G*m*s Magazine Podcast Channel

For very many valid reasons, a lot of people like OSR games. To play in a style of games that resemble and replicate the original games from so many years ago. However, that movement has also received a lot of criticism for some people seem to be stuck in the old ways beyond those of gaming. Some posts that could be considered insensitive or out of place have given place to a reputation that would suggest the OSR movement is a very toxic one. Iit is pretty clear, though, that not all things are bad and there are a lot of people doing what they can to eradicate bad tropes and bring a more modern social environment reflection into an old style of gaming. As I am very interested in art, I had to interview someone who does artwork in a diverse and inclusive manner for that movement and find out where things are now and where they could be going in the not-too-distant future. Denis McCarthy has been creating enough artwork for enough time to understand the market and he is indeed good at it. And has a passion for

Casual gamers are, in my opinion, the bread and butter of any hobby. The vast majority of any hobby’s follower is a casual person who enjoys whatever it is on an ad-hoc basis. And of course the presence of casual gamers has an impact on the gaming experience. If anything because the level of commitment of a casual gamer is never going to be the same and thus they might not engage or otherwise participate in the same way as a more hard-core gamer. And it would seem that can be a frustrating thing for some. Like Jim. In this episode we actually get to disagree a fair bit about it, for I think casual gamers are a good thing and it is the responsibility of the person around the table to control how they behave. In this episode it becomes even clearer that Jim is the nicest of us two!

How many times have we seen the same clichés in RPGs? How many more times will we have to endure them? Truth is that clichés have a reason to exist because they make life easy for the writer or player, so it is not surprising that we see them so often. However, overuse and simplification have made those clichés to become really tired and boring. Even though they do have a place and a time, usually it is not the correct place or time when they are used and we find too many of them in our games. In this episode, Jim and I discuss what clichés should never be seen again in our games and why.

RPGs are home to too many orphan characters. Characters with no past, no grounding or no substance. Often we see people who create characters and have no background whatsoever, or want to have the “mysterious” character with no past. A character that will take as close to zero as possible effort to play because they don’t have to justify their actions or add some sort of congruence to their personality. Even if there is nothing wrong with playing a character like that, the chances are that the player is missing out on some intense gaming experience. What can be done and why is not a good idea to play an orphan character? Jim and I talk about it for a bit.

I recently discovered the X-Card thanks to Jim. I had no idea it existed and it was a truly fantastic revelation that will grace my table from now on. For those of you who don’t know, the X-Card is an invention by John Stavropoulos that aims to stop discomfort at the table. As part of the social contract around the game, the X-Card is introduced at the very beginning as a means to seek help from everyone in order to take away from the game anything that make people uncomfortable and stop a bad situation from escalating into something worse. The trick of the card is that it also says that explanations are not needed. If you don’t want to say why something makes you uncomfortable, you don’t have to say it. Simple as that. Privacy comes first. This card is specially useful around a table where people are strangers, where unexpected situations and unknown circumstances can make life hell for some people. And yet, it has a huge number of detractors who prefer to put the game ahead and above people’s safety. Jim an

Having Jennel Jaquays on the show was long overdue. With so much talking about OSR and what games were like all time ago, Jim and I thought it was about time we had someone who knows *a lot* about the old days and the starts of many things. Jennel has been writing games since the mid 70s and has written some books that continue to influence creators to this day. And she has some truly amazing stories and, by the sounds of it, a really well packed library at her home! Hope you enjoy the show!

