Roll For Topic

Andy talks about an upcoming game he’s kicking off. It’ll be the 3rd time he’s tried it! They gush about forged in the dark, talk about the value of running campaigns, and discuss building dungeons with random tables.

Chris explored a cave recently! That brings Andy and Chris to discuss the challenge of injecting the thrill of real-world locations into their in-game versions. Can a fantasy game about fighting goblins in caves convey some of that real-world excitement?

Chris has been busy building props for a school play, and wonders how some of that energy might be expressed at the game table! Also, Andy and Chris discuss the joys of history and the ways they do and don’t make history and culture an important part of player characters.

Lots to catch up on this episode, including the Dungeon Crawler Carl series, edgelord vampire roleplaying from the 1990s, and Chris’ dilemma as a player: can he respec a PC that isn’t mechanically working the way he intended?

Chris and Jess talk about a small Daggerheart campaign that Jess ran and Chris played in! (Andy will be back next time!)

Andy’s back from his weekend GMing an Antarctic Cthulhu campaign, and Chris has questions! Topics covered include the value of creating special game events like this, the challenge of fighting a long campaign into a short weekend, and more.

Chris is heading off on a work trip, so discussion turns to which RPGs or board games you squeeze into your suitcase when traveling. With snow days and work trips imposing on our schedules, it’s a short episode–but we’ll be back next episode with a detailed breakdown of Andy’s epic Arkham Horror RPG weekend.

Andy and Chris have a lot to talk about! They discuss Splatbook, how the build-a-dungeon/play-a-dungeon went, the worst part of the D&D ruleset, Shadowdark, and Andy’s upcoming weekend game in a secluded cottage.

It’s time to play this year’s “Build-a-Dungeon”! Chris GMs a party of five intrepid amusement park employees as they try to save the fair from a rampaging kaiju. This is part of our annual tradition wherein we create an adventure collaboratively in one episode and play it in the next. For the making of this … Continue reading "Episode 184 – Play-a-Dungeon 2025: Kaiju vs. Theme Park Employees"

This is part 1 of our 2 part Build-A-Dungeon Play-a-Dungeon special for 2025! Chris and Andy are joined, yet again, by John Corey and Kyle Latino! In this episode we brainstorm and build out a one shot adventure that Chris will run in the following episode.

Chris tries to get Andy to watch the new season of Stranger Things. Andy talks about Doom’s brilliance. Then they talk about simple systems for running one shots.

Every TTRPG Kickstarter from the last few years seemed to fulfill this month, so Andy and Chris take an episode to go through the piles of shiny new roleplaying games they’ve acquired recently. Along the way they discuss the impact of strong authorial voices in RPG books and plot to ensnare the author of Netcrawl.

Chris has found himself playing in two campaigns, so Andy and Chris talk about how he can be the best player he can be!

Chris and Andy take a break from their usual format and have an open discussion about Chris’ new Daggerheart game, and what has their attention now that a wave of post-OGL D&D-alikes are finally arriving. As a bonus, we learn about the corporate merch with which Chris bedecks himself.

Andy and Chris talk about Stranger Things and then an issue that Andy had at the table with players and their pregen characters.

Every year, we host a game convention in Ann Arbor. And every year, a highlight of the con is our obscure RPG trivia contest! This is the live recording of RfT Con 2025’s trivia segment. How does your RPG trivia knowledge stack up?

Chris and Andy are busy planning RfT Con, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t brainstorming new campaigns they want to run. In this short pre-convention episode, they chat about the campaigns they’re gearing up to run this autumn/winter.

We revisit one of our earliest topics, this time with guest Garrett Douglas, creator of Wayne Scotting’s Guide to the Very Small Folk! Garrett shares insight from the many short-duration game sessions he’s run, but not before we chat Ars Magica and share our favorite Chicagoland game stores. Show notes

Chris is joined by guest GM Andy Jones to talk about the intersection between gaming and theater and how good kids these days have it with being able to talk openly about their hobbies.

Toby’s going to run a game at RfT Con 2025 about mechs! He comes on to talk through some design ideas and Andy and Chris get very excited about mechs!

Chris wants to pitch Andy on Blue Prince, but decides he should probably talk about some other stuff too.

Chris shares the experience of watching his young daughter and her friends play D&D for the first time. What can jaded adult GMs learn from watching kids hack their way through a D&D adventure? And in what is becoming our regular book discussion segment, Chris and Andy discuss the gaming appeal of Stephen King’s The … Continue reading "Episode 171 – The Kids Are Alright"

Andy seeks advice about an upcoming game for a group of newbie players. But not before our hosts talk books, Andy excitedly describes his first trip to a swamp, and Chris reveals that his young daughter is about to make her first foray into TTRPGs.

Andy and Chris are both about to go on trips so they freewheel a conversation about buying a suit and changing the system for a currently running campaign.

Would you ever call for a “re-do” of a scene or encounter that didn’t go as planned? In what situations might that make sense? And are there better ways to “roll with” an unwelcome development in the game? Chris and Andy discuss, along with talk about game pacing and Andy’s million-dollar idea for a mystery … Continue reading "Episode 168 – Do You Replay TTRPG Scenes That Go Wrong?"

