Role Playing Public Radio

Writing a RPG can seem daunting, but creators now have more options and tools available to help them. Do you want to write a game from scratch or use an existing open system? What steps should you take first? How long does it take? Peter Petrusha of Imagining Games (Chew, Dreamchaser), Ross Payton (Base Raiders, Role Playing Public Radio podcast), Caleb Stokes (Red Markets, Delta Green: God’s Teeth), and Julian Kay (Mutants in the Now) have answers. This panel was recorded at Gen Con 2026. The screenshot is from The Cthulhu RPG timeline.

The platonic ideal of megadungeons, Moria from the Lord of The Rings, was published as a campaign book for the One Ring RPG last year. Chris and I start our exploration in the first part of this miniseries. The remaining episodes are available for patrons. You can watch or listen to all of the episodes if you join the RPPR Patreon. You also get access to over 10 years of bonus podcasts, RPG scenarios, complete games, artwork, maps, and more! Check out Chris’ work on Youtube!

We’re back from Gencon and had a blast! Our live episode features updates on the future of RPPR, discussions of Gencon 2026, and a lively game of AD&D Trivia. I found a copy of this infamous trivia game and challenged the RPPR cast to see which team is the best at AD&D trivia. For some weird reason though, every answer on the cards was wrong, so we had to ask the audience which answer was right. (In other words, we made up answers to see which was the funniest). Enjoy!

We revisited the saga of Baron von Kharkov, the vampiric man-panther (Manther for short), in the Dungeon magazine #50 adventure “Felkovic’s cat”. We also review Immortal: The Invisible War, a strange game of World of Darkness-ish terminology and bizarre metaphysics. Find out what whisperballs are and other esoteric secrets. This is one of my favorite episodes because there’s so much RPG weirdness. Did you know that Baron von Kharkov pickles vegetables as a side gig? If you enjoy this episode, we have over 120 episodes of RPPR After Hours available on the RPPR Patreon, not to mention other mini-series where we deep dive into megadungeons like Stonehell or examine the oddest Youtube fodder we can find. We also have a collection of original RPG scenarios, min-games, a great community Discord server, and more! Join today to get over a decade of bonus material instantly.

Maps are an essential part of tabletop RPGs. Who doesn’t love poring over a campaign map or fighting a massive set piece battle on a custom battle map? I talked to Joe at Heroic Maps about RPG map making. I recently collaborated with Joe to make a Mothership scenario available on both of our Patreons as a free download. We talk about what makes for a good RPG map and how to avoid some mistakes when making your own map. Check out The Oblivion Broadcast on Patreon! There’s an actual play, with a video version that showcases the map. Heroic Maps has a ton of maps available for download.

Ross Payton, Ennie Award winning host of Role Playing Public Radio, Caleb Stokes of Delta Green Dead Channels, Ethan Cordray of Technical Difficulties Podcast, and Zach Reeves of Pretending to be People podcasts have years of experience creating, running, and promoting podcasts. Running a podcast is very rewarding but challenging and time consuming. Learn what pitfalls to avoid and the best way to get started! This panel was recorded at Gen Con 2025.

Writing a good mystery for a RPG can be tough to accomplish but it’s not impossible. Get tips from Ross Payton and Caleb Stokes on writing a great whodunit in your game! Threading the line between making the investigation too easy and too hard can be difficult, but we have enough experience to make it easier for you. This panel was recorded at Gen Con 2025. Check out Delta Green Dead Channels to support Caleb! Note: this panel was recorded at the Crowne Plaze hotel, which has an active railroad operating through it. I reduced noise as much as I could.

In 1968, in response to sinister influences that threatened to corrupt America from within and without, the Federal Government established a new agency – one that quickly acquired a reputation for ambitious operations overseas, for covert action, and for doing what had to be done, no matter the cost. This new agency was the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs, the BNDD. And within it – the forces of DELTA GREEN. This is the Borellus Connection. We recently finished the campaign on RPPR Actual Play and now we join up to discuss it. Join Aaron, Caleb, Chris, Tom, and I as we go through the book and discuss what we liked and didn’t like. There’s a video version of this episode on Patreon as a public post. I screenshared the PDF so you can see what I’m talking about.  Check out Hebanon Games and Delta Green Dead Channels to support Caleb’s work. Chris makes great videos on Youtube about video game history. 

