: Dan, Julia, Mary, Wayne /episode/index/show/feartheboot/id/34527560

Episode 628 - player bucket list 11/30/2024

Episode 628 - player bucket list * (0:29) Switching to a bucket list of what we want to play. * (1:30) Wayne wants to play Dresden Files. * (4:13) Dan still wants to play an Injustice game. * (6:11) Mary wants to play a necromancer. * (9:05) Doug wants to play Stargate (or something like it). * (10:18) Wayne wants a settlement building game. Rebuild 3 demands compliance! * (14:38) Dan wants to play ourselves. . * (18:08) Mary wants to play multiple characters. * (22:25) Doug wants to play Greek mythology. * (26:00) Wayne wants to play a game with plenty of alternate history. * (28:50) Dan wants to play Battletech (plus Mechwarrior). * (30:17) Mary wants to play a group of paladins (with strong nods to David Eddings’ ). * (35:37) Doug wants to play assistants to Cold War spies. Hosts: Dan, Doug, Mary, Wayne /episode/index/show/feartheboot/id/34207430

Episode 627 – GM bucket list 09/04/2024

Episode 627 – GM bucket list * (0:29) The bucket list of games we want to run. * (1:31) Doug’s long-term campaign. * (3:10) Wayne’s : St. Louis game. * (7:03) Dan’s Battletech: Silver Scorpions game. A . * (9:37) Mary’s Castle Ravenloft / Curse of Strahd game. * (12:41) Doug’s western game. * (14:58) Wayne’s campaign based on . and . * (18:57) Dan’s Hunter game. , watchable on Netflix. . * (22:39) Mary’s Mummy game. . * (25:40) Doug’s campaign. * (26:51) Whatever Wayne backed last on Kickstarter. Right now, that’s . * (29:47) Dan’s Battletech: Solaris VII game. * (33:36) Mary’s Oregon Trail (with dragons). Hosts: Dan, Doug, Mary, Wayne /episode/index/show/feartheboot/id/32891262

Episode 626 - video games to tabletop 08/20/2024

Episode 626 - video games to tabletop * (0:30) An old Apple //c computer and early computer RPGs. * (4:16) Transitioning from video games into tabletop RPGs. * (9:44) The expectations players bring from a video game to pen-and-paper games. * (12:41) The tyranny of choice brought on by a lack of a character-driven path. * (18:05) A lack of clear and connected outcomes. * (19:50) Mixing new and veteran players. * (26:13) Expanding intra-party roleplaying. * (28:39) Asking why someone wanted to make the jump. * (35:06) Trying to translate one medium into another. Hosts: Caleb, Dan, Doug, Mary /episode/index/show/feartheboot/id/32650767

Episode 625 - profiting from session one 07/21/2024

Episode 625 - profiting from session one * (0:29) What is your goal for the first session of a game? * (2:10) Who are these characters really? * (6:08) When who you wanted to be isn’t who you became. * (11:34) A buffet of NPCs. * (16:14) Keeping the first session low pressure and shorter length. * (20:33) The social leader of the group. * (25:30) The flexibility in session one. Using the first game as a test of session zero. * (33:43) Testing the waters as the Game Master. * (37:09) Using rules and rolls a bit more than you otherwise would. Hosts: Dan, Doug, Mary, Wayne /episode/index/show/feartheboot/id/32229577

Bonus Episode 103 – WGM 3: clockwork crystals 07/12/2024

Bonus Episode 103 – WGM 3: clockwork crystals * (0:23) Prompts and prepositions. The clockwork circus is coming to town! * (1:40) Wayne’s circus in space. * (4:13) Mary’s circus on the frontier. * (7:53) Doug’s carnival of nightmares. * (8:41) Dan’s carnival of hope. * (13:10) Celestial crystals that grant power. * (14:05) Mary’s crystal preppers. * (16:08) Dan’s crystal entanglement. * (19:45) Wayne’s crystal invasion. * (24:57) Doug’s crystal gift. * (27:05) A whole lot of tests, quandaries, and Faustian deals. Hosts: Dan, Doug, Mary, Wayne /episode/index/show/feartheboot/id/32107607

