Rene Plays Games
Hi! I’m Rene (pronounced Rainy) and I want to share my love of roleplaying games with you! Join me as I play through smaller publisher games, talk design and gaming topics with friends, and explore all the ways you can be a better game master or player.
Listen on:
Episodes
Tuesday Oct 15, 2024
Tuesday Oct 15, 2024
Welcome back to more Koriko: A Magical Year by Jack Harrison & Mousehole Press!
In this episode, Summer brings the heat! Genie hangs out with some familiar confidants and gets new perspectives into their places in Koriko, as well as gets a peek behind the curtain, according to Koriko & Ace, glimpsing a bit more of the truth about this incredible city. Lastly, we end with a contentious new confidant and Genie's first impression isn't her best...
I made a Ko-Fi if you feel absurdly generous and want to help cover podcast hosting costs & all the upkeep. I'm still working on whether I want to offer anything special over there or just give my extreme gratitude (maybe some stickers or something in the mail) to those who donate, but no pressure whatsoever :)
Where to Follow Rene Plays Games:
LinkTree | Instagram | Facebook | X/Twitter | Threads | DMs After Dark
email: RenePlaysGamesPod@gmail.com
Music in the Episode:
Theme Song written & produced by Dan Pomfret | @danfrombothbands
Windswept Realms, Volume II by Vindsvept
Tuesday Oct 08, 2024
Tuesday Oct 08, 2024
Welcome to another episode of Perspective Checks where I sit down with friends and folks from the TTRPG world and discuss what they love about this wonderful hobby!
This month's episode is a big one! Worldbuilding is an integral part of storytelling in RPGs, whether you're playing in an established universe like many big named systems provide, or are drawing maps and leaving blanks in the Powered by the Apocalypse emergent narrative style of newer indie games. The shared world that the characters interact with is as much a part of the story as the actions of the characters, reacting and responding to provide new obstacles and opportunities.
In this episode, I speak with Ross about his experience bringing pre-colonial Filipino mythology to the forefront in the excellent actual play Blades of Mayari, an exploration of the culture and heritage of the players using FATE. Ross and the cast of the show have done their homework and approach the lore and real-world mythology and culture of the Philippines with the respect and sensitivity it requires. We mostly talk about this setting specifically, but do branch out a bit to talk about the act of drawing inspiration from these historical cultures from the right place.
I highly recommend you check out Blades of Mayari, which has completed its first season and should be coming back soon for more!
Additionally, Ross recommended the following books & online resources if you're interested in learning more about Filipino history and mythology:
Outline of Philippine Mythology by F. Landa Jocano
Dictionary of Philippine Mythology by Ferdinand Blumentritt
History of the Philippines: From Indios Bravos to Filipinos by Luis H. Francia
Barangay: Sixteenth-Century Philippine Culture and Society by William Henry Scott
The Gods Must Be Crazy - A Philippine Mythology Podcast
The Aswang Project - A Free Resource for Philippine Mythology & Folklore
I made a Ko-Fi if you feel absurdly generous and want to help cover podcast hosting costs & all the upkeep. I'm still working on whether I want to offer anything special over there or just give my extreme gratitude (maybe some stickers or something in the mail) to those who donate, but no pressure whatsoever :)
Where to Follow Rene Plays Games:
Instagram | Facebook | Twitter/X | Threads | DMs After Dark
email: RenePlaysGamesPod@gmail.com
Music in the Episode:
Theme Song written & produced by Dan Pomfret | @danfrombothbands
Tuesday Oct 01, 2024
Tuesday Oct 01, 2024
Welcome back to more Koriko: A Magical Year by Jack Harrison & Mousehole Press!
In this episode, our teenage witch Genie and her friendly 3-eyed mink Mog are pretty well established in the city of Koriko, and people are starting to come to her for help! We see some friends made from the last volume and make some new acquaintances in the city, as well, including the city itself, as Genie continues to learn more about herself, her magic, and the world beyond Bonetto as Spring comes and goes in Koriko.