Gen Con 2025 was a blast and we saw a lot and played a lot of great games! I talk with Caleb, Tom, Aaron, Elle, and David about their experiences this year. I’ve included links below for games we discuss. RPPR News: I just posted my sixth original PDF, Alienation

I interviewed Rhodrick Magsino, author of ARKYVR at Gen Con 2025 about his new module. ARKYVR is a multimedia MOTHERSHIP 1E setting & toolkit to play documentary filmmakers in space. Equipped with only their camera gear, ARKYVRs will attempt to document life in space and expose corporate client atrocities while

Red Markets 2nd Edition is holding an open beta playtest for all of 2025. Come discuss the ongoing process! The new edition of the Profit System is more concise, more vicious, and closer than ever before. A panel of the game’s creators will take questions on the upcoming new edition

Shadowdark is a fantasy role playing game built on OSR design principles with several new mechanics, including a real time torch light rule and experience point rules that emphasize exploration over violence. I sat down with the game’s creator, Kelsey Dionne at Gen Con to discuss the game’s creation, its

We had a blast at Gen Con this year! We recorded a lot of panels and games this year but this live recording of RPPR was a highlight for sure. In this episode, members of the RPPR cast talk about their gaming highlights over the last year, plans for RPPR

I’ve written a new action horror RPG called Labyrinth Signal. It’s a d20-based system inspired by survival horror games like Silent Hill and Alan Wake. It uses an innovative combo meter mechanic for combat that adds tactical depth to fighting monsters and mitigates the swinginess of normal d20 fights. I

Red Markets is back! Caleb has spent over a year playtesting and revising Red Markets, improving negotiation, combat, and other core mechanics for the game. He’ll be posting an open beta of the game on the Hebanon Games Patreon so you can download and play it yourself. We talk about

Do you struggle with writing RPG scenarios for your home group quickly? I’ve been writing scenarios for the RPPR Patreon so I’ve had to learn how to get a good scenario out without spending a lot of time on it. I’ve figured out a few tips that can help you.

I interviewed the CEO of Free League Publishing, Tomas Härenstam at Gencon this year. We talk about Free League’s approach to creating games, current trends in RPG design, and their upcoming second edition of the Alien RPG. Learn more about Free League Publishing on their website.

I caught up with Gareth Hanrahan at Gencon this year to talk about the Borellus Connection, a new campaign for Fall of Delta Green. Find out the secrets behind this globe hopping 1960s campaign! This interview has been mirrored on Youtube.

Do you have questions on actual play podcasts? Talk to Ross Payton (RPPR), Caleb Stokes (Dead Channels), Rob Stith, (Orpheus Protocol) and Ethan Cordray (Technical Difficulties) for all the answers you want! We talk about creating shows, running them, editing, marketing, and many other topics related to running an AP

This episode is also on Youtube with original video of Gencon 2024. Check it out! We’re back from Gencon 2024! We recorded panels, played and bought new games, and a lot more. Caleb won a Gold Ennie for God’s Teeth! I wanted to get out a quick summary of Gencon

Art for tabletop RPGS is not technically necessary but it does help. Chris and I discuss the role of art in RPGs and review Art by Nohr, a book by Mork Borg co-creator, Johan Nohr. We’re experimenting with video with this episode, so subscribe to us on Youtube for Gencon

I have begun working on a new role playing game. It is called Labyrinths of Lost Futures, a modern day dungeon crawling hauntological fantasy. Delve into weird ruins with an enchanted gun and cellphone. Fight cryptids in a haunted trailer park. Escape a time loop based on a person’s childhood

The Kickstarter for season 3 of the Ludonarrative Dissidents podcast is now live! Back it today to help us fund another full season of this podcast. The Lady in Blue, a mysterious figure of cosmic power, enlists a band of simple peasants for a strange task. They are to follow

We conclude the post mortem discussion of Impossible Landscapes, after the interruption from the previous episode. We now have a campaign index page, so you can easily find al of the episodes and other relevant bits for the campaign. Maddy as Ryan West, paramedic Thad as Marley Madelyn, FBI agent

Our actual play run of the surreal horror campaign, Impossible Landscapes, is now done. The cast and I discuss the characters, plot, and more! Find out the secrets behind the campaign and my advice for running this challenging but rewarding campaign. Maddy as Ryan West, paramedic Thad as Marley Madelyn,

Architectural horror is a subgenre of intention. Novels like House of Leaves, movies like The Shining, the Saw series, and games like Control can all be called architectural horror, but what does that mean? Rob Stith of the Orpheus Protocol and I talk about the genre and my new scenario,

A system-less RPG scenario is designed to be able to run in any system for a particular genre. Writing one is just as challenging as writing one for a single system. I’m launching a crowdfunding campaign on Backerkit for The Night Clerk, a system-less modern horror scenario, as a zine.

Many RPGs use d20s for resolving combat, like D&D, 13th Age, and Lancer. Caleb and I have been playing a lot of d20 games recently and we wanted to talk about the nature of d20 combat. It’s a very swingy system, where every combatant can miss in a single round,

We ran a Fate Core campaign called Cointract Island on RPPR Actual Play. Over 16 episodes, a trio of heroes explored an island overrun with genetically engineered and cybernetically enhanced creatures. In this post mortem, Bridget, Fae, Lydia, and I discuss the campaign’s themes, the Fate system, and crypto bro

I talked with Greg Stolze, author of Reign, Termination Shock, co-author of Unknown Armies, and writer on many other books (and my co-host on Ludonarrative Dissidents podcast) about his new Kickstarter for Ships, a supplement for Termination Shock. We talked about the core mechanics for Termination Shock, game design, and