Episode 624 - back to what you enjoy 05/26/2024

Episode 624 - back to what you enjoy * (0:29) Fear the Con has funded and ! We hope to see you Thursday, June 20th to Saturday, June 22nd. * (1:58) Getting back to what you love, inspired by Ray Bradbury’s . * (5:16) The tyranny of compromise. * (9:54) Wanting the GM to build the world instead of “yes-and” player input. * (15:43) Why Wayne discarded some ideas he was excited about. * (19:06) The passion for sharing stories. * (22:06) Watching players engage with obstacles and NPCs. * (26:06) Hopeful or despondent? Hosts: Dan, Doug, Mary, Wayne /episode/index/show/feartheboot/id/31467452

Episode 623 - too big to fail 05/13/2024

Episode 623 - too big to fail * (0:29) Wayne has a problem: the Wardens from Dresden Files. Coming up with too many excuses for why powerful organizations don’t care about the characters’ problems. * (7:14) Session Zero can help…or maybe not. * (10:29) There’s always someone bigger, and maybe your allies lack what you need. * (14:42) What if the characters are the backup? Or maybe they’re starting to get a reputation. * (17:41) Not letting it become a chip on the GM’s shoulder. Players that hamstring themselves. * (23:45) The assistance not being what the players expected. * (27:54) Falling back to the mature answer. Hosts: Dan, Doug, Mary, Wayne /episode/index/show/feartheboot/id/31258277

Episode 622 – bringing your PC to life 04/17/2024

Episode 622 – bringing your PC to life * (0:30) What steps do we take to bring a character to life? * (1:49) Ask what’s important. * (6:53) Seeing the good and bad in a single trait. * (8:06) Doug’s personality triangle model. * (10:54) Demonstrating character quirks. * (16:34) Making characters that both have and express personal growth. * (18:57) Taking a hobby, off-topic skill, or development path. Keeping your character in continuity. * (23:11) Practicing a character. * (29:43) Developing your idea in other creative media, but consider leaving a gap before the game begins. * (35:35) The last few days of the ! Hosts: Dan, Doug, Mary, Wayne /episode/index/show/feartheboot/id/30859843

Bonus Episode 102 – WGM 2: dead consuming the living 04/09/2024

Bonus Episode 102 – WGM 2: dead consuming the living Today’s ingredient: The dead are consuming the living. Why and how? Let’s find out! Fear the Con 2024’s Kickstarter . Hosts: Dan, Doug, Mary, Wayne /episode/index/show/feartheboot/id/30743943

Episode 621 – juice is worth the squeeze 03/31/2024

Episode 621 – juice is worth the squeeze * (0:29) In defense of technology at the gaming table. Caleb’s setup with . * (5:13) Dan’s Lion King sing-a-long and Wayne’s Ghostbusters game. * (6:27) The deeper pool of online players, including AIs. Remoting in a missing player for an in-person game. * (14:04) Working distance and distraction into the game. * (17:54) Digital storage and organization. The wonder of CTRL-F. * (25:21) Minimalization of the gaming experience. * (30:01) Dodging some issues by allowing only one person to have technology. The visual obstruction created by laptops and such. * (41:01) Getting digital audio to work for you. * (45:00) Balancing it all out. Advantages, disadvantages, familiarity, and the passage of time. Hosts: Caleb, Dan, Mary, Wayne /episode/index/show/feartheboot/id/30609063

Bonus Episode 101 - WGM 1: dead air 03/25/2024

Bonus Episode 101 - WGM 1: dead air I decided to skip over the Iron GM and go for a Tungsten GM. The ingredient? All broadcasts cease because something won’t let them get through. What’s the game plot? Also, the Fear the Con 2024 Kickstarter is ! Hosts: Dan, Doug, Mary, Wayne /episode/index/show/feartheboot/id/30524178