Where to Follow Rene Plays Games:
LinkTree | Instagram | Facebook | X/Twitter | Threads | DMs After Dark
email: RenePlaysGamesPod@gmail.com
Music in the Episode:
Theme Song written & produced by Dan Pomfret | @danfrombothbands
Anvil Square Day by Monument Studios
The Calm Inspirational Seeker B by Monument Studios
Deception by Monument Studios
Bringer of Rain by Vindsvept
Crystal Forest by Vindsvept
Spellbound, Part 2 by Vindsvept
Winter's Morning by Vindsvept
Halfling Lodge from TabletopAudio.com
Rain Cafe Lo-Fi by Aaron from Pixabay
The Ghost of Shepardx2 by Geoffrey Burch from Pixabay
Lucid Dreaming by | e s c p | https://www.escp.space https://escp-music.bandcamp.com
Tuesday Sep 24, 2024
Tuesday Sep 24, 2024
Welcome back to Mining Media where we turn your binging into better TTRPG experiences by using every monitoring drone we have access to to analyze every last bit of information and set our performance stability to 98% efficiency.
This week we're talking about The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells, a far future dystopian sci-fi series that follows Murderbot, the Sec-Unit with freedom from its governor module as it explores the universe with free will for the first time and protects humans from being stupid and hurting themselves while just trying to watch its media.
It's an incredible series and inspired my character ISIL-8 in my NOTORIOUS Trilogy Mode series.
The take home points are:
Go smaller with your adventure arcs and keep them contained to small 1-2 location scenarios which build on the bigger world and campaign / story you're weaving at the table
Consider how perspectives would flavor interactions between characters based on the major player factions of the world (governments, corporations, guilds) and the people who operate within them (humans, non-humans, family units, etc.)
Homework: take one of your favorite books, episodes, etc. and plot it out like a pointcrawl with different types of encounters to be undertaken in a small, contained arc.
In case you're reading this and are feeling incredibly generous, I started a Ko-Fi page to cover the cost of podcast hosting, video conferencing, and transcription software subscriptions. No pressure, but if you donate I'll virtually hug and/or hi-five you, your call.
Where to Follow Rene Plays Games:
LinkTree | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter/X | Threads | DMs After Dark
email: RenePlaysGamesPod@gmail.com
Music in the Episode:
Theme Song written & produced by Dan Pomfret | @danfrombothbands
Let's Stay In by Braden Deal from Uppbeat | https://uppbeat.io/t/braden-deal/lets-stay-in
Tuesday Sep 17, 2024
Tuesday Sep 17, 2024
Welcome back for episode 2 of Koriko: A Magical Year by Jack Harrison & Mousehole Press, who just so happen to be running a Kickstarter campaign to print some of their other great games like Artefact, Bucket of Bolts, and CounterPart! Go check it out!
In this episode, our teenage witch Genie settles into the city of Koriko and meets her first Confidants - NPCs who will be recurring throughout the story as we feel like interacting with them, interspersed with the moments and events of every day life throughout the year. We start using the gameplay loop of tarot cards and dice stacking as we make our way through the next 6 volumes that will make up our Magical Year!
Where to Follow Rene Plays Games:
Instagram | Facebook | X/Twitter | Threads | DMs After Dark
email: RenePlaysGamesPod@gmail.com
Music in the Episode:
Theme Song written & produced by Dan Pomfret | @danfrombothbands
Covert Ops from TabletopAudio.com
Elven Glade from TabletopAudio.com
Haven from TabletopAudio.com
Magical Shoppe from TabletopAudio.com
Solemn Vow from TabletopAudio.com
Reverie, Part 2 by Vindsvept
Tuesday Sep 10, 2024
Tuesday Sep 10, 2024
Welcome to another episode of Perspective Checks where I sit down with friends and folks from the TTRPG world and discuss what they love about this wonderful hobby!
I was so honored to have this month's guest Michael Low on to chat about his philosophy in all things TTRPGs. Michael is a teacher and game designer whose work you can hear on his podcast Stories RPG, his writing classes which use RPGs over at Luck of Legends, and check out all his games on his Itch.io page!
