Are you ready for an epic adventure? Welcome to the Epic Adventure Podcast! Host Steve Kellams and guests discuss all things table top roleplaying. From TTRPG news and tabletop RPG game design to tips and tricks to make your games epic.
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If I’ve asked that question once at the end of a game session, I’ve asked it a hundred times.
Feedback, it’s all about feedback.
As a game master I want to know what worked, what didn’t work, and did I get my ideas across to the players. Where they surprised by anything, did the rules make sense, what do they want to see more of and most importantly, did they have a good time.
Recently we started a new game with our Thursday Night Game Group. Our core crew was present of course and we brought back some old players and added a few new players to the mix. We decided on playing Twilight 2000, a game from my past that Free League had picked up and made some significant changes by plugging their Year Zero engine into it.
I started by reading the rules and then ran the players through the lifepath system to help them create characters and finally we played the first session. As of this recording we have 2 sessions under our belt, and I wanted to take this episode to talk to the players and get their thoughts on the game.
We started this podcast to mimic those conversations we have after the games, and I can’t think of a better use for it then to actually have one of those conversations.
Let’s start with you Mike, what did you think?
[Kick to Mike]
Christina, I felt like you agreed to play the game, because you’ll never say no to a roleplaying game. That makes for a different view than some of the other players. What did you think about it.
Welcome to You Heard it Here Last where we talk about news, you’ve already heard.
I evidently missed this announcement in November of 2025, so when I got the email from Backerkit about an upcoming launch I might be interested in, I was surprised. Traveller 5e from Mongoose Publishing was coming to Backerkit in March of 2026.
My first thought was they were printing a new edition of Traveller, but then I remembered Marc Miller had produced Traveller 5th Edition in 2013. Of course, Mongoose has taken over publishing, but they are in the 2nd edition…then it hit me like a ton of bricks. It was Traveller for Dungeons and Dragons 5th edition.
I’m sure if I tried real hard, I could come up with something more useless, but I gotta tell you, right now I’m out of ideas.
What a complete waste.
Traveller is an iconic roleplaying game with specific systems that work perfectly in that science fiction world it portrays. Rewriting the entire thing for D&D 5E … Stop it. Just Stop it. I know that 5E is the biggest selling game out there and I know this is just a money grab, but Damit people, open another roleplaying game book.
I typically cheer for anything that brings more eyes to our hobby, but this isn’t a rising tide, it’s a tsunami destroying what’s good about independent games and alternatives to D&D.
I’m tapping out on this one.
Christina, thoughts?
[Kick to Christina]
Mike
[Kick to Mike]
You might think after my lead in I would avoid all things Hasbro, but our next article from EN World is just too interesting to pass up. We’ve talked a lot about AI on our podcast and in Hasbro’s latest earnings call Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks addressed the company’s use of AI.
If I have read it once in an online forum I have read it a thousand times.
“I want to play game X but my players won’t play anything but D&D”
I always want to fire back with get new players, but that isn’t necessarily realistic and besides it’s not a good answer.
Over the years I’ve played a ton of different games and game systems. I personally have never hard a difficult time convincing people to try something different, but maybe that’s because I’m good at convincing people to try something different.
Taking a step back I can see where someone might struggle with pitching a new game idea. Or have to overcome the inherent biases of their players who just want to keep doing the thing that they like instead of trying new stuff.
So, for our last episode of Season 3 and 2025, Christina and I are going to talk about pitching a game idea to your players. We are going to give you some tips and tricks to help sell them on the idea, but first let’s start with Christina.
Christina, Pitch Mike and I a game idea to make us want to play.
First up on You Heard It Here Last we have a very cool announcement. Modiphious games has picked up the license to create the Discworld Roleplaying game. We haven’t seen a Discworld rpg since the late 90’s with Steve Jackson Games. Christina, what do you think about Modiphious picking up Discworld?
Next on our list is a new RPG news site called Rascal. Rascal is a brand-new RPG news site. It’s independent, a little alternative, and definitely rogue. Mike, have you had a chance to check this out and if so, what do you think?
https://www.rascal.news/
That’s it for this episode of You Heard It Here Last. Catch you next time.
“[Sam] fell and came heavily on his hands, which sank deep into sticky ooze, so that his face was brought close to the surface of the dark mere. There was a faint hiss, and a noisome smell went up, the lights flickered and danced and swirled. For a moment the water below him looked like some window, glazed with grimy glass, through which he was peering. Wrenching his hands out of the bog, he sprang back with a cry. ‘There are dead things, dead faces in the water,’ he said with horror. ‘Dead faces!’”
