Dice in Mind

Last week we had a great time interviewing author Jeff Ashworth.  During that interview we covered a number of ideas, but one topic especially stood out to us.  What are the limits of GM prerogative?  This week we debate the question by looking back on our own mistakes, considering our occasional successes, and reading a bit along the way.

Also, you should buy Jeff's two Game Master books and pre-order the third one right now.  Seriously, they are that creative:

The Game Master's Book of Random Encounters The Game Master's Book of Non-Player Characters The Game Master's Book of Traps, Puzzles, and Dungeons

Welcome to Dice in Mind, a weekly podcast in which we explore the meaning of life through the lens of RPGs!  In each episode, we will consider everyday stuff like science, religion, philosophy, and economics…through the lens of a specific roleplaying game and its dice mechanic.

If you like what you hear, consider buying us a cup of coffee or becoming a patron.  You can also join the conversation by following us on Facebook.

Music by Kevin McCloud courtesy of Creative Commons by Attribution 3.0 license (https://www.youtube.com/c/kmmusic/featured).

It's Episode 20!

This week, we mark the 20th episode of Dice in Mind with a really special interview with author Jeff Ashworth.  We think you will find Jeff to be creative, humble, and a truly good guy.

Jeff Ashworth is a writer, editor, and storyteller whose credits include The Game Master's Book of Random Encounters, The Game Master's Book of Non-Player Characters, and the upcoming The Game Master's Book of Traps, Puzzles, and Dungeons, as well as work for Disney, Nickelodeon, and World Wrestling Entertainment.  When he isn't working on special projects for Media Lab Books, he enjoys playing and designing RPG games with his friends.  In his role-playing career he has bested beholders, sweet-talked succubi and devastated dragons without breaking a sweat.  In the real world, after failing a late-night Perception check, he was nearly crippled by a foot-piercing d4.  He and his wife live in Virginia with their dogs, Zelda and Lincoln.

You should buy Jeff's two Game Master books and pre-order the third one right now.  Seriously, they are that creative:

The Game Master's Book of Random Encounters The Game Master's Book of Non-Player Characters The Game Master's Book of Traps, Puzzles, and Dungeons

Welcome to Dice in Mind, a weekly podcast in which we explore the meaning of life through the lens of RPGs!  In each episode, we will consider everyday stuff like science, religion, philosophy, and economics…through the lens of a specific roleplaying game and its dice mechanic.

If you like what you hear, consider buying us a cup of coffee or becoming a patron.  You can also join the conversation by following us on Facebook.

Music by Kevin McCloud courtesy of Creative Commons by Attribution 3.0 license (https://www.youtube.com/c/kmmusic/featured).

If you thought we were transparent in our creative process last week, then hold on to your dice!  This is the episode where you get to hear how the sausage is made.  This week we openly discuss what will be the PC options available to players.  Along the way we take notes, make jokes, and move one step closer to developing a fully functional character sheet for our Genesys dice mechanic port of Star Trek.

But wait, there's more!  In this week's GM Corner, we tease an upcoming interview for next week's 20th episode.

Along the way, we refer to some interesting source material:

Dice in Mind Worldbuilding Genesys Narrative Dice System

Welcome to Dice in Mind, a weekly podcast in which we explore the meaning of life through the lens of RPGs!  In each episode, we will consider everyday stuff like science, religion, philosophy, and economics…through the lens of a specific roleplaying game and its dice mechanic.

If you like what you hear, consider buying us a cup of coffee or becoming a patron.  You can also join the conversation by following us on Facebook.

Music by Kevin McCloud courtesy of Creative Commons by Attribution 3.0 license (https://www.youtube.com/c/kmmusic/featured).

It's the episode you have all been waiting for!  Today we take down the fourth wall and share with you our "live" discussion regarding the setting specifics of our upcoming Star Trek game that will rest atop the Genesys dice system.  What does the Galaxy look like in 2401?  What adventure is there to be had amidst the territory of the Fenris Rangers?  And what's up with the Breen?  Tune in for answers to these questions and more.

Along the way, we refer to some interesting source material:

Dice in Mind Worldbuilding Star Trek: Picard Star Trek:  Deep Space Nine

Welcome to Dice in Mind, a weekly podcast in which we explore the meaning of life through the lens of RPGs!  In each episode, we will consider everyday stuff like science, religion, philosophy, and economics…through the lens of a specific roleplaying game and its dice mechanic.