Episode 620 – juice ain’t worth the squeeze 02/15/2024

Episode 620 – juice ain’t worth the squeeze * (0:30) Dan runs a game a bit too literally. * (4:12) The intersection of technology and roleplaying in a way that isn’t required by the game. * (7:32) Why multimedia doesn’t pay-off the way it does in other forms of storytelling. * (13:36) The prep time technology adds, and the stability it takes away. * (15:59) The time spent digging up the right asset on-the-spot. * (20:52) The physical space taken up by technology. Playing “follow the leader” at a subconscious level. Hosts: Dan, Doug, Mary, Wayne /episode/index/show/feartheboot/id/29978168

Episode 619 - a closed setting 01/11/2024

Episode 619 - a closed setting * (0:29) Why talk about intelligence? episode about Cicada 3301. * (9:24) A game takes an unhelpfully long break, only to be replaced by another RPG. * (12:44) The lack of a bottomless “buffet of ideas” in a closed setting. * (14:24) Use minimal starting information to give you room to work. * (18:12) How to run a school (everyone go play Persona 5). * (24:48) Create a wide variety of NPCs and give them their own lives. * (30:38) Keeping the party together, even if it doesn’t quite make sense. * (31:57) PC-specific NPCs, so you know the players are bought it. Hosts: Dan, Mary, Wayne /episode/index/show/feartheboot/id/29439048

Bonus Episode 100 – becoming the curmudgeon 11/07/2023

Bonus Episode 100 – becoming the curmudgeon * (0:22) Picking out the point we became curmudgeons and what exactly that means. * (4:48) Being too set in our ways. * (11:19) The self-destruction that comes with stagnation. * (21:32) Wii have a solution. * (24:32) Ducking new games while at a convention. Playing on an airplane. * (32:57) The role of pragmatism. Why expand your horizons when no one lets you go there, anyway? * (38:43) There’s always going to be something wrong. * (41:09) A lesson learned from . Hosts: Dan, Doug, Wayne /episode/index/show/feartheboot/id/28541450

Episode 618 - no, low, and mo' expectations 10/20/2023

Episode 618 - no, low, and mo' expectations * (0:29) Reintroducing Julia’s husband, Mike. * (2:24) Lowered expectations, inspired by a post-pandemic world. * (7:25) Being a bit more experimental. * (13:18) Playing online instead of returning to the table. * (19:18) Returning to the table instead of playing online. * (23:58) The commonality of not being able to find an active gaming group. * (31:54) Not lower expectations—just different ones. Hosts: Dan, Mary, Mike, Wayne /episode/index/show/feartheboot/id/28372622

Episode 617 - the value of questionable 09/06/2023

Episode 617 - the value of questionable * (0:29) Thanks to Eric Van Note for Swole Mole! * (3:15) The value of terrible GMing. * (8:42) Everyone is their own most inept critic. . * (15:28) The worst possible outcome: something being forgettable. * (22:20) Asking Doug to grade his own game. * (25:35) The value of creating art, simply for the act of creation. * (37:04) A few in someone’s eyes. Hosts: Dan, Doug, Mary, Wayne /episode/index/show/feartheboot/id/27954279

Episode 616 - affiliated or not 08/10/2023

Episode 616 - affiliated or not * (0:29) Dan prefers affiliated groups, Wayne does not. * (2:15) Cohesion, identity, and help. * (9:35) Affiliations you start with as opposed to those you pick up along the way. * (11:56) The party’s direction and motivation. Affiliating with an ideal. * (20:23) Affiliations create an obvious pool of NPC relationships. * (25:40) External versus internal affiliations, and how they’re not mutually exclusive. * (32:06) Taking extreme positions just to highlight the topic. Hosts: Dan, Doug, Julia, Wayne /episode/index/show/feartheboot/id/27710052

Episode 615 - inspecting InSpectres 07/19/2023

Episode 615 - inspecting InSpectres * (0:28) An update on the . * (4:48) The (at least temporarily back in print!) and our . * (8:09) Why play InSpectres as an interlude to the main campaign? Apparently only Dan has heard of . * (12:58) Plus an extra player. * (16:10) The, “yes and,” style of gaming. * (21:31) Assisting new players when they’re stuck. * (26:24) Seeing roleplaying games as a starting point, not a finished product. * (33:43) It’s not just a game; it’s on the mics. * (39:19) No takebacks! Hosts: Dan, Mary, Wayne /episode/index/show/feartheboot/id/27506421

