Biggus Geekus

October 28, 2020

Intro:
The usual intro and the obligatory gaming catch-up

Gaming news:
1)New Pathfinder Board game- competitive/monster fighting (to be crowdfunded)
2)New Terminator RPG coming out by Nightfall games
3)Curse of Strahd Revamped: deluxe version $99(?)
4)The Dungeon Hobby Museum and FB site what is this? Hmmmmmm……

Main Topic: Let’s Start a Campaign
We discuss starting up a campaign. DM decision or group discussion. To have Session Zero or not. X Cards; what are they and do we need them. This and more in our main topic

A Cabin Con Moment
Elysium- a shared campaign world issues(*?)

World Building:
To Balance or No to Balance- a PC’s story

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Email us at: [email protected]

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“It’s Worse than That, He’s Dead Jim” (handling PC death)
October 22, 2020

The usual intro and the obligatory gaming catch-up

The Gaming News:
Hickman & Weis have sued WOTC for breach of contract
Sexism/racism accusations at WOTC recently
Nazi Dracula Must Die! Kickstarter

Main Topic: Handling PC Death
Is PC death a thing that should be at the gaming table?  Sure it sucks, but is that a bad thing? How does player investment figure in?  How about resurrection?  How about no resurrection?  Does system matter?  The geeks discuss these and other points.

A Cabin Con Moment
Death In Elysium: The Milk baths (movie: Wanted with A.Jolie and J. McElvoy)
The Infamous Banshee Incident

D&D 4-EVA CR sucks! I want a world that lives and breathes and PC ‘s can choose to bite off more than they can chew if they want. I also like a fleeing mechanic.

World Building:
Tiers of Play.
Low level: gritty, life is cheap.
Mid-levels: well-known heroes of a region.
High level: world renown heroes/travelers of the world and the planes.
Should the game change at different tiers of play. Some ideas on if, why, and what.

Support Biggus Geekus!!!
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If you’d like to support the show then please go to biggusgeekuspodcast.com/support where we have several options.

Any contribution is appreciated, and we thank you for your consideration.

Email us at: [email protected]

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Wednesday September 30th, 2020

We open with the usual intro and talk about the next session of Savage Worlds

The Gaming News:
1) Fans (with some help) have made the final episode of DnD cartoon: REQUIEM
2) Power Rangers RPG coming out soon (5e rules)
3) Hellboy RPG coming (5e rules)

Main Topic: Dungeons and Dragons though the Ages

Old DnD:
OD&D (1974-1977) + Greyhawk (’75)
Holmes Basic (77’), Moldvay Basic set (81’) and D. Cook’s Expert creates B/X
Mentzer’s BECMI (83’-85’)à Rules Cyclopedia (AARON Allston revised BECMI in 1991):

Advanced DnD:
1E AD&D (77’-79 all 3 core different years through 1989
2E AD&D (1989-2000) note: 2.5/Players Options (1995-2000):
3e DND (2000-2003) (WOTC) (4 yrs), 3.5 (2003-2007) (5 yrs)|
4e DND (2008-2010) (3 yrs) and 4.5 Essentials (2010-2014) (5 yrs)
5e DND (2014- present [2020])

Interesting Comparisons: https://rpg.stackexchange.com/questions/13212/what-are-the-big-differences-among-the-dd-editions

A Cabin Con Moment
Favorite game this past Cabin con and why?

Sling’in M.U.D.D. (My Ultimate DnD)
Hit Points again

Shameless Plug Time
Please share, like or review our podcast on Anchor, Breaker, Apple Itunes, Spotify, Stitcher, etc.
If you’d like to support the show then please go biggusgeekuspodcast.com/support where we have several options.

Any contribution is appreciated, and we thank you for your consideration.

Email us at: [email protected]

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Thursday, July 30th, 2020

We open with the usual intro and talk about the next session of Savage Worlds

Segment #2: The Gaming NEWS:
1. On the D&D Celebration
2 Batman Gotham City Chronicles: The Role Playing Game,

Main Topic: The Prep Scale
1. How much is too much? And how much is too little?
2. Is there a ratio for hours played vs prepped? Both in general and for you specifically?
3. What kind(specifically what items)/how much do you do when you run a game? What is your process?
4. Can players tell if a GM has prepped? If so, what are clues?
5. What Level of prep would you prefer your GM do? What do you think makes for a better game or is that even a thing?
6. Do certain genres and/or systems require more or less prep?
7. Is Low/Medium/High Prep more important than Quality vs Wasted*

A Cabin Con Moment
Covid Con Report from June 11-14, 2020
Attendance: 11 out of 23-25-ish last year
+1 Dog- Brego/tree doom

My Ultimate DnD
Wizards & spellcasting- Randy's latest thought with credit to DungeonCraft Professor Dungeon Master for the thought…love the idea of wizards learn spells, cast all they want, at a cost

Shameless Plug Time
Please share, like or review our podcast on Anchor, Breaker, Apple Itunes, Spotify, Stitcher, etc.
If you’d like to support the show then please go to biggusgeekuspodcast.com/support where we have several options.

Any contribution is appreciated, and we thank you for your consideration.

Email us at: [email protected]

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Saturday May 9th, 2020

We open with the usual and talk about not gaming. Listening to podcasts.

Main Topic: High and Low Fantasy
We come up with some definitions, then compare and contrast. Fantasy literature and other media are also brough to bear.

A Cabin Con Moment
New date announced: June 11-14, 2020
We discussed games we prepped and COVID19 related attendance issues

The Gaming NEWS
Free League doing Twilight 2000 4e
Also doing Aliens
and recently got LOTR

No Worldbuilding this time around!!!

