The Splatbook: Recent Episodes
John Corey, Kyle Latino
This is a long time coming... Please excuse us while we get caught up on our mail
Check out John's new podcast: Zombie Strains
Contact Us!
splatbookpod@gmail.com
The Splatphone!
Roll For Topic
In which John and Jess discuss the excitement of starting new games. Jess has closed out an epic-level campaign and is kicking off both Daggerheart and Wild Beyond the Witchlight (as a player!). They dive into Daggerheart’s Hope and Fear dice system, the book’s gorgeous design, and how it packs everything you need into a single tome. John shares his plans for a “Drums in the deep” Moria-inspired horror game at RfT Con. They discuss horror theme-supportive mechanics and together they revel in the thrill of fresh adventures and future games to come.
Dagger Heart
Dread
Ten Candles
The One Ring
Check out John's new podcast: Zombie Strains
Contact Us!
splatbookpod@gmail.com
The Splatphone!
Roll For Topic
In which John, Jess, Ben, and their guest, James Pozenel, hack into Netcrawl, a cyberdungeon crawl in the style of Dungeon Crawl Classics. Here the whole party enters the digital fray, not just the netrunner or cybermancer. Using a flexible skill system that gives every character a chance to make an impact, our intrepid hosts dive into a server to encounter techno-spiders and the Core Queen dragon. Along the way they discuss the differences between Netcrawl and Dungeon Crawl Classics, and celebrate how Netcrawl re-imagines cyberspace as a shared, perilous frontier.
Horseshark Games
Order Netcrawl Now!
Check out John's new podcast: Zombie Strains
Contact Us!
splatbookpod@gmail.com
The Splatphone!
Roll For Topic
In this special episode John is joined by Amber, Hailee, and Matt from the RPG collective, Cloud Curio. We discuss their new project, Book of Wyrms as well as growing up in RPGs, and learning how to get support as a GM when designing new adventures
Book of Wyrms on Kickstarter
Check out John's new podcast: Zombie Strains
Contact Us!
splatbookpod@gmail.com
The Splatphone!
Roll For Topic
In which John, Ben, and Jess roll up characters for three different OSR systems: Dungeon Crawl Classics, Dolmenwood, and Shadowdark, bringing Sindar, Hrannick, and Korv to life. As they fill the sheets out, they explore how every detail sparks anticipation for play, and how what’s left off of a character sheet can reveal clever, intentional design.
Dungeon Crawl Classics
Dolmenwood
ShadowDark
Check out John's new podcast: Zombie Strains
Contact Us!
splatbookpod@gmail.com
The Splatphone!
Roll For Topic
In which John, Jess, and their guest, Stephen Dewey, discuss the design his game To Serve Her Wintry Hunger. Together they dive into the magic of games built around evocative questions and emotional pacing. Stephen shares how he uses rules to do the heavy lifting and reinforce the emotional weight of the story. Along the way, they explore emotional cadence, the reliability of tightly written rules, and how mechanics can echo dread, wonder, and everything in between.
Check out John's new podcast: Zombie Strains
Contact Us!
splatbookpod@gmail.com
The Splatphone!
Roll For Topic
Follow Stephen:
Calvary Games
twitch.tv
patreon.com
bluesky
In which John, Jess, and Ben explore the many flavors of chaos a player can bring. We discuss the role of emotional intelligence at the table, the energizing and disrupting impact of unruly players, and how Chaos Goblins—love them or not—might actually be the secret teachers of the TTRPG world.
Check out John's new podcast: Zombie Strains
Contact Us!
splatbookpod@gmail.com
The Splatphone!
Roll For Topic
In which John and Ben discuss their preoccupation with physical RPG books. We end up all over the place; moving from consumerism, status seeking, and how our hobbies define us.
Check out John's new podcast: Zombie Strains
Contact Us!
splatbookpod@gmail.com
The Splatphone!
Roll For Topic
In which John, Jess, and Ben explore how games become vessels that hold our friendships, memories, and the people we've loved. We share the stories of how we met through games and the powerful farewell of a friend whose story ended both in-game and in life. We discuss how through games, we are not just individuals but part of a vast, interconnected web of relationships held by the stories we tell each other.
Check out John's new podcast: Zombie Strains
Contact Us!
splatbookpod@gmail.com
The Splatphone!
Roll For Topic
In which John and Jess talk with Gareth Hanrahan about the adventure and setting guide The One Ring – Moria: Through the Doors of Durin and Gar's return to forging adventures in the depths of Khazad-dûm. We explore corruption, dread, and shadow, contrasting them with elvish hope, and discuss the Balrog’s looming presence—diabolically lurking in the deeps and on the random encounter table. Along the way, we delve into Tolkien’s sparse yet evocative monster palette, the challenge of adding creatures to Middle-earth, and the breathtaking maps and art that bring this Moria adventure to life.
Moria: Through the Doors of Durin
Books by Gareth
The Sword Triumphant
Dagger in the Heart
Check out John's new podcast: Zombie Strains
Contact Us!
splatbookpod@gmail.com
The Splatphone!