Not only am I a *huge* fan of Michael's approach to games, his dedication to all ages meaning telling universal, core stories, but I was lucky enough to catch him on the day that he got the thumbs up to talk all about his new project InfiniBrix, which he's creating with Rob Hebert aka Nerdy Paper Games that uses the toys you have around the house to tell stories!
I could gush all day about just being able to nerd out with Michael, but I hope you enjoy our chat! It's probably my longest Perspective Checks, and I will not apologize for a single second!
Tuesday Sep 03, 2024
Tuesday Sep 03, 2024
Hello and welcome to a new solo RPG series, switching up tone completely and exploring the wonderfully cozy journaling game Koriko: A Magical Year by Jack Harrison & Mousehole Press, creators of other incredible solo games like Artefact, Orbital, and Bucket of Bolts (Jack also did layout for Notorious & Outsiders, so clearly he knows what he's doing)!
Koriko is a game about a teenage witch leaving their home village to spend one year in a new city where they will work their craft, expand their horizons, and learn to be the witch they are destined to become. Very obviously paying homage to its inspirations, Koriko is a beautiful book in both art and writing, and I'm very excited to break away from my usual method of solo journaling strictly through audio to actually write in a journal to create the incredible artifact that sticking to this ritual will become.
Volume 1: Departure introduces Eugenia "Genie" Finch, our young witch with excellent style, wild ginger hair, and a three-eyed mink familiar named Mog who is leaving her northern forests village of Bonetto to find somewhere new.
Where to Follow Rene Plays Games:
Instagram | Facebook | X/Twitter | Threads | DMs After Dark
email: RenePlaysGamesPod@gmail.com
Music in the Episode:
Theme Song written & produced by Dan Pomfret | @danfrombothbands
Handel Improv by Monument Studios
Mindfulness Harp by Monument Studios
Elven Glade from TabletopAudio.com
Magic Shoppe from TabletopAudio.com
Secret Garden from TabletopAudio.com
Wizard's Tower from TabletopAudio.com
Large Book, Manual, Page Turn 5 sound effect from ZapSplat
Tuesday Aug 27, 2024
Tuesday Aug 27, 2024
We're back to Mining Media for this month, because I keep seeing "How do you hack 5e to do Pokemon?!" and I don't have the hair to tear out over it... so let's talk bringing everyone's favorite monster catcher/befriender to the table!
The thing about Pokemon is that it's so much more than just an 8-bit handheld video game now, there's multiple TV series, video game series, manga, movies (even a live-action one with the guy who plays Deadpool!), a card game! So where do you begin thinking about how to port to the table with dice?
I think the thing that most RPGs made to replicate the Pokemon experience miss is the relationship between the Trainer and the Pokemon. Lots of games have been made that break down the battle mechanics of the games REALLY well, but that's really not as interesting as the story of the Trainers in a world with Pokemon, which makes the environmental storytelling potential INCREDIBLE.
So here are the take home points:
If you're looking for games to play that can do Pokemon, I'd recommend Animon Story by Zak Barouh, or the podcast Critical Ditto's hack of Monster of the Week, appropriately called Pocket Monster of the Week
Focus less on the combat and worrying about the numbers when battling, and more on the relationship and out-of-combat potential of your 'mon pals. Those are going to be what make your story shine more than the battling.
Lean into the possibilities of the world where creatures can have such profound impacts on their surroundings, and make interesting encounters about problems from those that don't just have solutions involving combat.
Make your evil organizations understandable given the truths of the region you're playing in and make sure they're defensible by the NPCs in the world, otherwise why would they still be around?
And, if you're still reading this, go get some of the Pokemon Adventures manga, they're so good...
Download Rene's One-Page RPG One Last Quest and bring back your favorite characters for one more mission as elderly versions of themselves!
Where to Follow Rene Plays Games:
Instagram | Facebook | Twitter/X | Threads | DMs After Dark
email: RenePlaysGamesPod@gmail.com
Music in the Episode:
Theme Song written & produced by Dan Pomfret | @danfrombothbands
Chaconne Dreamy by Monument Studios
Tuesday Aug 20, 2024
Tuesday Aug 20, 2024
Welcome back for the explosive finale of our trilogy following the bot-human construct Nomad ISIL-8 in NOTORIOUS and OUTSIDERS by Jason Price, a.k.a. Always Checkers Publishing.
