Episode 177 – the player and GM toolboxes

* (0:29) Pat gets a local port. * (1:15) Dan’s rant on impassible terrain. * (7:13) How Pat made Chad and Dan proud with his first MMO. * (9:19) The GM and player toolbox. * (11:29) The moment of zen. * (15:56) Taking a week off. * (17:47) Useful lists. * (19:50) The double-edged sword of an internet-ready laptop. * (22:06) The role of the toolbox in the game. * (23:35) The players don’t know what you don’t know. * (27:36) Taking on-going notes. * (28:23) Preparation prior to the game. * (30:25) Player character motivations, observations, and side projects. * (31:47) Borrowing ideas from fiction and real life. * (34:28) Internal roleplay and contingency plans. * (38:13) Drawing from the larger community of roleplayers. * (39:23) Putting yourself in the spotlight and carrying the right attitude. * (41:22) The cheap and simple supplies. * (44:05) Tracking the scene. * (48:20) Tools for helping you get in character and stay in character. * (53:36) Tracking initiative. * (56:11) A cheat sheet of player character names. * (57:13) Players taking notes. * (1:01:17) Podcasts, blogs, and gaming magazines. * (1:04:04) A rules cheat sheet. * (1:07:41) Robertson Games’ dungeon room design contest. * Dan’s surprise can be found here.  And just in case they changed it, I archived a screenshot of it here.  Journalist + Google image search = pure win. Hosts: Chad, Dan, Pat, Wayne