Roll For Topic
In which we play Fängelsehåla and chat with its designer, Garry, about his elegantly interconnected rules and old-school aesthetic. As Runnen, Kallax, and Klippan, we battle through a dungeon’s entrance, ride a bat, and uncover a secret tunnel. Along the way, we discuss the tactile joy of the Doom Stack, the balance between fairness and flexibility in game design, and what makes Fängelsehåla feel like the RPG you found at your granny’s house.
Dieku Games
Bug Buster Pre-launch
Garry's Podcast/YouTube
Check out John's new podcast: Zombie Strains
Contact Us!
splatbookpod@gmail.com
The Splatphone!
Roll For Topic
In which Tony Vasinda and JP Coovert join John for a quick chat about RPG Zine Month!
Fukuzatsu
Plus One Exp
Development Hell!
Midnight Marathon
JP Coovert
Tourist Hole
Silver Age Quickstart
https://zombiestrainspodcast.com/
Contact Us!
splatbookpod@gmail.com
The Splatphone!
Roll For Topic
In which John, Ben, Jess, and Matt chase the true meaning of a White Whale campaign—is it the time itself or the change it brings? Inspired by a recent Roll for Topic episode, we ask whether long campaigns are a dream worth chasing or a relic of the past, and if one session can deliver catharsis, why play 50? Along the way, we explore shifting gaming priorities, honoring old gaming loves, and what truly makes a game fulfilling.
https://zombiestrainspodcast.com/
Contact Us!
splatbookpod@gmail.com
The Splatphone!
Roll For Topic
In which John, Ben, and Jess play as goblins in Grant Howitt’s game Goblin Quest. They become an increasingly chaotic gaggle of goblins, swapping in a new goblin character each time their previous goblin dies. Together they trebuchet to the top of the Wizard’s Tower to become the Belle of the Ball and attempt to fulfill all their Goblinoid hopes and dreams, leaving only a few fallen goblins in their wake.
Contact Us!
splatbookpod@gmail.com
The Splatphone!
Roll For Topic
https://zombiestrainspodcast.com/
This is normally an off week for The Splatbook, so I thought i would share an new podcast project I have been working. Zombies Strains is an attempt to understand how zombie movies came to dominate the horror genre after the year 2000. How did it all start? What makes a good zombie movie? We answer attempt to answer all of these questions and more in... Zombie Strains
It’s Andy’s turn to present his baseline zombie film. His choice, The Girl with All the Gifts (2017), is strikingly different than John’s. Fast zombies? Check. Fast transmission? Check. Hordes of children who turn into zombies at the scent of humans? That’s new! Andy and John discuss this thought-provoking movie as they take another step on their zombie journey.
https://zombiestrainspodcast.com/
Contact Us!
splatbookpod@gmail.com
The Splatphone!
Roll For Topic
With Jess on secret special assignment, Ben and John sit down to talk about how RPGs are evolving. Are board games getting closer to RPGs? Are RPG play styles segmenting the RPG community? Is that a new thing? In this far-ranging discussion, we cover all of these topics and more.
Contact Us!
splatbookpod@gmail.com
The Splatphone!
Roll For Topic
Please join the Splatbook Players as game master Jess runs the gang through a delightfully dark session of "To Serve Her Wintry Hunger", a story-telling RPG by Stephen Dewey
To Server Her Wintry Hunger
Stephen Dewey Patreon
Contact Us!
splatbookpod@gmail.com
The Splatphone!
Roll For Topic
Please enjoy part 2 of an actual play of Ben's in development table-top RPG, Wick &Wander. Illustrations by Claire Donaldson
Contact Us!
splatbookpod@gmail.com
The Splatphone!
Roll For Topic
Claire Donaldson Art
Please enjoy part 1 of an actual play of Ben's in development table-top RPG, Wick &Wander. Illustrations by Claire Donaldson
Contact Us!
splatbookpod@gmail.com
The Splatphone!
Roll For Topic
Claire Donaldson Art
Hey Splatheads! We were not able to produce a full episode this week, so we are just dropping in to say hello. We will be back in two weeks with a new actual play of Ben's game Wick and Wander
Contact Us!
splatbookpod@gmail.com
The Splatphone!
Roll For Topic
Happy Halloween! Please enjoy this spooooky actual play of our One Page RPG - Air Boo-N-Boo: Haunt the Rental. GMed by Christopher Salzman of the Roll for Topic podcast.
Contact Us!
splatbookpod@gmail.com
The Splatphone!
Roll For Topic
With the spooky season upon us, John, Jess, and Ben dive into the world of one-page RPG design. In this episode we make and RPG, and next episode we will play it. SpooOooookkyyy!!!
Doctor Magnet Hands
Sexy Battle Wizards
Sad Vampire Boy Friend
Advance Skeleton Siege
Contact Us!
splatbookpod@gmail.com
The Splatphone!
Roll For Topic
John and co-host Matt Wilson are honored to be joined by Kenneth Hite and Gareth Ryder-Hanrahan to talk about GUMSHOE games, Cthulhu movies, and of course ... Trail of Cthulhu 2nd Edition
Back the new edition here!!!