The Admiral's Fleet has taken over Nos and set up Chedo Robay and his Ghol assistants to reverse engineer the cloning program designs stolen by ISIL-8's first lead, Ka Lirra (as Aura Day). The Trade Alliance has followed ISIL-8's ship's signature out to Nos and is rooting around for exclusive IP about the clones themselves, and ISIL-8 is just trying to put an end to the program once and for all...
In the end, our bot-human construct tracks down their target in a crystalline cavern, but is busy dealing with the Ghol as the Admiral gets away... Will ISIL-8 stop the cloning program and set those similar to them free? Or will the Old Empire continue experimenting until they have the unbeatable army they need to end the New Uprising?
Did you like all those sound effects and music?! All episodes during the month of August will be using music from Monument Studios, who is running a Kickstarter campaign for their Fantasy+ collection of TTRPG music, ambience, sound effects, and more! Click the link to sign up and be notified when the campaign goes live and get TONS of incredible, professional quality music for your tabletop games!
Where to Follow Rene Plays Games:
Instagram | Facebook | X/Twitter | Threads | DMs After Dark
email: RenePlaysGamesPod@gmail.com
Music in the Episode:
Theme Song written & produced by Dan Pomfret | @danfrombothbands
To the Stars by Monument Studios
Stardust Instrumental by Monument Studios
Starscape by Monument Studios
Loading Screen B by Monument Studios
Simple Pulse by Monument Studios
Pre Battle by Monument Studios
Call to Arms by Monument Studios
Hollow by Monument Studios
Alice Guitar by Monument Studios
Foreshadow B by Monument Studios
Aggressive Maneuvers by Monument Studios
Eleventh Hour by Monument Studios
Paragon by Monument Studios
At the End of All Things by Monument Studios
Tuesday Aug 13, 2024
Tuesday Aug 13, 2024
Welcome to another episode of Perspective Checks where I sit down with friends and folks from the TTRPG world and discuss a topic of their choice!
This month's episode concerns the power of music, ambience, and sound in TTRPG play, and I'm joined by brothers Noah & Tyler that make up Monument Studios, which is launching a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign for their upcoming Fantasy+ app full of music, ambience, and sound effects for fantasy, horror, sci-fi, and more.
We talk about their history with music, how their journey led them to doing ambience and tailoring things towards the TTRPG hobby space, and more.
The Kickstarter launches on August 20th, but you can click here to sign up for the pre-launch and get notified when it goes live. There will be tons of audio assets in every tier, as well as bonus maps from Domille's Wondrous Works, VTT assets, and stretch goals to get Discord plug-ins and more.
Where to Follow Rene Plays Games:
Instagram | Facebook | Twitter/X | Threads | DMs After Dark
email: RenePlaysGamesPod@gmail.com
Music in the Episode:
Tavern Fiddle by Monument Studios
Heroic Orchestra Mix B by Monument Studios
Tuesday Aug 06, 2024
Tuesday Aug 06, 2024
Welcome back to the developing trilogy of the bot-human construct Nomad ISIL-8 in NOTORIOUS and OUTSIDERS by Jason Price, a.k.a. Always Checkers Publishing.
ISIL-8 has narrowly avoided the Trade Alliance and escaped through FTL travel to a remote corner of the galaxy. Through interrogating the mystic-marked assassin nomad and covert communications to ally nomads and other contacts throughout the galaxy, the bot-construct narrows down their answers to a small section of space on their star chart. But, as they close in, a terrifyingly well-encrypted message from an Old Empire base goads ISIL-8 to a crystalline planet known as Nos, where the mystic-marked have been living in refuge for years.
The assassin warns ISIL-8 that it's a trap, but the allure of answers and freedom for their clone batch siblings is too great... On Nos, ISIL-8 finds that Ka Lirra's efforts to deprive the Old Empire of the bot-construct army did not end their efforts, as a new species known as Ghol have taken over the program with incomplete notes, which has led to unfortunate results.