Episode 614 - session X.5 06/07/2023

Episode 614 - session X.5 * (0:28) Things are getting set for ! An intro to RPGs game is . * (2:03) A shared Minecraft server. You can find more information . * (5:52) Realigning your game with a mid-campaign session zero. Special thanks to . * (8:46) Making the case to have one. * (12:59) Remembering the times we did this during the Skies of Glass campaign. * (16:38) Reusing or reviewing the exact same work you did in session zero. * (23:15) Being too specific or too general. Hosts: Dan, Mary, Wayne /episode/index/show/feartheboot/id/27069495

Episode 613 - the eleventh dollar 05/30/2023

Episode 613 - the eleventh dollar * (0:29) Julia ruins everything. * (1:35) Things are getting set for ! An intro to RPGs game is . You can also announce your games . * (9:03) Coming out of a period of deep fatigue. How one game still never missed a week. * (16:18) Spoons and other finite resources. * (20:06) Why it might be best to bite off a bit less. You may not be gaming as much as you think, anyway. * (26:41) Does gaming with strangers help the problem? * (31:37) Kids, you’re already in the real world. * (34:32) Strange schedules and cascading cancellations. * (37:42) Gambling with the eleventh dollar. Hosts: Dan, Julia, Mary, Wayne /episode/index/show/feartheboot/id/26985525

Episode 612 - running the unknown 05/09/2023

Episode 612 - running the unknown * (0:28) Running a game when someone else knows the setting a whole lot better than you do. * (2:07) The lack of pronunciation guides in most games. * (3:16) Narrowing down the task by asking what’s important about the setting to the players. * (7:59) Getting the essence or feel of the setting right. We need a recap of BattleTech lore. * (12:53) Start small and work outward, learning just what you need for each step along the way. * (21:15) Tell your players you only know some canon and therefore will only use some canon. * (24:01) Setting an ending to the canon so you can tell your own story. Breaking continuity early to get it over with. * (28:35) Keeping a chunk of authentic setting. Otherwise, why run it at all? * (33:56) Asking your setting experts to give you limited homework. * (35:09) We look forward to seeing you at ! Hosts: Dan, Mary, Wayne /episode/index/show/feartheboot/id/26786565

Episode 611 - paid GMing 04/17/2023

Episode 611 - paid GMing Show links… * * * Hosts: Chris, DJ, Josh, Wayne /episode/index/show/feartheboot/id/26561634

Episode 610 - the value of chaos 03/29/2023

Episode 610 - the value of chaos * (0:29) The is live for one more week! * (1:56) The wonderful confusion new players and GMs bring to a roleplaying game. * (16:59) An imagined internal-consistency is sometimes more fun than an intended one. * (22:17) The burden of your own expectations. * (28:29) When contradictions aren’t actually contradictions. The . * (35:16) The emotion of . * (36:22) The ideas that mistakes allow us to explore. Hosts: Dan, Julia, Mary, Wayne /episode/index/show/feartheboot/id/26375406

Episode 609 – the best mechanics 03/22/2023

Episode 609 – the best mechanics * (0:31) The is live! * (1:04) The new fiction podcast, . * (3:09) Game mechanics we’re particularly fond of. * (4:54) Rerolls and other roll-modifying mechanics. * (10:13) A close relationship between skills and attributes. * (15:46) Life paths in character creation. * (24:48) Using all the dice. * (30:12) Injury instead of a simple health pool. * (38:08) Lots of randomness. * (40:31) Building something bigger than your character. * (44:13) Double-edged character traits. Hosts: Dan, Mary, Wayne /episode/index/show/feartheboot/id/26303493

Episode 608 - bringing a world to life 03/07/2023

Episode 608 - bringing a world to life * (0:28) The is live! * (1:12) Things a Game Master has done to make a world seem a little more alive (with credit to JoshB for the topic). * (5:46) Plot hooks, substories, and unanswered questions about my character. * (9:16) Allowing characters to have goals, ambitions, and projects. * (13:32) Giving me things I can trust that won’t betray me or become a vulnerability. * (19:52) Investing the players in world-building that matters. * (29:25) Don’t constantly veto your players. * (31:55) Digging through enough specifics may reveal a general truth you can use. Hosts: Dan, Mary, Wayne /episode/index/show/feartheboot/id/26150052