Strange Harvest (Movie)
Dream Eater
Ken and Robin Talk About Stuff
Contact Us!
splatbookpod@gmail.com
The Splatphone!
Roll For Topic
Fantasy artist Hailee Smith joins the Splatbook crew. We discuss art as process, AI, and how much fun it was to design the new Splatbook logo.
Cloud Curio
Dragonology
Contact Us!
splatbookpod@gmail.com
The Splatphone!
Roll For Topic
John and Ben are joined by Tim Saucer to talk about running your own games at conventions. We also talk about creating emotional experiences in RPGs, and our RFTCON experience in general.
Contact Us!
splatbookpod@gmail.com
The Splatphone!
Roll For Topic
John is joined by his two new co-hosts, Ben Donaldson and Jess Rhiannon, to talk about the new Players Handbook 2024. Who will play it? Are we converting our campaigns to the new edition? Ooooo the mysteries contained herein!
NOTES:
2024 Player's Handbook
Contact Us!
splatbookpod@gmail.com
The Splatphone!
Roll For Topic
Tony Vasinda (aka Plus One Tony) joins John to talk about their GenCon experience, how to iterate your game's design, and why zines are the best! And we sneak in some rumblings about the OSR, of course. BECAUSE THAT IS ALL ANYONE TALKS ABOUT
Notes:
RPG Zine Club
OSR Rules Families
Posters, Posers and POSR(s)
Butter Princess
Contact Us!
splatbookpod@gmail.com
The Splatphone!
In honor of the release of Alien: Romulus, Andy Rau from Roll for Topic joins John for a discussion of the Alien franchise. What makes a great Alien movie? And does Alien:Romulus hit the mark? Plus an update on the Alien RPG from Free League
Alien: Romulus Trailer
Alien RPG
Alien RPG 2n Edition
Contact Us!
splatbookpod@gmail.com
The Splatphone!
Are you tired of all the RPG podcasts publishing their "GenCon Reflections" episodes? Well tooooo baaaad. Here is ours. We have an interview with Amber Seger, and a special guest appearance from Kyle's mom. Plus, Kyle shares some huge life changing news.
Contact Us!
splatbookpod@gmail.com
The Splatphone!
Map Crow YouTube
Map Crow Patreon
The Cloud Curio
Roll For Topic
John and Kyle discuss modern magical settings, and John's plan to put his poor gaming group through an OSR Dolmenwood campaign. Tuns out Kyle has been playing a long game that has all lead up to this point.
Dolmenwood
Dolmenwood Soundtrack
Star Borg!
Contact Us!
splatbookpod@gmail.com
The Splatphone!
Map Crow YouTube
Map Crow Patreon
The Cloud Curio
Roll For Topic
Due to unrelenting popular demand John, Andy, and new guest Joel Boonstra tackle the first volume of Robert A Caro's pentalogy of the "Times of Lyndon Johnson". Mission Accomplished, so quit sending me harassing email, jeez.
The Path to Power
99% Invisible: The Power Broker
Contact Us!
splatbookpod@gmail.com
The Splatphone!
Map Crow YouTube
Map Crow Patreon
The Cloud Curio
Roll For Topic
We are so tired y'all. So thank you for sending us some juicy questions to answer.
Sincerely Departed
Game Wizards
The Elusive Shift
Ben Robbins Website - Lame Mage
Firebrands Games
Yazeba's Bed & Breakfast
Jubensha
Contact Us!
splatbookpod@gmail.com
The Splatphone!
Map Crow YouTube
Map Crow Patreon
The Cloud Curio
Roll For Topic
Somewhere... in space...this could all be happening RIGHT NOW! Star Borg: Episode 2 - The Hypercore of Madness
John and Kyle are joined by Andy Rau and Ben Donaldson for an epic actual play of Star Borg! The new TTRPG collaboration between Kyle and JP Coovert.
Star Borg
Contact Us!
splatbookpod@gmail.com
The Splatphone!
Map Crow YouTube
Map Crow Patreon
The Cloud Curio
Roll For Topic
Somewhere... in space...this could all be happening RIGHT NOW! Star Borg: Episode 1 - The Ship of Doom
John and Kyle are joined by Andy Rau and Ben Donaldson for an epic actual play of Star Borg! The new TTRPG collaboration between Kyle and JP Coovert.
Star Borg
Contact Us!
splatbookpod@gmail.com
The Splatphone!
Map Crow YouTube
Map Crow Patreon
The Cloud Curio
Roll For Topic
Kyle is joined by his "favorite person in the whole wide world (!?)", Evan Torner. Which is fine. John is not the least bit jealous. He is just over here working his fingers to the bone editing this podcast. Toiling away on the show notes mines. It’s fine. Everything is fine. But then at the end Kyle says he is sad John was not here, so John just does not know how to feel. They talk about D&D combat or something. Oh, and Matt is here.
JK! Evan is awesome, and this is a really insightful episode. Check out his article from 50 Years of Dungeons & Dragons.
The Website of Dr Evan Torner
Combat in Dungeons & Dragons
Contact Us!
splatbookpod@gmail.com
The Splatphone!