Will ISIL-8 be able to stop the cloning facilities and free their kind? The trilogy nears its conclusion...
Did you like all those sound effects and music?! All episodes during the month of August will be using music from Monument Studios, who is running a Kickstarter campaign for their Fantasy+ collection of TTRPG music, ambience, sound effects, and more! Click the link to sign up and be notified when the campaign goes live and get TONS of incredible, professional quality music for your tabletop games!
Where to Follow Rene Plays Games:
Instagram | Facebook | X/Twitter | Threads | DMs After Dark
email: RenePlaysGamesPod@gmail.com
Music in the Episode:
Theme Song written & produced by Dan Pomfret | @danfrombothbands
Dying Light B by Monument Studios
Slow Burn A by Monument Studios
Odyssey by Monument Studios
Sci Fi Idle Ambience by Monument Studios
Friends by Monument Studios
Idle Synths by Monument Studios
Boss Fight B by Monument Studios
Out of Time Atmos by Monument Studios
Chase by Monument Studios
Weak Blaster A by Monument Studios
The Moment Before by Monument Studios
Explosion in Distance by Monument Studios
Explosion A by Monument Studios
Explosion C by Monument Studios
Get Out Atmos by Monument Studios
Intervention by Monument Studios
Simple Hybrid Combat by Monument Studios
Deception by Monument Studios
Alice Theme A by Monument Studios
Eleventh Hour by Monument Studios
Reload A by Monument Studios
Blaster A by Monument Studios
Laser by Monument Studios
Thursday Aug 01, 2024
Thursday Aug 01, 2024
While technically a bonus for 5 Tuesdays in July, editing is a process and I'm a busy person, so this one took a few more days, enjoy the second half of our Dragonbane Free RPG Day one-shot scenario The Sinking Tower to kick off August!
Also! All episodes during the month of August will be using music from Monument Studios, who is running a Kickstarter campaign for their Fantasy+ collection of TTRPG music, ambience, sound effects, and more! Click the link to sign up and be notified when the campaign goes live and get TONS of incredible, professional quality music for your tabletop games!
Download Rene's Finished Games (for free!):
One Last Quest - bring back your favorite characters for one more mission as elderly versions of themselves!
Pine Island - Rene & Christian's first game for the PocketQuest 2022 summer game jam. Play as campers or counselors at a summer camp where nothing at all creepy will happen, surely...
Where to Follow Rene Plays Games:
Instagram | Facebook | Twitter/X | Threads | DMs After Dark
email: RenePlaysGamesPod@gmail.com
Music in the Episode:
Theme Song written & produced by Dan Pomfret | @danfrombothbands
Prelude by Monument Studios
Recap by Monument Studios
Old Town by Monument Studios
Skirmish by Monument Studios
Loading Screen 3 by Monument Studios
Forsaken Sanctum by Monument Studios
Dangerous Marshlands Tonal by Monument Studios
Simple Combat by Monument Studios
Somber Cello by Monument Studios
Viking War by Monument Studios
Dragon Scream R by Monument Studios
Meta Heroic Ensemble by Monument Studios
Ascendancy by Monument Studios
Tuesday Jul 30, 2024
Tuesday Jul 30, 2024
5th Tuesdays are for bonus episodes and this one comes IN TWO PARTS! Part 2 will be releasing on Thursday August 1st!
For July's Bonus Episode, we're playing Free League's 2024 Free RPG Day scenario for Dragonbane called The Sinking Tower. It's a tight one-shot adventure for the classic Swedish fantasy RPG that's designed for "tournament style" play, and all happens on a two hour clock! After character creation, start the timer and speedrun this tower!
In the past, a mad sorcerer named Kamandur built a seaside tower to honor his sister and placed an eerily bright emerald at the top, luring ships and pirates to their watery graves in revenge for her death. Even after his death, the magic continued to consume those within and without, and now, every twenty years on the day of his sister's death, the tower rises from the depths for two hours. Will our PCs be the first to make it to the top and retrieve what so many others never could?
