The Vintage RPG Podcast

Latest Episodes:

West End Games' Ghostbusters RPG Aug 06, 2018

Show notes

Hosts Stu Horvath and John McGuire welcome you back and layout the topics for Episode 3 (00:16).

Hambone starts things off with Bill & Ted's Excellent Board Game (01:16) and Stu drops a fascinating fact about Keanu Reeves (01:45).

The guys introduce the main topic: West End Games' Ghostbusters RPG (05:09). Discussion starts with fond memories of the movie (05:14), the cartoon (06:09) and toys (06:21). Stu breaks down the history of the Ghostbusters RPG (08:05) its weird connection to Chaosium (08:13) and how it forms the mechanical basis of West End's Star Wars RPG by Greg Costikyan (09:06). Stu then talks about Timothy Zahn and the fallow days of the Star Wars franchise (10:00). Hambone then takes a deep dive into the contents of the box set (10:54) and the fun player handouts and movie callbacks found inside. Conversation turns to how awkward in-character dating is for the game master (16:00). Stu ruminates on simple systems, casual tabletop gaming and the different ways different people play (17:50). Finally, Hambone talks about how the box solves the biggest mystery of the Ghostbusters franchise: the ghost classification system (19:30). They wrap up with a quick rundown of the rest of the line and the cost of collecting the game (23:47).

Finally, Hambone is excited about receiving his copy of Into the Borderlands, from Goodman Games (25:07) and Stu blows his mind with a fact about the playtesting of D&D 5E (26:13). Stu hopes that Goodman Games has success with their line of D&D reprints (27:13).

Good-bye until next time (28:31)!

Clarification: Wilford Brimley was 51 in 1985, the year Cocoon came out. Keanu Reeves will be 54 on September 2, 2018 (early happy birthday, dude).

Chaosium's Call of Cthulhu Jul 23, 2018

Show notes

Hosts Stu Horvath and John McGuire welcome you back and breakdown what's coming up on Episode 2 (00:19).

Stu explains his recent obsession with Azul, a deceptively complicated board game about building mosaics (01:20) and John updates us on where in the world hisBig Trouble in Little China board game is.

The main discussion starts (07:50) with Stu explaining why he loves Call of Cthulhu and fawns over the greatness of Chaosium. They pull out the first edition Call of Cthulhu box set and drill down into specifics (10:30), charting the games development from RuneQuest and Basic RPG (11:00) and the game's power dynamics (12:00). John describes some of the grisly ways his characters have died in Call of Cthulhu (15:40) and discussion turns to the fragility of the game's player characters (18:26). Stu breaks down the differences between the different editions of the game (19:00). Stu also talks about Gene Day, the late comic artist who illustrated the first edition Cthulhu box (22:04). The guys then chat about the titles of people who run games (23:20) and delight at CoC's nomenclature.

Finally, Stu and John discuss how they finally have a regular RPG night again and chat about the first game they're playing: Tales from the Loop, a game inspired by Swedish artist Simon Stålenhag (25:59).

The guys bid your farewell until next time (28:47).

Pilot: Monster Manual II Jul 08, 2018

Show notes

Our debut episode!

Hosts Stu Horvath and John McGuire introduce themselves, the Vintage RPG Instagram and the podcast that grew out of it (00:17).

Discussion turns to what we've been playing. Stu talks about his mixed reaction to Star Wars Rebellion (00:48) and John reveals his love for Golden Girls Clue (03:33).

The main discussion starts (07:16) with the reasons Stu started the Vintage RPG Instagram feed and turns towards Monster Manual II for first edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (08:50), early D&D artists (10:26), Fiend Folio (13:27), Russ Nicholson (16:23), the Satanic Panic (17:20), Deities & Demigods (18:14) and collecting (19:25), before they pick our favorite monsters from MMII (22:20).

The guys then turn to what their excited about. Stu delights in his very specific passion for custom board game organizer (26:23) and John looks forward to the fabled day when the Big Trouble in Little China board game he pre-ordered last year finally arrives (29:12).

The guys bid your farewell until next time (32:54).

Correction: On the matter of Golden Girls Clue – John confused the rattan chair player token with the room called the lanai (basically, a porch).

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