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.
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Episodes
![[Bonus] Dragon Dowser One-Shot](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/image-logo/17743151/RenePlaysGames_3x3Logo_7aatd9_300x300.png){kind=logo}
Tuesday Apr 30, 2024
Tuesday Apr 30, 2024
It's a 5th Tuesday, so here we are with another bonus episode! This time Rene sits down to play the one-player, card-based Dragon Dowser from Hatchling Games. It is a wonderful game where you take the role of a Dowser, someone who has dedicated themselves to saving dragon eggs from the clutches of the tyrannical Mecharchs, rulers who betrayed humanity's saviors for power and progress. It has wonderful environmentalist and conservation themes and uses Peach Garden Games' Carta SRD, which is intuitive and engaging!
Definitely check out more of Hatchling Games' releases like the sign-language teaching Inspirisles, Overisles (and soon Underisles), the supernatural scout solving Cryptid Creeks, and more on their store.
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
Stranded by Sascha EndeFree download: https://filmmusic.io/song/10375-stranded License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Elven Glade from TabletopAudio.com
Forgotten Forest from TabletopAudio.com
Mysterious Grotto from TabletopAudio.com
Secret Garden from TabletopAudio.com
Sun Dappled Trail from TabletopAudio.com
Tuesday Apr 23, 2024
Tuesday Apr 23, 2024
Welcome to another Mining Media where we turn your binging into better TTRPG experiences. In this episode we're talking about Fonda Lee's incredible gangster fantasy trilogy The Green Bone Saga. This series is one of *very* few (maybe the only?) that I've rated 5 stars down the line. It has enough magic and urban fantasy to feel wondrous, incredibly emotional character development, intense martial arts action scenes, harsh betrayals, drugs, sex, crime, corruption, generational trauma and expectations... I could go on and on forever - please read it and talk to me about it!
Anyway, the take home points for how to make your TTRPG sessions better with The Green Bone Saga include:
Hack your favorite system to use the Jade Disciplines as Stats (along with others for non-Green PCs)
Consider using a relationship map/web to constantly keep pressure on your PCs from their connections, making every move dangerous in a faction-based turf war
If your setting has magic, include a culture or people who are immune or resistant to that magic - how are they viewed in society? How do they overcome this?
When making factions always have allied, antagonistic, and neutral parties to the party's goals. The Penitents & religious folk of these books are very cool, silent monks who are the ears of the gods - give them emotional, cultural depth
In the end, I think this episode was less "here's what to use in your game," and more "PLEASE READ THESE AND LET'S PLAY AN RPG CAMPAIGN IN THIS WORLD TOGETHER." If you're interested, please let me know. And Fonda Lee, if you ever see this and want someone to make your world an RPG, I'll help!
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:
Midnight Room by | e s c p | https://www.escp.spacehttps://escp-music.bandcamp.com
Tuesday Apr 16, 2024
Tuesday Apr 16, 2024
Aboard another Kyrody Warship, Dyne and Ephraim learn the truth about the Kyrody Dominion's presence out here in the Reaches. However, the truth comes with a twist, and Dyne's attempts to persuade the sailors to accept an alternative option lands on deaf ears. His failure comes at a heavy cost, and a friend is lost...
Maezyu convinces Dyne to finish what's been started - a win against the Kyrody would be celebrated by all they've broken in the wake of their brutal war campaign. Together, the crew of the Venture flies to the cursed sky island of Manao for Dyne's last Trial, but the dying island is a terrifying maze of dry caves and colossal bones. What awaits Dyne at its heart?
Go learn more about everything Ironsworn and get your solo gaming on!
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
Dark Continent from TabletopAudio.com
Drowned Sailors from TabletopAudio.com
High Seas Pursuit from TabletopAudio.com
Shaman's Hollow from TabletopAudio.com
Solemn Vow from TabletopAudio.com
Trireme from TabletopAudio.com
Tuesday Apr 09, 2024
Tuesday Apr 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!
