Completely Conspicuous 605: Playing the Role

This week, I'm joined by guest Matt Phillion as we discuss the resurgence of role-playing games. Show notes: - Recorded in Salem, Mass. - Last time we recorded for the show was two years ago - Time is passing quickly - Jay: Going into the office once a week now - Matt: It was an extrovert's world for a long time - Matt's still writing YA books - Matt has been running Dungeons & Dragons games since pandemic started - Unprepared for the number of people who wanted to jump in - Matt: Didn't have enough friends to play in high school - Was going to start doing it for corporate retreats when COVID hit - A legal dispute over licensing with Hasbro - Jay: Was a total comics nerd in high school - D&D made a comeback thanks to Stranger Things - A D&D movie is coming out with Chris Pine - Tom Hanks starred in Mazes & Monsters, a "Satanic panic" movie about D&D - Stopped buying comics when there were bills to pay - Matt: Plenty of non-D&D role-playing games are popular - Played Vampire: The Masquerade in the '90s - Matt does a podcast called The Ravenfolly Institute that follows D&D campaigns as they happen - Matt's super-productive in his spare time - Working on an "adult" gritty fantasy book - Book industry is in "dire need of reform" - The first of Matt's books is getting an audiobook - Struggling to get through Dune (the book) - Matt's learning how to play a Dune role-playing game - Listens to a lot of RPG podcasts; helps you learn the game - D&D has had peaks and valleys of popularity since the mid-70s - On its 5th edition; went back to older style but streamlined - The stigma of being a nerd is gone now - Board games in general have become popular again - You get what you put into playing RPGs - A lot of mystery-themed games - Matt: Storytelling is storytelling, whether it's books or RPGs or podcasts - Matt's the D&Dealer - Gotta have the "math rocks" - Also does sister podcast Characters & Class Completely Conspicuous is available through Apple Podcasts. Subscribe and write a review! The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Voiceover work is courtesy of James Gralian.