Saving the Game: Recent Episodes

Saving the Game

A Christian podcast about tabletop roleplaying games, collaborative storytelling in RPGs, and other interesting topics

This is it, folks: the last episode of Saving the Game.

In this one, we explain why we're shutting down the podcast, answer our remaining Patreon questions, thank people who helped us along the way, and reminisce a bit. We wanted closure for all of our listeners - and ourselves - and hopefully this episode provides it.

An Important Note: This is the second-to-last episode of Saving the Game. Our last episode will release in two weeks and will be a "goodbye" episode. More details in the episode itself and a full-breakdown in the next one.

This is the second part of the Prep/Improv two-parter we brainstormed during a Patreon question. We start out with the news above and a breakdown of how Christmas went, and then get to our Patreon question for this week, which comes to us from Richard Lorenz who asks: "Which Bible verse/passage/teaching have you seen misused or mangled the most?"

As you might expect, we have a bit of a field day with that one, but also move on relatively quickly because we have an interesting topic: GM improv! We stress a lot that improv is a learned skill rather than an inborn talent and discuss some various ways to develop that skill. We also devote some time (as you'd expect) to specific techniques and maintaining the proper mindset.

Mentioned in this episode: International Dialects of English Archive, Solo Improv Practice, From Rewatch With Love, Melina Pendulum, HBomberGuy, The Artisan Geek

Scripture: Exodus 4:10-12, Proverbs 3:6, James 1:5

This week we have another installment in Grant's reading of the sermons of the Reverend Bob Lawrence. If you haven't heard the previous entries, this one, like the others, is an imagined slice of life from someone adjacent to the Christmas story. Rev. Lawrence was quite the storyteller, and there is a reason these sermons have become a tradition for us.

Scripture: Isaiah 42:1-9, Luke 2:21-35

This episode marks the first of the two episodes we came up with based on a Patreon Question back in episode 189 - we're talking about GM Prep.

We check in as usual and then - perhaps ironically, perhaps appropriately for an episode that we came up with while answering another Patreon question - we are completely blindsided by the question from Aaron Arnold who asks "Have you seen Silence by Martin Scorcese or Mother! and how did you feel about how they explore the faith?" SPOILER: This quickly becomes a game of "how do we answer a question about media that none of us have seen?" We do get some interesting discussion out of that, if maybe not quite what Aaron was hoping for, and then move on to our scripture and main topic.

That main topic is kind of a general analysis and breakdown of our respective GMing styles, plus a collection of advice we've built up over the course of our gaming careers. We have different approaches to GM prep, although we all agree that it probably shouldn't be anywhere near as daunting as some folks think. We also spend a fair bit of time throughout the discussion ruminating on how running games via virtual tabletops and in-person groups differ.

Resources: /r/battlemaps, Token Stamp, Episode 144: Hacking Published Adventures

Scripture: Proverbs 16:9, Luke 14:28-30, James 4:13-15

It's a thing that often happens in games but seldom gets much detailed thought put into it: the PCs decide to go off and find something mundane to do like shopping or fishing.

We start the episode off with the usual check-in and then move on to our Patreon question where Alex Huggett asks: "How many games do you have on the go? How often do you play?" As you might expect, we're fairly active roleplayers, so there's a fair bit to say there. After reading our scripture, we dive into the main topic, and as it turns out, all three of us approached it from a completely different perspective. Grant and Jenny focused more on the reasons why players would want to do such a thing in the first place and its utility from a narrative perspective, while Peter was more about practical advice for making it interesting. All in all, it added up to a fun and in-depth discussion.

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 5:18, Matthew 25:34-40, Hebrews 2:10-17

We're back with our 4th-quarter episode selected by our Patreon backers and it's definitely kind of an "old-school" episode by our standards where we take a specifically-biblical theme and unpack and discuss it. This time, we're ruminating on the topic of Eden and all of the themes of paradise, fall, and "first-ness" that come with it.

The episode starts with a quick acknowledgement that 2020 remains stressful at this current juncture, but move pretty quickly into a great Patreon question from Tom Stephens who asks "What is the strangest/weirdest/most difficult game mechanic you've ever had to deal with in game?" Given all of our varied game histories, that generates some fun and interesting discussion to warm us up for our scripture and then our main topic of Eden which went to some very interesting places. We discuss the Biblical Eden and some tropes and themes that tie back to it, but also "Eden Worlds" as seen in sci-fi and some other fun digressions.

Mentioned in this episode: Jewish Fairy Tales and Legends, by Gertrude Landa, Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars books (and a podcast to go with them), the SCP Foundation Wiki,

Scripture: Genesis 2: 8-9, Isaiah 51:3, Ezekiel 28:13-15, Revelation 22:1-5

This week's episode is something a little bit different: we did an online panel on spooky elements at the tail end of SAFe 2020, sort of a sum-up of our "spooky fall" series with some general advice. It turned out well enough that we have decided to pull the audio and provide that as our episode this week. This will be a bit less-produced than you're used to with us, but should still be plenty listenable.

If you'd rather watch the video instead, that can be found here: https://youtu.be/R54vwpRo39A

As October continues, so does our "Spooky Fall" lineup of horror and horror-adjacent topics. This time, we're talking about "creepy crawlies" - the vermin and pests from snakes to spiders to locusts that can cause problems far bigger than their apparent size.

We start off as usual with a host check-in, but we really haven't had much going on lately. Well, except for Jenny, who had a very topic-appropriate nuisance to contend with. Our Patreon topic this week comes from Mike F who puts us on the horns (or perhaps in the fangs?) of a dilemma by asking "Would you rather spend two weeks in quarantine with a goblin raised by wolves, a wolf raised by goblins, or two children under three?"

Once we've sorted that out, it's time to talk about rodents, and bugs, and snakes, and arachnids, and all the other various and sundry small things that can cause big problems and be used to signify various spooky things in our games and story telling. But sometimes these things we think of as gross aren't quite so unequivocally bad. Rats can sniff out landmines, and peacock spiders can be straight-up adorable. There's also a lot of interesting science and culture around insects out there. Massive ant wars and the unnerving world of parasitic wasps, just to name two examples. And of course, there's plenty of potential story uses as well.

Scripture: Exodus 10:13-15, Psalm 78:45-46, Revelation 9:7-11

Other links: Animal trials, Japanese entomology culture

Spooky fall continues with creative collaboration episode!

We start with a check-in and some news - we can now be found on the Pray.com app and Faithcasts.com, should either of those strike your fancy. We all had fairly decent weeks leading up to recording, and kick off with a discussion that rapidly leads into "what have you been reading?"

Our Patreon Question this week comes from Aaron Arnold, who asks "What's your view on how today's culture affects the way you game with strangers? If at all." That question, as you might imagine, sparks a nice, meaty discussion.

From there, we read our scripture and launch into a rare creative collaboration with all three hosts - this time putting our heads together to build a haunted house. But not just any haunted house. A haunted mcmansion smart house. Yeah, we went for it. Buckle up folks, our imaginations were firing on all cylinders this time!

Scripture: Leviticus 26:27-35, Isaiah 13: 19-22, John 1:5, John 8:12

Mentioned in this episode: Fortnight Frights, McMansion Hell

We've decided that a fun way to carve some enjoyment out of this uncooperative year is to do a general spooky topics roundup and so we've got another one for you this week.

We start off with some exciting news: Jenny has done a fashion walk and Peter is on the general design team for En Publishing's Level Up project. We start off with our impressions of the idea of WotC's new D&D-themed Magic: the Gathering set (coming early next year) and then get into our individual news. We also basically decide on the mics to do a "spoopy fall," so look forward to more monster and horror themed episodes in the near-term.

From there we read our rather minimal scripture (werewolves are not at ALL Biblical) and then launch into our topic. Werewolves may not have any scriptural basis, but boy howdy is there a boatload of mythology, folklore, and popular fiction about them. This one ran almost as long as our alignment wrap-up and probably could have gone longer.

Scripture: Genesis 49:27, John 10:11-16

Supplemental media: While it wasn't mentioned in the episode, if you're looking for a good piece of werewolf media both Jenny and Peter can vouch for, take a look at Sang-Froid: Tales of Werewolves. It's currently free(!) on Steam, but wasn't always, and was worth paying for back when it was for sale for actual money. The game hits a lot of the same themes we talk about in this episode.

If you like our longer episodes, you're in for a treat with this one. We had a lot to say this time, and the fact that we recorded this one in two different sections due to some connection issues probably also contributed to the overall length.

We start off as we usually do, checking in and introducing our guest, who in this case is one of our earliest listeners, Douglas Underhill. We've answered a bunch of Doug's Patreo questions in the past and he's been a friend of the show for years, so it was great to finally get him on the mics.

Our Patreon question this week comes from David Pflug, who asks: "What's the most hopeful thing you've encountered this week?" From there as usual, read our scripture and launch into our topic which is a mix of final thoughts and stuff we can't believe we missed the first time around. Opinions about alignment vary pretty widely among the four of us, so that also makes a decent discussion, and we even got into a lengthy aside about how we'd fix D&D along the way.

Mentioned in this episode: Part 1 of System Mastery's Critique of D&D, How to be Anti-Racist, Peter's "Articulated Thoughts" blog post, Peter's Virtue/trait-based alignment system, Letter From a Birmingham Jail, Information about Save Against Fear

Some of Doug's Work: the Parsec RPG, Iron Pax, Charts of Darkness, Hoard of House Rules

Scripture: Daniel 3:14-18, Micah 6:8, Matthew 9:13, James 1:27

Though we've done an episode on undeath in general, we figured that ghosts deserved an episode of their own, since they occupy a somewhat unique role in fiction.

We start the episode off with a check-in as usual and... last Monday and the days leading up to it were rough, folks. The equipment issues have been dealt with, but yeah. Not great. Understandably not wanting to linger on that for too long, we launched into our Patreon topic from Douglas Underhill who asks "What is your favorite band/musician? Least favorite musical genre?"

From there, we read our scripture, including the story of Saul and the witch of En-Dor from 1 Samuel, one of the longer pieces of scripture we've had on the podcast. And then, as is our wont, we launched into our main topic. Ghosts, as it turns out, are really a poor monster, but that doesn't mean they can't do a lot for your games is used well! We dug into the tropes and powers around ghosts, their usefulness as puzzles and mystery elements, and even a bit of the theology of them.

Mentioned in this Episode: Shawn James: The Curse of the Fold, Fortune and Strife

Scripture: 1 Samuel 28: 1-21, Job 14:7-12, Isaiah 8:19, Mathew 14: 22-27, Matthew 27:51-54

With Grant out due to illness and a host of technical issues (that have thankfully since been mostly resolved) besetting us, we opted for a bonus episode this week. This episode is specifically focusing on adding some additional texture to the religious life of a Karkovian barony for a future game Peter would like to run.

As this was a bonus episode, there's no Patreon question, so we went straight from intro to scripture and then into brainstorming, where we discussed, among other things, a secret porpoise grave.

Scripture: Proverbs 27:17, 1 Peter 4:10

This week's episode is the second-quarter Patreon topic (a little late). We've referenced cosmic horror a number of times throughout our run, but never in this kind of depth.

As is usual, we spend a bit of time catching up and then move into our Patreon question, supplied this time by Paige Lowe who asks "If you had an unlimited budget to buy one thing for your game, what would it be?" Just wait until you hear what Grant offers as his answer for that one.

With that bit of shock and awe out of the way, we move into our main topic, and boy howdy, is this one ever a doozy. This turned out to be the longest episode we've recorded so far in 2020, and we needed every minute of it. If you like the episodes where we go deep, you'll find this one especially enjoyable. There was a lot to talk about, including subgenres of cosmic horror, using it as a main course vs. a seasoning, adding it to other genres, and of course, the intersection with faith.

Mentioned in this Episode: Harlem Unbound, Rapture: The End of Days, Jeff VanderMeer, Episode 145: Roleplaying Mental Illnesses, Get Out, GURPS Horror (4th ed), GURPS Alternate Earths 1 & 2, GURPS Monsters, Permanent Record

Scripture: Exodus 33:17-23, Job 40: 1-7, Ezekiel 1:4-14, Revelation 13:1-3

Not feeling well and not being able to get to the internet robbed us of Jenny this week. However, despite that lack, this was a great episode because we had an awesome guest host! Paranoia writer WJ MacGuffin joined us to talk about incorporating real-world faiths into our gaming.

We started off the episode with a quick general check-in and let WJ introduce himself and his work, talking a bit about what we've been reading in the process. From there, we fielded out Patreon question, which came to us via John and Ginny Swann, who asked "Your recent series on D&D alignments got me to thinking. I know you aren't huge fans of the Palladium system but what are your thoughts on their alignment system?" Fortunately, while we did have a bit to say about Palladium's alignment system, the presence of a guest kept us from creating a new multi-part series. From there, we read our scripture and dove into our rather meaty main topic.

The main topic was just what it said on the tin - and there's a lot to think about with regards to incorporating a real-world faith into one's game - whether that's as a writer, a player, or a GM. Sensitivity, accuracy, and still keeping it gameable are all very real concerns.

Mentioned in this Episode: Project Infinite Hole on Kickstarter, the Paranoia RPG, Raising White Kids: Bringing Up Children in a Racially Unjust America, Dennis E. Taylor's Bobiverse novels, Letter From a Birmingham Jail, Holey Moley, The Innocence Files, and Jelle's Marble Runs

Scripture: Exodus 20: 1-3, John 13: 34-35, James 1:26-27

Well folks, this is it - the last of the 3x3 grid of alignments, and arguably the worst of the worst.

Note: Spoilers for the City on a Hill, Season 2 Finale from 9:12-11:35

We start off with an announcement that mirrors our recent blog post. TL;DR: we're going to be a little freer talking about politics. That does not mean partisanship or campaigning, but we're going to touch some issues from time to time.

The Patreon question this week comes from Douglas Underhill, who asks "What's your biggest pet peeve for players? GMs/DMs?" As you can imagine, we have a bit of fun with that, and then it's time to read our scripture and dig into the awful and talk about chaotic evil. As with the previous evil alignments, we break down what the alignment means in practical terms and also hit some specific villainous archetypes to help GMs get the most out of this particular villainous mindset.

Scripture: 1 Kings 18:25-29, Isaiah 13: 17-18, Hebrews 11: 36-38

A quick note: our two-week lead time can sometimes mean that a lot happens between when we record an episode and when we release it. On may 25th, four officers of the Minneapolis, MN police department killed George Floyd, an unarmed black man. On May 28th, we recorded this episode as Mr. Floyd's death was just entering the zeitgeist. Since then, the US, and to a lesser extent, the entire world, has erupted in protests over the outrage of that killing and countless others like it. We took advantage of the off-week schedule of the blog to put up a statement, but while there are some promising early signs of systemic change occurring, the struggle for equality and justice for POC in the United States is far from over.

In this episode, we're joined by Krissi Woodward - Grant's wife and a core member of our Saturday night gaming group. We start off with our usual banter and then move relatively quickly into our Patreon question from David Hastings who asks "What book on your shelf have you been telling yourself you'll get around to reading for years now?"

As you can imagine, that turns into a bit of a thing (see our list of shame below in the "mentioned in this episode" list) but we do eventually get around to our main topic: the Chaotic Neutral alignment. Krissi plays a fair number of CN characters and has a lot of solid advice about how to do so in an enjoyable and non-disruptive manner.

Mentioned in this episode: Peter's Multiclass Feats article for En5ider, Numberphile, The Cuckoo's Egg, Plagues and Peoples, Role-Playing Game Studies, Jonathan Strand & Mr. Norrell, Secret Agents Four

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 9:11, Zephaniah 1:8-12, Matthew 6:19-21

In this episode we're joined by none other than Elizabeth Garn of Christ and Pop Culture. (Elizabeth has written some great articles about faith and gaming and she should be on your radar if she wasn't already!)

We start off the episode with the usual check-in, which includes this time that Grant is running his seven-year-old daughter through Lost Mines of Phandelver and she is apparently killing it. Our guest question this time comes from Douglas Underhill who asks "Who is your favorite post-biblical Christian figure and why? How about one ancient and one modern?"

Once we're done chewing on that, we wade into the topic of the day, Chaotic Good. Elizabeth provides an excellent conversational foil for the rest of us and a really fun, interesting, and productive discussion comes from it. Along the way, we talk about why Robin Hood might not be quite as textbook of an example of Chaotic Good as many might thing, referencing OSP's analysis of the legend along the way.

Scripture: Proverbs 14:31, Isaiah 61:1, Matthew 21:12-13, Luke 11: 46-53

This week we have more unstructured, conversational episode for you. Grant and Peter realized back in episode 173 that we'd like to talk about when players know what the GM is planning, but as we talked about the upcoming episode, we all realized that what we had was more of a discussion and a collection of observations than a collection of structured advice.

We start with the usual check-in, which has Peter and Grant both craving classic genre fiction and Jenny the Goblin Queen a bit under the weather. We then move into our Patreon question this week , which comes from Tom Stephens, who asks " (as someone who just got a MLS degree recently myself - finished in 2016, this one's for Jenny with a generalized version for the others): What was your most and least favorite class from your library degree program. For the others, what was the most and least favorite class from any training you've had recently or even going back to college? "

From there, we launch into a loose collection of advice and observations that comprise the central topic. More than usual, we can see multiple sides of this and talk about when it's useful for the players to know more, when it's not, why you might or might not want to hand out more information in your games, the considerations of various genres, and so on.

Mentioned in this episode: Star Power

Scripture: Psalm 33:10-11, Proverbs 16:3, Matthew 6:25-34

Grant, Peter and Jenny are joined by Jason Brick, veteran freelance writer in the TTRPG industry (and several others besides!). We kick off with a little chatter and swiftly move into our Patreon question from Joseph Linardon who asks " What would be your dream job?"

Answering that takes significantly less time than you'd expect, and after some quick scripture we're on to our main topic, which is basically taking advantage of Jason generous spirit and wide expertise about freelancing by getting him to do a brain dump. Among his many writing hats, Jason is one of the authors of Random Encounters, which is a resource that Peter has really enjoyed having on his shelf, as well as numerous other projects. Lots of good, practical advice in this one.

Mentioned in this episode: For Exposure on Twitter, Socks for Supper on Goodreads, Saving The Game's Page on Podchaser

Scripture: Proverbs 14:23, Matthew 5:9, Matthew 20:1-7, James 4:13-16

The hosts are all here for this one, and we kick off with a discussion of our games, which are generally going quite well, and a bit about the homeschooling of Grant's kids during the pandemic lockdown.

The Patreon question this episode comes from Paige Lowe, who asks " How have your games changed as you've matured as a DM/player?" That produces about the amount of introspection and analysis as you've come to expect from us. We've actually grown quite a a lot, as it turns out.

From there we move into scripture and our main topic: neutral evil, the alignment of undiluted, undistracted, pure, banal evil. It took six episodes to get here, but we've finally found an alignment description in the 2e rules we can mostly agree with! The alignment itself isn't all that interesting, but that doesn't mean you can't use it as an effective tool for making villains with interesting narrative roles and story effects, and much like we did with Lawful Evil, we break those down into archetypes.

Scripture: Leviticus 20: 1-5, Job 21: 17-21, Luke 8: 26-31

We're back to our usual release schedule and episode progression this week for True Neutral.

The discussion kicks off with the obligatory nod to COVID-19 (wash your hands!) and a nod back to our "emergency bonus" episode and blog post about remote gaming. There's a bit of discussion about how that's proceeding and then we get to our Patreon question where Brian Ray asks " What improvised weapon would you most likely use to thrash a slaver?"

That's a question with a story that goes with it, but once that's told, we move into our scripture and into our main topic: True Neutral. As it turns out, there not a ton to say about an alignment that's defined by what it is not, but we do get some good discussion in around balance keepers, film noir protagonists, and the problematic way that horseshoe theory sometimes gets applied to good and evil in fantasy.

Scripture: Proverbs 15:19, 1 John 3: 17-18, Revelation 3: 15-18

As promised, this is our "emergency bonus episode" about remote gaming. It's edited much more roughly than normal but as we say in the episode, turnaround was our top priority for this one. In the episode, we referenced a blog post that I posted yesterday. That is here for easy cross-referencing.

Scripture: Numbers 6:24-26 , Isaiah 40:30-31 (ESV), Galatians 6:2

With Jenny out due to travel, Grant and Peter return temporarily to the days when it was just the two of them on the podcast and do something they haven't done on air before, or at least for quite a while: brainstorm about one specific game, namely the campaign Peter is running on Sundays.