If you like what you hear, consider buying us a cup of coffee or becoming a patron.  You can also join the conversation by following us on Facebook.

Music by Kevin McCloud courtesy of Creative Commons by Attribution 3.0 license (https://www.youtube.com/c/kmmusic/featured).

This week we continue a series of episodes on the craft of worldbuilding as a way to connect RPGS back to real life, and vice versa.  We focus on introducing a model of worldbuilding that incorporates three player mechanics:  exploration, interaction, and combat.

We are especially thrilled to share with you our interview with Rob Kolomyski.  Rob James Kolomyski is an artist and educator based in St. Paul, Minnesota. Most recently his work has been selected for inclusion in the 2021 Drawing Discourse juried exhibition at the University of North Carolina, Asheville. In 2019, his work was featured at the Open Door 15 juried exhibition at the Rosalux gallery in Minneapolis, MN, and the One Shot exhibition at the Manifest gallery in Cincinnati, OH. He has also exhibited at the 2016 National Juried Exhibition at the First Street Gallery in Chelsea, New York and ‘The Retrieval of the Beautiful’ exhibition at The Painting Center, Chelsea, New York. Rob's work was also selected to exhibit at the ‘Fresh Paint’ Juried Biannual at Manifest Gallery in Cincinnati, OH. His most recent solo show was ‘Liminal’ at the Manifest Gallery, Cincinnati, OH. Over the last decade, Robert has exhibited at the Soo Visual Arts Center, in Minneapolis, MN; the Brownsville Museum of Fine Arts, TX; the Kuandu Museum of Fine Arts in Taipei, Taiwan; the Da Xiang Art Space in Taichung City, Taiwan; Ever Gold Gallery in San Francisco, CA; The Lexington Art League in Lexington, KY; The Foundry Art Center in St. Louis, MO; and Max Fish Gallery in New York City, NY.

Robert's work has also been selected for inclusion in several publications including the “International Painting Annual”, by Manifest Press, Cincinnati, OH; “Weak Painting” Exhibition Catalog, by Garden City Publishing Taipei, Taiwan, “What is Weak Painting?”, Review by Tzu-Chieh, Jian, Garden City Publishing, Taipei, Taiwan; and “Studio Visit Volume 8”, by The Open Studio Press Boston, MA.

Rob’s first career was an engineer for the Toyota Motor Company in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he worked for ten years designing and producing rapid prototypes in the Research and Development area. He left that career in pursuit of a dream to become a public art educator. Since then, he has obtained a Master of Fine Arts in Painting from Michigan State University as well as a K-12 teaching certification. He has taught all levels of college drawing, painting and design, including the graduate level as a visiting professor at Michigan State University. He has also taught at South Texas College and is currently a professor and Department Chair of the Art, Music and Theatre department at Inver Hills Community college in St. Paul Minnesota where he lives with his wife, twelve-year-old daughter Eva and Airedale Terrier, Nessie.

Along the way, we refer to some interesting source material:

Dice in Mind Worldbuilding Arkenforge Never Ending Dungeon

Welcome to Dice in Mind, a weekly podcast in which we explore the meaning of life through the lens of RPGs!  In each episode, we will consider everyday stuff like science, religion, philosophy, and economics…through the lens of a specific roleplaying game and its dice mechanic.

If you like what you hear, consider buying us a cup of coffee or becoming a patron.  You can also join the conversation by following us on Facebook.

Music by Kevin McCloud courtesy of Creative Commons by Attribution 3.0 license (https://www.youtube.com/c/kmmusic/featured).

This week we begin a series of episodes on the craft of worldbuilding as a way to connect RPGS back to real life, and vice versa.  We focus on introducing a model of worldbuilding that relies on three factors:  economic, cultural, and political.

Along the way, we refer to some interesting source material:

Dice in Mind Worldbuilding The Silk Roads A Sadness I Can't Carry Guildmasters' Guide to Ravnica

Welcome to Dice in Mind, a weekly podcast in which we explore the meaning of life through the lens of RPGs!  In each episode, we will consider everyday stuff like science, religion, philosophy, and economics…through the lens of a specific roleplaying game and its dice mechanic.

If you like what you hear, consider buying us a cup of coffee or becoming a patron.  You can also join the conversation by following us on Facebook.

Music by Kevin McCloud courtesy of Creative Commons by Attribution 3.0 license (https://www.youtube.com/c/kmmusic/featured).