This excerpt is from JRR Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings. I know that’s probably obvious to most of our listeners but what likely isn’t obvious is the above passages reference. While Tolkien might have been spinning a fantastical yarn about a fantasy conflict, what he was really writing about was his experiences in World War 1 and the above passage clearly refers to the Battle of the Somme one of the deadliest battles in all of human history.
Typical table top roleplaying leans heavily into the war and military genre, but over the years that DNA has been lost and today’s gamers miss some tremendous opportunities to bring to life amazing games by going back to the roots of roleplaying and really diving into those military and war tropes.
On this episode Mike and I are going talk about the military genre and ways to bring those roleplaying ideas into your games.
Mike, I know you are a massive Tolkien fan. Were you aware of the huge influence of World War 1 on his writings when you started reading Tolkien?
Typical War Tropes to add to your games.
Battle Scenes and Action: Describe the bigger battles, what’s going on across the battlefield. Sweeping descriptions between rounds.
Historical Context: Strive to accurately depict the historical context, settings, and details of these wars. Draw from real world battles for your fantasy fights.
Character Portrayals: For an NPC death to be meaningful you have to get to know him first so that when a player puts their hand in a pile of goo that was once their comrades face it will mean something.
The next piece of news is the canceling of Joe Mangenellos live action Dragon Lance series. He has been teasing it for over a year, but now it’s officially dead with Hasbros sale of dots One Entertainment arm to Lionsgate. Christina, were you a fan of Dragonlance?
“Dude, I am so sorry you gotta work for that guy. He is the worst.”
“It’s not that bad. Actually, we get along really well, and he’s the first boss who’s ever actually listened to my suggestions.”
I think we have all found ourselves at one time or another dealing with a boss or manager that for some reason things just didn’t click. We will often blame them and fail to see that it takes two to tango.
When you dig into it, usually the issues are combinations of personalities, motivations, communication styles, and sometimes luck.
Now we roleplay for fun, so we never find ourselves sitting down at a gaming table and quickly realizing that for some reason we just aren’t working well with the GM?
Sorry, I should have given you the sarcasm alert.
We have all found ourselves at a gaming table where we struggled getting along with other players and occasionally the GM. I have found this is especially likely when we are already friends with the GM.
Learning how to manage your game master is a critical skill for good gaming tables and it’s not nearly as difficult as you might think. Practicing good communication skills and a few of these simple tricks can go a long way to greatly improving your game sessions.
Christina, have you ever had to manage one of your GMs?
Points:
Show up ready to play (be on time, have equipment {pen, paper, dice, character sheet})
Know the basic rules (you don’t have to know them all, just the basics like dice mechanics)
Know the rules that apply to your character (very important in crunchy games)
Introduce yourself to other players, Don’t make the GM do all the social work.
Recently D&D Beyond released 2023 Unrolled: A Look Back at a Year of Adventure this article breaks down the stats from users of D&D Beyond in 2023. The results are interesting especially if you enjoy data. Mike and I love data.
Here are a few that jumped out at me. Average Age of Character Created = 28, Most Popular Species = Human (beating the elf by almost 200K), and the Most Popular Class = Fighter.
Let’s just say I would have lost the bet. This really surprised me. What about you Mike?
[Kick to Mike]
Wrapping up something Christina and I talked about a couple of weeks ago. Evil Genius Games settled their lawsuit with Netflix. But we are still not getting a Rebel Moon TTRPG.
The following is a joint statement prepared by us and Netflix relating to the recently resolved litigation between us.
“The parties are pleased that they were able to amicably resolve this dispute. Netflix thanks Evil Genius for their hard work and professionalism.”
We will not be releasing a Rebel Moon game, but stay tuned for more amazing Cinematic Adventures and an upcoming sci-fi project. And thank you again for your amazing support!
My player characters entered the room and the Evil Wizard rose from the throne.
“How dare you interrupt my plans” he snarled.
Everyone roll for initiative.
This was supposed to be the crowning battle in the adventure. An incredible, nail-biting conflict where anything could happen.
It turned into a 6-hour slog and by the end, half of the players had bailed for a variety of reasons.
Or should I say one reason.
They got bored.
A challenge game masters face is keeping the game interesting, moving forward, and keeping players involved. It is more commonly referred by its movie and novel counterpart.
Pacing.
Narrative pacingis the speed at which a story unfolds. Pacing can be thought of as the tempo of a narrative. Narrative pacing may result in a story being called slow or fast-paced.