We kick off with a surprising amount of news. Kittens are getting fixed, an important friend of Peter's who got him involved with the local food pantry has recently passed, and both Grant and Peter have been reading a lot of Robert E. Howard lately (link goes to public domain works of Howard at Project Gutenberg). That conversation lasts longer than usual and leads into the Patreon question where Joseph Linardon asks "With a Pathfinder/D&D setting in mind, what kind of hero would you want to be? Alignment, class, goals, however y'all would want to answer, I'm sure it would be interesting however you each decide to come up with an answer ."

The main topic discussion is a fruitful and lengthy one and illustrates beautifully why GMs should bounce ideas off of one another probably significantly more than they do. Grant and Peter have both enjoyed playing in the other's games, but they have different styles, priorities, and perspectives as GMs, and that takes the conversation to some fascinating places. Note to Peter's players: feel free to listen. This is more "setting book" stuff.

Scripture: Genesis 11:1-9, Titus 2:11

With Grant and Jenny back from their respective ordeals, it's time to continue our alignment series!

We start off with a quick catch-up session (thanks again Ashley and Derek for filling in!) but there's not a lot of note in our lives since the last episode we were on together (or at least, not that's relevant to the podcast).

The Patreon question this episode comes to us from Paige Lowe who asks " In an alternate reality where you found something else instead of RPGs, what is your creative outlet?"

That leads to some heavy thinking - and the general conclusion that we're glad to be in this timeline, hobby-wise.

From there we move into our scripture and our main topic of the Neutral Good alignment. This is the point where, in our opinion, the 2e alignment summaries really start to jump the tracks a bit. It is, however, generally pleasant to talk about good people doing good things for good reasons, which is at the core of the NG alignment. Along the way we rope in Spider-Man, the Hippocratic Oath, and the Belmont Report.

Scripture: Leviticus 9:17-18, Isaiah 1: 16-18, 1 Corinthians 13: 4-7, Galatians 5: 22-26

This week's episode is a little different in multiple ways. With Grant out with illness and Jenny out with bureaucracy, Peter is joined by Ashley Mowers from Min/Max and Derek White from The Dungeon Pastors (this is the first episode of drawing on a larger hosting pool like was mentioned back in November). We went through the usual check-in and random Patreon Question - this time was David Hastings asking "Which Disney princess would you want to GM a game for you? As a GM, which would you want to be one of your players?" From there, we read our scripture and launched into our main topic, which, as it turns out, is a doozy.

The topic for this episode is a question posed to us by longtime Patreon Backer Joseph Linardon as a custom reward. Thank you, Joseph, for your continued generous support and a really meaty episode topic: ”I've thought up a topic after reading Psalm 92. Is killing evil in tabletop gaming inherently bad or wrong? After reading, I feel as though that is not the case. I believe that God wants to vanquish evil; be that by converting, re-devoting, purging through death, or really whatever creative ways my small scope can't imagine.”

We tried something a little different this time and backed way off the outline. The result was a a less structured but very emotionally-honest and vulnerable episode. If you like our more theological episodes and/or a more conversational approach, this will probably be a favorite.

Scripture (in order of appearance in the episode): Genesis 6:5-6 , Genesis 19: 23-26, Psalm 92: 9-11, Proverbs 25:21-22, Matthew 5:43-48, Ezekiel 33:11, Matthew 13:24-29, Isaiah 2:4

In this episode, we welcome back Kimi from Golden Lasso Games to talk about pre-game tools. We last spoke to Kimi in our mammoth two-parter on fitness back in episode 103 part 1 and part 2, and this time she's here alone rather than part of what was (at the time) the single largest number of people on one of our episodes.

We start off with the usual check-in and move from there to our Patreon question where David Hastings asks " What is your favorite thing to cook?" We narrowly escape a second trip down the rabbit hole that is talking about chili and move from there to our scripture and into our main discussion about pre-game tools. One of the first things that comes up is that such tools are rare, and are usually repurposed full games in their own right. The concept of using games such as Microscope to build a world collaboratively before playing in it has been out there for a while, but Kimi's new project Decuma is designed to be used in that role from the ground up.

Also Referenced in this episode: Decuma Actual Play Recording, A History of the Tarot Deck, and a really extensive use of pre-game tools.

Scripture: Genesis 1:1-2, Proverbs 15:22, Philippians 2:1-4

With the first batch of three from our ongoing alignments series concluded, we're back to normal topics for at least a few episodes. And this week, we have one that was selected - in a landslide - by our Patreon backers: Old Age and Retirement.

We start off with our usual check-in and discuss our ongoing games and Grant's newfound interest in knitting, and then move into our Patreon question where John and Ginny Swann ask us "Have you ever had to deal with any real blasphemy during a game?"

As you'd probably expect by this point, we take some time answering that, getting into some digressions along the way. While our answers basically come down to "no," there are some significant caveats to that answer. After our scripture, we launch into our main topic, discussing old age and retirement as they apply to PCs and NPCs, from the GM's side, and the player's. Along the way, we talk about our previous episode on resurrection magic, John Scalzi's Old Man's War, one of Peter's recent blog posts about injury, World Anvil, and one of Peter's favorite DM's Guild products that contains rules for heroes of different ages.

Scripture: Genesis 25:8, Proverbs 16: 31-32, Luke 2:36-38

With the holidays over, we're back to our normal episode format, and in this one we wrap up the first batch of 3 from our alignment series with Lawful Evil.

We start off with a brief holiday check-in and run down some interesting gifts we received and gave. (Guess which one of us unironically gave someone a rock for Christmas!)

The Patreon question this episode comes from Chris Bissel who asks a three-part food-related question: "What do you like to put on hot dogs? What is the weirdest thing you've had on a hot dog? Where is the best hot dog you've ever tasted?"

After answering that and also digressing mightily as is our custom, we settle into our main topic: lawful evil. Lawful Evil is one of the most useful and versatile alignments for villains, and we talk about a lot of them, including Deathsronke, Bane and Lex Luthor from DC, and Thanos, Dr. Doom, and Magneto from Marvel. We didn't have a lot of disagreement this time, but it's a veritable flood of information.

Scripture: Judges 6:1-6, Matthew 27:1-8, 1 John 4:13-18

In keeping with tradition—sort of—Grant presents a very special Christmas bonus episode: A reading of a unique sermon given on Christmas Day, 1986, by Rev. Bob Lawrence of Fourth Presbyterian Church in Greenville, SC. You can find previous sermons in this series here!

Merry Christmas, from all of us to all of you.

Music: "Er Is Een Kindeke Geboren Op Aard", by Ben DeVries.

Scripture: Isaiah 40:9-11, Luke 2:1-13

This is the corrected version of 167. The first version ran the main episode audio into the outro due to an editing mistake on my part. My apologies. -Peter

We're back with episode 2 of our alignments series, this time talking about Lawful Neutral.

We start off with the story of some adorable kittens in Grant's home, check in about Thanksgiving, and then get into some gaming chat. Peter's game is going well and starting to get active on a big picture level, Grant's vampire game has made the move to Powered by the Dark, and the "hosts and friends" gaming group will be doing a published adventure for the first time ever! Grant has picked up Princes of the Apocalypse and will be running it for us.

Our Patreon question comes from Aaron Arnold (who is one of Peter's players, despite his uncertainty about last names in the episode!) who asks " Have you roleplayed in a game that wasn't D&D? I ask because I played a cyberpunk noir game and I enjoyed the RP I got to create in it." We had a lot to say by way of answering that question; all of us have been regular game convention attendees at various points in our lives and it prompted some reminiscence and few recommendations.

With that discussion concluded, we move into scripture and then onto our main topic: Lawful Neutral, or, as Grant so aptly put it: the obstacle alignment. We're a bit less ranty than last time, but it's still a productive discussion.

Scripture: Deuteronomy 4:5-8, Mark 2: 23-28, John 8: 1-11

We've been promising it for a while and here it is, the first episode in our series on alignment. We last talked about alignments as a topic waaaaaayyyy back in episode 2 of the podcast (if you listen, we're so sorry about the audio quality), and we figured it was high time we updated things and also let Jenny weigh in!

We start of with a shoutout to a couple of podcasts we've been enjoying; Grant has been listening to Pontifacts and Peter has been listening to Stats Will Roll. Our friends over at MegaDumbCast have also recently released an episode on autism representation in games (and how not to do it) that is worth a listen. In gaming news, Grant is porting his Vampire game over to a PbtA variant called Powered by Dark and his Sharn game has started up again. Peter's new D&D game continues to go strong, and he mentions a great thing one of his players is doing that he loves. We also briefly mention some behind-the-scenes change we're making. Our Patreon question this episode comes from Joseph Linardon who asks us " If you could make a 1 page RPG, what would it be? What would be the main dice you use (if not a D20)?"

From there, we get into our main topic and argue about alignment like proper nerds for the rest of the episode, complete with fictional examples (some of which may actually be Neutral Good) and a lengthy amount of discussions about what Lawful Good is not. It gets a little heated in points, but we had fun and it was a good (and somewhat cathartic) discussion.

Also mentioned in this episode: https://www.amykathleenryan.com/books.php

Scripture: Psalm 119:12-16, Proverbs 24:30-32, Matthew 22:34-40

Every33!

Mike Perna of Innroads Ministries, Game Store Prophets, and Bard and Bible joins us as he does every 33 episodes to talk about something he's been itching to talk on the mics about for ages - unlikely heroes with a strong emphasis on Mike Mignola's Hellboy.

We also give a shout-out to The Dungeon Pastors, a new project from two other friends of the show, Derek "The Geekpreacher" White and Stephen Taylor of Games for All. That's immediately followed by one of the strangest questions's we've had from a Patreon backer in a long time when John and Ginny Swann ask us " What is your favorite sandwich and how would you play it as a character?" The episode is almost worth it for that conversation alone, folks.

Once we wrap that surprisingly thoughtful and in-depth section up, name a favorite sandwich of Jenny's "The Goblin Warlock" and read our scripture, we move into our main topic: unlikely heroes and why Hellboy is such a compelling example of one, and how you can use him and other characters like him in your games. As is always the case, having Mike on gives us a lot of both quality and quantity.

Scripture: Exodus 4: 10-12, 1 Samuel 16:1-12, Matthew 9:9

After several episodes with either more or less than the three main hosts, Grant, Peter, and Jenny finally get to sit down together and talk about monsters just in time for Halloween! First, though, there's a bit of catching up to do, and a delightful question from Patreon supporter Richard Lorenz who asks a simple, seasonally-appropriate question: "Favorite holiday?"

Once our Scripture's read, we dive into monsters, and specifically monsters as representations of the monstrous and of the diseased. We touch on what few monsters appear in Scripture, and then run through a number of classic monsters and terrific archetypes to discuss them. We also talk a bit about monsters as representations of the 'other.' Enjoy!

Also mentioned in this episode: "Action Oriented Monsters" by Matthew Colville; E. E. "Doc" Smith's Lensman series; and Kei-Con.

Scripture: Job 41:1-10, 1 Samuel 28:8-13, 1 Corinthians 10:17-22

With Grant out again for chaotic work-related reasons, Jenny and Peter are collaborating again—this time on setting material for Peter's new D&D game! First, though, we answer a Patreon question from Douglas Underhill, who asks us "If you statted yourself as a 5E character, how would you allocate the default starting array of ability scores?"

Then, after our Scripture readings as usual, Peter takes a moment to describe his game and overall setting ideas. Then it's time to brainstorm and create as Jenny and Peter work together to create points of interest, natural features, and dangerously exciting locations. Enjoy!

Professor, researcher, leading thinker in the psychology of RPGS both tabletop and LARP, and contributor to the first college textbook on RPGs Dr. Sarah Lynne Bowman joins us for a second time (we first spoke to Sarah back in episode 111) to discuss more of the psychology around RPGs.

The episode starts with a quick discussion of the new game Peter is going to be starting up in October with some StG listeners, and an excellent and thoughtful question about playing characters of the opposite sex from John and Ginny Swann.

From there, we move into our scripture and a discussion of the player archetypes that Sarah codified in her book The Functions of Role-Playing Games. These are a useful tool descriptive tool to discuss who we are in games on a more psychological level and complement more traditional player types (like tactician and actor) nicely. With that groundwork laid, the conversation turns to a discussion of the phenomenon of bleed (psychological transference from player to character or vice versa) in gaming and how that's tied up with safety techniques. As you'd expect, we touched on the free (and excellent) Consent in Gaming document recently published by Monte Cook games, but also used an experience of Peter's from a few years back to illustrate why safety techniques are a good idea. We also spent a bit of time talking about how gaming can go past mere safety and into growth, another topic that Dr. Bowman is passionate about.

Scripture: Proverbs 4:5-6 , Galatians 6:2, Philippians 2:1-4, 3 John 1-6

Creative professional and storyteller Daniel Kwan joins us on this episode to talk about gaming in historical settings! Daniel is a former museum historian, a game designer at Dundas West Games, and co-host of the Asians Represent podcast. He works to support Level Up Gaming, a Toronto-based organization that "provides individuals on the autism spectrum and with other disabilities the opportunity to develop and explore their real-world social skills through goal-directed gaming experiences." And he's got a game Kickstarting on October 4th called Ross Rifles, about Canada's involvement in the First World War and the life of soldiers in the trenches! He's a fascinating person and an amazing guest, and the perfect person to talk to about setting your games in real historical situations, with systems appropriate to a focus on the historical experience. Follow Daniel Kwan and Asians Represent on Twitter, and keep an eye out for that Kickstarter announcement come October!

Our Patreon question this week comes to us from Aaron Arnold, who asks "To what extent does your backstory need to inform your build?"

After our Scripture reading, we dig deep into this topic with Daniel. How does one go about making a system that fits a real, historical moment and accurately represents it—while encouraging a desired experience at the table? How do you research a game like this? How do you handle the stereotypes of a particular era or moment that players (and gamemasters) may have in their heads? And what's the line between historical accuracy and paralysis through detail?

Scripture: Job 8:8-10, Psalm 78:1-4, Romans 15:4

Our Ten Commandments series finally wraps up this episode, and we end it on a high note! (Yes, even despite the episode going up a day late.) We've got a bit of a preview of an upcoming discussion to start with, as Grant's kicking off a game of Offworlders. Our Patreon question this week comes from David Hastings, who asks "What game do you love personally even though you know that objectively, it's not that great?"

Our topic this week is, of course, the Tenth Commandment—"Thou shalt not covet." Of course, "covetousness" is a word often conflated with "envy", "jealousy", and even "desire", so we take a moment to talk about the word itself. We also take care to differentiate it from a righteous anger at injustice and want—especially since many use that false distinction to their own advantage. We then talk about how the Tenth Commandment is somewhat unique in that it forbids a particular sort of thought rather than a particular sort of action, and the implications of that distinction.

Naturally, we have a lot to say about covetousness in a gaming context—rogues, corporate malfeasance, dragons, and more! But we have just as much to say when talking about real concerns of covetousness in the gaming hobby, whether it be a shelf of RPG books, that ridiculously-expensive custom gaming table, or even production values and knowledge.

Scripture: Exodus 20:7, 1 Kings 21:1-7, Luke 12:15, Hebrews 13:5, 1 Timothy 6:6-10

Grant's out on vacation in lovely Myrtle Beach, SC this week, so Jenny and Peter tackle a special project—working together to create a unique setting centerpiece for a game Jenny will be running at her library! First, we answer a question from Patreon supporter Tom Stephens, who asks, "What is your favorite item that you've created for use in a game?"

With that handled and our Scripture read, we move on to creating a city from scratch. Jenny starts us off with a few basic ideas and restrictions, and everything builds from there—pun intended, of course. What's the economy based on? Why do people come to this city? What makes it unique, geographically and politically? Who lives there, and who is in power? How is it governed? What sort of crime flourishes within its walls? What opportunities are available to player characters who start their careers in this city? And what, exactly, is a forcefield goat?

Ideas Jenny had after recording:

It’s in a crater, but the crater isn’t even because the meteor came in at an angle. The Shepherding district is on a gentle slope up and out of the crater, and the Glassworking district is basically a straight wall.
Might switch Factotum and Shepherding districts so that the mining and stoneworking can be done on a wall, maybe even under an overhang.
At least one magic metal node per district is preserved. Always the biggest node.
Civic district is Full Of Lawyers to help out the people seeking sanctuary.

Scripture: Exodus 31:1-11, Joshua 21:41-45, Hebrews 10:24-25

Guest—and possible honorary host—Krissi Woodward joins us this episode to break down her first time running a tabletop roleplaying game! Krissi ran a very successful arc of World of Darkness: Innocents for our gaming group and was willing to discuss that experience with us. First, a little bit about shiny new library cards and dirty library patrons, as well as an interesting Patreon question from Douglas Underhill, who asks about under-served genres of tabletop roleplaying games.

After our Scripture reading, Krissi gives us a ton of excellent advice and analysis from her first GMing experience. She talks about the game she ran and why she chose this system and story; her pre-game concerns and prep (including overpreparing); how she tackled issues that arose during the game, especially issues with player triggers; and plenty of clever GMing decisions that made the game a smooth and exciting experience for players and GM alike. Enjoy!

Also mentioned in this episode: How We Came to Live Here.

Scripture: Proverbs 9:9, Matthew 23:11-12, Romans 12:3

We're nearing the end of our Ten Commandments series! This episode tackles lying—or as the Ten Commandments are commonly translated, "bearing false witness." First, though, Peter talks a bit about his entry in the World Anvil worldbuilding contest; we discuss Krissi's Innocents game and how it wrapped up, as well as Vampire and the various other games we have in the works; Grant's attempt to stream game design; and the extremely lovely GRIS.

Aaron Arnold asks an extremely difficult Patreon question this week: What was the hardest lesson to learn as a Christian? So you also get to hear us puzzle through that!

After our Scripture, we discuss the Ninth Commandment, "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor." Unlike many of these other commandments episodes, in this one we had a very easy time talking about the theology of speaking truths rather than lies, but a much harder time getting into the detailed uses of lies in roleplaying games—simply because it's such a big topic. We touch on the differences between lies and creativity; lies of malice and cowardice (and we get to use a different C. S. Lewis quote in this one!); several forms false witness takes that are harder to recognize than outright lies; prooftexting; logical fallacies; and much more. Enjoy!

Mentioned in this episode: J. Ellsworth Kalas's The Ten Commandments from the Back Side; Wondermark #1062, "The Terrible Sea Lion"; YourLogicalFallacyIs.com

Scripture: Exodus 20:16, Genesis 3:1-5, Matthew 7:1-5, Colossians 3:8-10

This week's topic is a sort of follow-up to our latest episode in our Ten Commandments series, except it's also entirely City On A Hill Gaming's fault, we promise! We're talking about how to make treasure and wealth in your games exciting and unique without surrendering the player characters' moral high ground as they acquire it. We also talk briefly about Krissi's Innocents game (and the excellent job she's doing as she takes the GM seat for the first time.)

Our Patreon question this week comes from Paige Lowe, who asks: "What media has been your biggest gaming inspiration?" We actually struggled with this question a bit, so—good question!

After our Scripture reading, we dive headlong into this massive topic. After a couple quick rules, we talk about actually having people pay the player characters a good wage for their work (and how to make that work into good adventures); finders fees and Peter's moment of moral panic upon finding a treasure; natural or naturally-created sources of wealth; locations and lost items; "finders-keepers"; fines and the privileges of power (and some morally-grey issues that naturally arise); mythic gifts and artifacts; customizing your treasure and changing its appearance; favors; and collaborating with your players. Oh, and Jenny's secret elliptonic library that's a perfect example of everything we talk about in this episode.

Mentioned in this episode: Fungi that draw gold from their surroundings; Bad King John's lost treasure; a cache of wallets from the 1940s; and the very silly 5/5/2000: Ice - The Ultimate Disaster.

Scripture: 2 Kings 13:20-21, Proverbs 22:16, Matthew 6:19-21, Matthew 20:1-16

Bryan and Mike from the Geek at Arms podcast join us this week to talk about the unwritten rules at our gaming tables (and elsewhere in our lives!) Geek at Arms is an excellent, thoughtful podcast in the geeky faith space and we're delighted to have two of its three hosts on this episode. Both shows' members have also been appearing on other podcasts as well: Peter was on a delightfully fun bonus episode of City on a Hill, featuring Feng Shui 2 and drink tables TO THE FACE. Meanwhile, Bryan was on an episode of the Retro Rewind Podcast talking about Cowboy Bebop! Make sure to subscribe to their show (and follow them on Twitter.) And if you're looking for a good cause to donate to, check out Hope Fostered as well, per their request!