Map Crow YouTube
Map Crow Patreon
The Cloud Curio
Roll For Topic
YouTuber JP Coovert join John and Kyle to talk about a new Mork Borg hack he and Kyle are working on, making a living creatively, comic books, and making art as process.
JP on YouTube!
Star Borg announcement
Contact Us!
splatbookpod@gmail.com
The Splatphone!
Map Crow YouTube
Map Crow Patreon
The Cloud Curio
Roll For Topic
Jess returns to the show and we breakdown some of Wraith Curse of the Night Sword. Kyle claims that Jess is now his favorite game master, John is sad, but then we all talk about our therapists.
Contact Us!
splatbookpod@gmail.com
The Splatphone!
Map Crow YouTube
Map Crow Patreon
The Cloud Curio
Roll For Topic
Kyle and John talk about ADHD and RPGs. This very rapidly devolves into absolute silliness.
AADL GM Like A Pro panel
Avery Alder Politicizing and Queering Game Mechanics
Contact Us!
splatbookpod@gmail.com
The Splatphone!
Map Crow YouTube
Map Crow Patreon
The Cloud Curio
Roll For Topic
Kyle and John do a deep dive into the "rules platforms". What are they? What makes them useful? or limiting?
Year Zero SRD
AGE System
GUMSHOE Reference Document
METAgaming
Contact Us!
splatbookpod@gmail.com
The Splatphone!
Map Crow YouTube
Map Crow Patreon
The Cloud Curio
Roll For Topic
Please enjoy this re-release our first ever published episode!
Contact Us!
splatbookpod@gmail.com
The Splatphone!
Map Crow YouTube
Map Crow Patreon
The Cloud Curio
Roll For Topic
The Splatbook Players present: Wraith Curse of the Night Sword, Part 2. Being an actual play of The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying for Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition. Featuring Jess Rhiannon the Ranger "Telconiel", Kenny Webb as "Gorf" the dwarven story teller, John Corey as the Bardling "Ulfar", and Kyle Latino as The Loremaster.
Wraithcurse of the Nightsword is an original scenario developed by Kyle Latino.
The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying Game for 5E was adapted from The One Ring RPG 2nd Ed by Michele Garbuggio. The One Ring RPG 2nd Ed was created by Francesco Nepitello and Marco Maggi. Published by Free League Press. All based on the work of J.R.R Tolkien
Lord of the Rings Roleplaying
Free League Publishing
Music for this Episode by Francis Roberts
Calvinball
Contact Us!
splatbookpod@gmail.com
The Splatphone!
Map Crow YouTube
Map Crow Patreon
The Cloud Curio
Roll For Topic
The Splatbook Players present: Wraith Curse of the Night Sword, Part 1. Being an actual play of The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying for Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition. Featuring Jess Rhiannon the Ranger "Telconiel", Kenny Webb as "Gorf" the dwarven story teller, John Corey as the Bardling "Ulfar", and Kyle Latino as The Loremaster.
Wraithcurse of the Nightsword is an original scenario developed by Kyle Latino.
The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying Game for 5E was adapted from The One Ring RPG 2nd Ed by Michele Garbuggio. The One Ring RPG 2nd Ed was created by Francesco Nepitello and Marco Maggi. Published by Free League Press. All based on the work of J.R.R Tolkien
Lord of the Rings Roleplaying
Free League Publishing
Music for this Episode by Frances Roberts
Calvinball
Contact Us!
splatbookpod@gmail.com
The Splatphone!
Map Crow YouTube
Map Crow Patreon
The Cloud Curio
Roll For Topic
Kyle and John honor the work of game designer Jennell Jaquays today by talking about one of John's all time favorite adventure modules: The Enchanted Wood, for SPI's DragonQuest RPG from 1981.
Jenelle Jaquays
Timothy Truman
The Enchanted Wood Cover Art
The Enchanted Wood PDF
The DragonQuest Players Association
Contact Us!
splatbookpod@gmail.com
The Splatphone!
Map Crow YouTube
Map Crow Patreon
Roll For Topic
Kyle is back, refreshed, and ready to go! We discuss some wonderful email and Splatphone messages, and generally have a silly time. Happy 2024!
Priest by Matt Colville
The Elusive Shift by Jon Peterson
Parker Series by Richard Stark
Parker Graphic Novels by Darwin Cooke
The Transcendental Gallery of Anti-Realism by Kyle Latino
The King of Elfland's Daughter by Lord Dunsany
Flame and Crimson by Brian Murphy
Contact Us!
splatbookpod@gmail.com
The Splatphone!
Map Crow YouTube
Map Crow Patreon
Roll For Topic
The Cloud Curio
Kyle is off hatching nefarious plans with the Cloud Curio Cohort, so Andy and Matt join John to talk about early RPG influences, and how they shapes the games we run today.
SPIs DragonQuest
Rolemaster 2nd Ed
GURPS 2nd Ed
The New Sun
Flame and Crimson - A History of Sword and Sorcery
Contact Us!
splatbookpod@gmail.com
The Splatphone!