Just because a story is slow doesn’t mean it’s bad and just because a story is fast doesn’t mean it’s good. So, when we talk about good pacing you have to keep it in context.
Is the game designed to be an Action Adventure? If so, it better move along quickly.
Is the game designed as an Exploration story? We can take our time.
Is the game a Thriller with lots of roleplaying? Well then, turtles are going to win that race.
Since pacing is such a huge challenge for game masters Christina and I are going to talk about it’s importance and give you some tips and tricks to make sure your games a paced properly.
Christina have you ever had problems with pacing in one of your adventures?
“We're beyond experimentation. We're deploying AI across financial planning, forecasting, order management, supply chain operations, training and everyday productivity.” Cocks said. He also broke down how creatives use the tools.
Mike, AI has recently become a huge part of your life and after diving into it and embracing it in the workforce you got promoted to COO. Briefly breakdown why AI is the future, whether we like it or not.
[Kick to Mike]
Christina hit us with the ethical issues
[kick to Christina]
And there you have it, all the news, you’ve already heard.
Camaraderie and Relationships: Down time should be special and allow for building relationships with NPCs and other players. Loners don’t last in war.
Anti-War Themes: There are great opportunities to dive into things like conscientious objectors and pacifists. Showing the horrors of war can make for great roleplaying opportunities.
Leadership and Command: You can play the hapless soldier forced to take orders or even the commanding general sending troops to their deaths. There is a lot of leeway here.
Home Front and Civilian Perspectives: focus on the experiences of civilians affected by war, including the challenges of living in war-torn areas, dealing with displacement, and the emotional toll on families. Down time at the village should reflect how a community runs during conflict. Business as usual can be very jarring to a solder or adventure fresh from the battle.
Post-War Consequences: Some war movies delve into the aftermath of conflict, depicting the challenges of rebuilding societies, addressing trauma, and reconciling the effects of war on a personal and societal level. Reconstruction era was one of the most contentious and heartbreaking times in American history. Tremendous opportunities in a long campaign.
Visual Realism: War movies often strive for visual realism, using detailed sets, accurate uniforms, weapons, and equipment to provide an authentic portrayal of the historical period and conflict. Do your research.
Patriotism and National Identity: Some war films highlight themes of patriotism, sacrifice, and national identity, exploring how individuals come together to defend their countries
Let the Good Job’s flow. Congratulate other players and the GM on good ideas and challenges
Don’t be sneaky. (Explain your complicated plan to the GM including the overall goals)
Don’t argue at the table. (Never argue at the table. Argue after the game session in private)
Support the GM Decisions and encourage the other players to support the decisions as well.
Take Notes!
Remember Rule 0 (The GM has final say)
Help the GM look up rules, but don’t read them out loud, use page numbers.
Pay attention to how the GM communicates. Don’t interrupt a speech!
Provide feedback (remember constructive criticism, always end on a positive)
Share the costs (books, snacks, software, etc)
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Pacing Tips:
1. Pacing should match the game style. Action = Fast Paced, Combat = Fast Paced, Thriller = slow paced, Investigation = slow paced, Horror = slow paced.
2. Pacing is subjective and based on feeling. So use your body language to trick the players.
3. Character interaction slows things down. Encourage that when appropriate and discourage when you need the pace to pick up.
4. Know your session length and watch the clock. Each game session should have a bit of action, a bit of suspense, and a bit of character interaction.
5. Watch your players. If they look bored, they are bored. Pick up the pace.
6. Clocks are great for picking up the pace.
7. Social events are perfect for slowing things down.
8. Don’t be afraid to ditch the rules. Rules heavy games kill pace. Specifically Initiative. Initiative is the death of pace.
9. Avoid 3rd act resolutions for every side plot. Resolutions bring the game to a halt and then you have to ramp up tension and momentum again.
10. The short and long rest mechanic in D&D is the worst thing to ever happen to a roleplaying game. The greatest pacing killer of all time.
11. When the roleplaying gets repetitive it’s time to shake things up.
12. If you are running an action-oriented game then cut to the next scene quickly. Describe in less then a minute how the players have moved from one scene to the next and then turn it on again.
13. In fast paced games avoid description and use tropes. In slow paced games like thriller and horror take the time to set the scene including in depth descriptions. Use all of the senses.
14. All games should build throughout the episode. End on a high point, never a low point or it will feel like the game has fizzled out. We want them eager to come back next week and play. This is why the cliffhanger was developed.
15. When creating an adventure make sure that each scene propels the plot in some way.
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