This time I'm joined by a fellow podcaster and GM who I respect and listen to constantly - Adam Kelly of The STF Network! The Strange Table Fellows have a whole lot of shows and content for you to enjoy, but we talk about the massive 3 Adventure Path kitbash Adam and friends put together to form the story of the Apollo Protection Agency, as well as his other experiences in gaming and the music world.
Adam was so easy to talk to and really cares about community in the creative scene. He gives great advice about running or playing in your home games, tips if you're thinking about podcasting, and has more than a few spot on analogies that show his background in music and TTRPG skills go hand in hand.
Find more of the STF Network on their website, join their Discord, subscribe to their podcast feeds, and maybe I'll see you at STFConline!
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 Apr 02, 2024
Tuesday Apr 02, 2024
Dyne and the crew of the Venture make moves to secure The Chimera before a storm comes in and score a warship for the Resistance, which they plan to use to attack another of the Kyrody fleet with unexpectedly. However, villagers from Isto Mavana have been tested for sorcerous potential and taken captive aboard the remaining two Kyrody ships - The Warden and the flagship Ironclad.
The Resistance attempts to take The Warden from Commander Gavin, but learn that they don't know the whole story about the Kyrody Dominion's presence in these waters...
Go check out the sample guidebook and back Sundered Isles on Kickstarter!
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
Ancient Beacon from TabletopAudio.com
Nordic Noir from TabletopAudio.com
Pirates! from TabletopAudio.com
Monday Apr 01, 2024
Monday Apr 01, 2024
Has anyone heard of this obscure CRPG called Baldur's Gate 3? Apparently there have been 2 others, but let me tell you something... they're pretty neat for getting tabletop RPG ideas!
Happy April Fool's, ya nerds, and I'm super grateful you're all listening. Thanks, hope you chuckled, and if you do play Baldur's Gate 3 (you should), send me your favorite character builds!
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
Wednesday Mar 27, 2024
Wednesday Mar 27, 2024
The Substratum Protocol is a scientific initiative to explore and investigate an unnatural, cosmic portal that has appeared at the very center of the Earth's core. At the time of its arrival, a massive fracture split the planet and swallowed entire cities. The first scientists to attempt any form of data analysis from signals emitted by the portal struggled with their sanity afterwards. Using patented DSPT Mk II exo-suits, a team of scientists will descend into the Fracture and travel to the portal to close it before things get even worse...
This game is WILD! Using the Hints & Hijinx engine which pits *depreciating* step dice skill rolls against a deck of playing cards, stress mechanics which aid understanding the unfathomable at the expense of your die results, and 10 levels of increasingly trippy areas to explore, this game is a blast. I can't wait to bring it to a table and play with others!
Go check out The Substratum Protocol now on Backerkit and keep up with more Pandion Games projects in the future!
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
Dark Continent from TabletopAudio.com
Dying World from TabletopAudio.com
Gravity from TabletopAudio.com
Infernal Machine from TabletopAudio.com
Protean Fields from TabletopAudio.com
Testing Chamber from TabletopAudio.com
Starforged Vault from TabletopAudio.com
Tuesday Mar 26, 2024
Tuesday Mar 26, 2024
Welcome to another Mining Media where we turn your binging into better TTRPG experiences. In this episode we're talking about Delicious In Dungeon - a manga turned anime currently streaming on Netflix about a group of adventurers delving a massive dungeon and eating the monsters they encounter along the way!
This show is so obviously inspired by traditional TTRPGs from decades past, but does such an incredible job of environmental storytelling through meticulously designing each level of the titular Dungeon to portray a well thought out, functioning ecosystem. As a biologist/ecologist by day, this show is inspiring in its devotion to depicting believable dungeon ecology that helps tell a cohesive story and makes for much more interesting monsters/encounters.
So the next time you're prepping (as a GM) or exploring (as a player) a dungeon, take the time to think about how every creature here is carving out its place in the food web/ecosystem, what resources are abundant or scarce and how that affects survival or behaviors in the nearby region, and ask questions about how you can use them to your advantage!