Our Patreon question this week comes to us from Shawn Stauffer, who asks a simple question: "What did you have for lunch?" This turns out to be a more delicious answer than anticipated.

After our Scripture readings we break down the unwritten rules everyone has at the table—assumptions, inherited rules, group mores, and all the rest. If you've always assumed rules like "no PvP," "don't split the party," or "put your tax money on Free Parking," then this is the episode for you! Plus, we get a good rundown of Bryan's and Mike's GMing rules, and a quick aside from Grant about bad rules at the table.

Mentioned in this episode: Peter's "Going on Tilt" blog post; Mike's "The Rules" blog post.

Scripture: Jeremiah 31:33, Psalm 119:15-16, Matthew 23:1-12

Oh, hey, guess who's back! That's right—Grant rejoins Peter and Jenny back on the mics. (And thank you, seriously, for everyone who reached out or who prayed for me. It's really appreciated. – G.) We pick up our Ten Commandments series with the Eight Commandment, "Thou shalt not steal," and since our hobby kicked off with a thief class, you might guess we have a lot to talk about! First, though, we've got a bit of podcast business, and then a surprisingly in-depth conversation about hot dogs and hamburgers thanks to Patreon supporter Richard Lorenz. Oh, and also Peter got to try Minecraft for the first time on our stream, so look forward to more of that on Friday nights!

After our Scripture reading, we start in on the surprising complexity of what is in English a simple four-word commandment. We discuss theft as a sin of commission and as a sin on omission; theft as a primary component of the classic gaming experience going all the way back to its sword-and-sorcery roots; and the curious lack of stigma thieves sometimes carry in our tabletop games. Finally, we wrap up with the positive side of the Eighth Commandment: Chrestotes and "becoming a larger person."

Mentioned in this episode: Dusk City Outlaws, and the relevant XKCD, because there's always a relevant XKCD comic for any topic.

Scripture: Exodus 20:15, Malachi 3:8-10, Leviticus 6:1-7, Romans 2:4, Romans 13:7-10

Jenny and Peter welcome Kyle Rudge of Geekdom House and Mythos & Ink back onto the mics, this time to talk about publishing! We've a bit of news first—Grant's out for a bit due to some health issues, and that's also shaken up our gaming schedule, which means there might be an Innocents game in the works. Also, Feng Shui 2!

Our Patreon question comes from Kenning, who asks "If you got superpowers (say, basic superstrength and flight), what would you do with them?"

After our Scripture reading, we dive into the publishing business with Kyle. What's the writing process look like from the publisher's perspective? What do fair contracts look like, and what's predatory? What are some common pitfalls? What's self-publishing and crowd-funding done to the publishing industry? And what's it like trying to be a publisher appealing to geeky Christians?

For more information about Mythos & Ink, visit their website and follow them on Twitter!

Scripture: Genesis 1:1, Job 19:23-25, Proverbs 27:9, Nehemiah 8:1-3, James 3:17

Peter and Jenny have the mics to themselves this episode, and they're talking about one of the funniest and most imaginative books of the Bible: Jonah! First, though, we take a moment to mention the unfortunate and early passing of Rachel Held Evans, a Christian writer and thinker we're all quite fond of taken from us too soon. We also have to put a call out for more questions from our Patreon supporters! And speaking of Patreon, our Patreon question this week comes from Shawn Stauffer, who asks "If you had to spend a year as any one of the characters you've made for an RPG, in their world, which would you choose and why?"

That answered and our Scripture read (including the entirety of Jonah 4, which might be the first time we've ever read an entire chapter of Scripture on this podcast) we dive into Jonah—pun intended. It's a work unlike any other in the Bible: A parodic work featuring a prophet doing his best to disobey God and being frustrated when God succeeds! It's also a work enjoining mercy and compassion over reveling in the punishment of others. Plus it's got a prophet people actually listen to; and ... did you know there's a big fish in this one?

Scripture: Jonah 1:1-3; Jonah 4:1-11; Titus 3:3-8

Ryan Felton, GM and producer of City On A Hill Gaming, joins Grant, Jenny, and Peter to discuss creating actual play content! We've mentioned City On A Hill plenty lately, since Ryan was kind enough to invite the three of us on his show as players (and performers, as we'll discuss in this episode.) You can find Ryan and City on a Hill Gaming on Twitter at @CityOnAHillGame! Ryan also helps us answer a question from Patreon supporter John Swann, who asks about performance anxiety when sitting down to a convention game.

After our Scripture readings, we start to break down making actual play podcasts, and why Ryan decided to create City On A Hill Gaming in the first place. We also discuss why APs are important and interesting; the unique challenges of creating actual play content over analytical podcasts like Saving the Game; and the challenges of making family-friendly and near-Christian gaming content. We also go into some detail on things we as players, and Ryan as the GM, would like to do to improve City on a Hill specifically, as common traps that listeners should be aware of when creating actual play content!

Also mentioned in this episode: Hamlet's Hit Points and Beating the Story by Robin D. Laws; A Christian Gaming Podcast; Reunification by Press Pot Games; and City on a Hill "Side Quest #3" with Justin "Chivalrybean" Lowmaster (our editor!) and DMDad.

Scripture: 2 Samuel 2:6, Isaiah 6:8, Matthew 5:14-16

It's our one hundred fiftieth episode, and we are excited! We've got a lot of people to thank, of course, and spend a couple minutes at the top of the show doing that. We've also got a touch of podcast business, and a mention of a recent episode of the Marengo Holy Happy Hour radio show that Peter appeared on to talk about gaming and Saving the Game. Finally, Grant has a specific shoutout to give to his friends Patrick and Tyler for helping with his Vampire game questions. (If you want a chance to play in their incredible games, by the way, check out The Gauntlet!) Oh, and there's an airhorn.

Our incredibly timely Patreon question comes from Kenning, who asks "What is your favorite episode of this podcast so far?"

After our Scripture readings, we start in on our topic proper: Why we love games! Our answers are mostly about stories and experiences, but also systems, community, self-exploration, and more. Naturally, we want to hear yours as well!

Also mentioned in this episode: The Miskatonic University board game; Epidiah Ravachol, A Scoundrel in the Deep, and Worlds Without Master; One Shot's actual play of A Scoundrel in the Deep; LoadingReadyRun; and Adam Koebel.

Scripture: Jeremiah 29:11, John 13:35, Acts 2:46-47, Hebrews 10:23-25

Rev. Derek "The GeekPreacher" White joins us once again, and this time it's even more special than usual. This episode is a sort of test case for a new thing we might be doing with Derek more regularly—having Derek on to talk about specific theological topics from a geek perspective! First, though we've got a Patreon question to answer from Doug Hagler, who asks us what our individual D&D alignments are, and some Scripture we've picked out for the topic.

Then we let Derek take the lead as we discuss the unlikely sorts of heroes we see in both Scripture and in pop culture, from Moses and David to Frodo and Hawkeye. Accidental heroes, broken heroes, screwed-up heroes—we've got them all, and we're happy to talk about them!

Also mentioned in this episode: Unsong; the Critical Core Kickstarter from Game to Grow; and STG 115, "RPGs in Social Skills Therapy (with Adam Davis and Adam Johns)".

Scripture: Exodus 4:10-17, Isaiah 6:5-8, 1 Corinthians 15:2-11

We're back with the second half of our unofficial two-parter on angels! (And yes, you can catch up with our first half here.) This time around, we're discussing how to make angels interesting in your games. First, though, we've got some business to catch up on, including GaryCon 2019 (which Peter had a great time at) and ConCarolinas 2019 (which Grant will be attending this year.) We've also got a topical Patreon question from Paige, who asks "What advice do you have for running a game at a con?"

After answering that, we read our Scripture and dive in (with a brief initial segue about Angels in the Outfield for ... reasons.) Angels as messengers, allies, and guardians! Angels as instruments of divine wrath or cosmic maintenance staff! How to portray angels in your game to make them interesting! And also, a little break to talk about the theology of guardian angels.

Mentioned in this episode: Exodus by Erika Shepherd and Party of One Podcast #168, "Exodus with Erika Shepherd"; Divinity by Erika Shepherd.

Scripture: Genesis 6:4, Numbers 13:33, Psalm 91:9-13, Matthew 2:13-15, Matthew 28:1-7, Colossians 2:18

It's time for our Patreon-selected topic for the quarter, and this one's so big it'll take up two episodes! Our topic this week is angels, and with so much material to work with we just had to break this topic up. This episode has relatively little pure gaming content, because we had to push all of that off until next week! First, though, we talk about recording another session with City on a Hill Gaming, and Peter's side quest episode, as well as a brief note about Grant's upcoming Vampire game.

Our Patreon question this week comes from Kenning, who asks, "What is your favorite movie to talk about? Not necessarily a good movie, but an interesting one to talk about?"

After quite a lot of Scripture to read—turns out there's plenty of verses about angels!—we tackle our main topic: Angels and angelology! What even are angels? What's their purpose? What do we know about them, and from what sources? How do they appear in popular culture? And why do we care about the opinions of Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite on the matter?

Mentioned in this episode: Gustav Davidson’s A Dictionary of Angels: Including the Fallen Angels, Gill's Exposition of the Bible, STG 110, "Spiritual Warfare (with Rev. Derek White)", Min/Max Podcast #83, "Devastation: By Kobold"

Scripture: Genesis 3:23-24, 2 Kings 6:17, Isaiah 6:1-4, Ezekiel 1:4-21, Daniel 10:5-14, Luke 2:8-14, Colossians 1:16

Well, it was inevitable, folks: When we committed to doing a series on The Ten Commandments, we knew we'd eventually have to talk about adultery. Fair warning: This episode does talk about sex. We're not explicit or anything, but keep that in mind! First, though, we've got a few other things to talk about—specifically, Grant's D&D game in Sharn (or the lack of it) and a new Vampire: The Masquerade 20th Anniversary Edition game he's running.

Our Patreon question this week comes from John & Ginny Swann, who ask about TORG, running a horror story within a larger campaign, and getting otherwise light-hearted players to switch emotional gears for a more serious arc.

After a lot of Scripture, we start talking about adultery and marriage. Why is "You shall not commit adultery" a commandment at all? What did adultery and marriage look like in Old Testament Israel? And how do we tell stories involving adultery without being crass (or worse?)

Also mentioned in this episode: Our Virtues & Vices series episodes on Lust and Chastity, respectively; Fear the Boot 178, "Running a horror game"; and Eureka: 501 Adventure Plots to Inspire Game Masters.

Scripture: Exodus 20:14, Leviticus 20:10, 2 Samuel 12:1-10, Matthew 5:27-30, Mark 2:23-27, John 8:3-11, 1 Corinthians 6:18-20

We're tackling a difficult and complex topic in this episode: How to roleplay characters with mental illnesses with sensitivity and grace. First, though, we've got a bit of other business to talk about, starting with our forthcoming appearances on City on a Hill Gaming (including Jenny's very cool special episode, Side Quest #4 - The Crimson In Your Veins.) Grant's also very happy to talk about his officially-started Eberron game, which went great! We also take a minute to remind everyone about our YouTube channel, which is finally updating with new episodes like this one and old episodes as we can.

Our Patreon question is from Raymond Dickson, who asks: How do you like to deal with a planned hiatus in a game (summer, scheduled surgery, travel, etc.)—not just going ahead with someone missing from the game, but putting the whole thing on hold for a bit? Unfortunately, our advice to Raymond is ... not optimistic. But we do our best!

After an enthusiastic Scripture reading, we get right into this one, starting off with a lot of caveats and notes. We then break this down into three general (and largely artificial) categories, talking about persistent and ongoing mental illnesses; temporary, acute insanities; and artificial "madnesses" brought on by the sort of external causes we encounter in genre fiction. We talk a lot about the use of these at the table, but also do our best—within our limited abilities as non-experts—to give what advice we can about helping others deal with these issues at the table and in life, too.

Mentioned in this episode: Our previous episodes on mental health with mental health experts; "spoon theory"; and Sea Lions.

Scripture: Isaiah 1:17; Matthew 25:41-43; James 5:14; 1 John 3:17-18

We've got an unusual bonus episode this time around—one that in many ways recalls our old New Years' resolutions episodes! We're implementing an objectives and key results system behind-the-scenes here at Saving the Game, in order to grow the podcast and make sure we're doing everything we can to improve the quality of our show. Since Grant's also implementing it at work, it seemed like a good topic of conversation all on its own—a system any organization (from enterprises to families) can use to set measurable objectives.

As such, we go over the basics of the OKR system, then follow it up with a description of the objectives we've set and the key results measuring our progress on those objectives—everything from increasing listenership to improving our YouTube channel. We also talk about our appearance on the forthcoming episodes of City on a Hill Gaming, and "Session Zero" of Grant's private-investigators-in-Sharn Eberron D&D game. We hope you find this edifying. We certainly did!

The book mentioned in the episode is John Doerr's Measure What Matters.

With Jenny traveling for the holidays, we're back to Grant and Peter on the mics for an episode! We cover our Christmas stories and Grant's Christmas stream of the Link to the Past Holiday Randomizer, and remind our listeners about the very exciting upcoming Actual Play series we're doing courtesy of City on a Hill Gaming.

Our Patreon question this week comes from Kevin VonFeldt, who asks us about the Kickstarters we wish we'd backed, but didn't. This is also a good excuse to prompt our ever-generous Patreon supporters to send in questions like these!

Our main topic this episode is how to hack published adventure material into your game. For what was supposed to be a quick-and-easy Christmas topic, we had a ton to say about this! We briefly cover the pros and cons of adventures themselves, then start tearing down pieces of modules to explain why you might want to borrow those pieces, and how to adjust them for your own game. From maps to encounters to entire plot lines, we tackle everything you can think of—and wrap up with an idea about running entire modules in your own campaign in ways that don't detract from your own homebrew settings.

Scripture: Proverbs 22:29, Colossians 3:23-24

Author and game designer Greg Stolze joins us once again, this time to talk about systematically creating good gaming sessions! We had Greg on once before, talking about personal horror and Unknown Armies on STG 83, and it's great to have him back to give some excellent game-mastering advice. Greg's also got a Kickstarter for Termination Shock just wrapping up, and will be Kickstarting a second edition of Grim War in early 2019, so definitely check those out!

We end up spending a lot of time answering our Patreon question from Tom Stephens this episode, since he asked about how much time we spend researching, recording, and editing for an average episode of Saving the Game. Greg recorded some podcast episodes to promote Termination Shock, and so he's got plenty to add to that discussion as well!

After our Scripture readings, we go deep into the hard, practical steps gamemasters can take to build individual sessions and plan their game arcs built into both Termination Shock and Grim War. These are two rather different methods, but both are aimed squarely at new GMs, and designed to teach GMs how to keep players engaged and tell good stories without years of literary theory classes! Both the "playbook" approach of Termination Shock and the "lit-crit" approach of Grim War are worth testing in your own games, so give them a try (and consider picking up these games for more details!)

Scripture: Leviticus 19:34, Proverbs 4:6-7, Proverbs 15:22, Luke 6:39-40

Jenny and Peter oversee the promotion of our ongoing series on gamifying Biblical figures with one of the most difficult yet: Samson! Though his story is found in the Book of Judges, Samson is a notorious and often actively awful outlier among Biblical figures. He's a drunken, womanizing barbarian who only occasionally interacts with God, and often seems more like Heracles or other mythic figures. What, then, can we learn from Samson and his story? And what can we take back to the gaming table?

Scripture: Judges 13:2-5, Judges 16:28-30

Yep, it's a bonus episode all right—sillier and far less structured! In this episode: The end of Grant's colony game; Peter's continuing game; Grant's upcoming Eberron game and #EberronFacts (and handing out setting crunch in small doses); how Jenny and Peter came up with their character concepts; and anxiety around new characters.

Our Ten Commandments series returns with a discussion of the Sixth Commandment: "You shall not murder." First, though, Jenny's got a lot of Overlight to talk about! We got to sit down and play it, and it was quite fun. Grant's also got an Eberron game in the works, and Peter's trying NaNoWriMo this month as well. We also address a question from Patreon supporter "gfactor", who asks "What tabletop RPGs would you recommend for playing with younger kids (elementary age) and how would you transition them to more complex games as they got older?" (Our answers: No Thank You, Evil!; Happy Birthday, Robot!; Do: Pilgrims of the Flying Temple; and Savage Worlds.) We've got something a bit unusual after our Scripture reading as well—a quick explanation of an Aramaic term, "Raca", that's untranslated in Matthew 5:22.

After all that, we have a heavy topic to address: Murder. Why 'murder' and not 'kill' in most translations? What's the difference, and what causes it? How does Christ reframe this question in the Sermon on the Mount? And how do we square this against a hobby where violence, and often outright murder, is found in many of the games we play?

Scripture: Exodus 20:13, Leviticus 19:18, Matthew 5:21-26, Romans 13:9

It's a special Halloween episode, this time on undeath! Well, okay, it's at least a Halloween episode, and that counts for something. We start things off with a quick update on our Twitch stream schedule (Peter's streaming Pathfinder: Kingmaker on Wednesdays for a while, leaving Jenny and Grant to stream on Fridays.) Jenny also has a special thank-you for Renegade Studios for being helpful in getting her copy of Overlight shipped correctly; and Grant plugs for his friend Patrick's appearance on The Gauntlet Podcast, which is really a well-deserved plug for the entire Gauntlet community as a haven of indie gaming and game design. We also handle a question from Patreon supporter Zach over at Back Burner Games, who asks us what roleplaying game we'd make if we had absolutely no obstacles.

Then, after our very apt Scripture readings, we start talking about undeath! We obviously can't cover the entirety of the topic in half an hour, but we do talk about what 'undeath' means, and briefly touch on some sample historical and cultural beliefs about the undead. We also discuss what Scripture has to say about the undead; why the undead in their various incarnations are scary; and how to use the undead in interesting ways as both a player and as a gamemaster. Enjoy!

Scripture: 1 Samuel 28:13-17, 1 Chronicles 10:13-14, Matthew 14:25-28, Luke 24:36-39

Krissi Woodward joins us again this episode to help Grant and Jenny speak a little less, since they're both pretty sick in this episode, and to talk about character backstories with everyone! Krissi's been on a few previous episodes can be found on Twitter as @d20mom.

We catch up a bit and talk about our upcoming streaming schedule over on Twitch, and then answer a question about fictional characters we'd want to GM for from Patreon supporter Richard Lorenz. Then after our Scripture readings, we dive into character backstories: What makes a good background, common pitfalls, some general advice, and the methods we each use for coming up with backstories for our characters.

Scripture: Genesis 37: 19-26, Isaiah 43: 18-19, Acts 9:1-6, 2 Corinthians 5:16-17

Jenny's off exploring France this week, so Peter and Grant sat down together for another bonus episode in our Biblical Figures series! This time, we're talking about Matthew—apostle, Gospel author, and reformed tax collector. We provide some Fun Facts about Matthew Levi before Grant gives an overview of the peculiar system of Roman taxation. Then we talk about Matthew's major appearance in Scripture, as well as his role as one of the four traditional authors of the Gospels and the different martyrdoms traditionally ascribed to Matthew. Finally, we wrap up by exploring ways to use elements of Matthew's story in our own games. Enjoy!

Mentioned in this episode: Alfred Edersheim's Sketches of Jewish Social Life and Fausset's Bible Dictionary.

Scripture: Matthew 9:9-13, Luke 18:9-14, Luke 19:1-10, Revelation 4:5-8

After more than a year, we're finally back to our series on the Ten Commandments! We're picking up where we left off with the Fifth Commandment, which tells us to "honor thy father and mother"—and a good bit more. We've also got a question from Patreon backer Kevin VonFeldt, who asks us about our favorite Kickstarters we've backed. We've also got some news about a growing gaming group and Jenny's new cat!

After our Scripture readings, we talk in-depth about the Fifth Commandment: Its text, its meanings (both in Scripture and in cultural usage), and its implications. We also spend some time on the questions which naturally arise when it's very hard to honor one or both parents. Then we talk about some common story and gaming uses of this topic, and how to put this commandment into practice in the world. Finally, we wrap up with a few special shout-outs to our podcasting and geeky-faith elders whom we've learned from: Folks like Derek White, M.J. Young of the Christian Gamers Guild, Dan Repperger, Chad Wattler, and more.