Download Rene's Finished Games (for free!):
One Last Quest - bring back your favorite characters for one more mission as elderly versions of themselves!
Pine Island - Rene & Christian's first game for the PocketQuest 2022 summer game jam. Play as campers or counselors at a summer camp where nothing at all creepy will happen, surely...
Where to Follow Rene Plays Games:
Instagram | Facebook | Twitter/X | Threads | DMs After Dark
email: RenePlaysGamesPod@gmail.com
Music in the Episode:
Theme Song written & produced by Dan Pomfret | @danfrombothbands
The Mirrormere by Vindsvept
Court of the Count from TabletopAudio.com
Drowned Sailors from TabletopAudio.com
Ghost Ship from TabletopAudio.com
Skull Island from TabletopAudio.com
The Drowned Tower from TabletopAudio.com
Terror in the Woods from TabletopAudio.com
Rewind Sound Effect from ZapSplat.com
Tuesday Jul 23, 2024
Tuesday Jul 23, 2024
Get deep enough into the indie tabletop RPG scene and eventually you'll come up with an idea that you want to play out in a game, but you can't find a good match for it (despite the thousands of games out there). So what do you do? You start making one yourself!
Most people homebrew rules in their favorite RPGs, and if you think about it, even that is game design in a way. You're no longer playing the game you were before right out of the book or box, you've added your own piece to engage with the story that you felt worked better in a particular situation. It may seem crazy, but anyone can make a game, either hacking an existing system or coming up with something entirely new, it just depends on how much work you're willing to put into it!
In this episode, Rene talks about all the games he's got in various states of development and completion, either through recognizing a niche that hasn't been explored well enough, or just an idea he couldn't get out of his silly head.
Please reach out if any of these ideas seem good to you and let's playtest them or urge me to finish them!
Empires of Rust - Post-Catastrophe Exploration & Community Building RPG
BRP Design Challenge - T.I.M.E. Unit; Time Travel RPG
Party Animals - Young player RPG where you play animals working together
MECH - Carved by RUNE solo RPG pitting mech vs. kaiju
Shared Dice Pool / Multiple Resolution Mechanics
Modular Classless Progression System
Cell(F) Defense - Play as white blood cells in the human body during infection/injury
The Estate - Tarot prompt-based year of an artist at a legendary estate
A Modern Discovery of Magic - What if magic was discovered in the 1910s?
Candles in the Dark Library - Dark academia Forged in the Dark
Decktectives - 2-player Buddy Cop RPG using a deck of cards & poker mechanics
All That Jazz - A music-making improv game of tossing dice and filling out sheet music
Lumen & Nox - The battle between light & dark in us all with Mass Effect style morality tracking & grid-based combat where light/dark affects your options
Pokemon TCG RPG - Just a way to use those old pokemon cards to tell shared 'mon stories without the many overtuned fan-made Pokemon RPGs out there...
Download Rene's Finished Games (for free!):
One Last Quest - bring back your favorite characters for one more mission as elderly versions of themselves!
Pine Island - Rene & Christian's first game for the PocketQuest 2022 summer game jam. Play as campers or counselors at a summer camp where nothing at all creepy will happen, surely...
Where to Follow Rene Plays Games:
Instagram | Facebook | Twitter/X | Threads | DMs After Dark
email: RenePlaysGamesPod@gmail.com
Music in the Episode:
Theme Song written & produced by Dan Pomfret | @danfrombothbands
Tuesday Jul 16, 2024
Tuesday Jul 16, 2024
Welcome back to the developing trilogy of the bot-human construct Nomad ISIL-8 in NOTORIOUS and OUTSIDERS by Jason Price, a.k.a. Always Checkers Publishing.
ISIL-8 finds themselves wanted on the planet of Arro after their run-in with the hostile hunting down a rogue hacker. Bounties go up through the Guild to bring the missing Bot-Construct in however possible, but ISIL-8 still has a job through Huska's Corsairs and questions of their own to answer about the Company that created them.