If you want to read it, here's Sage Latorra's A 16 HP Dragon article!
Where to Follow Rene Plays Games:
Instagram | Facebook | Twitter/X | Threads | DMs After Dark
email: RenePlaysGamesPod@gmail.com
Music in the Episode:
Music by Patrick A. from Pixabay
Tuesday Mar 19, 2024
Tuesday Mar 19, 2024
Dyne is dragged out to sea after swearing an iron vow on the sky iron shard in Vega's Cave. The flooding recesses and pulls all of Captain Vega's Kyrody sailors out to a watery grave, but Dyne finds himself on a dry circle of sea floor at the bottom of a maelstrom - a shipwreck graveyard... What awaits him for his Trial of the Sea?
Go check out the sample guidebook and back Sundered Isles on Kickstarter!
Go learn more about everything Ironsworn and get your solo gaming on!
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
Trireme from TabletopAudio.com
High Seas Pursuit from TabletopAudio.com
Sunken Temple from TabletopAudio.com
Tuesday Mar 12, 2024
Tuesday Mar 12, 2024
Welcome to another episode of Perspective Checks where I sit down with a friend in the tabletop roleplaying game world and discuss a topic of their choice!
This time Rene is joined once again by Troy from the DMs After Dark to talk with Liz Greene, LMHC MFT TGM/DM GT, a licensed Geek Therapist who uses games and popular media in her sessions! We discuss games as a community, using characters as buffers to experiences, practicing social skills, and putting consequences into perspective, and more.
Please check out these amazing resources and tell us about experiences at the table you've had that have helped you in hard times!
You can find Liz at Serenity Coaching & Counseling, Psychology Today, and find other geek therapists in your area at Geek Therapeutics.
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 Mar 05, 2024
Tuesday Mar 05, 2024
Dyne is taken prisoner by Captain Vega and brought to a secret sea cave the Kyrody sailor has been stockpiling equipment in, as well as where he is experimenting with sky iron. An escape is attempted, but this episode keeps riding the dice luck of the previous, and things just keep getting worse...
You can sign up to be notified when Sundered Isles goes live on Kickstarter and/or pre-order Starforged physical books or get it digital from Modiphius!
Go learn more about everything Ironsworn and get your solo gaming on!
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
Drowned Sailors from TabletopAudio.com
Sunken Temple from TabletopAudio.com
Thursday Feb 29, 2024
Thursday Feb 29, 2024
More bonus episodes because we get an extra day for the leap year, why not an extra episode?
In this episode I play REAP by Gila RPGs (aka Spencer Campbell) - a soulslike solo RPG and companion game to RUNE, where you take on the role of a Reaper - a necromancer wandering the realms of the dying world Obron, harvesting souls from the evil horrors that plague the denizens of their domains and helping the world find peace in its end.
The mechanics are super fun and easy to learn, but the game honors its source material - it is not easy! You constantly have to deal with your resource management, enemy tactics, and luck of the dice to get you through any fight. I had a great time playing it and loved the tactile appeal of the game, which doesn't translate super well into audio, but I strongly recommend you go check out REAP and RUNE (which I believe still has a free quickstart rules guide so you can test it out), and begin your reaper's journey!
Where to Follow Rene Plays Games:
Instagram | Facebook | Twitter/X | Threads | DMs After Dark
email: RenePlaysGamesPod@gmail.com
Music in the Episode:
Court of the Count from Tabletop Audio
Lord of Bones from Tabletop Audio
Goblin Ambush from Tabletop Audio
Witch Mountain from Tabletop Audio
Music Rewind 3 Sound Effect from ZapSplat.com
Tuesday Feb 27, 2024
Tuesday Feb 27, 2024
Welcome to this month's Mining Media where I help you think about ideas from other forms of entertainment that can elevate your tabletop RPG experience. In this episode we're talking about Sabotage Studio's retro JRPG inspired Sea of Stars - a love letter to the 90s/early 2000s 16-bit JRPGs of my youth.