Scripture: Deuteronomy 6:16, Proverbs 6:20-22, 1 Timothy 5:1-4

Zach Lorton of Back Burner Games joins us this episode to talk about playing music at the gaming table! Zach's a DJ, game designer, and friend of the show, so he's basically the perfect person to talk to about playing music and sound effects as part of the tabletop gaming experience. He's also got a lot to say, as you'll hear in this episode! Before that, though, we let Zach talk about Back Burner Games (Patreon, Instagram, Facebook) and very briefly talk about what we're playing and what's going on behind the scenes at STG.

After that, pastor and Patreon supporter Douglas Underhill gives us a somewhat controversial question to tackle, asking what our second choice of religion or life philosophy would be if somehow Christianity were off the table. Then we're into our Scripture readings for this episode and diving right into the main topic! We cover Jenny's musical talents and everyone else's lack thereof; background music; sound effects and ambient music; foreground music (including a story Grant's been wanting to tell for ages); how to use all of these at the table; and where to get music or sound effects.

Mentioned in this episode: Ribbon Drive RPG; the Pieces board game café in St. Louis, MO; myNoise; Tabletop Audio; MeloDice; and OverClocked ReMix.

Scripture: 1 Samuel 16:17-23. Psalm 96:1-2, Proverbs 25:20, 1 Corinthians 14:15-19

Gaming podcaster extraordinaire Kris Newton returns to discuss handling destiny in our games! Kris hosts two of our favorite podcasts: The Gameable Saturday Morning Podcast (neé Gameable Disney and Gameable Pixar) and the much-more-NSFW MegaDumbCast. He's been on several times before, just as we've all been on various episodes of Gameable, and we're delighted to have him back again. After catching up for a bit and hearing what Kris has been playing lately, we answer a spot-on Patreon question from Shawn Stauffer, who asks us to put together an adventuring party consisting entirely of Disney characters.

That done, and our Scripture for this episode read, we go deep into the idea of "destiny" in traditional storytelling and in tabletop gaming. What are some different approaches for including it in our games? How can we maintain player autonomy and input while getting full value from this powerful and familiar story element? What purpose does a destiny serve in our stories or as a metagame tool? And how do we mechanically define a destiny, if we do so at all?

Also mentioned in this episode: Steve Jackson Games's In Nomine RPG; the Machine of Death anthology; the Protean City Comics podcast; and Magpie Games's Masks RPG.

Scripture: Deuteronomy 31:19-22, Isaiah 46:10, Jeremiah 1:4-5, 1 Corinthians 2:9-10

Continuing our previous episode, Allen Mowers, Ashley Mowers, and Kyle Stainbrook from the Min/Max Podcast join us to finish our discussion on moral accountability for our in-character choices. Just how much accountability do we have for the things our characters do in our games? How do we handle bleed, and how do we handle it when our own characters engage matters we aren’t fully comfortable with?

If you missed Part One of this conversation, you can find it here. Enjoy!

Relevant links: STG 111, “Larp and the Psychology of Play (with Dr. Sarah Lynne-Bowman)”; Dr. Sarah Lynne-Bowman’s articles on bleed and playing nasty characters; and STG 17, “Lines and Veils”.

Scripture: Psalm 7:14-16, Matthew 5:21, Matthew 13:13, Mark 7:14-23

We reach maximum hosting with not one, not two, but three guests this week! Allen Mowers, Ashley Mowers, and Kyle Stainbrook from the much-loved Min/Max Podcast join us to discuss moral accountability for our in-character choices. After we manage to get through an introduction, we all briefly talk about what we've been playing. Grant plugs our new "oh my gosh what if story" t-shirt, Peter and Jenny plug appearances on City on a Hill Gaming and Bard and Bible, and then we all answer a question from Patreon supporter Richard Lorenz about which fictional character we'd each want to run a game for us.

After reading Scripture, we then dive into this complex issue together: Just how much accountability do we have for the things our characters do in our games? How do we handle bleed, and how do we handle it when our own characters engage matters we aren't fully comfortable with?

We'll wrap up this conversation in Part Two next time, so stay tuned!

Relevant links: STG 111, "Larp and the Psychology of Play (with Dr. Sarah Lynne-Bowman)"; Dr. Sarah Lynne-Bowman's articles on bleed and playing nasty characters; and STG 17, "Lines and Veils".

Scripture: Psalm 7:14-16, Matthew 5:21, Matthew 13:13, Mark 7:14-23

We're back with another con report! Jenny, Peter, and friend of the show Tyler "Churcher" Denningjoin us to recap Fear the Con 2018, held June 22-23 in Brentwood, MO.

Game rundown:

Slot 1 (Jenny as GM; Peter; Tyler) - "SIGN: A GAME ABOUT BEING UNDERSTOOD"
Slot 2 (Jenny) - "THE HORRIBLE THINGS THAT HAPPEN TO CHILDREN: MY COUSIN'S WEDDING"
Slot 2 (Peter; Tyler) - "DUSK CITY OUTLAWS"
Slot 3 (Peter) - "BEYOND THE MOUNTAIN WALL: BEYOND THE WALL SYSTEM"
Slot 3 (Tyler as GM; Jenny) - "CHURCHERS KICKSTARTER TRAVELLER GAME!" (The Twitch VOD can be found here. Note that it is very NSFW!)
Slot 4 (Tyler) - "[FATE] CAMELOT TRIGGER"
Slot 5 (Tyler; Jenny) - "THE SMALL TOWN OF CATTLE SKULL"
Slot 5 (Peter) - "LEVERAGE"
Slot 6 (Jenny as GM; Peter; Tyler) - "THE DECK OF MANY THINGS"

It's a perfectly normal episode, without guests or con recaps or anything - what even is this? It's an episode about getting your feet wet as a GM, that's what! After our usual banter, including Jenny's sudden appearance in Grant's D&D game, we answer a question from Patreon supporter Shawn, who asks us about our perfect gaming room. Then we get into our main topic with a variety of suggestions for people considering running their own game for the first time.

Some resources for new GMs: Peter's "I Want To GM" blog post; Gnome Stew; Dan Carlin's Hardcore History podcast; Robin D. Laws's Robin's Laws of Good Gamemastering; Odyssey: The Complete Game Master's Guide to Campaign Management by Phil Vecchione and Walt Ciechanowski; and Matthew Colville's Running the Game series on YouTube.

Scripture: Psalm 37:30, Matthew 23:11, James 1:12

It's time for another bonus episode, `cause we've got a convention to recap and gaming news to catch up on! Jenny went to Ottowa Comic Con 2018 this May, and she's got a lot of stories to tell! Aside from various panels and general geekery, she particularly liked Meeples To Go, Cardamajig's The Deck of Many (with art by Jordan Richer), Roe's Art, and Richard Dufault's collected cosplay photos at the con this year. And of course, everyone should check out Jenny's own cosplay pictures on her Twitter!

After the con recap, Grant plugs his wife Krissi and her appearances on the Gameable Saturday Morning Podcast to talk about Jem and the Holograms (Episode 45 for introduction and plot recaps, and Episode 46 for plot, setting, and character breakdowns.) He also discusses his 200 Word RPG Challenge entry (which can be read here.) Then we break down into catching up on important plot events and gaming lessons from our own games, as we try to tackle a bunch of little talking points we couldn't get to while we had guests on over the past few episodes. Enjoy!

As foretold, once every thirty-three episodes Mike Perna of Innroads Ministries, Game Store Prophets, and Bard and Bible joins us—this time, to talk about board games! Mike takes a moment to plug TavernCon 2018 (June 9th in Warren, NJ.) We also give a bit of a shout-out (belated by the time this episode drops) to the Min/Max Podcast for hitting the one-year mark. Then we take on a question from Patreon backer "Retro Rewind Podcast" (another good podcast you should check out) about our favorite foods and the trouble we'd go to in order to eat them.

Once all that's done, we read our Scripture and start talking about board games. We focus specifically on board games close to our roleplaying focus—games with heavy story elements, or games in which there's a procedurally-generated story to enjoy—but we do roam around a bit and talk about a lot of games, so make sure to check the links below if you're interested in any of those!

Board games mentioned in this episode: Overlight, Gloomhaven, Once Upon A Time (3rd Edition), T.I.M.E. Stories, Alien Artifact, Twilight Imperium, Through The Ages, Barker's Row, Meeple Circus, Fog of Love, ...and then we held hands, Star Crossed, The Grizzled, Freedom: The Underground Railroad, Arranged!, This War of Mine, Tales of the Arabian Nights, Above and Below, Near and Far, The Quiet Year, Legend of the Five Rings: The Card Game, Android: Netrunner, Ashes: Rise of the Phoenixborn. (Phew!)

Scripture: Proverbs 11:1-3, Philippians 2:3-4, 1 Corinthians 9:24-27

This week, we've got not one, but two special guests on the mics with us! Daniel Silver and Father David Subu join us to introduce us to Doxacon Prime 2018! Doxacon is a convention about Christian genre fiction and fandom, and it's happening November 2-3, 2018, in Washington, DC. (For more information, check out the Doxacon Prime Facebook group, and follow @DoxaconPrime and @Doxacast on Twitter.) You can also hear some recordings from Doxacon and other interviews over at Ancient Faith Radio.

Daniel and Father David have a lot more to talk about than just their awesome convention, though. First, we all chime in to respond to Patreon backer Nathanael Farley, who asks "What is your favorite (possibly indie) RPG that you think needs more love in the wider world?" (Our picks: Swords Without Master, The Trouble With Rose, Anima Prime, Dialect, and ... 1st Ed. D&D. Seriously.) Then, after our Scripture readings (including our first Deuterocanonical reading from Wisdom of Sirach) our guests talk about the need for Doxacon, and how in many ways modern Christian genre fiction and fandoms are still affected by the "Satanic Panic" of the late 20th century.

Scripture: Deuteronomy 31:19-22; Proverbs 17:17; Wisdom of Sirach 4:20-25; Psalm 18; Hebrews 10:24-25

Author, actor, programmer, and preacher Stephen Weese joins us for a fascinating discussion on subculture ministry! Stephen's book God Loves the Freaks: A Guide to Subculture Ministry was one of the books we read as background material for Saving the Game when we were just starting the podcast, and it was great to finally have him on our show. We covered a lot of ground in this episode, so buckle up!

Our Patreon question this week is from Nathanael Farley, who asks "Which game system do you dislike the most, and what do you LIKE about it?"

Other things mentioned in this episode: The Grave Robbers; The Exodus Adventure Game; Fear the Con 11; City on a Hill Gaming; Sister Agony's Academy.

Scripture: 1 Samuel 16:4-7, Mark 16:15, John 13:35, Galatians 3:28

Gamer and pastor Tim Decker of Christ Community Etc in Owosso, MI joins us to talk about playing support characters in our roleplaying games, in response to the eternal complaints of players who don't want to play the cleric! We also discuss how to end a game that's stopped being fun without any hard feelings, as Grant's Fellowship group did, and the conclusion of Jenny's "moidah mystery" prequel to Keep on the Borderlands. We also spend quite a lot of time answering Patreon backer "ComposerDad", who asks whether gaming groups share the same unifying, cross-subcultural nature of churches. Once that's done, we dive deep into ways to make those "boring" support characters into something more interesting than a healbot. Enjoy!

Also mentioned in this episode: STG 95, "Hospitality".

Scripture: Exodus 17:8-13, Hebrews 13:15-16, Luke 10:36-37

We're back with a surprisingly focused episode on sainthood thanks to Jenny's hard work and research! We've only a little bit of off-topic material to discuss: A quick word about the list of questions our Patrons send in, and a brief diversion to discuss Nintendo's Koi Koi game played with hanafuda cards. We also answer Patreon supporter Tom Stephens's question about the one place in the world we'd go, if we could go anywhere at all.

After that's done, it's time for a deep dive into sainthood. After all, we'd eventually like to do a full series on individual saints and important Church figures; but we figured we'd need a primer on sainthood first, and Jenny definitely provided! Her research covers what a 'saint' is, how one becomes a canonized saint in the Roman Catholic church, and much more. We also discuss the use of saints as a concept for games and worldbuilding.

Resources: The Anglican Communion's Lambeth Conference documents; other Anglican liturgical texts; and STG 107, "Relics and Holy Items". Plus, the Friends at the Table podcast Jenny mentioned!

Scripture: Psalm 16:1-3, Romans 8:26-30, Revelation 5:6-8 (all NASB this time)

Due to illness, it's another short bonus episode this week; but Jenny and Peter are talking about Gideon, so it can't be all bad! Gideon's a fascinating figure from Judges 6-8, who (like so many others in Scripture) serves the Lord faithfully while remaining familiarly human. His story and character contain some very gameable elements, and we cover those here. Enjoy!

Scripture: Judges 6:11-16, Judges 8:22-25

We're back with a discussion of Christian allegory and allusion! This episode, we're mostly focusing on how this applies to settings, and especially Peter's ongoing series of setting design blog posts, since the setting he's creating is designed with allegory in mind.

First, though, we catch up a bit and talk about the games we've played! Jenny's a fan of The Grimm Forest, and talks it up quite nicely. Grant, meanwhile, has a lengthy story to tell about his five-year-old daughter, the card game she designed, and the No Thank You, Evil! "game" she ran for him.

We also answer a question from Patreon supporter "Mister X", who asks: "What do you think about bennies? A great way to help balance those days with bad luck? A new outlet for powergamers to screw with the game? Another mechanic to clutter games with mechanic-creep?" (As promised, we suggest anyone interested in checking dice math try anydice.com, which is a bit opaque but very powerful.)

Scripture: Isaiah 53:6-7, Matthew 26:26-29, John 1:29-34

This episode, we manage the unthinkable and actually get our quarterly Patreon-selected topic in before the last possible episode! It's a whole new world, folks. We open up the show by talking a little bit about our assorted podcats, the 200 Word RPG Challenge, Pilates, and a couple of other minor things. Then we move on to a pretty heavy question from Patreon backer Paige: How to memorialize a player in your gaming group after they pass. (We also recommend Fear the Boot's recent bonus episode on this same question.)

After our Scripture readings, we delve into an equally dense topic: Resurrection in our games. Naturally, we start by contrasting the forms of resurrection 'magic' (or technology or what have you) we see in our games with the resurrection of Christ and the promise of resurrection offered through Him. (This leads to an interesting digression about confessions and creeds, and we're not at all sorry about it.) Then we throw out all sorts of possible complications with resurrection magic, and find hooks in them to hang stories and games on. Enjoy!

Scripture: Isaiah 26:19, John 11:38-44, 1 Corinthians 15:35-44

This week, we're talking about positive metagaming! First, we catch up a bit and recap what games we've played recently (including Peter's terrifying encounter with a flock of seagulls and Jenny's Beyond the Wall game.) Then, Grant goes on for a while about the Link to the Past Randomizer race at AGDQ 2018 (seriously, it's fascinating.) We also answer a simple question from Patreon supporter Francisco, who asks if we prefer roller coasters or 4D immersive movie rides.

Then, after our Scripture reading, we delve into various ways players should be metagaming at their table. (No, seriously, ignore or correct Wikipedia's outdated opinion on this.) We cover everything from facilitating productive play, to buy-in, to content management, and much more. Enjoy, share, and as always, comment below!

Scripture: 2 Kings 6:15-17, Proverbs 25:25-27, Acts 23:6-10

We're back with a follow-up to our previous episode on mass combat! This time around, we're talking about actually roleplaying in a mass combat scenario, and treating war and conflict as a setting for more traditional roleplaying. First, though, we plug Peter's blog posts, and especially his heavy metal D&D setting design series and his most recent post on Horvu. (Happy Horvu, everyone!) We then tackle a question from Patreon supporter Richard, who asks us about Bible stories as one-shot games.

After our Scripture reading, and making fun of Grant's inability to upload the correct file for STG 123, we dive right into mass combat as a roleplaying setting and opportunity. We make sure to include plenty of examples, and touch on a few common pitfalls as well. Enjoy!

Scripture: Judges 12:4-6, Jeremiah 51:27-29, 2 Timothy 2:3-7

(Fixed audio.) This episode's conversation about mass combat—a topic selected by our Patreon supporters—turned out to be so big, we're following this one up with another episode on a related topic next time! Before that, though, we've got a lot of other things to discuss: The holidays, and especially all the games we played and picked up over the Christmas break. We talk a bit more about our Patreon and the need to change things somewhat as we move forward into 2018 (leave your comments on that below.) We also send our congratulations and prayers to Mike Perna and his family as they welcome their son into the world; and we send our condolences to the family and friends of Pat Roper, longtime Fear the Boot host, who passed away just after Christmas.

Our Patreon question this week comes from Paige, who asks "Is there a game/campaign/thing you wish you could run, but you don't feel skilled enough to do it?" The answer: Oh my yes. All that having finally been taken care of, we do eventually get to our main topic: Making interesting mass combat scenarios as part of your ongoing roleplaying game campaign.

Scripture: Exodus 17:8-13, Joshua 6:1-5, Ephesians 6:10-17

It's an emergency bonus episode due to illness and holiday stress, but an interesting topic: Joseph as a gameable figure! (Listen to find out which Joseph, naturally.)

As promised in Episode 120, we’re tackling “battered group syndrome” in this episode and the next! Yes, it’s a two-parter, because we had so much to say on this topic we couldn’t keep the conversation short enough for a single episode. We lead off with two quick plugs: One for Grant’s appearance on the Gameable Saturday Morning Podcast to talk about Exo Squad (Part 1, Part 2, and the horror of a Gameable AU involving Palladium’s Ninjas & Superspies); and one for Min/Max Podcast, another excellent show by Christians about gaming and theology. We then quickly answer a question from Patreon backer Kevin about our favorite polyhedral dice (results: 2d12+1d8, mean: 17.5.) After our Scripture readings, it’s time to tackle this topic head-on!

In this second half, we wrap up our discussion of how to handle damaged gaming groups, such as giving players agency over negative consequences to their characters or going to conventions (hereafter forever known as "gaming speed dating sessions") to learn from other GMs. We also have more Funcilitator jokes, so—enjoy!

Full credit to Fear the Boot for, we believe, coining the phrase “battered group syndrome” and discussing this themselves in FTB 440.

Scripture: Psalm 51:10-13, Proverbs 25:18-20, Romans 12:17-21

As promised in Episode 120, we're tackling "battered group syndrome" in this episode and the next! Yes, it's a two-parter, because we had so much to say on this topic we couldn't keep the conversation short enough for a single episode. We lead off with two quick plugs: One for Grant's appearance on the Gameable Saturday Morning Podcast to talk about Exo Squad (Part 1, Part 2, and the horror of a Gameable AU involving Palladium's Ninjas & Superspies); and one for Min/Max Podcast, another excellent show by Christians about gaming and theology. We then quickly answer a question from Patreon backer Kevin about our favorite polyhedral dice (results: 2d12+1d8, mean: 17.5.) After our Scripture readings, it's time to tackle this topic head-on!

In this first half, we cover the symptoms of "battered group syndrome" (especially avoidance behaviors) and a few suggestions to help treat it, such as changing GMs or systems for a bit, granting players as much narrative control as possible, take-backs, and failures. Jenny also introduces us to the Funcilitator, which sounds ... ominous. Enjoy!

Full credit to Fear the Boot for, we believe, coining the phrase "battered group syndrome" and discussing this themselves in FTB 440.>/p>

Scripture: Psalm 51:10-13, Proverbs 25:18-20, Romans 12:17-21

We're back with our angriest, most rant-filled episode yet! Well, not really—but there's a lot of passion in this episode, because we're talking about GMing traditions the gaming community still seems to support despite being destructive, uncomfortable, and simply wrong. First, though, we've got a question from Patreon backer Paige Lowe about how blatantly one should steal from other media when planning a game. After that, we tackle our Scripture as usual before diving into six common behaviors we still see: Adversarial GMing; monopolizing narrative control; turning exceptional successes into failures; misunderstanding metagaming; harming characters to punish players; and creating in-game penalties for missed gaming sessions.

Also: Grant was recently on the Gameable Saturday Morning Podcast (who are of course long-time friends of ours) to analyze an amazing and difficult cartoon from his childhood—Exo Squad. It's very long, because that's what happens when our podcasts combine! Here's Part 1, an introduction to the show and a breakdown of episodes and characters; and here's Part 2, an analysis of thematic elements and considerations for gaming in this setting. Enjoy!

Scripture: Leviticus 19:14-15, Ephesians 4:22-25, 2 Timothy 2:22-26

Jenny and her mother Shannon (of STG 10 fame!) deliver an after-action report on Save Against Fear 2017, held Oct. 13-15 in Harrisburg, PA! Everyone had a great time, and the con was exceptionally well-run and definitely worth attending next year.

