Dice in Mind

Matt Davids is a writer, a creator of tabletop role-playing game resource books, a novelist, a podcast host, and a former filmmaker. He is the author of the Amazon bestsellers, The Book of Random Tables and The Book of Random Tables: Quests. His first novel, The Spaceport Gambit, was released in June 2021. He lives in Missouri with his wife and their four children. His bookshelves groan under the weight of classic literature, science fiction, and fantasy. He enjoys playing Dungeons & Dragons, studying cinema and philosophy, and knows more about 80s post-apocalyptic movies than any reasonable person should.

Please check out these links from the episode:

MattDavids.com dicegeeks.com Green Ronin Spy Game (Modiphius) Next Chapter Booksellers (Saint Paul, MN)

Welcome to Dice in Mind, a weekly/biweekly 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).

Happy New Year! As the world welcomes 2023, we wanted to take an episode to share our thoughts about where Dice in Mind will be going over the coming months. The result is a vamp session in which the two of us share some thoughts, tease some plans, and dive into a protracted GM Corner. Hey, that's what happens when we haven't recorded for three weeks due to our holiday schedules and travels.

An important change to note: For the next few months, we will be releasing episodes biweekly so that we can dedicate the necessary time to building the Dice in Mind brand.

But stay tuned! We already have great interviews lined up! Wait until you see what comes next.

Mentioned in the GM Corner this week:

Death in Space Dune: Adventures in the Imperium Modern AGE The One Ring Those Dark Places Orc's Nest, London

Welcome to Dice in Mind, a weekly/biweekly 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 is our true pleasure to welcome back James Sutter, co-creator of Pathfinder and Starfinder, musician, and accomplished full-time author. Much as with our initial interview thirty episodes ago, James once again engaged us in deep and humane conversation about complex topics. Of course, we did invite him to explore the potential of moral ambiguity in writing and character development. James also shared with us some details regarding his upcoming book, Darkhearts, now available for preorder!

Please note there will be no new episode on 1/2/23.

More importantly, please check out James' varied work:

James L. Sutter James' Books on Amazon And All Their Silent Roars (a free story to read)) Darkhearts (his new book available for preorder!)

James L. Sutter is a co-creator of the Pathfinder and Starfinder Roleplaying Games. From 2004 to 2017, he worked as an editor and developer for Paizo Publishing, starting on Dungeon Magazine, moving on to do foundational work for Pathfinder, and eventually becoming the Creative Director in charge of launching Starfinder, as well as the Executive Editor of the Pathfinder Tales novel line for Paizo and Tor/Macmillan. In 2017, he left Paizo to write full-time. Indeed, his latest novel, Darkhearts, a YA contemporary romance, is now available for preorder from Saint Martin’s. It will be published on June 6, 2023.

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).

With the holiday season approaching across the Northern Hemisphere, we are taking two weeks to explore the importance of mental health and how RPGs and adjacent canons and games can promote it. Please join us for this timely conversation...and please be well.

If you are in need of talking with someone, please consider calling:

911: Emergency Assistance 988: Suicide and Crisis Lifeline

You can also check out this list of resources curated by the American Psychological Association.

Disclaimer: This episode in no way constitutes a therapeutic interaction, the provision of clinical intervention, or a professional relationship in any manner.

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).

With the holiday season approaching across the Northern Hemisphere, we are taking two weeks to explore the importance of mental health and how RPGs and adjacent canons and games can promote it. Please join us for this timely conversation...and please be well.

If you are in need of talking with someone, please consider calling:

911: Emergency Assistance 988: Suicide and Crisis Lifeline

You can also check out this list of resources curated by the American Psychological Association.

Disclaimer: This episode in no way constitutes a therapeutic interaction, the provision of clinical intervention, or a professional relationship in any manner.

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).

We are geeking out this week to chat with Thomas Marrone. The creator of countless and stunningly beautiful starships, Thomas spent a bit of time with us walking us through his creative process, his evolution as an artist, and more. Join us as we explore the sacred duty of designing ships for Star Trek.

Please check out Thomas' oeuvre:

Website Twitter ArtStation Star Trek Online

As the Art Director for Star Trek Online, Thomas provides multidisciplinary art leadership on a long-running and successful MMORPG. His experience in live game development has taught him the importance of balancing speed and quality while maintaining relationships with licensors, overseeing external development resources, satisfying player expectations, and building team morale.

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).

We are thrilled to share with you this week our second interview with Keith Ammann, author of the definitive natural history texts on all things Dungeons & Dragons monsters about his upcoming book, How to Defend Your Lair. As we will hear, this is a work that transcends the gaming table and takes us to new depths. Join us as Keith talks of his creative process, his publishing success, and his upcoming book.

Please check out Keith's fascinating books and useful blog:

How to Defend Your Lair The Monsters Know What They're Doing Moar! Monsters Know What They're Doing Live to Tell the Tale The Monsters Know What They're Doing (blog)

Keith Ammann has been a Dungeons & Dragons player and DM for more than thirty years. He has been writing his fifth edition D&D–focused blog The Monsters Know What They’re Doing since 2016. He lives in Chicago.

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).

We are so pleased this week to chat with Aaron Hübrich, masterful artist and author of the recently released The Game Master's Book of Legendary Dragons. Join us as we explore the potential of legends and lore to enliven these most enigmatic of NPCs to the roleplaying table.

Please check out Aaron's oeuvre:

The Game Master's Book of Legendary Dragons Blog Posts JetPack7

Aaron Hubrich is a writer/artist/designer and publisher of JetPack7. He is the Creative Director at Conceptopolis, a company that contributed to hundreds of art pieces for the Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition core books. Aaron has been playing Dungeons & Dragons since there were yellow character sheets that didn't take erasers very well...and has fond memories of THAC0.

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).

Join us for a three-episode run of actual play! In this third and final episode, our protagonist discovers that imps can be impish. Also, Brad and Jason learn an important lesson about the difficulties of recording a truly interesting actual play podcast. Get us back to the interviews! Finally, we again give a shout-out to Beth and Jonathan Ball, the lovely people behind D&D Duet and previous guests of the podcast, for the one-shot adventure upon which this arc of episodes relies.

D&D Duet

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).

Join us for a three-episode run of actual play! In this second episode, Fred Rogers demonstrates how not to use a longbow in close combat during a training exercise. Also, we extend a shout-out to Beth and Jonathan Ball, the lovely people behind D&D Duet and previous guests of the podcast, for the one-shot adventure upon which this arc of episodes relies.

D&D Duet

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).