The game itself is a beautiful game with very evocative locations and, most importantly for this episode, interesting combat mechanics that I think would work to spice up your RPG's combats in very cool ways. The main takeaways from this episode are to include mini-puzzle like conditions to be achieved by your PCs mid-fight in order to mitigate (or altogether stop) a powerful special attack from going off, as well as encouraging teamwork combos in battle through connections made between PCs in or out of combat.
I forgot to mention another great bit of Fabula Ultima's combat mechanics that would work well for that telegraph/countdown to special attack is their option to take the Objective action and work toward a clock that would change the battle. It is generally used for more "end the conflict overall" type of actions, but could be scaled back potentially for this kind of use.
Games Mentioned in this Episode:
Fabula Ultima TTJRPG | BREAK! RPG
Where to Follow Rene Plays Games:
Instagram | Facebook | Twitter/X | Threads | DMs After Dark
email: RenePlaysGamesPod@gmail.com
Music in the Episode:
Lucid Dreaming by | e s c p | https://www.escp.space https://escp-music.bandcamp.com
Tuesday Feb 20, 2024
Tuesday Feb 20, 2024
Dyne & crew wait out the night on the island of Gamadar, afraid of being spotted by the Dominion sky ship that flew out to the Cynosure Society research station after Dyne's Trial of the Storm. The night does not go peacefully, and their delay in returning to Isto Mavana does not help their cause either - all villagers are being tested for sorcerous potential - and it only gets worse...
Pre-order Starforged physical books or get it digital from Modiphius!
Go learn more about everything Ironsworn and get your solo gaming on!
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
Shaman's Hollow from TabletopAudio.com
Escape the Shadow from TabletopAudio.com
Investigator's Office from TabletopAudio.com
Wednesday Feb 14, 2024
Wednesday Feb 14, 2024
Not every bonus episode has to be on a 5th Tuesday, holidays are good reason, too, right?
In this bonus one-shot, Rene ropes his wife Lynn into her first foray with Call of Cthulhu in a one-on-one scenario from the Does Love Forgive? collection.
Set in 1930s New York City amidst the bustling jazz scene, the scenario features a love triangle and questions just how far you'd go to achieve your goals. As Lynn's first dip into the system, it goes pretty off the rails in pretty fun ways!
As mentioned, one of the DMs After Dark, Christian, is a published Call of Cthulhu scenario writer. If you want to check out his stuff, go get The Night Mother's Moon!
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
Bugablue Music from Pixabay
Podcast Jazz Music by Denis Pavlov from Pixabay
Autumn Leaves Falling Again by Trygve Larsen from Pixabay
Covert Ops from Tabletop Audio
Infiltration from Tabletop Audio
Investigator's Office from Tabletop Audio
Noir Procedural from Tabletop Audio
Tuesday Feb 13, 2024
Tuesday Feb 13, 2024
Welcome to another episode of Perspective Checks where I sit down with a friend in the tabletop roleplaying game world and discuss a topic of their choice!
For this episode I was joined by artist, video game streamer, and long-time home party member of Rene's - Matt Raso. Matt is the graphic designer behind both the DMs After Dark and Rene Plays Games logos, and you can find his art on Instagram and game streams on Twitch. Matt is a big fan of the grimdark genre from Berserk! to Souls games, and really has a great penchant for bringing emotionally charged characters to the gaming table. We discuss hallmarks of the grimdark genre, setting elements, and why some of the most important moments in these stories are the little wins, the faint rays of hope, and the attachments made in a world so quick to tear you down.
Hopefully you enjoy that chat and get some ideas for your own games!