Some specific shoutouts: First, to our former co-host Branden, who was in attendance and ran a fantastic Mistborn game! Also to the Harrisburg Mall for providing an excellent con space; Harrisburg University's game design program; and of course to The Bodhana Group for putting on a great con and continuing to be wonderful people doing good for hurting people.

Games mentioned in this episode: Dreamchaser by Imagining Games; We Didn't Playtest This At All by Asmadi Games; Starfall by Pandasaurus Games; Spirit Island by Greater Than Games; Clank by Renegade Game Studios; Smallworld by Days of Wonder; Castle Dice and Epic PvP by Fun To 11; Cthulhu Invictus by Chaosium; Mistborn by Crafty Games; Kingmaker by Avalon Hill; Mysterium by Asmodee; and "Into the Dragon's Maw" by Dragonix.

Peter and Jenny have two special guests this week: Jacob Toman and Michael Mendis from Gospel & Gaming! Gospel & Gaming is, in their own words, "a ministry dedicated to sharing the love and Gospel of Jesus Christ with gamers all over the world." Jacob and Michael did a great job representing them, explaining their mission in online gaming communities and tabletop gaming communities alike.

We also addressed a question from Patreon backer Jim Nanban, who asked us about the coolest piece of RPG paraphernalia we each own. (As promised, there's a picture of Peter's dice bag right here in the show notes.) We also briefly plug our Discord channel, which is continuing to grow as a community. Then everyone settles in to talk about evangelism and how Gospel & Gaming approaches it—even to the point where Michael and Jacob turn the interview around and start asking the hosts questions!

A couple of quick notes about this episode: First, Grant was very sick and missed out on a pair of awesome guests. (He's better now.) Second, Peter's audio sounds very bad this episode; there was a hardware problem writing his track to disk that wasn't apparent during the discussion. And third, as hard as Grant tried we simply could not edit Blarey the Podcast Train out of this episode. That means that this is Blarey's first official podcast appearance. Enjoy!

Also mentioned in this episode were three books Jacob highly recommended as primers for Gospel & Gaming's mission: Michael Green's Evangelism in the Early Church; Jerram Barr's The Heart of Evangelism; and Jane McGonigal's Reality is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World.

Scripture: Psalm 105:1-4, Matthew 13:10-13, Romans 10:11-15

We're back with an episode topic selected by our Patreon supporters: That old adage, "the ends justify the means"—in other words, consequentialism! First, a few announcements: Grant now regularly streams the editing process for these episodes over on Mixer, so come hang out if you want to chat with him while he does that. Also, to help wrap up our "summer of mental health" focus, Jenny and Grant have pulled together a few mental health resources; we've got those listed below.

Our Patreon backer question this week is from Doug Hagler, who asks us about using a board game to introduce or set the scene for a tabletop roleplaying game. We struggle a bit with this one, admittedly, but we do manage to come up with a couple of ideas!

Then we settle into the main topic: Consequentialism, a philosophy we all know from that "the ends justify the means" adage. We describe it and address its shortcomings, then move on to how to use this idea in our games without ending up with unbearable characters! We also plug The Sci-Fi Christian along the way, which you should definitely be listening to as well.

Mental health resources:

USA: The Suicide Prevention Lifeline; Our Fractured Minds (podcast); GoodTherapy.org
Canada: Canada's Suicide Prevention Crisis Site; Healthy Minds Canada's mental health resources page.

Scripture: Joshua 1:7-9, John 11:47-50, 1 Corinthians 13:1-3

Booter, con organizer, and friend Adam Gottfried joins us to talk about planning Fear the Con and other conventions! First, Adam has an announcement (the first piece of news ever broken on Saving the Game!)—Fear the Con 11 will be June 22-23, 2018. Also, there will be a Kickstarter for the con at some point, although those dates aren't exactly set in stone yet. (For more Fear the Con, see Episode 61 with Derek Knutsen and a host of others.)

Having made that announcement, we tackle Patreon backer Jim's question about obscure media we'd want to turn into a RPG. We also discuss an impending visit from the Bishop of Jerusalem, which naturally leads into a discussion of Jerusalem Syndrome. Jenny also plugs Scott Westerfeld's "Leviathan" series, and especially its map.

All that done, we move on to our Scripture for the episode, and the episode's main topic: Planning and running a convention like Fear the Con. Most of this discussion is very much focused on Fear the Con, for obvious reasons; but we do manage to address the main things you need to think of when running a con, and how to handle problems as they arise!

Also:follow him on Mixer Grant's started to livestream the audio editing process! If you want to hear the raw episode, and chat with Grant while he edits, keep an eye on our social media feeds (especially Twitter) for announcements of streaming times. You can also and get notifications there!

Scripture: Proverbs 11:5-6, Hebrews 10:24-25, Romans 12:10-16

We're delighted to welcome Jack Berkenstock Jr. of The Bodhana Group back onto the mics this week! Jack previously joined us on STG 25, when he introduced us to the idea of roleplaying games as an adjunct therapeutic tool for children who were victims and perpetrators of sexual abuse, among others. This time, he's here to talk more about RPGs in treatment for social skills, grief, loss, and more. After catching up with our old friend a bit, we let him plug Save Against Fear 2017 (Oct. 13-15 in Harrisburg, PA)—which we can confirm Jenny will attend this year, so catch up with her there too if you see her! We also plug the /r/ChristianDnD subreddit, especially for anyone looking to find other folks to game online with.

That done, we chat briefly about the 2017 total solar eclipse and answer (another) question from Patreon backer Fernando about Saturday morning cartoons we'd want to turn into games. Naturally, this gave us a chance to plug our podcasting friends over at the Gameable Saturday Morning Podcast, and Peter's episodes on Batman: The Animated Series there. Our other choices: E.X.O. Squad, Reboot, Star Blazers, and Toad Patrol! (And yes, please nominate your own cartoons to game in the comments.)

Finally, we settle in and let Jack talk about his introduction to gaming, how he found out he wanted to do therapy for kids who were hurting badly, and how he figured out that those two loves might work together. In particular, we discuss methodologies, what kind of metrics work and don't work in these sorts of situations, Olivia's House, and how the therapeutic sessions Bodhana runs differ from your average tabletop game.

Games mentioned this episode: Unknown Armies; Cartoon Action Hour; Blades in the Dark; No Thank You, Evil!; Pugmire; Retrostar. Also mentioned: Face Value Comics; The Anglican Church's "Prayer for Reconciliation".

Scripture: Psalm 16:7-10, Psalm 91:2-6, John 8:2-11, Galatians 6:1-2

Adam Davis and Adam Johns from Wheelhouse Workshop join us to discuss how and why they use Dungeons & Dragons in social skills therapy! Their Seattle-based organization has been doing this for a couple of years now, and they've got a lot to say. (We've also worked with Adam and Adam previously on some Game to Grow content.) We also tackle a question from Patreon supporter Francisco (of the Retro Rewind Podcast) about replacing our favorite RPGs with board games in a pinch, and Grant briefly describes his trip to Electric City Comic-Con 2017 and his terrible-but-awesome decision to help his daughter get into the Pokémon TCG.

Adam and Adam then discuss Wheelhouse Workshop's work: Why RPGs in general, and D&D in particular, are useful therapeutic tools; how a game session in their offices differs from your usual tabletop session; their house rules for their games; some success stories and interesting moments; and much more. Also, we mention in passing Monte Cook Games' The Strange and Microscope, both of which are excellent games.

For more information about Wheelhouse Workshop, visit their website or find them on Twitter and Facebook.

Scripture: Numbers 23:8, Mark 2:15-17, 1 Peter 5:6-10

We're joined this week by Matthew Surber, who's both the Program Director at the West River Center in Maryland and a game designer affiliated with Defy Danger Adventures. We actually found Matthew through the most unlikely of sources (Reddit comments, of all things) but he turned out to be a fantastic guest! After addressing Patreon backer Tom's question about broad and narrow skills in roleplaying games, and a quick diversion from Jenny about the dangers of Canada's nuclear wildlife, we buckled down with Matthew to discuss applying counseling principles to games. Matthew's got a Master's degree in counseling and a Dungeon World game he runs for his other camp counselors; naturally, he had a lot of excellent advice to give about trust, bonds, empathy, and saying 'yes' as a GM and player.

Games mentioned this episode: Dungeon World; Beyond The Wall; Pugmire; Honey Heist; The Skeletons; Ten Candles.

Other things mentioned this episode: MegaDumbCast (MDC); Defy Danger Adventures; STG 25 with Jack Berkenstock; The Bodhana Group; Wheelhouse Workshop; and that rad Honey Heist t-shirt.

Matthew can be found on Twitter at @TheRealSurberus.

Scripture: Jonah 2:2, Psalm 119:76, Mark 2:15-17

Our Ten Commandments series returns with the Fourth Commandment: "Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy." Before we get to that, however, we have a bit of business to go over and a bit of catching up to do. We spend a little time discussing our Patreon support, since we haven't updated listeners on that in a while. Grant's learning Korean, and blogged about that a bit; and Jenny needs to issue a correction regarding the Battletech game she described in the previous episode. After all that's out of the way, though, we tackle a big question from Patreon supporter Richard, who asks us about our favorite RPG characters.

All that taken care of, we dive headfirst into the Fourth Commandment. Why is this in the list of God's commandments? What does "keep the Sabbath" actually mean, and for whom? And how does this idea of holy, restorative rest apply to our games and our lives?

Scripture: Exodus 20:8-11, Nehemiah 13:15-22, Mark 2:23-27, Acts 1:10-12

It's a special bonus episode this week, as Jenny and Peter recap their Fear the Con experiences! Peter also recently wrote about his very emotional slot 6 game, and if you haven't read that yet, you really should. Special thanks to everyone involved in planning and producing Fear the Con; everyone we gamed with; and everyone who helped with the charity drive for Pat this year!

Also, our apologies for any audio issues in this episode; this was recorded on a single microphone designed for one person, so there was a lot of handing the mic back and forth. (On the other hand, this was recorded on Jenny's new audio equipment, so look forward to a better sound from her on future episodes!)

Grant, Peter, and Jenny discuss playing characters who are much better—or much worse—at things than you yourself are! This topic was selected by our Patreon backers, whom we're very grateful for and who bring you this show every other week. First, though, we spend some time discussing Fear the Con X (which was last weekend, and which Peter and Jenny will run down next episode.) We also briefly discuss Overwatch and Dead Cells. We answer a question about wargaming from Patreon backer Kevin, and then get down to business—which includes a lengthy rant from Grant, and a surprising amount of bickering!

Mentioned in this episode: Dexter Manley; the Campaign podcast.

Scripture:Exodus 4:10, Isaiah 53:1-3, 1 Corinthians 9:22

Psychology researcher, professor, and LARPer Dr. Sarah Lynne Bowman joins us for a fascinating discussion of LARP and the psychology of play and roleplaying! Sarah had an enormous amount of information to pass along to us about different styles of live-action roleplay, terminology and concepts in LARP and in the psychology of play, the seeming dichotomy between tabletop and live-action play, and so much more. It's a bit less organized than many of our episodes, simply because we let Sarah take charge of much of the conversation, but we definitely think it turned out better for that! (And check below for a long list of links Sarah provided for us.)

We also answer a question from Patreon supporter Paige, who wanted to know how much time we spend each week on tabletop gaming; briefly discuss Overwatch; and mention Bottlequest, a Golden Cobra two-page LARP game we used in our recent Fellowship game as a one-shot bottle episode mechanic. Plus, a bit more information about fake beards and Fear the Con X!

For more information about Sarah, check out her website and her book, The Function of Role-Playing Games: How Participants Create Community, Solve Problems, and Explore Identity. You can also check out the Game to Grow episode we hosted, where Sarah was a guest; she's been on and hosted a few other episodes as well.

Things mentioned in this episode, or passed on after recording by Sarah:

Living Games Conference
Nordic Conference (Knutepunkt)
The Hirelings, a one-shot LARP
Larps From The Factory
"Papers" (a Nordic LARP)
"Immersion into LARP: Theories of Embodied Narrative Experience" - an article by Dr. Bowman
Shut Up & Sit Down's painfully intense review of Dog Eat Dog
Dystopia Rising (LARP community)
LARPs: Legion: Siberian Story. Conscience; Magischola; Enlightenment in Blood (Vampire); End of the Line; Just a Little Lovin'; Kapo;
TED Talk: The Power of Vulnerability
The Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA)

Special thanks to Peter for editing this one while Grant was on vacation—especially given how long the episode went!

Scripture: 1 Samuel 16:7, Proverbs 16:3, Luke 12:2

The Rev. Derek White, longtime friend of the show and known to the Internet as "The Geekpreacher", joins us once again to discuss spiritual warfare! After introducing Derek (and letting him plug GaryCon), we turn our attention to some important information about fake beards and Fear the Con. Peter and Jenny will be wearing fake beards (ridiculous, nonsensical fake beards, to be clear) to Fear the Con in support of Pat Roper (one of Fear the Boot's hosts) and his ongoing treatment for Stage 3 pancreatic cancer. We also pass on the news of a listener's new game, the KARMA RPG System, funding on IndieGoGo.

With that taken care of, we address a question from Patreon supporter Francisco (of the Retro Rewind Podcast) about our favorite psalms, and any we might have memorized. (Turns out at least half of us really like Psalm 40, either live in concert or from the original album.) Then we settle in on our main topic: Spiritual warfare, in its various forms and interpretations among Christian traditions as well as in our roleplaying games. Derek and Peter both draw heavily from the book Reviving Old Scratch: Demons and Devils for the Disenchanted by Richard Beck for this discussion; likewise, Grant pulls from the PCUSA's "What We Believe" series, specifically this article on the problem of evil.

Also mentioned in this episode: Gustav Davidson's A Dictionary of Angels: Including the Fallen Angels; Mayfair's Role Aids line of RPG supplements; and Daniel Solis's Do: Pilgrims of the Flying Temple.

Scripture:Genesis 3:13-15, 2 Kings 6:15-17, Luke 8:26-31, Ephesians 6:10-13.

We continue our discussion with Krissi Woodward about clothing and visual character descriptions! We pick back up with discussions of cultural and vocational costume, and move on to the effects of technology on what people wear and look like. We then spend a fair bit of time on modesty (and fair warning: While we don't get obscene, this section does get fairly frank about the human body, so if you're particularly sensitive keep that in mind.) Then after a few more notes (and mention of the Aghori, who are absolutely fascinating; Poche Posh and Soviet denim smugglers; and underground Korean tattoos), we quickly mention other aspects of appearance. We then spend some time on what clothing can and should mean for Christians, and how God sees past what we wear into our very hearts. Finally, we wrap up with some useful and recommended tools and means for getting artwork or minis done for your character!

Tools and sites mentioned: Heromachine; Hero Forge; DeviantArt; ArtStation; Emergency Commissions on Tumblr; and the /r/ArmoredWomen, /r/ReasonableFantasy, and /r/ImaginaryCharacters subreddits.

Scripture: Genesis 3:6-7, Exodus 28:15-21, Isaiah 53:2, James 2:1-4

Krissi Woodward—Grant's wife and costume designer—joins us once again to discuss visual character descriptions in our game, and especially clothing! We have a couple of announcements related to our Weekend Reading series and our Patreon question rewards. Then we tackle a question from Patreon backer gfactor, who asks about electronic apps or devices which might enhance the tabletop play experience.

With that handled, we begin breaking down the importance of describing character appearances in our games. Grant leads off with a potentially controversial statement about character portraits and minis, which leads us into why players are often hesitant to delve into this at all. Then we go deep into the rabbit hole with Krissi, talking about clothing (and other elements of our appearance) in a conversation that went so long, we had to split it into two parts!

Mentioned in this half of the episode: Inkarnate and Worldpainter.

Scripture: Genesis 3:6-7, Exodus 28:15-21, Isaiah 53:2, James 2:1-4

Grant, Peter, and Jenny return to discuss the Third Commandment! There's quite a lot of banter and catching up to do first, of course, and we banter about illness, the forthcoming Amonkhet set in Magic: The Gathering, Snafu Brewing and TRAPPIST-1, and more. We also have a doozy of a question from Patreon backer Richard, who asks us for our favorite stories from the table. Thankfully, we get to respond in kind! (This also gives us an excuse to mention Tooning Japanese in passing, by the way.)

Once we actually get on topic, we start our conversation about the Third Commandment with Scripture and the Roman Catholic catechism on this verse. We also discuss Jewish traditions involving the name of God (and the etymology of certain names.) After that analysis, we move on to using these and related concepts in our games: The power of names, taking oaths, and vulgarity. Finally, we wrap up with a very brief discussion of how to handle unnecessary and uncomfortable vulgarity at the table.

Also mentioned in this episode: Roger Zelazny's Jack of Shadows; and Thomas' comments on Episode 107 via Facebook.

Scripture: Exodus 20:7, Exodus 20:24, Matthew 5:33-37, James 5:12

This episode, we tackle a surprisingly complicated topic: Relics and holy items! Grant's out sick, what with his entire house having been struck by plagues of all sorts, so Jenny and Peter have the mics to themselves. For our Patreon question, they get handed a very tough question from Jared—"What was the most rewarding campaign you ever ran or played in?"—which takes a bit to answer. Then after our Scripture, it's on to our main topic. We discuss Catholic and Orthodox traditions around relics to lay some groundwork before moving on to talking about the use of relics in our own games: How they might work in certain sorts of settings; what to do with them; and what to do about fakes. Also, a helpful warning: Never go full Blackleaf.

Mentioned in this episode: Two Atlas Obscura articles, "Only the Vatican Has More Christian Relics Than Pittsburgh" and "The Practicalities of Transporting a 400-Year-Old Heart"; and The Fellowship of the Talisman by Clifford D. Simak.

Scripture: Exodus 25:10-11, 2 Kings 13:20-21, Matthew 27:35

After over two years as a two-person show, Saving the Game is proud to announce our new permanent host Jenny Dickson! This is her first episode, and she'll be joining us going forward.

The episode starts off with an introduction of Jenny and then moves into our Patreon question about hacks and drifts, and then the three of us dig into our main topic: limiting the evil of villains in games. We cover why to do it, how to do it, and what effects it has on the story you're telling.

Scripture: Exodus 5:6-8, Judges 3:13-14, Revelation 3:14-19

Links: High-Heel-Face Turn on tvtropes.org Star Wars in Traveller The Fugitive Episode 17: Lines and Veils

Grant and Peter are back to talk about exploration as a major feature in RPGs! First, a bit of sad news from Peter; then, we spend a bit of time talking about Grant's Fellowship game, and how strange the system feels to him. We also answer a fun question from Patreon backer Jim, who asks what little, almost insignificant feature factors into our decision-making when we buy cars.

After our Scripture readings, we delve deep into our main topic, discussing why exploration is fun and why it matters; what sorts of characters might be motivated to explore unknown territory; how to set up random or incidental encounters so that they don't feel artificial; a brief discussion of hex crawls; and sources of inspiration for wilderness and exploration encounters.

This episode topic was selected by our Patreon supporters, who bring you this show every two weeks and help us make the show better. If you'd like to help support us on Patreon, you can do so here. Thanks, folks—we really appreciate your support!

Mentioned in this episode: The /r/ImaginaryLandscapes subreddit; Ball's Pyramid; the SCP Foundation wiki; and Cordyceps fungi.

Scripture: Genesis 13:14-15, Mark 16:15

In this episode, Grant and Peter discuss naming characters and renaming characters! We kick things off with a conversation about the games Grant's playing right now—Pugmire, Fellowship, and No Thank You, Evil!—and attempt to answer a question from Patreon backer Rich about play-by-post gaming. Then after quite a lot of Scripture (and really, it's a small sampling of what could have been used for this particular topic) we start in on the difficult art of naming your character: Why it's so difficult, what goes into a character's name, and different ways to come up with the right name. Then, we discuss renaming characters—an underutilized dramatic tool for both players and game-masters. That segues into additional names for characters, and when these new names might be added. Finally, we wrap up with a brief discussion on the weight of a name.

The sermon Grant mentioned as inspiring this topic—and a much weightier topic to come—can be found here. Again, we strongly recommend listening to it! Special thanks to Rev. Justin Cazel.