Dungeonology is one of those books that are not aimed at you but you still love them because it is gorgeous and, deep inside (or not so deep as the case might be) we all have a child in us. This book, published in November 2016, is a collaboration between Wizards of the Coast, Candlewick Press and Templar Press. The lore of WOTC has come together with the know-how of two very experienced publishers who put out quality books for children. And it shows. Dungeonology is lavish, extremely well written and truly gorgeous to look at, as you can see in the video. Hope you enjoy it! Wizards of the Coast site: http://dnd.wizards.com/products/tabletop-games/rpg-products/dungeonology Candlewick Press link: http://www.candlewick.com/cat.asp?browse=Season&season=current&page=1&mode=list&pix=y&catheader=y Templar Publishing: http://www.templarco.co.uk/

Carrie Fisher, for me, epitomised the concept of a strong character when she became Leia Organa. Not because the character was well written, but because she was an incredible character herself. The death of the beloved Carrie Fisher was a massive shock for most of us. Not just because she was so young – 60 years old today is young, in my books – but because she was the fiercest and most respected princess and general of the galaxy. And she had a very tragic life story that we all wished she hadn’t gone through. So what made Carrie Fisher turn Leia into such a strong character? For that matter, what is a strong character? And what is a strong female character? Is even there such a thing? Jim and I talk about it. Hope you enjoy the show!

It is safe to say the RPG crowd is unlike any other out there. We tend to be more open, more creative and a lot more accepting than many other hobbies or sub-cultures. And we are more accepting of mental health issues. And please that I say mental health issues, not illnesses. There is a massive difference that we have to keep very much present. However, does our hobby, do RPGs attract more people with mental health issues than other hobbies? Or is it just that we are more likely to feel safe to disclose or just more aware because of the extended  social interaction? The fact is that we don’t know, but Jim and I spend a while chatting about it. Please be mindful when listening to this episode. We talk about mental health issues and give our opinions freely. As much as we have tried to be sensitive, we could have said something that might affect you. Listener’s discretion is advised. We also talk about Star Wars: Rogue One Hope you enjoy the show!

Because the time of the year when people celebrate some sort of festivity approaches, Jim and I have decided to record a rambling episode on how to be good to each other. Aaawwwwww…… Well… how to be good to your GM, that sacrificed, dedicated, studious, sensible, caring and wonderful human beings who spend so long looking for ways to kill the party in the most fun possible way. Because, let’s face it, we have all been assholes to our GMs sometimes. But now that the season of goodness and kindness approaches, it is time to change all that and we tell you exactly how to do it. Enjoy! And you are welcome.

At G*M*S Central we believe that there are too many products being sold as PDFs at the moment and that is contributing to a languishing industry with too many companies that can’t stand on their own two money feet because there aren’t enough people buying all games and supplements. We know it is not an opinion shared by all, and we do believe everyone should have the right to publish whatever they want, but it is our opinion. If to the amount of published material we add a website that is the central point of purchase for said games is a site with the potential to shape the way we buy and what we buy, and that there doesn’t seem to be a quality control point to start listing products on that site, we might see why we have a lot of problems in the RPG industry. But of course, those opinions have to be substantiated and the best way to do it is to talk to the person responsible for that site… we are talking about Drivethrurpg.com and the man in question is Steve Wieck, who is, according to Jim, one of the nices

I will not say it is a fact, but it is a fact that a lot of games are very repetitive. Either the theme is repetitive, the tropes are a repetition of another game. Basically, there are too many elves out there now. And too many Cthulhus and mutants. In this episode, Jim and I discuss the whys and why nots of that situation. This should be interesting!

What RPGs are bad for the industry? Are there any games you wish hadn’t come out? Both in Europe and in the USA, we have had some games that have hurt the industry, and some others that are hurting the industry and the hobby as a whole. Some games have helped contribute to the stigma of weirdness or danger that some people attached to RPGs in the 80s and 90s. For different reasons and in different countries, some RPGs have acquired a very bad reputation, let it be as enablers of Satan or as weapons of murder or simply as something losers and nerds do. Of course some have helped create an amazing and creative hobby and subculture and those we celebrate every day. Have we missed any games? Let us know!

Why play RPGs? Why spend hours reading books and preparing for games? Why belong to a community that is both so hostile and welcoming at the same time? Believe it or not it is a question I ask myself very often. Why bother with a hobby in which a dissenting voice is shut down instead of welcome with healthy debate? Why am I in a hobby that still has strides to walk in terms of inclusivity and diversity? A hobby in which some attempts at said inclusivity and diversity are met with brutal opposition by people who refuse to widen their perspectives? And, you know… sometimes I wish to quit. But I don’t. And i am sure I am not the only human being in this position. We keep going. Jim and I explore the reasons why we are still here. And why we are likely to continue for a long, long time.