Episode 607 - maybe a misunderstanding 02/21/2023

Episode 607 - maybe a misunderstanding * (0:28) The new fiction podcast, . * (1:43) Dan re-reads the D&D 2nd Edition Dungeon Master’s Guide. Wayne watches . The inspiration D&D’s creators drew from . * (6:38) The rather disjointed rules of early RPGs. * (8:23) The heavy crunch of early RPGs that might be as much unearned reputation as reality. * (13:02) Why an early RPG may have needed to describe concepts that would be misinterpreted as immutable rules. * (16:06) Narrative examples of play. * (19:17) Separating old games from OSR games. Conveyed interpretation and social tradition. * (27:07) The shortcuts around setting building, and how rules may have gotten caught up in those. Hosts: Dan, Mary, Wayne /episode/index/show/feartheboot/id/25995513

Bonus Episode 99 - AI creativity 01/27/2023

Bonus Episode 99 - AI creativity * (0:36) An odd tangent on names. * (3:39) A conversation about AI art. Some parameters we’re putting on this episode. AI art . * (8:08) An admittedly non-technical overview of how AI generally creates its work. . * (17:43) AI creations as a starting point instead of the final product. Why the lack of semantics may distinguish what inspires humans as opposed to AIs. * (29:32) The positive impact of AI creativity, contrasted with the intellectual property and monetary concerns. * (37:02) The human-seeded meta-thought used by AI, and the inevitability of its adoption across multiple industries. * (47:26) After taking jobs, technology may also improve lives and push humanity forward. Automating simple tasks or “shifting them left”. * (54:45) The financial incentive to use AI art versus the status incentive to use human art. Hosts: Dan, Julia, Mary, Wayne Some of the sample AI art Dan made while playing around with an app… A man with two beards that’s holding a third beard (stupid beard hog), Jesus with hot dogs for fingers, and…OH NO! Its mini-Jesus off the ropes! What’s that Lassie? Jesus is here? And he thinks our dogs are gnolls? And Gabriel is also a dog? OK, so now we’ve got gnolls with underbites, some random people in the background, Jesus with John Wick levels of determination, and…what the hell is that thing in the lower-right!? What the AI thought Gnarl should look like. I’m totally going to stat this out and use it in a fantasy game. /episode/index/show/feartheboot/id/25744737

Episode 606 - contexting the OGL 01/18/2023

Episode 606 - contexting the OGL * (0:30) Giving a remote episode a try. We have a fix for Dan’s audio that should improve the quality on our next remote show. * (1:42) Catching up with Brodeur and DJ, who was on to talk about . * (4:43) Putting some parameters on the topic. * (9:42) Does Wizards of the Coast hate you? Envy other publishers? Or just not understand the market? * (16:36) Why people went along with the OGL to begin with. A genuine belief that some people in the mix have the best of intentions. * (24:47) Why care at all? * (29:23) The silent majority that may neither know nor care this is all happening. * (36:21) Why this might be a good thing. on Dan’s resentment of what D&D represents, despite his enjoyment of the game. Hosts: Brodeur, Dan, DJ, Wayne /episode/index/show/feartheboot/id/25642584

Episode 605 - dosing out setting 01/05/2023

Episode 605 - dosing out setting * (0:44) Friday night chit-chat each week, starting at 8pm Central. * (2:18) Fear the Con 2023 dates have been reserved with the hotel for June 16th and 17th of 2023, with the Wing Night on June 15th. * (3:37) Wayne preps his players for a Savage Worlds: Alpha Flight game. * (8:18) Learning through trial-and-error by running homebrews and setting-dense games. * (10:42) Give your players a little homework. * (15:04) Where will the game begin? * (20:37) What the characters need or want. * (24:53) Trickling out more information as the game goes on. * (31:31) Pay careful attention to the questions your players ask. Hosts: Dan, Julia, Mary, Wayne /episode/index/show/feartheboot/id/25511631

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