Scripture: Genesis 17:3-6, Genesis 41:50-52, Isaiah 62:1-2, Matthew 1:20-21, Matthew 16:17-18, Acts 13:6-11, Revelation 2:17

We’ve got THREE guests crowding around the mics this week to continue with part two of a special episode on personal fitness! Kimi (cosplayer, tabletop gaming podcaster, weightlifter, gym owner, and former personal trainer), Chris (media professional, tabletop gaming podcaster, filmmaker, and former personal trainer) and Krissi (gamer, stay-at-home mom, and licensed Zumba instructor) all join us to put personal fitness into a gamer-friendly context. They (along with Grant and Peter) discuss nutrition, sleep, stress reduction, willpower, and more!

Be sure to catch the first half of this episode if you missed it, where we talked about our own fitness journeys, why exercise and physical health matter, unfocused and focused exercise, and setting goals.

Special thanks to all our guests for joining us for a long recording session and providing so much helpful information. For more information about our guests and their projects, as well as where to find them online:

Kimi: Happy Jacks RPG Podcast; GoldenLasso.net. Social media: “@goldenlassogirl” on Twitter / Facebook / Instagram / YouTube
Chris: The RPG Squad; “It Figures” (short film); Gamers Behaving Badly. Social media: @TheHussman (Twitter)
Krissi: Zumba. Social media: @d20mom (Twitter)

Scripture: Proverbs 16:3, Isaiah 40:31, Colossians 3:23, Philippians 2:1-4

We've got THREE guests crowding around the mics this week for part one of a special episode on personal fitness! Kimi (cosplayer, tabletop gaming podcaster, weightlifter, gym owner, and former personal trainer), Chris (media professional, tabletop gaming podcaster, filmmaker, and former personal trainer) and Krissi (gamer, stay-at-home mom, and licensed Zumba instructor) all join us to put personal fitness into a gamer-friendly context. They (along with Grant and Peter) discuss their own fitness journeys, why exercise and physical health matter, unfocused and focused exercise, and setting goals. Plus, Grant and Peter slip through time and answer a question from Patreon backer Doug Hagler, who asks what system we'd use to run a post-apocalyptic campaign.

Be sure to catch the second half of this episode as well, when we'll talk about nutrition, sleep, stress reduction, willpower, and more!

Special thanks to all our guests for joining us for a long recording session and providing so much helpful information. For more information about our guests and their projects, as well as where to find them online:

Kimi: Happy Jacks RPG Podcast; GoldenLasso.net. Social media: "@goldenlassogirl" on Twitter / Facebook / Instagram / YouTube
Chris: The RPG Squad; "It Figures" (short film); Gamers Behaving Badly. Social media: @TheHussman (Twitter)
Krissi: Zumba. Social media: @d20mom (Twitter)

Scripture: Proverbs 16:3, Isaiah 40:31, Colossians 3:23, Philippians 2:1-4

Happy New Year! Grant and Peter are back to talk about ... dice?! After a couple of minor announcements and housekeeping notes, we list off some of the games we'd really like to try to play in 2017. We also tackle a Patreon question from Jim, who asks us about handling combat in theatre-of-the-mind games (or for visually-impaired gamers, like the Going In Blind podcast.) Our main topic isn't so much about dice as reacting to the dice, and handling the unexpected results they can give us while keeping a consistent narration—even if it leads campaigns in strange and unexpected directions.

Games we mentioned wanting to play in 2017: Unknown Armies, 3rd Edition; Pillar of Fire; A Scoundrel in the Deep; Feng Shui, 2nd Edition; Dogs in the Vineyard; DramaSystem; GUMSHOE. Also mentioned: The One Shot Podcast and the Party of One Podcast.

Scripture: Proverbs 16:9, Leviticus 16:6-10, Romans 8:28

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Grant and Peter sit down to tackle a topic selected by our voting Patreon supporters: Playing supernatural creatures! First, though, we spend quite a lot of time on a serious problem that cropped up in Grant's Pugmire game—a case where a player had a very bad reaction to the previous session's events. Then we tackle a question from Patreon supporter (and host of the Retro Rewind Podcast) Francisco Ruiz, who asks about games centered around specific holidays. Finally, it's our main topic: How to play supernatural creatures, We talk briefly about whether Christians should do so at all; then we discuss ways to make that more interesting, especially regarding the traditional weaknesses such creatures typically have.

Mentioned in this episode: Gullah; Pugmire.

Scripture: Isaiah 9:13, Romans 14:1-4

Grant presents a very special Christmas bonus episode: A reading of a unique sermon given on Christmas Day, 1983, by Rev. Bob Lawrence of Fourth Presbyterian Church in Greenville, SC.

Music: "Greensleeves" and "Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence", performed by Andrew Remillard.

Scripture: Isaiah 9:2-7; Luke 2:1-20

We've finally reached the hundred-episode milestone! Our heartfelt thanks to all our listeners, past hosts and guest hosts, and Patreon backers; you've all helped make this podcast special. We look forward to the next hundred-plus episodes!

This episode, Grant and Peter celebrate reaching STG 100 and call out our new theme music (by James Opie, of Nihilore.com). Then, we plug our annual charity drive for The Bodhana Group; discuss some forthcoming changes to our Patreon; and Grant reviews Big Fandom Greenville. After that, we've got our Patreon question! This one's from Jared, who asks "What game systems that you have played have felt the most compatible with spiritual growth, and what game systems that you have played have felt the least compatible with spiritual growth?"

For our main topic, we discuss a worldbuilding problem—handling historical mysteries in fantasy or sci-fi settings where longevity and data retention risk negating the mystery altogether. That leads us into a larger discussion of what the historical record might be like in all sorts of fantastic settings, and what a game master should think about when determining what historical knowledge is available during their game.

Scripture: Daniel 2:19-21; 2 Peter 3:8; John 1:1

Mike Perna of Innroads Ministries joins us at the appointed hour, to give our listeners some real, practical advice on running small gaming events for your church or community! First, though, we talk about a few other things, in no particular order: Our upcoming fundraiser for The Bodhana Group (keep an eye on our social media feeds for links to that!); the Game to Grow panel we hosted on spirituality in roleplaying games; players taking notes during games; the InSpectres game Grant just wrapped up; and Big Fandom Greenville (more on this next episode.)

We also tackle a great question from Patreon backer Doug, who asks "What, if anything, do you think is simply off-limits for a game? Is the answer different if we're talking you personally, or for gaming in general?" (This turned out to be surprisingly relevant to our main topic!)

Also mentioned in this episode: A Game for Good Christians, STG 17, "Lines and Veils".

Scripture: Proverbs 16:3, Ecclesiastes 3:1, Luke 14:28

Grant and Peter continue our ongoing Ten Commandments series with a look at the Second Commandment! First, though, Grant has a fair bit to say about InSpectres and Pugmire, and some lessons he's learned from those games lately. Then we tackle a question from an anonymous Patreon backer, about transitioning into the game master role, and briefly discuss potential Patreon changes and our upcoming holiday charity drive. We also reiterate our call for your stories of harassment and 'othering' in the gaming hobby and industry. After all that, we finally get down to the Second Commandment (as well as a bit about how different Christian and Jewish traditions actually arrange and enumerate these ten commandments.)

Scripture: Exodus 20:4-6, Isaiah 55:8, Hosea 3:1, Revelation 9:20-21

We're back to talk about religious villains in your game! First, Grant discusses a successful Pugmire one-shot and his upcoming InSpectres game. Then, Grant and Peter put out a call for your stories of 'othering' in the hobby (which you can submit by email or through our contact page.) We spend a fair bit of time answering a very interesting question from Patreon backer Jim about rewarding good player behavior. And finally, we get to our main topic: Religious villains. We discuss creating religious, and even specifically Christian villains, as well as what makes those villains powerful and effective in our stories.

Mentioned in this episode: Dan Carlin's Hardcore History, Ep. 48, "Prophets of Doom"; and—

Scripture: Isaiah 29:13-16, Matthew 7:21-23, Matthew 23:13-15

Grant and Peter kick off a new, more theologically-oriented series this week! We'll be looking at each of the Ten Commandments, and so of course we're starting with the First Commandment. First, though, we answer a question from Patreon backer Richard Lorenz about other podcasts in the "geeky faith" genre (and specifically faith and roleplaying games—see the show notes for a full list of everything we mentioned!) We also spend a little time talking about Game to Grow. For our main topic, we talk about the importance and theological implications of the First Commandment, as well as some of its gaming implications.

Mentioned in this episode: * Podcasts: + Strangers and Aliens + Geekually Yoked + The Sci-Fi Christian + Helix Reviews + Reel World Theology + The Church of the Resurrection's sermon archives + Infinity +1 + Five Minutes in Church History + The Liturgists' Podcast + Faithful Creative + Retro Rewind Podcast + The Dice Steeple * Game to Grow * Episode 09, "Faith and Fantasy (with Dan Repperger)"

Scripture: Exodus 3:15, Exodus 20:1-3, Matthew 22:37-38, Matthew 6:24

It's a relatively light episode for news, so Grant and Peter have more time for the Patreon question and the main topic. It turns out they need it. Hospitality is a big, old-school StG topic and the hosts look at it from a number of angles and discuss how it applies in games, in the world around us, and at our gaming tables.

Scripture: Leviticus 19:34, Luke 14:12-14, 1 Peter 4:8-10

Links:

Episode 5: Charity

Jean Veljean and the Bishop of Digne

Would You Hide a Jew From the Nazis?

Denver church planning to build tiny homes

Grant and Peter are back with a whole host of things to talk about! We start with a bit about the Pugmire campaign Grant just started playing in. Then we answer a surprisingly tricky question from Patreon backer Jim Nanban, who asks us for our "elevator pitch" for RPGs as a hobby. We remind everyone that Save Against Fear 2016 is coming up very quickly (and that you should go if at all possible!) And finally, we reach our main topic: Epic monsters. What do we mean by an "epic monster"? What role can and should they play in your campaign? Why do they sometimes fall flat? And what little tricks and additional details can you add in to really make them stand out to your players? And most importantly, what's the best story about an epic monster from your own gaming career?

Mentioned in this episode: * Save Against Fear 2016 (so nice we linked it twice!) * GURPS Horror * Magic: The Gathering's Eldrazi titans

Scripture: Job 3:8, Revelation 13:1

Grant and Peter handle the first of two topic voted on by Patreon backers: Anti-Heroes. After tackling another great Patreon backer question, the hosts dive in, and as it turns out, this is a more complicated and controversial topic than you might think. The episode covers everything from Biblical figures to Sherlock Holmes to Rincewind to The Punisher with some advice (and cautionary notes) for gaming along the way.

Scripture: Judges 3:15-21, Luke 22:55-61

Links:

Anti-Hero page on tvtropes.org

Save Against Fear 2016

Two Types of Paladin

Episode 25

Grant's back from Electric City Comic-Con 2016, and it was fantastic! We recap the show, including some specific people and organizations Grant wanted to specifically call out (check the full notes below for links.) Then Grant and Peter answer a Patreon backer question from Jim, who asks about demonstrating the difficulty of doing the right thing in game without being obvious or annoying about it. Finally, we cover our main topic: A discussion of generalist and specialist characters, with a focus on an issue that came up in the pre-game prep for our current D&D campaign.

Scripture: Exodus 31:1-6, Colossians 3:23-24

EC32016 specifically called out by Grant:

Hatcore - custom geek hats
Fanboy Glass - glassware with geeky etchings
Jeremy Whitley - Eisner-nominated author of Princeless and other comics
Easley Pokémon League - a local Pokémon group
Boardwalk - Grant's preferred FLGS and the primary game vendor at EC32016
White Knight Cosplay, Heroes in Force, Amanda Finley Cosplay, SC Ghostbusters - all awesome cosplayers

(Part Two.) Kris and Katrina Ehrnman-Newton, hosts of the inimitable Gameable Saturday Morning Podcast (and its previous Gameable Pixar and Disney iterations), join us for an episode so monstrously huge we had to make it a two-parter! This time, we're talking about design considerations for a "moral universe"—the assumptions built into a fictional setting about the consequences and decisions that affect characters' moral efforts. We start with our Patreon backer question, this time about potential real dangers of gaming. Then across two episodes, we cover the design aspects of a moral universe in great detail, and wrap up talking about the challenges and opportunities these present at the gaming table. Thanks again, Kris and Katrina—we're looking forward to joining you to talk about Saturday morning cartoons soon!

If you missed the first half of Episode 91, click here to listen to part one.

Katrina previously joined us for Episode 58, "Prophecy", and Kris joined the three of us for Episode 67, "Breaking Canon". Grant and Peter have also appeared on the Gameable Saturday Morning Podcast for a bonus episode on The Prince of Egypt.

We hit on a wide and strange variety of other things this episode, including but not limited to: Depression Quest; Genesis 18; Batman; Longmire; The Crow; Mouse Guard; Jessica Jones; fighting hummingbirds; The Care Bears Movie; Sailor Moon; L.A. Confidential; Dogs in the Vineyard; Pillar of Fire; and a May 2016 blog post from Peter, "You Must Be This Treacherous To Ride The Story". Phew!

Scripture: Genesis 3:22-24, Amos 2:6-7, Matthew 5:44-45

(Part One.) Kris and Katrina Ehrnman-Newton, hosts of the inimitable Gameable Saturday Morning Podcast (and its previous Gameable Pixar and Disney iterations), join us for an episode so monstrously huge we had to make it a two-parter! This time, we're talking about design considerations for a "moral universe"—the assumptions built into a fictional setting about the consequences and decisions that affect characters' moral efforts. We start with our Patreon backer question, this time about potential real dangers of gaming. Then across two episodes, we cover the design aspects of a moral universe in great detail, and wrap up talking about the challenges and opportunities these present at the gaming table. Thanks again, Kris and Katrina—we're looking forward to joining you to talk about Saturday morning cartoons soon!

Once you're done with this half of Episode 91, click here to listen to part two

Katrina previously joined us for Episode 58, "Prophecy", and Kris joined the three of us for Episode 67, "Breaking Canon". Grant and Peter have also appeared on the Gameable Saturday Morning Podcast for a bonus episode on The Prince of Egypt.

We hit on a wide and strange variety of other things this episode, including but not limited to: Depression Quest; Genesis 18; Batman; Longmire; The Crow; Mouse Guard; Jessica Jones; fighting hummingbirds; The Care Bears Movie; Sailor Moon; L.A. Confidential; Dogs in the Vineyard; Pillar of Fire; and a May 2016 blog post from Peter, "You Must Be This Treacherous To Ride The Story". Phew!

Scripture: Genesis 3:22-24, Amos 2:6-7, Matthew 5:44-45

After answering a short, fun, and humorous Patreon backer question, Grant and Peter dig into one of the most fascinating, important, and gameable events in all of church history: the First Council of Nicaea. In addition to establishing a lot of church orthodoxy that has lasted to the present day, it also gave us the Nicene Creed, and it was a unique and fascinating event in the history of the world.

Note: Listeners wanting full context for this episode should listen to Episode 89, "Arianism" first, as it provides a lot of the background for the events we cover in this episode.

Links: The Nicene Creed The Elenium, by David Eddings Our Patreon

Scripture: Isaiah 40:12, John 1:1-5

Grant and Peter Tackle an interesting Patreon supporter question about sandbox games and then move in to the very meaty and historically-important topic of Arianianism, a Christological heresy named after a guy who didn't come up with it, and also responsible for the first council of Nicea.

Links: Our Patreon page, Episode 70: Adoptionism and Ebionism

Scirpture: Proverbs 8:22-23, 1 Corinthians 8:5-6

Rev. Chris Ode joins Peter and Grant in a very personal episode this week! Chris is a Lutheran pastor, and an actor and religious consultant for Zombie Orpheus Entertainment. We cover a lot of ground in this discussion, including: Zombie Orpheus's new project, "Attacking the Darkness" (Kickstarting now!); ZOE's "Dark Dungeons" movie (an adaptation of the original anti-D&D Chick tract); the lingering effects of Dark Dungeons and other anti-RPG material on the Church, gamers, and gaming; scapegoating; and our own Patreon campaign. (We're on Patreon now—check out the video for more information!)

Also mentioned in passing: * Game Store Prophets' "Bonus Content" episode with Rev. Chris Ode * STG 74, "The Myth of Redemptive Violence (with Rev. Derek White)" * STG 63, "An Introduction to Roleplaying Games (with Rev. Jason D. Wood)" * Zombie Orpheus Entertainment's YouTube channel

Scripture: Isaiah 44:22, 2 Corinthians 3:17, Ephesians 4:31-32

Grant and Peter take a few moments to catch up on-air, and then discuss two exciting upcoming projects, Game to Grow and our upcoming Patreon campaign, before discussing a surprisingly meaty topic: Healing and Injury. The discussion that follows touches on both the gaming-related and spiritual aspects of healing and injury and also discusses why you should be sure to remember that hospitals exist as more than just hit point dispensers in your games.

Links:

Game to Grow

Gameable Pixar Podcast

John Q

Spoon Theory

Scripture: Isaiah 58:11, Matthew 11:2-6, Luke 14:1-6

Grant and Peter discuss Peter's new job, Grant's new hobby, and the impact those sorts of life changes and callings can change the inner lives of your characters, how they can be reflected (or not) mechanically, and how they can affect the way your game progresses.

Links:

One Shot's Tenra Bansho Zero (episode 1)

Tenra Bansho Zero

Bob Ross Official YouTube Channel

Scripture: 2 Samuel 5:5-8, Matthew 4:18-22

Former Methodist minister and current Wizards of the Coast writer James Wyatt joins us to talk about designing pantheons for fantasy settings! James is a long-time D&D writer with a multitude of major credits, and he's currently writing for the Magic: the Gathering creative team. That experience shows in this conversation, which covers the qualities of well-designed pantheons, their essential natures, and a multitude of design details relevant to your campaign world. We also talk about Shadows Over Innistrad and "The Lunarch Inquisition", James's recent story set there; Plane Shift: Zendikar, which turns that Magic: the Gathering setting into a home for D&D 5th Edition adventures; the paradox of the Cross; our first "gaming curriculum" episode; and Thursten. We talk a lot about Thursten. Enjoy!

Scripture: Deuteronomy 10:17, Job 4:15-17, Acts 17:22-26

Grant and Peter discuss the root causes of some common GM problems such as over- or under- prepping, de-protagonizing, and issues with detail and offer their advice on how to address them.

Scripture: Proverbs 28:16, 2 Timothy 2:2

Author and game designer Greg Stolze joins Grant and Peter to talk about Unknown Armies 3rd Edition, its Kickstarter, some of his other work, and personal-scale horror stories! We spend a lot of time talking about Unknown Armies—practically the whole episode, really—and Greg had plenty to say about personal horror and how Unknown Armies reflects that. In particular, we talk about how this sort of horror differs from the "cosmic horror" currently in vogue; how relationships can matter more in personal horror; stress and horror; and more. Enjoy!

Mentioned in this episode:

The Unknown Armies 3rd Edition Kickstarter campaign (wraps up April 29th)
Greg Stolze's homepage
"In The Beginning"—a blog post by Greg Stolze describing the origins of Unknown Armies
Dinosaurs In Space
Milan Kundera and The Unbearable Lightness of Being
The Babadook

Scripture: Job 38:4-7, John 15:13, Colossians 3:23-25, Romans 3:10

Not much in the way of news this week, so Grant and Peter get almost straight into the topic: diaspora, the scattering of a people from a common homeland and their desire to return. We discuss what, exactly makes a diaspora and how it can be used for world and character building.

Links:

Ken and Robin Talk About Stuff #129

The Crooked Ladder

Scripture: 2 Chronicles 36:20, Psalm 147:2-4, John 7:33-36, 1 Peter 1:1-2

Grant's second child is here and everybody is doing well!

Grant and Peter discuss some recent news, including Gamerati's taking over of RPGpodcasts.com (a very good thing) and the upcoming Tavern Con and Electric City Comic Con, then get down to discussing the main topic: fear in RPGs. A lot of gaming groups have trouble handling fear in-game. Grant and Peter discuss some common reasons for the trouble and offer a number of potential solutions.

Links:

Tavern Con (no official link yet)

Episode 45 - Unity vs. Uniformity (With Ed Healy)

Stardew Valley

Electric City Comic Con

Gameable Pixar Podcast, Bonus episode 33: The Corpse Bride

Games Store Prophets Bonus Content: Darkest Dungeon

Scripture: Proverbs 9:10, Matthew 10:26-31, John 16:33, Luke 2:10

Grant and Peter break down the various advantages and challenges of using mechanical morality systems in your game and also dig into the reasons why such systems exist in the first place. In addition, we plug Tavern Con, Innroads Ministries in general and The MacGuffin Factory in particular, and Electric City Comic Con.