Map Crow YouTube
Map Crow Patreon
Roll For Topic
The Cloud Curio
With Kyle busy, busy, busy with the final Monstrous illustrations, John invites two former guests (Andy Rau, and Matt Wilson) to talk about three John Carpenter movies: "The Apocalypse Trilogy". Please enjoy this bonus episode.
The Thing
Prince of Darkness
In the Mouth of Madness
List of American movies 1982
John Carpenter Quote
Delta Green: Impossible Landscapes
The King in Yellow - Project Gutenberg
John Carpenter IMDB
Contact Us!
splatbookpod@gmail.com
The Splatphone!
Map Crow YouTube
Map Crow Patreon
Roll For Topic
The Cloud Curio
Kyle's dander is up about what he has been hearing about the MCDM RPG on the internet. We reluctantly wander into the "OGL Fiasco", and then review our gaming life for 2023
The MCDM RPG
Pathfinder 2e Remaster
Dolmenwood
Banner Saga
Contact Us!
splatbookpod@gmail.com
The Splatphone!
Map Crow YouTube
Map Crow Patreon
Roll For Topic
The Cloud Curio
Our friend Ben Donaldson joins the show to talk about the game he is working on: Wick and Wander - A post-post-apocalypse pastoral punk PbtA card based table top RPG. Say that five times fast.
RFTCON Splatacular
Wick and Wander Card Art
Contact Us!
splatbookpod@gmail.com
The Splatphone!
Map Crow YouTube
Map Crow Patreon
Roll For Topic
The Cloud Curio
It is finally here folks. We talk about Table Top RPG design, using Free League's Lord of the Rings Roleplaying for 5E as a lens for our discussion.
Lord of the The Rings 5E
The One Ring 2nd Ed
Seth Skorkowsky - Quantum Ogres
Tomb of the Serpent King
JP Coovert
Map Crow - Map Making Playlist
Matt Colville - Your First Adventure
Contact Us!
splatbookpod@gmail.com
The Splatphone!
Map Crow YouTube
Map Crow Patreon
Roll For Topic
The Cloud Curio
Kyle and John answer a great email and a couple of juicy Splatphones. Check the show notes for a couple of important fundraisers!
Jennell Jaquays has a long road back
The Enchanted Wood
Eliminate Medical Date in Michigan
Nerfed
Monster Man. A Show about Monsters because Monsters are great
Big Trouble in Little China
Archipelago
The Good Friends of Jackson Elias
John and Kyle take a follow up splatphone message, talk about "play to lose" games, and celebrate the fact that Monstrous has funded! Whoo hoo!
Today's "And Remember" is from Tales of the Lone Lands. A supplement to Free League Publishing's The One Ring RPG
Contact Us!
splatbookpod@gmail.com
The Splatphone!
Map Crow YouTube
Map Crow Patreon
Roll For Topic
The Cloud Curio
This episode of The Splatbook was recorded on 10/1/2023 as part of Map Crow's live YouTube stream to promote the Monstrous Kickstarter. We hope you enjoy listening to it as much as we enjoyed recording it.
THE MONSTROUS KICKSTARTER IS LIVE!!!!
Back it now!
NSFW Clips of people being mean to Kyle in the movie Renfield
Contact Us!
splatbookpod@gmail.com
The Splatphone!
Agnostic and Old Roads
Roll For Topic
The Cloud Curio
Map Crow YouTube
Map Crow Patreon
Listener Ryan calls in a Splatphone that requires our full attention. What is Diegesis? Is narrative immersion possible? or even desirable in an RPG? John and Kyle discuss
THE MONSTROUS KICKSTARTER IS LIVE!!!!
Back it now!
Contact Us!
splatbookpod@gmail.com
The Splatphone!
SHOW NOTES
Down We Go
Down we go using Monstrous
Kyle appears on Monster Man
God Send
Into the Weird Blue Yonder
Roll For Topic
The Cloud Curio
Map Crow YouTube
Map Crow Patreon
Well, well, well... It turns out there is a Blade Runner RPG and no one bothered to tell John. We discuss the first Blade Runner film, and the new Blade Runner RPG Kyle Campaign just started.
THE MONSTROUS KICKSTARTER IS LIVE!!!!
Back it now!
Contact Us!
splatbookpod@gmail.com
The Splatphone!
SHOW NOTES
Blade Runner
Blade Runner RPG
Agnostic and Old Roads
Roll For Topic
The Cloud Curio
Map Crow YouTube
Map Crow Patreon
Kyle recruits a kindred soul to his party to discuss Baldur's Gate III. Andy Rau from Roll for Topic joins Kyle to breakdown the latest D&D video games. John takes the episode off, which is probably best for everyone.
THE MONSTROUS KICKSTARTER IS LIVE!!!!
Back it now!
Contact Us!
splatbookpod@gmail.com
The Splatphone!
SHOW NOTES
Baldur's Gate 3
Narrator Outtakes
Agnostic and Old Roads
Roll For Topic
The Cloud Curio
Map Crow YouTube
Map Crow Patreon
This week John talks almost non-stop about the games he played at RFTCon! They were all amazing, and Kyle is sad he could not be there.