The topic of cultural appropriation is a hot one in Social Justice circles. But is it a justified outcry when someone uses someone else’s culture to create games, costumes or anything else? It is a matter of fact that cultures evolve both by themselves – traditions that become canon in time or ones that die, fashion that evolves… – and by assimilation when we see something from another culture and we adopt it. In a world that is a lot more globalised today than it was 30 or 40 years ago mostly thanks to the Internet, the rate at which cultures are being shared, adopted, evolved and bastardized has also increased exponentially. Are we ready for this? Is there a justified concern for the phenomenon we are witnessing in which people use other people’s cultures? And is it justified to do it in RPGs? Since there is not a single RPG that hasn’t borrowed from one culture or another, to say we are free from culture appropriation would be pretty naive thing, so it is safe to say it’s unavoidable. So wh

A few days ago Jim and I talked for a while about culture in games. How they are not well used or even created in most games and we touched on some of the social aspects of cultures and how to translate them into gaming. Also how to convert real cultures into gaming cultures. After that, it was pointed out by someone who heard our episode and, in particular, the bit about understanding someone else’s culture and getting to know it, even if from a distance, that it was very obvious that it was two white guys talking about topic. Regardless of the fact that the assertion is wrong (I am not white. I just have white skin privilege), that sparked a conversation between Jim and myself: How is social advocacy affecting RPGs. In this episode we discuss that, as well as a bit of cultural appropriation (very little) and a few other interesting things. A fair bit of swearing in this episode!

Many people try to portray cultures in their games. Whenever a game has a setting, the description of their cities, countries, societies… they are meant to have cultures. But that is not something most games do well. When you scratch the surface of any setting, there are massive gaps that are not easy to fill and subtract from the understanding of how the world works. How can one create new material that is congruent and of good quality if we don’t understand where the cultures that shape our worlds come from? Thank goodness, Jim is an anthropologist and he can answer a few questions on that front!

Sometimes we have ideas, lots of ideas, and we want them to grow wings and fly to the skies until they reach heights never suspected by humanity. And then they get nowhere. Ideas are very hard things to deal with because we love them, we get attached to them and we look after them like they are our children, regardless of how ugly or useless they can be. So what can you do with them? How can you identify if an idea is any good and worthy of your attention? And what happens if you want your idea to get super high up there but can only get to about eye-level? Well.. here are some pieces of advice from Jim and I. Hope you enjoy the show!

Lone Wolf Development has been going for a number of years and Hero Lab has become the go-to application for a lot of people when is about character creation and campaign management. A hugely comprehensive set of stats and data, it makes the task of managing your character, campaign or adventure easier and with less things to remember. It has been a while since they released the Pathfinder Adventure Path to help you run your campaigns and now they are releasing modules, smaller adventures with everything you need to keep track of encounters, locations, treasure, NPCs… I thought a few questions were in order and Colen McAlister was the perfect person for that. Because he knows pretty much everything about Hero Lab and the company. You can download a free trial for Windows and Mac here. So here it goes… hope you enjoy the show!

The last podcast Jim and I discussed a lot about bad graphic design in RPGs and some of the very many reasons for it. But we didn’t really get to discuss everything (maybe because we can’t really discuss everything without spending the rest of our lives talking about it) so we decided to have another go at it and this time we got help. Help from someone who is one of the best in the industry, Jonny Hodgson. As creative director for Cubicle 7, he is the person who has the responsibility to get the company products and games to be the best they can be. And, let’s face it, they are pretty excellent, so I guess he knows a thing or two about his craft. This podcast is a bit (as in even more) chaotic than usual, but then it is also a lot funnier and rather informative, so I hope you will enjoy it. Let us know!