Links:

Tavern Con (no official link yet)

The Macguffin Factory

Episode 25 with Jack Berkenstock

Electric City Comic Con

Episode 140 of KARTAS

Scripture: Proverbs 12:5, Job 28:20-28, Romans 12:21

Grant and Peter get together to discuss a topic that we often take for granted in our gaming experience: how our characters advance in gaming and what that says about our games. There's some comparison to XCOM 2 (which Peter has been playing quite a bit of lately) but the conversation branches out from there pretty rapidly. This episode is also Peter's first crack at production, so be kind if the audio is a bit rough.

Scripture: 1 Samuel 2:26, Ephesians 4:11-14

Grant and Peter read and respond to listener emails this week! We got some very interesting emails: One from Brady, asking about Habitica, a series on bible stories, and our unfulfilled promises; and one from Gameable Pixar Podcast's Kris commenting on Manichaeism, alignments and dualism, and housework. Plus, Grant teases some upcoming site changes (forums!) and we remind everyone that Peter writes blog posts for weeks without new STG episodes. Scripture: Proverbs 11:14, Mark 4:21-24, James 1:22

Grant and Peter tackle a pervasive problem afflicting gamers everywhere: A collective inability to handle surrendering PCs and NPCs properly. It's a topic we've had on our to-do list since we started the podcast back in 2012 (Grant credits Fear the Boot #268 for inspiration), and it turns out to have important ramifications for how we play our games. Plus, Grant and Peter briefly discuss the Microscope RPG and issue a call to action: Listeners, fill our mailbag!

Scripture: Jeremiah 38:17-18, Philippians 2:5-8

Grant and Peter are back with a STG New Year's tradition: A review of their resolutions for the upcoming year, broken down into "personal", "gaming", and "faith". Plus, Grant drops some information about a Patreon campaign we're working on, and we discuss the most interesting (and STG-relevant) Christmas gifts we received this year.

Mentioned in this episode: The Blue Devils in Italy: A History of the 88th Infantry Division; A Dictionary of Angels: Including the Fallen Angels; Habitica; Electric City Comic Con; Clearing the Backlog

Scripture: James 2:14-17, Revelation 3:15-18

Grant and Peter are back at it with part three of our Historical Heresies series. This time, we introduce a major competitor to Christianity in the Western Roman Empire, and a particularly interesting (read: complex and imaginative) Gnostic tradition: Manichaeism! We also provide one last plug for this year's fundraiser for The Bodhana Group, and remind everyone to rate and review us on iTunes, Stitcher, and anywhere else you listen to our podcast on.

Scripture: Psalm 119:25-27, Matthew 28:19-20

It's a shorter episode this week, due to recording right after Thanksgiving and Grant (and the rest of his household) being very sick. Still, that doesn't stop us from plugging our Bodhana Group fundraiser before getting into our main topic: Group management! We talk about the holidays—because it's that time of year—and what they do to games. Then, we discuss a number of issues which might arise and communication and management tools to alleviate group management problems. Enjoy!

Scripture: Proverbs 13:4, Ephesians 5:15-16

Rev. Derek White, a.k.a. "The Geekpreacher", joins Grant and Peter once again! Derek joined us previously on Episode 38, "Christians on the Convention Scene", and he's back with us to discuss another weighty topic: Walter Wink's "myth of redemptive violence" and René Girard's concept of the "scapegoat" and collective violence. We also take a moment to remind everyone about our ongoing fundraiser for The Bodhana Group, and hear about Derek's growing role as a convention pastor. Lastly, David LaMotte was kind enough to give us permission to use his song "Peter" in this episode; it was particularly appropriate, especially since David's a Walter Wink fan too. If you enjoyed it, find more music at his website, and on iTunes, Spotify, and Google Play.

Also referenced in this episode: The GenCon 2015 Worship Service (and specifically, Derek's "Here There Be Dragons" sermon); The GenCon 2015 "Faith and Gaming" panel; Walter Wink's "Facing the myth of redemptive violence"; René Girard's The Scapegoat; Dan Carlin's "Hardcore History" podcast; and Ursula K. le Guin's "The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas".

Scripture: Hosea 6:6, Jonah 3:10-4:2, Luke 22:47-52

Grant and Peter reprise Episode 60's "Gaming Curriculum" topic, with another set of suggested media! These are things we think you should read, watch, play, or experience away from the gaming table which will make you a better player and gamemaster. Check the full show notes below for links to everything we mentioned during the show!

Also, we're raising funds for The Bodhana Group, which uses tabletop RPGs in cognitive therapy applications for hurting children. For more details, visit our fundraiser page or listen to Episode 25, where we interviewed Bodhana's Executive Director and learned all about the great work they do. If you want to help them, please consider giving to them this holiday season!

Scripture: Proverbs 22:6, Acts 8:26-31

Settings

The Earthsea series of novels, by Ursula K. le Guin
Schlock Mercenary, by Howard Tayler
Extra History, by Extra Credits
Crash Course, by John & Hank Green
The Fallout series of games, by Bethesda Game Studios

Plots* Phone Booth, directed by Joel Schumacher * Sojourn and other anthologies * The "Doc Savage" series of novels, by William G. Bogart and others * The "Arthurian Saga" by Mary Stewart * Radiant Historia, by Atlus Games

Characters* The Overwatch trailer and characters, by Blizzard Entertainment * Princess Mononoke, by Hiyao Miyazaki * The Mass Effect series of games, by Bioware * The Discworld series of novels, by Sir Terry Pratchett

Theme* Spec Ops: The Line, by Yager Development * The Shawshank Redemption, directed by Frank Darabont * Ponyo by Hayao Miyazaki and The Little Mermaid by Ron Clements & John Musker * Siddhartha, by Hermann Hesse

Other Recommendations* The Boy Scout Handbook and the Army Field Manual, among other practical guides * The Riverworld series of novels, by Phillip José Farmer * Peter's "Gaming Curriculum: Extra Credit" and "Gaming Curriculum: Extra Credit, Part II" blog posts * Freakangels, by Warren Ellis & Paul Duffield * The MacGuffin Factory podcast, by Innroads Ministries * The Guin Saga, by Kaoru Kurimoto * Table Titans, by Scott Kurtz

Our holiday fundraiser for The Bodhana Group has officially begun! Grant and a recuperating Peter kick off this episode with a plug for that, before diving into the complex structure and philosophy of Gnosticism in order to lay a foundation for further episodes on specific Gnostic Christian sects. Grant provides an overview of core Gnostic beliefs, and how they connect to Christianity and Judaism (as well as other beliefs from around the Hellenistic world.) We touch on Kabbalah and modern Gnostic influences, and then spend some time discussing a major and newly-discovered Gnostic text: The Gospel of Judas. Grab a notepad, and enjoy!

Scripture: Deuteronomy 4:39, 1 Timothy 6:20-21, 1 John 4:2-3

Grant and Peter take a large tangent in our discussion about heresies in the early Church, and turn it into its own episode on creeds! We discuss the uses of creeds in the early Church (and in other organizations), with plenty of historical examples, and then break down some uses of player-made and GM-made creeds at the gaming table. Don't forget to check the full show notes for a complete list of all the creeds, confessions, and fictional examples we mentioned in this episode!

Scripture: Deuteronomy 6:4, 1 Corinthians 1:10-13, 1 Timothy 3:16

Mentioned in this episode: * The Apostles Creed * The Nicene Creed * The Theological Declaration of Barmen [PDF] * The PCUSA "Brief Statement of Faith" [PDF] * Adam Hamilton's "Searching for Truth" sermon series * The Boy Scouts of America's "Scout Law" and "Scout Oath" * The Bene Gesserit "Litany Against Fear" * The "Three Oaths" of the Aes Sedai

Grant and Peter kick off a new Historical Heresies series, analyzing heresies from the early Church! Without much additional news, we dive right into our Scripture and topic, starting with Adoptionism and Ebionism. Along the way, we explain what we hope our listeners can learn from this new series and what we hope they can use in their games. As always, feedback is appreciated—especially for a new series—so let us know what you think and what you'd like to hear in future episodes in the comments!

Also mentioned in this episode: Richard Beck's book Unclean.

Scripture: Isaiah 56:6-8, John 1:1-5, John 10:16

It's a short episode this week—Grant was fighting a very unpleasant cold—but that didn't stop Grant and Peter from discussing holy ground! First, reminders about The MacGuffin Factory and our upcoming casual listener Hearthstone tournament (post in the comments if you're interested, and we'll send you an invite—it starts September 28th), and some awesome news from Grant. Then we're on to our Scripture and main topic, about what makes holy sites special and how to use them in your games. Also mentioned: Our third episode ever, on crusaders and Templars; and our show on iTunes, for those of you wanting to write reviews.

Scripture: Exodus 3:5, Matthew 28:1-6

Kyle Rudge of Geekdom House joins Grant and Peter to talk about a host of small, interesting, and interrelated topics! Geekdom House has a Kickstarter wrapping up for their lovely "Area of Effect" print magazine, which we completely neglected to plug until the very end of the show. Kyle's not just here for that, though—he brought lots of fascinating things to talk about, like: Creating a geeky, mission-forward small group in his church; introducing that group to Dungeons & Dragons; his appearance on the "Faith and Gaming" panel at GenCon 2015 (which Mike Perna recorded and released over at Game Store Prophets); a Firefly-themed Bible study; taking a men's choir to Winnipeg's Central Canada Comic Con; the tight-knit communities of fandom; Done the Impossible and The Guild; and characters who reflect ourselves. Plus, a quick plug for our Hearthstone listener tournament—let us know if you're interested!

Scripture: Ezekiel 11:19-20, 1 Corinthians 9:19-23, 1 Thessalonians 4:9-12

Kris and Katrina, hosts of the Gameable Pixar Podcast (formerly the Gameable Disney Podcast) join Grant and Peter in a special crossover episode on breaking established setting canon! Gameable Pixar just released a pair of episodes discussing The Prince of Egypt, and they invited Peter and Grant to join them in the second episode. They return the favor in this episode, where we discuss how to break canon in settings with high player investment—from Tolkien's Middle-Earth to Biblical Egypt, Israel and Caanan.

If you want to give the Gameable Podcast a try, we suggest picking your favorite Disney or Pixar film and listening to Kris and Katrina discuss it in the relevant episode! They also particularly recommend their episodes on The Black Cauldron and The Nightmare Before Christmas as introductory episodes for interested gamers. To pick up with The Prince of Egypt, start with GPP's Bonus Episode 9: The Prince of Egypt and follow up with Bonus Episode 10: The Prince of Egypt Discussion. They're also on Twitter and iTunes.

Also mentioned in this episode: Electric City ComiCon; StoryWonk's Dusted podcast; and an awful lot of superheroes.

Scripture: Isaiah 55:8-11, Jeremiah 23:28-30, Matthew 23:13-15, Romans 15:4

Grant and Peter take a break to talk about collectible card games! We talk about our experiences with games both paper and pixelated: War of Omens, Hearthstone, Magic: The Gathering, Doomtown, and the Legend of the Five Rings CCG. Plus, work disaster stories!

Mike Perna of Innroads Ministries and Game Store Prophets joins us to talk about a complex problem in both faith communities and geek communities: Gatekeeping. Mike's joined us before for Episode 33 ("Our Origin Stories"), and he was a perfect fit for this topic in many ways. He previously wrote an excellent article on gatekeeping, and has a lot of wisdom and experience to share with us. We hit on a lot of small details—'controllers' vs. 'facilitators'; gatekeeping in church and in geek culture; comments on "pastoral customs" by Pope Francis; and others—but our focus is on solving the problem when you encounter it, not just documenting it. It's a rather thoughtful episode, so enjoy, and tell us what you think in the comments!

Scripture: Ezekiel 16:49-50, 1 Corinthians 12:21-27, 1 Peter 3:8

Grant and Peter are back to talk about non-human player characters—the weirder, the better! After a quick reminder to rate and review us on iTunes or Stitcher, we get on with our main topic. We run through the spectrum of inhumanity: Near-humans, former humans, intelligent animals, and more! Then, we go through questions players (and GMs) need to ask themselves about these sorts of characters to make them effective, believable, and interesting.

Scripture: Genesis 1:21, Hebrews 13:2

Grant and Peter are back, with Fear the Con 8 behind us and new gaming horizons ahead! Grant's had some major changes in his local gaming group, which prompt some discussion, but soon enough it's on to our main topic: Picking a system that works best for the kinds of stories you want to tell while gaming. From universal to simulationist to light-weight indie games, we weigh all the considerations we can to help you pick the right game. Plus, some (well-deserved) plugs for System Mastery [NSFW], and this clever trick for making your own Fate dice!

Scripture: Proverbs 4:6, James 3:17

Grant and Peter sat down together—in the same room for the first time in the history of Saving the Game—and recorded a short bonus episode together at Fear the Con 8 in St. Louis, MO! We talked about a lot of people, including Mikey Mason and Rev. Derek W. White, but mostly we talked about what we did at the convention and how much fun we had there with the extended Booter family. Enjoy!

Reverend Jason D. Wood, a full-time pastor and gamer, joins Grant and Peter to help introduce roleplaying games to the curious! Jason writes for The Mad Adventurers Society as The Mad Cleric, giving out gaming advice and life advice for gamers in equal measure, and contributes to the Mad Adventurers' Potelbat and Potelbat Yalp podcasts. (He's most accessible on Twitter as @Wood_JasonD.)

Jason joins us for a very special episode: An introduction to roleplaying games for the curious and the uninitiated. As a sort of companion piece to our very first episode ("Are RPGs Evil?"), this episode is designed to be a resource for those who've never played before, and want to (or feel the need to) know more about them. We outline the general conceits of RPGs, explain system and setting, discuss why they're so much fun, and elaborate on some of the positive benefits of roleplaying games. (In particular, we spend some time talking about The Bodhana Group; new listeners should listen to Episode 25, "Therapeutic Roleplaying (with Jack Berkenstock Jr.)" for more on that. They're awesome.) Finally, we wrap up with some advice on getting started in roleplaying games, whether individually, as a family, or as a church activity.

Scripture: Proverbs 27:17, Mark 12:28-31, Luke 5:27-32, Romans 14:16

Grant and Peter are back, and talking about creatures great and small! Inspired by M. J. Young's 2004 Faith and Gaming article "Animals" (written for the Christian Gamers' Guild), Grant and Peter discuss the wide variety of animals seen in roleplaying games and the real world. Then, we talk about how to use them effectively in your story and setting, and some pitfalls to keep in mind when the focus shifts to pets and other creatures at the table. Plus, we're going to Fear the Con 8 and you should too!

Scripture: Job 12:7-10, Luke 12:6-7, Revelation 5:13

Derek Knutsen, co-host of THE ESTABLiSHED FACTS and the mind behind Palegain Press, joins us to talk about charitable activity happening at Fear the Con 8 and some tips on running convention games! Derek has run Fear the Charity events at Fear the Con for several years now, and this year he's also running Fear the Fruit. He's also running a canned food drive, an alternate reality game (ARG) for Fear the Charity donations, a charity dungeon crawl at Fear the Con, and more! In short, he's very busy helping everyone at Fear the Con give back to the broader community, and he's awesome. While we have him on, we also pick his brain for some advice on running good convention games—basic advice on handling people, play and preparation. Enjoy!

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 4:9-12, Malachi 3:10, Matthew 18:20

Well, it's official: We're going to Fear the Con 8, and Fear the Con 8 is officially happening, so meet us there! That news aside, though, we've got a full episode for you: Grant and Peter reviewing their "gaming curriculum". These are our suggestions for media of all sorts which you as a gamer should have for reference, read, play, or watch to be a better gamer (and especially a better gamemaster.) The full list of media (with links!) is below the fold for reference, so enjoy!

Scripture: Proverbs 18:15, 2 Timothy 3:16-17

----more---- Settings

One Hundred Years of Solitude
Mushi-Shi
In Nomine
Reign of Steel

Plots * Inception * Pandorum * One Thousand and One Nights * The New Larousse Encyclopedia of Mythology

Characters * Hyperion * The Complete Works of William Shakespeare * White Collar * Flashpoint

Theme * Mistborn * Astro City ("Confession") * The Sandman * Voyage of the Dawn Treader

Generally useful RPG books originally written for something specific (one each) * Sharn: City of Towers * World of Darkness: Innocents

Personal Inspirations * Bahamut Lagoon * Jagged Alliance 2 * Planetary

Podcasts * Decoder Ring Theatre / The Red Panda Adventures * The Gameable Disney Podcast

Grant and Peter are back to talk about making interesting conspiracies for your players to expose—or participate in! First, we plug the ongoing Fear the Con 8 Kickstarter—if you want to see us there, the con needs to hit its Kickstarter goal, so consider backing it if you haven't done so yet! Then we get down to business, talking about the elements of a good conspiracy as an entity in your game, and only briefly diverting to talk about conspiracy theories. Like these, which claim the moon isn't real.

Scripture: Psalm 41:5-9, Matthew 26:1-5

Katrina from The Gameable Disney Podcast joins Grant and Peter for an in-depth discussion of prophecy in our games! You can find Katrina and Kris on Tumblr, Twitter, and iTunes, and can email them too. So, after mentioning the new website and handing out a pair of important congratulations, we

Game designer, podcaster, and sometime pastor Josh T. Jordan joins Grant and Peter to talk about those less-than-epic games, and why they still matter! Josh is the main host of Tell Me Another and the creative force behind Ginger Goat Games. He brought us this topic, and it turns into a wide-ranging discussion about stories outside the traditional epic heroic journey, where personal concerns trump world-threatening story arcs. (We also mention Amagi Games' "The Soap Opera" one-page game tweak.)

Scripture: Genesis 25:29-34, Matthew 20:29-31, Luke 16:10-12

This episode, Grant and Peter talk about making real-world locations you're not familiar with into interesting, gameable locations! First, though, we have a lot of well-deserved plugs to get through. The Gameable Disney Podcast is absolutely amazing, and both of us recommend listening to its entire backlog of episodes. Christian Geek Central is awesome (and not only because Mikel did a fun interview with us.) And Grant in particular is a big fan of System Mastery, and he just sent them Deliria to review (warning: probably NSFW.) After all that, we get into the meat of the episode, and break down a bunch of useful resources to use when setting a game or scenario in a real-life location you don't know well.

Scripture: Genesis 13:14-17, Ephesians 2:19-21

Grant and Peter return to talk about laying the groundwork for character development before the game starts! We lead off with a reminder about Sojourn 2 (and the forthcoming Sojourn 3), and a request for listener input on topics and for reviews on iTunes. Then we get into the topic at hand: Setting yourself up for successful character growth ahead of time. We go over some methods, benefits and ideas; and we wrap up with a STG first—Peter and Grant attempting to put their own advice to good use on-air. Enjoy!

Scripture: Ezekiel 36:25-26 and Romans 12:2

It's our annual New Year's Resolutions bonus episode! Our fundraiser has wrapped up (at $360 raised for The Bodhana Group, well beyond our $150 goal), and Sojourn Volume 2 is still out, with Volume 3 in the works! Also, Branden's no longer with the podcast; we wish him the best of luck going forward. After that news wrap-up, Peter and Grant break down our resolutions for the coming year, and what we'll do to keep them.

Scripture: Isaiah 9:6, 2 Corinthians 6:2

It's a short episode this week—Grant, Peter, and Branden recorded it just before Christmas—but we make the most of our time! First up, we plug Sojourn Volume 2 (remember, Peter's published in here again, along with many of our Booter friends), and we have officially finished up our fundraiser for The Bodhana Group. Then we get down to it with Scripture and a back-and-forth about making holiday-themed games successful. Referenced works: A Night in the Lonesome October by Roger Zelazny.

Scripture: Isaiah 9:6, 2 Corinthians 6:2

Our Virtues & Vices series concludes with a look at humility! Peter's published again in Sojourn Volume 2 and our fundraiser for The Bodhana Group is nearly wrapped up, and well past its goal! There's also an ongoing discussion we'd like you participate in—essentially, we're looking for suggestions and improvements for the coming year. After all that, we talk over humility in characters and at the gaming table, and conclude with a special thank-you to our listeners and wishes for a merry Christmas and an awesome New Year.

Scripture: Psalm 131, Matthew 11:29-30, Philippians 2:3-11

It's only Grant and Peter this episode, as we head into the final pair in our Virtues & Vices series! First, we talk about our ongoing (and quickly wrapping up) fundraiser for The Bodhana Group, and give Innroads Ministries some much-deserved plugs as well. Then we explore what C.S. Lewis called "the complete anti-God state of mind"—Pride. Some theological and practical definitions of pride get discussed before we explore pride as a character trait, and its manifestation at the gaming table.