Tracking down leads including the target Xed Gron's hacker ally, being confronted by a hired assassin, and meeting other discarded victim's of Arro's corporate experiments, ISIL-8 finally finds the loudmouth Quadoi, but their answers about the cloning program will have to wait, as they're ambushed on the way off planet... Luckily, they've taken a hostage.
Where to Follow Rene Plays Games:
Instagram | Facebook | X/Twitter | Threads | DMs After Dark
email: RenePlaysGamesPod@gmail.com
Music in the Episode:
Theme Song written & produced by Dan Pomfret | @danfrombothbands
Cyberpunk City from TabletopAudio.com
Docking Bay from TabletopAudio.com
Dungeon Collapse from TabletopAudio.com
Mega City Slums from TabletopAudio.com
Robot Scrapyard from TabletopAudio.com
Sand Raiders from TabletopAudio.com
Stakeout from TabletopAudio.com
Starforged: Planetside from TabletopAudio.com
Weirder Things 2 from TabletopAudio.com
Tuesday Jul 09, 2024
Tuesday Jul 09, 2024
Welcome to another episode of Perspective Checks where I sit down with a friend in the TTRPG world and discuss a topic of their choice!
If you're familiar with Ironsworn, especially Starforged, this week's guest likely needs no introduction - Matt Risby is the man behind the microphone for the incredible podcast The Bad Spot, which has 3 incredible seasons of Ironsworn: Starforged, some original Ironsworn, and is just beginning its brand new Sundered Isles series!
In this episode, we talk about playing solo RPGs, how it's a different experience as one shared among friends, and how it gets even more complicated when you're making solo RPG content for an audience. We talk a lot about how running games for groups has made us better at playing solo, and how the opposite also works - solo play greatly enhances your GMing at a full table! Matt heaps praise on Jason Cordova / The Gauntlet's The Between, a Victorian horror RPG which builds on Brindlewood Bay's mystery mechanics, and we have a blast talking about our journeys in solo gaming.
You can follow The Bad Spot on Twitter at @thebadspotcast and go subscribe to the YouTube page to catch up on the adventures of Gideon & Lorenzo in Ironsworn: Sundered Isles!
Where to Follow Rene Plays Games:
Instagram | Facebook | Twitter/X | Threads | DMs After Dark
email: RenePlaysGamesPod@gmail.com
Music in the Episode:
Theme Song written & produced by Dan Pomfret | @danfrombothbands
Tuesday Jul 02, 2024
Tuesday Jul 02, 2024
Not a 5th Tuesday bonus episode, but just keeping up the rhyming bonus episodes with Gila RPGs solo games and in June that means RUNE. Similar to REAP, which I played back in February for the Leap Year, RUNE is a solo TTRPG based on the Dark Souls and Elden Ring games, and it plays just as punishing (you'll see).
If you want to hear Spencer play through this realm on his YouTube channel, you can watch it here, and if you want pick up Aaron Joliffe's RUNE Realms and content, you can find his games on his itch.io page.
Where to Follow Rene Plays Games:
Instagram | Facebook | X/Twitter | Threads | Itch.io | DMs After Dark
email: RenePlaysGamesPod@gmail.com
Music in the Episode:
Theme Song written & produced by Dan Pomfret | @danfrombothbands
Court of the Count from TabletopAudio.com
Escape from Shadow from TabletopAudio.com
Lord of Bones from TabletopAudio.com
Survivors' Bivouac from TabletopAudio.com
Through The Woods from TabletopAudio.com
Witch Mountain from TabletopAudio.com
Tuesday Jul 02, 2024
Tuesday Jul 02, 2024
Welcome back to the developing trilogy of the bot-human construct Nomad ISIL-8 in NOTORIOUS and OUTSIDERS by Jason Price, a.k.a. Always Checkers Publishing.
ISIL-8 has failed The Guild and failed to complete a bounty, leaving the frozen planet of Utov without their target Aura Day, a.k.a. Ka Lirra, one of the masterminds behind the bot-construct clone army ISIL-8 was created for. However, Ka Lirra left a message and coordinates for ISIL-8 to follow if they survived which lead out to the far edges of the galaxy, to a corporate planet named Arro where crimelords rule, and businesses can experiment with sketchy funding.