Caleb is back discussing his progress on Red Markets. After a recent gaming retreat, Caleb developed a theory he wanted to discuss in this episode, about the obscene and the scene. The scene represents the public, socially acceptable aspects of a given object or activity. The obscene refers to the

In this episode, James Wallis, co-host of Ludonarrative Dissidents podcast and author of “Everybody Wins: Four Decades of the Greatest Board Games Ever Made,” and I talk about what RPG designers can learn from board games. We talked about the history and influence of board games, the challenges of playtesting

Wizards of the Coast has stepped on a series of rakes with a series of proposed changes to the Open Gaming License (OGL). What is the OGL and why is WOTC is trying to destroy a popular thing in the industry? Caleb and I discuss what’s going on and what

Caleb and I discuss the possibility of creating a second edition of Red Markets and Base Raiders. It’s a major task, so examining the pros and cons is a necessary first step. Updating the mechanics, revising the lore, and improving the information design are all big challenges, not to mention

News: There’s a horror video marathon on the RPPR Patreon Discord on Sunday October 30, starting at 3 pm CDT! Sign up for the RPPR Newsletter and get a FREE Monster PDF! Synopsis: After watching the first 7 Saw movies in the last week, I realized that game design comes

Designing new monsters for your RPG is a time honored tradition for most GMs. I got Greg Stolze and Caleb Stokes to talk about their approaches to creating new creatures for games. Is the monster a metaphor or just a weird new enemy to fight? Get some tips on becoming

Like so many other things, game design has changed in the post-pandemic world. Jeff Barber, author of Blue Planet, and Caleb Stokes, author of Red Markets, and I talk about work and the industry. Jeff’s been hard at work on Blue Planet: Recontact and Caleb talks more about Fae’s Anatomy

The Multiverse is back! Films and TV shows featuring the concept of a multiverse are more popular than ever, even though they are old hat in tabletop RPGs. Special guest Patrick from RPX and Tech Diff podcasts and I talk about ways you can implement a multiverse in your RPG

Many RPGs use cards in their mechanics, from playing cards to Tarot to custom decks of cards. We discuss some of these games, the types of mechanics we’ve seen and the history of card-based games. If you enjoy this episode, back our Kickstarter for Season 2 of Ludonarrative Dissidents. This

The Terminator RPG was released as a PDF recently. A special guest, Jacqueline Bryk and I went through the game. It contains a lot of rules, including a dense system for hacking, something I hadn’t seen since Shadowrun and Cyberpunk. What makes a licensed game good or bad? We talk

News: The RPPR Patreon just finished a six part podcast series on the mega dungeon Castle Greyhawk. It’s a very funny and weird module and we had a lot of reviewing combing through it. Patrons at the $10 level and higher can get one on one RPG design/advice consultations in

The public domain expanded this year and Caleb and I dive into it to find gameable material. Anyone can use these books, images, or music, for whatever project they can imagine. I found a list of characters from pulp fiction magazines with such interesting heroes like the vigilante Crimson Clown,

Quake 1 is an incredibly influential video game, not just to other video games, but to tabletop RPGs as well. We played Slipgate: Chokepoint recently. Now that we’ve re-played Quake 1 and a RPG inspired by it, Chris and I discuss the thematic and mechanical differences in translating pixels to

A new crew of smugglers start taking jobs in Duskvol. They call themselves the Blind Eyes and specialize in the weird and the occult. As the gang grows in power, they learn of an invisible war for control over the city between supernatural beings and ruthless factions and an incredibly

My friend Chris (the voice of Ab3 in our early radio plays and a cool guy on Twitter) had an idea for a new series on RPPR. Tabletop RPGs have influenced video games since their creation. Video games have influenced tabletop RPGs for a while as well. In Pixel 2

A cluster of enclaves in Missouri faces annihilation at the hands of a massive horde of the undead. Their only hope is to prepare for war, a job for their preeminent taker crew, the D4s. The crew uses an armored vehicle to take the largest scores of valuable goods they

Sponsor: Check out the Chew RPG Kickstarter! After running a two part game with the new Forged in the Dark RPG, Chew, I wanted to talk to Pete Petrusha about the game. I liked how Chew ran differently than Blades as it focuses on investigating crimes instead of pulling off

News: Please fill out the RPPR Survey so I can improve the quality of the RPPR Patreon. Thanks! Synopsis: Thad and I both have ideas for scenarios. I got an idea for an investigative scenario (probably Delta Green) after I watched a series called Fear City. It focuses on the

News: We’re remastering classic actual play episodes of RPPR! If you want to listen to Lady Gaga 2.0 with improved audio quality, download the episode here. If you want to pick which classic episodes are edited, back the RPPR Patreon before September 6. We’re running a special offer and I’ll

News: Check out Arkham Cold Cases on the RPPR Patreon! Episode 4 features Caleb as a guest and it’s quite hilarious. Listen to a sample here. We’ve also picked a regular time for livestreams on the RPPR Patreon Discord – 6 pm CST on Sundays. Come hang out with us