Episodes

  • 148: That Healing Feeling
    Nov 5 2024

    Joe talks about how he handles RPG healing mechanics in both new-school and old-schools games. Inspired by the classic works of Judges Guild and John M. Ford, he explores the concept of individual wound tracking and the importance of first aid in recovering from battle. #rpg #dnd #ttrpg Links: The Roleplayer Article: https://www.sjgames.com/gurps/Roleplayer/Roleplayer16/Wounds.html

    Links: Share your thoughts via: 🌐 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠sayhi.chat/dekahedron⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 📧 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠feedback@dekahedron.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 📞📱 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠562-RPG-CAST (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠562-774-2278⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ More information is at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠dekahedron.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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    13 mins
  • 41 Years Ago Today... and Today (Off Topic/Bonus)
    Oct 31 2024

    Joe marks a significant life milestone. He shares an intimate and candid reflection of a chapter of his life that is coming to an end 41 years--to the day--after it began.

    Links: Article about Joe: https://www.afcent.af.mil/Units/379th-Air-Expeditionary-Wing/News/Display/Article/809055/taking-care-of-service-members-first-priority-for-first-aid-kit-assembly-party/

    Share your thoughts via: 🌐 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠sayhi.chat/dekahedron⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 📧 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠feedback@dekahedron.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 📞📱 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠562-RPG-CAST (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠562-774-2278⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ More information is at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠dekahedron.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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    29 mins
  • 146: Trade in Blackmoor... and Beyond (OSR October)
    Oct 29 2024

    Joe wraps up OSR October by exploring Dave Arneson’s trade system for Blackmoor. From there, he delves into the evolution of trade mechanics in early RPGs, including the classic Traveller game. Finally he talks about his own system to handle mercantile trade by players characters in D&D and other fantasy role-playing games. Key topics covered:

    • Blackmoor’s Trade Mechanics: Discover Dave Arneson’s approach to trade.
    • Judges Guild's Trade System: Explore the foundations of trade in RPGs.
    • Traveller’s Trade System: Learn from one of the most influential space RPGs.
    • Rolemaster's approach to handling speculative trading.
    • Joe's home-grown solution.

    Links: Joe's blog post: https://vagabondgm.blogspot.com/2021/06/a-simple-trade-system.html

    Share your thoughts via: 🌐 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠sayhi.chat/dekahedron⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 📧 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠feedback@dekahedron.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 📞📱 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠562-RPG-CAST (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠562-774-2278⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ More information is at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠dekahedron.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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    21 mins
  • 146: Wilderness Generation in Blackmoor (OSR October)
    Oct 23 2024

    Journey back to the early days of D&D with this look at random wilderness generation in Dave Arneson's Blackmoor campaign.

    In this episode, Joe explores the approach to wilderness creation used by one of the pioneers of role-playing games. Discover how Arneson combined random tables with detailed descriptions to bring the world of Blackmoor to life.

    Share your thoughts via: 🌐 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠sayhi.chat/dekahedron⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 📧 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠feedback@dekahedron.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 📞📱 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠562-RPG-CAST (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠562-774-2278⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ More information is at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠dekahedron.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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    19 mins
  • 145: XP in Blackmoor (OSR October)
    Oct 15 2024

    For OSR October, Joe explores Dave Arneson's original reward system that he used in his Blackmoor while developing Dungeons & Dragons. Unlike the familiar XP system of modern D&D, Blackmoor required players to spend gold in order to gain experience points. Discover this strange and fascinating peek into the origins of the hobby, and how these mechanics differed from the more traditional approaches we see in modern RPGs. Happy gaming! Happy life! Share your thoughts via: 🌐 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠sayhi.chat/dekahedron⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 📧 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠feedback@dekahedron.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 📞📱 ⁠⁠⁠⁠562-RPG-CAST (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠562-774-2278⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠)⁠⁠⁠⁠ More information is at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠dekahedron.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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    26 mins
  • 144: Magic in Blackmoor (OSR October)
    Oct 8 2024

    Welcome back to OSR October! This week, Joe dives deep into the original magic system used in Dave Arneson's Blackmoor, the proto-Dungeons & Dragons campaign. Blackmoor's magic system is very different from what we see in modern D&D. Here, magic users don't memorize spells – they create potions and other formulaic concoctions that need to be prepared beforehand. These ingredients can be dangerous or difficult to find, and spells are single-use! Joe also shares his fascination with single-use magic and mentions his own homebrew rules for creating magical items that are used up after a single cast. Do you think single-use magic could be interesting? Would you try running a game with this system? Share your thoughts in the comments! Links mentioned in the episode: Rules to the Game of Dungeon: https://playingattheworld.blogspot.com/2012/08/rules-to-game-of-dungeon-1974.html Don't forget to subscribe for more OSR October goodness! Happy gaming! Happy life! Share your thoughts via: 🌐 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠sayhi.chat/dekahedron⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 📧 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠feedback@dekahedron.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 📞📱 ⁠⁠⁠⁠562-RPG-CAST (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠562-774-2278⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠)⁠⁠⁠⁠

    YouTube: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@jpfgill⁠ More information is at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠dekahedron.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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    11 mins
  • 143: Shallow Dives (OSR October)
    Oct 1 2024

    For the first episode of OSR October, Joe dives into the early days of D&D with Dave Arneson's Blackmoor. He talks about "shallow dungeon dives" and how they evolved naturally from the megadungeons of the early days of the hobby. He also discusses the bottom-up world-building method used in Blackmoor. Get ready for a nostalgic journey through the origins of Dungeons & Dragons! #dnd #osroctober #osrtober #gaminghistory Share your thoughts via: 🌐 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠sayhi.chat/dekahedron⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 📧 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠feedback@dekahedron.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 📞📱 ⁠⁠⁠562-RPG-CAST (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠562-774-2278⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠)⁠⁠⁠ More information is at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠dekahedron.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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    13 mins
  • 142: In Defense of Metacurrency
    Sep 24 2024

    Joe discusses why he believes metacurrency is a valuable tool for enhancing role-playing games. He discusses the definition of metacurrency, with examples, and why he believes that metacurrency can increase player agency and streamline mechanics.

    The YouTube Poll: https://www.youtube.com/post/Ugkxote0nlgw5i3pX_uKFNBjioJoAhRL712S

    Share your thoughts via: 🌐 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠sayhi.chat/dekahedron⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 📧 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠feedback@dekahedron.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 📞📱 ⁠⁠562-RPG-CAST (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠562-774-2278⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠)⁠⁠ More information is at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠dekahedron.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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    13 mins