Does it matter in your D&D game if the weather outside is bright and balmy or cold and rainy? Are there ways to incorporate changing weather into a TTRPG that don’t just boil down to the occasional die roll penalty? Chris and Andy discuss, and Chris describes his experience with Bully Pulpit Games’ The Skeletons.

Andy and Chris talk about the lives our PCs lead outside of the adventuring life. They also inadvertently pitch a very fun sounding game where you play a bunch of teachers.

Have you played in games where your character’s age had a big impact, mechanically or narratively? Chris and Andy discuss why it matters if your D&D character is 18 or 65 years old, and how exploring those nuances might make your game more interesting.

What do you do when one of your players comes to the table with a PC that has a horse, mount, or another game feature that radically changes tactical situations? Chris and Andy discuss ways you can approach mounts in a way that doesn’t cheat the player of their mount, but which also doesn’t hurt … Continue reading "Episode 164 – How Do You Handle Player Mounts and Horses?"

Andy and Chris talk about the things we used to love and then get into the the discussion of handing out documents/clues/puzzles at the table.

What elements go into a good game focused on wilderness survival and exploration? Chris and Andy discuss, but not before a few detours to talk about Stephen King’s Dark Tower series and The Wizard of Oz.

What does religious faith look like in your games? Do you encourage your players to make religious faith a key part of their PCs, whether or not their character class is mechanically built around it? Andy and Chris discuss–but not before a few detours into the Dune setting, Tolkien (again), and more.

Is tabletop roleplaying “just” an escapist diversion? How and why do we approach a hobby like gaming when news and politics and life in general are so heavy and overwhelming? Chris and Andy talk about the value of creative action in times of stress.

Andy and Chris recap the build-a-dungeon/play-a-dungeon and then talk about their gaming plans for 2025. Andy wonders aloud about whether to “just” play D&D or to keep chasing his white whales.

It’s our annual holiday tradition–a TTRPG actual play in which we run the roleplaying scenario that we designed in the last episode! Join Chris and he GMs a motley band of heroes try to save Christmas. The game system we’re using is Caltrop Core (https://caltropcore.com/), adapted for this holiday-cheer-filled scenario!

It’s that time of year again! Join Chris and Andy with special guests, John Corey and Kyle Latino, as they build a dungeon live on air! This is part 1 of 2. In the next episode Chris will run the dungeon for a bunch of lovely folks.

Andy and Chris talk about the feelings they have about different methods of getting a random number. Rolling a die is great; drawing a chit from a bag is bad.

Andy and Chris talk about Baldur’s Gate 3 for too long and then Chris surprises everyone by having done a small amount of research before they discuss money in games.

Have you thought about running an epic RPG campaign–perhaps a complex published campaign like Curse of Strahd or Masks of Nyarlathotep–but find yourself unsure how to start preparing? In this episode, Andy talks with Matt Wilson, a GM who has run several large, complex campaigns to learn some tips and tricks for preparing to run … Continue reading "Episode 154 – How Do You Prepare to Run an Epic Campaign? (with Matt Wilson)"

Andy and Chris talk about running games on holidays and what exactly makes it so compelling. They also talk about the upcoming D&D DMG, Alien tie-in novels, and The Left Hand of Darkness.

Have you ever used a mini-game in a tabletop RPG–a game that steps completely outside the official rules of your RPG to resolve a particular situation? We discuss Chris’ experimental one-shot in which he tried out some fun mini-games. Also discussed: Chris’ experience reading The Silmarillion.

Recorded live at the fourth annual Roll for Topic Con! Follow along as the audience takes our annual roleplaying trivia quiz, and plays a brand new game called Diamond Heist.

What does the criminal underworld in your setting look like, and how do the players interact with it? Andy and Chris discuss the topic of crime in RPG settings, along with their plans to run some one-shots at the upcoming RfT Con.

Andy and Chris talk about going to the dentist and also about using languages at the table. Chris makes a reference to a 29 year old movie and Andy makes a reference to a 23 year old tv show.

Is character alignment a central part of your D&D (and D&D-alike) games, or is it something you change or ignore? Chris and Andy discuss the benefits and drawbacks of the classic alignment chart, and the ways it’s useful at the table.

Andy and Chris talk about Gen Con, Roll for Topic Con, and what makes cons so special!

Have you used a minigame within your RPG to handle a specific scene or sequence? Chris and Andy brainstorm a bit about a jousting minigame for Chris’ upcoming convention game, with discursions into game playtesting, Battletech, and the upcoming RfT Con 2024.

Guest host John Corey fills in for Chris this week, bringing his expertise in low-prep GMing! John and Andy discuss what they’ve been reading about the early days of the gaming hobby and then go on to talk about how you can move from high-prep GMing to lower-prep, improv-style GMing.

Do you meticulously track the light radius of each torch? Do you handwave it away? Something in between? Inspired by Andy’s recent trip to Mammoth Caves, Andy and Chris talk about the challenges and rewards of taking lighting seriously in your dungeon crawls.

Your setting is full of interesting history and fascinating detail. How do you convey that to your players at the table with boring or overwhelming them? Chris and Andy discuss, but not before they talk about what the movie Furiosa can teach us about good RPG action scenes. Show notes: