RPGs & Baby Makes 3 - The Podcast: Recent Episodes
RPGs & Baby Makes 3
Gretchen Hilmers and Rob Hessler are a married couple with a kid. They like to play RPGs and Boardgames. They made a podcast.
Gretchen and Rob discuss the idea, "Should we even bother rolling?"
Plus:
Bad Indian food, indigestion, Pilsbury dough samosa, tomato soup, tortilla naan, saag paneer, Bollywood, Hercules and Xena, Atlanta, Renaissance Faire, leather armor, West End Games, d6, Streetwise, Hope, Pandora’s Box, Perseus, Athens, Lizard Man, Iason, Medusa, Euryale, The Gorgon’s Curse, Jennifer Saint, Hera, Electra, Ariadne, Sly’s Sliders, Costco Pizza, Birthright, AD&D 2nd Edition, Basketweaving, Like and Subscribe
On this episode of RPGs & Baby Makes 3, Rob and Gretchen discuss a sentence that gives DMs major anxiety: It's what my character would do.
Plus:
What’s your alignment?
Junior Braves Survival Guide to the Apocalypse
Hercules and Xena
West End Games
D6
Greek Myths
Perseus
The Cyclops
Mothra Frankenstein
DnD 5th Edition
Dungeon of the Mad Mage
Dragon Heist
Wizards of the Coast
Hasbro
Game Church
Sojourner Magazine
Methodist
Fresh Expressions
Episcopalian
Save or Die
Level Drain
Difficulty Settings
Waterdeep Gazette
Undermountain
Side quest
DMPC
Tymora, goddess of luck
Heist Adventures
Lawful good
Murder Hobos
Chaotic Evil
Temple of Elemental Evil
Hommlet
Respect your DM
Fourth Wing
Rebecca Yaros
The Hunger Games with Dragons
Vampire the Masquerade
Toreador
Tzimisce
Camarilla
Sabbat
Nerf Battle
Not Another Teen Movie
Gretchen and Rob start the show by discussing recent sessions of Old Gods of Appalachia and Old School Essentials, before moving to the main topic: Geeks, Nerds, & Dorks
Plus: Setting Expectations; Old Gods of Appalachia; Monte Cook Games; Roll the Bones; Savannah, Georgia; Party Foul; Renegade Paws; One Love; Chicken Salad Chick; Thank You Brandon; Character Names; Molasses Taffy; Ironsworn; Shawn Tomkin; Tomkin Press; Call of Cthulhu; Old School Essentials; Necrotic Gnome; Exalted Funeral; AD&D 2nd Edition; TSR; Wizards of the Coast; Battle Maps; Miniatures; Peaz N’ Carrots; First Timers; Alfred Hitchcock The Birds; Patchwork; Use Rosenberg; Hero Quest; Brainchild; the scientific method; Oxford language dictionary; Jerry Saltz; 23rd Best Art Critic; chocolate parfait is not a cake; The Necronomicon; Evil Dead; Army of Darkness; Ash; Bruce Campbell; The Silent Patient; Alex Michaelides; Goodreads; Kindle; Joe Abercrombie The Trouble With Peace; The Age of Madness Trilogy; Grimdark; Throne of Glass; A Court of Thorns and Roses; The Era of Ash and Fire; David Fincher; Richard Linklater; Slacker; Cassandra Rose Clark The Assassin’s Curse; Like and Subscribe
Gretchen and Rob have been through the wringer.
This:
Car Crash; Friday the 13th; Full Moon; Black Cats; Odin; Road Rage; Meth Addict; Oatland Island; Wildlife Rehabilitation; Halloween Hike; Sirenhead; Siren Head; Toddler; Preschooler; Broken Bones; Clumsy; EMT; Urgent Care; Children’s Hospital; Emergency Room; Fentanyl; Memorial Health; Surgery; Washington Commanders Versus Atlanta Falcons; Barbecue; BBQ; Rear Camera; Rats chewing through the electrical wires; Scratching and Clawing; Honda CRV; Computer Fail; Conference Call; Laptops; Sweet Gum Trees; Itchy Balls; The Flu; Burn Marks; Bearded Dragon; Pooler; Road Construction; Animal Husbandry; Parasites; Blood Taken; Blackbeard; Black Beard; Ponko Chicken; Blind Cat; Poop Explosion; Lost Pets; Shiva; Bad Luck; Natural 1; Nat 1; Critical Fail; White Privilege; WTF; You’re Not Alone; Pirates; Spongebob Squarepants; Like and Subscribe.
On this episode, Gretchen and Rob discuss Necrotic Gnome’s Old School Essentials,
immersion in roleplaying games, and kids on planes and in restaurants.
Plus:
Water Key; Forsyth Park; Savannah, Georgia; Adulting; Home Ownership; Junior Braves Survival Guide to the Apocalypse; Kids on Bikes; More Differenter Games; 5th Edition Dungeons and Dragons; Grumpy Gretchen; Dice Superstition; B/X D&D Incandescent Grottos; Temple of Elemental Evil; Gary Gygax; Frank Mentzer; A-Hole Pirate; Water Genasi; Save Versus Death; Disintegration; Gretchen Hates D&D Historically pirates didn’t know how to swim; Carcass Crawler; The Angry GM; Encumbrance; The Big Lebowski; Fallout; Crunch; Vampire the Masquerade; Mind’s Eye Theatre; LARPing; Kat Valentine; Ghost Table Games; Alice is Missing; Discord; Group Chat; Postpartum Depression; Ten Candles; Holy Pie; Eating Pizza While GMing; Ironsworn; Starforged; Google; Washington Commanders; Final Fantasy; Baldur’s Gate; Shannon Sharpe Skip Bayless; Aerosmith; Honor Among Thieves; Get A Grip; Rock n Roll; Jarnathan; Collider; TikTok; Outdoor Boys; Ryan’s World; Kids on Planes and in Restaurants; Eating Cookies While Your Kids Aren’t Looking; Like and Subscribe
On this episode, Gretchen and Rob air Rob's interview with Friendly Local Game Store owner Ben Flood, whose new shop Roll the Bones is set to open in Savannah, Georgia on August 19th, 2023!
Learn more via the article Rob wrote about the space for the Savannah Morning News here: https://www.savannahnow.com/story/entertainment/local/2023/08/02/roll-the-bones-new-midtown-savannah-hobby-shop-and-gaming-community-center/70507442007/
Laundry; Wayne’s World; Splash Pad; City of Savannah; Junior Braves Survival Guide to the Apocalypse; New Players; Wellbutrin; GremlinLegions; Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Other Strangeness by Palladium; Rifts; Rocksteady; Beebop; Tafy LaPlanche; Brian MacGregor; Pete Russo; Roll the Bones; Firefly Games Columbia South Carolina; FLGS; Friendly Local Game Store; Ben Flood; Trader Joes; Alice is Missing; Squishible; Squishable; Morningstar Games; Belinda; Ms. B; Legos; Snacks; Aberrant; Xtreme Wrestling; White Wolf; Polyhedral Dice; Labyrinth Game Shop DC; Washington D.C.; Macro Micro Crime City; Where’s Waldo; Jeopardy Theme Song; Pokemon; Magic the Gathering; FLGS; Gayle Kicklighter; Lady Balrog; RtB 101; Dungeons & Dragons; DnD; Warhammer; Alice is Missing; Ten Candles; The Throne of Glass; The Atlas Six; Doom scrolling; Temple of Elemental Evil; RA Salvatore; Homeland; Exile; Drizzt Do’Urden; The Halfling’s Gem; The Wheel of Time; Holy Guacamole; The Angry GM; OSR; Old School Renaissance; Thank you Alexa; Like and Subscribe
Michael Wight, aka GremlinLegions, is the creator of Junior Braves Survival Guide to the Apocalypse the Roleplaying Game, based on the similarly-titled Junior Braves of the Apocalypse, by Greg Smith, Michael Tanner, and Zach Lehner. Rob had the chance to speak with Wight for his column for the Savannah Morning News, and on this episode he and Gretchen play a bit of that conversation, and discuss the game in detail.
Check out the article here: https://www.savannahnow.com/story/ent...
And you can pick up the RPG and graphic novels at https://onipress.com/collections/oni-...
Plus: Kids on Bikes; On a Very Special Episode of RPGs and Baby Makes 3; Meredith Baxter Birney; Kathleen Turner; Old Smoker; Pieces of Meat; Kabobs; Charlie Day; It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia; A Beautiful Mind; Liveplay, or is it Actual Play?; Savannah Morning News; Front Page; Free RPG Day; Discord; Character Creation; collapsible shovel; garden hoe; polyhedral dice; trope; rebel; brave tokens; Cortex; Supernatural the RPG Margaret Weis; plot points; Pathfinder; Merit Badges; Boy Scouts; Women don’t have pockets; Allergy Attack; The Boy in the Plastic Bubble; Jake Gyllenhaal; Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Other Strangeness; Knights and Dragons; Renegade Games; Oni Press; Rainy Day Games; Ghost Table Games; Kat Valentine; Escaping Cats; Odin; Heavy Duty Super Pet Screen; Like and Subscribe; Roof Rats; the cycle of life; Like and Subscribe
Gretchen and Rob discuss their haul from this year's FREE RPG DAY!
Plus:
I’m helping; Golden Child; Hell Child; Allergies; LARPing as a contented mother; Monsoon season; Hot in Georgia; AD&D 2nd Edition; Krakenheim; Ice Barbarians; Greyhawk; Lord Cas; Americanize; 2-Player Campaign; Awkward; White Wolf; Changling; World of Darkness; Storyteller; Balloon shadows; Happy Birthday; Temple of Elemental Evil; Podcast; Character Death; The Spider Queen Lolth; TSR; Gary Gygax; Village of Hommlet; Aarakocra; d6; YouTube; FreeRPGDay.com; Free RPG Day; Loup Garou; Choose Your Own Adventure; Mazes RPG; Level 1 Issue #4: Rainbow Bridge; Indie RPG Anthology; Post Lifers Sylvia Jimenez; Pocket RPG Guide; Heckin’ Good Doggos; Star Trek Font; Heist at the Museum; Ghosts of Saltmarsh; Root RPG Quick Start; GI Joe and Transformers; Renegade Game Studios; Knowing is Half the Battle; Dragonbane; Free League; Mork Borg; Pathfinder 2e For A Few Flowers More; Gnome; Scythe; Fluff Fang; Bowser; Popcorn is Short Tempered; Actung Cthulhu; Is it wrong to kill Nazis? A Taste of the Moon; Vampire the Masquerade; Brigand Bunnies; Monty Python’s Holy Grail; Point Break; Junior Braves Survival Guide to the Apocalypse; Junior Braves of the Apocalypse; Greg Smith; Michael Tanner; Zach Lehner; Roll the Bones; Gaming Community Center; Chicken Salad Chick; Elizabeth on 37th; The Grey; Bull Street Taco; Green Truck; Coke Zero; Gale Kicklighter; Lady Balrog; Chewbacca; Ready Player Two; Ready Player One; E Shaver Bookstore; Foxy Loxy; The Holy Bible; The Oxford Dictionary; Glass Throne Series; A Court of Thorns and Roses on Hulu; Like and Subscribe
Gretchen has been spending a lot of time pretending to be a fox named Oatmeal. Find out why in this week's episode!
Plus:
Someone knows; Wayne’s World dissolve; Roll for Initiative; Yowling Cats; Sickness; Ghosts of Saltmarsh; 5th Edition Dungeons & Dragons; Session Zero; Session 1; Losing Players; 4 Players and a DM; Dungeon Master; Sinister Secrets of Saltmarsh; Seagull-based Aarakocra; Merfolk; Triton; Human; Half-elf; Genasi; D&D DnDBeyond; Bells and whistles; Giant axe-wielding pirate bird; Chocolate chip cookies; Session Zero is roleplaying no matter what Gretchen says, and she doesn’t read this so she’ll never know muahahahaha!!!; We’re Going to Pump Clap You Up; Hanz and Franz; Oatmeal; Reynard the Fox; Sigikid; Fort; NPCs; Non-player Characters; Dolls; Stuffies; Dragon with Human Teeth; Escargot; Little Blue Truck; Truck Tunes; Ambiguous accents; Appalachia; Eastern Shore of Maryland; The Luggage; Charleston, South Carolina; American Accents; Star Trek The Next Generation Picard All Hands to Battle Stations; Court of Thorns and Roses; DragonLance; Fade to Black; Laura K. Hamilton; Forgotten Realms; X-Men; Rogue; PG-13; R-Rated; Goodreads; Vampire The Masquerade; The Angry GM; Encumbrance; Ammunition; Immersion; Rations; Labyrinth; The Trash Lady; David Bowie; Sick Kid; Like and Subscribe
Gretchen and Rob are just about to start a new Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition Ghosts of Saltmarsh Campaign, and they discuss the ways in which they're preparing for the first meetup.
Plus:
Lap Cat; Broken Tail; Odin; Hell Mother’s Day; Sinister Secrets of Saltmarsh; Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition; Crown Royal Canadian whisky; Polyhedral Dice; Ocean Theme; Field Notes; 5e Character Journals; Gretchen hates D&D Low Stakes; Nerdberger Games; Green Crown Royal Bag; Ghosts of Saltmarsh; Pirates; Alexa; Jeopardy theme; Preparing for a new campaign; Cleaning up; Group dynamics; DragonLance; Tafy LaPlanche; Gary Gygax; Snacks; Sushi; Pirate’s Booty; From the Leaves of the Inn of the Last Home; Vegan; Veggie Booty; Cheese Dust; Cheetos; Dark Chocolate Coins; Hanukkah; Judaism; Babysitter; Dice; Adventure Scents; Pirates of the Caribbean; Black Sails; Waterworld; Spongebob Squarepants; Post-Apocalyptic Pirates; Landrates; Starz; DnD Beyond; Zoom; Utility Knife; Cub; Packrat; Temple of Elemental Evil; Castle Amber; Spiders; Nautical Theme Pass Me The Afghan; I’m on a Boat; Black Phoenix Alchemical Laboratory; Citrus; Smoky Campfire; Gretchen can’t smell anything; Like and Subscribe
Gretchen and Rob recount their truly horrible Mother's Day. Then they unbox Rob's recent Adventure Scents order from Oddfish Games, scents that he plans on using for his upcoming Ghosts of Saltmarsh 5th Edition Dungeons and Dragons game.
Plus:
Testing; Wayne’s World; Magical; Disney; Happy Mother’s Day; Villain; Critical Fail; Dice; d6; Snake Eyes; Snakebitten; Like and Subscribe; Parenting is Hard; Discipline; Lowe’s; Made for TV Mom; Roleplaying; Photos; Kiddie Pool; Social Media Lies; Weird Steps; Carwash; Dairy Queen; DQ; Kroger; Candy Shop; 50 Cent; Candy by the Pound; Meltdown; River Street Sweets; You’re Mean; Second Wind; Face Wounds; Exhausted; Doom Scrolling; Gardening; Gerber Daisies; Etiquette; Bean; Celery; Reddi Whip; Ice Cream Sundaes; Licking Ice Cream; Edy’s Slow Churned Mint Chocolate Chip; Censored; Tylenol Tampering in the 1980s; Cyanide; Goldfish; d4; Legos; Metal Dice; Dead Wrong; C-Mob; Dug; Norway; England; Oddfish Games; Unboxing Video; Adventure Scents; Diffuser; Ghosts of Saltmarsh; Pirates; 5th Edition Dungeons and Dragons; Marsh; Fishing Docks; Rot; Island Temple; Brothel; Ocean Breeze; Pirate Ship; Fetid Swamp; Graveyard; Vampire’s Tomb; oddfishgames.com ; Swamp Thing Cosplay; Tentacles; Facebook Reels; Pole Dancing; Scream; Patrick from Spongebob Squarepants; YouTube and Chill; Netflix and Chill; Army of Darkness; Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves; Hasbro; Wizards of the Coast; Hugh Grant; Holy Guacamole; TikTok; R Rated; Evil Dead Rise; Vox Machina; Critical Role; Arcane; Cussing; S-Word; Sword; Deadpool; Logan; Wolverine; Old Man Logan; Flawed Individuals; Made for Social Media; We’re all in this together; Catharsis; Sailing into the Sunset; Ocean of Salty Tears; Yo Ho Yo Ho A Pirates Life For Me
Gretchen and Rob discuss poor treatment by a group of players towards their DM as noted in an article from the internet.
Here’s the article we chat about in this podcast, if you’d like to give it a read:
https://www.cbr.com/dnd-dm-harassed-players-ending-campaign/
Plus:
Checking the weather; Weather Forgetter; Whimsical Tales; Doo Doo Dee Doo; Wayne’s World; Parkside Neighborhood Association Meeting; Time Keeper; Long Meetings; Parents; Personal Tales; 311; Neighborhood Activist Live Action Role Playing Game; Critical Fail; Cheating; Dirty GM; Broken Characters; Strep Throat; Soup; Tea; Crusty Bread; Olive and Salt; Whole Foods; Biting Your Best Friend; Broken Tail; Rabbit; Liver and Kidney Issues; Pink Eye; Conjunctivitis; Sunglasses inside; Broken Friendships; Green Truck Neighborhood Pub; Martial Arts; VFW Post 660; Dungeons & Dragons; Kat Valentine; Ghost Table Guild; Rum; Mint; Kris Grand; Babysitter; One-Shot; Ghosts in the basement; Ronald; Pregens; Premades; Portable Charger; Podcast; Transformers; G.I. Joe; Sailor Moon; Power Rangers; Shared Universe; Beeboop; Headache from laughter; Temple of Elemental Evil; DnD Beyond; 5th Edition Dungeons & Dragons; Bards; Stoner; Contemporary Characters in Medieval Fantasy Settings; Low Intelligence; Greyhawk; Krakenheim; Mark Henry “It’s Time for the Main Event!”; CBR.com; Reddit; perger4382; retcon; teleportation; world building; power levels; magic items; balance; character attachment; it’s just a game; DMing is hard; Matt Mercer is not the norm; The Lazy Dungeon Master; Random Encounter Decks; Improv; Yawn; Burnout; The DM is a player; Go with the flow; Adapt; Mr. Wizard; Burne the Wizard; Hommlet; Halloween Ends; Time to put the boogyman to bed; Ghosts of Saltmarsh; Junior Braves Survival Guide to the Apocalypse; Rebel Crown; Blades in the Dark; Forged in the Dark; Slow Clap; Glitter; Robert E. Howard; Conan; Modiphius; 2d20; Carolina wren; Critical Hit; Like and Subscribe
Don't forget to Like and Subscribe!!!
We watched the original trilogy of Dungeons & Dragons movies so that you don't have to!
Plus:
Wayne’s World; Doodly Do; Tia Carrera; Chuck E. Cheese’s; Ski-ball; Ball pit; broken games; Janky; Savannah, Georgia; Animatronics; Chucky; Life; AD&D 2nd Edition; The Temple of Elemental Evil; Gary Gygax; Like and Subscribe; Apple Podcasts; Spotify; Ice Barbarian; Session Zero; Side Quests; Vikings; Aaron Sturgill; In the Hollow of the Spider Queen; Greek Myths; 24/7; Junior Braves Survival Guide to the Apocalypse; Superfresh; A&P Grocery Store; Salad; Croutons; Blades in the Dark; Agon; Scouts Guide to the Apocalypse; Graphic Novels; Kids on Bikes; I might could gaming; Huey Lewis and the News; If This Is It; Gold Dragons; Red Dragons; Beholder; Jeremy Irons; Box Office Bomb; Bruce Payne; Bulging Veins; Blue Lips; Elf; Kristen Wilson; Boob Doopers; Breastplate; Front Heavy; Cone Bras; Marlon Wayans; Wrath of the Dragon God; Sinister Orb; Enchantress; Fighters; Heroes; D&D 3.5; Lore; Puzzle Maze; The Book of Vile Darkness; Code of Honor; Paladin; Necromancer; Evil Characters; Vows; Nudity; Honor Among Thieves; Dungeons & Dragons; Gritty; Undead; Bad Butt Woman; Damsel in Distress; SyFy; Hugh Grant; Spells; Magic; D&D the Cartoon; Easter Eggs; John Harper; Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser; Fritz Lieber; Kitchen Confidential; Anthony Bourdain; Wake of Vultures; First Nation; Lila Bowen; The Shadow #1; Texan; Southern; Upgrade; Blake Couch; Hacking Genetics; Genome; Evolution; Dark Matter; Raunchy Fantasy; Kindle; Goodreads; The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern; Math; The Night Circus; The Collected Works of Conan; Robert E. Howard; Mystic; Sex; Saucy; Body Twist; Smart Books; Stephen Fry Mythos;
Gretchen and Rob discuss Rob's recent Savannah Morning News Sunday column about the monthly Dungeons & Dragons event at VFW post 660 in Savannah, Georgia.
Plus:
Wayne’s World; Podcasting; Spotify; Tia Carrera; cpap machine; pap smear machine; What is Roleplaying…Again; Amanda Plageman; The Simpsons; Nelson; HaHa; Naturally Contrarian; Debate; Inclusion; Black, White, and Gray (or Grey); Updating Progress; Goodreads; It’s a Game; Roleplaying Magazines; Fantasy RPG; Dungeons & Dragons; Wargames; Gary Gygax; Dave Arneson; Battle Mat; Grid; Strategy Games; Dungeon Crawl; Warhammer Fantasy Role-play; Terrain; Tickle Your Fancy; Get My Juices Flowing; Check for Traps; Roll Perception; You Don’t Find the Trap; Roll for Initiative; Antagonistic Gamings; Player Versus Dungeon Master; Storytelling Games; Ironsworn Starforged; Alice is Missing; AI Art; Chatbots; ChatGPT; Midjourney; Hero Forge; Savannah Morning News; Washington Post; Blakely Scott; Queen of A.I.; Anthony Scott; Is Acting Roleplaying?; Anchorman; I’m Kind of a Big Deal; Ghost Table Guild; Kat Valentine; 5E; 5th Edition Dungeons & Dragons; Honor Among Thieves; Edition Wars; Charity Stream; VFW Post 660; Combat Veterans; Savannah Morning News; D20; Minotaur; SUV; Roadhouse; Savannah; Halloween; Gatekeeping; Desert Storm; Iraq War; Transgender; Odd Lot Improv; Liberals and Conservatives; Openness; Inclusion; Diversity; Culture War; Twitter; Social Media; LGBTQ+; Firefighters playing D&D Stranger Things; Women Gamers; Video Games; Character Voices; Starland Yard Renaissance Faire; Cosplay; Monty Python and the Holy Grail; House of Earth and Blood; Crescent City; Sarah J. Maas; House of Sky and Breath; A Court of Thorns and Roses; High Fantasy; Non-Violent Communication; Brandon Sanderson; The Stormlight Archive; Spren; Magic; Designers and Dragons; Shannon Appelcline; Abbadon’s Gate; The Expanse; Amazon Prime; Video Game Strategy Guides; Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past; Nemesis; Hidden Village; Ganon; Game Genie; Willow; The Mandalorian; Parents Night Out; The Grey; Like and Subscribe
Like and Subscribe! And e-mail us RPGsandBabyMakes3@gmail.com!
What defines Roleplaying? Playing a Roleplaying Game Versus Roleplaying As A Concept?
Plus:
Wayne’s World; OSR; The Temple of Elemental Evil; Gary Gygax; Frank Mentzer; Old School Renaissance; Oh Snap Roleplaying; Origami Shape Reconstruction; Don’t Split the Party; Assassin; Dagger of Venom; Evil DM; Dungeon Crawl; Dungeon Master; D&D Dungeons and Dragons; The Village of Hommlet; Political Intrigue; T1-4; The Moathouse; Starforged; Micro Macro Crime City; Tokaido; Japanese Culture; Samurai; Oregon Trail; Morningstar Games Savannah Georgia; Koto Music; Competitive Fire; Gets the juices flowing; Moist; Ironsworn Starforged; Gm-less; Shawn Tomkin; Worldbuilding; Oracles; Random Tables; Fail Forward; Gritty Fantasy; Sci-fi; The Expanse; The Mandalorian; Battlestar Galactica; OGL; Open Game License; ironswornrpg.com; Modiphius; Storytelling; Session Zero; Roleplaying Game; Character Creation versus Character Building; Podcasting; Ones and Zeros; Truths; Prep is Play; Solo; Co-op; Creative Prompts; Is using your imagination always roleplaying?; Telling stories to kids; Poop; Ben Sperduto; Last Redoubt Games; Amanda Plageman; Brandon Sanderson; Joe Abercrombie; Susan Earl; Carmen Laura Loup; The Audacity; Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy; Tarot in Space; Goodreads; Kerri Maniscalco; Kingdom of the Wicked; Italian Food; Hell; Witches; Sautéed Mushrooms; J.R. Ward Black Dagger Brotherhood; Vampires; Picante; Mark Lawrence; Prince of Thorns; Broken Empire Trilogy; WTF; Dresden Files; Harry Dresden; Abberant RPG; Choose Your Own Adventure The Trumpet of Terror; N.K. Jemisin; Broken Earth Trilogy; The Obelisk Gate; Wheel of Time; Stormlight Archives; Non-Violent Communication; Sharp Ends; First Law Series; The Bloody Nine; Grimdark; Logen Ninefingers; Red Country; DragonLance; Bali; Indonesia; Brian MacGregor; Mike D’Ottavio; Safety Tools; TikTik Bramblebing; Kender; Dom D’Ottavio; Cthulhu; Carrier Pigeons.
On this episode, we delve into an important topic: GRETCHEN HATES D&D!!
Plus:
Falafel wrap with fries; Playing a sitter to make a podcast and play games; Low Stakes by Nerdberger Games; Aberrant by White Wolf 1999 version; Is Session Zero considered playing the game?; Dresden Files RPG; The Fate System; Smelling Books; Evil Hat; Thirsty Sword Lesbians; Umbrella Academy; Dungeons & Dragons 3.5; Pregaming; Leveling Up; Fallout 3; Goodreads Challenge; House Rules; Rules As Written; Mutants & Masterminds; Marvel Superheroes; Crunch/Roleplay Balance; Ravenloft; DragonLance; Supernatural RPG; Pathfinder; Flavor; Ironsworn; Post-Apocalyptic; Ben Sperduto; Last Redoubt Games; Amanda Plageman; Dungeons & Dragons; Medieval Fantasy; Roast the Wolf; Kender; Call of Cthulhu; Keeper; System Mastery; AD&D 2nd Edition; Of Dice & Men by David Ewalt; Post-Apocalyptic Vampire World; The Magicians; Steampunk; Eberron; Spelljammer; 5th Edition; Dwarves love drinking and other stereotypes; Tolkien Archetypes; Races become Species; Black and White Versus Shades of Gray; Agon; Zinequest; Never Going Home by Wet Ink Games; World War I; The Very Good Dogs of Chernobyl Polymorph Games; In the Light of the Faded World; Kickstarter; Derek Kinsman; Amanda Lee Franck; Kids on Bikes; The Price of Coal; The Dee Sanction; Matt Mercer; Critical Roll; Blades in the Dark; Libby; Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff; Goodreads; The Last Silver Saint; Vampire Hunter D; Blade; Daywalker; The Obelisk Gate; The Broken Earth Trilogy; The Fifth Season; N.K. Jemisin; Green Ronin Games; Joe Abercrombie; The First Law; Hieroglyphics; Emojis; Mark Lawrence; The Last of Us; Cheese Pizza; Papa Johns; Dominos; Little Caesars; Mellow Mushroom; Squirrel’s; Never Read the Comments; Shut Up Frank; VFW; Ghost Table Games; Combat Veterans; Veteran Gamers; Vampire the Masquerade LARP; Indeed; NFL Football Playoffs; HUZZAH!
New-ish format, same old shenanigans!
Gretchen and Rob chat about:
Sick kids; Playing in a Cyberpunk 2020 Tournament; Goodman Games’ Temple of Elemental Evil; Pathfinder is Crunchy, Unless You’re A Brute; Playing the Games You Want to Play; Gem Room Games’ 9 Lives To Valhalla; Nerdberger Games’ Low Stakes; Ghost Table; Parental Reflexes; Anne Rice; White Wolf’s Vampires; The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri; Ring Shout; From Here to Eternity.
Is this our best or our worst episode yet? You decide!
After starting the show with a discussion of the Ironsworn RPG, we moved to sort of talking about "Storytelling" versus "Gaming."
After agreeing on almost everything, we also talked about tea, rabies, and tropes in grim dark fantasy.
With your hosts Gretchen Hilmers & Rob Hessler!
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Music: D. J. Pinto - The Punisher
Link: https://youtu.be/4LHOhdKMRsk
Music provided by: MFY - No Copyright
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After a discussion about Rob's adoration of the GM-less game Ironsworn (and our upcoming livestream of a new Post-Apocalyptic campaign using the ruleset), he and Gretchen discuss playing characters boldly. Tune in as Rob goes from rigidly proclaiming that you should go all-in all the time with your PCs, to making all sorts to caveats after Gretchen presents numerous smart counterpoints that he hadn't considered.
Plus, a chat about Ben Sperduto's grim dark urban fantasy novel Blackspire.
It's a humdinger!
Got a young kid and still want to play tabletop RPGs? On this episode, Gretchen and Rob discuss how they handle it.
Also, Rob talks about his love for "Keeping the Lights On," while Gretchen laments on character creation randomizers.
A way to spend an entire hour!
Character death is a part of roleplaying games, but how do we process when one of the players at our table passes away in real life?
On this special episode of RPGs & Baby Makes 3, we invite Licensed Associate Marriage and Family Therapist and avid gamer Savanah Kite to the show to discuss how we deal with true tragedy at our tables.
How do we play differently in campaigns versus one-shots? Gretchen and Rob discuss the merits and flaws of both, including which type of games they think bring out the best moments in a roleplaying game.
Also, they talk about potty training.
After a hiatus induced by two months of illness and the death of one of our longtime players, Gretchen and Rob talk about something that's easy for us, as passionate gamers, to forget: It's only a game.
This week we're excited to welcome Ben Sperduto of Last Redoubt Games back into the studio to talk about his latest project, "Hounds of the Tsar!"
Ben is currently offering physical copies of the game on Kickstarter through Tuesday, October 26, 2021 11:00 PM EDT via https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/bsperduto/hounds-of-the-tsar-print-edition?ref=user_menu
Sperduto describes Hounds of the Tsar as follows:
"You have been chosen to serve the Tsardom of Muscovy as a member of Ivan the Terrible's dreaded Oprichnina. Hunt down traitors, heretics, and blasphemous horrors in a realm gripped by famine and the suffering of war.
"But beware... your Oprichnik companions are watching you for any sign of betrayal, and dark forces from beyond this world seek to corrupt your soul at every turn."
It's an exciting game with an interesting and unique set of rules-lite mechanics that we personally can't wait to play, and were thrilled to discuss in-depth with the man behind it's creation!
Find Last Redoubt Games at https://www.lastredoubtgames.com.
It's AD&D 2nd Edition versus 3-5/Pathfinder verses Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition in a No Holds Barred cage match 47 years in the making!!! Which version of D&D is the best?
Tune In!
With special guests Lord Cas, Endre, Amanda Plageman, and Kat Valentine!
Opening Title Music Credit:
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Music: D. J. Pinto - The Punisher
Link: https://youtu.be/4LHOhdKMRsk
Music provided by: MFY - No Copyright
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There are right-wing conservative Dungeons & Dragons players, and there are left-wing liberal Dungeons & Dragons players, but can they play at the same table?
On this weeks episode, we examine a passage from David Ewalt's "Of Dice and Men: The Story of Dungeons and Dragons and the People Who Play It" and ask the questions, can gaming bridge our cultural divides?
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Music: D. J. Pinto - The Punisher
Link: https://youtu.be/4LHOhdKMRsk
Music provided by: MFY - No Copyright
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After spending a bit of time talking about how bad it would be for Rob if Gretchen's character died in his DragonLance campaign, we discuss some uncomfortable feelings about a recent roleplaying-related comic strip by Colms Comics and the importance of consent in games and life.
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Music: D. J. Pinto - The Punisher
Link: https://youtu.be/4LHOhdKMRsk
Music provided by: MFY - No Copyright
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On this special episode of RPGs & Baby Makes 3 we ask the question, "Is E. Gary Gygax Jr. a Bigot?" Given that he's the son of the founder of Dungeons & Dragons, we felt like his words hold weight and deserve to be analyzed.
Inspired by his recent appearance on "Live From the Bunker" (Episode 277: The Return of TSR Games) and some of the comments he made, Gretchen, Rob, and Amanda decided to get all judge-y.
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Music: D. J. Pinto - The Punisher
Link: https://youtu.be/4LHOhdKMRsk
Music provided by: MFY - No Copyright
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Going number two on you! Oh, wait...Err... It's a bonus pod, the second one.
After chatting a bit about our recent gaming, we broadcast back to back conversations from long car trips, including the terrible sound quality that comes along with it!
First, we discuss the idea of rolling with the punches when things aren't exactly going your way during a particular session of gaming.
Then, we delve into the notion of playing games that suit your particular mood. Should you be playing White Wolf's Vampire the Masquerade, or would Kids on Bikes better suit you?
Guaranteed to last more than an hour!
CONTENT WARNING: 18+ for language, graphic descriptions of violence, including detailed descriptions of animals being killed for food, psychological terror, and implied cannibalism.
RPGs & Baby Makes 3 gathers together to play Calvary Games' Ten Candles, a masterpiece of modern roleplaying designed by Stephen Dewey.
The World Is Dark...
Pick up a copy of the amazing Ten Candles here: https://cavalrygames.com/ten-candles
ALERT ALERT!!! PROFANITY INCLUDED!
This special episode of RPGs & Baby Makes 3 is most certainly not family friendly, as we invited Jeremy Childrey of Gordinaak Games on to the show to talk about his most recent project, "Cocaine & Alligators: A Florida Man Sphere," for use with the Troika! RPG!
The conversation also veered into the other games that he's made, including the highly successfully Zinequest 3 project "Gordinaak," a complete setting for the Mothership RPG, as well as a project he termed "the literal worst adventure ever written."
Plus, we talked our kids and poop.
You don't want to miss it!
Find Jeremy's awesome games on itch at: https://gordinaak.itch.io
On Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/gordinaakgames
On Twitter: @GordinaakGames
and on Instagram: @gordinaakgames
This beef is dry aged!
This week we're once again joined by our good friend Amanda Plageman, who had some additional insight into the X-card, including a potential pitfall to it's use.
We then got into the use of battle maps versus theatre of the mind, touching on the broader discussion of using imagination and what impacts immersion.
Finally, the three of us discussed subversive characters, a topic brought on by Gretchen's recent diabolical turn during a one-off of the Mothership RPG.
Eat up!
On this week's very special episode of RPGs & Baby Makes 3, we're thrilled to present our interview with Benjamin Sperduto of Last Redoubt Games!
Find his latest project "Augmented" on Kickstarter, funding through June 8th, 2021!
http://kck.st/33MTELX
And learn more about Ben and his work at:
www.lastredoubtgames.com
www.benjaminsperduto.com
www.moranasbreath.com
https://www.facebook.com/Last-Redoubt-Games-679701899055556
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Music: D. J. Pinto - The Punisher
Link: https://youtu.be/4LHOhdKMRsk
Music provided by: MFY - No Copyright
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Yep, this episode is all about one of our favorite topics: Food!
We delve into Leaves from the Inn of the Last Home and it's follow-up More Leaves from the Inn of the Last Home, The official Supernatural Cookbook, the D&D cookbook Heroes Feast, and RPG Crate's Recipe for Adventure!
Making recipes from each book and examining the contents based on food quality, pictures, and general content, we give our take on how these volumes can potentially add to your roleplaying experience (and enliven your tastebuds).
Listen up and get hungry!
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Music: D. J. Pinto - The Punisher
Link: https://youtu.be/4LHOhdKMRsk
Music provided by: MFY - No Copyright
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There's something we love about the fact that the number eight also sounds like the word ate. Anytime we can allude to food, it's a good thing.
Anyway...
Three delicious new segments coming your way!
First, we talking about fudging dice, and Rob argues that it's perfectly okay for game masters to do so when the time is right. (Also: Fudge, amiright?!)
Then we discuss Lines, Veils, and the X-Card, which is stupidly controversial for some reason.
And finally we delve into overcoming creative blocks, including how to use your cat's giant carrot toy as inspiration! (Did somebody say carrots?)
As a bonus, near the end of the show Rob teeters perilously close to the edge of having to sleep on the couch. Will he have to? Tune in to find out!
Lucky Number Seven with three fresh segments for your earholes!
Before we get into the beef of the show, we read a few e-mails dealing with cheating and someone named Thundermustard. Then we talk about an epic week of gaming, with Fate, Pathfinder, and Mothership!
Moving to our first segment, we beg you not to WHIP OUT YOUR EXPERIENCE LANCE!