Before they can dock at a spaceport and begin their search for answers about themself, ISIL-8 is cornered by space pirates known as Huska's Corsairs, rich raiders of the edges of the galaxy who operate out of Arro. In order to get planetside, ISIL-8 has to take a job for them to hunt down a loudmouth Quadoi (4-armed alien) who has a habit of leaking information and ruining profitable raids.
Where to Follow Rene Plays Games:
Instagram | Facebook | X/Twitter | Threads | DMs After Dark
email: RenePlaysGamesPod@gmail.com
Music in the Episode:
Theme Song written & produced by Dan Pomfret | @danfrombothbands
Endless Voyage from TabletopAudio.com
Goblin Ambush from TabletopAudio.com
Mega City Slums from TabletopAudio.com
Orbital Prison Break from TabletopAudio.com
Stakeout from TabletopAudio.com
Starbase Omega from TabletopAudio.com
Tuesday Jun 25, 2024
Tuesday Jun 25, 2024
Welcome to another Mining Media where we turn your binging into better TTRPG experiences. In this episode we're talking about Atlus' video game franchise Persona. These JRPGs are some of the best video games I've ever played, they're full of great tactical turn-based combat, interesting dungeons, shadow worlds and slice of life as teenagers in modern Japan. But, most importantly, these games have TONS of great stuff to consider yoinking for your games!
Take home points:
Mechanizing social ranks between PCs and NPCs encourages them to search out certain types of scenes, interactions, and through introspection, character development, and improving bonds in the real world, their combat prowess increases in certain ways.
Use time as pressure - the game happens day to day (so do most RPGs), but when your ability in battle is tied to your handling of responsibilities and relationships in the real world, what you do on those days begins to matter more.
Classic roles with a twist - in the games, your party will fill in with the "physical attacker," the "glass cannon magic user," and more traditional roles, but each character uses a specific type of magic that affects different enemies, so even when their main role isn't applicable, their secondary unique characteristic is! Encourage this type of idea so your characters always have an interesting option
Now go play some Persona and get back to me in a few months!
Download Rene's One-Page RPG One Last Quest and bring back your favorite characters for one more mission as elderly versions of themselves!
Where to Follow Rene Plays Games:
Instagram | Facebook | Twitter/X | Threads | DMs After Dark
email: RenePlaysGamesPod@gmail.com
Music in the Episode:
Your Love Is What I Need by Soundroll from #Uppbeat:https://uppbeat.io/t/soundroll/your-love-is-what-i-need
Tuesday Jun 18, 2024
Tuesday Jun 18, 2024
Welcome back to the developing trilogy of the bot-human construct Nomad ISIL-8 in NOTORIOUS and OUTSIDERS by Jason Price, a.k.a. Always Checkers Publishing.
After wandering the frozen planet of Utov hunting for the whereabouts of a blueprint thief named Aura Day, a charming Pellucid, or crystalline species, member of the New Uprising, ISIL-8 was turned away and eventually outgunned by one of their potential leads. Luckily, they had saved a New Uprising mystic doctor - Ka Lirra - when they arrived on planet, and were brought in for treatment.
Now the hunt is back on, because the Guild never always fulfills a bounty and remains neutral in the war between the Old Empire & the New Uprising, the Trade Alliance profiting from the entire thing, and all the other factions tied up in the conflict.
However, when ISIL-8 begins making some progress, all signs point backwards...
Where to Follow Rene Plays Games:
Instagram | Facebook | X/Twitter | Threads | DMs After Dark
email: RenePlaysGamesPod@gmail.com
Music in the Episode:
Theme Song written & produced by Dan Pomfret | @danfrombothbands
Laser Blaster sounds from Zapsplat.com
Dark City from TabletopAudio.com
Mech War from TabletopAudio.com
Robot Scrapyard from TabletopAudio.com
Solemn Vow from TabletopAudio.com
Starforged Fray from TabletopAudio.com
Survivors' Bivouac from TabletopAudio.com
Weirder Things 2 from TabletopAudio.com