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Oren is a grumpy old man whose physical age hasn’t quite caught up with him, at least that’s what the kids who won’t get off his lawn keep saying. He’s been into roleplaying games since he was knee-high to a d10, and into prose writing for nearly as long. He loves stories and games that push the envelope of storytelling, like the Discworld series and the RPG Primetime Adventures. He’s also a huge Star Trek fan, though his rants on the mistakes of Voyager and Enterprise might make you think otherwise.
Making your own setting for a campaign is great fun, but sometimes you want to use one that already exists. Perhaps you’re short on worldbuilding time, or there’s one setting you’ve always wanted to run a game in, or the game you have planned is … read more »
If you’ve ever wondered why authors bother to divide their books into numbered chunks called chapters, this is the podcast for you. Chapters are present in nearly every novel published today, but they’re something we don’t often think about. This week we are joined by … read more »
Some TV shows are just bad. They might have inconsistent writing, terrible special effects, lousy acting, or all three! But sometimes, a character stands out from these awful shows, a shining diamond of good storytelling in the rough of mediocrity. These characters rise above the … read more »
We’ve all got our social justice axes to grind, and as we are joined by Fay for a third week, this is the time to get them out. We discuss several episodes of Star Trek that tried for a positive message but shot themselves in … read more »
Speculative fiction has a wide variety of settings, genres, and subgenres, and some get more attention than others. Space opera and European high fantasy have been the top dogs for decades, with up-and-comers like urban fantasy and steampunk taking most of what’s left. But there … read more »
Once upon a time, Fay once again joined Oren and Chris, this time to discuss fairy tales. The first question on our minds: what is a fairy tale, exactly? Is it any story with fairies in it? Does it need to have a happy ending? … read more »
Blue Rose is a roleplaying game in the romantic-fantasy genre. What is romantic fantasy you ask? Blue Rose describes it as fantasy with a more optimistic and open-minded outlook than traditional high fantasy or sword and sorcery.* Relationships are very important in this subgenre, though … read more »
Foreshadowing is used to either make something more believable or to increase tension. In the former, the foreshadowing makes it seem more likely that something might happen. In the latter, it makes the reader worry that something might happen. But what if that something never happens, … read more »
Another week brings us a brand new guest host, Fay Onyx of Writing Alchemy. With Fay on board, we discuss how to draw inspiration from roleplaying characters, so you won’t have to let that treasured PC go after the final session. We discuss the benefits … read more »
Which better brings a character to life: the skilled performance of a master actor or the flowing words of an author’s quill? That’s the topic we brought Wes back a third time to discuss. While TV and films let us literally see what is happening … read more »