Then we talk about ways to get back into gaming after a long layoff or as a new player.
And we end the show with Rob gushing over one of his favorite GM resources, TabletopAudio.com!
We promise that it's almost an hour long!
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Music: D. J. Pinto - The Punisher
Link: https://youtu.be/4LHOhdKMRsk
Music provided by: MFY - No Copyright
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Extra beefy episode coming your way! Ugh... Actually, that sounds gross...
Anyway, three more segments for your listening enjoyment!
First, Gretchen and Rob talk about the Troika! RPG, a fun and simple psychedelic fantasy game that they recently got a chance to try out.
Then, they discuss the roleplaying philosophy of the journey versus the destination. Is it all about beating the BBEG, or is how you get there more important (and, perhaps, more fun).
Finally, they invite their good friend Amanda Plageman back to the show to discuss the Candlekeep Mysteries wheelchair controversy. Given that she, herself, is wheelchair bound, we thought that she might just have something to say about it.
Give it a listen and we'll promise that it will give you something to do for over an hour!
For this entire episode we're excited to be joined by our good friend Bianca Bury Rodriguez! Bianca is an AMAZING note-taker, and since it can oftentimes be challenging for parents to play consistently, we wanted to talk to her about how she uses notes to help keep her characters straight when there are long breaks between games.
Bianca ALSO helped organize the library D&D program where she works as a librarian, and was happy to share her experience as well as offer ideas about how folks might do something similar where they live.
And finally, we got into a detailed discussion about meta-gaming, which we decided is sometimes a good thing.
Listen in and we promise you'll hear something!
NEW SEGMENT ALERT!
On this week's episode, we debut "In the Common Room," where we interview a guest about a specific topic! And we're happy to welcome Amanda Plageman, longtime head of the Pathfinder Society of Savannah, in to talk about Organized Play, a great resource for gamers who have trouble committing to a consistent game (like a lot of parents).
We also talk GM Mind Games and discuss our favorite characters. AND, is Gretchen having a change of heart about dice?
Tune in!
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Music: D. J. Pinto - The Punisher
Link: https://youtu.be/4LHOhdKMRsk
Music provided by: MFY - No Copyright
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Our longest episode yet, which means it must be good, right? RIGHT?!?!?!
Three more segments coming your way this time around!
First, we talk about Railroads, Rollercoasters, and Open World-style games, and what we thing works best.
Then we delve into a review of one of our favorite RPGs ever: The very niche Supernatural RPG, based on the long-running television show.
And finally, we do the first of a series of segments on Gamer Etiquette where we talk about food in a gaming group (which was really just excuse to for Gretchen and Rob to talk about food).
Also, Gretchen tells an amazing joke about Storm Troopers!
Tune in!
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Music: D. J. Pinto - The Punisher
Link: https://youtu.be/4LHOhdKMRsk
Music provided by: MFY - No Copyright
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Gretchen and Rob often like to talk about random gaming topics while just hanging out. This time, because we were on a long trip, we decided to record and edit one of those conversations, and release it as a bonus podcast!
Gretchen is gearing up to run her first game ever, so she and Rob chat about her fears and worries, and throw out a few tips for folks who might like to try to run a game but never have before. We'll be talking a lot more about this topic on future episodes, but this is a little more freeform that our usual segments. Note also that we recorded it while in the car, so the sound quality isn't to the same level as our usual podcasts. Still, we hope you enjoy it!
Woohoo, episode two! (Hey, that rhymed! Yeah, yeah, I get it, not clever or funny, but my one year old would love it ;) )
On this week's episode Gretchen and Rob discuss one of Gretchen's favorite RPG miniature resources, Hero Forge, as well as the sometimes controversial DragonLance race Kender, and the use of game master screens.
Will you love it? Listen and hope for the best!
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Music: D. J. Pinto - The Punisher
Link: https://youtu.be/4LHOhdKMRsk
Music provided by: MFY - No Copyright
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On New Year's Eve, Wired.com published a thought-provoking article about how Wizards of the Coast has been handling some of the more controversial aspects of the history of Dungeons & Dragons, especially when it comes to depictions of race. After sharing the article with our gaming group, we decided that we wanted to record a special podcast discussing the ideas presented in the article both from our perspective as gamers and also as parents.
Give it a listen!
And if you'd like to take a look at the article, here's the link: https://www.wired.com/story/dungeons-dragons-diversity/?fbclid=IwAR2l_ddwAhKAL8UWFxVdUqwidui4Rbf0t5cL59Z9pS2XV2K_j7tr5FK7JOc
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Music: D. J. Pinto - The Punisher
Link: https://youtu.be/4LHOhdKMRsk
Music provided by: MFY - No Copyright
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Welcome to the inaugural episode of the RPGs & Baby Makes 3 Podcast, the show about two parents who valiantly attempt to game consistently in spite of a young child!
On this episode Gretchen and Rob discuss cheating in RPGs, Sly Flourish's EXCELLENT book, "The Lazy Dungeon Master" (and absolute MUST for any GMing parent), and dice, which apparently Gretchen thinks you only need like one set of.
Simply the best podcast done by parents who have children doing a podcast about gaming while having children to come out this year!
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Music: D. J. Pinto - The Punisher
Link: https://youtu.be/4LHOhdKMRsk
Music provided by: MFY - No Copyright
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Gretchen Hilmers and Rob Hessler are a married couple with a kid. They like to play RPGs and Boardgames. They made a podcast. Here's what it's all about!