Contact Us!
splatbookpod@gmail.com
The Splatphone!
Show Notes:
Dialect
Microscope
World Ending Game
Ethersea
I'm sorry did you say street magic?
Do not let us die in the dark night of this cold winter
Ink
Daggerheart
Iron Sworn
Agnostic and Old Roads
Roll For Topic
The Cloud Curio
Map Crow YouTube
Map Crow Patreon
Kyle goes to Gen Con and talks about all the amazing stuff he saw, and heroes he met. John pitches some ideas for an upcoming James Bond RPG one shot, and Kyle shares an email from a fan - his mom!
James Bond RPG
Ambush!
DragonQuest
Old School Essentials: Dolmenwood
Running Games in Middle Earth OR "Strider was a Hobbit"
One Sleepy Beetle - Mural
Email Us: splatbookpod@gmail.com
The Splatphone!
Agnostic and Old Roads
Roll For Topic
The Cloud Curio
Map Crow YouTube
Map Crow Patreon
Listener Gabe sent John and Kyle a Splatphone so thoughtful, we based this entire episode around it: How do you choose a satisfying hobby or creative pursuit?
Email Us: splatbookpod@gmail.com
The Splatphone!
Agnostic and Old Roads
Roll For Topic
The Cloud Curio
Map Crow YouTube
Map Crow Patreon
Kenny and John spoil the sh$t out of The Dark Tower. The WHOLE THING. John fails to convince Kenny that he is wrong about the ending, Kyle takes Kenny's side and John gets sooooo angry. Then John thinks it might just be that he is broken.
The Dark Tower
Frank Muller (Dark Tower Narrator)
Moira Quirk (The Ninth Narrator)
Episode 119 – Audio Equipment, Mysteries, Aliens, and Repetition
Email Us: splatbookpod@gmail.com
The Splatphone!
Agnostic and Old Roads
Roll For Topic
The Cloud Curio
Map Crow YouTube
Map Crow Patreon
Kyle and John are joined by some of his Cloud Curio collaborators, Amber and Kenny! We discuss their recent trip to Origins, projects they are working, asking strangers for eggs, and the impending launch of Monstrous!
Cloud Curio
Monstrous
Amber's Work (rocketorca.com)
Books Of Imaginary Beings
Tales of the Valiant
Agnostic and Old Roads
The Splatphone!
Roll For Topic
The Cloud Curio
Map Crow YouTube
Map Crow Patreon
Email Us: splatbookpod@gmail.com
Kyle is recovering from Origins fatigue, so Jess and Brandon step in to save the day. We talk about a recent session of Alice is Missing we all participated in. Enjoy this post game discussion of this excellent "silent RPG".
Actual Play! The Wizard's Grimoire with Brandon Carruth
Actual Play! Moose Trip with Jess and Keeley
Alice is Missing
Silent Falls Expansion
George Winston Obituary
The Splatphone!
Roll For Topic
The Cloud Curio
Map Crow YouTube
Map Crow Patreon
Email Us: splatbookpod@gmail.com
Murph! joins us to discuss Play AWay From The Table (PAWFTT!). Kyle tries to make PAWFTT a thing, Murph! enables him, and John is powerless to stop it.
RUNE
Worlds Without Number
The Splatphone!
Roll For Topic
The Cloud Curio
Map Crow YouTube
Map Crow Patreon
Email Us: splatbookpod@gmail.com
Hello comrades! Kyle and John bust out the soap boxes and ask: What is with all the new games? And why can't we talk about the creative aspects of these new games, instead of business moves? Spoiler: Because social media and capitalism ruin everything.
The Splatphone!
Roll For Topic
The Cloud Curio
Map Crow YouTube
Map Crow Patreon
Email Us: splatbookpod@gmail.com
Tales of the Valiant
Candela Obscura
Panopticon
Society of the Spectacle
Amusing Ourselves to Death
Alex Roberts
Alex Ross
Kyle and John exchange and discuss some of their favorite passages from RPG books. Call us on the Splatphone! Send us an email splatbookpod@gmail.com!
Mausritter
The Warren
Bunnies and Burrows
Dialect
A Plague Among Us
The Splatphone!
Roll For Topic
Map Crow YouTube
Map Crow Patreon
Email Us: splatbookpod@gmail.com
Kyle takes John back to school to discuss how RPGs fit into our ideas of play, games, and other strange creatures.
The Beginner's Guide
Felix Lebed on Play
Maslow's hierarchy of needs
Homo Ludens - John Huizinga
Alan Levinovitz - Toys
Thomas Malaby - Games
“Big Three” questions at the Forge: “What is the game about? How is it about that? What does the game reward?”
Evan Bottcher - Platforms
The Splatphone!
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What do you do when part of your game group takes some time off? Try new games? Try new ways of playing old games? John and Kyle discuss.
Dread
The Quiet Year
Fiasco
Dialect
The Splatphone!
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Map Crow YouTube
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This week John and Kyle take a deep dive into Free League publishing's Year Zero SRD. Kyle goes full professor on John, and then they talk about Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves.
Free League - Year Zero SRD
A Theory of Fun
FATE: The Secrets of Cats
The Splatphone!
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Kyle tells John about a programming project he designed for his students, and what he hopes they will learn from it: When acquiring new skills, you have to get comfortable sucking at them at first. John says he has always struggled with this, and somehow does not say the phrase "learn to play tennis with a wooden racket" even though this was the right episode to say it.
One of Kyle's game experiments - Methris
The Splatphone!
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John and Kyle dig into one of their favorite OSR modules: Winter's Daughter by Gavin Norman
Old School Essentials
Winter's Daughter
Hall of the Blood King
The Splatphone!
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Kyle and John talk about the Dungeon Crawl Classics adventure Sailors on the Starless Sea and ask: "Why is it so dang good?" They also answer a listener's question left via the Splatphone! Hang around for the cut-bitlets to hear in-depth discussion of Kyle's new cat.
Dungeon Crawl Classics
Sailors on the Starless Sea
Remembering Jim Halloway
The Splatphone!
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What is that ringing sound!? Could it be... THE SPLATPHONE! Listener Jake recorded some thoughts on melancholy in RPGs. This prompted John and Kyle to enter the Swamp of Sadness, and discuss the topic through the lens of the film The Neverending Story.
The Splatphone!
The Fall of Magic
Wolves of God
Polaris
Delta Green
The Fall of Delta Green
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Kyle and John take a break from talking about favorite media to give some tips on doing NPC and characters voices. Or maybe they just needed an excuse to be silly?
Noisy Person Cards
The Between and Brindlewood Bay
Beyond the Darkened Threshold
Orcs with normal voices
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Roll for Topic's own Andy Rau joins Kyle and John to talk about the first book of the Dark Tower series: The Gunslinger. Will the podcast survive this titanic show down?
The Gunslinger
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Kyle finally tricks John into talking about the story The Fortress Unvanquishable, save for Sacnoth. After many attempts, John learns how to pronounce Tharagavverug and Wong Bongerok. Kyle compares the story to the Legend of Zelda, and points out that Leothric teaming up with Tharagavverug is kinda like Spiderman teaming up with Venom. Spoiler: We love this story.
The Fortress Unvanquishable, save for Sacnoth
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John and Kyle wrap up 2022 with a discussion of what they are grateful for, what they learned, and what they are looking forward to in 2023. And then they sing!
Dungeon23
Vaesen RPG Subreddit
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This week Kyle and John tackle two excellent articles from the OSR Canon. Kyle realizes that John is old enough to have played D&D when the OSR style was just called... playing D&D. John gets cranky, and Kyle calms him down.
Pleasures of the OSR: Secrecy and Discovery
Episode 126 – Pleasures of the OSR: Secrecy and Discovery, by Ben L.
The Ogre and the Golden Bird
Episode 19 – The Ogre and the Golden Bird by Patrick Stewart
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In this episode John and Kyle talk about the Beatles, The Dark Knight Returns, Watchmen, The Twilight Zone, and OH YEAH, the actual story listed in the title of this episode. We also totally talk about RPGs a whole bunch.
The Last Defender of Camelot (Wikipedia)
The Last Defender of Camelot - Twilight Zone
In Memoriam: George RR Martin Remembers Roger Zelazny
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This week we go old school with a story from the influential author Lord Dunsany: The Quest of the Queen's Tears. Marvel at how John and Kyle can talk about a 3 page story for almost an hour. You can read the full text of The Quest of the Queen's Tears - link in the show notes.
Lord Dunsany
The Quest of the Queen's Tears
Richard Francis Burton
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John and Kyle discuss another entry in the the annals of their Personal Appendix N. For this episode John choose The Dark Muse by Karl Edward Wagner. This story is part of Wagner's collection Night Winds, which features his most famous character - Kane the Mystic Swordsman.
Check the show notes for more about Karl Edward Wagner, Kane, and this story. Including a link to an excerpt from The Dark Muse.
The Dark Muse: Excerpt
The Last Wolf Trailer (Karl Edward Wagner documentary)
Karl Edward Wagner (Wikipedia)
Where to start with Kane?
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On episode of 97 of our sister podcast Roll for Topic, Chris and John designed a 1-page RPG: Prison Escape!. In this episode of The Splatbook, Chris joins John and Kyle to run the game. Enjoy!
Roll For Topic episode 97
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Kyle and John are back! We talk about our own personal appendix N. What works of fiction have inspired us, and how they have influenced our games? Listen and find out!
Appendix N
Spirit of 77
The Dresden Files
Krull
Patricia A McKillip
and Patricia A McKillip
The Aching God
The Trouble with Tribbles
Star Trek: TNG
Delicious in Dungeon
LOOM
Gideon the Ninth
The Fifth Season
Throne of the Crescent Moon
The Fire Clown
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Kyle is under the weather, so Tim Saucer stepped in and talks to John about playing RPGs with kids.
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Kyle quizzes John about difficulty in games. What is the difference between difficulty, and likelihood? We spend an inordinate amount of time talking about sports. Sorry.
Brindlewood Bay
3-point shot
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Kyle and John chat about what they have been up to in their gaming lives. We discuss our recent Con experiences, Basic D&D, and everyone's favorite indie RPG - D&D 5e.
Basic D&D
GenCon
Indie Press Resolution
Possum Creek Games - Wanderhome
Soul Muppet
Grasping Nettles RPG
Possible World Games Tyler Crumrine
Tales from the Loop
Vaesen Book
Vaesen RPG
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Today we take the sword and sorcery game The Wizard's Grimoire by the Bakers. We had a great time playing this improv PbtA game, and we hope you enjoy it too!
The Wizard's Grimoire
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This week we are joined by Jess and Keeley for a game of Moose Trip - A game about moose who eat psychedelic mushrooms. We had a great time, and we hope you will too!
Moose Trip
It is true!
Fiasco
On a bed of moss
Adventures in Odyssey
5E
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We had so much fun chatting last week we decided to release more of that conversation. John, Kyle, and Matt talk about their experiences with running mystery RPGs.
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This week we bring Matt Wilson on the show to run a game of Cthulhu Confidential - GUMSHOE 1-on1.
GUMSHOE
Gams
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We are joined by the amazing Shel Khan to play Nate Treme's OSR game Tunnel Goons.
Check out Shel's store! And their website!
Corpuscular
Randolph Mantooth
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Kyle and John breakdown their thoughts on the actual play of Swords Without Master we released last episode. If you have not listened to that episode yet, it is linked below.
Swords without Master - Actual Play (the episode we are talking about)
Swords without Master
Worlds without Master
Lasers and Feelings
Honey Heist
Post-structuralism
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The Creatures - You!
The Cocteau Twins - Violaine
The summer of Actual Play begins today! We invited our good friend Chris Salzman on the show to help us try out Swords Without Master.
Swords without Master
Worlds without Master
Gilius Thunderhead
Golden Axe
Shostakovich First Cello Concerto
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F20 - Ken and Robin Talk about stuff
Spirituality
Spiritualized
Cults Episode
Critical Roll
Phoenix Dawn: Command
Against the Cult of the Reptile God
Moose Trip
The DreamQuest of Unknown Kadath
Hamlet’s Hit Points
Beating the story
Hillfolk
Gods of Pegana
I am the sun part 1
At the end day
Map Crow
Map Crow Patreon
Roll for Topic
Hamlet
Fastaval Game Convention
The One Ring Starter Set
Into the Odd
Tomb of the Serpent Kings
F4F -3 Wildcat
Dark Souls
Slay the Spire
Map Crow Patreon
Map Crow Youtube
Roll For Topic
Roll for Topic
Elvish Rings
Elden Ring
Eberron
The All Story
Raiders of the Lost Ark
The Last Crusade
Rocketeer
Appendix N
Robert E Howard
Edgar Rice Burrows
Leigh Brackett
HP Lovecraft
The Great Train Robbery
Murder on the Orient Express
Blades in the Dark
Savage Worlds
Pulp Cthulhu
Fate
Solo
Jedi Academy
Snowpiercer
Pastiche
Hellboy
Guillermo Del Toro
Bruce Lee
Umma Thurman in yellow jump suit
Bucky falls from the train
Dan Brown
Train Crash Montage
The Last Train Home
Locomotive Breath
Map Crow
Map Crow Patreon
Cult - Merriam Webster
Cult- She Sells Sanctuary
Mad Max: Fury Road
War Boys
Fallout
Unfollow: A Memoir of Loving and Leaving the Westboro Baptist Church
Cthulhu (again? you should know this by now)
I Am Legend
The Wicker Man
Gamma World
Unbreakable
The Dark Tower
Beneath the the Planet of the Apes
Janelle Jaquays
DQ1: The Shattered Statue
Art & Arcana
Old School Essentials
Map Crow Youtube
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Show Links
Kaiju
Sword and Sorcery
The Belgariad
Conan the Barbarian
Robert E Howard
HP Lovecraft
Swords and Dark Magic
Jirel of Joiry
Karl Edward Wagner's Kane
Throne of the Crescent Moon
Swords Without Master
Worlds Without Master
The Jade Man's Eyes
Leviathan Song
Blades in the Dark
OSR
Moby Dick
Roll for Topic
Doctor Who: Queen Victoria and the Werewolves
Tim Powers
Dogs in the Vineyard
Flames of Freedom
Deadlands
Varus's Lost Legion
Roanoke colony
Artist hat
Ars Magica
WWII RPGs
TORG
The Strange
Twilight Zone: The 7th is made up of Phantoms
Cthulhu Mythos
Julian the Apostate
Alien
Asians Represent!
The 13th Warrior (film)
Eaters of the Dead
Coyote and Crow RPG
Haunted West RPG
Harlem Unbound
The War that Time forgot
Ken Hite - Suppressed Transmission
Doctor Who: The Unearthly Child
Sliders (TV Show)
Sliders (Food)
Foucault's Pendulum
The One Ring 2nd Ed
Middle Earth
Star Wars
Pizza Toppings
Dragonball Z RPG
MERP
Mythgard Institute
Russian Barrow Wight Scene
Flames of Freedom