Shameless Plug Time
Please share, like or review our podcast on Anchor, Breaker, Apple Itunes, Spotify, Stitcher, etc.
If you’d like to support the show then please go to biggusgeekuspodcast.com/support where we have several options.

Any contribution is appreciated, and we thank you for your consideration.

Email us at: [email protected]

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Saturday, May 9th, 2020

We open with the usual intro and talk about preparing for CabinCon, and our short-lived Deadlands game. Also Randy’s harrowing cellar escapade.

What is Adventure?
We defined it and spoke at length about that and how to flavor it with heroism. How Lord of the Rings, Conan, and John Carter are a kind of foundation. Also how western culture figures in.

A Cabin Con Moment
We talk schedule and number of attendees with respect to our governor’s restrictions.

The Gaming NEWS
No News this time around

Shameless Plug Time
Please share, like or review our podcast on Anchor, Breaker, Apple Itunes, Spotify, Stitcher, etc.

If you’d like to support the show then please go to biggusgeekuspodcast.com/support where we have several options.

Any contribution is appreciated, and we thank you for your consideration.

Email us at: [email protected]

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Wednesday, October 7th, 2020.

This episode replaces Episode 2 from Sunday, April 5, 2020 due to it being lost.

We open with the usual intro and talk about how we are not gaming much.

The Gaming News
Monte Cook’s Diamond Throne RPG Kickstarter
BG 3 Early Access yesterday 10/6/20

Campaigns vs. One-Shots:
Campaigns and One-shot games are defined, compared and contrasted. The we say what we like about them. We express our general preference for campaigns while providing some good uses for one-shots.

A Cabin Con Moment
The end of one campaign, Elysium. Transition through another, the Black Blades. Culminating in a “West Marches” style campaign.

D.N.D. 4. EVA.(Our Magnum Opus)
Hit Points, we talk about them.

World Building
The need for the game world to be dangerous and mysterious is discussed

Shameless Plug Time
Please share, like or review our podcast on Anchor, Breaker, Apple Itunes, Spotify, Stitcher, etc.

If you’d like to support the show then please go to biggusgeekuspodcast.com/support where we have several options.

Any contribution is appreciated, and we thank you for your consideration.

Email us at: [email protected]

--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/biggusgeekus/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/biggusgeekus/support

Tuesday, October 7th, 2020

This episode replaces our lost episode from March 1. Lost because I failed to download it from Skype before it was deleted. This is one of 2 that was lost in the same manner.

We open with the usual intro and lament at the lack of gaming in our lives.

The Gaming News:
1. As the holiday season approaches GAMA has a cool charity
2. WOTC has an update to sage advice
3. Human teeth dice
4. Pelgrane to release 3 new books

Politics and Gaming
1. Is it needed?
2. Is it there when it seems not? (western culture tropes)
3. Must keep out modern political issues
4. Kill progressive (regressive) IDPol with FIRE!!!
5. Strong white male imagery missing
6. Skinny girl barbarian with giant sword
7. Equal representation in game text (male/female)
8. Diversity!!! The word race is problematic … somehow
9. This is tiresome.

A Cabin Con Moment: The end of an era - Elysium Destroyed.

Sling’n M.U.D.D. (My Ultimate DnD) Fighter/Wizard disparity. Is it really a problem?
Where we talk about character roles and how that could solve this disparity at design-time. Other character types are discussed.

Worldbuilding
Where we discuss mile-high design topics like points of light v/s heavy civilization, and the ratio of humans to non-humans

Shameless Plug (or lack thereof):
In this early episode we were daft and failed to encourage our listeners to help us out.

Please share, like or review our podcast on Anchor, Breaker, Apple Itunes, Spotify, Stitcher, etc.
If you’d like to support the show then please go to biggusgeekuspodcast.com/support where we have several options.

Any contribution is appreciated, and we thank you for your consideration.

Email us at: [email protected]

The intro and outro music is Game Over by Jacob Lizotte at Dark Cabin Studios

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Wednesday, February 26th, 2020

Opening: This is our inaugural episode attempting to tell you a little bit about how we got into RPGs and the gaming hobby as well as what we hope to cover in this podcast.

Then we discussed our progression through the editions of DnD. We then discuss other games we tried…how our play changed and what helped form it.

Questions:

1) What do you recall of your first time?
2) What drew you to DnD?
3) What do you remember the most about our early games…say the first few years: BECMI through AD&D 1e
4) What other games do you recall us trying? Why do you think they never stuck?
5) Your thoughts on 2e, 3.X( Pathfinder 1e) , 4E and now 5E?
6) Your thoughts on the Editions of RPGs in general?
7) What are you up to now RPG-wise?

Cabin Con:once/year in the great white north of Michigan…actually not even in UP…the REAL BEST 4 Days of Gaming…not Gencon…

Joeseppie’s Rants: What’s bugs ya about DnD/RPGs in general? (Joe can’t rant on cue!!!)

The Gaming News:
Companies cut ties with Judge’s Guild owner after racist/antisemitic comments
One of the offending comments
Love Domain 5e issues

Shameless Plug (or lack thereof):
In our early episodes we were daft and failed to encourage our listeners to help us out.

Please share, like or review our podcast on Anchor, Breaker, Apple Itunes, Spotify, Stitcher, etc.

If you’d like to support the show then please go to biggusgeekuspodcast.com/support where we have several options.

Any contribution is appreciated, and we thank you for your consideration.

Email us at: [email protected]

--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/biggusgeekus/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/biggusgeekus/support