Also mentioned in this episode: Episode 33 of Saving the Game, "Our Origin Stories (with Mike Perna)"; Peter's Evil Overlord Guide.

Scripture: Jeremiah 9:23-24, Matthew 23:8-12,

Devon Kelley from the Shark Bone Podcast joins Grant, Peter and Branden in a discussion of one of Devon's favorite RPG topics: Non-violent conflict resolution! Devon plugs a game of his own—Threshold: Tragic Superheroes, available through DriveThruRPG—and we plug our ongoing holiday fundraiser for The Bodhana Group. Then we dive (har har—you're welcome, Devon) into our scripture and our topic. We discuss why non-combat conflict resolution is often overlooked in RPGs; why it's important; how to encourage it, as a player and as a GM; and plenty of real-world examples of this sort of play.

Scripture: Jeremiah 29:7, Matthew 26:47-54, John 13:34-35, and 1 Peter 3:9-11

It's Part Two of the special LIVE recording we did with listener questions to celebrate fifty episodes of STG! Thanks again to everyone who participated, and thanks to everyone who's kept us going all this time! If you missed it, you can re-watch the whole, unedited show on YouTube or listen to Part One right here.

Scripture: Proverbs 17:17, Romans 8:35, James 1:2-4

For our 50th episode, we wanted to do something a little special: A live episode recorded via Hangouts On-Air, with listener questions and responses! It turned out amazingly well, and we're excited to do another one in the future. Thanks to everyone who participated, and thanks to everyone who's kept us going for fifty episodes and more! If you missed it, you can re-watch the whole, unedited show on YouTube (and marvel at the amount of editing Branden does to make our episodes sound halfway decent.)

Show notes: Our fundraiser for The Bodhana Group has started, and you can help us support their excellent work here! Also, visit our store, and buy something for someone you think might like the show and the gift—Christmas is coming up, after all.

Scripture: Proverbs 17:17, Romans 8:35, James 1:2-4

Award-winning author and game designer Kenneth Hite joins Grant, Peter and Branden for a discussion of horror games and stories, just in time for Halloween! Check out Ken's own podcast, Ken And Robin Talk About Stuff, and keep an eye out for The Dracula Dossier, a really neat project he'll be Kickstarting soon. We also plug our upcoming charity drive for The Bodhana Group and our store.

After our Scripture readings, we talk with Ken about the fun of horror stories; running a good horror game; types of horror; creating the right amount of fear and horror in games; and writing and playing horror as a Christian. Enjoy!

Scripture: Numbers 16:32-34, Psalm 91:5, Matthew 6:34, 2 Timothy 1:7

Peter and Branden are back to talk about trustworthiness! First, a reminder about our upcoming LIVE recording of Episode 50, and an account of Save Against Fear 2014 from Branden. Then, we get down to the business of trust. We talk about why players don't trust NPCs; how to convince players that their characters should trust a given NPC; how to indicate that a character isn't trustworthy; and what to do when a player character can't be trusted. Enjoy!

Scripture:

Grant, Peter and Branden are back with thoughts on monsters! Our brief news segment discusses our new online store (go buy a shirt or a mug, they're awesome), a plug for the LIVE episode we'll record Oct. 16th, and some comments on our completed backlog and our Facebook, Google+ and Twitter feeds. Then we get down to business and talk about monsters (reprising the topic for Crossover Nexus #2, which Peter appeared on.) Why are stories about monsters interesting? What makes particular monsters interesting? How can we and should we use monsters in our games and stories? And what are our favorite monsters? (Also, since we said we'd link it in the show notes, check out Extra Credits' "The Beast Macabre".)

Scripture: Numbers 13:32-33, Job 41:12-14, Matthew 14:25-27

Grant's back, and there's so much news! Our official store is open, Peter's getting published again, Branden has a job, and our live Q&A episode is coming up. And all that's before we get into our main topic, Kindness. After defining kindness and discussing its nature as a virtue, we dive headlong into its in-game uses and role as a storytelling trope. Finally, we wrap up with a discussion of kindness at the gaming table.

Scripture: Micah 6:8, Ezekiel 36:26, Matthew 25:34-40, Colossians 3:12, Ephesians 4:32

BIG NEWS: Branden will be a Save Against Fear 2014! If you're not familiar with SAFe and The Bodhana Group, take a listen to Episode 25, "Therapeutic Roleplaying (with Jack Berkenstock)".

This should be our last bonus episode for a bit—Grant will be back next episode—but Peter and Branden wanted to take some of the work we've done in our Science of Storytelling series and apply it to a real campaign pitch, with multiple demands from virtual players (all played by Peter) and Branden as the GM. Enjoy!

Scripture: Proverbs 4:13, Luke 6:40

Peter and Branden take a break from the usual episode sequence to talk about their story and game ideas that haven't made it to the table yet! We also plug Save Against Fear 2014, in Lancaster, PA, September 12-14. (Branden might actually be able to go!)

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 1:9

Branden and Peter continue our Virtues & Vices series with a discussion of Envy! BIG news first, though: Episode 50 will be recorded LIVE, with an ongoing listener Q&A during the episode! Also, Grant's working on t-shirts and other STG products. Then we talk about Envy: The Christian definition of it, why it's a capital vice, using it in games and stories, and dealing with it at the table.

Scripture: Genesis 4:2-10, Exodus 20:17, Proverbs 14:30, Luke 15:25-30, James 3:13-18

Peter and Branden will be holding down the next couple of episodes—Grant's got some medical issues and can't podcast for a while. But we've got extra STG-related content to make up for it! Peter was on Episode 2 of the Crossover Nexus roundtable podcast (as was Mike Perna of Game Store Prophets), so give that a listen too. We also have a new logo, courtesy of Ruben at 3d6 Design; it looks awesome, so thanks very much, Ruben!

After that news (and a little bit more), we get down to business: Talking about oaths and vows in games. We define oaths, vows and pledges; discuss the dangers of vows; and then explore the gaming and roleplaying opportunities such promises provide us as GMs and players.

Scripture: Numbers 30:2; Judges 11:30-32, 34-35; Matthew 5:33-37

Peter was at Fear the Con 7 when we recorded this one, but that's okay—Ed Healy, founder of Gamerati and co-host of Atomic Array, joined Grant and Branden as a guest host this episode! After a few preliminaries we got into a fairly broad topic that Ed wanted to talk about: Unity vs. uniformity, or handling a table (and other social groups) full of different people without squashing individuality. It turned into a lot of fun and covered a wide range of examples and issues! We also talked briefly about Stephen Weese's excellent book God Loves The Freaks. Thanks for joining us, Ed; we appreciate it!

Scripture: Psalm 133, John 13:34-35, Philippians 4:4-7

Grant, Peter, and Branden are back at it! In news: Branden's read a book, Peter preemptively thanks everyone for an amazing time at Fear the Con, and Grant tries really hard not to make jokes about the episode number (and encourages everyone to read The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy instead.) Then we hit our main topic: Blessings and curses. We talk about what they are (and aren't); how they appear in Scripture and the history of Christianity; how they're often used in RPGs; and how to use them in interesting ways. Enjoy!

Scripture: Genesis 12:1-3; Deuteronomy 11:26-29; Joshua 6:26; Psalm 109:6-15; Mark 11:12-14, 20-25

Professor Branden schools Peter and Grant on some traditional lists of archetypal stories! We start things off with a reminder that Peter will be at Fear the Con 7 from June 12th to June 14th (find him there and say 'hello'!), and a mention of our appearance on Game Store Prophets #74, "Tearing The Veil Of Familiarity". Then we dive right in with Booker's seven story archetypes, Polti's Thirty-Six Dramatic Situations, and Snyder's ten basic movie plots. Oh, and somewhere along the way Grant plugs Happy Jacks RPG Podcast's "Tales from the Floating Vagabond" Actual Play (NSFW). Phew!

Scripture: >Genesis 25:24-34, Ecclesiastes 1:9, Matthew 13:13

Grant, Peter, and Branden are back around the mics for a discussion about holy orders and, er, sheep. We kick things off with a bit of an explanation of our missed episode, a plug for Save Against Fear, and a few personal notes. Then we dive headlong into religious orders and how to use them (or create them) in your game! We throw lots of historical examples into the mix (along with a length segue on sheep), and we wrap up with a long list of thoughts and questions you should ask yourself about the religious organizations you're creating.

Scripture: Exodus 28:1, Matthew 18:20, 1 Peter 2:9

Sorry -- no regular episode today. Peter's father-in-law passed away on the day we were slated to record today's episode (with a guest host), and that threw our schedule off rather a bit more than we could handle. A few more details are in the news update we attached here. However, there's an extra "Retro Tuesday" upload this week as we attempt to catch up with our backlog, and we recorded a guest appearance on Game Store Prophets for later this month, so content is indeed forthcoming!

After an aside on the books which have impacted us most strongly, Grant, Peter and Branden settle in on a difficult and unpopular topic: Chastity. We take a few minutes to define it, then discuss the prospect of using chastity as an in-game plot driver or character trait. We wrap up with a discussion of chastity -- and respect -- at the gaming table.

Scripture: Exodus 20:14, Job 31:1-4, Ephesians 5:1-13

Derek W. White, a.k.a. the "Geek Preacher", joins Grant, Peter, and Branden as a guest host, bringing with him his knowledge of the geek convention scene and Christian organizations and activities within it. The Christian Gamers' Guild, Fans For Christ, GameChurch, and Innroads Ministries all get specific shoutouts, as do the worship services at a few major conventions. We also spend some time talking about being a Christian at geeky conventions, and a geek at Christian get-togethers. Finally, we wrap up with Derek's own personal journey to faith, a pastoral position, and a lifetime of geekery.

Scripture: Genesis 12:1, Matthew 18:19-20, Hebrews 10:22-25

Our Virtues & Vices series picks up again with a particularly difficult topic: Lust. We briefly plug Sojourn again, and then dive headlong into a discussion about this capital sin. We explain what lust is (and isn't), why it's a capital sin, and why it's so pervasive and accepted. Then we talk about the problems (and storytelling opportunities) that the sin of lust can create in your game, discuss the problems lust can cause at the gaming table, and wrap up with some thoughts on how lust in particular bleeds across that in-game/out-of-game boundary.

Scripture: 2 Samuel 11-12, Proverbs 6:27-29, Matthew 5:27-30, 1 Corinthians 6:12-20

We're back with a lot of news and a great topic: Romance! We're proud to announce that Peter was published in Sojourn: An Anthology of Speculative Fiction, a collection recently released by Fear the Boot. We're also proud of composer Ryan Humphrey, an old friend of Grant's who kindly gave us our intro and outtro music and who had a small part in the production of the music for Disney's Frozen. Our sincere and delighted congratulations to both of them!

We also talked about a rather complex topic: Romance and romantic relationships in games and stories. We touched on its value as a plot or subplot, the reasons it's often an uncomfortable and avoided element in games, good fictional examples, and how to make it work in your game. Enjoy!

Scripture: Song of Songs 2:16-17, 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, 1 Corinthians 7:8-9

In a thematic continuation from our previous episode on death, Grant, Peter and Branden talk about resurrection! We first address the question of whether a game that features any resurrection other than the resurrection of the body through Christ can be played by Christians; then, we discuss how the details of resurrection can have a significant impact on your game and its story. We cover numerous fictional resurrection stories, from Highlander to To Your Scattered Bodies Go, and wrap up with a recommendation from Peter: Rev. Adam Hamilton's

After only a little bit of banter and news (including an official announcement relating to our backlog of missing episodes), Grant, Peter and Branden jump right into a particularly heavy topic: Death. We discuss the problems and opportunities that character deaths can create in your games, and suggest some tips for dealing with some of those common problems (both in- and out-of-game). Then we talk a great deal about storytelling hooks relating to death—and survival—in a multitude of forms. (Fair warning: There's also a small technical hiccup towards the end. Our apologies!)

Scripture: Ezekiel 37:1-14, Revelation 14:13, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14

We welcome guest host Mike from Innroads Ministries and Game Store Prophets! Mike introduces our listeners to Innroads, and we talk a bit about "geek ministries" before settling in with our scripture and our topic: Our own origin stories. This episode ended up being a sequence of fairly personal discussions of our roads to both gaming and faith -- about as close to testimony as we can probably get. A lot of things we haven't mentioned before came out in this episode, and we hope you enjoy it!

Scripture: Genesis 1:1-2, John 1:1-5, Matthew 13:3-9

In this episode, Grant and Peter introduce our syndication partnership with Innroads Ministries, and thank everyone who donated to The Bodhana Group through our fundraiser (and everyone else who participated in the 2013 RPG Podcasters Fundraiser Drive.) Then we start off a discussion of forgiveness with a long C. S. Lewis reading, explaining just how difficult—and how important—forgiveness is. We go over its central place in Christian theology; discuss forgiveness as a gaming plot device; and wrap up with commentary on forgiveness at the gaming table.

Scripture: Jonah 3:10-4:11, Matthew 22:34-40, John 3:16, Luke 15:20-24

It's our annual New Years bonus episode! Grant, Peter, and Branden review their 2013 New Years resolutions and how well they lived up to them (or not). Then we dive headlong into our resolutions for 2014, talking about the improvements we want to make in our faith, our personal lives, and our gaming careers.

We kick off our pseudo-Christmas episode with a shoutout to all our new listeners and a reminder about our fundraiser for The Bodhana Group, and a bit more brief news (as well as a Cooking Comically reference.) Then we turn to our discussion topic: Religious holidays in your game! We talk about their importance, possible trappings, and their history (or lack thereof). Finally, we wrap up with a discussion of our own favorite Christmas traditions. Scripture: Isaiah 9:6-7, Luke 2:13-15, Romans 14:5-6

We welcome back guest host Ben Rome, co-author of Games' Most Wanted and Assistant Line Developer for Catalyst's Battletech line! We discuss the 2013 RPG Podcasters' Charity Drive and our own fundraiser for The Bodhana Group -- including a rundown of all the latest prize news. Then we dive into a discussion of long campaigns, using a four-year campaign from Ben's gaming past as a prime example. We go over the advantages and disadvantages of long campaigns compared to one-shots and mini-campaigns; how to make long campaigns work; pitfalls they might present; and problems to overcome.

Scripture: Genesis 45:24, Psalm 90:12-15, Galatians 4:12-13

Peter and Grant welcome Steve Jarjoura from Postcards from the Dungeon as a guest host! We talk about our fundraiser for The Bodhana Group and the 2013 RPG Podcasters Charity Drive, as well as Josh Jordan's Actual Play Festival. Then we get down to business and talk about organized charities and their storytelling value in tabletop roleplaying games.

Scripture: ;Psalm 41:1-2, Matthew 6:2-4, Hebrews 13:15-16

It's fundraiser time! We're raising money this year for The Bodhana Group as part of the 2013 RPG Podcasters Charity Drive!

In this episode, Grant, Peter, and Branden plug a couple of things, including Atomacon, before getting down to the main topic: Playing evil characters in roleplaying games. We look at the topic from both the players' and the GM's perspectives, examining why you want to or need to be able to play evil characters and how to do so effectively without ruining play or giving in to that character's evil yourself.

Scripture: Isaiah 1:18-20, Romans 3:10-12, Ephesians 6:10-11

Branden, Mike, Peter, and Grant pick up our "Science of Storytelling" series with a discussion of episodic storytelling structure and pacing! Branden walks us through the structure and guides the discussion; and as usual, we come up with examples along the way. See the full show notes for Branden's suggested outline.

Scripture: Genesis 1:14-18, Matthew 28:19-20

----more----

Branden's suggested episodic structure outline:

I see a problem
and decide to do something
that helps the situation
but something else happens related to one of my actions
and I must deal with that
so the world can be right again

Dan Harmon's "Story Structure 101" outline (mildly NSFW language)

We're back with more virtues! This time, we're talking about the virtue of Patience, and its glosses of Peace and Mercy. As usual, we discuss and define Patience from a theological perspective, and then talk about its in-character and at-the-table uses.

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 7:8-9, Hebrews 10:32-38, Galatians 5:22-25, James 1:19-20

It's our distinct pleasure to welcome Jack Berkenstock of The Bodhana Group as a guest host for this episode! We give Jack plenty of time to talk about his group and their mission to help young victims and perpetrators of sexual trauma—a mission they're carrying out with tabletop roleplaying games as a crucial therapeutic tool. We also discuss the science and goals of therapeutic roleplaying and trauma therapy in general. Plus, we do our best to plug Save Against Fear, a three-day convention in Lancaster, PA from Oct. 11th-13th hosted by and fundraising for The Bodhana Group. A big list of everything Jack mentioned is below the fold, too.

We don't usually ask this, but please share this episode around. We want to get the word out about Save Against Fear in time for people to decide to go, and we want people to know about and support The Bodhana Group as well! Bodhana has a Facebook page and Twitter feed too, if that's your thing.

Scripture: Psalm 103:2-5, Luke 7:20-23, John 8:3-11, and Philippians 4:8

----more----

-- Rich Thomas from White Wolf Games (whose comment got this therapeutic roleplaying thing going,00:04:00) (@rich_thomas_ww)

-- Drama therapy

-- Everything Bad Is Good for You, by Steven Johnson

-- CAR-PGa

-- The Functions of Role Playing Games: How Participants Create Community, Solve Problems, and Explore Identity, by Sarah Lynne Bowman

-- Meddling Kids by Pandahead Productions

-- The Trouble with Rose by Todd Zircher

-- rpgresearch.com

We welcome Mike, occasionally known as Mindtakerr on the Internet, as a new host! Then we talk about wrath - when anger is (and isn't) a mortal sin, and how it can manifest in people. Then we talk about how incredibly common wrath is in all forms of entertainment, including roleplaying games; and we wrap up with a discussion about handling anger and wrath in your group of players. Scripture: Proverbs 15:1, Ephesians 4:26-32, James 1:19-21 Things we said we'd link to in the show notes: Re: @mindtakerr | Old Spice; Extra Credits: Non-Combat Gaming; TUN: Slow Down the Violence; PftD #112 - Violent Entertainment

Two major announcements: This is the first episode in our new "Science of Storytelling" series; and Save Against Fear, a remarkable gaming convention and fundraiser for sexually traumatized kids, is the weekend of October 11th-13th. You're going to be hearing much more about Save Against Fear in the future!

In this episode, Grant, Peter, and Branden (but mostly Branden) explain the continuous plot structure used in almost all movie scripts. (See our full show notes for a copy of that outline!) Then, Branden walks us through creating an actual plot for a game using the outline he laid out in the first half of the episode.

Scripture for this episode: Psalms 19:14, Philippians 4:8

----more----

The full outline we used in this episode:

Opening Image
The Set-up/Theme Stated
The Catalyst
Changes the world irrevocably; no going back
The Debate
Sometimes the refusal of the call; provide choices and alternative actions
Break into 2
B Story
In movies, usually romantic; in a game, perhaps one per PC
Fun and Games
The promise of the premise
Mid point
Either a “false defeat” or a “false victory”
Bad guys close in
All is lost
Either “false victory” or “false defeat” (The opposite of what ever the midpoint was, but it should be related to the midpoint twist)
The ‘whiff of death’
Dark Night of the Soul
Break into 3
B-story should pay off here to provide hope
Finale
Final Image

Back when we recorded this episode, Saving the Game had just turned one year old! That's pretty awesome! A big thanks to all of our listeners, old and new. In this episode, Grant, Peter, and Branden discuss morality in storytelling: How to effectively tell stories with moral lessons without pontificating, without insulting the other players at the table, and without taking away player agency. Peter also references an episode of Extra Credits, "Beyond Fun" (S5E8).

Scripture for this episode: Micah 6:8, Proverbs 22:6, Galatians 6:7

This time our episode topic is redemption stories in your roleplaying games. We discuss how to successfully tell redemption stories in a collaborative storytelling environment; how these stories differ for protagonists and antagonists; redemption stories for player characters and NPCs; and how to get Branden and Peter to argue. Also, Peter's bookseller rage activates!

Scripture: Psalm 111:9, Titus 2:11-14, Romans 3:22-24

Grant, Peter and Branden continue our Virtues & Vices series with an episode on Diligence, the virtue contrary to the vice of Sloth. As usual, we explain the virtue—both culturally and theologically—before talking about its application in games and in our lives. Scripture: Proverbs 13:4, Matthew 25:14-30, Ephesians 4:28