* (1:43) Dan re-reads the D&D 2nd Edition Dungeon Master’s Guide. Wayne watches Secrets of Blackmoor. The inspiration D&D’s creators drew from Strategos.
* (6:38) The rather disjointed rules of early RPGs.
* (8:23) The heavy crunch of early RPGs that might be as much unearned reputation as reality.
* (13:02) Why an early RPG may have needed to describe concepts that would be misinterpreted as immutable rules.
* (16:06) Narrative examples of play.
* (19:17) Separating old games from OSR games. Conveyed interpretation and social tradition.
* (27:07) The shortcuts around setting building, and how rules may have gotten caught up in those.
Hosts: Dan, Mary, Wayne
Bonus Episode 99 – AI creativity
Jan 27, 2023
Show notes
* (0:36) An odd tangent on names.
* (3:39) A conversation about AI art. Some parameters we’re putting on this episode. AI art wins a fine arts competition.
* (8:08) An admittedly non-technical overview of how AI generally creates its work. Syntax versus semantics.
* (17:43) AI creations as a starting point instead of the final product. Why the lack of semantics may distinguish what inspires humans as opposed to AIs.
* (29:32) The positive impact of AI creativity, contrasted with the intellectual property and monetary concerns.
* (37:02) The human-seeded meta-thought used by AI, and the inevitability of its adoption across multiple industries.
* (47:26) After taking jobs, technology may also improve lives and push humanity forward. Automating simple tasks or “shifting them left”.
* (54:45) The financial incentive to use AI art versus the status incentive to use human art.
Hosts: Dan, Julia, Mary, Wayne
Some of the sample AI art Dan made while playing around with an app…
A man with two beards that’s holding a third beard (stupid beard hog), Jesus with hot dogs for fingers, and…OH NO! Its mini-Jesus off the ropes!
What’s that Lassie? Jesus is here? And he thinks our dogs are gnolls? And Gabriel is also a dog?
OK, so now we’ve got gnolls with underbites, some random people in the background, Jesus with John Wick levels of determination, and…what the hell is that thing in the lower-right!?
What the AI thought Gnarl should look like. I’m totally going to stat this out and use it in a fantasy game.
Episode 606 – contexting the OGL
Jan 18, 2023
Show notes
* (0:30) Giving a remote episode a try. We have a fix for Dan’s audio that should improve the quality on our next remote show.
* (1:42) Catching up with Brodeur and DJ, who was on episode 466 to talk about BuJoRPG.
* (4:43) Putting some parameters on the topic.
* (9:42) Does Wizards of the Coast hate you? Envy other publishers? Or just not understand the market?
* (16:36) Why people went along with the OGL to begin with. A genuine belief that some people in the mix have the best of intentions.
* (24:47) Why care at all?
* (29:23) The silent majority that may neither know nor care this is all happening.
* (36:21) Why this might be a good thing. The episode on Dan’s resentment of what D&D represents, despite his enjoyment of the game.
Hosts: Brodeur, Dan, DJ, Wayne
Episode 605 – dosing out setting
Jan 05, 2023
Show notes
* (0:44) Friday night chit-chat on Discord each week, starting at 8pm Central.
* (2:18) Fear the Con 2023 dates have been reserved with the hotel for June 16th and 17th of 2023, with the Wing Night on June 15th.
* (3:37) Wayne preps his players for a Savage Worlds: Alpha Flight game.
* (8:18) Learning through trial-and-error by running homebrews and setting-dense games.
* (10:42) Give your players a little homework.
* (15:04) Where will the game begin?
* (20:37) What the characters need or want.
* (24:53) Trickling out more information as the game goes on.
* (31:31) Pay careful attention to the questions your players ask.
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