Where to Follow Rene Plays Games:
Instagram | Facebook | DMs After Dark
email: RenePlaysGamesPod@gmail.com
Music in the Episode:
Theme Song written & produced by Dan Pomfret | @danfrombothbands
Tuesday Feb 06, 2024
Tuesday Feb 06, 2024
Dyne unintentionally initiates his first Mystic Trial - the Trial of the Storm, and makes some mistakes (and a bit of a mess) before he gets a handle on his powers. However, he comes out the other side with a little more control and a lot more to do, both in his own journey to master his sorcery and the resistance against the Kyrody Dominion.
Pre-order Starforged physical books or get it digital from Modiphius!
Go learn more about everything Ironsworn and get your solo gaming on!
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
Ancient Beacon from TabletopAudio.com
Lush World from TabletopAudio.com
Starforged Fray from TabletopAudio.com
The Voyage Begins from TabletopAudio.com
Designed Lightning 2 & Record Scratch from ZapSplat.com
Monday Jan 29, 2024
Monday Jan 29, 2024
It's the 5th Tuesday of the month which means we're doing something special, and that means it's time to release One Last Quest, a one page RPG that allows you to bring back some of your favorite PCs of campaigns past and play them in their elderly retired years. However, a loose thread or problem arises that forces them to put down the shuffleboard and dust off the old heroics one more time.
Download at https://RenePlaysGames.itch.io/One-Last-Quest
It's a hack 'n' mash of the popular rules lite RPG Lasers & Feelings by the incredible John Harper (Blades in the Dark, Agon) with a sprinkling of some All Outta Bubblegum by Michael Sullivan & Jeffrey Grant.
Hopefully you enjoy and you give it a shot with your group, reliving some of your favorite characters from over the years.
Where to Follow Rene Plays Games:
Instagram | Facebook | DMs After Dark
email: RenePlaysGamesPod@gmail.com
Music in the Episode:
Elliot Kings, Riggs - Paper Walls (with Mykyl) [NCS Release] Music provided by NoCopyrightSounds Free Download/Stream: http://ncs.io/PaperWalls Watch: http://ncs.lnk.to/PaperWallsAT/youtube
Arcando - In My Head (feat. Britt Lari) [NCS Release]Music provided by NoCopyrightSounds Free Download/Stream: http://NCS.io/InMyHead
Tuesday Jan 23, 2024
Tuesday Jan 23, 2024
Welcome to the first episode of Mining Media, a short brainstorming style series that will come out every 3rd Tuesday of the month where I discuss a book, TV series, movie, video game, or any other kind of media I've been binging and think about what kind of inspiration and ideas you can take from it to use at your table and better your gaming experience.
This first episode dives into John Gwynne's The Faithful and the Fallen book series. It's generally low-fantasy and skirts the edges of grimdark, with plenty of battles, violence, and classic fantasy tropes worn proudly on its chain shirt. It subverts some tropes, leans into others, but reads very relatable to tabletop RPG campaigns, which I think makes it a great series to talk about mining ideas from.
Where to Follow Rene Plays Games:
Instagram | Facebook | DMs After Dark
email: RenePlaysGamesPod@gmail.com
Music in the Episode:
Rain, Book And Cup Of Tea by | e s c p | https://www.escp.space https://escp-music.bandcamp.com
Tuesday Jan 16, 2024
Tuesday Jan 16, 2024
Dyne, Laolo, and Ephraim return to Isto Mavana to seek medical attention for the puppet vine sprouting from Ephraim's arm. After an unfortunate surgery, the Resistance decides that the island explored by the crew of the Venture is the most promising, and they must return. This time, however, Dyne and friends are tasked with exploring the skyward half of the island floating above the oceans nearby, where more dangers await them than just flora and fauna.
Go learn more about everything Ironsworn and get your solo gaming on!
Where to Follow Rene Plays Games:
Instagram | Facebook | DMs After Dark
email: RenePlaysGamesPod@gmail.com
Music in the Episode:
Theme Song written & produced by Dan Pomfret | @danfrombothbands
Distilled Tropical from TabletopAudio.com
Mushroom Forest from TabletopAudio.com
Puzzle Dungeon from TabletopAudio.com
Shaman's Hollow from TabletopAudio.com