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A Voyage to Unknown Waters
189 – Gray Morality
Sometimes it’s obvious who’s right and who’s wrong. The hero is kind and good, while the villain is cruel and evil. But what if that’s not the case? What happens when morality isn’t black and white but rather a shade of gray? That’s what we’re … read more »
Six Sources of Conflict for Your World
Conflict is necessary for a good story, and it can arise from any number of places. You can generate conflict through the plot by making your story about a rebellion against an evil empire. Or, you can generate conflict between characters: the hero is all … read more »
Five Tips for Characters That Go Against the Flow
Everyone likes characters that go against the status quo, whether that means holding an unpopular belief, having a different worldview, or seeing events differently from the average sentient being. Such characters provide endless storytelling opportunities and fun character interactions. But for these norm-breaking characters to … read more »
Running Cosmic Horror in D&D
Do you guys have advice for portraying cosmic horror in D&D specifically? I know it isn’t the best game for horror, but it’s all my RPG group is willing to play. -Torchbug Read more »
188 – Messages and Themes
What is a story’s message, and what is its theme? Are those different things? Have we been using words wrong this whole time? This week we aim to find out. Listen as battle lines are drawn over academic vs common word usage, and then as … read more »
Six Pieces of Misunderstood Storytelling Advice
The internet is full of writing advice. Some of it is good, some of it is bad, and some of it is misunderstood. It’s that third category that we’re interested in today. If advice is misunderstood, it’s of no use to anyone, and this happens … read more »
Why English Needs Singular They
Despite the growing recognition and validation of gender-neutral pronouns, there are still many people – particularly in the writing industry – who reject singular they. These traditionalists usually complain that singular they will make the English language worse, since the meaning of “they” will be … read more »
The Business of Adventure
We say let the dungeon-market decide! Read more »
187 – Party Composition
How many wizards should a party have? What about fighters? Does it even matter? That’s right, this week we’re talking about party composition in roleplaying games. Well, mostly in roleplaying games. We touch on other mediums too. Listen as we discuss which games require a … read more »